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solartranslations · 3 years

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VF Nova Love x Laugh 1: Like Lovers

Penalties during games in the Coins room always involve…

~*Scene: Coins Waiting Room*~

Debito: Alright, I win

Liberta: Ahh, I lost!

Nova: Damn it…we lose…

Debito: Which means you guys get the penalty. Pick your poison from my cards

Nova: Fine. A loss is a loss so we have to accept it

Liberta: If you’re ready then you pick

Nova: Excuse me? We lost because you’re terrible at this game, Liberta. You should be the one to pick

Liberta: That might be true, but…

(*knock knock)

Felicita: …

Nova: Hm? What are you here for?

❤≪Nova≫ Seems as usual

Place: Why would she come to the Coins room…?

Pain: I can’t believe I got carried away…

Daily: The Ocean Idiot is so loud

Liberta: Ciao, Ojou!

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems as usual

Person: Does Ojou need Debito for something?

Pain: Damn you, Debito!

Daily: Nova’s annoying too

Debito: Hey, Bambina. We were waiting. You’re just in time

❤≪Debito≫ Seems as usual

Person: We can’t start without Bambina

Daily: I can’t wait to see what happens

Debito: We can’t start their penalty without you

>What are you three doing?

>Why a penalty?

Liberta: We were playing a game so know we’re deciding the penalty for the losers

Nova: I only joined because Debito wanted to change tomorrow’s patrol route…that didn’t work out

Debito: Hah, there’s always penalties for losing when playing cards in the Coins room. Didn’t you know that?

Liberta: We were playing a card game with Debito, but we lost

Nova: We were the idiots for playing a game that Debito set up…

Debito: If you can’t see when the game really starts, then you’ve got a lot to learn

Debito: So now, we’re deciding what the penalty is

(*shuffle) Debito: Their penalty will be one of the ones written on these cards

Liberta: I really don’t want to pick…

Nova: Don’t chicken out now!

❤≪Nova≫ Seems irritated

Person: Stop complaining!

Place: Just get it over with so we can leave

Liberta: Then you pick a card!

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems to want to run away

Person: He’s…so annoying!

Place: I don’t wanna…

Debito: Oh quit fighting. If you won’t do it, then let’s just have Bambina decide

Debito: Bambina, who do you want to pick?

>Nova should pick

>Liberta should pick

Liberta: That decides it. See Nova, you should pick

Nova: *sigh*…Fine. I’ll just pick and get it over with…

Liberta: Ahh, I’m so nervous…please be an easy one~

Nova: Oh just shut up and watch

Nova: Alright then. Liberta, go pick

Liberta: Alright fine, I’ll pick. Just don’t complain about what card it is

Nova: Depending on what it is, of course I’ll complain

Liberta: What do you mean “of course”?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems to want to run away ❤≪Nova≫ Seems as usual

Daily: Phew, I’m saved

Person: Don’t pick something weird!

Person: I’m worried about leaving it to him…

Daily: We haven’t decided tomorrow’s patrol route…

❤≪Nova≫ Seems irritated ❤≪Liberta≫ Seems to want to run away

Person: It’s not my problem…!

Daily: We haven’t decided tomorrow’s patrol route…

Place: It’s up to God now!

Person: Whatever it is, don’t complain!

(*rumble)

Debito: Okay, this card then. Let’s see…

❤≪Debito≫ Seems to be plotting

Person: Bambina’s picks are great…

Daily: This is going to get even more fun

Debito: Your penalty will be…

Love

~*Scene: Coins Waiting Room*~

Debito: This one is for Nova. Do your best with Bambina

Nova: We’re both doing it?

❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned

Person: What did the card say…?

Daily: I have a bad feeling…

Nova: I’m sorry for getting you involved, but let’s take a look together

Nova: “Act like you’re lovers for everyone”? What is this?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems as usual ❤≪Nova≫ Seems shocked ❤≪Debito≫ Seems to be mocking

Daily: Wait, what?

Person: With Ojou? That’s not a penalty at all

Person: Don’t tease me!

Person: It’s not that I don’t want to…

Daily: The shrimp is too serious

Person: Or is it just an act?

Place: Bambina is waiting

Debito: Huh? What don’t you get? Don’t you two act like lovers?

Debito: So it means to do that in front of us

Nova: Wha…

Liberta: Like what exactly?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned

Daily: What do you do to act like lovers?

Person: This seriously isn’t a penalty!

Person: Nova’s face is all red!

Debito: Ugh…even you don’t get it? There’s tons. Like holding hands…or hugging…

Debito: Oh, they don’t have to be actions though. You could declare your love, or just some sweet talk

Nova: I-I can’t do that in front of people!

Debito: So you do it when you’re not in front of people, right?

❤≪Debito≫ Seems to be teasing

Person: There’s no use hiding it

Person: Your words betray you

???: I can’t see very well here

Nova: …!

❤≪Nova≫ Can’t seem to handle it

Person: He tricked me!?

Debito: With your face that red, it’s like you’re admitting it~

Nova: Don’t tease me!

Nova: Hey

❤≪Nova≫ Seems to want to run

Place: Things will get worse if we stay…

Pain: I’m tired of him

Nova: We have no reason to play along with this. We’re leaving

Liberta: Hey, where are you going! Aww…they’re gone

Debito: Maybe I teased him too much. But, that was an interesting sight so whatever

Debito: Okay, Liberta…you’ll do the penalty for him then

Liberta: Huh!?

~*Scene: Courtyard*~

Nova: Um…I’m sorry that you got dragged into it

❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned

Person: Is she worrying about it?

Pain: I don’t want to be misunderstood

Nova: That sudden penalty game might have given you some bad memories

Nova: And…

Nova: Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not that I don’t want to “act like lovers” with you

❤≪Nova≫ Seems nervous

Pleasure: I don’t mind if it’s with you…

Nova: I just thought that wasn’t the place for it

Nova: I want you to know that

Felicita: Okay

Nova: …Thank you. Just seeing your smile is a huge relief

❤≪Nova≫ Seems nervous

Person: Smiling like that isn’t fair…

Pleasure: I’m happy that we’re together…

Nova: Anyway. Should we go somewhere?

Nova: Acting like lovers once in a while isn’t bad

~*End of Scene*~

Laugh

~*Scene: Coins Waiting Room*~

Debito: Haha, this is the perfect penalty for Nova

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Nova≫ Seems concerned ❤≪Debito≫ Seems to be plotting

Pleasure: Phew, I’m saved

Person: I’m excited to watch!

Person: …What’s with that smirk!

Pain: What was on the card…?

Person: Bambina’s picks are great…

Daily: These are my creation

Nova: Hey, what does that mean?

Liberta: Yay~ …I’m saved…

Debito: Okay Nova, here’s your card. Read it carefully. But don’t tell Bambina

Nova: Why can’t she know?

Liberta: I guess you’ll know once you read it. Just hurry and see what your penalty is

Nova: Aren’t you happy now that you’re not the one who has to do it…

Liberta: Of course I am. Watching penalty games is the fun part!

Felicita: ?

Nova: Damn you…I’ll remember this

Liberta: Yeah, yeah

Nova: Ugh…I’ll read it

Nova: …Huh? What…? I really have to do this?

❤≪Nova≫ Seems confused

Pain: He seriously has bad taste…

Person: Seriously…stop smirking at me!

Liberta: What? Let me see

Liberta: Ahahaha! Holy crap! You’re really going to ask Ojou that!

Nova: It’s nothing to laugh about!

Debito: Well go on, Nova-chan. You ready? Bambina’s waiting

Felicita: ?

Nova: ……

Nova: Hey, I need a favor…

❤≪Nova≫ Seems to want to run away

Pain: I’m ready

Person: Don’t give me that suspicious look!

Nova: P-please kick me as hard as you can!!

Liberta: Whoo! Nice going, Nova!

Debito: *whistle* …Nice

Nova: There’s no reason why. I just want you to kick me

Nova: I just want you to kick me really hard! ––Ah…

Liberta: Y-you want her to?

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems confused

Link: Huh!?

Person: Now he wants it!?

Felicita: …

Debito: *chuckling*…The card just says “Get Bambina to kick you”

❤≪Debito≫ Seems to be teasing

Pleasure: Whoa, is this a new kind of play…?

Person: Time to spread some rumors about uptight Nova…

Daily: He could have just said “Show me your panties”

Nova: Uh, no…that just came out wrong…

❤≪Nova≫ Seems to want to run away

Pain: I didn’t mean it!

Place: Get me out of here, now…

Felicita: *glare*

Nova: Um, that stance…means you’re going all out…

Felicita: Hyah!

Nova: Gah!

❤≪Nova≫ Seems shocked

Person: Not so hard!

Pain: Right in the heart…

Liberta: Whoo, Ojou’s kicks are awesome!

❤≪Liberta≫ Seems thrilled

Person: That looked painful!

Daily: This is a new entry for the Liberta Memo!!

Debito: I feel like I saw something I shouldn’t have. Who knew Nova was into that

Nova: Hey! What’s that supposed to mean! I was just doing what the penalty said to…

❤≪Nova≫ Can’t seem to handle it

Person: I am not!

Pleasure: I didn’t hate it…

Debito: Yeah, but people usually don’t say “kick me”. And you said “really hard” too

Liberta: Exactly! But, it’s okay! I won’t think badly of you for being into it

Felicita: *rumble*

Nova: Ah…

Debito: Well, be sure to nurture your love with Bambina with that new kink of yours

Nova: Damn it…I…I said I’m not into that!!!

❤≪Nova≫ Seems to want to cry

Person: I said I’m not into it!

Daily: I’ll remember this!

~*End of Scene*~

(Continue to Nova Love x Laugh 2)

(Back to Directory)

#nova #arcana famiglia #vascello fantasma no majutsushi #love x laugh #solar translations #psp game #translation #releases #maybe nova just doesn't want to harass people #even pretendingly

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stina-is-a-punk-rocker · 3 years

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‘always and forever, lara jean’: a bungled mess of my thoughts while watching the movie

Alright, cards on the table: I never finished reading the book. I got bored a couple of pages in, so I just read up the summary on Wikipedia and called it a day.

Not gonna lie, I expected better from the movies. I loved the first movie; it was cute, it was fun, it hit all the right places. The second movie was… eh. Jordan Fisher is cute, so that’s a plus.

And then we got the third movie; the final in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy.

And it was somehow even worse.

Maybe I’m exaggerating. Despite its shortcomings in the plot and character development-related departments (the fact that Lara Jean wrote addresses for letters she never meant to send is something that will bother me on my deathbed), the movies have their merits. They’re cutesy and charming and enjoyable, overall; movie-LJ is sweet and unashamedly a girly-girl, which is a refreshing change from the #NotLikeOtherGirls, pick-me girls and bruh girls we had in loads of other YA movies growing up. Peter’s pretty cute, too; he’s not a possessive freak like so many other love interests (The Kissing Booth, After, Anna and the French Kiss), and his and Lara Jean’s dynamic is cute, too. Not to mention- we finally have an Asian lead whose Asian-ness isn’t the whole focus of the story!

Again, maybe I’m being extra with all this. The series is, at its core, solely for entertainment purposes. Not every piece of media has to have an underlying message and you shouldn’t need to read between every goddamn line to find something worthy of enjoying. They’re certainly helpful for whiling away a couple of hours; perfect for bingeing with a pint of ice cream in hand, and all of this is in good fun.

Also, it goes without saying, but: spoilers ahead.

The film beings with Lara Jean scribbling a postcard to Peter while she’s in Korea with her family. The inclusion of that little snapshot of Asian culture made me so happy- seriously, fuck everyone who says diversity in media doesn’t matter. I’m not even Korean, and I was overjoyed at seeing a couple of scenes just from the same continent I’m on. The K-pop music in the background was a fun touch, too (although all Korean music isn’t K-pop, but that’s a rant for another day).

(Also: Blackpink has so many more suitable songs than Pretty Savage that go with the theme of the movies. Kill This Love in the second movie while Lara Jean is getting ready to go to her boyfriend’s match is bad enough- they’re supposed to be in love in that scene, goddammit.)

One thing that bothered me throughout the movies is how obviously non-Korean Lara Jean and Margot look. It’s like whoever chose the cast went for any random Asian- Lana’s Vietnamese and Janel Parrish is half-Chinese, and it’s so obvious. You seriously couldn’t find two Korean-Americans who even vaguely resembled each other so they could pass for sisters? The actresses do a stunning job and I don’t want to shit on them, but I just wish they didn’t go with the ‘all Asians look the same, what’s the difference?’ mindset.

Also, a nitpicky thing I’ve noticed in movies with characters who read a lot: no one holds their books up while they’re reading. Your arms start to cramp, which is why you keep your book in your lap while you’re reading, or you rest on your belly and hold the book in front of you. My spine and shoulders didn’t suffer years of torture as a chronic reader for you to include characters who hold their books up while reading.

A major gripe I have with Always and Forever, Lara Jean is how the characters are almost jarringly out of character- not from the books, but from the two previous movies, too. Lara Jean didn’t have much of a character to begin with, so I can’t say much about her (she dissed Oasis at one point; it’s okay for me to be mean to her), but the rest of them are either caricatures of themselves or just totally different people.

Movie Peter >>> Book Peter. He’s almost too perfect (except for the fact that he unironically loves The Fast and the Furious, which… ew), almost too much of the ideal boyfriend. Not that my perpetually single arse would know. How do boyfriends even work? I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with one; how often should you feed it? Do you need to take it on walks?

(In the notes I’ve written towards the end of the film, I’ve complained about Peter being immature and making Lara Jean feel bad about following her dream to go to NYU. He confuses me.)

Not to mention how distractingly adorable Noah Centineo is from some angles and under certain lighting conditions (other times, he reminds me of the human version of Shrek and that bothered me). King of weird Tweets and Instagram captions though he may be, he’s got a really nice smile, and his gravelly voice is both parts sexy and disturbing.

But I digress.

I’ll never forgive the directors for what they did to Kitty and Chris- two of my favorite characters, from both the books and the movies. Kitty’s annoying to the point of being borderline unlikeable- gone is the occasionally snarky comic relief we all came to love; in her place is an annoying brat whose every line comes out forced. Also, making soap is fun; fuck you, Kitty.

Chris is essentially Dixie D’Amelio’s character from that TikToker Grey’s Anatomy ripoff; the main character in One Direction fanfiction from 2012 who doesn’t want to go to the concert but her best friend gets a ticket for her so she can’t bail but Harry Styles sees her in the crowd and falls in love at first sight and 50k of mutual pining and misunderstandings late, they get together. She’s cynical and snarky and hates capitalism and consumerism and prom (because of course she does), but secretly, she’s into it (because of course she is). My guess is that she’s there to appease all the arseholes (including myself) who accused the characters of being too one-dimensional, but it seems too out of place in a movie that doesn’t have much plot to begin with.

I really, really hate how Lucas was done dirty- throughout every single movie. Of course, it’s Lara Jean’s story so not every side character has to be fully fleshed out- but you’d think three. entire. movies. would be enough to give Lucas a bigger role than the GBF and the token black guy for the diversity brownie points. Every single time Lucas shows up, it’s to push Lara Jean and Peter’s story forward. I would’ve liked to see a romance for him pushed forward instead one for Chris- especially because he says, at one point in a previous movie, that it’s hard to find other gay boys, so it would’ve been sweet to see him find love- and Chris’s character arc could’ve been focused on reconciling with Genevieve. Instead, we see the OG Reggie from Riverdale be the one to show Chris the bright side of monogamy, and Lucas gets a date to prom as an afterthought (another darkskin black dude, so no one thinks the film is racist).

Genevieve’s character in this movie gives me whiplash. Look, I’m all for girls supporting girls- healthy female relationships are something way too many YA movies lack- but she goes from bitch queen extraordinaire to friendly the moment the next scene calls for it. Her character isn’t consistent. A redemption arc should be executed cleanly and believably; you can’t have a character be a total prick one moment and then suddenly be, “Hey, if you get into NYU, let me know,” the next.

And Genevieve’s still an arsehole to Chris; at one point, in NYC, while they’re at the NYU campus grounds (I knew that Lara Jean was going to go to NYU the moment she saw all the banners; I fucking called it), Genevieve tells Chris, “University is for people who actually have a future,” and I recoiled. I’m not the nicest of people and yet that was going too far. Chris doesn’t hesitate to shoot back a, “You peaked in high school,”, but still. Y i k e s. You can’t convince me someone’s turned over a new leaf when they say something like that.

Lara Jean’s dad (forgot his name; gonna call him Dr. Covey) is as unremarkable as ever, and his new wife (forgot her name, too… Trisha? Trina? Eh, something like that) is… unsettling. I mean, I get that they’re all loved up and twitterpatted, but there’s something about all the smiling they’ve got going on that chills me to the bone.

Also, Trisha/Trina kinda looks like TikTok’s ThatVeganTeacher and it bothers me.

Another huge problem with this movie even being made is that the series never had enough plot to continue onto a trilogy. Lara Jean’s letters are what the plots of the first and second movies revolve around; the third only mentions them in passing. The final love letter from Peter was a cute callback, but there’s a massive continuity issue with the first two movies and this last one- both character and plot-wise.

Maybe I’m not articulating this clearly enough, so I’ll use an example: take Harry Potter, for example. Harry’s main goal throughout the series is defeating Voldemort. And it takes all seven books for him to get there, to finally achieve this.

Lara Jean’s goal in the first movie changes midway; from keeping up the façade with Peter so she can avoid the crap with the rest of the letters getting out, to making her fake relationship real. It forms a bridge with the second movie; the letter that went out to John Ambrose, and her dithering between Peter and perfection (I’m not sorry). But what does the third movie have to do with any of this?

There were way too many music montages. You couldn’t go five minutes without a random pop song playing in the background, and it was annoying as hell. Don’t Look Back in Anger was w a s t e d on this stupid film. The artsy scenery shots were even worse- no, I don’t give a fuck about the New York skyline or a bird’s eye view of whatever vehicle Lara Jean is in. A few shots of Seoul would’ve sufficed; the rest was overkill. This movie is way too damn long already (almost 2 entire hours!!!); cut out a couple of those. No one cares.

I thought they’d pull the whole Aladdin trope with character-A-keeps-trying-to-tell-character-B-the-truth-about-a-lie-B-believes-in-about-A-but-B-keeps-interrupting, but Lara Jean (typing her name out is annoying, why couldn’t she have a single name, like both of her sisters?) comes clean earlier than I expected. Peter’s reaction about LJ not getting into Stanford is… uncharacteristically mature? No “Why did you lie to me?”, no accusations, not an ounce of betrayal. Which I did not expect from a guy who’s a little bitch for the greater part of book one (I really don’t like Book Peter, in case you couldn’t tell). I know fuck-all about book three’s Peter, so I can’t tell if he really did adopt this mature, well-adjusted persona, or the movie did it to make Peter seem like less of a dick (like they did it with the sextape-that-wasn’t-a-sextape in the first installment).

On a sidenote, how do these main characters in YA books get into really good colleges with zero to no visible effort? These arseholes fuck around for the entirety of the story and have way too much going on to actually do schoolwork, but they waltz into Ivy Leagues at the end. And apparently, I’m not the only one bothered by this.

There’s something to be said about how the movies don’t really sexualize minors (characters who are minors, to be fair. None of the MCs look anything like teenagers), though. It’s almost weird to see them not getting drunk and partying and having sex all the time. Maybe that’s why Lara Jean trying to get her hand on Peter’s dick felt so stilted and awkward (I cringed so hard when she kept trying to touch him and he kept pushing her hand away, holy shit).

And the kissing. It’s to be expected from a romance film, but there was so. Much. Kissing.

The amount of product placements (… actually, I could count only two: Apple and a pair of Beats headphones Lara Jean puts on at one point, but the movie shoved so many iPhones in my face that I’m obligated to exaggerate) would’ve made anti-capitalist Chris mad.

I’m guessing this all takes place in a parallel universe, sans the coronavirus. Still, being in quarantine this past year and being socially awkward for every other one, it was agonizing seeing everyone so close together in NYC. When Peter kissed the ball (lol) (I have the sense of humor of a straight boy in middle school, don’t judge me) when him and Lara Jean go bowling, I had a visceral reaction. And what are the odds of Peter meeting his estranged dad at the very same bowling alley?

Speaking of Peter’s daddy issues (I’ve written “Hardin but diluted” in my notes; I watched this movie at, like, 1 AM; I’m not entirely sure what was going through my head at that point)- I hated how they guilt-tripped Peter into giving his father another chance. In the wise words of Hannah Montana, everybody makes mistakes- but leaving your wife and two kids for another woman is pretty far from a little oopsie on Mr. Kavinsky’s part. I don’t blame Peter for hating him, and I’m not in a place to judge whether Mr. Kavinsky (does he get a first name?) should be forgiven or not, but I feel like they let him off too easy and made Peter seem like a misunderstood teenager with anger issues for not accepting Mr. Kavinsky’s (crappy) apology at once.

And it adds nothing to the story at all; Mr. Kavinsky peaces out after having one (01) coffee with his firstborn, and he’s never seen again. If you’re going to introduce a subplot, make it tie into the main storyline- the very least you could do is make it an important enough part of the story to have more than 10 minutes of the run time. It makes no sense as to why they’d bring up Peter’s dad in this last film, when he’s already gone through two perfectly fine. I guess it was a ‘tying everything up’ part… even though no one cared.

Lara Jean’s handwriting is surprisingly ugly for someone who’s written that many love letters. And her styling took a definite nosedive; her outfits in the first movie were so effing cute, but now they’re just… meh.

There are so many conversations and lines that the writers must’ve thought sounded good enough for someone to type out the quote in curly font and slap it on a screenshot from the movie to post on Instagram, but when it comes to the actual delivery, they just sounded… weird.

Peter says one time near the beginning of the film, “You know what I’m looking forward to the most in college? Never having to say goodnight,” because he expects him and Lara Jean to get into the same college.

But I guess the word they should’ve used was ‘good-bye’, because this just makes him sound stupid.

At one point, Lara Jean asks Kitty how much Kitty’s gonna miss her when she goes off to college, and Kitty says, “A four.” Later on, she confesses, “I’m gonna miss you a twelve, Lara Jean,” and all I could think was, “But we’re endgame, Archie!”

(In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t let people know I’ve watched Riverdale; it lessons my credibility.)

Still, there remains some good to be found: all the baked goods looked very delicious and made me crave chocolate chip cookies. Peter wearing the socks Lara Jean gifted him at the beginning of the movie was a cute gesture, and Lara Jean giving Peter her teal hatbox? The one she kept her love letters in? Was so? Cute? Help?

And hey, it’s a cliché that’s been done to death, but I’m always a sucker for that part in movies where the girl walks down the stairs in a pretty dress with her hand on the banister and the boy turns around and his mouth falls open and all he can say is, “Wow,”- and this film did not disappoint! Not to mention how cute both Lara Jean’s and Chris’s prom dresses were.

Dr. Covey and Trisha/Trina’s wedding was cute, too- I struggled to decide whether Kitty wearing a necklace that says ‘feminist’ and a tux is a bit too on-the-nose, but I’ve decided that it’s nothing to get my knickers all in a twist about (for clarification: it’s not the necklace or the crossdressing that made me debate this; I just wish they didn’t make a big deal out of it- I wish they didn’t have Kitty and Lara Jean get into an argument about her not wearing a dress, if that makes sense?).

And the final letter- the one from Peter to Lara Jean- I ate that shit up; it was so, so, so cute.

In conclusion (why is it so easy for me to crank out 3k about my thoughts on a Netflix movie and yet when it comes to English Lit. at school, I’d stare at a blank sheet of foolscap for ages?), did I enjoy the movie? Not really. There were parts of it that I liked, but it was overall too boring and I kept wishing I’d watched the new SKZ Code episode instead every few minutes.

But that doesn’t mean that it was bad. I kinda feel a little sad, actually, now that Lara Jean and Peter’s story has come to a close; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the first movie, is one of my favorites, and bitch though I might about them, the kinda grew on me… like an innocent plant, at first, but then like a fungus. Not a parasitic fungus, just not mutualistic, either… kind of like a commensal.

Maybe I should stop with the biology similes.

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ashtrayfloors · 3 years

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Things I forgot to say in my last post, + some new things:

1. On that trip to SF/Oakland where I met P., I performed at an event called the Big Gay Cabaret. (That’s when I mainly performed music, both after and before my spoken word years, but I digress.) Part of the reason I made the trip out there at that time was so I could be part of the BGC. Now, the organizers called it that because there’s a nice rhyme to “Big Gay Cabaret;” ostensibly it was an event for all us LGBTQIA+ folks. After the fact, I heard that some of the organizers complained that not all the performers were “queer enough,” and I’m pretty sure I was the most egregiously “not queer enough” performer. I was wearing a very “girly” dress that night, and I played a song I’d written about P.—I introduced it by saying: “This is for someone who’s in the audience. Hopefully he won’t run screaming away when he hears it.” So, yes, I was very feminine-presenting and mentioned that the song was about a “he,” but like: the song itself didn’t have any pronouns in it, so it could’ve been about anyone of any gender. Not to mention, they didn’t know my gender identity and sexual orientation, or P.’s. For all they knew, P. could’ve been bi or non-binary or trans, and I’m bisexual and non-binary, no matter what I look like or who I’m with. Yeah, I wear dresses and fuck dudes sometimes. Still here, still queer, get over it! That whole thing made me a little salty. But whatever, the other performers dug my shit, and after the cabaret a group of us went to a burlesque show, and P. and I drank absinthe, and a bunch of half-naked burlesque girls told me I was gorgeous, and when we went outside to smoke P. let me wear his leather jacket (because June in San Francisco is cold) and he took a photo of me that’s one of my favorite photos of me, ever, and then later that night I told him I loved him.

2. Last week, on a night when I couldn’t sleep because it was too hot, I was sitting out on our back steps, and I saw a shooting star flash its green length partway across the sky before disappearing. (Yes, I made a wish.)

3. Our date on Saturday was really nice. It was so good to be out in the world. There was hardly anyone else in the bar we went to, and the staff are all fully vaccinated (they have a sign on their door stating so) and so are we, so we got to sit at the bar, and talk to the owners, and oh my god! A conversation with other humans not in my pod! In a bar! And we loitered a bit in my favorite alley (what, you don’t have a favorite alley?), taking photos and looking at all the scratchings people had left. I saw the names of three old flames, all of whom were people I met and fell for in ‘03 or ‘04, which is a time period I have been thinking and writing about a lot lately, and it felt a bit spooky. Later on, we sat out on our patio, and our neighbors across the street were having a graduation party for their son, and they had a DJ spinning old soul and R&B, and so we got to enjoy their music while we sipped our fancy cocktails.

4. I love that people are having parties again, and going out again (I know, some people never stopped doing those things, but I am talking about the world-at-large), but I hate the uptick in mass shootings that has come with it. I’m no longer so scared of catching CoViD when I go to a store, but I am now, once again, scared of getting shot. Fuck the NRA and all the politicians who are paid off by them to further their agenda. That’s all I’ll say about it for now, or I’ll get too angry and upset.

5. Saturday night, I had another intense dream. This one wasn’t sexy or fun-weird or even melancholy, no, this one was straight-up horrific. It involved a cursed house, and floods, and murder, and suicide, and the murders and suicides were extremely graphic. It’s been a while since I’ve had a nightmare like that. I used to have graphically horrific nightmares at least once a month, if not more, and thank god they’re more infrequent now—but when I do get them, oh, they’re still just as awful as they ever were. Sometimes horror films don’t do it for me because my subconscious creates way more horrific stuff on its own. Maybe this is a sign that I need to start writing horror. If I could create a discernible plot to go with my dream from Saturday night, it would make a pretty damn good piece of horror fiction.

6. My area is going through a terrible drought; the worst we’ve had in about 16 years. I hate it because it’s ruining crops, and I worry about the environment, but I also hate it on a personal level. I love summer rainstorms, and I love walking barefoot in the grass when it’s all lush and cool and soft—but right now it’s dry and brown and dead and scratches my feet. I’ve been doing rain-summoning spells and I guess they worked a little bit—rain wasn’t in the forecast for today but wind and dark clouds came up out of nowhere about an hour ago. I stood out in the backyard and talked to the sky, and it did rain. It rained hard, but only for about 15 minutes. Better than nothing, and I immediately threw all the windows open because that is another thing I’ve been missing—the smell of rain on dirt, the smell of rain on hot pavement. I’m going to continue with my spells; the more I do them, the more rain they’ll bring.

7. One of the best things about being full vaccinated, and this summer as opposed to last summer, is that, though my allergies and sinus issues are in full effect, I don’t freak out thinking I have CoViD every time I have the slightest tickle in my throat.

8. Last night, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, and noticed a post from N.—photos of who she was hanging out with. And one of those people was D.S. When I knew N., she lived in Wisconsin. And when I knew D.S., he lived in Austin. Now they’re both in New Orleans. N. was an almost-lover of mine, and D.S. was a lover of mine (and in fact he asked me to move to Austin to be with him, and I did consider it at one point). It just freaked me out, because—I’ve often been accused of holding onto the past, but even when I’ve let it go, I inevitably get reminded of it. This isn’t the first time (not even close) that people I know from completely different times and places encounter each other without my introducing them. Is it that I’ve had too many lovers/almost-lovers and not enough friends, or is it just a small fucking world? Anyway, after I saw that, P. and I were trying to be intimate, and I had a hard time getting into it because I was thinking about N. and S. and— It’s not that I was wishing to be with either one of them, truly. N. and I have become great friends and I no longer have romantic feelings for her; I barely think about D.S. these days, and when I do, it’s only as an amusing anecdote from my misspent youth. It’s just that I felt haunted by, to quote Lynda Hull, that vast hotel, the past. And I recently read 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell, and the whole concept of that book is that, when you’re in a room with a lover, both of you bring all your ghosts with you. Queue the Laura Marling: these are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you.

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velkynkarma · 6 years

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Get to Know the Author

@bosstoaster has been tagging me all night :P

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?

I’ve had the name ‘Karma’ for about 17 years now? I don’t even remember where it came from. The ‘Velkyn’ got added a little over 10 years ago when I decided I wanted to get back into fic writing. But I was still in that phase where you think you’re supposed to ‘grow out’ of fandoms and writing fanfiction, so I didn’t want any of my friends to know I was doing it. I was embarrassed. It was silly. I picked a different handle, VelkynKarma, which actually means ‘hidden Karma.’ Later I just liked the name and also got over my embarrassment for fic writing and just started using it everywhere.

2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/subscriptions/hits/kudos).

No matter what statistic you look at, Routine Maintenance wins across the board by a large margin. Parasite Knight only has 1 less subscription, though, so I guess it’s a fair contender on subs.

3. What is your AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?

Same as my tumblr icon, it’s one of my OC’s, Morrigu Lovel. He is a little smartass and I love him.

4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters?

Oh for sure, there’s a few lovely readers that come back every time and always have something to say. I love you guys :) And a few others that don’t comment on every chapter or every work, but the comments they leave are always phenomenal and make my day.

5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?

Depends on my mood, and I don’t necessarily read the entire fic, just the paragraphs/scenes/chapters that really stick out to me. But yeah, I’ve got some favorites I return to a lot.

6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?

Oh geez. This one’s hard to say since I watch stuff on AO3 and FF.net. A lot? I think a lot of those fics are dead now though.

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?

Mmmm I don’t really have a tendency to stick to any particular series or AU for very long? I guess in terms of general themes I’ve done zombie AU’s the most, between Age of Heroes for Young Justice and Road Trip to End Times for Voltron...something about zombie apocalypse scenarios just fascinates me, especially since it can be done so many different ways.

8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)

252 user subs, 444 work subs, 2039 bookmarks. I didn’t even know that until now, huh

9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)

There’s some character interactions that are such hot-button topics in the VLD fandom I’m cautious about approaching them because I don’t want to deal with people complaining or begging for things to get escalated. Like, I love Keith and Lance’s interactions in canon, but don’t have much fic centered around them because ship lashback is real.

10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.

Short fic. What is brevity even? I can’t do zines or commissions because I can’t figure out how to manage a damn word count.

11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?

Nope! I don’t write any ships at all. I just write platonic interaction. Though I guess I wouldn’t be adverse to a platonic ‘rarepair’ as long as I liked the characters’ interaction potential.

12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?

So far, 25. 23 of those are Voltron, 1 is Young Justice, and 1 is Supernatural (experimenting with cross-posting on both of those last two, some fandoms are just hard to break into or not on certain sites).

13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?

Oh boy. In progress? I wanna say 3. Notes? A lot, lot more.

14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?

I jot down notes! Or email myself ideas if I’m at work/out and about. Or speak them into a little portable digital tape recorder I keep next to my bed, if it’s the middle of the night and I have an idea, but lack dexterity to type.

15. Have you ever co-authored a story?

Not in a long, looong time.

16. How did you discover AO3?

Through TVTropes. Every time I finished a new series I’d swing by to read tropes pages and see if there were any decent fic recs. At first they all went to Fanfiction.net or livejournal but, over time, this ‘Archive’ thing kept showing up. I made an account to lurk or subscribe to things but didn’t actually start posting to it until at least a year later.

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3?

Moderately well known in the platonic corner of it probably assuming people know bosstoaster and I are not actually the same person lol but probably not well known outside of that. Once upon a time I was a Big Name in the One Piece fandom, but after the timeskip I fell out of the fandom and lost my pirate king throne. That’s okay, it was fun while it lasted.

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?

No but you all are too kind

19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?

In terms of ‘official’ authors, Brandon Sanderson is everything I ever aspire to be as a writer, and I take a lot of inspiration from that. For fic? My buddy BlackFriar was super helpful during the Young Justice era. More recently in the VLD fandom, @maychorian was big for just...getting me to stay in the fandom at all? One of her fics got me hooked and I stuck around, and then felt compelled to write, instead of just drifting off to the next interesting thing. And the Think Tank ( @bosstoaster @butteredonions @ashinan @mumblefox ) have all been huge for getting me to keep writing, between writing sprints and interesting discussions and a lot of encouragement, so that’s been huge for me this past year.

20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?

At the risk of sounding like that one video...just do it. It’s scary to put yourself out there, but just do it. You learn by doing. You also learn by absorbing new things around you, so read a lot and try new stuff; you never know when something completely random or a personal experience might actually add a lot to your story. And finally, write for you, first. Write the stories you want to see. Writing for comments/bookmarks/reblogs only goes so far. It means your motivation is reliant solely on people liking your work, which means you start writing for other people and not for yourself...and if reception is lackluster, it can kill your ability to finish a project, which hurts your practice at follow-through. It’s a slippery slope and starts to make the whole thing a lot less fun and a lot more of a chore. Write things you want to read, and if you feel like sharing them after, other people might like them too, but it’s important that you like it, first.

21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?

Has to be plotted completely. If I try to wing it I meander or get hung up on trying to keep track of details. Turns into total garbage.

22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?

A few times, sure. Happens to everyone. Most often, it’s people begging, demanding, or insinuating that my platonic fics should include a ship, especially if the fic focuses on the interactions of two specific characters. Those are very frustrating because I’m always upfront about the fic being friendship only, and there are usually a million other ship fics already out there. Leave my platonic fic alone! I usually ignore the comments, or just politely remind people it’s friendship only and will remain that way. In one bewildering instance in a different fandom I had somebody who had been thoroughly enjoying the fic up until the climactic battle, whereupon they were furious at how it was resolved, and took great pains to tell me just what they thought. That one stung. I had to sit on it for a few days before I worked up the nerve to respond, and chatted with a few friends over it too. In the end I realized that it was more comparable to a fan really enjoying a canon work but being mad about a sudden twist that just didn’t seem right to them. It happens. I thanked them for reading, explained that I disagreed with their comments but did hear them, and thanked them for their time. Best I could do.

23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..)

I am straight-up incapable of romance, period. Even so far as to slide into ‘fake’ romance (I once got prompted for fake marriage/dating and literally couldn’t envision how to do it? It’s just so foreign to me). Or flirting. I can’t even identify flirting IRL. Basically anything in that general area of writing is completely out of my league. I can write intense scenes that are intimate in non-romantic, non-sexual ways, but those are really difficult for me to do too and I’m constantly second-guessing myself in case it’s maybe too much.

24. What story(s) are you working on now?

If I told you I’d have to kill you. But no, srsly, I don’t like to share ideas in progress until it’s almost done, just in case. Sometimes I share and then immediately lose interest, but I’ve already raised peoples’ hopes, and that’s just a dick move.

25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?

I’ll have outlines, or sometimes need to plan around prompts. I don’t usually do series, so I never really need to plan too far ahead though. Sometimes if I’m plotting a crossover/AU I’ll obtain the source material and read/watch/play it to start gathering notes for that fic while working on a different fic, so that by the time I’m done writing the current story, the AU’s skeleton is plotted out and I have a place to slot in all the characters.

26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?

No. I’ve gotten better habits since working with the Think Tank but I still tend to be more of a ‘burst’ writer (no activity for days or weeks, and then suddenly word vomiting 100K in a month).

27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?

By a HUGE margin

28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written?

Oooh, that’s a toss-up between Phantasmagoria and Prince of Memory. The former because I love writing horror and it’s an idea I’d wanted to tackle for a while. The latter because it was a personal writing challenge to myself that I honestly wasn’t sure was going to go over all that well, but the response was stunning, and I was quietly surprised.

29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written?

Caged Bird, from a different fandom. I make it a personal rule to never delete stories that I’ve posted, but ooh man, I wanted to get rid of this one really bad. I was happy when LJ gutted it. I actually don’t have any real dislike for any of my Voltron stuff.

30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?

Still writing because I’d die if I stopped. Like a shark. But with writing.

31. What is the easiest thing about writing?

That flash of inspiration, when you get an idea and suddenly it’s building itself almost too fast for you to keep up. Dialogue. Action sequences.

32. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Getting started. Titles. Editing. Research. Any particularly emotional moment.

33. Why do you write?

Because fandoms are fun but I have so many questions after. “What if X happened? What if Y was a factor? Why not Z?” I try to hunt down answers to these questions in fandoms and if the fic isn’t already written, I write it. Also to challenge myself to do things that haven’t been done in the fandom yet, or to tackle things I haven’t tried yet.

I think everyone’s been tagged already so...feel free to play if you want, I guess!

#memes #fanfiction #fanfic #writing memes

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tellerford13 · 7 years

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MO ASTOR- CHAPTER 19

We don’t own the bikes, brothers, or any “related” Sons of Anarchy, trust us, if we did we wouldn’t have the time to write. No money is being made from our stories. So, please don’t sue. It’d be a fruitless endeavor indeed. That being said, Harley, Journee, and any other newbies are ours, and we don’t share. :Whispers in creepy voice: “My precious.” The universe This reality is a mix of cannon, and our own ideas. We strive to keep the boys cannon, but since we will be shifting around some of the events, that will reflect in our writing and their personalities as well. It’s our goal to provide you with quality fiction, and solid, fleshed out OFC. We appreciate constructive criticism and love LOVE reviews, they are a writers life blood and definitely help encourage us and inspire us. We will be posting on our Tumblr where we’ll have fun pictures from time to time as well. http://tellerford13.tumblr.com We’ll also be taking requests for one shots, preferences or imagines for all things Sons at our other Tumblr, so check it out and send your thoughts!http://tellerford13oneshots.tumblr.com/ And just for fun, we’ve decided to start a Pinterest for the story! So if you want a glimpse at our girls and see into our world, check it out! https://www.pinterest.com/tellerford/

A/N:

Thanks to everyone who’s been reading, messaging, and following us. We love you guys. It’s your responses to the story that keeps the words flowing. We hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as we are.

Chapter 19

Lee

My body aches deliciously as I stretch my arms above my head and open my eyes to the sunlight streaming through the window. I blink, slowly adjusting. I’m shocked I’m not still sleeping. The buzz of the phone beside the bed catches my attention. That’s why. Oh my, God, it’s got to be Journee. I wiggle free from the band of Jax’s arm and grab the phone.

J: The V-Card is gone and oh my God. It was everything I hoped it would be. I’m literally texting you from the bathtub I’m currently soaking in because Chibs put in work.

I giggle.

L: Babe, I’m so happy for you. Poor pretty Kitty got wrecked, didn’t it?

J: Deliciously so. But I’m assuming yours is the same?

L: I’m not in a bath yet, but I will be soon.

J: Yay! Did you like my gift?

L: Yes, you meddlesome bastard. It was a nice touch.

J: Good. I hope you can walk okay because we got to do this shit all over again at sunset.

I laugh out loud.

“Hmm?” Jax grumbles sleepily.

“It’s nothing I’m talking to Baby J.”

“Tell her congrats,” he mumbles as he snuggles in behind me.

L: J says congrats on losing the V-Card.

J: Tell that punk I said, you’re welcome.

“She says you’re welcome,” I say laughing.

“Aww come on, that brat knows I love her by now,” He mutters, his lips ghost across my neck.

L: He says you know he loves you.

J: Just tell him you need to be able to actually walk down the aisle again today.

L: Pot meet kettle.

J: Why do you think I’m in the tub? :P

L: You’re ridiculous, and I love you, Mrs. Telford.

J: That’s never going to get old. Gotta go Daddy said my wifey time is up for now…

Her happiness is radiating through the phone, and it makes me grin. She deserved this. They both do. I snuggle back into Jax and groan as I realize it’s already eleven.

“Babe we have to get up. We got to do shit for the Samcro wedding.

“Fucking hell. If I didn’t love her…”

“The fear of your mother would still make you do it.”

He pokes my side, and I giggle.

“Shut it you.” He rolls me over onto my back. “ I ain’t the only one afraid of hell on wheels. Good morning.” He places a sweet kiss on my lips.

“Morning,” I say as I run my hands through his soft hair.

“Last night was amazing.”

“I know. So amazing I need to soak in a bath.”

He laughs.

“Room service?”

“Only way we’re not going be horrifically late,” I say.

“You call and order. I’ll start the bath.”

“Perfect.” He rolls out of bed, and I admire his ass as he walks across the room. “And I want bubbles.”

“Yes, your highness,” he tosses over his shoulder with a laugh.

“It would be only fitting Little Prince.”

I order two breakfast platters with eggs, bacon, toast, oatmeal and fresh fruit. We’ve worked up an appetite, and I know I’m going to need to be fortified to get through this grand production. Yesterday ran smoother because Sugar took the lead. She has an easy going style that trickled down. Gemma… does not. She’s high energy without being perky and has a way of making everything seem urgent. This is the first chance she’s ever gotten to play the mother of the bride, and see one of her “Boys” married , so she’s living up to her role of Momster.

“Bath’s ready baby.” Jax’s voice calls to me.

I push myself to a sitting position and wince gingerly as I crawl out of bed. I wasn’t kidding about needing the hot water. It's been awhile since I had a dick inside me, and we didn’t stop until we literally passed out. I lost track of how many times we went at it. That’s what happen when you have years of build-up. I walk in, and he narrows his gaze.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little sore in the best possible way. Don’t worry. The hot water will do the trick. It’s just been a long time since I was with anyone other than J.”

“Other than J. Still getting used to that plot twist. Should’ve known, though. You two are abnormally close.”

I pout. “No, we’re not.”

“Hey. She’s the only person I’d ever share you with, and I get to enjoy it. I’m not complaining.”

“You need an ally to survive around here.”

“That’s true.” He holds out his hand and helps me step into the water. I moan as the heat penetrates my skin and my muscles begin to relax.

“Too hot?”

“No, just right.”

He grins. “Scoot up.”

If you’d told me I’d be in a tub with my boyfriend, Jackson Teller, a year ago I would’ve laughed in your face, now I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.

I lean back against his solid chest and enjoy the silence before the craziness to come. “Your mother is going to grill us.” I say with a sigh.

“Yeah, but not today. She’ll be too busy making sure everything is perfect. Believe me, I calculated this before I made my decision to come out.”

“You little schemer.”

He chuckles and the vibration works its way through me. Silence falls as we soap one another and wash off.

“I’ll get out to get the food you relax.” He places a kiss on my forehead as he climbs from the bath.

I nod happily and add more hot water. Jackson isn’t small. It’ll take some adjusting to his size, and I am so okay with that.

I slip out of the tub when the water turns cold and dry off. Jax is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with breakfast set on the table.

“You trying to get back into my pants, Teller?”

“Pretty much my main goal from here on out.”

I laugh. “Let me get dressed. Then we can eat and join the insanity.”

It feels good to be at the table with Jax like this. I rest my feet in his lap and soak up his presence as I demolish everything on my plate. A girl could get used to this.

***

“Well look who decided to show up,” Gemma says as we enter the building.

I bat my lashes.

“Hey, Mama Gem.”

“Don’t you think you got away with anything, I’m just too damn busy to have the conversation I want to with you. Don’t worry we’ll be doing it later,” She says as she hugs me and kisses my cheek. “You hear from your sister? Is she still alive? Is Chibs? He’s got his hands full there.”

I laugh. “Both are alive and blissfully happy.”

“Good.” She moves on to hug Jax, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Jax winks at me over her shoulder, and I roll my eyes. Cocky shit.

“What do you need us to do, Ma?” he asks.

“You are going to make sure those Prospects don’t’ fuck anything up, and when I get Chibs here, you need to keep him away from his bride until the ceremony, or they may never make it down the aisle. I ain’t never seen a man so damn besotted.” She shakes her head, and I laugh.

“And you giggles...” She points at me. “You go collect her and start getting her ready for her big day.”

My laughter stops. Daddy is going to love this interruption.

“Alright. Let me go now. This might take awhile. I may need to borrow a pry bar from the garage too,” I say.

“See you later baby,” Jax says planting a sweet kiss on my lips I know is for his mother. I hide my chuckle as she melts and head out to my car, which I left parked here. I’m excited to see Journee and truth be told I’m glad I’m the first one to get to see her post a v-card loss. I just know she’ll have a special kind of glow. I start up the car and pull away from the lot, happy to be leaving the craziness.

Brothers have poured in from all the nearest charters, the crows are out full force trying to be taken home when they go, and in some instances, tempers are flaring. The only thing keeping Tig from punching Koz out right now is his love for Chibs. He wouldn’t do anything to ruin his best friend’s wedding day or their “wifey’s”. It makes me happy that the people I love most care so much about one another. A small, loyal circle is the only thing I’ve ever wanted. I’d rather have four quarters than one-hundred pennies as Gram used to say.

I knock on the door shocked I’m not hearing animalistic sounds coming through the wall. Journee opens the door in a white velour jumpsuit I swear I haven’t seen before. Her face is lit with the glow from within, and for a moment I’m speechless.

“Journee you look so beautiful.”

She laughs. “What? I don’t have any makeup on. You just saw me all dolled up to the nines.”

“Can’t hold a candle to you right now.” I pull her into a tight hug.

“I can say the same for you , Harley Haven. Jesus. He must have put it down too.”

“Oh yeah.” We both giggle before she pulls away and invites me in.

“New outfit?”

She squeals. “Yes, Look.” She turns and I laugh at the Mrs. Teleford written on the back in rhinestones and Just Married across her thick ass. I pat her ass gently. “Very nice. From Mr. Telford I assume.”

She nods her head. “He knew my size and everything. Can you believe it?”

“With the way that man is. I’d be shocked if he didn’t know your damn period cycle.”

She glances away, and I laugh. “Oh, he does. Where is the Mr.?”

“Finishing getting ready in the bathroom. I had to bribe him with a little present to hold him over to get out of bed,” She says tapping her lips. I laugh. Now that they’re married it looked like the shoe was on the other foot. He’s the one who’s done giving a fuck about wedding and ceremonies.

“Already getting sneaky and persuasive,” I tease.

She shook her head. “NO, the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can come back here.”

I laugh. “I think he’s created a monster.”

She nods happily. “Oh my God, we left after the kiss. Thank you for the cover by the way. How did everyone take it?”

“Mixed bag of shock, I knew its and congratulations. All positive.”

“Damn I bet Gem was gloating.” “Oh, hell yeah. She’s as pleased as a pig in mud right now. Her girls are paired off with Sons.”

“Only took thirty years,” Journee said dryly.

“Is that your wife I hear?” Chibs asks strolling out of the bathroom looking like a completely different man. His hair is starting to grow out from his close cut, and he looks younger than I’ve seen him look in years. I struggle to keep my jaw from dropping at the transformation.

“Congrats Mr. Journee,” I say

He chuckles. “Aye. Laugh it up. I’ll be her bitch any time as long as she remembers who her Daddy is.” My eyes bulge, married has changed him in more ways than appearance.

She laughs. “Wicked Scotsman.”

“Don’t ye forget it. They sent you to collect us I keen?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, but I was happy to go. It’s a mad house.”

“Which is why we’ve been hiding out here.”

“OH, I’m sure that’s why ” I say as he smirks and gives me a playful wink.

“You ready for me to deliver you to Jax. He’s supposed to keep the two of you separated. Gem’s orders, so don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Jesus, Christ, we’re already married. I don’t wanna be apart from her any more than I have to.”

“I know. You know how Gem is, though.”

“Aye. A right devil woman when she wants something. I’ll say me goodbyes now and ride me bike there. I’ll need the peace on the road to keep from blowing up on someone today.”

Journee pouts. “Ahh none of that now,” he says pinching her chin lightly.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too, love. But soon I promise you there’ll be nothing but time for us.”

She cocks her head to the side, and I bite my inner cheek to hide my grin. It’s hard to surprise her, but this we nailed.

“Give Daddy a kiss love and don’t make it too hard on me.” He twines his fingers in her hair and pulls her to him. He tugs her down and devours her mouth with a passion that has my libido thrumming. Yeah, they won’t be leaving the bed for half of their honeymoon. He stands her back on her feet and lifts her hand to kiss her ring finger. “Love you, “

“Love you too. Wait, Filip, Shouldn’t you take my ring.”

He scowls. “No. I’ll take it off when I meet you at the altar. I don’t want it off your finger for that long. Keep her company and don’t let Gem drive her crazy today, eh?”

“I’m on it Chibby.” He kisses my cheek and walks out with a new confident swagger I swear he didn’t possess before.

The door closes behind him, and I turn to Journee. “Jesus is your vagina magical? He’s like a brand new man.”

She laughs. “He’s just showing you what I’ve gotten to see for years. He’s private is all. I can’t wait to see J.” She rubs her hands together. “I’m going to give him so much shit. All those years of telling me to shut up J, when I pointed out, he was acting like a jealous boyfriend instead of a bestie.”

“Evil woman. What do we need to get out of here?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing Gem has everything because, you know why wouldn’t she?” Journee grabs her purse off the table, and we head out of the hotel.

“I want to hear more about you and J.”

“Um no V-card loss tops that. How was it?”

“God everything. I was nervous, but he had me so damn hot for him, I quickly forgot that. He didn’t even take off my dress Lee.”

“What!” The picture she painted was straight out of old-fashioned romance. “Your man is one romantic motherfucker.”

She laughs “ I know. I can’t believe he’s finally mine.”

“I know the feeling. Jax is by far the biggest man I’ve ever been with. My kitty was crying uncle this morning before I got into the tub.”

Journee laughs, and we link arms as we headed towards the elevator.

“I know that feeling well, my friend,” she says. “I bet. Chibs got a big one?”

“Big, thick, and damn tasty.”

I laugh. “You were always such a cum whore.”

“What? I like what I like.”

“I know.”

“Sides, Chibs has some very specific ideas for that cum.”

“Oh my God. Are you two trying?” I whisper.

“Shit. Ma and Pa Telford are ready to move on from their firstborn to baby number two?” “I think he’s more afraid it’ll take awhile. Normally it does take up to a year to be successful, and I know he’s worried about his age being a factor. It’s been a dream of mine for years. I’m ready when it happens, and if it doesn’t yet, I’m having a shit ton of fun trying.”

We step into the elevator, and I can’t stop grinning. Considering her Juice’s mom might be off to outsiders, but to us it’s normal. He was looking for a motherly figure, and Chibs is like a father to so many of the brothers, why wouldn’t she take on that role? Hell, now that my mind is wired to think it I swear their smiles have started to look identical. It's like when someone adopts a child, and suddenly you realize all the similarities they have with their non-birth parents.

“What about you and J? In it for the long run?”

“That remains to be seen. You know me and my luck with men, or should I say lack of.”

“No, this is different, and to be fair, all my predictions have come true. I’m Mrs. Chibs Telford, and you are so head over heels for Jackson Teller it isn’t funny, and vice versa.”

“Dude you were fifteen when you said that.”

“U-huh. Doesn’t make me any less right.”

“Okay, Gemma,” I say sarcastically as we reach the ground floor and walk out toward the car.

“Oh no, that was just a mean pot shot.”

“No, I’m just telling you who you sound like.”

“Humph.”

***

Journee

I can’t even put the way I feel into words. I’m married. Filip is not just my boyfriend or my old man. He’s my husband. He married me in a full-scale Catholic ceremony with all the trimmings in a Kilt. Not even my fifteen-year-old brain could make that up. I run my fingers over the bags as we prepare for the wedding in one of the many bungalows we’ve rented out by the beach. Yesterday I was still a girl. I wore a white dress and a veil, and my parents gave me away. Today is different. I’m a married woman being given away by Gemma and Clay because as the King and Queen of Samcro it’s their right. I have GB’ ties, but Chibs is my old man.

I unzip the dress and trail my fingers down the pale blue dress adorned with pink, pale blue and pale purple 3d applique flowers. It’s no secret what went on last night. This is my way to announce it to the world. Journee Telford is all woman, and all her old man’s. The deep V put the first dresses dip to shame and has to be secured by carefully placed double sided tape.

“Are you ready to get dressed, baby girl?” Gemma asks.

“I’m so ready.”

“I think what she’s ready for is the honeymoon,” My mother says.

“Ma.”

“I’m sure she got a preview last night,” Gemma says dryly.

“Can we not talk about my sex life?” I ask as they all laugh.

Today is for my Samcro family. I’ll have Lee at my side, and Chibs will have Tig. I knew yesterday was for me. It’s why Jax was at his side instead of his bestie. This way everyone will be happy. It’s funny how particular these men can be. People think they’re unfeeling, but they couldn’t be more mistaken. I slip out of my jogging suit and the ladies begin to giggle.

“Damn Savage Scot,” Gemma says as she clucks her tongue.

“You’re right we don’t need to talk about your sex life when we can see it.”

“What?”

I twist to the left and right scanning my body.

“Oh, babe. Your man is wicked,” Lee says.

“Tell me.”

“He left you a little present,” Gemma says.

Lee takes my hand and guides me to the bathroom. I glance in the window and giggle at the hickeys in the shape of a heart on my back.

“She’s not even upset. How is that going to look when she walks down the aisle?” Gemma asks.

“Like she got loved well last night,” Mom says.

“When he said he was possessive, I should’ve listened,” I say dryly.

“We need to send a Crow to go get some cover up,” Gemma says.

“No. It stays. He did for a reason,” I say.

“Is your dress going to cover that?” Gemma asks.

“Nope.” I pop the p and ignore her muttering. I like being claimed. Chibs never makes me feel less then or undeserving of his love. If others can’t understand that. It’s on them, not me.

“Let’s get you dressed pretty girl. It’ going to take a lot of taping to keep those mountains from being on display,” Lee says.

“You should talk chesty La rue.”

“Yeah but my dress doesn’t have a v to my belly button,” she teased as she runs her hands down the dark blue material of the dress with a sheer back of the same color and a hem adorned with blue roses that matches my dress.

“Hey, I gave you pockets.”

“You did, and the dress is gorgeous by the way.”

“Only the best for you,” I say blowing her a kiss.

“This generation always has to do it their way,” Gemma mumbles as she comes over and pulls out the dress. “This is beautiful, baby.”

“Thanks, Ma,” I say as her irritation slips away. Gem’s funny like that. She gets upset, but she doesn’t hold on to it…not for her girls.

They help me in my dress, and I swear it’s an entire lifetime since I did this last night. I don’t feel like the same person.

“You want me to put your hair up?” My mother asks.

“No, he’d want it down,” I say shyly.

“Oh My God, you two are so sweet you’re going to give me cavities,” Gemma says with a grin.

“You told me to take care off your boy didn’t you?” I ask.

“I never even had to ask with you,” She says pulling me into a hug.

“Crown,�� My mother say as she walks over with the crown made from white roses, thistles, and a tiny purple flower I’m not familiar with. Once I’m dressed and draped in a black robe, Aunt Luanne comes in with her makeup artist.

“Baby you look beautiful!”

“Thanks, Aunt Luanne.”

“Wait till you see the present her old man left her,” Gemma mumbles.

I roll my eyes and Lee smirks, glad for once she’s not taking the brunt of Gemma’s helpful comments.

“I think it’s sweet,” My mom says.

“Thank you, Mama.”

“It’s nice to know your old man is so passionate about you,” she says with a wink. “Not sure your Dad will agree.”

“Oh, God,” I fight the urge to cover my face as the makeup artist begins to work. Twenty minutes later I have a beachy glow, kissable lips, and wide eyes. My mother Steps up fluffing, wetting my hair with a spray bottle full of water and curl activator, and arranging my curls carefully before she places the crown on my head.

“You’re all done baby, and you are stunning.”

I kiss her cheek. “Thank you, Mama.”

“Are you wearing shoes?” Gemma asks.

I shake my head, pull up my dress and show her my bare feet that read Just Married… Again.

She laughs. “Only you. Come on, let’s get down there. We don’t want to miss the sunset.”

I’m surrounded by an entourage of women who’ve meant everything to me growing up, and it makes my throat swell and my eyes water. It feels like a different sort of giving away today. We reach the end of the makeshift wooden aisle on the beach, and I’m astonished by the sight of rows, and rows and rows of cut wearing brothers spread out over the sand in white folding chairs. The end of the aisles are adorned with simple floral displays made of the same thistle and white roses. They dangle on hooks and create a classic, rustic, and natural vibe that remind me so much of my husband. Husband, I love this word.

I spot Juice over by the side manning the music and a video camera. He aims at me and waves. I blow him a kiss. The maternal feelings I hold toward that boy grows by the day. If he was closer, I’d be kissing his cheek. Lee kisses my cheek as Tig walks over and offers her his arm.

“You look gorgeous, Lips,” he says kissing my cheek.

“Thanks, Tiggy. Go keep my man from sneaking a peak will you?”

He chuckles. “I’ll do my best. You ready baby doll? You look beautiful. ” He says to Lee.

“I am,” she says.

They nod to Juicy who cues up White Wedding by Billy Idol. I giggle along with the others attending as I remain around the curb where Filip can’t see me just yet.

“Jesus, the marriage and the ring the size of a small planet wasn’t enough to let everyone know you were his,” Clay says as he walks up beside me.

I give a small laugh. “Apparently not.”

“Oh, hush, I think it’s sweet,” Gem says as I choke on my tongue trying not to laugh. That woman was one of a kind.

Tig and Lee take their place and Juice fades out and starts Walk the Line. Filip turns and the dropped jaw and sparkle in his brown eyes compel me from all the way down the aisle. The bikers stand, and we begin the walk. The murmur and chuckles tell me the heart’s been noticed. Clay laughs beside me, and we’re all grinning when we reach the end, and I’m given away. He pulls my ring off and holds it in his hand as we turn to the priest. The rest is a blur as his eyes smolder with the promise of all the naughty things we’re going to do tonight. My pussy slicks and suddenly he’s reciting the biker oath, and I have no clue how we breezed through the ceremony. He dips me and kisses me deep, fucking me with his mouth. I dig my nails into the back of his neck and respond in kind. Whistles and claps go up as he rights me and grabs my hand. All you Need is Love plays as we make our way down the aisle to thunderous applause. You forget how big the SONs are until you get them all in one place. We reach the end of the aisle, and I lift my dress to walk over toward the area where the photographer is literally waiting, camera in hand.

“Love, I have to tell you something.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“We’re leaving for our honeymoon tomorrow to Scotland.”

My jaw drops and the camera begins to click. I throw myself into his arms as he laughs and spins me around. “ You’re the fucking best.” I cover his face with kisses and fall even deeper in love with the man whom I now share a last name with.

#sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction #Jax Teller #chibs telford #Mo Astor

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