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patt-writes-stuff · 3 years

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Random Izuku Midoriya HCs

Pairing: Midoriya Izuku x reader

Word Count: 1109

Warnings: nothing I think! (Except that it’s not in any way edited 😅)

Genre: fluff and maybe some angst(? But like only cuz I talk about what arguments might be like briefly??)

A/N: So, school has been hella hectic so I don’t have another fic to post just yet, but I did have these HCs I wrote a while ago (because thinking about domestic things with this boy is literally my coping mechanism) so I thought I’d share these.

🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~

I see him living in an apartment. Like maybe it’s just me and my bias cuz I prefer apartments but he just gives me that vibe.

I think the two of you have a monthly movie night.

He’s that one guy that always guesses who the murderer is in thriller/murder mystery movies.

The two of you would be watching a movie on the couch, snuggled up together being all cute. Like fifteen to thirty minutes into the movie he’ll suddenly blurt out “it was the butler.”

C’mon he’s so observant by nature you can’t tell me this wouldn’t be him.

It annoys you so much but at the same time it’s so cute how he goes into a muttering rampage whenever there’s some new information.

I think he's much better at baking than he is at cooking. I think he used to help Mama Midoriya with baking all the time as a kid and that probably stuck with him throughout his life.

Speaking of cooking and Mama Midoriya, I think she makes him a lot of premade meals in his early pro hero days. She knows that he’s an adult and he can take good care of himself, but he’s always so busy and his work is so dangerous, she just wants to make sure he’s not neglecting his health.

Inko is definitely happy that her son found a s/o like you 🥺

That being said, I don’t think he’d be a bad cook. He’s really just okay. Like if he’s got a recipe he’ll follow it to a T and it’ll come out nice.

Without the recipe? Not so much.

Would totally collect other pro heroes’ autographs once he himself is a pro hero.

Once he’s high enough in the ranks and he has his own merch, Izuku will definitely be too shy to wear any of it.

Baby is humble ❤️

BUT BUT BUT please steal the free samples the companies that make his merch give him for free (pjs, hoodies, shirts, slippers, etc.) and wear them yourself.

He will malfunction when he sees you clad in pjs that look like his hero suit.

Izuku.exe has stopped working.

If you’re also a pro hero, or have a job where merch based on you could be made, he will purchase and wear everything.

If you’re not a high ranking hero and have no merch based on you? That’s fine, he’ll commission someone to make at the very least a hoodie for him.

It’s canon that Izuku is a fanboy, it only increases tenfold when it’s his lovely s/o.

This man will be so sweet to all of his fans, especially lil kiddos. Whenever they tell him that they wanna be heroes I can imagine him being super supportive because he knows what it’s like to have people tell you you can’t accomplish your dreams.

I think this is a given, but his office has a huge limited edition poster of All Might that is both framed and laminated.

He speaks to it whenever he needs guided✨

Izuku will definitely, 100%, undoubtedly be a bit of a workaholic.

Like, he doesn’t put his work before his family or you and if you ever call him saying you’re upset about something or you’re sick he will drop everything (or at least try to get everything done as fast as he can since the #1 hero can’t exactly just drop everything sometimes) and run home to you so he can take care of you and give you cuddles 🥰

The two of you rarely fight since both of you hate hurting each other and he would literally rather fight an army of villains than upset you, but when you do fight it’s usually about how he works himself too hard or of how he puts himself at jeopardy too often.

I feel like he wouldn’t yell at you during these arguments because he just hates raising his voice at you.

If you happen to cry because of the fight he will feel so bad. No doubt will start crying too and you’ll spend the rest of the day comforting each other in each other’s embrace.

He’s so soft for you uwu

He’s a busy guy so dates might not happen as often as he would like them to, but he’ll manage to make time for at least one or two a month.

They might be low key, just because I can’t see him as someone who goes on ultra extravagant dates, but they are always tailored to what the two of you like to do together. They mean the world to the two of you.

I’m not 100% sure about what his love language would be but I’m leaning towards words of affirmation?

Hear me out, we know that he’s struggled with his self esteem growing up and he’s definitely gotten better and is more self assured as an adult! But once in a while, he’ll get a little insecure and hearing you say such lovely things and reminding him of how much you love him makes him feel warm and gooey on the inside.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been together for 5 months or 5 years, Izuku will blush at any compliment you give him.

He’s a cuddle bug. Istg will die on this hill. He loves to be close to him. Please play with his hair while his head is resting on your chest or lap. He will turn into mush.

At this point in the relationship, he has a hard time falling asleep without you/the sound of your heartbeat and breathing to lull him into sleep.

He likes when you read aloud to him. For all he cares you could be reading about fucking mitosis but as long as it’s your voice he couldn’t care less.

He gives me early bird vibes.

Like, even on his day off he’ll probably wake up at like 6 or 7 am just cuz it’s hardwired into his system.

When that happens, he’ll probably go work out before taking a shower and coming back to join you in bed.

He won’t be able to fall asleep again so he’ll just admire you in a non creepy way and/or watch some hero documentary thing (with headphones so that he doesn’t wake you up ofc)

Once you do wake up, the two of you will make breakfast together before spending the day together being soft adorable babies.

If he ever does sleep in or you wake up earlier than him, please wake him up by attacking his entire face with kisses he will die a happy man.

🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~🌸~

#midoriya izuku x reader #izuku midoriya x you #deku x reader #Izuku x reader #midoriya x reader #midoriya izuku #izuku midoriya #midoriya #deku #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #mha x reader #bnha x reader #patt’s creations

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secretpeachtea · 3 years

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Onigiri Miya Tidbits Ch 6

Title: the eagle, the seagull, the crow, and the Brazilians

Genre: gen fic, reader insert

Word Count: 5.3k (whoops)

Summary: Onigiri Miya is now hiring and you just happen to be the right person for the job. The business has been gaining popularity since its grand opening, and many customers travel from different cities just to have a bite of Miya Osamu’s delicious recipes. You did expect some craziness from working in food services, but what you didn’t expect was to be bombarded with frequent tomfoolery from a bunch of attractive volleyball players during your shifts.

disclaimer: manga spoilers

A/N: this one’s a bit of a slow burn (more so than the usual hehe), but I promise it gets better near the 2nd half! There’s not much drama in this chapter, but I think y/n deserves a bit of a break ya feel? Enjoy, my dudes

Previous///Next

Tonight is a special night because it’s ‘Create Your Own Onigiri’ night! Your boss decided to hold this small event to try something new and allow his customers to have some fun in the process. There are laminated onigiri instruction sheets on each of the tables as well as a small customized menu created for this event specifically. You helped him post a couple announcements on social media about the event a week prior to inform the public, and so far, things have been going smoothly.

Osamu is mainly in the kitchen prepping any ingredients for the customers and you’ve been standing at the register as usual. You are pleasantly surprised at how much everyone was enjoying making their own onigiris, and it seems like people of all ages were having fun.

“Welcome to Onigiri Miya!” You greet automatically with a bright smile as the front entrance slides open. A group of very physically fit men walk into the shop with large sports duffel bags slung across their shoulders. Despite the slightly intimidating aura the group gave off, one of the males walked inside with a young child hugging his arm. You scan over all of them briefly and your eyes widen as you make eye contact with Ushijima whom you just met a little over a week ago when the Shiratorizawa alumni visited.

You gave the tall volleyball player a small smile. “Hey, Ushijima-san! What brings you back so soon?”

“You assured me that I should bring my team, and we all wanted to participate in the event today,” Ushijima responded back. “My teammate, Romero-san, is not from Japan, so we wanted to find a restaurant with traditional food.”

“R-right…” You didn’t expect him to actually bring his team any time soon, but you’re still amused at how seriously he took your words from before. You can assume that the only foreigner in the group is the ‘Romero-san’ that Ushijima spoke of. There are probably hundreds of other restaurants the group could’ve gone to for a more cultural experience, so you’re a little giddy that he chose to come here. “Well, it’s good to see you again! I’d be more than happy to help your team have a good time here.”

To Ushijima’s left, another tall figure stood with a resting scowl. His gaze made its way to the kitchen where Osamu was and immediately lit up in recognition. Although, there might’ve been some confusion. “Miya-san, I didn’t know you worked here. Don’t you have practice right now?”

Your boss lets out a short laugh as he looks over his shoulder to look directly at the boy who spoke to him. “Wrong twin, Kageyama-san.”

“Ah.”

Kageyama looks down and glares at the floor mildly distressed at his mistake. There’s a part of you that wants to laugh at his reaction, so you do so internally. Suddenly, you feel someone staring at you, so your eyes shift over in that direction to a male with white hair and round eyes. His stature and overall mannerisms reminded you of a certain orange haired ball of sunshine, so you couldn’t help but stare back a bit longer than you intended. There was a sudden shift in his demeanor and his eyes narrowed at you.

“Why you staring? Is it ‘cause you’ve never seen a volleyball player my height? You’re impressed by the Hoshiumi Korai, right?” The boyish male lifted up his hands as if trying to intimidate you, but in your eyes, he seemed completely harmless.

With a sweet smile, you calmly reply back to his accusations. “Sorry about that. You just remind me of a good friend of mine. He also plays volleyball, and you’re both around the same height. I haven’t seen you play before, but I’m sure you’ve worked hard to get to where you are now regardless of your height, Hoshiumi-san.”

You know you’ve startled him with your kind and composed response when he freezes in place for a couple seconds before dropping his arms back to his sides abruptly and looking away to hide a small grin.

The last two people in the group, whom you assume are father and son, seem to be in their own worlds as they converse quietly. Now seems like a good time to let everyone get settled in, so you step away from the register and gesture for them to follow you. “ My name is (Surname) (Name). You guys can follow me! There’s a table over there that can fit all five of you. Then, I can explain how things are gonna work for today.”

Once the guys all settle in, you stand at the end of the table and point at one of the instruction sheets as well as the menu. “You can pick 2-3 ingredients for your onigiri! One of the ingredients will include meat or seafood and anything else can be a vegetable, seasoning, or both. All of the prices are written down on the menu and there are written instructions on how to make your own onigiri with pictures as guides. Feel free to call me over if you need clarifications. Any questions?”

Multiple heads shake at the same time. You pull out a tiny notepad and pen from your pocket and prepare to take orders. “Great! Then, what can I get for you guys?”

Romero lifts one of his arms to get everyone’s attention and begins to speak somewhat broken Japanese, “Order whatever! I will pay!”

After that declaration, you jot down all of the ingredients that the group orders including some refreshments. “Alrighty! We’ll set up all your ingredients soon on the counter. Once everything’s ready, there’ll be trays for you to take back to your table.”

You bow your head and stroll back behind the counter to relay the order to Osamu. As you’re helping set up some ingredients that don’t require any cooking, you notice that your boss frequently steals glances at the volleyball team with starstruck eyes and curiosity pokes at your mind. “What’s got you looking excited like a kid on Christmas?”

Osamu quickly turns around to face you while holding a spatula in one hand and tongs in the other. Leaning down to keep the conversation between the two of you, he unconsciously lifts both kitchen utensils up in the air with enthusiasm and flashes a childlike grin. “That’s Nicolas Romero! He’s a really famous world class volleyball player from Brazil. My brother and I used to watch him on TV all the time when we were younger, so it’s kind of crazy to see him in person!”

There’s a slight leap in your heart as you watch Osamu’s eyes brighten in joy but choose to ignore that strange feeling for the time being. “Now that you mention it, I think I saw a couple posters and billboards with his face on them when I was in Brazil.”

“I was really surprised when ‘Tsumu told me he was coming to Japan to play for the Schweiden Adlers. I never thought he’d come to my restaurant though!” Your boss is quite awestruck at the idea that such an important figure from his childhood was about to eat food that he cooks himself and it’s enough to elicit a giggle from you.

It’s not long before all the ingredients are set up on four large trays along with a couple beverages. You face the group of males and raise a hand next to your mouth. “Order’s ready for Romero-san!”

Romero stands up from his seat and pats his son on the head to stay put before gesturing at Kageyama to follow him. “Tobio, help me bring the food?”

“Of course, Romero-san!” The setter shoots up from his spot with a zealous expression and immediately follows behind his teammate like a baby duckling. When the two arrive in front of the counter, they give you a short thanks and take their trays back to their table. Osamu subtly glimpses at his childhood idol but quickly looks back down with a flustered expression when he notices you sending him a smirk of your own.

With everyone pretty much settled in, you decide to walk around to the other tables to see if anyone needs any assistance or if they have any questions. You return back to the register after a couple of minutes ready to sit down and take a quick break, but you notice a couple drinks sitting on the counter. The volleyball team must have forgotten to take them when they took their food. Since you didn’t have much to do at the moment, you decide to take the drinks to their table yourself.

With arms full of beverages, you walk up to the Adlers. “Hello, sorry to interrupt, but you left your drinks on the counter. I just thought I’d bring them for you.”

Romero takes the drinks from you and then distributes all of them to each person after sporting a grateful smile. “Ah, thank you!”

You’re about to walk away, but the sight before is almost too ridiculous for you to look elsewhere. All of the men are in the process of creating their onigiris, but each creation looks quite...interesting.

Ushijima’s onigiri is one very large globular rice ball, which distinctively resembles a volleyball, with a few sesame seeds sprinkled at the top. Hoshiumi’s onigiri almost looks like it’s about to explode with how much meat was piled inside the rice and probably would’ve fallen apart if he didn’t have it enclosed around both of his hands. Kageyama’s onigiri is of a decent size, but he must’ve put too much pressure when shaping the rice because it just looks like mush with obvious handprints. Romero is the only person at the table who was able to make a normal onigiri, but everyone seems to be enjoying their time so you don’t think Osamu needs to come over and help.

You finally look at the young child sitting next to his father and tilt your head in confusion when you notice that he’s not participating or eating anything his father made for him. With slight concern, you turn towards Romero. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but is your son not fond of the food? I could offer some other ingredient options?”

“Oh, that’s okay. Everything is perfect!” Romero replies with a knowing look. “Rubens is just a little grumpy since he misses his mother. She met new friends at an onsen and they invited her out to go shopping today. Thank you for asking, though.”

After living in Brazil for a couple months, you were able to pick up on some Portuguese. You’re not in any way fluent yet, so when the older man briefly speaks to his son, you can only make out Romero asking Rubens if he wanted a different onigiri and that he needed to eat to be healthy. The boy’s pout deepens and just simply states that he was bored. Romero sends you an apologetic smile, and you just wave your hand to let him know that you understood.

A sudden idea pops into your head. “Romero-san, is your son allergic to anything? I have an idea to help Rubens enjoy himself more. Would you mind if I try to make your son something?”

“Go for it! My son does not have any allergies, but he does love pork!” Romero nods his head in approval.

You quickly make your way back behind the counter and peek over Osamu’s shoulder as he stands in front of the stove. “Hey boss, do you mind if I try to make something for Romero’s son?”

“Sure. I don’t think anyone needs any help or anything at the moment, so you’re free to do whatever you’d like,” Osamu replies nonchalantly and you tap his arm gratefully.

Situating yourself in front of the counter surrounded by ingredients, you momentarily think about what you want to do. You make the final decision to create two designs for the onigiris that you think Rubens might like. After washing your hands, you gather up all the ingredients you need and even snatch some extra pork from Osamu’s pan. After a couple minutes of putting together the onigiris, you place them on a plate and examine your creations.

The first onigiri resembles a simplified stegosaurus with meat substituting the spines of the dinosaur and some sesame seeds throughout the body for texture. The second onigiri is just a regular rice ball with pork and vegetables, but a couple irregularly shaped pieces of nori are scattered across the surface to resemble a dinosaur egg. Both onigiris lie on top of a small pile of bonito flakes to act as a nest.

You take the plate of food to where Rubens is sitting, a bit nervous since you aren’t sure how he’s going to react. Everyone else at the table just watches curiously as you place the onigiris in front of the young child and his eyes widen. He’s practically mesmerized by his dinosaur themed meal and even some of the other guys are impressed.

Rubens quickly turns towards his father and whispers into his ear. Romero chuckles and pats his son’s head lovingly before facing you. “My son wants to know how you did that. He absolutely loves it.”

A sigh of relief leaves your lips at your successful attempt at making the child happy. The only problem was that you were still in the middle of work, so you didn’t know if you could spend any more time here. Coincidentally, Osamu seemed to have overheard everything for the last couple minutes from his spot in the kitchen. “Hey, (Name)-san. If you wanna take a quick break and spend some time with the kid, I don’t think there would be any problem with it.”

You’re really grateful for Osamu’s leniency, but a part of you still feels bad as you turn to look at him. “Are you sure? I don’t want to skip out on my job so suddenly.”

“Don’t worry about it. The boss said it’s all good.” Osamu gives you a reassuring smile and you take it as your cue to grab an extra chair off to the side and sit beside Rubens. You’re about to grab some rice to begin teaching the boy, but a slight tug on your sleeve makes you freeze in place. As you look to your side, you see Kageyama’s hand near your shoulder and there’s an intense look in his eyes.

“K-Kageyama-san, would you like to learn too?” You ask a bit surprised. Your bewilderment is replaced with amusement when he nods at you furiously and you almost laugh out loud at his excitement.

“Oh! Me too! Me too!” Hoshiumi intervenes enthusiastically and even Ushijima seems to be interested. These guys sure were something else.

In the end, everyone in the group was watching as you demonstrated how to make different designs with the onigiri rice. Rubens finally succumbed to his hunger and began to eat his dinosaur meal, so you were left to attend to the grown up men who listened to you eagerly like school children, aside from Romero who needed to step outside to answer a call from his wife.

“Alright! Now that you have some of the basics down, why don’t you each try to make your own? Just to keep it simple, we’ll all choose a single design. Any ideas as to what you guys want to make?” There’s a brief silence as everyone tries to think of something doable. Suddenly, Ushijima lifts up his phone and an image of what you recognize to be Japan’s adorable volleyball mascot* is shown. You sweatdrop as Hoshiumi and Kageyama clap in agreement at the volleyball player’s obvious, yet adorable selection.

Other than having to give a few pointers to Hoshiumi and Ushijima, it seems like they were doing a pretty decent job at making the character. The one who was truly struggling was Kageyama. He was still putting too much pressure when molding the rice. As he continues to squeeze the rice excessively, you gently place your hands on top of his slender fingers.

“You’re putting too much force in your hands, Kageyama-san. Here, loosen your grip a bit and I can show you.” With that said, Kageyama lets go of his vice grip and allows you to guide his hands over the rice. The two of you stay like that for a couple more seconds until you successfully make a circular rice ball. As the male opens his palms upward with your hands still wrapped around his, his eyes sparkle in amazement.

Kageyama bows his head gratefully and when he looks back up at you, you’re taken aback by the amount of admiration flooding his expression. Your body stiffens when he quickly puts down the onigiri and clasps your hands between his. “Thank you, (Surname)-san!”

“N-No problem.” You feel a bit of heat creep up your cheeks with the way Kageyama was holding your hands so delicately.

The moment doesn’t last long, however, when you suddenly feel someone’s fingers graze the side of your face and a sticky feeling is left on your skin. When you look to see who the culprit is, your eyes fall on the youngest person at the table with one of the most terrified expressions you’ve ever witnessed. Almost immediately, Rubens starts apologizing in broken Japanese similar to the way his father has been speaking, “S-sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

While you were busy working with Kageyama, Rubens had finished eating and wanted to make his own onigiri since he was still a bit hungry. He wanted to grab more rice from the bowl next to you but misjudged his movements and accidently touched your cheek with his sauce covered fingers. The child felt absolutely horrified and was afraid that you’d hate him for this.

Using a napkin, you wipe off as much as you can from your cheek and then proceed to lower yourself onto the ground to get to the child’s eye level. Mustering up your brightest smile, you try your best to reassure Rubens who looks like he’s about to cry. “Hey, hey! It’s okay, Rubens! I’m not mad.”

You spend the next couple minutes cooing at the sniffling young boy, and once you’re sure that Rubens is no longer going to cry, you sit back down on your chair. You lift up a ball of rice to gesture that you want to help him make an onigiri and he nods his head. You make a traditional triangular onigiri but place two rolled up bonito flakes for eyes and a piece of curved rice on top of the nori to make it look like a bearded face. There’s an almost immediate shift in the child’s mood when you point at the design and then to the empty chair next to him because you had made an onigiri that resembled his father.

Both of your laughs fill the air and the whole situation resembles a heartwarming scene from an anime. You were too distracted to notice the multiple pairs of eyes watching the scene in captivation. Once Rubens starts to eat again, you look up to see some lingering stares. “Is everything alright?”

Two stoic faces avoid your eyes by looking down, while Hoshiumi snaps out of his trance. The white haired male sits up a little straighter before addressing you. “Hey, you’re pretty good with kids, (Surname)-san!”

“I’ve had a couple babysitting jobs in the past. I’m not perfect with kids, but I did pick up a few things here and there,” you respond back shyly.

At this moment, Romero walks back into the shop while pocketing his phone. “Sorry to cut our time short, but I think my wife is coming back home soon. I should start heading out with Rubens. You guys can stay longer if you’d like.”

“That’s okay, Romero-san. I think we’re all ready to leave as well.” Kageyama lifted up his tray which spurred the rest of the other guys to do the same. As everyone helps out in cleaning up their area, you head back to the register to receive the payments for the meal from Romero.

The guys were now all ready to leave, but your boss quickly grabs their attention after taking a glance at a certain framed object on the shop’s wall. “Do you guys mind signing some autographs to put up in the shop?”

“Of course!” Romero exclaims. The rest of the team complies as well and they each sign a piece of paper that will most likely be displayed by tomorrow. Once that’s done, the team stands in front of the exit with their belongings. Rubens tugs at his father’s arms to get his attention and Romero bends down to listen to what the boy wants to say.

“What’s up?....Name?....Onigiri Miya…”

You can’t make out anything other than a few words, so you’re thrown completely off guard when Rubens suddenly jumps up from his spot and waves his arms wildly at you. “Bye-bye, Mrs. Miya!”

You don’t even hear any of the other males voice their goodbyes and leave the shop as blood rushes through your ears and your face flushes into deep crimson color. It seems like Osamu wasn’t spared either as his cheeks explode with heat at the implication. Both of you stand in awkward silence for a few seconds to calm your hearts until Osamu musters up the courage to glance at you first.

His expression shifts a little as he stares at your face. Osamu then points at your cheek. “Oh, (Name)-san. You still got a little something on your face.”

Momentarily forgetting about feeling flustered, you realize that you might not have gotten rid of all the sauce from when Ruben accidentally touched your cheek. “What? I thought I got it all off. Why didn’t anyone say anything?”

You attempt to wipe off the sauce remnants, but fail to do so each time because you don’t know where it is exactly. Osamu grabs a clean towel from the top shelf and slightly dampens it under the sink before standing in front of you again. “I got you.”

Osamu lifts up the towel and starts to wipe at your cheek softly. When your head starts moving too much, he brings up his other hand and places it gently on your neck to support it. There must have been a lot more sauce left than you expected because Osamu continues to hold you in place for a couple more seconds, his eyes never leaving your face. Unconsciously, your own eyes drift around his features and you can’t help but admit how handsome he looked at the moment.

“Oh, young love~”

Both you and Osamu flinch back when you hear one of the customers that are still in the room say their thoughts. When you glance at the table where the voice came from, you see an elderly couple smiling at you while holding hands with one another in a loving manner. The previous blush you had comes back in full force as you remember that the two of you were not alone and in a somewhat intimate position together.

“T-t-thanks, Osamu-san!” You stutter and almost trip over your own feet as you start walking towards the bathroom with hurried steps. “I’m j-just gonna...um...go to the bathroom really quick!”

As you rush away from Osamu, he just watches your back disappear behind the bathroom door. He stands in place quietly as he processes what had just happened and there’s a foreign feeling in his stomach that he can’t explain. He simply turns his back to the bathroom and rubs a hand to his cheek to hide the smile that threatens to creep onto his lips.

Leftovers

You’re currently laying on your couch comfortably surrounded by pillows and blankets while watching a movie on your laptop. Today was your day off from work, so you planned to stay in for the whole day and catch up on some alone time. As much as you want to focus on your movie, your mind starts to wander off.

About two days have passed since you met the Schweiden Adlers volleyball team at Onigiri Miya, but they were still on your mind. Based on the tidbits of information you’ve gathered from Osamu, Adlers and MSBY were rival teams. It almost makes you want to laugh at how different the two teams were in terms of their dynamics and personalities, so you hope to see them play against each other one day.

Suddenly, the ringing of your doorbell interrupts your thoughts and you pause your movie. You stand up and walk towards your door in confusion. You weren’t expecting anyone to visit, so you’re a bit weary as you look through the peephole.

As if the universe knew what you were thinking about before, you’re surprised to see Sakusa standing outside your door with his usual face mask. Swiftly unlocking the door, you pull it open and greet your curly haired acquaintance.

“Hey, Sakusa-san! What’s-” You stop speaking abruptly when you notice two large bags in the volleyball players arms and they look fairly heavy too. “Oh, wow. Are those...for me?”

Sakusa just nods his head and you quickly open your door wider to let him inside to place the bags down. You’re extremely curious as to what the contents were since both bags were covered by tissue paper, even more so because Sakusa was the one to bring them to you. He places both bags onto your coffee table and you’re about to ask what they were for, but he beats you to it.

“Congrats,” Sakusa states with his usual impassive expression but there’s a hint of softness to his tone.

At this time, you’re completely perplexed. “Congrats for what?”

“For graduating.” Sakusa’s reply causes your eyebrows to shoot up. “This is from the team.”

“Oh...” You’re left speechless for a moment as you try to understand the situation and once everything finally clicks, a warm feeling encompasses your heart. “Um...thank you.”

You gaze at the gifts bags for a bit longer with various emotions swirling through your eyes before talking again. “...did the team send you because we live in the same apartment building?”

“Yeah.” Sakusa let out a sigh which made you laugh a bit, but it didn’t sound like he was necessarily bothered by the task.

The male briefly checks his phone and gestures that he needs to leave soon. As Sakusa starts to make his way back to the front door, you follow with light steps to see him out. “Let everyone know that I really appreciate this when you see them again for practice!”

He nods in acknowledgement and the two of you exchange goodbyes before you finally lock the door as he walks away. Without a moment to lose, you rush over to the large bags sitting on your coffee table with anticipation. Just from the first glance, you can tell that there are multiple things piled up, so you’ll just have to take things out one by one.

After removing the tissue paper from the bag on the left first, you pull out something large and fluffy. In your hands is a huge teddy bear that’s wearing an MSBY jersey while holding a small note card that says “Congratulations on Graduation!”. You immediately know who it’s from because the bear’s multicolored fur resembles the colors of Bokuto’s hair. You give the bear a tight hug before placing it next to you on the couch.

The next thing you take out is a miniature set of hand lotions with a small bottle of pepper spray taped onto it. There’s a small note on the bottle that says “It’s dangerous walking home alone at night”. There’s no indication of who the gift giver is, but you know that Sakusa would be the only one to pick out these specific gifts. As you move the package to the side, another small piece of paper falls to the ground. It must have been stuck to the bottom of the hand lotion set. When you pick it up, there’s another note that says “Thanks for the soup”. Your smile widens. It seems like you had guessed correctly.

The last gift from the first bag is a beautiful mug with a sunrise design printed onto it. There’s a Brazilian flag sticking out of the mug, which makes it even more obvious that the gift was from your dear friend Hinata. When you push aside the flag, there’s a limited edition Bouncing Ball keychain inside the mug as well with a cute handwritten card that says “Congratulations, (Name)-san! We should hang out one day to play some beach volleyball like we did in Brazil!”. Your cheeks were starting to ache at how much you were smiling as you reread the note several more times.

You reach out to the remaining bag and pull away the tissue paper. Your nose is immediately assaulted by a pleasing floral fragrance and when you look inside, a large bouquet of flowers comes into your vision. Once the flowers are in your arms, you notice the note sticking out between the petals. Placing the flowers on your lap, you open the small folded piece of paper which says “Hey there, sweetheart. You should’ve let me know you were having such a big moment in your life! I would’ve done so much more, but for now, enjoy these flowers. The irises mean accomplishment and admiration. The peonies mean good luck. The daffodils mean new beginnings. Congrats on your win against school!” You’re quite touched by the amount of thought that went into this gift and based on the nickname, you can safely assume that this is Atsumu’s gift. You didn’t take him as a flower type of guy, but he’s always full of surprises. Nonetheless, you mentally note that you need to buy a nice vase to place these wonderful beauties in.

You thought that would be the last gift since you’ve already opened everything from the four MSBY players, but when you glance into the bag one more time, there are still two remaining boxes. They have the same wrapping, so you assume that they are from the same person. Taking both of them out carefully, you notice that the larger of the two boxes has a note that reads “I know you said you don’t normally eat sweets, so I tried my best not to add too much sugar”. Wondering what the card meant about sweets, you slowly open the lid and see two small cakes positioned next to each other with icing that spells out ‘Tiramisu’ and ‘Dark Chocolate’ on the respective cakes. Your mouth waters at the sight of the homemade desserts, but you restrain yourself because you were even more curious as to what might be in the other mystery box.

When you finally open the last remaining gift, there’s another note inside that says “It’s never too late to celebrate. Congrats, (Name)-san”. When you look underneath the note, your jaw drops as you let out a gasp. Inside was a gorgeous silver charm bracelet that was minimalistic enough for you to wear wherever you went. If the note wasn’t a big giveaway, the tiny onigiri charm attached to the bracelet convinced you that Osamu was the one who had given you these gifts.

The next couple of hours are spent finishing your movie with all of your gifts surrounding you. The inside of your room now smells like a mix of flowers and peachy lotion. The MSBY teddy bear is secured between your arms as you drink warm tea from your new mug while taking a bite out of each cake.

You’re not sure whether or not you want to jump up in happiness or simply cry from the overwhelming emotions, but either way, you’re glad to have met such amazing people the past couple months.

You couldn’t wait to get back to work.

Japan’s volleyball mascot: y’all know that volleyball mascot right? The one Ushijima loves to draw and the one that Hinata has shirt of

A/N: oof you made it! Can we all just give a moment of silence for Rubens for being the best boi? also another moment for the nice old lady at the end ;)

taglist: @kiyoo-omi

#onigiri miya #onigiri miya tidbits #secretpeachtea #haikyuu fanfiction #schweiden adlers #ushijima #kageyama #hoshiumi #romero

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faithbetryin · 4 years

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Five Hargreeves X Reader | 2

(from my Wattpad: @FaithBeLovly)

Part 2

Pairing: Five Hargreeves X Reader

Word Count: 2,781

You find yourself sitting in front of the tv, watching the news broadcast of what happened at the cafe yesterday. You try to see if any information was said about the boy who saved you- shoved you, mostly. And he spilled scorching hot coffee all over you, but... all in all, he took a bullet while you were just peachy. You bite your nails a bit in nervousness. Hope was still in your mind that he didn't bleed out or get shot again and die or something. You don't get any information from the news channel and turn it off, tossing the remote on the couch as you walk out the door dawning a yellow rain coat and a pair of doc martens.

You walk along the damp sidewalk, stepping in every puddle you pass by. You grind your teeth with stress as you see the cafe not too far down the street. As you come closer, you notice detectives and caution tape surrounding the scene. You figure that whoever was in that van got away. You walk up to the tape and then start to backtrack away from it as you think about your chances of being questioned by gritty detectives if you stuck around in the open. You go towards the back door where you escaped from and try to open it. It was locked. You step back and remember the boy's school jacket. You remember it having some sort of umbrella on the patch on his shirt. It didn't give you any ideas about who the boy was or how to check on him. You walk away from the scene, pulling your hood over your head as it starts to rain again.

You start to wonder if this was just a small miracle, being saved by someone you'd never get to say thank you to. These kinds of things happened all the time right? It was just a world with everyone living their own lives, doing things without reward or consequence. You found the whole situation brave. No boy her age would have that kind of reaction if they were getting shot at. Maybe you were just lucky. Wouldn't it be some shit if you ended up getting shot the next day anyway? The world's cruel like that. An umbrella picture against stained glass windowed doors catches your attention. You walk backwards until you're in front of a big brick building. It seemed eerie and quiet. You see a bronze plaque on the outside of the building. You walk up the short steps to the door and read it, the distressed words engraved on it reading: The Umbrella Academy. You scrunch your nose, not hearing of such a thing. You wonder what kind of thing they teach here. Maybe making umbrellas, I don't fucking know. You look up at the doors in front of you and decide to knock on it with the brass knock-handles built onto it. You wait there for a few long moments, wondering if this place was abandoned or something. It seemed quiet, and dark. To your surprise the door opens slightly. A small eyeball peeks through the crack, a warm elderly man's voice welcoming you. "Can I help you?" The voice says.

You sit there, feeling dumb for not being prepared with something to say. You ask stupidly, "Uh, yes. I-Is this a school? The Umbrella Academy?"

The voice sighs a little before replying, "I'm afraid it isn't anymore.."

"Oh.. Well do you know anyone who'd wear a uniform from this place or something? Maybe an old student?" The eyes peering out at you get a little bigger. You explain yourself further, "It's just that- I saw someone near here wearing this umbrella symbol on their jacket a-and they got shot trying to save me and I wanted to make sure he was okay." The eyes from within the shadows look down and then back up at you as the voice says through a sigh,

"Five..." The door opens more to reveal a shorter figure- well, a... a fucking monkey. You blink in confusion, but smile a bit to be respectful. He wore a nice formal suit and small little glasses upon his chimpanzee face. He held the door with one chimp hand, the other holding himself up with a wooden cane. He was quite cute actually. Weird, but cute. "I'm so sorry that happened. I'm sure you must be a friend of Five's." You shake your head a little with confusion.

"I'm sorry? Five, you said? Five what?" You were very lost. As per usual. The polite ape in front of you lifts his cane to direct you inside. You reluctantly enter, not even sure what this place is. She wonders if she'll leave looking like a monkey too.

"The young boy in culottes? Tall socks? Well dressed?" He says, starting to wonder if Five might've saved a stranger, which was unusual for him. You nod to him as you walk in, looking around. It was much bigger inside than it appeared from the outside. It had old floors, walls, and set of two staircases leading upstairs somewhere in front of you. The rugs decorating the creaky floor looked antique. You stand in the lobby area, unsure what to do.

"Yeah, that one."

"The name's Five." A voice echoes through the room as the same boy from yesterday was standing across the room with a coffee mug in hand. You were caught off guard. You felt like you were intruding. Your face gets hot with embarrassment. You pick at a loose thread on your jeans as you look at the boy's leg. He had a proper bandage around his leg, the wound appearing fine considering the way he's even standing now. The suited ape closes the door behind you and smiles at the two of you as he waddles away with his cane, leaving us to it. The boy-Five, takes a sip of whatever's in the yellow mug. "You were at the cafe, weren't you? Yeah, the one with a staring problem." You drop your head to look at your shoes as you are ripping at the seams with embarrassment. You take a deep breath of recovery and look back at him, your hands in your pockets to hide the way they were fidgeting. The boy smiles a bit and nods towards the room behind him, motioning that you should follow him. You reluctantly walk over to him and follow him into a large living room/bar area. The wall was decorated with expensive-looking paintings and head mounts of animals. Tall bookcases lined the room. You clear your throat and say nervously as you look around, "Private school much?" Five chuckles into his mug as he takes another sip.

"This isn't a school," he says, clearly enjoying talking to such a lesser knowledgeable individual by the way he smiled widely, his dimples appearing. You make a face. "It's my home." You take a silent breath as you look around with wide eyes. You then shake your head in even more embarrassment as you realize you're intruding his house.

"Sorry- I just thought that-"

"The Umbrella Academy," he says with a smile, lifting his mug as if the name was glorious. You realize it's sarcastic praise as he laughs at it afterwards. "Yeah no, this place was home to a brooding rich man who decided to raise 7 children he didn't have time or sympathy for. Although, we did study and go through lectures everyday growing up here." You try to process that whole story as you look at him.

"S-So you have seven siblings?" You start to wonder what they're like and try to imagine what they look like while examining Five.

"Adopted. And always scattered. Hardly in one place." Well there goes trying to imagine his siblings' appearances in comparison to him.

"Oh," You say, feeling overwhelmed with all this information. You shake your head and turn back to him, remembering what you came here to say to him. "I just came to say thanks..." Five lowers his mug down from his thin raspberry-tinted lips without taking a sip. You wait for his delayed response. He eyes you up and down with that serious furrowed eyebrow expression. He has his head tilted to the side a bit, his Adam's apple exposed along his long neck. His hair fell a bit from its swoosh as he tilted his head.

"Didn't need someone getting shot for my messes." he says, his voice serious yet... gentle and sincere. A silence drifts between the two of you as you hold your arm along your side, looking at his leg. He lowers his head a bit to match the way you kept yours low. He catches your eyes and says, "It's fine. I got it patched up." You nod, taking his reassurance as you start to look a little guilty. He sets his coffee mug down on the bar counter and starts walking past you, turning to look at you. "Come on, I have something you might want."

You look at him with uncertainty before nodding and following behind him. You gain some reassurance as he turned to wait for you to catch up to him at the bottom of the steps. He didn't want to leave you alone behind him. You walk up the staircase side by side, holding onto the railing to give your hand something to focus on.

"Why are you nervous?" He asks very calmly. His voice was consistently cool and collected just like his demeanor. Your eyes dart around the stairs underneath you as you try to think of what to say to that. How did he know I'm nervous? You clear your throat as quietly as you can as you reply shakily,

"A-Anxiety. Kind of my thing I guess..." Five looks at your avoiding face, his brows lowered in a concerned, but understanding way. He keeps walking up the steps.

"Sorry." He says softly. The way his voice left his lips felt like a gentle warm breeze along your ears made you feel warm inside. You shake your head and laugh to diffuse the tension.

"Nothing to be sorry about. It's just something that's wrong with me." As you both reach the top of the steps, he looks at you with his hands in his pockets.

"Not a flaw. A quality." He says, reassuring you once again. You stand there for a moment too long as he walks where he's leading you, leaving you there in your thoughts. You never had anyone say something so honest and constructive like that. You didn't have anyone, really. You realize he's started to walk off and follow behind him quickly. You walk down the hallway past many rooms with closed doors. There were interesting laminated posters with self defense moves printed on them taped along the walls, low to the ground as if they were intended for kids to see. You stand behind Five as he opens his room door. You stand at the doorway respectfully as he walks in and fetches something from his closet. Lots of books and papers decorated the room along with a ridiculous amount of mathematical writing across every inch of the walls. You didn't recognize a single equation.

He comes back to the doorway, holding out a scarf. My scarf. It was clean, the blood stripped from its fabric. You take it from his hands slowly, your hands barely touching as neither of you let go of the scarf. You look up to find Five's eyes of oceans focused on your face, almost as if they've been gazing at you this whole time. His brows weren't tense anymore while his eyes were gentle. You blush hard, lifting the scarf to your face to hide it. He lets go as you lift it and scratches the back of his head as he looks at the scarf instead of you.

"I thought you might want that back," he says, adjusting his tie. You giggle a little from behind the scarf and move it away as you say,

"It's not even mine." The both of you laugh a little as his eyes widen a bit, a smile on his face. You stole that scarf from a Walmart a few weeks ago. You look down again but then back up at him, feeling more comfortable looking directly at someone- at him. "Thank you anyway." He nods and leans against the door frame, his hands in his pockets again. Must be a habit.

"So your name is...?"

"Y/N," you say quickly, just realizing you never introduced yourself back to him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you on the edge of your seat to find out," you say, somewhat playfully flirting with him. His dimples jump out at you as he gives you a toothy grin. He scoffs with a slight chuckle.

"You do know you don't have to keep apologizing for everything." He says, his brows raised as he knows he got you there, proving it to him as you blush.

"Sorry-Agh fuck,"

"You did it again."

"I know, I know-" The both of you laugh, his actual laugh very pleasing to listen to. You shake your head and your smile starts to fade. He takes notice as he's now doing that thing where he lowers his head to your eye level and then lifts back up to encourage you to tell him what's wrong. "What was that...?" You ask, "At the cafe?" His smile quickly fades, his expression now that solemn, brooding look.

"Well, I've got a bit of trouble following me around lately." He scratches the back of his head. "Bunch of commission goons here to kill me." Your face immediately turns into concern and confusion.

"Kill you?! So they're gonna be back?"

"Yep," he sighs, lifting up on his toes and then falling back onto his heels. "And they're probably going to be coming after you now." You give him an even more concerned look.

"Me?? Wh- I don't even know what you're talking about! We gotta call the cops or something-"

"Cops are useless and very insignificant to this particular problem." He says. You shake your head and put your face into the scarf, your anxiety kicking up a notch. It feels like a slimy snake trickling up your throat, building pressure in your body. You try to keep it down and breathe heavily into the scarf. He shifts a little as he realizes what's going on with you, moving closer to you. He pulls your hands and scarf down from your face, looking at you. You feel exposed and vulnerable. He holds your arms and shakes them a bit to get you to pay attention.

"Listen to me," You continue to breathe more frequently, your hands shaking a bit. "No one's gonna kill you. You can stay here, I can protect you-"

"Protect me? I can't-"

"Listen, listen- I can. I can protect you. You just gotta calm down for me, alright?" He looks into your eyes, his grip on your arms becoming a little tighter to let you know he's got you. Your eyes dart back and forth across his face before closing, your head nodding quickly as you struggle to breathe regularly. He then puts his hands behind your ears, holding you gently as he tries to get you to focus.

"Breathe, take a deep breath. Come on, breathe." You nod to him to let him know you're trying as you close your eyes and take deep breaths, the break in between breaths letting your nerves calm down, your breathing becoming normal again. "There," he says, his thumb stroking the side of your face. You open your eyes, looking into his eyes. He was so close to you now, your faces inches away from each other. You feel your body relax, your head resting against his hands. You feel the tension between you both, the moment making your heart beat louder in your chest.

"Five has a girlfriend! And she's real! In the flesh!" a voice shrieks from behind them. Five immediately lets go of you and furrows his brows, his face showing complete agitated rage and annoyance. A lanky man in tight, suggestive hippy clothing watches you from the end of the hall.

"KLAUS, you are INCREDIBLY infuriating!" Five shouts as he warps through a bright blue light, disappearing from in front of you and appearing down the hallway after his brother, Klaus screaming and laughing as he makes a break for it. "I swear, I will kill you, you idiot!" You smile a little, feeling closer to the boy in culottes.

#five hargreeves imagines #five hargreeves #five #five hargreeves x reader #hargreeves #hargreeves x reader #tua x reader #five x reader #the boy #five x you #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #number5 #umbrella academy x reader #umbrella academy imagines #fanfic #fan fiction

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alightwhendarknessfell · 3 years

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Black Veil Brides VIP Meet and Greets

I just wanted to make a quick post since I've seen a lot of people talking about the VIP/meet and greet tickets for the rescheduled ITM/BVB tour. I know there have been some strong opinions on the COVID restrictions and questions about what will or won't be allowed.

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the band or management and don't speak for them. This is just my opinion/trying to share some helpful tips and information. I’ll give references for what I say, but please take specific questions to the email listed on their website [email protected]

I’ve seen some people criticizing the band for the COVID restrictions in place as if it is solely their decision as to what will be allowed and not allowed. More than likely it was a decision made by management, the team putting on the tour, venues, etc, and made to fit state health guidelines and CDC recommendations. The idea that they will be able to have meet and greets the way they were done prior to 2020 with no restrictions is unrealistic. While COVID cases are declining and around 50% of the United State’s population has been vaccinated the pandemic is not over. There may be another rise in cases this fall and with the tour taking place during flu season it will be hard to tell who is sick with COVID or just the flu/cold. All rules and regulations for both VIP and the shows are done for the safety of the artists AND the fans. Remember that it’s not just because you could get the band sick, they could potentially get you sick too. Therefore care must be taken to make the VIP M&Gs a safe but still fun experience for both parties.

Local venues are all going to have different protocols as to what is and isn’t allowed. This is due to states having different rules as far as distancing, masking, and sanitation regulations. This is completely out of the band’s control and they are obligated to follow the rules for the venue and state they are in. The VIP ticket upgrade is OPTIONAL, you are under no obligation to purchase VIP tickets if you feel it’s not worth the price. You can purchase just the regular ticket to see the show (this is also required for VIP tickets as that ticket ONLY is for the meet and greet). I get that people are upset about the limitations, but I for one, am grateful they’re even offering VIP tickets. They could just as easily have said no meet and greets at all.

Isn’t the band vaccinated? Andy and CC have both said publicly they are vaccinated. Andy's dad has stated the band is fully vaccinated. I’m sure others are as well, along with the crew and the other bands but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to not have safety guidelines in place. Remember, that there is still a question as to whether or not someone who has been vaccinated can harbor the virus and pass it on even though they are unlikely to become ill themselves. It seems that vaccines DO provide good protection against infecting others and becoming ill but none of the vaccinates are 100% effective. The band will be traveling all over the country meeting lots of people each night, therefore obviously precautions are going to be taken to reduce the risk for everyone.

What if I’m vaccinated? That’s wonderful! I would strongly encourage everyone to get their vaccines, especially before attending a concert. Because there’s no way to really check vaccination statuses (unfortunately fake vaccine cards are way too common and easy to make) the rules have to be made with the assumption that some people there WILL be unvaccinated. Theoretically, yes, it would be safe for a vaccinated person to be without a mask on with the band if they are also all vaccinated. Since again, that can’t be guaranteed (and because that would involve different treatment for different people) the best option is to just have rules that EVERYONE will have to follow. There are also variations in the vaccine's effectiveness. Pfizer/Moderna are both 90%+ effective while J&J (one-shot) is about 65-70%.

Hugs? These aren’t allowed at BVB M&Gs anyways, even before COVID. Their websites specifically states hugs will NOT be allowed. Please respect this rule.

Gifts? Andy’s dad (Chris Biersack) spoke about this on Twitter yesterday in response to some fan questions. He says he would discourage fans from bringing gifts. I know a lot of people like to bring them gifts but the best thing you can do is come to the show and sing along and show your love for the band by supporting them. Physical gifts can wait for now, and I think everyone should respect that. Besides, space is limited on tour anyways and when you think about how many people bring them gifts each night, logistically that is hard to accommodate. I do not see anything specifically about gifts on their website so that may be something you would want to email the VIP company about or ask in the BVB Facebook group if you're dead set on bringing something. However, the website DOES state that no "personal autographs" will be permitted, only the poster they are providing.

Photos? The rules on their website state that photos will be taken with 3 feet distance between the fan and the band. Fans may take their masks OFF for the photo, but masks will be required for the M&G and while in line for it (but you get a cool BVB mask!!!!). I know people are upset over this one too but think of all the cool ways you could do this photo. You can stand in front with the band behind you and strike a pose with yourself as the centerpiece! Three feet isn’t that far either, and honestly, that’s about how much room you’d give someone for personal space anyways.

It's so expensive!!: It's the same price as their M&Gs always have been. Yes, $100 is a lot of money for most people but it's the norm for band M&Gs. I am okay with paying that price even with the COVID restrictions because I want to be able to support the band. They haven't been able to tour in over a year and I'm sure that has cost them a lot of revenue. So I have no problem paying to see my favorite band.

TIPS

Read the rules BEFORE buying tickets for the M&G or show. Call the venue to ask for specifics if you want to or check their websites. Make sure you’re okay with the rules and if you purchase a M&G then follow all rules regarding safety and distancing.

Wear a mask/the one they give you during your M&G, please respect your health and the band’s.

While vaccinated individuals according to the CDC are at lower risk while attending concerts, unvaccinated people are still at a high risk of contracting COVID. It’s a very good idea to make sure you are TWO WEEKS out from your LAST shot before your concert date.

Monitor yourself for symptoms, and if you are at ALL feeling sick, coughing, have a fever, vomiting, etc. do NOT come to the show. Missing the show sucks, but you don’t want to run the risk of infecting others.

Personally, I plan to wear my mask while inside the venue even though I am fully vaccinated. If the venue is not requiring masks to be worn inside it is up to individuals to choose to or not but I know I will feel safer with a mask on.

Give people space while in the crowd. Now isn’t the time to be right on top of someone trying to push to the front. Please respect everyone’s personal space and remember that there may be people who are at an increased risk of severe COVID infection present.

If you are in a “high risk” group, talk to your doctor about whether or not it is safe for you to attend an indoor concert.

If you are bringing your vaccination card, get it laminated first or take a photo of it and keep it on your phone. They’re paper and you wouldn’t want it to fall apart because it got wet.

Bring extra disposable masks in case yours gets wet, dirty, or something happens to it.

Wash your hands!!!!!!!!

Don’t share water/drinks/food. I know “pass the water bottle” is popular at shows but let’s skip that for now.

I think it’s important that people keep perspective on this. The world just shut down for over a year and NO concerts took place. The fact that concerts will happen this year at all is a miracle. COVID is a fluid situation and there is no guarantee that things will be better or worse when the tour starts this Fall. This is a virus that has killed millions of people worldwide and hundreds of thousands in the United States. It’s not to be taken lightly, there are serious long-term consequences for some who get COVID. Guidelines are in place for a reason and the band, venues, and management should NOT be criticized for keeping everyone safe. If you don’t like the rules then don’t buy VIP tickets or don’t go to the show, it’s that simple. Following the rules and listening to guidelines is incredibly important. Doing everything you can to ensure your safety, other fan’s safety and the band/crew’s safety should be a top priority. One day there will be “normal” concerts and M&Gs again but for now, we have to still be mindful.

Respect the rules

Respect the health and safety of yourself and others

Have fun and celebrate live music again!

#black veil brides #bvb #andy biersack #andy black #jinxx #christian coma #jake pitts #lonny eagleton #ITM #in this moment #the inbetween tour #concerts #COVID

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itsagutthing · 4 years

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Places Carrie Mathison Has Lived: New York City Edition

this installment of my carrie’s apartments series is close to my heart because i also live in brooklyn, though not close to carrie. the show actually filmed a scene just a block from my apartment, but for obvious reasons i’m not going to specify which scene. i know, season six is overall meh with the exception of carrie’s blazers, but my lizard brain still goes, “that’s where i live!” so i give it more leeway than i probably should.

carrie lives in the bedford-stuyvesant neighborhood of brooklyn, which was once primarily home to black and latino families but unfortunately is in the process of gentrifying. some light googling tells me they filmed the interior apartment scenes on a soundstage in another brooklyn neighborhood called greenpoint, which begs the question: why didn’t they just make carrie live there? greenpoint has also been gentrified but is mostly home to eastern european immigrants, so the writers could have avoided the questionable racial implications of carrie living in bed-stuy, particularly when she’s working at a non-profit that promotes racial justice. and greenpoint is also more convenient to her office in williamsburg! i know the answer to this question is probably just “brownstones look pretty,” and there are lots of brownstones in bed-stuy but not in greenpoint, but i’ll still bitch about it.

anyway, we know from quinn’s escape to the bodega in 6.02 that carrie lives close to the intersection of throop avenue and halsey street, which means she lives off of the kingston-throop A and C trains and a sort-of far walk from the bedford-nostrand G. she probably takes the G to work in williamsburg. this is information that’s only important to me, but i love public transit.

the bike lane sign in the screenshot above reminds me how much i loved seeing carrie biking around berlin. even though nyc isn’t nearly as bike-friendly, i hope she does the same in brooklyn.

carrie appears to have free reign of the entire brownstone, which must have been two separate units at some point — both where she and franny live and the ~garden apartment~ on the basement level that has both a full bath and kitchen. she obviously can’t afford to rent out an entire brownstone in new york city, even in bed-stuy, so my headcanon is that otto bought it as an investment property and is letting carrie and franny stay in it at a heavily discounted rate.

brownstones are typically long and skinny, as we see here. there are really only two rooms on the first floor: the living room and the kitchen.

i love seeing all of franny’s drawings strung up on the living room wall and her chalkboard/easel in the corner. this fixes an issue i had with carrie’s berlin apartment, which was that there was a weird lack of kid stuff. i don’t think that means anything on its own — we see in 5.01 how devoted carrie was to her seemingly normal life as a mother — but it’s nice to see more little touches in her brooklyn apartment.

i assume the fireplace in the left-hand corner isn’t actually usable, but it does make the living room look homier. i’m surprised there isn’t more carpeting, since carrie loves a patterned rug. the living room looks a little cold without it. maybe she isn’t done decorating yet, though i think we’re supposed to believe they’ve been in nyc for a few months.

there’s a tv next to the fireplace in 6.05 that isn’t there in 6.01, which is very strange placement. the only furniture opposite the tv is a desk and chair, so there’s nowhere to sit comfortably while watching. i don’t think carrie spends a lot of time watching tv, but that’s still a confusing choice. i do like franny’s fuzzy chair with bunny ears, though. carrie probably ordered it on amazon but i like to imagine her schlepping it in and out of a cab.

now for the kitchen:

one nice thing the show did to convince us that this is an apartment carrie could maybe afford is that it’s not newly renovated: all the kitchen appliances are basic and/or old, and the countertops look like plastic laminate and are chipped along the edges. and there’s no room for the nice cutting boards or espresso machine she had in germany! i always find barstools charming even if they’re just a cheat to make an efficient use of counter space.

my favorite detail in the kitchen is the trio of framed drawings done by franny. again, i love all the “carrie’s a mom, remember?” touches.

the curtains are a gold color and match the curtains in the living room! carrie learned some design lessons in berlin.

even in the daytime the whole first floor feels really dark, which makes me miss the floor-to-ceiling windows in berlin. i brightened the screenshots a lot to see the details, but especially in the living room, the sunlight just doesn’t reach all the way across the house. the lack of natural light (and the fact that they filmed during the late fall) does a lot of quick work to set the dreary tone that persists for the entire season. i can’t help but compare it to the americans, which also filmed in brooklyn in the fall/winter, but at least the indoor scenes in that show were well-lit and generally warmer in both color and tone.

i associate the early seasons of homeland with warm yellows, probably because they filmed either in the desert or in charlotte in the summertime. the shift to gray winter skies and heavy coats is a little jarring, even with berlin in the middle as a transitional urban, cooler season.

that door behind carrie goes out to a set of stairs and their little backyard/patio:

it’s common, if a little depressing, to have bars on first-floor windows as shown in the second shot above, both to child-proof an apartment from the inside and to prevent break-ins. our first view of franny for the season is through those bars, but i’m not entirely sure what the symbolism is supposed to be. carrie already feels a separation from franny, maybe? this shot especially feels super foreboding.

carrie continues her trend of killer outdoor lounge furniture (remember the multiple chaises on her DC patio?) with the wooden chair with blue cushions right outside the back door. there are also more potted plants than i believe carrie would purchase/remember to water, especially in the winter, but maybe she figures if they’re outside they’ll get enough rain to survive.

i don’t have a lot to say about the patio itself other than i’m jealous that carrie has outdoor space.

inside by the stairs/front entryway is a framed berlin jazz poster which makes me inexplicably happy, and follows the same trend with the jazz posters she had in her DC apartment. it’s hard to tell what’s in the photos, so i’m choosing to believe they’re pictures of places she and franny loved in berlin, including some of the two of them taken by jonas. there is absolutely a photo of franny and carrie at the birthday party we saw in 5.01 where carrie’s wearing that balloon hat.

we don’t get to see a lot of the second floor, but i’m going to assume it’s just franny’s room, carrie’s room, carrie’s weird conspiracy closet, and a bathroom.

franny’s room is very colorful, with the rainbow sheets and rainbow polka dot curtains. it makes up for the dreariness of the first floor. behind carrie in that second shot is franny’s star lamp, which i love but have many questions about. it’s obviously an allusion to brody, of which there are many in season 6, probably because they’re in new york city and brody would have never served/been captured/turned/bonded with carrie if not for 9/11. assuming that carrie purchased this lamp for franny with brody’s memory in mind, does franny have anything else that’s star themed? if not, why this lamp? did carrie explain to franny that stars make her think of franny’s father, or is it just a secret nod for carrie alone? how often does carrie talk to franny about brody, if at all?

now we move to carrie’s conspiracy closet:

i’ve been in enough brownstones to know that sometimes there are strange inexplicable tiny rooms, which is what we have here. i’m sure this would be advertised as an office space on streeteasy but it really looks like a glorified closet with a confusing number of doors leading off of it. i count three total including the one saul came in — what are all these doors? i think the one on saul’s right goes to franny’s room but i don’t have a great spatial brain and i’m not confident about that assessment.

this conspiracy board reveal was kinda anticlimactic since very little happens with it, but i still felt like i needed to include it as a separate room since carrie clearly spends a lot of time here.

i wish we got to see carrie’s bedroom because i love to scrutinize the art she has, but sadly we’re limited to franny’s room. i’m going to assume there’s a full bath up here somewhere, and a half bath downstairs that we don’t see.

finally, we have the basement apartment that carrie allegedly rents out on airbnb. in real life it likely would be marketed as an entire unit separate from the two floors above, but since otto owns the entire brownstone / is in love with carrie he’s just letting her do whatever she wants with it.

the full kitchen is what convinces me it was supposed to be an independent unit — no one has a stove and sink and lots of cabinets in their basement. like we saw in carrie’s kitchen, none of the appliances are fancy and the countertops are nothing special, which makes the room look kinda drab but does help sell the idea that carrie could actually live here. there’s also some water damage in the corner by the fridge. i’m not sure why they decided to be realistic in season 6 — can we all recall carrie’s unnecessary two-bedroom townhouse in DC? — and it’s not particularly fun to watch, but i’m not mad about it.

the living room area of this basement actually looks cozier than carrie’s living room, with all the pillows and the exposed brick wall. i have a weakness for exposed brick walls, as we know from carrie’s DC apartment, and here it goes pretty far to make the space look homey. the couch looks like it matches the chair on her patio (with the wood frame + blue cushions), so does that mean the patio chair is meant for normal indoor use? why is it outside??

as we know from her berlin apartment, carrie really loves a two-curtain combo with a sheer under layer. these are dark green, similar to the navy ones she loved in berlin but not the same. i do like the thought of carrie taking her navy curtains with her from germany and relegating them to the basement to avoid the constant reminder of her past life, but i also have no desire to think about what it would mean that quinn ends up living in the basement with her jonas curtains. so those must be new!

in summary: musings about carrie’s role in gentrification, the color palette of the show, berlin jazz poster + photos, franny’s art on the walls, star lamp, a basement living room that’s cozier than carrie’s actual living room!

#homeland #carrie mathison #me acknowledging qu*nn's existence? only because i needed the screenshots #me bringing up jonas for no reason? of course #i cropped/brightened these photos while watching gilmore girls which sure was a tonal shift #cma*#i miss carrie even though i have every single episode at my fingertips

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thecleverdame · 5 years

Text

Caught - Part Two

Sam x Reader

Masterlist

Summary: You're arrested and interrogated as an accomplice to the notorious Winchester brothers.

Warning: Talk of past violence, death of parents, murder, rape, torture and domestic abuse/violence.

Words: 2.8k

Beta: ilikaicalie

Part 3, 4 & 5 are available now on my Patreon for a monthly pledge of 2.50. This pledge includes early access to all my stories and Patreon exclusive content. >> CLICK HERE <<

You’ve had the dreams since you were a kid. They were mostly about small stuff like the weather or the score of a football game. They were vivid dreams, so mundane that you would have deemed them insignificant if it weren’t for the fact that they always came true.

It didn’t end there. Just like the visions, the other things came small and slow as you grew older. You could roll a pencil off the desk without touching it or make the lights go out without getting anywhere near the switch.

Small stuff, bad stuff, that your mother caught you doing when you were fourteen and put the kibosh to your wild imagination.

“No child of mine…” she mumbled, dragging you upstairs by the arm.

She was deeply religious, and couldn't bear the idea of you being part of something she deemed ‘the devil’. In her mind it was all the same, Ouija boards, fortune tellers and pentagrams, it was all worshipping a horned beast.

That was the road to hell and she wasn’t about to let you walk it.

Five Years Ago

Sam holds open the door of Pinkie’s Diner and follows you inside. It sounds ridiculous but he’s so close you can feel the energy coming off him as if he’s vibrating on some frequency you’re attuned to.

The smell of greasy fries and fresh coffee wash over you like a welcomed familiarity. With one hand on your arm, Sam leads the way to a back booth, ensuring that you sit before taking a seat himself. The waitress does a double-take when she gets a good look at your battered face. Her eyes shift to Sam, then his bruised knuckles.

You can only imagine what the two of you must look like. He’s working the whole pissed off hulk vibe and you look like the poster child for the domestic violence hotline.

“You kids alright?” she asks, tapping her pad with the eraser end of a pencil.

Are you alright? No, no you’re not.

“We’re fine,” Sam grunts. “Two coffees please.”

She gives you a look but doesn't say anything else before walking away.

He stares at you for a solid minute before asking the question that’s been eating him up inside. “How’d you learn how to do that?”

“Do what?” you ask quietly, dropping your head to stare at your hands. You know exactly what he’s talking about.

Sam sits silently but you feel him fixated on you, he might as well be twisting your arm. “I didn’t learn how to do anything, I just…I’ve never done anything like that before. It was always dreams and then today...I don’t know. I just watched you and I knew I could help.”

“I don’t believe you.” Sam’s hostile, imposing his own personal brand of interrogation. He snaps forward in his seat, both hands balled on the table. He looks like a wild animal, poised and at the ready to tear you apart if you so much as breathe the wrong way.

If you hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours in a car with him you might be scared, but you’re fairly sure you make him just as nervous as he makes you.

“I don’t need you to believe me,” you growl, eyes narrowing. “You show up out of nowhere in the middle of that shit storm, kidnap me, drive me out into the boondocks and now you’re calling me a liar? You’re the one who’s fucked, buddy.”

You slap the table in frustration, the grief rising into your throat. Sam’s watching something behind you and you turn to see the waitress leaning over the counter talking to one of the patrons. They’re both staring at you, whispering to one another.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Sam continues, lowering his voice as his eyes flick back to you. “You can’t just get that strong out of nowhere. There’s no way. I worked for a year and Istill needed...help.”

“I don’t even know what that means!” you hiss. You want to be mad but you’re too tired for this shit right now. Hours of unchecked adrenaline have worn off and you’re a shell, numb and drained. Nails dig into your palms as you clench both fists. “I just came home to find-” You have to stop, choking on your own words as tears well up. “I walked into the kitchen and those two guys had my mom pinned to the fucking counter and they were cutting her. I couldn’t even scream I was so scared. The other guy was holding my dad but I knew he was already dead, there was so much blood, no one could survive that. I must have surprised them, but all I remember is being punched in the jaw and everything went black. When I opened my eyes, you were there.”

You’re sobbing quietly, so sleep deprived that you can’t even begin to control your emotions.

“It’s okay.” He sighs. “I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.” Sam relaxes a little, reaching across the table to pat the back of your hand. “I’m sorry about your parents. I tried to get there in time. I tried to save them.”

The waitress arrives with two cups of coffee, setting them in the middle of the table.

“Anything else I can get for you two?” Indignantly she eyes Sam who looks irked by her unspoken accusation.

“You hungry?” he asks and you nod yes. “Two burgers and fries. To go, please.”

“I’d like a cheeseburger,” you add, wiping tears from your cheek with the sleeve of your shirt.

“You got it, sweetheart.” She offers you a sad little smile and walks away.

“Why don’t you tell me how the hell you did that?” you whisper, staring at him. “You pull some Chuck Norris moves and then black smoke is coming out of people. “

“You helped with that,” he counters, cocking his head.

“It’s not like I knew I could...until I did it.” You drop your head. You’ve always been so desperate to fit in. To be like everyone else. But after the last twenty-four hours, it’s never been more obvious that you couldn’t be less normal. You’re an oddity, but it seems like maybe this guy is too.

“And what exactly is it that you did, Y/N?”

“I don’t know.” You roll your eyes, tipping the back of your head against the booth. You’re exasperated and exhausted. “I just grabbed your hand, closed my eyes and concentrated and bam. Exploding, sizzling black smoke was coming out of people’s mouths.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you've never done anything like that before,” Sam insists, both hands sliding palm down across the table as he leans closer.

“I swear to God, I have no idea what’s going on. I’m scared and hungry. I can’t think anymore. Please, Sam. Just lay off for a little bit, will ya?”

This seems to strike a chord, he nods toward the motel across the parking lot. “We can get a room for a couple of hours. You can sleep if you want.”

“So we’re getting rooms together now?” you raise an eyebrow.

“Y/N,” he shakes his head, at the end of his rope as much as you are. “You’re just gonna have to trust me.”

There’s something about him. Maybe it’s his eyes, Sam has kind eyes. But you also watched him kill with the ease and precision of someone trained to do it. He might be trustworthy but he’s also lethal. “Are you going to throw me over your shoulder again if I try to leave?”

“No, I won’t try to stop you,” he confirms. Sitting back in the booth, tucking his arms under the table.

“But?” You swirl your finger in a circle. “Come on. I know there’s big ol’ but coming.”

“You need to stay with me. You’re not safe.”

“Not safe? Not safe from black smoke?”

“Among other things.”

“Wonderful,” you mutter, more to yourself than him.

A fifty dollar room and a cheeseburger later you’re feeling a little less like walking death. You shower, peeling off dirty clothes you’d rather burn than put back on. There are little splatters of blood on everything if you look close enough, even your underwear is a reminder of what happened, little red dots that soaked through your jeans.

“You think there’s a laundromat around here?” you ask, inching out of the musty bathroom with a tiny motel towel wrapped around you.

“Probably, but you can’t go like that and I can’t leave you alone.” He’s careful not to look at you, surprisingly respectful for someone who easily breaks so many other rules.

Sam digs through his things, offering you a wrinkled shirt from his backpack. “It’s clean.”

“Thanks.”

The flannel falls almost to your knees, it’s long enough that you’re willing to brave going to sleep without putting dirty panties back on. You crawl into the bed furthest from the door and watch Sam watch TV until your eyes finally close.

Present Day

“Talk to me about what your life is like?” The psychiatrist sits across the table from you. He’s an unassuming, mousy little man in his late fifties, maybe he’s older but it’s hard to get a read on him.

“Boring,” you huff, picking at the peeling laminate covering the table top.

“I find that hard to believe,” he counters, smiling softly at you. “They found your fingerprints at a break-in. That doesn’t sound boring at all to me.”

“I don’t usually participate in that part of things,” you admit, sitting back in the chair. This is an intricate dance between honesty and a story you need to weave. They already know a lot, there’s no point in denying most of it.

“Tell me then, what is your role in all of this?”

“Laundry,” you shrug, looking him in the eyes. “Cooking, cleaning, moral support.”

“So, Sam and Dean go out and do the dirty work and you what? Keep the home fires burning?”

“Pretty much.”

“That must be hard. Isolating. Do you ever stay in one place for very long?”

Is he fishing for information for the cops? You’re not sure. This could just be him honestly trying to get a handle of what your day-to-day life entails.

If only he knew. The bunker is a full-time job. It’s huge and when you’re not playing doomsday housewife, there are rooms of files to be organized and documents to be scanned and electronically catalogued. There’s always something to be done.

“Sometimes,” you admit. “When it’s safe.”

“And Sam leaves you on your own?”

“Yeah...” you nod, beginning to understand where this is headed.

“He must really trust you...to leave you alone without worrying that you’ll run away.”

“He does,” you respond simply.

“Did you ever try?”

“Try what?” Your eyes narrow, watching him jot down notes on his legal pad. “Did I try to get away from him?”

“Yes,” he confirms, pulling off his glasses to look at you. “Did you ever try to tell someone what happened to you? Or attempt an escape?”

“Yeah, a couple of times.” You smile to yourself thinking about those first months.

“And what happened?”

“The first time the men who killed my parents came for me. Sam had to save my ass yet again from certain death. And the second time he caught me and talked me into staying.”

“That must have been some conversation,” he offers quietly without looking up.

“It was.” Your mouth twitches as those memories flood back. Sam’s earnest declaration of affection and a kiss that said everything else. A sad little motel room with decaying wallpaper and the feeling of his hands on your skin. The stretch of him inside you that first time. You fucked on a squeaky mattress while Dean waited in the car for his brother to convince you to come back. “He made a lot of really good points.”

“Has he ever hurt you?” he asks, tapping the inky tip of the pen on the paper.

This is where things get...delicate.

You need them to keep you here. You’ve been in holding at the local sheriff’s office for two days now. When they do move you, it’ll be to a more secure facility. It doesn’t matter if that’s a psychiatric hospital or the county jail. Both of those places are hard to get out of. You need to stay here, where it’s easy for Sam to get to you. He’ll come for you, it’s only a matter of time. That is if he’s alive, but you have to have faith. It’s all you’ve got anymore.

If you refuse to talk about it, they’ll label you as uncooperative and formally arrest you. After processing you’d be sent to the county jail. If they think you’re nuts, finally broken after years with the Winchesters, you’ll be committed, at least for a while.

This place is best. Security is minimal, but you doubt you’ve got too much longer. They have to know that Sam will try to get you out.

“Y/N,” Dr. Harold repeats himself. “I asked if Sam has ever hurt you.”

If you say no, if you try to explain that the people in the video they have are not you and Sam, he’ll think you’re delusional. You have to admit to at least some of it, despite how sick the very idea makes you feel.

“Not on purpose.”

There. That’s honest.

“I’m going to show you some photos and I want you to tell me what happened.” He opens a folder, pulling the first page. He turns it in your direction sliding it across the table. “You were calling yourself Tabitha Ripley.”

They found your fake IDs. They have more than you realized, every fake name you’ve used over the past five years.

You’re staring at a hospital admission form and three grainy photos from various angles. Your face is beaten and swollen. Two black eyes swelled shut and a broken nose that made your entire face blow up like a balloon. You looked like that for weeks.

And it wasn’t just your face, you’d broken an arm and a collar bone in that fight. It was a vampire that intended to avenge the death of his nest. It followed Sam home and nearly killed you before Dean came back early and saved your bacon. That was the attack that finally spurred Sam to teach you how to defend yourself.

“I, umm,” you gulp, remembering of the weight of the creature on top of you with its arm around your throat. You’d thought that was it, you were going to die on the shag carpet of an abandoned house. “I was mugged.”

“I see.” He makes a mark on his paper. “What about this one? You were calling yourself Holly Costagan, I believe.”

“Shit,” you breathe out. You’ve tried to put this incident out of your mind. Out of all the awful things that have happened to you, this was by far the most traumatic.

They were hunters. Four men who were convinced that Sam was the enemy, that he was going to end the world somehow. When they couldn’t find Sam they took you as their consolation prize and tortured you. The black and blue fingerprints around your wrist, the burn on your forearm, and the remaining scar are a painful reminder of the older man holding your arm over the stove.

There are still several dozen scars on your back from the tiny cuts they made, insistent on asking questions you didn’t have the answers to. They had you for a week before Sam broke down the door and killed all four of them.

Your hands shake as you trace over the hospital photos.

“This wasn’t Sam.” You close your eyes, unable to look at them anymore.

“Another mugging?” The doctor asks, his tone is gentle, he wants you to share. He probably thinks he can help you if he can get you to open up.

“Yeah,” you confirm staring at your hands. “Another mugging.”

“We can help, you know,” he offers. “You’re not the only one. Lots of women don’t leave. You don’t need to worry about what people will think, we’re professionals and we understand what you’ve been through. We have doctors who can help you heal. But we need you to cooperate with the police. I can’t do anything for you if you're in prison.”

This is it, right where you need to be. They think you’re abused but rational. They’ll keep you here for questioning and you can stall, for days if need be. A traumatized victim can ask for breaks, draw out the process long enough for Sam and Dean to come and get you.

“Okay,” you nod, looking at him with a wilted smile. “What do you want to know?”

#sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester x you #sam winchester smut

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imlovethomassanders · 5 years

Text

Home for Christmas

So four of my fics didn’t show up in the tags because they had links to my ao3 account in them, so I’m reposting them w/o the links because I heavily depend on the tags for people to see them.

This one took a long time to write and I’m really proud of it, so while I appreciate if you read any of my fics I’d really love for you to check this one out.

My ao3 account is glassesgay Check out my masterlist for the rest of my fics

Requested by anonymous

Summary: Roman comes back to his home town for Christmas after a few years away and runs into his high school sweetheart, Virgil.

Ships: Prinxiety, mentioned Logicality, mentioned RemyXEmile

Warnings: mentions of abuse and some allusions to sex (nothing actually n\s\f\w) and Virgil swears quite a bit

Word Count: 5761

Not posting my taglist since they were tagged in the original post

Roman sighed as he stopped the rental car in his parents driveway. He stared at the familiar house in front of him with a look of disdain curling on his lip.

He hadn’t been home in five years, and he never suspected he would ever come back.

Roman worked hard throughout high school to earn money and scholarships for college. Throughout college, he worked hard at maintaining his grades but also to get enough money to move to New York. He somehow managed to do it, and found an apartment outside of New York City and found a roommate named Patton.

It had been really rough at first with both him and Patton skipping meals and walking in the snow around the city because he couldn’t afford a taxi. But then Patton’s boyfriend, Logan, moved in with them, and with three people paying rent, things got a little easier.

After a year in New York, Roman was then finally able to find his footing and got acting gigs. He suspected if he kept auditioning, he could definitely make his Broadway debut someday.

Driving through his small hometown, memories flooded back to him and none of them were pleasant. He had been a big-city kid stuck in a small town. Nothing exciting ever happened. They didn’t have a theater. Their theater program in school was severely underfunded.

His parents never supported him or listened to him or cared.

Roman had to get out. And that’s what he did.

He told himself he’d never look back.

But one day, out of the blue, his parents called and asked him to come home for Christmas. Why now, after five years of no contact, Roman didn’t know. He didn’t know if they wanted money or wanted him to move back in or what.

Roman had no idea why he said yes. He half thought to turn back around to the airport.

Instead, he got out the car and grabbed his suitcase from the trunk. His legs moved on autopilot as he walked towards the front door. The dip in the pathway was there. Don’t step there, that spot gets really slick with ice. There’s where the concrete steps up.

He stopped and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After a few moments the door swung open and there was his mom.

She looked the same.

“Hi, Mom.”

She smiled. “Roman! It’s so good to see you!”

He was ushered inside his childhood home to see everything was the same. The crack in the window from when Roman threw rocks at is a a kid. The water damage from a leak they took too long to fix. Scratches on the wood floor from Roman’s toy cars.

Absolutely nothing had changed.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his dad grasping his shoulder.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Roman.”

“We made your bed,” Roman’s mom said. “You’re room is all ready.”

Roman gave a curt smile and nodded before walking down the hall to his room. All the drawings he made with marker as a child were still there. Significantly faded, but still there. He opened the door, and the only thing different was the bed sheets. Musical posters lined the walls and sheet music littered his desk and floor. Old monologues were sticking out of one of his drawers. Paint stains littered the carpet in the corner of the room with his easel.

His heart panged in his chest as a wave of bitter nostalgia washed through him.

He didn’t miss this room.

He was starting to unpack his suitcase when he remembered something.

He got on his knees and looked under the bed to see an old shoebox hidden against the back wall. He pulled it out and felt another sharp pang in his chest.

Roman sat down on his bed and looked at the box in his lap. He took a deep breath before opening it. A small rainbow flag laid on top of stacks of papers. He placed the flag next to him and continued. Phone numbers for LGBT+ suicide hotlines were written on a scrap piece of notebook paper along with resource websites. Pamphlets advertising for the school’s small Gay-Straight Alliance. Roman remembered telling his parents he had tutoring after school so he could go to the GSA without him knowing.

There was a rainbow and HRC sticker he never got the courage to put on his laptop. Informational packets given to him by the GSA about different identities. Invitations for the GSA Christmas parties. A laminated piece of paper to show his teachers on the Day of Silence to explain why he wasn’t talking.

After he picked up the last piece of paper, he saw a photo of him and his high school boyfriend at the very bottom. Roman was kissing his cheek while he was laughing. He quickly shoved the papers back on top of it and closed the box.

They had originally tried to keep in touch when Roman went off to college, but since he was a year younger than Roman he was stuck in his senior year of high school as Roman left the state. Things got in the way and after about a year they lost contact.

A wave of sadness washed over him before bitter anger. He was angry at the fact he had to hide this from his parents. He was angry over how much pain this caused him as young, confused, desperate teenager.

He shoved the box back under his bed and went to finish unpacking.

Roman’s parents asked if he wanted to stay for dinner, but he said he was going to meet somebody. He assured them he would stay tomorrow, he just wanted to get reacquainted with the town.

He wasn’t actually meeting anyone. He just wanted out of that house.

Roman had parked the rental car in the first parking spot he saw in the little shopping district his town had. He stepped out and felt another wave of sadness as he decided where to go.

He walked to a little coffee shop he and his boyfriend would visit a lot. Being in different classes, they couldn’t see each other much at school and neither of them wanted to deal with their parents, so they came here to spend time together and enjoy each others company. It was his favorite place in town.

(Well, his actual favorite spot had been parked in an abandoned lot in the woods, the two of them together in the backseat of Roman’s car. But he wasn’t going to admit that.)

He opened the door to walk in when he ran into someone who was trying to leave at the same time.

He went to apologize and froze in his tracks.

Roman couldn’t believe it.

There he was, standing right in front of him.

Virgil Moore.

They both stared at each other in shock, trying to come up with what to say. They quickly stepped away from the door as someone cleared their throat behind them, annoyed they were blocking the exit.

“I- Virgil,” Roman breathed out. “It’s so wonderful to see you.”

“I- um- yeah,” Virgil stuttered out.

If anything had changed in this town, it was Virgil. He had this emo/goth aesthetic he was always too scared to commit to in high school, but here he was in black jeans and a hoodie. He had had always talked about wanting to paint his nails, and now that Roman saw him with black nail polish he felt a surge of pride go through him. Not only that, but his hair was purple and he pierced his ears.

He looked incredible.

“Sit with me, please?” Roman asked, eyes wide and hopeful. Virgil just nodded as he followed Roman to a table.

Roman didn’t even bother getting coffee. He had bigger priorities now.

“How have you been? What have you been up to? I can’t believe it’s been five years. I’ve missed you. Have you-”

“Slow down, Princey,” Virgil said. Roman’s heart fluttering at the old nickname.

“How have you been, Virgil?”

Virgil opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. Eventually he just huffed a defeated sigh and slouched back in his chair.

“As well as I could be in this town, I guess.”

Roman’s smile faltered a bit.

“How about you?”

Roman hesitated to answer, wanting to be careful with his words. He didn’t have a bad thing to say about his past five years out of this town, and he didn’t want to make Virgil feel worse.

“I want you to tell the truth, Roman,” Virgil eventually said. “It isn’t going to upset me.”

Roman melted under the sound of his name escaping Virgil’s mouth again as he allowed his smile to widen.

“I’ve been fantastic,” Roman said. “I live in New York now and everything is going so well.”

“Glad to hear it,” Virgil muttered into his coffee.

“You said you wouldn’t get mad,” Roman said.

“I’m not,” Virgil sighed. “Jealous, perhaps. But not mad.”

Roman went to say something when Virgil looked at his phone.

“Shit, I’ve got to go home. My parents are expecting me.”

“You still live with your parents?”

“They haven’t allowed otherwise.”

Roman winced.

“Is your number the same?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll text you.”

“You still have my number memorized?” Roman said, giving Virgil a cheeky smile. Blush quickly formed on Virgil’s face.

“I’ll see you later, Roman.”

Roman watched as Virgil left, smile wide and heart racing.

Roman was giddy as he walked back to his rental car. He had finally got his coffee and had grabbed a sandwich there too, but all he wanted to do now was go back to his bedroom and wait for Virgil to text him.

After a few hours of lying on his bed and lounging on his laptop, he heard his phone ding on his desk.

He almost threw his laptop off him as he untangled himself from his blankets.

Unknown Number: roman?

Roman: Virgil?

Virgil: yeah

Roman felt his smile grow on his face.

Roman: It was nice to see you again.

Virgil: yeah

Roman: Are you free anytime this week? I’d like to see you again.

Virgil: i have work tomorrow but im free the rest of the week for the holidays

Roman: Want to grab lunch sometime?

They arranged plans, and Roman fell asleep excited, not wanting to wait for the day after tomorrow to come.

Virgil groaned as he woken up by the blare of his alarm clock. He hit the off button and pushed himself up. He shuffled towards the bathroom he shared with his parents. As he stepped in the shower and let the hot water wash over him, he heard his parents yelling at each other.

So it was going to be one of those days.

As he got ready for work, they kept fighting - their voices getting louder and louder.

Virgil didn’t like that he was used to this.

Eventually, he was finally ready to go and went to grab his wallet, keys, and phone before heading out.

Virgil hated living with his parents. He was twenty-two. He should have been able to go to college and meet new people and experience new things and get away from this hell town and shitty parents.

Like Roman did.

But he couldn’t. His parents were controlling and abusive and wouldn’t let him leave.

It wasn’t like Virgil could afford to leave anyways.

Virgil had been working as much as he can to earn enough to make it out of here. He was so close it was maddening.

As he walked out the front door, his phone dinged.

Roman: Good morning~

Virgil felt heat rise in his face. Roman used to always send him good morning texts when they were dating.

Virgil didn’t know what to make of all this. He and Roman were dating, then Roman went off to do bigger and better things while Virgil was stuck here.

And then out of the blue, Roman just shows up again and wants to act like nothing happened.

Did Virgil even want to reconnect with Roman? Sure, they were crazy about each other in high school, but they were only teenagers.

Roman had changed. He was taller, tanner, more fit, and more put together. But the most recognizable thing was how confident he seemed. None of that fake confidence he put up in high school, but genuine confidence.

Virgil couldn’t deny how happy that made him to see Roman like that. Especially after how the numerous times Virgil had to comfort Roman, trying to make him see past his self doubts and see how amazing he was.

He couldn’t deny that part of him wanted to see Roman again. What are the odds they run into each other?

So Virgil texted Roman a quick “hey” before getting in his car and driving to work.

Virgil worked at a clothing store, and working retail sucked . His manager sucked, the owner sucked, most of the customers sucked, and even the clothes there sucked.

It sucked.

Virgil couldn’t get on his phone until his lunch break, and that’s when he saw Roman had texted him.

Repeatedly.

Roman: I hope you’re doing well this morning~ It was so strange to sleep in my bedroom again. Remember all those times you stayed the night? Those were nice. I’m excited to see you.

Virgil’s face got red. He wished Roman would stop talking about when they dated.

And god, how could Virgil forget. He’d bring a sleeping bag to let Roman’s parents think it was a normal sleepover, but as soon as Roman’s parents went to bed he’d cuddle up with Roman on his bed.

They never dared to do much since Roman’s parents were right across the hall, but some of their most tender moments were shared in his bedroom, with Roman’s arms wrapped tightly around him.

Virgil shook his head.

Roman: I hope I’m not bothering you with all these texts. Oh wait I forgot you had work I hope work isn’t too bad today

Virgil: im on my lunch break now i see you still talk too much

Roman: Hey! Do not. Seriously though - you doing okay?

Virgil: as well as i can be in retail

Roman: ouch

Virgil walked into the Taco Bell and put his phone in his pocket to order. Once he sat down with his food, he saw Roman had continued to text him a lot.

Roman: I hope everything’s okay. I never asked, where do you work? When I left you were working at McDonald’s, but it doesn’t sound like you work there anymore.

Virgil: a boutique filled with too much turquoise and paisley

Roman: Sounds fun. Remember when I tried to work fast food but got fired for arguing with customers too much?

Virgil: how could i forget you used to get us both in trouble

Roman: Haha, sorry.

Virgil was scared by how easy it was to talk to Roman. Things were so different now. Roman was so different now. He was so different now.

But they were talking like Roman never left.

The next day, Roman got up early. After a painfully slow day with his parents, he was ready to see Virgil again.

They had a lot of catching up to do.

Roman whistled happily as he walked out the front door, spinning his key ring on his finger.

Virgil was adamant they had not meet at the same coffee shop. Roman had suspected it had something to do with how much time they spent there together in high school. So they decided to meet in a nearby bakery.

Virgil was already there, shaking his leg and twisting his hoodie string. It was a nervous tick he had in high school, and Roman thought it was cute that he kept it all these years. Virgil saw him walk towards the table and waved.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Roman said as he sat down. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Virgil shrugged. “You?”

“Fantastic, now,” Roman said as he pulled the chair closer to the table.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Cause you look more beautiful than I remember,” Roman grinned.

Virgil’s cheeks turned a dark red.

“Oh, shut up,” Virgil muttered.

“Tell me everything that’s happened since I left,” Roman said.

“Not much,” Virgil admitted. “You left, I finished my senior year of high school. I got a job at this dumb little boutique, trying to earn enough to leave. My parents won’t let me get an apartment of my own, so I’m planning on leaving one day without telling them.”

“Where?”

Virgil shrugged. “Anywhere. Away.”

They stopped talking as a waitress came to take their order.

“What have you been doing since you left?” Virgil asked.

“Well, obviously, I went to college. Those four years went by so quickly, Virgil.”

“Tell me everything about it,” Virgil said suddenly, eyes bright. “I’ll never get to go, so I want to hear about your experiences.”

This caught Roman by surprise, but he smiled and relaxed in his chair.

“Yeah, alright. Well, my freshman year started with a roommate named Jacob. He was the worst . But I met some great people, too. Valerie, for starters. She was also a musical theater major.”

They stopped talking as the waitress gave them their drinks.

“I met Damien that year. He’s majoring in theatrical makeup. He’s a snarky asshole, but we love him anyways,” Roman continued. “My sophomore year my roommate was Remy. Oh, god, imagine the sassiest gay guy you know. He’s sassier. We stayed roommates for the rest off college. He’s one of my best friends. He later introduced me to his boyfriend Emile who’s studying to be a therapist. He’s great, if not a bit too obsessed with cartoons. Even more so than myself.

Classes were hard, but god, all my theater courses were a dream . My sophomore year I slacked off a bit in my studies because Remy always knew where the next party was. I was, uh, pretty crazy that year.”

“Oh?” Virgil asked. “Roman? A party animal? Never saw it coming,” he teased. Roman stuck his tongue out.

Roman continued to talk about his best experiences. The parties, the performances, the times spent with friends.

While Virgil was happy to see Roman had a good time, it also left a bitter taste in his mouth to know he missed out on so much.

Roman let it slip that he dated somebody. He snapped his mouth shut and looked at Virgil with scared, wide eyes as he waited for a reaction.

“You dated?” Virgil asked.

“But none of them lasted very long,” Roman said quickly. “They were fun, sure, but ultimately they didn’t mean anything.”

“It’s not a big deal, Roman. We aren’t dating anymore,” Virgil said.

Roman stopped breathing

“Yeah, you’re right,” he whispered, staring at the floor.

“I mean, I dated a couple of guys while you were gone,” Virgil said.

Silence. Virgil knew that wasn’t what Roman wanted to hear, but it was something that needed to be acknowledged.

“Do you think…” Roman started slowly. “We could ever get back together?”

That was the question Virgil had been dreading. He took a deep breath before it was his turn to stare at the floor.

“I don’t know, Roman. I really don’t know. Let’s just see go through this week, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Roman said softly.

“So what are you doing now?” Virgil asked.

“I live in New York,” Roman said, trying to build up the same energy he had earlier. “I’m rooming with my friends Patton and Logan. Damien, Remy, Emile, and I all keep in touch regularly. I’ve gotten a couple of acting gigs and if everything keeps going as well as it is now I’ll definitely be able to make my Broadway debut someday.”

“Make sure you get me tickets for that,” Virgil said. "You never shut up about Broadway in high school. I’d like to see all that carrying on was for something.“

“Of course,” Roman laughed.

The week went by too quickly. While Roman made sure to spend as much time with Virgil as possible, it was never enough. Roman had scheduled to leave the day after Christmas, but now Roman was regretting that decision.

Near the end of the week, Virgil finally agreed to meet Roman back in the coffee shop. So here they were, talking and laughing just like they used to.

Roman was happy to see Virgil was just as comfortable around him now as he used to be.

He also couldn’t ignore the blushes and soft gazes on Virgil’s face, just as Virgil couldn’t ignore the ones on Roman’s.

"Oh my god! I can’t believe you did that!” Virgil laughed. Roman smiled and shrugged.

“I was 19, drunk, and stupid.”

Virgil continued to laugh for a bit before stopping, wiping tears from his eyes.

“I forgot how much I missed this,” Roman whispered. “I forgot how much I missed you.”

“Roman…” Virgil started.

“I don’t think my feelings for you ever went away completely,” Roman said. “They just started to fade. And maybe after five years that’s really pathetic, but I don’t care.”

“Roman, I-”

“And I don’t want to leave this town until I know what you’re feelings towards me are right now,” Roman finished.

“I- I don’t know. I’d like to, but I don’t know,” Virgil admitted. “It’s been five years Roman. So much has changed and- and we have so much we’d have to talk about-”

“Let’s talk, then,” Roman pleaded. Virgil was starting to get panicky, so Roman backed off a bit.

“I- I don’t want to talk where people could hear us,” Virgil admitted.

“…Let’s go to that spot in the woods,” Roman said.

“ Roman! ” Virgil hissed.

“No, no! Not like that,” Roman clarified. “Where we know for certain no one else is around. It’ll just be us two. We don’t have to worry about anything else but ourselves.

Virgil hesitated for a few moments. “Fine, yeah. Let’s just go.”

Roman led Virgil out of the coffee shop and into the rental car. Virgil was silent the who car ride, making Roman nervous.

As Roman drove down the bumpy dirt roads, he noticed Virgil was biting his nails. A bad habit he tried to drop in high school and only resorted to when he was really nervous.

Roman parked and they both just stared ahead.

“What’s bothering you, Virge?” Roman asked, pulling out his high school nickname for Virgil.

Virgil huffed and got out of the car. Roman quickly followed as they went to sit on the trunk.

They both stared straight ahead for a few moments.

“I’ll go first,” Roman offered. Virgil said nothing. "I was devastated when you stopped answering my texts, but I also understood. It’s hard to maintain a long distance relationship at such a young age.

But we’re older now. And with more life experience, I know we had something really special, Virgil.“

Roman was getting choked up and had to pause for a moment. Virgil looked down at the ground.

"And seeing you after five years really made me realize that. This past week has been amazing. And I know things would be different now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be great. Based on this week alone, I think we could really make this work.”

Roman took a shaky breath. Virgil reached out and placed a hand on Roman’s knee. Roman placed a hand over Virgil’s, and they both sat in silence for a few minutes. Not awkward, not peaceful. Just silent.

“When you left,” Virgil started, voice sounding really loud after pure silence. "I was completely alone. I felt abandoned. I understand now that it isn’t your fault and I would have taken the same chance you did. But at the time I was angry. I had no other friends in that school or anyone else I trusted, Roman.“

Roman squeezed Virgil’s hand as he took a deep breath.

"You were so excited about everything. You were having a great time while I was just stuck. I was so angry that I would never get the chance to go to college. So I thought I was angry at you. I quickly found out I wasn’t angry at you, but at myself and my parents and basically everything else. But not you. Never you. So that anger devolved into self-hatred. This was my fault. I deserved to be alone. I thought you didn’t deserve to deal with my sorry ass anymore, so I stopped answering your calls and texts.”

They were both close to tears now.

“Virgil, darling, I-”

“And I shouldn’t have done that. How much did I take away from us? Five years of what could have been happiness.”

“Virgil, I-”

“And I guess I’m still angry and jealous, but not at you. Because I’m stuck in this town when all I want is to leave. I want to leave this town and be free of everything this town did to me.”

“…How are your parents?” Roman asked. His mind flashed back to all the times Roman helped Virgil after he came to Roman’s house covered in scrapes and bruises. The times he had to hold Virgil while he cried because of his parent’s cruel words. The times Virgil had to sneak into Roman’s bedroom window because his parents kicked him out for the night.

Roman would never forgive them.

“The physical abuse stopped as I got older. But shit, Roman,. The verbal and emotional has only gotten worse.”

“Virgil, I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to reconnect with you. I knew what you were stuck with, but I didn’t try harder to help you,” Roman said. The tears they were both holding back escaped their eyes.

“Jesus, Roman. Don’t cry or you’re gonna make it worse,” Virgil said, wiping away his own tears.

“Sorry,” Roman muttered as he wiped his eyes.

“I want to leave,” Virgil whispered, staring at the woods in front of them. "I want to leave so badly. I want to go out and show my art and my stories to the world. I want the same opportunities you had, Roman. I’m trying so hard to leave but I’m just… scared. Scared I’ll go somewhere else and nothing will change. I’ll still be pathetic and I’ll still be alone.“

Silence fell between them. The sky was starting to grow dark around them as the air grew colder.

”…Come back with me.“

"What?”

“Come back with me to New York,” Roman said, more insistent this time as he turned more towards Virgil. Virgil stared at him.

“I- I-”

“My roommates won’t mind. With another person paying rent, it’ll just make things easier. And- and I’ll let you take my room and I’ll stay on the couch, I don’t care. I can help you find a job and I can show you all my favorite places and-”

“Roman I can’t just leave with you.”

“Why not? You’d finally have freedom, Virgil! You can have the opportunities to get your art and creations out there!”

Virgil looked overwhelmed, so Roman reached out and gently put Virgil’s hands in his, holding them to his chest. "I know it’s sudden and I know it’s a lot, but I promise you that I’ll be with you every step of the way.“

"This is crazy,” Virgil whispered.

“Probably.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Definitely.”

“We met for the first time in five years a week ago. I can’t just- I- I mean I want- I-”

“I’ll let you think about it,” Roman said. "I’m still in town for a few more days. And if you still haven’t made up your mind by then, I’ll wait for your answer in New York. And if you say yes, I’ll come down and get you.

“This could be the dumbest decision I’ll ever make in my life.”

“Doesn’t that make it more exciting?” Roman asked, eyes twinkling.

“I’ll think about it,” Virgil sighed as he took his hands out of Roman’s.

The next day, Virgil and Roman met up again. To Virgil’s relief, Roman didn’t mention the offer. Not the next day, nor the next.

They just hung out together like everything was normal, and that’s exactly what Virgil wanted.

Christmas was painful. Roman’s parents asked him to spend the entire day with him, but Roman really just wanted to see Virgil.

Roman still couldn’t tell what his parents wanted. Were they trying to sweeten him up with Christmas to ask for something? Or were they genuinely wanting to reconnect with their son?

Roman had no idea.

Roman went through the motions and was nice and grateful. If his mother was anything, she was a really good cook, so he had that going for him that day.

All in all, it was just as he expected.

It was late at night when he got a call from Virgil.

“Hey, Virgil. What’s-”

“Roman? Where are you?” Virgil asked, voice shaking. Roman could hear him struggling to breath, and Roman knew exactly what was happening.

“Hey, hey, Virgil. Remember the breathing exercises you learned. Good, good. You’re doing so good, Virge. It’s okay. Everything’s okay,” Roman said, relief washing over him as he heard Virgil’s breath become more steady. "What happened?“

"My dad- he- fuck.”

“Do you need to come over?” Roman offered.

Silence.

“Yeah,” Virgil said quietly.

“My parents are about to go to bed, so-”

“I’ll come in your window,” Virgil finished.

“I’ll see you soon,” Virge.“

"Yeah,” Virgil said before hanging up.

About ten minutes later there was a light tapping on the window. Roman went to open it, struggling a bit against the resistance due to lack of use, but eventually opened it. Virgil immediately fell into Roman’s arms and buried his head into Roman’s chest. Roman let Virgil hug him as he closed the window again before turning all his attention to Virgil.

“What happened?” Roman whispered. Virgil was struggling to keep his sobs silent as he knew his parents might hear.

“My dad and I got in a fight,” Virgil muttered into Roman’s chest. “And I got so angry I told him I was leaving to New York.”

Virgil was getting worked up again so Roman shushed him as he led them to the bed to sit down.

“And- and he just, lost it,” Virgil said. “He tried to beat me for the first time in years. And when I grabbed his arm to stop him he started yelling all sorts of shit. And the worst part was that all the memories of this happened in the past came back at once, making me have an anxiety attack, and I ran outside and called you and I just-”

Roman shushed him gently. “It’s okay. You’re here now. Nothing’s going to happen to you anymore.”

Roman gently removed Virgil’s arms from around him. Virgil didn’t object as they’ve been through these motions many times before, five years ago. Roman got a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and offered them to Virgil. Virgil changed in front of Roman with no problem, having done it countless times before, five years ago.

Roman climbed into bed and Virgil climbed in next to him. Roman was hesitant to wrap his arms around Virgil, but Virgil curled up next to him, resting his head on the crook of Roman’s neck.

“I never told you, but I did miss you,” Virgil whispered as Roman pulled the blankets over them, warm breath on Roman’s neck. "And it made me really happy to see you again.“

"And I’m going to New York with you. Even though you’re crazy.”

“You make me crazy.”

“And you make me stupid.”

Roman laughed at that but quickly caught himself and glanced towards the door.

“It’s really like we’re in high school again,” Virgil muttered. Virgil then adjusted himself so he was propped up on his elbow and looking directly at Roman.

“I think we can make this work,” Virgil whispered. "It’ll be different, and not always easy, but I think we can do this. I’m willing to work for it if you are.“

"My darling, I’m willing to do anything for you,” Roman muttered as he went to move a stray piece of hair from Virgil’s face. Virgil looked at him for a moment before closing the gap between them and connected their lips.

This kiss was softer than any kiss they shared before. Roman’s hand was rested on Virgil’s cheek as the kiss deepened, but still just as slow.

Virgil pulled away first, staring at Roman with that adoring look Roman hadn’t seen since high school, causing his heart to jump in his chest.

“I’m really scared, Roman,” Virgil admitted as he laid back down and intertwined their fingers. “But I trust you.”

Roman and Virgil woke up early that morning and got dressed as quickly as possible. Roman was thankfully able to order Virgil a plane ticket with him to New York. Roman quickly threw his suitcase back together. He handed Virgil the car keys to sneak out the window and wait on him while he went to see his parents

He hugged his parents goodbye with the promise to call them in a couple of days, deciding they genuinely wanted to reconnect with him.

It was a holiday of reconnecting.

He couldn’t get to Virgil’s house fast enough. He walked into Virgil’s bedroom and saw it also hadn’t changed much. Band posters and decor still littered the walls, along with art supplies everywhere and crumpled up papers from failed writing drafts.

He helped Virgil pack his stuff, which was easier than Roman expected as Virgil already knew what he was willing to leave behind (he had been planning his leave for a long time). Virgil took one last look at his bedroom before grabbing Roman’s hand to walk towards the front door.

Virgil’s parents were clearly angry, but never tried to intervene. Probably because Roman was very tall and very fit.

Virgil stopped Roman and the two couples just stared at each other.

Virgil then grabbed Roman’s face and kissed him. When he looked back at his parents, their faces were one of disgust and shock.

That was all the goodbye he was going to grace them with.

Virgil took Roman’s hand and let Roman lead him towards the car and towards the unknown. He was scared, but he felt safe, as all his trust was in Roman again.

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #prinxiety

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bookenders · 5 years

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Happy Storyteller Saturday~! 💖 Let's see... I'd love to learn more about your Fish Food cast, how about: If each oc had to (and I mean HAD TO. No getting out of this >.>) participate in an art exhibition of some kind, what would they make? Is it actually good? Would they enjoy making it?

Storyteller Saturday!

Ah, @quilloftheclouds, continuing your tradition of asking me questions that make my brain run off into the sunset with an army of ideas, I see. 💜

I think I’ll take this one in a few different directions. I’ll do one for them as heroes/villains and one for them as off-duty civilians. The civilian ones will be listed first. And as for them being good, that’s up to you!

This got long, so my very fun answers are under the cut!

Iron Will: One of his powers is structure-strengthening, which is also his favorite (because it’s the most helpful without being too damaging, of course), so he’d make a big twisty metal sculpture that looks like a demolished building. But if you look at it from certain angles, it takes the form of twisted metal bird wings. At a glance, you wouldn’t be able to tell how in the hell this thing is staying together. The artist is just that good. (Nope, he’s cheating, but he doesn’t care. Might as well use what you’ve got, right?) And he does enjoy making it. It’s not often that he gets to use his powers the way he wants to.

His hero one would likely be co-opted by the Coalition and turned into a big PR stunt because the poor guy can’t catch a break. I see it involving making statues by touching a big marble/stone block and strengthening the shape of the statue within it before they smash it and the statue emerges. Every sculptor’s dream. It works to show off his powers, his skill with said powers, give the COH some positive community-based PR, and show everyone how powerful they are. Will thinks it’s dumb, difficult, boring, and needlessly complicated.

Overseer: His civilian exhibition would be something goofy like making gingerbread houses out of circuit boards.

His villain one would be a little more intense, since he has to impress the higher-ups. And he’s got one word for you: drones. Programmed aerial drone sculptures a la Superbowl Lady Gaga. Drones flying around like swarms of swallows and bats. Drones programmed to fly in the shapes of heroes who get defeated by the great villains of the council. He goes absolutely hog-wild with it.

Lithium: As a civilian, an open house of her bar with all of the hero memorabilia all over the walls specially lit for artistic viewing, accompanied by multi-media projections/holograms of life-sized heroes walking around among the patrons (she totally asks Overseer for help with this). As a hero, a black and white photo collage of her high-fiving people she’s saved interspersed with her high-fiving the villain’s she’s helped arrest. All on the scene and in costume, of course.

The first would be social commentary on how people tend to idolize heroes while they exist as “one of us,” walking among the masses just like anyone else. The second would be commentary on how villains and civilians are one and the same, just requiring different methods of intervention. Both would get her reprimanded by Coalition HR, of course. Making Statements isn’t something the Coalition likes their employees to do. (She super duper doesn’t care though. My goofy headcanon is that she laminates her favorite reprimand letters and puts them in a photo album that she proudly displays in her living room.)

She loves making both of these because 1) she gets to show off her pride and joy and 2) she gets to stick it to the Man.

[She’d try being a human trampoline first before giving up on it after she convinces Iron Will to jump on her stomach to test it out, quickly realizing that it is a terrible idea.]

Babylon: They see this as a waste of time, but hey, there’s no getting out of it, so might as well make the most of the situation. But they wouldn’t put very much effort into it unless it’s for work.

As a civilian, they’d probably just transcribe a bunch of popular songs into the International Phonetic Alphabet and watch, very amused, as people try to read the lyrics out loud.

As a hero, they’d make sure only agents of the Coalition were invited, because their piece is a two-parter: First, a wall on which a bunch of head molds of various people are hung. Nearby are boxes of props, prosthetics, hats, wigs, glasses, makeup, etc. It’s an interactive exhibit based on disguise. Second, on the opposite wall, a neat collage of full color photographs of what appear to be 20 different people, but are all Babylon in various disguises. Is it braggy? Definitely. Do they care? Definitely not.

Nightmare: This one’s tough. Let’s see…

As a civilian, she’d do something like paint a huge mural in one of the poorer neighborhoods mocking the propaganda posters the Coalition puts out every once in a while. She’s big into satire.

As a villain… she’s practically the head of the CIIP, so it’d have to be big. Part of me says that she’d paint all the streets to mimic a Monopoly game board to make fun of the city’s not great economy, but that’s too tame. Since her power is inducing panic responses, I think she might collect blackmail material on as much people as possible and post it anonymously all over the city. No names, no identifying information, just dark, embarrassing information spread in the dead of night. That’s sure to send everyone into a panic.

Sparkplug: Her civilian art piece would be forging very cool light metal prosthetics and gifting them to veterans. She shouldn’t be the only one with a very cool and comfortable free one. Spread the love, as she says.

Her hero (or, rather, mercenary) exhibition would be hacking into large screens all over the city and showing real footage from heroes’ body cameras during big battles. Nothing too graphic, though. Just the kind of footage that shows people what it’s really like being a hero for the Coalition.

Hydrophase: Well, since I haven’t fully revealed what happened to him yet, I’ll include him for funsies. His civilian exhibition… hmm. I think he’d do something with old t-shirts. Like start a community project to collect people’s old shirts and make quilts out of them or somethin’ and donate them after the exhibition. He’s a nostalgic guy.

As a hero, I think he’d make one of those splash pad things that kids play on at malls and water parks and stuff, since his power is water-based. It’d be on an elevated platform and he’d stand under it and control all the water spouts and things and invite neighborhood kids to come play because he’s a very good dude. He has just as much fun as the kids.

There’s also a secret character who appears halfway through the story. I don’t wanna reveal who they are just yet, but what I can say is that their exhibition would be sword sculptures.

#ender answers #storyteller saturday #quilloftheclouds #Fish Food #art exhibition #FF Iron Will #FF Overseer #FF Babylon #FF Lithium #FF Nightmare #FF Sparkplug #FF Hydrophase #my ocs

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carruth00 · 4 years

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AIRPLANE MODE by George Iglesias & Twister Magic - A Review

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Do we write our own destiny or is it already written for us?

Effect:

A spectator is invited to participate in an amazing experience in which he will travel using his imagination. First of all, the magician mentions an item you find inside of an airplane that we always see, but we never read, and we should, we are talking about the emergency card. This is always located in front of our seats and we are too lazy to read it, but it can save our life in case of an emergency. This information is very important, therefore the magician hand out a real emergency card and invites the spectator to open it and actually read it, while the spectator does so, the magician addresses the audience to say that a destination will now be secretly chosen by the spectator. The magician now displays many boarding passes with different tourist destinations, boarding groups and seat numbers. The viewer selects one completely at random and the journey begins.

The announcement of the pilot ready to take off is heard, the spectator is asked to buckle up and enjoy the flight. The magician asks the spectator to close his eyes to, relax and get some sleep, but a second later he asks him to open them again (There is a baby in the back-seat crying) so to relax he now shows him a list of different drinks available at the flight, he will now choose one.

The magician now shows a tray with a bag and invites the spectator to say out loud the drink he has chosen (example: whiskey). When the magician lifts the paper bag, he has failed because there is only one orange box juice there. Now the magician continues and ask him to take the airplane magazine that has all the movies available inflight and to please secretly choose one. Now he asks him to focus on the film, the main actor, the soundtrack and other details, magically the magician begins to read the spectator's mind revealing one by one all the things he is thinking. Then the magician guesses the exact number of the airplane seat where he is on, his boarding group and finally the destination of the flight, city and country he is traveling to. At the end magician finishes with a question.

Do we write our own destiny or is it already written for us?

At the beginning the magician handed over an emergency card and asked the spectator to read it, but did the spectator really read it? Now when the emergency card is opened you can see in the drawings of the entire printed card everything that has just happened, all the "free choices" of the spectator are printed on the card and even better to be more sure, now the magician opens the card and it becomes a giant poster that reveals everything that just happened in the routine!

But wait, there is more, now the magician asks the spectator again which drink he had originally chosen, the spectator will say whiskey and now the magician to the spectator's great surprise, will lift the orange juice box that turns out to be just a giant shell to show that inside there was a whiskey glass since the beginning of the act.

Maybe our destiny is already written, don't you think?

Includes: 1 Special airplane emergency card 1 Special set of 30 boarding passes 1 Airplane movie magazine 1 Airplane drinks list 1 Orange juice box (for a kicker ending) 1 Instructional online video Easy to do! Pack very flat, plays very big!

My Thoughts:

Well.. I couldn't have asked for a more complete ad copy. Rarely does ad copy spell out the effect so meticulously. Almost everything you need to know.. aside from my opinion, is included.

I suppose what's on the mind of some of you is... how true is the ad copy? I can honestly say it is totally true. There isn't an iota of exaggeration.. almost. When they say it's "..easy to do", they say so in a physical sense. In a literal sense, this is easily a ten minute routine.. more if you are a conversationalist. Learning all the components IS easy. But, you still have to put it all together. That will take a little practice on your part. There is scripting involved, and timing, and getting everything to come together in a harmonious way. This isn't a problem.. as George spells out, carefully, everything you need to do and say. But, if you think you're going to perform ten minutes of strong magic 'on the fly'.. think again.

I'm not trying to scare anyone. I'm just saying you need to go over everything a number of times to get the flow of AIRPLANE MODE down pat. Please don't get in the middle of this very strong routine and lose your train of thought because you watched the video twice and think you know it all. This is true of ALL magic. But, because Airplane Mode is one continuous routine, you don't have the luxury of getting all jazzy. Just learn the steps in order, (easy enough) plan your patter, and slay your audience. Video: The training video is online. It runs about 38 minutes of solid instructions. George has a very good mastery of English and you'll have NO problem understanding his instructions. Not only that.. but he's a downright likeable guy. The video itself is top quality and very easy on the eye. This is the first video I've reviewed from Twister Magic, and I'm already a fan.

Props: For seventy bucks, you expect first class props. That's precisely what you'll get. Everything is made to last.. and to be visually appealing to the audience. The booklets, boarding passes, movie guide and drink list are all heavy duty laminated plastic.. designed to look good during your performance and to travel well from show to show. Credit is due for their realism.

Methodology: George has taken some of the standards of magic and combined them into a routine that works. A couple of 'classic' methods you're most likely already familiar with are employed to do some of the heavy work. There's nothing to learn as far as sleights are concerned. There IS a little 'handling' involved.. positioning of this and that.. but simple, simple. Again, everything is explained in detail to enable even a total beginner to succeed.

Impact: Honestly, I was concerned when I first opened everything I was going to learn a very ABC effect with minimal impact. Not that Airplane Mode looked cheap.. it's just that it reminded me of other high dollar effects that were all glitter and no guts. My act depends on the power of the mind.. and not paranormal positioning. The ending of Airplane Mode surprised even me.. and fits perfectly with my style. Without giving too much away, after the spectator makes a number of choices he/she can be shown where ALL their choices were either predicted or influenced in advance. Fits me like a glove..

Overall: I highly recommend AIRPLANE MODE to my friends and readers. If you are a seasoned mentalist, or new to mentalism, this is a great effect for your routine. I believe you are considerably better off investing in one strong effect than investing in several lesser effects. This is a multiple phase routine that plays like several effects.. but ties everything together in the end with a climatic reveal. Save your pennies and buy Airplane Mode. Everything you need is included.. aside from a paper bag and a drink glass with an appropriately colored beverage. (Generally, a half glass of iced tea will suffice.. as you only need something that can pass for whiskey). I cannot recommend Airplane Mode for Zoom performances. There may be a way to pull it off, but you're going to lose something in the process. Giving the spectator the airplane emergency card and having them both open it and read it is an integral part of the effect.. and it would be hard to achieve via Zoom. Now, if you send your Zoom attendee's a participation package.. you might have yourself one nice little performance. Because of the various props involved, you need a little table of some sort.. so performing it during walk-around or strolling is not feasible. This is the ideal effect for a parlor or home show. You could also perform Airplane Mode in a smaller theater sitting. You want your audience to be able to see the realistic props. It adds greatly to the overall effect.

Bottom Line: Don't overthink it.. just Buy It... You're welcome!

$70.00 Thanks to Murphy's Magic for providing a review copy. Available from Murphy's Magic and there wide assortment of associated dealers. https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=68112

Reviewed by Rick Carruth for The Magic Roadshow...

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mrwilliamcharley · 6 years

Text

Workplace Posting Requirements for Remote Workers – Ask #HR Bartender

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Poster Guard, a division of HRdirect and the leading labor law poster service that gets your business up to date with all required federal, state and local labor law postings, and then keeps it that way — for an entire year. Enjoy the article!)

Remote work is more than just a passing fad. In a study by AND CO and Remote Year, more than 23 percent of the remote workers they surveyed said their organization is fully distributed. And technology tools like Slack are helping remote workers collaborate on projects.

But it raises the question, how do organizations communicate with employees when it comes to topics like workplace compliance postings. I know we need to be focused on the work, but we also need to make sure all employees know their rights as required by federal, state, and local law.

I had the opportunity to speak with Ashley Kaplan, senior employment law attorney for HRdirect about this issue. Ashley leads the expert legal team for Poster Guard® Compliance Protection. On a personal note, I’ve known Ashley for years and I’m thrilled to share her knowledge.

Even though today’s post is sponsored, please remember that Ashley’s comments shouldn’t be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to any specific factual situations. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed with your friendly neighborhood labor and employment attorney.

Ashley, before we talk about the posting requirements for remote workers. It might be good to discuss, in general, the current posting requirements for organizations.

[Kaplan] Sure. All employers must post federal, state, and local (if applicable) postings. The mandatory federal posters include:

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC)

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

In addition, there could be up to 15 additional state-specific posters, depending upon what state you’re in … and up to 10 additional posters for city/county compliance. Oh, and don’t forget there are additional posters for government contractors and certain industries. The topics for these state, local, and industry-specific postings include minimum wage, fair employment, child labor, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, expanded family/medical leave rights, smoking in the workplace, electronic cigarettes, human trafficking, and more.

For HR pros who just read that list and are saying to themselves, “I have no idea if I have the right posters up!” is there a government site that will tell them everything they need?

[Kaplan] Sadly, no. The postings are issued by multiple different government agencies. Believe it or not, HR professionals have to visit each agency’s site to find out posting requirements. There are 175 different agencies responsible for issuing more than 370 posters at the federal and state level. Add to that the approximately 22,000 local jurisdictions that have the authority to issue their own postings. That’s a lot of follow-up and unfortunately, these agencies aren’t required to coordinate efforts.

Okay, so potentially HR pros have several sites to check. But do posters really change that often?

[Kaplan] Surprisingly, they do. Our Poster Guard legal team monitors posting changes and has found that there are approximately 150 state-specific post changes per year, with half of them requiring mandatory updates. I’m sure that big changes, like minimum wage increases, most businesses are aware of. But businesses need to pay attention to the small changes too because the government isn’t required to notify businesses when those changes happen. Also, be aware that mandatory posting changes are issued throughout the year, not just in January.

I honestly don’t remember labor law posters being so complex. How do current labor law posting requirements impact remote workers?

[Kaplan] By law, you’re required to provide these mandatory notices to ALL employees. That includes remote workers such as employees who work from home, offsite, on the road, at mall kiosks, in mobile service units, out in the field, and at construction checkpoints.

Does this mean that HR needs to send remote workers full-size laminated posters to hang in their spare bedrooms/home office?

[Kaplan] No, but it does mean that employees need to receive notices. Although the regulations don’t specify the format — paper or electronic — organizations are responsible for communicating the same information to your remote workers as those onsite. For employees who work on computers as part of their jobs, we recommend electronic delivery of postings, where workers can download, view and acknowledge receipt of all required postings. This satisfies your obligation to communicate their rights, as covered in the mandatory federal and state notices.

That raises another question about what information should an employee receive. If a company has remote employees who work in different states, which posting requirements should they follow? Those from the state where the company is headquartered or the state where the employee works?

[Kaplan] Unfortunately, it’s not always clear which state laws apply in this instance. Most basic employment rights — such as minimum wage, overtime and safety issues — are governed by the laws where the employee performs the work. However, depending on how your company is structured, your out-of-state employees may be covered by both states’ laws. Because it depends on so many factors, we recommend you provide both sets of state-specific postings to remote workers in this situation.

What if an organization has some employees who work from home, but they report to the office headquarters occasionally. Do they still need to send posters electronically to the remote worker?

[Kaplan] The law isn’t 100 percent definitive on how frequently a remote employee must access the physical wall posters to be covered. However, FAQs published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) suggest that, if an employee reports to a company’s physical location at least three to four times a month, the physical postings at the business are adequate. If not, the DOL recommends electronic delivery.

Last question, there could be people thinking, “Labor law posters aren’t a big deal. If we don’t have them, we’ll just get a warning.” What’s the penalty for businesses who are not in compliance?

[Kaplan] Recently, the amount for federal posting fines increased to more than $34,000 per violation, per location. State and local fines range from $100 to $1000 each. But the real price tag comes in terms of lawsuits or investigations.

An agency could be on-site for a number of reasons, such as an immigration issue, OSHA inspection, wage and hour audit, or EEOC complaint. The first thing they will do is look for up-to-date postings, and non-compliance can negatively impact the outcome of the investigation.

The real danger is with employment litigation. A missing or outdated posting can impact damages and can even ‘toll’ or extend the statute of limitations. And as your readers know, the statute of limitations can often be an employer’s best friend in defending claims.

A HUGE thanks to Ashley for sharing her experience with us. If you want to learn more about how to make sure your posting requirements are up to date, I hope you’ll check out PosterGuard. Today’s technology makes providing remote workers with their postings easy. They also guarantee their work against government posting fines. Right now, they’re offering HR Bartender readers a discount to try their Poster Guard Compliance Protection service. Just use the code SC28549 at checkout to receive 25 percent off their compliance protection service, and the two products they have for remote workers. The code expires on December 31, 2018.

Compliance matters. It’s important to the organizational bottom-line. And when employees – regardless of whether they work remotely or in the office – know that organizations are transparent about their rights, it creates trust and engagement.

P.S. Mark your calendars! I hope you’ll join me and the Poster Guard team on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 2p Eastern for a TweetChat about trends and best practices of working with remote workers. Follow the HRdirect Poster Guard Twitter account (@hr_direct) for more details.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the Wynwood Wall Art District in Miami, FL

The post Workplace Posting Requirements for Remote Workers – Ask #HR Bartender appeared first on hr bartender.

from hr bartender https://ift.tt/2RjHmCe

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sangambit-blog · 7 years

Text

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thissurroundingall · 7 years

Photo

Lauren Ellis Matthews

California-based writer, illustrator and designer.

I have been relishing Lauren’s poems for a couple of years now. The world she depicts in her work always projects me in a very comfy bubble, and her Experience Serie is a perfect reflection of the nostalgic warmth her work radiates.

Fondest childhood memory:

It's a place inside of my head mostly but it happened inside of my 3rd bedroom (we moved a lot) when I was probably 4. I was alone, the door was closed, it was evening, maybe twilight, which is the most cunning time of day. I loved being alone in my room. It wasn't a very good punishment for me. It felt so safe and limitless, like I could think or do anything in my own space. I was on my four poster bed and I was also in a space in the clouds I had entitled Kid's Castle. I was probably silent. I was jumping from my bed-cloud to another-cloud and I flew. I remember only being slightly surprised, "I've been told this is impossible". But I know I did it. I can vaguely remember the feeling. It happened very quickly and then it was over.

I've never told anyone this before.

Other childhood memories which largely inform my practice today were being in the library, where I felt very free: I could pick out any book I wanted and as many as I wanted and no one would tell me no. Today I love to get a large pile of books from the library, greedily, even though I couldn't possibly read them all before they're due. Also my mother's office. I used to get to accompany her to work where I would post up at the photocopier all day and make dittos for my dolls. Spelling sheets, etc, for their classroom. I loved photocopying. I still do, and I end up using it a lot in my projects.

The smell of home:

Clean sheets on a good day. Coffee in the morning. Palo Santo, open window at night. Lately I've been burning rose geranium leaves. Often I cook leeks which are horribly smelly. I wish it always smelled like fresh bread; it doesn't.

"Je reviens mon amour. Je reviens et on va prendre ton bain."

Something you have heard:

This podcast between Durga Chew Bose and Tavi Gevinson is full of gold.

Ariana Reines discussing the supernatural on Season 1, Episode 4 of the SFMoMA Raw Material Otherworld podcast is also amazing.

I recently went through a breakup and have found solace in this song The Fog by Overcoats and also the Dirty Projectors' song Cool Your Heart.

I also heard the other day a Frenchwoman say to her son, "Je reviens mon amour. Je reviens et on va prendre ton bain." and I thought it was one of the more gorgeous things I've ever heard.

Something you have read:

For my writing class my teacher recommended "Cousins", a short story by Jo Ann Beard. It's incredible and I was sobbing on the train as I finished it.

Ariana Reines again, I found a copy of her book The Origin of the World and I ate it up. My friend Liz recommended a book to help me deal with myself called Owning Your Own Shadow, by Robert A Johnson. My friend Kate gave me a book of Emily Dickinson's envelope poems and these are brilliant.

Something you have seen:

I saw this the other day in the Los Angeles hills, at the pool of a friends' family home, the perfect kind of early twenties cool and secret small Spanish manor. It's Liz's hand and a party umbrella and a flower.

Lately I have been feeling a strong sense of returning. I keep visiting all these versions of my past self - I will see a group of girls on the train or in the locker room and mentally return to the people I once was, things I once lived. Or I will physically return to a space I had once embodied: drive down a street I've not visited for 15 years, go back to a small town I was in one year ago. But both feel like a revisiting even though the time distance is different. It's like déja vu but different. It feels like I'm checking in on how I used to feel and seeing what parts of me I have retained. It's been going on for about a year. It's a very interesting lens.

Someone you have encountered:

I introduced myself to Sophie Calle when I was drunk at the opening of her recent show. She was uninterested. The next week I listened to her speak at a different opening. She was hilarious and it was delightful.

I encounter my friend Margot semi-regularly and because she is 2 she is always saying interesting things, for example, the other day in the backyard I asked her if she wanted to go on the tire swing, and she replied, "I can't right now. I'm on a boat. See you later."

Something you have created:

I'm working on a yearlong project called Coarse Book. It is seasonal. There are two spring editions (early spring, late spring) and three summer editions (low summer, midsummer, high summer) and it remains to be seen how many autumn and winter editions there will be.

I’m searching for a way to catalogue the connection between the things I read and love. Normally I write down quotations from the books or articles I'm reading, but I wanted a visual documentation of all the things I read in a month. It reminds me of university; how the disparate things I consume (a podcast, an online interview, a physical book, a magazine article, a poem) never fail to somehow relate and form their own dialogue.

I was in school in an interesting in-between period. Certainly we used the internet but we were still given a lot of course materials as printed handouts or as "course books", large photocopied plastic-bound tomes you would pick up at the copymat. I loved these, the way they looked, the textural text that had been copied from a book and was a bit fuzzy, the black blacks and grey and whites, being able to write in the margins and interact with what has already been written - doodling, what you'll eat for dinner tonight, etc. I was feeling lonely for printed material and had just gotten a binding machine for a song (thank you, craigslist angel) so I made these collections.

I'm sure I'm breaking copyright laws but I still like it. I just like the idea that every word you consume - whether you hear it or read it - and no matter where it originates - somewhere elevated, somewhere "inconsequential" - goes into the same space in your brain and you gel it all together and it becomes something else.

Something more visual I've made this year is a deck of tarot cards. The most fun part has been letting myself be guided as I make them and cut them out. It was fascinating to see what the scraps became and how they refer to the original intent of the card. The process of creation has felt like a many-month-long tarot reading. Even when I laminated them they ended up in surprising, telling combinations. There are many forces we cannot see.

Lauren Ellis Matthews

Portrait and tarot images by Ward Long

Interview by Nour-Lise Valette

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imlovethomassanders · 5 years

Text

Home for Christmas

The 4th installment for the Sanders Sides Holiday fics

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Requested by anonymous

Summary: Roman comes back to his home town for Christmas after a few years away and runs into his high school sweetheart, Virgil.

Ships: Prinxiety, mentioned Logicality, mentioned RemyXEmile

You can read on ao3 here

Warnings: mentions of abuse and some allusions to sex (nothing actually n\s\f\w) and Virgil swears quite a bit

Word Count: 5761

Tag List: @touchstarvedvirgil @lamp-calm-sanders@ninjago2020@confinesofpersonalknowledge @secret-novelisthost18 @phander-sides

Roman sighed as he stopped the rental car in his parents driveway. He stared at the familiar house in front of him with a look of disdain curling on his lip.

He hadn’t been home in five years, and he never suspected he would ever come back.

After a year in New York, Roman was then finally able to find his footing and got acting gigs. He suspected if he kept auditioning, he could definitely make his Broadway debut someday.

His parents never supported him or listened to him or cared.

Roman had to get out. And that’s what he did.

He told himself he’d never look back.

But one day, out of the blue, his parents called and asked him to come home for Christmas. Why now, after five years of no contact, Roman didn't know. He didn't know if they wanted money or wanted him to move back in or what.

Roman had no idea why he said yes. He half thought to turn back around to the airport.

He stopped and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After a few moments the door swung open and there was his mom.

She looked the same.

“Hi, Mom.”

She smiled. “Roman! It’s so good to see you!”

Absolutely nothing had changed.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his dad grasping his shoulder.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Roman.”

“We made your bed,” Roman’s mom said. “You’re room is all ready.”

His heart panged in his chest as a wave of bitter nostalgia washed through him.

He didn't miss this room.

He was starting to unpack his suitcase when he remembered something.

He got on his knees and looked under the bed to see an old shoebox hidden against the back wall. He pulled it out and felt another sharp pang in his chest.

He shoved the box back under his bed and went to finish unpacking.

Roman's parents asked if he wanted to stay for dinner, but he said he was going to meet somebody. He assured them he would stay tomorrow, he just wanted to get reacquainted with the town.

He wasn't actually meeting anyone. He just wanted out of that house.

Roman had parked the rental car in the first parking spot he saw in the little shopping district his town had. He stepped out and felt another wave of sadness as he decided where to go.

(Well, his actual favorite spot had been parked in an abandoned lot in the woods, the two of them together in the backseat of Roman’s car. But he wasn’t going to admit that.)

He opened the door to walk in when he ran into someone who was trying to leave at the same time.

He went to apologize and froze in his tracks.

Roman couldn’t believe it.

There he was, standing right in front of him.

Virgil Moore.

They both stared at each other in shock, trying to come up with what to say. They quickly stepped away from the door as someone cleared their throat behind them, annoyed they were blocking the exit.

“I- Virgil,” Roman breathed out. “It’s so wonderful to see you.”

“I- um- yeah,” Virgil stuttered out.

He looked incredible.

“Sit with me, please?” Roman asked, eyes wide and hopeful. Virgil just nodded as he followed Roman to a table.

Roman didn’t even bother getting coffee. He had bigger priorities now.

“How have you been? What have you been up to? I can’t believe it’s been five years. I’ve missed you. Have you-”

“Slow down, Princey,” Virgil said. Roman’s heart fluttering at the old nickname.

“How have you been, Virgil?”

Virgil opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. Eventually he just huffed a defeated sigh and slouched back in his chair.

“As well as I could be in this town, I guess.”

Roman’s smile faltered a bit.

“How about you?”

Roman hesitated to answer, wanting to be careful with his words. He didn’t have a bad thing to say about his past five years out of this town, and he didn’t want to make Virgil feel worse.

“I want you to tell the truth, Roman,” Virgil eventually said. “It isn’t going to upset me.”

Roman melted under the sound of his name escaping Virgil’s mouth again as he allowed his smile to widen.

“I’ve been fantastic,” Roman said. “I live in New York now and everything is going so well.”

“Glad to hear it,” Virgil muttered into his coffee.

“You said you wouldn’t get mad,” Roman said.

“I’m not,” Virgil sighed. “Jealous, perhaps. But not mad.”

Roman went to say something when Virgil looked at his phone.

“Shit, I’ve got to go home. My parents are expecting me.”

“You still live with your parents?”

“They haven’t allowed otherwise.”

Roman winced.

“Is your number the same?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll text you.”

“You still have my number memorized?” Roman said, giving Virgil a cheeky smile. Blush quickly formed on Virgil’s face.

“I’ll see you later, Roman.”

Roman watched as Virgil left, smile wide and heart racing.

After a few hours of lying on his bed and lounging on his laptop, he heard his phone ding on his desk.

He almost threw his laptop off him as he untangled himself from his blankets.

Unknown Number: roman?

Roman: Virgil?

Virgil: yeah

Roman felt his smile grow on his face.

Roman: It was nice to see you again.

Virgil: yeah

Roman: Are you free anytime this week? I'd like to see you again.

Virgil: i have work tomorrow but im free the rest of the week for the holidays

Roman: Want to grab lunch sometime?

They arranged plans, and Roman fell asleep excited, not wanting to wait for the day after tomorrow to come.

So it was going to be one of those days.

As he got ready for work, they kept fighting - their voices getting louder and louder.

Virgil didn’t like that he was used to this.

Eventually, he was finally ready to go and went to grab his wallet, keys, and phone before heading out.

Virgil hated living with his parents. He was twenty-two. He should have been able to go to college and meet new people and experience new things and get away from this hell town and shitty parents.

Like Roman did.

But he couldn’t. His parents were controlling and abusive and wouldn’t let him leave.

It wasn’t like Virgil could afford to leave anyways.

Virgil had been working as much as he can to earn enough to make it out of here. He was so close it was maddening.

As he walked out the front door, his phone dinged.

Roman: Good morning~

Virgil felt heat rise in his face. Roman used to always send him good morning texts when they were dating.

Virgil didn't know what to make of all this. He and Roman were dating, then Roman went off to do bigger and better things while Virgil was stuck here.

And then out of the blue, Roman just shows up again and wants to act like nothing happened.

Did Virgil even want to reconnect with Roman? Sure, they were crazy about each other in high school, but they were only teenagers.

He couldn’t deny that part of him wanted to see Roman again. What are the odds they run into each other?

So Virgil texted Roman a quick “hey” before getting in his car and driving to work.

Virgil worked at a clothing store, and working retail sucked . His manager sucked, the owner sucked, most of the customers sucked, and even the clothes there sucked.

It sucked.

Virgil couldn’t get on his phone until his lunch break, and that’s when he saw Roman had texted him.

Repeatedly.

Roman: I hope you're doing well this morning~ It was so strange to sleep in my bedroom again. Remember all those times you stayed the night? Those were nice. I'm excited to see you.

Virgil's face got red. He wished Roman would stop talking about when they dated.

And god, how could Virgil forget. He'd bring a sleeping bag to let Roman's parents think it was a normal sleepover, but as soon as Roman's parents went to bed he'd cuddle up with Roman on his bed.

They never dared to do much since Roman's parents were right across the hall, but some of their most tender moments were shared in his bedroom, with Roman's arms wrapped tightly around him.

Virgil shook his head.

Roman: I hope I'm not bothering you with all these texts. Oh wait I forgot you had work I hope work isn't too bad today

Virgil: im on my lunch break now i see you still talk too much

Roman: Hey! Do not. Seriously though - you doing okay?

Virgil: as well as i can be in retail

Roman: ouch

Virgil walked into the Taco Bell and put his phone in his pocket to order. Once he sat down with his food, he saw Roman had continued to text him a lot.

Roman: I hope everything's okay. I never asked, where do you work? When I left you were working at McDonald's, but it doesn't sound like you work there anymore.

Virgil: a boutique filled with too much turquoise and paisley

Roman: Sounds fun. Remember when I tried to work fast food but got fired for arguing with customers too much?

Virgil: how could i forget you used to get us both in trouble

Roman: Haha, sorry.

Virgil was scared by how easy it was to talk to Roman. Things were so different now. Roman was so different now. He was so different now.

But they were talking like Roman never left.

The next day, Roman got up early. After a painfully slow day with his parents, he was ready to see Virgil again.

They had a lot of catching up to do.

Roman whistled happily as he walked out the front door, spinning his key ring on his finger.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Roman said as he sat down. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Virgil shrugged. “You?”

“Fantastic, now,” Roman said as he pulled the chair closer to the table.

“...Why are you looking at me like that?”