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tangledinlove · 1 year ago

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36 LUKE PLEASE ☹️🙏

36 — “lifting the other one up” + luke castellan

Your helmet hits the grass with a dull thud. One of your sisters jumps over it to leap into her friend’s arms, the both of them cheering and high off adrenaline.

You’re sure you look gross from the sweat that comes with the August humidity and the exhaustion of playing Capture the Flag, but you can’t even care. Your team has just won in what’s arguably the biggest upset of this year; a defeat acquired in just twenty-four minutes.

One of the Hermes kids was able to convince the other team’s defenders that he’d nicked the flag, and then promptly scurried fifty feet up a random tree. He’d done it with a red t-shirt he’d been wearing under his blue one, and waved the fabric around while he threw sticks at his pursuers. While a group of five kids struggled to climb up after him, someone was able to get the actual flag before disappearing off to your half of the woods.

How not a single one of them realized was beyond you, but you weren’t complaining. You had bet quite a few things on the outcome of this match, and your team even ended up setting a new camp record.

“How the hell did that work?”

You turn around what’s probably a little too eagerly, something that is absolutely not excitement making a smile pull at your lips.

“Luke,” you say, trying not to make your entire face light up.

He drapes an easy arm around your shoulders, and he’s really hot (in both senses of the word) but you don’t push him off of you. You have it so bad you let his forearm, sticky from the heat, press right against your upper arm.

You wipe the smile off your face before it has the chance to form. Your completely casual crush on Luke Castellan is exactly that — casual.

You will forget about his stupidly pretty face by the end of the summer if it’s the last thing you do.

Kevin, the hero of today, gets lifted into the air, waving around his crimson shirt like it’s the American flag. The rest of your team chants his name while they carry him toward the beach.

“That wasn’t really what I had in mind when I told him to come up with a distraction,” he says, letting his helmet hit the ground next to yours. “He’s insane.”

He watches your team with a smile on his face, everyone still coming off the rush of such a fast win. His curly hair hangs down past his eyebrows, the strands slick with sweat.

“Did you take a dip in the lake?” you tease, tugging at one of the curls.

Like a wet dog, he shakes his head from side to side, making droplets of sweat land on your shirt. His grip on your shoulders tightens when you try to squirm away.

“You’re so gross, Luke,” you complain, though you have a feeling it sounds a little bit too giddy.

Ah, fuck, you’re doing it again. Saying his name in every sentence like an actual loser. Kissing him with tongue would probably be less obvious than whatever you’re doing right now.

You have to snap yourself out of whatever sick hypnosis the sight of his face puts you in. Quickly.

Kevin is kind enough to offer an ample distraction in the form of him rallying the crowd up. He whoops and hollers stuff you can’t quite hear, and then he’s tossed up in the air.

“He’s never gonna shut up about this,” Luke says, his hand sliding to the small of your back so he can lead you in the direction of the growing mass of kids.

Your legs almost give out, and your entire body tenses up on the spot. You wonder if you would be able to attribute passing out to heat stroke and not him being so close to you.

“Kevin’s crazy,” you agree when you find your voice again. “But I need to thank him, ‘cause our win means I am officially free from all my chores for the rest of the week.”

Luke laughs, and the smug smile the sound brings to your face is actually beyond ridiculous.

Pull it together, you remind yourself. There’s no way you’re acting like this over some guy.

“You’re kidding.” He nudges you with his shoulder, and the two of you make your way to where the rest of your team is still throwing Kevin into the air. “Which fools did you manage to get to pick up your work?”

“Dead serious,” you say rather proudly. “Marcia’s doing my laundry and Steven’s doing my dishes. And I don’t know if Carlos remembers, but he now owes me ten drachmas.”

Luke whistles, his smile lopsided and charming and directed solely at you. “Nice hustling.”

“Learned from the best,” you say before you can stop yourself. Against your better judgment, you nudge him back.

(It’s like you’re watching your plans to get over this stupid crush get washed down the drain.)

Someone calls out your names, and you find that you have to literally drag your eyes away from Luke’s face.

“Get in, you two!” Lauren says, her old camera clutched in her hands. Her face is half hidden with the way she’s looking in the viewfinder, trying to get everyone in the frame.

You hadn’t realized everyone had been huddling around for a picture, and most of your team are beckoning for the two of you to hurry up.

It’s easy to slide into the back of the crowd. You feel yourself get jostled around as people try to push Luke to the front, excited for their captain to be front in center in the photo.

You really try not to think too much about it, but he remains planted firmly where he is, one of his hands reaching for one of yours.

You fan your face with the hand not clutched in his, suddenly in what feels like a fight for your life.

Luke towers easily over the crowd, a smile plastered on his face while he takes in everyone’s matching grins. It’s easy for him to be seen over the group of kids since he’s on the taller side, and he’s already smiling for the picture.

On the other hand, you’re not so lucky.

“Oh,” Luke says, eyeing the guy standing in front of you, who’s a good head taller than you. “C’mere.”

What happens next is honestly kind of hard to explain.

(As expected, because you think you black out for the next thirty seconds.)

As casual as can be, Luke wraps his arms around your waist and lifts you clear off the ground — right into view of the photo.

“Say cheese!” you think Lauren says, because everyone choruses it back to her.

You have no idea if you smiled for the picture.

You have no idea if you’re even looking at Lauren’s camera.

You realize, absolutely mortified, that it’s entirely possible you’re staring wide-eyed at Luke’s face instead.

The next time you blink, the group is dispersing. Your sneakers are flat on the ground, and Luke is staring at you. His head is tilted.

“You okay?” he asks coolly.

He’s smiling at you so easily, like the feeling of his arms around your waist hadn’t literally stopped the beating of your heart.

“Absolutely!” you chirp back.

You want to strangle him.

a/n. this is entirely unedited and was written while half asleep but hiiiii! hoping this makes sense

#love writes #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan fluff #luke castellan image #pjo x reader #pjotv x reader #percy jackson and the olympians x reader #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x y/n #luke castellan scenario #xreader #x reader #readerinsert #reader insert

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sergiocanavero · 5 months ago

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rereading aftg again when last read was in 2020 and i was a teenager is a crazy experience so

Things I Forgot About , Missed, or Moved On From Way Too Quickly:

renee is so much more present than i remember! and she and neil do end up kind of friends (see: the trio running laps together everyday)

for some reason when i first read it I thought aaron was distant from the upperclassmen mostly of his own volition whoops

forgot just how bangin' the plot structure of tkm is and how well nora builds anticipation

SPEAKING OF WHICH idk if i'm just too familiar with the books and characters but I had zero complaints with the book. like everyone jokes about how it's a "bad story," "mid writing," "problematic," etc, and I used to as well (is it mostly to preempt being seen as cringe for loving the series? probably) but now I don't find any of these qualities to be true!

dude andrew is so fucking normal. i guess i'm jsut so used to him, I remember the second time I read the series I was kind of shocked by how harsh he was. Now everything he does makes such perfect sense, he almost seems chill . Kevin on the other hand?? wildest behavior in all of the first book

someone else brought smth similar up but I can't find it: would andrew have been willing to stab or harm nicky sober? i never questioned it before, but now it makes perfect sense that he would only be willing to do that when he was drugged out his mind

nicky isn't one of andrew's ; andrew is nicky's

andrew's monologue to luther!! all the while holding onto aaron and letting neil help him holy shit. someone kill luther too

every time I read the scene when neil goes to aaron and starts comparing drake death to tilda death to get him to understand I forget where he's going with it (saying andrew didn't want aaron to kill drake) and I get so confused

andrew is so much more quote unquote normal than I remember. like bro was volunteering so much more info about himself than he needed to - he wants to be known!!!!

PARALLELS between robin and kevin, namely: andrew only showing interest and going to join night practices once kevin resists riko by playing with his left hand, But only plays and helps once kevin gets fed up and hits him in the helmet with the ball VS andrew shows interest in robin and her playing exy is resistance to her captor, to being hidden away, but only helps her and teaches her once he pushes her to the edge of the roof and she finally hits him - when they each give up their respective inactions!!

god damn i need robin cross books, please nora

the "I've never understood why he likes knives" scene. holy mother of god

the king's men being far and away the best book of the trilogy. incredibly bonkers pacing, the kidnapping being only the first of three climaxes of the book, the second being jean's rescue by renee, the third the visceral, euphoric final match

I didn't know about "you were always going to lose him" until a few days ago WHAT of course andrew lost his shit kev baby where did that pr training go

but in all seriousness it's so insane for their relationship in so many ways

andrew covering neil's mouth as soon as he says proust's name -> i think i'm going to vomit

NEIL CONVINCED ANDREW TO GO FOR THANKSGIVING I completely forgot about this. what the fuck. what the Fuck. and I think this would have been a lot more irreparable for their relationship if riko hadn't paid drake off

i have never and will never forget renee showing up in the middle of the night for andrew's keys, not requesting, grim and calm and so determined you need to take a breath.

the drama of neil not realizing the buzzer was a goal

Andrew orchestrated their entire match against the ravens. no one understood it, but they trusted him enough. andrew literally won them the championship

andrew would have had to start running the second neil dropped to his knees right???

riko death my shayla. nora's writing is so visceral and this scene. my god, this scene. the face cradle + so much emotion that neil-readspeoplelikeabook-josten couldn't understand him

allison going back to play because andrew tells her about riko <3

renee guilt!!! over seth

renee guilt over not being able to protect allison

renee guilt over not being as good of a goalie (eg first half against the ravens)

monsters (and the rest of the foxes) comfortability with abby

"Same old Kevin, as unforgiving and obnoxious as always" "his tone was fond" - Jeremy Knox knows who kevin day is!! and likes him! not the fake, perfect, polite kevin that the other teams and the press usually see

dan wilds, an obsessive and manipulative babe. and successful at both

"Matt looked at Andrew. "one of these days you have to let me hit [Kevin]." Andrew gazed back at him in unimpressed silence." babe!! matt unafraid of andrew, casual "conversation" between them. I love their potential lighthearted friendship/understanding

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overlyobsessed223 · 8 months ago

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second chances

another halbarry ficlet. spoilers for kevin smith's GA bc this story takes place directly after his run. can maybe be read as platonic. featuring spectre hal and afterlife barry, enjoy :)

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Heaven has never been a particularly loud place. The sprawling hills that seem to stretch on endlessly provide each resident more than enough space to comfortably exist, and even then, the blissful peace that comes with complete and utter contentment lends to a lack of a need to converse or even speak in and of itself. Save for the whoops and laughter of the young boy wonder who inconspicuously showed up at the pearly gates only a few years after him, Barry has always known the afterlife to be nothing less than tranquil.

And yet, as he runs his thumb along the shaft of one of the arrows that have, as of recently, been left abandoned in the luscious green grass, he can’t help but think Heaven seems the quietest it’s ever been.

Too quiet, even, perhaps.

Seeing someone enter through the gates of this place only to return back to the land of the living has been far from unheard of. Barry remembers his bittersweet reunion with Clark some time ago, only for Clark’s soul to be pulled back to his body a short time after. But he has to admit, Oliver’s revival, in particular, has him slightly… surprised, due to the way Ollie had adamantly and consistently refused the second chance Hal so desperately wanted to give him.

Speaking of Hal, Barry senses his presence before he sees him. Well, mostly he senses the Spectre’s wild, angry, vengeful spirit, but he can perceive Hal, too, the loving, sentimental, willful man he’s always been veiled just beneath the powerful force of the wraith he’s bound to. There’s also sadness and guilt—so, so much guilt that it seems to physically weigh on his shoulders and in his eyes, and each time Barry sees him he’s harshly reminded that Hal has not yet earned his place in paradise.

“So, he’s really gone fully back?” Barry asks, continuing to study the arrow in his hand.

“Yes,” Hal’s voice answers from somewhere behind him. “For now, at least.”

Barry hums and nods. He swallows hard, feeling a prick of bittersweet grief in his chest. Zooming around the valley and scooping up all of the arrows scattered in the grass, he places them back into the quiver and leans it up against the target next to the bow.

“I kinda thought you’d seem… I dunno. Happier?” Hal comments after a moment. “Now that he’s gone. You two always did butt heads.”

“Yeah, we did,” Barry lets out an amused breath of laughter. A lifetime of heated arguments and cutting words flashes through his mind, and he remembers them fondly.

Oliver’s quick wit and snappy remarks did not die with him, but Barry was met with a very different Oliver Queen standing at the gates of the afterlife, one who he at first almost didn’t recognize. Ollie carried a certain kind of weariness, hollowed to the core by a life of mistakes and insecurities and internal struggles. His eyes had welled up with tears, actual tears when he saw Barry. He’d yanked him into a long, tight hug, and Barry for not the first time had wondered what exactly became of the world after the crisis and why it seemed to leave all of his friends shells of who they once were.

“It was nice having him around,” Barry says. He runs his hand down the edge of the red and white target, reminiscing as he’s so prone to do nowadays. “He mellowed out in his old age. I liked his company.”

He pauses, glancing at the empty valley he and Oliver used to spend hours playing in together.

“But,” he adds, “I’m glad he’s embraced the second chance he’s been given on Earth. If not for him, then at least for the people who loved him.”

“I wanted to bring you back, too.”

Barry stops. He turns around to look at Hal for the first time since he showed up and can just barely catch a glimpse of a too-pale face and dark eyes under a large, shadowy hood.

“I tried,” Hal’s eyes lower fractionally, like he can’t bear to meet Barry’s gaze. “But you—it’s been so long since your—there just wasn’t anything left of you to put back together.”

As he speaks, his words are heavy with shame. Whether that’s due to his failure to bring Barry back to life or that he tried to do it at all, Barry isn't sure.

“Well, that’s okay,” Barry says, and he offers Hal a genuine smile to show him that he means it, really and truly. “My time in the sun is long over, Hal. From what I’ve heard, Wally’s filled my boots just fine as the Flash.”

“It wasn’t the Flash I was trying to bring back,” Hal’s eyes lift to look at him head-on. The light of Heaven’s eternal day hits his face more, illuminating his tightened jaw. “It was Barry Allen.”

“Hal…” Barry sighs. He reaches to pull back his cowl and runs a hand through his hair.

“There’re people who love you, too,” Hal says, his voice slightly wavering. “People who would do… anything. Anything to have you back with them.”

Hal pushes back the hood on his head, letting it pool around his neck and shoulders, and Barry can see his entire face, from the deep frown tugging at his eyebrows and lips to the despair glimmering in his eyes. The years of compounded grief that, even in death, has left him looking aged and worn. Barry’s heart begins to ache.

“I know,” Barry says softly.

Because even before he died, Barry never doubted that Hal loved him. There was a special, unspoken connection between them, and in his final moments, one of Barry’s biggest regrets was leaving it unspoken. Now, though, Barry’s realized that maybe it wasn’t as unspoken as he’d thought.

Their individual paths of life split off from one another long ago, with Barry’s cut short and Hal’s a dark, winding road of pain and suffering. But in death, here they are, together. Although it isn’t like it used to be, and it’s far from a second chance for both of them in the way they'd like it to be, it’s still something to cherish and make the most of.

“Hey,” Barry moves to stand at Hal’s side, bumping their shoulders, “you don’t need to go back to work right away, do you?”

“No,” Hal tilts his head, that unruly chunk of hair becoming dislodged. Barry doesn’t bother to hold himself back from reaching to push it back into place. “Why?”

“Because we should race,” Barry gestures to the wide, open valley. “Like old times.”

Hal blinks. Then, he breaks out into a grin that’s rare nowadays. In a flash of green light, Hal is wearing his Green Lantern uniform, ring pulsating on his fist as he levitates from the ground.

“Alright, Barry,” Hal says, and his voice has already brightened significantly. “Let’s race.”

Barry pulls his cowl back onto his face, dips into a running position, and waits for Hal’s starting gun construct to go off.

Things aren’t the same. They’re on borrowed time before Hal has to go back to his work as the Spectre. Barry will have to remain here, and it could be minutes or eternities before they find themselves together again.

So all they can do now is make every last second count.

#halbarry #barry allen #hal jordan #spectre hal #green arrow 2001 #ficlet #my writing #i'll probably end up posting this on ao3 eventually but for now i'll keep it here #this also wasn't heavily edited so my sincerest apologies for mistakes

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bitofanattitudeproblemherondale · 1 year ago

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Kevin's Pov - after the foxes won

The final buzzer blew with a deafening alarm signaling the end of the match. The foxes had won the final match of the season, Kevin had lit the buzzer red.

The whole stadium erupted, Kevin could even see some of the lesser rude raven fans clap, begrudgingly. He fell to his knees in the middle of the stadium, suddenly he was surrounded by all of the foxes, these people that he had turn to at his lowest, who had accepted him even when they knew how much of a danger he would be, who had fallen behind him fighting and cursing but never bowing their head to anyone. Kevin couldn't help but smile.

"C'mon Day, who knew you had it in you to smile.", replied Dan.

"A game like this deserves one", Kevin replied sincerely.

Dan nodded, satisfied with his answer as she jumped into Matt's arm with a whoop. Without realizing what he was doing, Kevin lightly touched the chess piece imprinted on his face. the deadliest piece on board. Kevin thought back to all the times, he had to hold himself back from outshining Riko, nothing stopped him now, and that feeling was treacherous. He could taste victory on his lips, the sweat gliding down his face was a reminder of how the foxes had held their ground this season.

Just then, from the corner of his eye he noticed movement, Riko was aiming his racquet at Neil and the entire team was too far away from him to do anything. Kevin knew Neil was too tired to move, he could feel the heaviness in his bones. The warning died in Kevin's mouth as he saw another racquet fly through the air, an obnoxious orange, colliding with Riko's racquet and breaking his hand. Kevin turned to see Andrew Minyard looking at Neil with such profanity that he had to look away, they were like two planets orbiting around one another. Incomplete without the other.

Kevin tried not to wince as he heard Riko's groans take over the stadium, he walked with his teammates towards where his dad was standing with a proud expression on his face. Kevin did not know the first thing about having a father but he did know Wymack made sure he got back to the dorm safe every night, and for a minute there he could almost feel his mom's presence smiling down at him.

Kevin Day. Number 2. Starting Striker. The Foxhole Court. He repeated the words over and over in his mind and for once Kevin Day knew how to live.

#all for the game #the foxhole court #kevin day #neil josten #aftg foxes #incorrect aftg #aftg andrew #andrew minyard #i love them your honor #roman empire

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wonderful-meganekko · 2 months ago

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Lego Ben 10 is one of those things that im still surprised we never got (outside of those big figures from alien force, which were fine but not really what anyone hoped for). It would be so easy to make that it's almost kinda baffling.

even if we restrict ourselves only to the original series, there's still lots of potential. for one, you make the set be the Rustbucket. it's a good build, looks cool, very iconic. you have the set include the obvious mini-figs; Ben, Gwen, Grandpa Max. You obviously can't include a whooping 10 mini figures in this one set but that's fine, you can just divide it later on by making another set. My personal suggestion would be either Vilgax's ship or Tetrax's ship from the movie, but I suppose you could also go for a common city design. There's the choice of having a set that's just Dr.Animo and his giant frog, and maybe a set themed around Charmcaster so you can add a Lucky Girl fig for Gwen.

The aliens you can choose from the original series are a bit limited, though. Heatblast, Diamondhead and XLR8 would all require a custom head mold, but would otherwise be fine. XLR8 would maybe need a custom tail mold but i figure lego already has something out there that fits. Four Arms would maybe require a piece similar to garmadon's upper torso to account for, y'know, the four arms. He'd also need the top two arms to be bigger but again I think lego has one of those molded already.

The other aliens are a bit harder. Stinkfly would need to be a brick build, Gray Matter would be too small, Ripjaws would need a custom headmold but let's be honest he would not be added to any set. I have no idea how you'd handle Ghostfreak, and while upgrade and wildmutt would probably be easy to do, they'd need a lot more custom molds than the previously mentioned ones.

In terms of villains you can easily design a big-fig for Kevin, though it would need to be custom molded to have the four arms, tail, and wings. Vilgax would similarly work well as a big-fig. The other main villains outside of Animo I'd argue to not be iconic enough, except maybe Ghostfreak who could have a ship based on the college campus from his debut episode.

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ask-postcrash-curly · 2 months ago

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Helgo curlader! I gots some more SU for ya! Also I’m gonna go to a really awesome state park tomorrow! Will send pics later.

Also, sorry that watermelon Steven bothered u! Thanks for telling me, tho, I’m always happy to improve my warnings. Sometimes I don’t know what to warn against besides the obvious stuff (fire, explosions, dehumanization, etc). I guess I kinda forgot how disturbing that episode is. When I warned for plant death, probably shoulda warned that they were sentient plants. Despite how much you’ve said you appreciated these warnings, I was started to get in my own head about it and worrying I was starting to overdo it. I didn’t want you to feel like I was treating you with kiddie gloves, y’know? (I’ve… experienced kind of a lot of that. Growing up with a learning disability and all. But the kinda stuff I deal with is a very different beast from yours, ha. I’ve dealt with a lot of infantilization, and the kind of attitudes you deal with cuz of your disability are, well, different I think??)

Anyway, thanks for telling me it bothered u. Your boundaries and comfort are important! (Glad you’ve gotten better at that kinda stuff. I remember the days when you would disregard your own discomfort because you’d rather be mistreated than alone. Your growth has been inspiring to see, ha. Whoops! Look at me getting all nostalgic and off topic, ha.)

Hopefully you’ll like this next episode!

37. Alone Together

Warnings: contains Kevin. I hate Kevin.

I’m not sure if anything in this episode will bother u? (Besides Kevin. Everyone in the fandom freaking hated Kevin.) At one point [spoiler] starts to get really stuck in their head and self conscious? Idk how to describe it. Brief unreality I guess?? Sort of.

[Beams SU episode 37: Alone Together into your head]

Hello! ...That's a bloody reindeer joke. I almost missed it. Well, have fun at the park! I'll look forward to those pictures.

No worries. Thank you for taking that so well. It's really okay. I've told you this before, but I really appreciate you taking the time to figure out what's going to upset me. Helps to be prepared, you know? Thank you for not acting like it is kiddie gloves. (Mm. I suppose I'll find out more about that once I can go in public again... I've had some of that, uh, initialization stuff here, though. Not a bunch. Usually it's more insults and threats and shit. You're fine, though, seriously. Hey, I'm sorry that's happened to you.)

Thank you. (Yeah, yeah... Nostalgic? Hah. What's nostalgic about that? It was just a couple months ago anyways. Which is fucking insane.)

Kevin...? Huh. Okay. I'll be sure to look out for this, uh, Kevin.

Okay, so on today's episode, they're... learning to dance? Not complaining, but... Why?? Fusion, got it. Hah. I love how Garnet is casually better than everyone at everything. She's hilarious with that.

Aww, he's covering his eyes... That's adorable. Wait... Wait, what? Holy fuck, they fused? Connie's a full human. Wow. Aww, Garnet's so happy for 'em. Wait, does that mean I can fuse and have limbs back...? Haha. Kidding. Hah, see, this is what I mean! Garnet's the best one of 'em. Very encouraging, in her own way. This, uh, is basically two kids in a trenchcoat, though. But much more fun.

I went to one of these once. It sucked.

Damn, Stevonnie is tall. And barefoot... She— he— they're going to hurt their feet like this. Aw, no, they're getting upset... I think that's the Connie side of things? Is that how that works? Oh, that's Kevin. He seems kinda fun. Good taste in shoes, at least. But he really shouldn't be trying to dance with someone who's barefoot. If he steps on their feet he'll hurt them.

...?

Kevin needs to learn to take a hint. Why's he calling them "baby" anyways? That's weird. And he calls everyone garbage? I think you were right about this guy. He's annoying. Hey, good for them standing up for themself! All right, Kevin at least knows when to call it quits. Again, though, why is everyone so unphased by magic? I suppose they're used to it. Thanks for this one, Possums! Fun one.

#curlyposting #steven universe

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nightofthelivingmeme · 7 months ago

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Started First Class, y'all

Wait but I kind of love JLaw's Raven? She's adorable

But knowing how it ends up I do not enjoy the flirting with Hank because he's everything to meeee

But nbd those feet are a little freaky it's okay because I l o v e him.

How many goddamn mutations does Emma have?

This is giving me back my Kevin Bacon boner sorry everyone.

Fucking Erik interupting this weird little romance; and also kick starting a love triangle that's going to fall apart violently?

"What an adorable lab rat you make." How flirty.

The fucking hair I'm cdfbafaf and how worried Erik is when Cerebro starts.

This fucking gathering montage is killing me. And then there's goddamn Logan <3

this stupid little team bonding is fucking wonderful and WHOOPS party time. And more importantly, what the fuck is Hank doing

that leg pat was intimacy sorry I don't make the rules. The bending of the barbed wire was a. Frightening choice

Not only am I sad that my sweet lil mutant team is being ogled but I really don't love the choice of horrific attack and murder :(

Not here to hurt you, just to completely traumatize you. Angel took no hesitation in just noping the fuck out.

Goddamn they just offed Darwin almost as fast as they found him; and he looked so SAD and I am S A D

Honestly, I'm with Dadneto on the avengersing

"The law applies to humans." Every gen of Stryker is a fucking d o u c h e b a g

I love Raven and Charles' dynamic as kids, I just-

He loves his sister so much

I have to say I am very impressed by the careful enfolding of historical events into superhero lore.

Bruh, just kiss already. Turns out I'm definitely down for Cherik lol

I fucking adore McAvoy's Charles, he really encompasses psychotically loving teacher.

Banshee's chicken squawk just gave me a coughing fit

Alex you fucking odfjsdojgsor. anpxdkfidfg Erik has such a good point and I'm really struggling don't make me like you sir and all the Hank content got me blushing like an idiot and I am officially a full Nicholas Hoult girl.

but also "Say nothing." is a mood, I too keep talking sweet McCoy.

This cast has just a really incredible capability in their emotional range and ow, my heart.

I see Shaw has replaced his plaything. and I mean I truly love Zoe Kravitz so like I kinda get it?

Wowowow okay thank you Dr. Hank "Foot, meet mouth" McCoy that was fucking mean. "You're beautiful now." Boy, you saying you don't like her in her neutral state?

The entire night before cuba is just a lover's tragedy all over this damn house, then?

I L O V E my favorite blue man, but fabulously this scene really was truy the perfection of Jekyll & Hyde.

stop making me love these two fucking hot messes goddamn; but also like yeah real Raven is hot as fuck.

I am so glad they improved beast's full design throughout this movie series because love him, this first one is a little rough.

I just want to squeeze Banshee's little cheeks.

We know that silly helmet is goofy looking; I think Kevin Bacon is by far the silliest looking in the helmet.

Even my cat paused to watch the submarine lift.

The screaming while crashing is not funny. Not at all; and yet every single time that happens in the series I start wheezing.

Wow got very invested in this conflict; but also not me shouting repeatedly "Erik the helmet is metal. Erik the helmet is METAL."

Okay, that's a way to do it.

I don't agree with blatant murder BUT I really do feel it was the only way for that man not to use his absorbed nuclear power.

And many a year ago I might have said this was a dramatization of how unkind and cruel humanity can be but I live in the fucking United States in the year 2025 and yeah, my government would absolutely attack the people who stopped a nuclear war. I hate it here.

THIS. ROMEO AND JULIET TRAGEDY. It's breaking my HEART.

Unrelated, the last half of this movie Michael Fassbender's accent is really coming out and it is such a satisfying sound. I am soothed by the timbre. The timbre as well that can make the name "Magneto" sound cool?

The I can't feel my legs really hurt my insides. And also the fact that he wiped Moira's mind because he's afraid for her and also fuck you mr. "No Place for a woman."

#xmen #xmen first class #hank mccoy #this is a Nicholas Hoult simp account now sorry #I don't make the rules #sorry didn't mean to get political for a second there #But if you think I'm binging xmen and NOT so far left that I couldn't use my right hand for the first 5 years of my life for most things #true story #nicholas hoult

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thesunshinecourts · 1 year ago

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countdown to tsc: apr 8., 2024, 23:51 pdt

63. indigo skies just before dawn // jeremy knox, in the early morning light

“Why are you – Jesus, Cat, would you turn that off?” Jeremy says, holding a hand over his eyes.

“Whoops, my b,” Catalina says, flicking off her torch. She gives Jeremy a smile, one that doesn’t shift off her face even when Laila snorts and Catalina drives an elbow into her side.

“Ow! Bitch,” Laila mutters, no heat.

“Why are we out here?” Jeremy asks before they can start up again. He loves them dearly, down to his bones, but they’re like a runaway train sometimes, and he’d really like to get an answer for why they’re up and huddled on the roof access at fuck o’clock in the morning.

Laila points. Jeremy’s gaze follows her finger, over the air vents and powerboards and whatever the fuck else is encased in metal boxes on the roof (Jeremy wouldn’t know, but his sister might), all the way through to a solitary figure sitting on the edge of the roof, one knee pulled up and tucked beneath his chin, the other leg dangling over the side.

Ah.

“Your room literally has a TV,” Jeremy says to Catalina, even as he slides past them on the roof access stairs to head properly towards Jean. She scoffs.

“This is way more entertaining,” she says, then turns to her girlfriend. “Babe, we should have brought popcorn.”

“What happened to your meal plan with Xavier?” Laila asks, snorting.

Jeremy can’t hear Cat’s response, only that the tone is vaguely indignant, because he’s halfway across the roof now. The wind isn’t very strong, but the light breeze snatches her words away, carrying them out towards the ocean.

They’re some thirteen miles from the beach right now. Jeremy wishes he were closer. Historically, the only thing he gets up this early for—unless one of the coaches is calling for an especially early practice for drills—is to catch the best waves before the rest of the city wakes up.

Jean Moreau isn’t so bad, though, as far as new habits go.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Jeremy says, stepping onto the raised edge next to Jean.

Jean, predictably, ignores this, just tilting his head back to look at Jeremy. “They’re not very subtle,” he says dryly.

“No,” Jeremy agrees, folding his legs in a complicated single movement to end up sitting beside Jean. “They’re not known for that.”

With a hum and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glance at Jeremy’s bare knees, Jean returns his gaze to the horizon. This high up, they can see the blue of the ocean, but only just. It’s not enough for Jeremy, who immediately misses it. He wishes they were at the pier, or the beach, or in the backseat of Cat’s van down the I-5, with her stubborn manual wind down windows and the salt air in their face as they approach San Diego.

Jean’s eyes are on the sky, the deep purples and blues of a world before the sun decides to show her face. Sometimes, when they sit here like this, Jeremy wonders what Jean thinks about. If he’s still angry to be here, if he thinks about Riko, about Kevin, about Renee. If he misses his family, or if they even count as that to him anymore. Sometimes Jeremy thinks maybe he’s thinking about Exy. He’s never been able to decide if that’s a sad or happy thought; on almost anyone, Jeremy would think Exy could be a good thought in moderation, but sad when it’s all you can think about. Jean is something different.

Sometimes Jeremy thinks it would be sad, if that were what Jean was thinking about so intently as he stared out into a sky full of possibility, because there should be something that matters more than a sport Jeremy isn’t sure he even likes. Sometimes Jeremy thinks it would be a relief; he’s known Jean for several years now, though only really since he came to USC, and even the last few months has been enough for Jeremy to know, bone-deep, that there have been many other things Jean has lived through that would be worse to think about.

Exy, for Jeremy, is a sport. It’s a game. He loves it, and he’s good at it, and he leads a team for it, but at the end of the day, it’s a game and he gets to choose to get up and play it.

He’s not sure Jean has ever really had that choice, but he doesn’t know how to ask. He’s not sure if he should, even.

The last time he spoke to Kevin, he’d started, a little hesitantly, “So, Jean doesn’t really l—” and Kevin’s face had shut down so fast—eyes big and green and mournful, jaw tight, lips drawn closed, like he didn’t know what would emerge if they didn’t—that Jeremy had immediately shut up, shaken his head, and said, “You know what, never mind. Hey, where’s the nearest vending machine? I need gummy worms.” That had drawn Kevin out of his head enough to pull out his phone and text Aaron—get fucked, came the reply, but Kevin just kept texting until Jeremy assumes Aaron gave up just to make him stop, because nine minutes later there was stomping outside and then, in quick succession, a scowling blond emerging in the doorway and a small plastic packet whizzing at Kevin’s head; Jeremy thinks that the one thing everyone in the world must agree Kevin Day possesses, other than the best hands in the game and the most handsome smile on the planet, is more tenacity than anyone else would know what to do with—whilst simultaneously lecturing Jeremy about his body being a temple.

(Jeremy’s heard the unabridged version of that lecture, where Kevin gets increasingly irate with Nicky, Andrew and Aaron as they one-by-one pull things out of the kitchen pantry that make him prone to cardiac arrest; he gets off pretty lucky. Maybe Nicky has a point about Trojans privilege.)

“I’m surprised they got you up,” Jean says, and Jeremy smiles ruefully.

“I think it would be worse if they didn’t,” he says. “It’s weirder if they’re just watching you by themselves.”

Jean shoots him a look, mostly blank, but something wry and amused flickering in his eyes. “And with you here instead, we’ll, what, give them a show?”

Jeremy chokes on saliva, his own tongue, and approximately any shred of dignity he’s managed to repossess since he was seventeen and he was trying to unzip his neighbour’s bra under her guidance and he accidentally got it stuck half-undone.

There’s a smirk on Jean’s face when he turns back to the sky, but his tone is impressively neutral when he says, “Yes, this must be endlessly entertaining for them. A much better decision than sleeping in, I’m sure.”

Jeremy forcibly pushes the flirting—was it flirting? He thinks so. He hopes so, maybe, but that’s a whole other can of worms to deal with later in the privacy of the shower—aside to clear his throat and say, “Hey, if it works for you…”

There’s a beat. Two. Then Jean says, a little quieter, even though he was already quiet to begin with, “At the Nest, we never got to see the sunrise.”

Well, now Jeremy feels like a dick.

“Not that anyone would have seen it with me,” Jean adds. “Kevin is terrible at waking up, Riko was terrible at being away from Kevin unless it suited his whims to be, and my roommate—” He breaks off. It sounds like a pause, but Jeremy waits, and no more comes.

“Would you have wanted company?” Jeremy asks. He’s aware it’s a loaded question, given he is company right now, but it’s a real one. He hopes Jean knows that.

Jean furrows his brow. “It wouldn’t have mattered,” he says. He looks at his hands, then Jeremy’s knees again, then the sky once more. “My wants did not enter into equations. It never occurred to me to think about that.”

It’s maybe the saddest thing Jean has ever said. Jeremy has this thought at least a dozen times per month.

“Well,” Jeremy says, injecting a little more brightness into his voice than he actually feels, “now you can think about it. You’ve got company. How does it feel?”

Jean glances back from the sky, eyes roving over Jeremy’s legs, then his knees, staying there for a beat longer than Jeremy knows what to do with, then all the way up to Jeremy’s face.

“It’s not so bad,” Jean says, and Jeremy smiles.

#jerejean #jeremy knox #jean moreau #countdown to tsc #tsc countdown 3 #countdown to the sunshine court #aftg #usc trojans #laila dermott #catalina alvarez #tsccd #i forgot about the kevin section in the middle lmao #this is what we get when we speedrun bc of working overtime lmao

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crossxworlds · 2 months ago

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The Pocket Rift - Episode 41

A CrossXworlds story

__________

For the first time since she arrived in Tryl, Aiani had become one of those people. The first thing she did when she woke the morning after Gloomspire– well it was technically still morning when she woke, though just barely– was to look at her Comm device.

In her defense, the Comm was blinking at her, something it had never done before. She reached for it from her bed, squinting at the screen in the way-too-bright morning light, trying to figure out what to do about the blinking. Maybe Spark would know. She thumbed open the display, and found a glyph lit up, animated and dancing. That too, she'd never seen before. She tapped it, curious.

It opened to the message app Davin had used last night. She’d never opened it herself. His code number was still there, but there was a new message highlighted. She tapped it:

Davin: “Are you up? Are you safe?”

Aiani laid back on her bed, smiling, letting the comm rest on her chest. Tryl had its own kind of magic after all. How else could a piece of glass and metal make her feel warm, just by looking at a display?

She sat up, eager to answer him.

Problem. She didn’t know how. She had resisted when Spark assigned a Comm to her, and she really only used it to check the time, and to scry into Council meetings. And Spark had to do that for her most of the time. Otherwise, she dutifully carried it with her only to satisfy Spark when he’d ask if she still had it.

Davin made it look so easy last night, tapping out words almost as fluidly as talking. But when she tapped on the blocks of messages between her and Davin, nothing happened.

She couldn’t ask Spark about this, she realized. Not to message Davin. She’d never hear the end of it. And she couldn’t ask Davin until the next time she saw him. She scowled. She could figure this out on her own.

She kept tapping around on the display until she tapped a little empty box below the messages and it opened up, tiles of characters appearing to type with. Ah-hah!

Next problem: What to say?

She noticed there were times listed next to each of his messages.

Davin's message from last night: 12:18 am. That was before they walked to the checkpoint.

This new message from him: 6:03 am. Did he get up early to work anyway, after a grueling night like last night?

The current time displayed on her Comm: 11:49 am. He had messaged her hours ago.

Aiani slowly, carefully typed out a message. When she finally finished, she frowned at it. Too formal.

She couldn't send this.

There was a button that looked like an arrowhead. Shoot the arrow to send it? But how to not send it?

There was another arrow pointed in the other direction with an X in it. She tapped it. One letter disappeared. She sighed. One letter at a time? She kept tapping until they were all gone.

She typed another message. Too needy. Tap. Tap. Tap…

She tried again. Waayy too flirty. Tap. Tap. Tap…

Finally she typed out:

“Good morning.”

She tapped the arrow to shoot the message out. The Comm made a whoosh! noise, and then her message appeared under Davin's.

Aiani let out a whoop of victory. She'd done it!

She saw the time next to it: 12:18 pm. No longer morning. She put a palm to her forehead.

__________

< Last Episode | Episode 1 | Next Episode >

#crossxworlds #fantasy #scifi #cyberpunk #post apocalyptic #mine #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr

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daggerzine · 8 months ago

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Daryl Johns- Daryl Johns (Mac’s Record Label)

Daryl Johns has been around for a while. You may have heard him with Mac DeMarco, or maybe some of these others: Pat Metheny, Pedro Martins, Vijay Iyer, The Lemon Twigs, Macy Gray, and Immanuel Wilkins. When I first heard this album, I immediately thought of Gorilla Vs Bear’s Yacht Rock Mixes.

Thought any of these songs could fit on there. Daryl sings and plays drums, bass, piano, guitars, synthesizer, and a whole lot more on here. His debut solo album is produced and mixed by himself, but co-produced by Chris Fishman and co-mixed with Chris Fishman and Andrew Forman. The album kicks off with a blast of jazz fusion. “Corner Store” is an instrumental piece filled with a distorted wabbling sound, but man can they play. Up next, "Happy,” is another instrumental that says it all in the title. It’s an uplifting, bouncy number with not one, but two amazing guitar solos. Here’s the video that will hopefully brighten your day:

youtube

Next is “I’m So Serious.” If there ever was a single for this album, this would be the one and it is. It's a flashback to 1970s Todd Rundgren and his band Utopia, which is a great reference in my book. It's a real toe-tapper that you'll be singing along to in no time. "And I'm so serious and you're so curious, Why I was fooling around with Bob, I mean he's not much of a heartthrob, I never ever wanna go home, no oh." Here's the video:

youtube

Up next is “Crash,” another jazz fusion jam that will brighten anyone's day. Love the tight rhythm section on this one. Track 5 “Barbecue in the Sun,” slows things down a bit, but it's another poppy gem to sing along with. Next up is “Let Her Go,” written by Mac DeMarco. It’s one of two non-Daryl Johns penned numbers on the album. Yes, it’s from Mac's Salad Days album, but Daryl puts a much faster spin on it, and dare I say, it's a much happier version. Track 7, “Golden Showers,” highlights the amazing instrumentation in this piece. I definitely see a Pat Metheny influence here. “The Deputy of East Carlock” is written by Chris Fishman, a legend in the jazz field. It's a short, bouncy, upbeat song you won't want to skip. It’s the only other song not written by Daryl, but it fits in well. “Just Friends” continues the jazz fusion vibe as a longer instrumental. Track 10, “Casper,” is a short, beautiful instrumental that brings sadness to mind. “Palermo” adds lovely vocalization to a beautiful soaring number. “Whoops” slows things down a bit, or does it? A vocal number that will have you skipping along and...singing! "Hey brother whatcha go on now, Hey brother whatcha go soon, Hey brother whatcha go on now, Hey brother soon." Track 13, “Friends Forever,” comes full circle as almost a bookend to "I am Serious." It's another upbeat number that could've been written by Rundgren with its love of mankind's lyrics. "I love you, Friends forever, Pray for our hearts, bring the sad out of you." About halfway through it takes an unexpected turn by backmasking (Turn Me on Dead Man?). The album closes with “Maggie and Me,” written by Daryl Johns and Chris Fishman. Daryl definitely has a great connection with Chris. It’s a great way to close out the album. Gorgeous vocalization adds to this moving instrumental that gives me a "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring" vibe at times. If you're up for a variety of sounds bouncing between instrumental jazz fusion and poppy yacht rock, then this is the one for you. ERIC EGGLESON

(Photo credit: Kevin Allen)

#Youtube

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seitmai · 1 year ago

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I fell victim to this chapter

So more under the cut lol

When she thought about Bob, it hurt so badly she had to run to the toilet. And when she thought about Advanced Calculus and Advanced Physics, it hurt almost just as much.

🥺🥺🥺

"When will my divorce be final?" she managed to ask as she propped herself against the wall. She left herself hungry every day, and she was living in this tiny room simply so she could pay these people to help her sort out her life, but the response she got was not ideal.

This is fucking horrible

Anna knew what that meant for her, but she didn't know if she could pull the trigger. Restructure it? There was only one thing she could remove. Kevin would come out clean as a whistle, and she would lose everything she hadn't already.

Breaks my heart 💔

When Bob knocked on the door at seven in the morning after barely sleeping at all, Jessica looked concerned when she opened it, and Jake looked annoyed. "What's wrong?" she asked, reaching out and running her hand along his stubbled cheek. "Why haven't you shaved? Why do you look so upset?"

Oh no Bob 🥺😭

"Married," he repeated without any feeling whatsoever. The handful of hours he'd spent around her were some of the best of his life, but he would have never let his friends try to push them together if he'd know. He should have let her keep him in the friend zone when she tried to let him know that's what she wanted. Mutual attraction be damned, she'd made marriage vows to someone else. He just wished he would have known.

He is just so good 🥺😭

"It's about damn time!" Jake called from the kitchen, clanging his spatulas together and whooping loudly.

Jake, with all my love, there is a time and place to cheer for stuff like this wasn't it, that man really needs to learn how to read a room 🥴

But Bob was shaking his head and staring at the floor through his slightly fuzzy vision. He had his phone in his hand all night, trying to decide if he should call or text her, wondering if she went home to climb into bed with her husband. Scared that this was the reason why she squeezed herself into her apartment door before closing it abruptly when he drove her home.

Oh god Bob is having the worst time of his life thinking he is a home wrecker 😭 I just wanna hug him and tell him that he is not

"I should have backed off when she friend zoned me the first time. I should have never believed that I could be with a woman like her." A woman that inspired the best poetry he'd ever written in his life. A woman who made him want everything.

😭😭😭

When Jessica kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'll try to sort this out," he just nodded with his shoulders slumped and his elbows digging into his thighs. But there was nothing to sort out. Anna would never be his, and now he would have to pay the price for the way she told him she was married about an hour too late to take it all back. Honestly, he never thought accidentally sleeping with a married woman was something he would ever have to deal with in his wildest dreams, and now that he was forced to do it, he was getting pretty mad.

I wanna scream this is just auch a bad situation for both of them 🥲

He was the sweetest man she had ever known, and her lapse of judgement was going to cost her any chance with him in the future as well as her friendships. In fact, none of them were ever going to want to speak to her again, and that's what she deserved. If she would have just been honest with Bob, she wouldn't be in this mess. But San Diego was like a balm for her senses, making her feel normal where she knew she wasn't. Maybe Bob would have been willing to wait a few more months until she figured out her next steps. Maybe he would have accepted that she was legally separated from Kevin if her husband would just sign the fucking paperwork.

It breaks my heart because they are both so miserable with all the mis/not-communication but with all trials and tribulations still have such deep feelings for each other but don't recognize that they both well deserve to be happy 🥺

"It's just us," came the second voice, and without another thought, Anna was on her feet, wrenching the door open as she started to sob. "Oh, Anna," whispered Jessica as she collected her into her arms.

🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Anna tried to take huge gulps of air into her burning lungs as she gasped, "I'm really not okay. I hurt Bob."

😭😭😭

"He is ruining my life," Anna whispered, finally starting to feel more anger than anything else. "Like an idiot, I've let him ruin my life. I put him through medical school. I dropped out of Princeton to work two jobs to put my husband through medical school." Her voice faded into a soft yet harsh whisper. "Kevin promised he'd take care of me after that so I could finish my Ivy League PhD. But then he started cheating on me because I was always tired and boring and no fun. Because all I was doing was working to pay his tuition for four years straight while he fucked another medical student between classes. I caught them having sex in my car."

Fucking Kevin 🤬😤

"You're right," Anna agreed. "I'm a joke." She honestly felt like one. Images of Bob's face and the memory of his kind voice flooded her system. The way he looked at her and touched her felt like love. The things he wrote about her had her almost convinced he could love her back.

😭😭😭

"You're not a joke, Anna," her friend told her. "You're a smart, capable woman who should have come to her friends months ago with all of this information."

Yes!! This!!!

"Jessica, go sit in the desk chair and calm down," the other woman commanded, and Anna watched the petite, bespectacled blonde stomp around her desk. "Now, Anna, why didn't you explain this all to Bob before you rocked the man's whole world and then ran off into the night like Cinderella?"

1. I love that Jessica has to be told to sit down and calm down haha I love how passionate she is for her friend!! 🫶🏻

2. A CINDERELLA REFERENCE!!!

"Yes," Advanced Calculus agreed. "Kevin sounds like an asshole. But you know who isn't an asshole? Bob. But right now, he kind of feels like one."

Facts

"I hate Kevin!" Jessica shrieked before biting down on her own fingertips, and it was so comical, Anna might have laughed if she was in a better frame of mind.

Thank you Jessica for the bit of comedic relief

"Bradley made you some hummus, and I packed you crackers and veggies to go with it. Please make sure you're eating. And please talk to Bob. I need to go teach Differential Equations, but I'll text you later. Jess, you have Physics III in fifteen minutes."

I love that she has everything in order and has not only her shit but the other ones too 😅

She also promised him that there was no angry spouse waiting to jump him in the In 'N Out parking lot. She also told him that he needed to give Anna a chance to clear the air. So he agreed. He was free on Thursday. It wasn't like he'd been doing anything except going to work and coming straight home all week, even avoiding Suzanne as much as he could. And he wasn't going to break his promise to Jessica, even though Nat told him to delete Anna's number.

Not the In 'N Out parking lot 😂

Damn Nat but I get it if you've ever been cheated on or have experienced it break a marriage e.g. your parents for example

Bob sat in his living room, staring at his new bookshelf in disgust. He'd let himself fall into a fantasy where he imagined someday Anna's books would get mixed up with his on the shelves. Where all of her dog eared novels would live alongside his pristine ones. He'd been subconsciously thinking about it since he met her.

😭💔😭💔

"And it's eating me alive knowing what I kept settling for when you exist! Knowing that I could have been with a man like you."

She's so right for this

"Right," Bob repeated again. "Would it be too much for me to ask what happened? Because I really don't understand. I'm trying, but I'm still so confused, Anna."

Oh Bob 🥺

She slowly stood, and he looked up at her, trying to gauge what she was going to do, but she just looked down at him as she tucked her shaking hands behind her back. "You're perfect," she whispered. "You're Sky Writing. You're the handsome man from the bookstore who smells like tea and soap. You're Bob, the guy my friends knew I would fall in love with as soon as I met them." She took a step back, barely able to handle how he was looking at her like she still mattered. "But I don't know how to be an us with you. I know that's what you want, but I never wanted to fall like this again. I tried my best not to. I can't do this with Kevin's shadow behind me all the time. And I'm just really sorry I let it go as far as it did. Because now that I know so much about you...."

Bob is right, she can't keep running and as long as she does it won't work between them 💔

This chapter was soooo emotional to me, I just wanna hug them and fix all their problems so Anna and Bob can be happy together 🥹 I'm such a harmony and peace seeker and it shows lol

Covering the Classics Part 11 | Bob Floyd x OC

Summary: When Anna hits rock bottom, she knows she needs to figure out how to put herself back together. But she also knows that leaving Kevin behind once and for all will require her to give up the only thing she wants from him. Maybe a shot at happiness with Bob would have been worth it.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, adult language, 18+

Length: 4400 words

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Female OC (this story is part of the Beer Boy/Sugar and Jake/Jessica universe)

Covering the Classics masterlist. Check my masterlist for more!

If this wasn't rock bottom, Anna didn't want to know what was. She spent Sunday night laying on the floor next to her bed alternating between crying and hyperventilating. Apparently she couldn't do both at the same time, because her body kept giving each activity its full attention before switching again. When she finally started to fall asleep around three o'clock, her ribs were aching so much, she didn't see how she would be able to teach in a few hours. But it didn't matter. She wouldn't be going to campus anyway.

When she woke up at six, she crawled to her computer and emailed everyone in her classes, informing them that she would not be in today and to work through the syllabus independently until their next class with her. All of the other professors pulled this kind of thing all the time, but she still felt guilty which triggered more tears. If Kevin somehow cost her a full time tenure position along with her happiness, she didn't know what else she had that he could possibly take from her.

When she thought about Bob, it hurt so badly she had to run to the toilet. And when she thought about Advanced Calculus and Advanced Physics, it hurt almost just as much. She was in love with so many things in San Diego, but she'd dragged her past here along with her even if she didn't want to acknowledge that fact. She'd brought this dark shadow along that tainted everything and left her wondering if she could fix any of it at this point. If she could even figure out how to start.

As she hiccupped alone in her bathroom, she knew she needed to mentally backtrack to New Jersey for the first time in a long time before she could focus on San Diego. When she crawled back toward her bed, she located her phone and found the contact information for her lawyer's office. It was late enough on the east coast that someone answered after one ring, and soon Anna had to use her scratchy, raw voice to try to communicate.

"Ms. Webber... your husband still has three days left to comply, but he has not done so yet."

Anna wanted to scream, but her throat felt like it was constricting. Why wouldn't he just let her have the one thing she wanted? She wasn't asking for anything extra, just the thing she worked so hard to make her own. She didn't even care about all of the money. But he wouldn't let her have it. Even though she didn't want to fight for anything else in the house, he still wouldn't comply. He was making hundreds of thousands of dollars now, and she wanted none of it back, but he knew that her manuscript was the one thing meant something to her. He would happily drag this out until she had nothing left.

She knew she needed to wait it out. It was her fault she hadn't filed sooner. She let Kevin's words destroy her even when she knew he was sleeping with Alyssa. She let him convince her that she needed him for way too long. "What happens in three days?" she finally asked.

"If he doesn't comply, then you can restructure your end of the divorce agreement, and we can try again."

-----------------------------

"Why are you even here?" Jake called from the kitchen where he was cooking breakfast in his uniform.

"I need to talk to you," Bob croaked, and Jessica pulled him inside and gently guided him toward the couch. She rubbed his back and didn't rush him as he sat there, and Jake even stopped turning to glare from in front of the waffle iron.

"Did you know Anna's married?"

Bob could tell by the sharp intake of breath and the way Jessica's hand came to a screeching halt on his back that she had no idea.

"She's what?"

"No," Jessica said adamantly. "How? She's got no rings, and she said she lives alone. She mentioned an ex before, but I'm virtually certain he's still in New Jersey. She... struggles with certain things, and if she was married, someone would be helping her make ends meet. I don't know where you came up with this, but no."

Bob took his glasses off and set them down on the arm of the couch while he ran his hands over his exhausted eyes. "Jessica. She told me she was."

"Well," his friend said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, "I'll ask her about it at lunchtime today. There must be some sort of miscommunication."

"I don't think so," he groaned softly. "We... slept together, and those were her parting words as she ran out of my house."

"You slept together?!" Jessica practically shrieked.

"It's about damn time!" Jake called from the kitchen, clanging his spatulas together and whooping loudly.

It finally dawned on Bob that there might be an irate husband in his future, and he would just have to take whatever came his way. Because there wasn't a chance that Anna didn't have her spouse wrapped around her fingers. Even if she had a lapse of judgement when it came to Bob, Anna's husband would know how good he had it and want to fight for her. Bob would just have to take it on the chin.

-----------------------------

Anna managed to give her Classics lecture on Tuesday morning with a sore throat after screaming into her pillow off and on for most of Monday afternoon. She hadn't eaten in days, and if anyone noticed her puffy, red eyes, they didn't mention it to her. She had quizzes to grade and reports to read, but when she went back to her office, the overwhelming scent of bread from the cafeteria made her gag.

There was a pack of peanuts in her desk along with a room temperature can of ginger ale, but she had no appetite yet. She was just in survival mode until she decided what to do when Kevin's time was up. Until she worked up the courage to talk to Bob and apologize.

Tears were burning her eyes again just as someone knocked on her office door. She sat perfectly still, silently begging them to go away, praying that everyone would leave her alone until she could sneak out and go home later.

"Anna?"

She knew that voice so well, and she was shocked to find that it sounded more concerned than angry.

Anna stood in the middle of her tiny office and cried and cried in Jessica's arms while her other friend studiously locked the door and dimmed the lights before reaching for the box of tissues on the shelf. "Here," she whispered, and Anna accepted a wad of tissues from her.

She tried to mop at her face, but it was a lost cause. Jessica pushed the loose strands of her red hair back from her eyes as she said, "Anna, we're here for you, but I think we need to talk. For real."

"We have some... concerns."

Anna tried to take huge gulps of air into her burning lungs as she gasped, "I'm really not okay. I hurt Bob."

Her friends looked at each other before Jessica said, "I think it's time you backtracked a little bit. Maybe all the way back to New Jersey."

"I hated it there," she told them immediately, wiping at her eyes as she sat on the edge of her desk, bracing herself for the interrogation to come.

Advanced Calculus eyed her sympathetically before a look of steel locked in her gaze. "Are you married?"

Anna nodded slightly, cringing as she pictured Kevin's face. "Technically, yes."

"Anna!" Jessica exclaimed. "You slept with Bob!"

They knew. They knew everything. Bob told them, and they knew what she'd done. She cradled her forehead in her hands and said, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I hate Kevin. I don't think we were even married two years before he started cheating on me. I'm trying my best to divorce him, but he just won't fucking let me."

"What do you mean he won't let you?" Advanced Calculus asked, cutting off Jessica before she could screech again.

"No," both women gasped at the same time. But she just nodded as the memories she had tried so hard to keep at bay since she moved to California came roaring back.

"That's not a marriage," Jessica practically growled, reaching out for Anna's hand that she hadn't even been aware was shaking. "Not really."

"You're not a joke, Anna," her friend told her. "You're a smart, capable woman who should have come to her friends months ago with all of this information."

"I hate Kevin!" Jessica shrieked before biting down on her own fingertips, and it was so comical, Anna might have laughed if she was in a better frame of mind.

"Yes," Advanced Calculus agreed. "Kevin sounds like an asshole. But you know who isn't an asshole? Bob. But right now, he kind of feels like one."

Anna closed her eyes as the tears started welling up faster. "I tried so hard. You have to believe me. But Bob is perfect. And he didn't think I was boring. But I wasn't planning on falling in love ever again."

"You love him?" Jessica snapped loudly. "You love him? Because Bob thinks you are in a loving marriage with your spouse!"

"I freaked out," Anna whispered, swallowing hard. "He's the perfect man. He did everything exactly right, and he was exquisite." She looked down at the floor as she said, "I haven't been touched like that in years. Like I was worth something. I'm not even thirty yet, and my husband ditched me for someone else while actively bankrupting me." She was mortified by what she was telling them, but she couldn't stop herself now. "Kevin always said I should dye my hair, and he loved it when I wore makeup. But Bob... he likes my hair and my freckles. He likes the books I read. He thinks I'm smart." She felt her face warm up as she thought about his poems. "We had sex, and then he was looking at me, and he started talking about us. I can't be an us with someone when I can't shake Kevin."

Anna could practically feel Jessica freaking out in the chair behind her, but she kept her eyes on the floor. "If you need help with Kevin or money for a lawyer or something-" Jessica said, but Anna cut her off.

"No. I'm fine. But he's going to force me to decide if I'd rather have my freedom or my self worth. And right now, I can't decide what I want to let him get away with when he already took so much."

"Hey," her much calmer friend said softly, and Anna finally met her eyes. "We're here for you. Anything you need, okay? But I need you to promise you'll talk to Bob. The sooner the better." Then Anna watched her reach for her tie dye lunch box which she apparently brought in with her and pulled out one of her fancy containers. "Bradley made you some hummus, and I packed you crackers and veggies to go with it. Please make sure you're eating. And please talk to Bob. I need to go teach Differential Equations, but I'll text you later. Jess, you have Physics III in fifteen minutes."

Anna received two hugs that she barely returned, and when the two women were gone, she sank into her chair and managed to eat some of the hummus without gagging. Then she texted Bob, because if nothing else, she needed him to know how sorry she was for running out on him. How sorry she was for all of it.

---------------------------

Anna wanted to talk to him on Thursday evening. Bob had to fight the urge to offer to pick her up on campus and save her from having to take an Uber to his house, especially after the few details that Jessica told him about her finances. She confirmed that Anna was married. She also promised him that there was no angry spouse waiting to jump him in the In 'N Out parking lot. She also told him that he needed to give Anna a chance to clear the air. So he agreed. He was free on Thursday. It wasn't like he'd been doing anything except going to work and coming straight home all week, even avoiding Suzanne as much as he could. And he wasn't going to break his promise to Jessica, even though Nat told him to delete Anna's number.

His insides were churning with anxiety. Part of him wanted to scream at her that none of this was fair to him, but the other part knew that no matter what, he still didn't want to see tears in her brown eyes. He couldn't let her take all of the blame for this anyway. He'd even told Jessica that she pushed a little too hard and that she shouldn't do that again in the future.

When there was a knock on his door, it was hard for him to stand up. How was he supposed to do this? He dragged himself across his living room to his front door and carefully opened it to find Anna with the saddest expression imaginable on her face. She looked somehow smaller and paler than she should. She looked like she hadn't slept. And that's when Bob realized he must look the same way to her.

"Hi," she whispered, brown eyes darting around his face nervously. She held out a small bouquet of blue flowers and the books she had borrowed in his direction, and Bob noticed her hands were shaking. "Um, I got these for you. They look like the flowers on the cover of the Whitman poems, and I thought of you when I saw them at the store."

"Anna," Bob groaned as he took them from her along with the books. He moved out of the doorway so she could come inside, and somehow he still couldn't decide if he was angry at her or not.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, turning to look at him once she was halfway across the room. There were several feet of space between them, but he could smell her hair. She was wearing the jeans she wore last time she went to the Hard Deck. He knew what that shirt felt like between his fingers. He could tell she was trying not to cry as she said, "I'm just really sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me you're married?" he snapped, unable to hold back. He knew his tone was harsh as he added, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because I should have been divorced by now!" she practically shouted, and Bob was instantly more soothed by that sentence than he should have been. "You think I want to be married to the worst man I know?" He had so many questions already, but something told him to just let her keep going. "That's why I'm here. In San Diego. He was supposed to sign the papers so I could get on with my ridiculous life, but he won't!" She sucked in a deep breath before she said, "And it's eating me alive knowing what I kept settling for when you exist! Knowing that I could have been with a man like you."

Her lips were moving like she was shivering, and her eyes were wide and watery. Red blotches covered her freckled cheeks, and Bob just knew she was going to panic again. She made a helpless noise and rushed forward, ready to run, but this time he caught her in his arms, the books and flowers falling to the floor. He let her struggle for a few seconds as she cried, but he held on tight.

"Anna," he said softly. "You can't keep running."

Her body slumped against his. She looked up at him as he held her, and a few seconds later, she let her cheek come to rest against his chest. She nodded against him as she whispered, "I don't really have anywhere to go anyway."

-------------------------

Bob kept his distance while also somehow always being nearby. Anna knew he was probably expecting her to vanish again if he turned his back for too long, but she was too mentally and physically exhausted to move from his living room couch while he fixed some tea. It was getting dark outside, and it was nearly impossible to try to think about anything other than Sunday night when she felt truly free for the first time in years.

Similar thoughts must have been on Bob's mind, because he was still occasionally looking at her like he used to. Then his cheeks would turn pink, and he'd duck his head before showing her a completely neutral expression. She took the mug of tea he handed her and whispered, "Thank you," as he sat down as far away from her as he could. She cleared her throat as she looked into her drink and said, "You're one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met." She forced her gaze to his face. "I'm sorry I took that for granted. And I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you and the ladies."

Bob nodded but didn't speak for a minute. His voice was as gentle as always as he eventually said, "I'd like it if we could talk."

"Yeah," she agreed softly now that she felt like the fight inside her was gone and the tears had finally dried up.

"Where's your husband?"

She pictured Kevin standing in the perfect kitchen in the beautiful house on the cul-de-sac. "In New Jersey."

"Right," Bob replied in a reassuring tone. "You said you should have been divorced by now, so does that mean you don't want to be married to him?"

"I hate him," she whispered, back to staring into her mug. "And I'm sure he hates me, too. No, I don't want to be married to him any longer."

"You're separated?" he asked softly.

Anna shrugged, wishing more than anything that she could scoot a little closer to Bob and feel his hand on hers. "Not legally. He won't sign anything."

"Right," Bob repeated again. "Would it be too much for me to ask what happened? Because I really don't understand. I'm trying, but I'm still so confused, Anna."

Her brain was screaming at her to start crying again, begging her to fall apart or hyperventilate, but she didn't even have the energy for it. She took one long sip of her perfect cup of tea before setting it aside and turning to look at him. Even now, he had sympathy in his eyes. Whether that was because he now knew she and Kevin weren't really together or because he was always this sweet, she couldn't say. But he was everything she wanted and would never have again.

"The short version is that I put him through medical school while he cheated on me. The long version is that he used up every bit of my money, let me work myself ragged, prevented me from finishing my PhD at Princeton, belittled me, and flaunted his extramarital relationship in my face. It was humiliating knowing he was cheating. It's humiliating eating sandwiches and peanuts for every meal now. But the worst thing is that he is holding my manuscript hostage, and no matter what I do, he won't let me have it back."

"Jesus, Anna," he gasped, making the slightest move like he wanted to reach for her before pulling back.

That's when the tears arrived, and that's also when Bob stood up. "Anna, I feel like-"

When he cut himself off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air for a few seconds, she took one long, last look at him and whispered, "I'm going to go." He didn't stop her from stepping over the flowers, walking out the door, and heading to the end of his street where she waited for a ride as the night air made her shiver, and her tear streaked cheeks finally started to dry again.

----------------------------------

Oh, they both fell for each other. I'm not sure if Bob feels better or worse now. Kevin is an absolute dick, and we will hear from him in the next chapter. Keep fighting, Anna. Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

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