#(I'm almost sure there has to be some kind of time shenanigans because I KNOW

[familyofpaladins]

So like I'm watching the 2012 teenage mutant ninja turtles, and I thought the season 2 finale was rough and dark (but not like superdark, and it was a storyline that had been done in 2003 and the 90's movie so I wasnt super concerned but it was still 😱🥺😭), but season 2 finale is NOTHING COMPARED TO SEASON 3 FINALE OH MY GOD????!!???!!!?!?!?

😨😱😭😭😭😭😱😱😱😱😱😱😭

[imaginespazzi]

On The Road To Eternity

Three times Paige and Azzi fall asleep together and the one time they stay awake

(In which a kind writer gives y'all the last dose of real fluff before committing to angst for the next few months)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Words: 4.0K

TW: Light swearing, alcohol, Azzi's ACL injury

A/N: Hello my lovelies! So I know you're all waiting for something else and I promise I am working on it too! But I had a couple of requests I wanted to get through first and the easiest thing as always, was to combine some of them into one fic. So for anons who wanted the plane convo, injury-related comfort and more Miles and Sienna content, this is for you! This is set in Eternity-verse but you obviously don't have to read either of those to understand this. The editing in this might actually be non-existent but I hope y'all forgive me anyways. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and what you'd like to see in the future. Enjoy the fluff lovelies, we're in for a bumpy ride next time <3

the playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks

Paige’s mouth is running dry. She’s been babbling on and on for almost two hours and the girl next to her has barely spoken two sentences. In Paige’s defense, she’s not really fully in control of her word vomit right now. Her brain is currently in the grasp of her nervous anxiety and the fear that if she lets silence linger between them, the brunette next to her would realize too quickly that maybe Paige’s brilliant idea to switch their seats so they could be next to each other, wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all. 

This feeling is foreign to Paige. She’s always been the epitome of confidence, always so sure of herself, always convinced that the person in front of her must want to be her friend. But something about Azzi Fudd is different. It’s not like Azzi’s been cold or anything, but she seems immune to Paige’s charm, eyes always a little weary of what ridiculousness Paige is going to get herself into next. But really, Paige thinks, it’s Azzi’s fault that the blonde had been up to one too many shenanigans during USA Basketball. Because if every time Paige pulls off a trick, Azzi’s going to smile like that, like Paige is the funniest human being in the world, then she’s going to do it over and over again. 

“You um-,” Paige looks down, fiddling with her thumbs, “you can tell me to shut up you know. I get a little too excited about basketball sometimes.”

“I think you get a little too excited about most things,” Azzi says and when Paige looks up at her, there’s a teasing grin playing on the younger girl's lips. 

“Life’s too short to not be excited about things,” Paige says solemnly. 

Azzi raises an eyebrow, “what book did you steal that from- actually never mind, I doubt you read.”

“Hey, I do read!” Paige shrieks in mock offence and Azzi bursts out laughing. And Paige barely knows this girl, doesn’t even know her middle name yet, but she thinks that Azzi’s laughter, like wind chimes ringing through the mountains, might be her favourite sound in the whole wide world. 

It takes Azzi a second to compose herself, before she looks at Paige with earnest eyes, “I like listening to you talk.”

“Be careful Fudd. I might never shut up,” Paige smirks cockily but inside, her chest feels a like it’s bursting at the compliment. Five simple words and it feels a little bit like all of Paige’s insecurities are being soothed over, a sense of calm washing all over her. She doesn’t understand the butterflies in her stomach and she definitely doesn’t understand the fluttering in her chest but she knows that she likes this feeling, knows that she likes Azzi. 

“You say that but you’ve already gone quiet on me Bueckers,” Azzi cocks her head, “whatcha thinking?”

“I’m thinking we’re gonna be great friends.”

“You think so? I'm a little picky about my friendships.”

“I know so. I'm gonna be the best friend you've ever had," Paige vows.

And when Azzi smiles, it’s not a smile that Paige has seen in the last week. It’s one that’s entirely different, one filled with something both of them are too young to understand and it’ll take years before either of them realize that it’s Azzi’s Paige smile. It'll take years before they realize Paige has her own matching Azzi smile.

This time as Paige starts up a conversation again, Azzi has more input. Time seems to stop and speed up all at the same time as the two girls cover every topic imaginable, occasionally getting annoyed shushing looks from other passengers when they giggle a little too loudly. All that does is make them share conspiratorial smiles and laugh just a little bit harder. It’s almost three-quarters of the way into the flight when their voices start getting scratchy, sleep inching its way onto their features as they slowly fall into silence. 

Paige will never admit this but she’s a little scared of the quiet. Well, actually, she’s scared of being alone, and the quiet feels a lot like solitude. Her whole life she’s tried her best to keep herself surrounded by chaos, by noise, filling up the space with her own voice if nobody else wanted to talk. And if there was nothing, at least there was the sound of a basketball being dribbled on the hardwood floor. The whole plane is asleep and all she can focus on is Azzi’s soft breathing next to her as the brunette falls deeper and deeper into her dreams. And for the first time in her life, Paige doesn’t mind the quiet. 

***

Azzi stirs awake to the cabin crew announcing they’re only a couple of minutes away from landing. She cricks her neck, feeling a heaviness on her right and when she turns to look, there’s Paige Bueckers. Blonde hair sprawled all over Azzi's arm as the point guard uses Azzi’s shoulder as her own personal pillow. Her eyes are shut tight, mouth a little ajar with drool pooling at the corner of her lips. Azzi blinks down at her, unsure why her heartbeat is erratic, unsure why she thinks Paige might be the most beautiful creature she’s ever seen. 

Azzi wills herself to stay deathly still, convincing herself that it’s because she doesn’t want to wake Paige up. After all, they’d had a long week and the point guard deserved a break after having done everything in her power to make sure the team won gold. But really, the truth is Azzi doesn’t want Paige to wake up because then Paige will move away and Azzi’s beginning to realize she quite likes having Paige asleep on her, she's beginning to realize, that maybe she just likes having Paige with her.

2. the lingering question kept me up, 2 am who do you love 

“And then Coach made me run laps for an hour. AN HOUR,” Paige says animatedly, placing her phone on her pillow, as she flips herself to lie on her stomach, “and now I’m sore everywhere.”

“Aww you poor baby,” her best friend’s voice mocks through the facetime call that’s been running since midnight, “maybe next time you should just try and practice well.”

“Who’s side are you even on?” Paige guffaws. 

Azzi laughs, her head leaning back against the headboard as she gets comfortable, “his duh. After all, he could be my future coach. Gotta stay on his good side.”

“What do you mean could?” Paige narrows her eyes, “he will be your coach.”

“I dunno dude. The way you’ve been complaining about practice since you got there, I don’t know if I wanna be a part of that.”

“Don’t think you can handle it?” Paige smirks, knowing exactly what buttons to push as she watches Azzi’s calm expression turn to one of fierce competition. 

“I would kick your butt at practice,” Azzi says determinedly and Paige’s smirk widens. 

“Well you should commit to UConn and find out.”

“May I w-” Azzi stops, groaning as she realises what Paige is doing. 

“Go ahead and finish that sentence for me.”

“Fuck off,” Azzi whines, grabbing a pillow to bury her head into and it’s ridiculous the way Paige is so endeared by it. But then again, she’s endeared by most things Azzi. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Paige sing-songs, “that was all you bro.”

“You tricked me.”

“I did no such thing. I am a woman of God. I would never.”

“Don’t bring God into your deception Paige,” Azzi chastises as they both delve into laughter. That’s their friendship in a nutshell. Conversations well past midnight, filled with bickering and giggling. And the truth is, that all throughout the day, as she goes through the motions of UConn life, this is what Paige looks forward to. Coming back to her dorm, falling into bed, picking up the phone and finding Azzi on the other side. And even if doesn’t do nearly enough to soothe the ache of how much she craves Azzi’s physical presence, at least for a while she can close her eyes and pretend, just by the sound of her best friend’s voice, that she’s here with her. 

“You’d fit in really well Az,” Paige says after a moment, chewing at her lip, “I know your game better than anyone and I know you’d thrive here.”

Azzi sighs, “I don’t feel like doing this tonight Paige.”

They’re balancing on a thin rope when it comes to Azzi’s commitment. As the deadline approaches, the younger girl, also known as the most indecisive person Paige knows, has gotten more and more tense with every day. What had started as Azzi rolling her eyes whenever Paige pushed a little too hard, had begun to delve into Azzi shutting down the moment Paige brought the topic up. 

“I just think-”

“Stop thinking,” Azzi bites out harshly before she lets out a deep breath, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that I just- I need everyone to stop talking to me about it.”

“We’re just tryna help,” Paige says slowly, lying on her elbows as she props her phone up against her side table. 

“I know. I know. But I just need y’all to trust that I know what’s best for me.”

I’m what’s best for you, Paige thinks but she can’t say that out loud, not when it’s veering just a little too close to the biggest reason why Paige wants Azzi at UConn, one that has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, one that has everything do with that scary fucking l-word Paige isn’t sure she’ll ever be ready to confront. 

Instead she gives her best friend a soothing nod, “you know I trust your judgement.”

“You should,” Azzi smiles and Paige feels warm all over, “it’s definitely better than yours.”

Paige rolls her eyes, “you say the sweetest things to me Azzi Fudd.”

“I try,” Azzi whispers before a loud yawn escapes her, as she rolls over to lie on her side.

“You abouta fall asleep on me bro?” Paige raises an eyebrow. 

“Of,” another yawn, “course not.”

Paige shakes her head, mentally counting down in her head as she watches Azzi’s eyes start to blink. For her part, the younger girl tries to keep talking, mumbling something about some tv show she’d watched that day. Paige barely registers any of it, too busy admiring how pretty Azzi looks in the dim glow of her night light. She can feel her own body starting to drift away as well, giving into what’s basically become routine. And maybe their phones only have enough charge for them to get a small glimpse of each other stirring awake before the call unceremoniously. But it’s enough. For now, even if it’s just through a screen, falling asleep to the sound of each other breathing, and waking up to those precious few seconds of each other being the first thing they see in the morning, is enough. 

3. now i’m pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door

The music roars around her as Paige lets herself be immersed by the dancing crowd. It’s a Thursday night, but after a decisive win over Maryland by the women’s team, all of Storrs is partying like it’s already the weekend. While the bar was always an option, the team had decided to throw an impromptu party in one of the apartments instead and word seemed to have spread a little too quickly throughout campus. 

Paige is distracted as she dances with KK and Aubrey, eyes constantly drifting to the door in anticipation of her girlfriend. Azzi had reassured she’d show up after the Fudds, who were helping Azzi decorate for Christmas, left but the clock is ticking closer and closer to midnight and there’s still no sign of the brunette anywhere. 

“Has Azzi texted any of y’all?’ Paige tries to yell over the music, after checking her own phone and finding nothing. Both KK and Aubrey shake their heads and Paige sighs, concern flooding into her brain. Out of the corner of her eye she notices Caroline beelining for the door and call it instinct, but Paige immediately knows it has something to do with Azzi. 

“I’ll be right back okay,” she says to her other teammates, before following the Massachusetts native.

She’s not sure how Caroline did it so easily, but it takes Paige far longer than it should to get through the crowd and out the door.Azzi’s apartment is eerily quiet by the time Paige reaches it. The newly setup Christmas lights around the living room have been turned off and even the fairy lights on the Christmas tree are set to a dim setting. For a second, Paige wonders if maybe Azzi isn’t even in here and then she hears it, a heartbreakingly familiar sob. As she walks towards Azzi’s door, Paige feels her own heart start to crack. 

When the injury had happened in practice, there were two people who had immediately known what it was. The person it happened to and her person who’d just been through it. Azzi had taken it shockingly well from the moment it happened til the doctor had confirmed what they’d all known, but still hoped to be wrong about. A steely determined look had covered her face, as instead of mourning another setback, she’d thrown herself into planning out her recovery. But Paige had always been able to see through Azzi’s façade and she’d known it was only a matter of time before the inevitable crash. 

Paige stops outside the door, unsure if she should go in as she listens to the sound of Azzi’s tears and Caroline’s soothing “it’s gonna be okay.”

“It’s not,” Azzi breathes out between sobs and it feels like a shard of glass is being used to puncture Paige's soul, “I can’t do this again Carol. It’s too much. I can’t keep doing this again and again. Why does this keep happening to me?”

“I know,” Caroline whispers, sounding as helplessly defeated as Paige feels, “I’m so sorry Azzi.”

“No, I'm sorry. Fuck Carol, you should be down at the party-”

“I should be here with you because you need me,” Caroline hesitates, “but I also don’t think it’s me you need.”

“Don’t,” Azzi’s voice is firmer now and Paige can picture her wiping her tears as she gives Caroline that patented don’t push me look. 

“Azzi-”

“Did you see how happy she looked after the game? I can’t ruin that for her. She was so good tonight and I’m so proud of her and I can’t- I won’t ruin that for her. She’s been through so much this year and she deserves to celebrate without- without me there ruining her moment.”

You stupid silly girl with your heart of gold, Paige thinks, shaking her head as she throws the door open. 

“Oh thank god,” Caroline mutters under her breath, moving a little so that Paige can see all of Azzi’s, sitting rigidly on her bed with her legs hanging off one side. Tear tracks stream down the younger girl’s face, her hands fisted in her laps as she stares at Paige with watery eyes. She’s still dressed in her tracksuit from the game, the sticker Paige had placed over her heart, still exactly where she’d put it. An air of fragility clings to Azzi’s frame and Paige wants to bubble wrap her girlfriend and hide her away from this cruel world that seems to test their strength at every step of the way. 

“For someone so smart Azzi Fudd, you say the dumbest shit sometimes,” Paige whispers, crouching down in front of the brunette, and uncurling her fists so she can hold her hands, “you think I can celebrate without you?”

“I didn’t wanna be a buzzkill,” Azzi mumbles, eyes looking anywhere but at Paige, “I don’t wanna be a burden.”

“Baby,” Paige breathes out, bringing Azzi’s knuckles to her lips, “was I a burden to you last year?”

That gets Azzi to look at her, as a fierceful protectiveness clouds the other girl’s eyes, “of course not P. You could never be a burden.”

“Then how the fuck, did you ever think Azzi, that you could be a burden to me?”

Azzi’s bottom lip trembles, a fresh set of tears threatening to fall from her eyes. And then she’s falling off the bed, straight into Paige’s arms, hands tightening around the older girl’s neck as she buries her face in her chest. 

“I’ve got you baby,” Paige whispers into her hair, her own eyes stinging as she runs her hands up and down the shaking brunette’s back, “I’m right here. I’ll always be right here.”

She doesn’t know how long she sits on the floor, tank top a little soaked from all of Azzi’s tears but she doesn’t move until Azzi stills herself in her arms, having basically cried herself to sleep. Paige gets up slowly, trying her best not to wake up the girl in her arms, as she somehow manages to manoeuvre both of them onto the bed. Azzi lets out a quiet whimper, snuggling further into Paige’s side. 

Staring down at the vulnerable girl in front of her, Paige finally lets her own tears fall, biting her lip and almost drawing blood, to keep herself from making a sound. A lot of things had gone wrong in the last year but it was all supposed to have been worth it this year when they’d finally get to live out the dream they’d been dreaming since they’d first met, the dream to play together. And now that's gone, for now at least. But as Azzi subconsciously runs a hand down Paige’s arm, her sixth sense alerts even in sleep that her girlfriend needs comfort, Paige thinks, at least they have each other. Because as she lies down next to Azzi, pulling her girlfriend closer to her chest, she knows she’s never letting go. 

4. this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends

Paige swears she’s only closed her eyes for 10 seconds when the baby monitor goes off again. Loud screaming fills the entirety of the master bedroom, as she groans into her pillow. For the most part, her twins are angels on earth. Except when the clock passes 3 a.m and they seem to get possessed by demons that make them scream bloody murder until one of their moms picks them up. 

“Azzi,” she whines into her pillow, reaching over to lightly smack her wife’s arm, “your children are awake.”

She doesn’t need to see the younger woman’s face to know that even with sleep in every corner of her eye, Azzi is currently shooting Paige the most exasperated glare possible. 

“Suddenly they’re my kids? Gosh Paige I wish you’d told me that before I put your name on the fucking birth certificate,” Azzi quips as she rolls out of bed and Paige immediately missed the warmth next to her, “if you’re not up in five minutes to help me with this, I swear to god I will divorce your ass.”

“How are you awake enough to threaten me like that right now?” Paige mumbles, sighing to herself as she separates from her beloved bed. The tiredness hits her the moment she stands up and she almost keels over, until a strong arm wraps around her waist. And despite the ridiculous time, despite the noise that is still echoing throughout their room, despite the fact that she can barely see her in this darkness, as soon as Paige can feel Azzi’s skin underneath her fingertip, she can’t help but press her lips against her wife’s. Paige almost, almost loses herself in the kiss until there's a shriek, too loud to ignore. 

“What if we didn’t put a baby monitor in their room anymore,” she mutters against Azzi’s lips, eliciting a small laugh from her wife as she entwines their hands together, practically dragging Paige from the master bedroom into the twin’s shared nursery.

Miles and Sienna are both standing in their cots, facing each other and screaming their heads off as if they’re in some sort of who can ruin our moms night better competition and if Paige wasn’t one of the moms in question, she’d probably find the scenario a tad bit more amusing. Shaking her head, she walks towards Miles as Azzi goes towards Sienna and it’s a little bit ridiculous how quickly the cries begin to subside. She’d never admit it but secretly Paige loves how quickly the twins calm down as soon as they see their mothers, even if it is after yelling at an ungodly hour in the morning. They’re too young to be able to say the words, and so Paige is pretty sure this is their way of making sure Mommy and Mama know how much Miles and Sienna love them. 

“Hey buddy,” Paige coos as she picks Miles up, his tearful face breaking out into a magnificent grin, “didn’t feel like letting us sleep again huh kid?”

Miles doesn’t say anything, just smiles as he makes grabby hands for Paige’s face. She’s learned it’s one of his favourite things to do with her or Azzi, reach for them and use his tiny fingers to caress their faces. It’s like he’s memorising how they feel and Paige can’t help but lean into his touch. Behind her she can hear Sienna giggling and when she turns around, she’s not surprised to find Azzi pressing kisses all over their daughter’s face. And she doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of seeing this vision, the love of her life interacting with their kids. 

“Muh,” Miles manages to spit out the minute he spots Azzi, jostling in Paige’s arms, clearly eager to get to his other mother. The sound gets Sienna’s attention and her face widens as she spots Paige. Laughing, Paige and Azzi share a secret smile as they swap children. Miles immediately buries his face into his favourite spot in the crease between Azzi’s neck and shoulder and Sienna’s immediately enamoured with Paige’s blond hair, chubby finger combing through it as she looks at her mother in awe. 

“You’re wide awake aren’t you Si-Si,” Paige whispers, laughing when Sienna nods. She walks them over to the couch, Azzi and Miles following behind. As soon as both Paige and Azzi are seated, Miles and Sienna are reaching for each other, babbling silly nonsense and giggling. Paige doesn’t know a lot about babies but she’s pretty certain her twins have their own secret language they speak to each other in. 

Their family of four settles into the couch, that’s bound to be dented soon by the constant weight of all four of them on it every night. It’s unlikely any of them will return to their own beds, unlikely Paige and Azzi will even get any more sleep tonight. Over the top of the twins' head, Paige eyes meet Azzi’s. They’re droopy with sleep, but crinkled from the way she’s smiling and Paige is still as much in love with them now, as she was an eternity ago. 

“I love you,” she whispers, just because she can. 

Azzi’s smile widens, one hand navigating through their children between them to hold Paige’s, “I love you more.”

“I love you the most,” Paige counters and Azzi shakes her head as she squeezes Paige’s hand. 

It’s a silly little thing but they wouldn’t be Paige and Azzi if they didn’t bicker over it just a little bit. Because at the end of the day they both know, there's no one they’d rather fall asleep with, no one they'd rather stay awake with, no one they’d rather be on this journey of life with, other than each other. 

[nohaijiachi]

I got randomly recommended this video by YT and wrote a ginormous comment in response because I have no self control, apparently, so I thought I might as well also share my thoughts here in regard to whatever is going with THIS FUCKING SMILE

(under a cut to not clog y'alls dashboards)

(the first part of the comment here is a direct response to some of the ideas put forth in the video, it is very short so give it a quick watch for more context if you want)

Imo it's not necessary to look into overcomplicated theories that rely too much on off screen shenanigans to explain the smile, for how amusing the idea of them having swapped during the kiss is (like, the kind of stuff I won't want to be actually canon, but I'll be very happy to see explored in fan fics lol)

I think to fully explain that smile we have to take in consideration multiple factors:

This show is very purposeful in what it does and doesn't, well... show. That last shot is very long and I think the fact that Aziraphale's and Crowley's expressions in the aftermath of their disastrous break up is shown in such a manner tells us a LOT about the state of mind they might be at the start of S3, and the obstacles they'll have to face. Aziraphale doesn't immediately smile, rather he seems to look almost shell-shocked for most of the shot; it's clear (to me at least lol) that the quiet ride up the elevator is finally giving him some desperately needed time to fully digest everything that happened, because too much has happened in an extremely short amount of time, and we all know Aziraphale doesn't do well with speed lol.

But, for how much he can sometimes be a complete moron, he is smart, and all he needs are just those seconds of quiet to properly ponder on everything, on the choices made and the ramifications of said choices, and that's how we get to smile-- I'll delve into what I think Aziraphale is going through in his mind in more details later, because I also think it's necessary to focus a bit on Crowley's own expression, since the both of them are so intrinsically linked that the narrative cannot make sense without taking the both of them into account.

Crowley's expression is much more static and doesn't change the way Aziraphale's does; he looks profoundly tired in ways we've never seen him before. I don't think he's giving up on Aziraphale, and I fully believe the fact that he stood there and waited for Aziraphale to disappear in the elevator, the both of them sharing that last look, was a quiet message: He'll never give up on Aziraphale, he'll be there, waiting. But wait is all he can do for Aziraphale, now, because he can't follow where Aziraphale is going.

For how messy and full of heightened emotions the confession + kiss are, I think actually denying Aziraphale's request was a HUGE step forward for Crowley's character. He's never been able to deny Aziraphale, he always went back to him after every fight, and we all know how stupidly whipped for Aziraphale he is and how he'd empty the ocean with a spoon if Aziraphale asked him nicely-- But to actually put his foot down and say "no, I cannot do this for you" when asked to all but renounce the person he is now? Especially with how Aziraphale is all but begging him openly? That's a huge step, and something I think Crowley desperately needs to mature as a person (or, well, person-shaped being). We all love how Aziraphale has him wrapped around his little finger I'm sure, but we also all know that if they truly want to build a strong, healthy relationship they also both need to be able to keep their individuality and to put forth adequate boundaries about what they are willing to do for each other within reason.

Asking Crowley to come back to being an angel when he's made blatantly clear for six thousand bloody years how much he despises Heaven is not a 'within reason' request, innit?

So, yeah, for how heartbreaking the break-up was, in a sense Crowley needs it. They both do. They both need time apart to figure their own shit out, dismantle all those unhealthy habits they had to adopt in order to be with one another as safely as they possibly could while still 'employed', and then come back together with a clearer mind and a whole deal stronger than before, both as individuals and as a couple.

And I think how tired and downtrodden Crowley looks in that last shot is a precursor to this process, just as much as Aziraphale's smile is... So, let me get back to our favorite angel and what I personally think is going on with him.

I think to properly contextualize that smile we need to look at not just the happening of those infamous last fifteen minutes, but of S2 as a whole, and what Aziraphale does in it.

So, what is Aziraphale doing during S2?

At the start he seems to be more or less comfortably settled in his current life; he's as happy as ever doing what he's always done, enjoying humanity's creativity with his books and his music and his food and drinks, seemingly content to be puttering about in his bookshop (which is a stark contrast with Crowley's homelessness and his kinda adrift and depressed attitude). Of course then Jim!Gabriel throws a wrench right into that, but imo I think there was a lot more going on behind the facade of Aziraphale's well ingrained habits.

Sure, he still has all of his familiar comforts and his routine, but from the moment we see him interact with Crowley I saw a deep restlessness emerge in him: The panicked look he launches Crowley when Nina asks him about his 'naked man friend', the way he speaks with Crowley with all those 'our' he uses, the blatant way he keeps reaching over and touching Crowley-- To me that suggests that Aziraphale is clearly not as happy as he seems to be on a superficial glance. He clearly wants more with Crowley, wants to bring their relationship to the next step, but because the both of them are so deeply entrenched in their unhealthy coping mechanisms and habits and their inability to openly communicate it doesn't even occur to Aziraphale to just... You know. Take the first step, actually say something about it. So he just keeps throwing bait after bait in the water, hoping Crowley will bite and be the one taking the initiative as he's always done, finally allowing Aziraphale to accept said initiative, this time around.

Of course, we all see that Crowley doesn't take any first step, which is probably something deeply frustrating for Aziraphale at a subconscious level. That's how we get the ball; sure, on the face of it it was Aziraphale's way to make Nina and Maggie fall in love, but... Was it, really? Let's be real, for how entirely believable it is that Aziraphale makes up the lie about Nina and Maggie's love to cover for their miracle is, since we've seen him being anxious around other angels, I don't think for a second that had Aziraphale just stopped and spent three minutes thinking about it he wouldn't have found a way to convince Muriel that Nina and Maggie were, in fact, in love, especially with how 'green' Muriel is about humans.

I fully believe that Aziraphale is not properly thinking during S2, period. He's frustrated by his inability to bring his and Crowley's relationship to what he wants it to be, and that frustration and single-minded objective is utterly obfuscating his thought process. There are plenty of moments he seemed almost manic, imo, which I read as another sign about his 'impaired' (allow me the term) state of mind as of S2.

So, yes, the ball: On the face of it something to actually turn his lie to the Archangels into truth, but deeper down, perhaps almost unconsciously, I think Aziraphale sees the ball as a way to finally make him and Crowley happen. That fact that he's taking pointers about romance from human literature is blatant, and obviously he truly does believe the ball will be THE way to make love bloom.

If you stop and think about it, the ball scene is terrifying. These people are being manipulated to play the perfect background parts to make, what is in Aziraphale's mind, the height of romance atmosphere happen. The fact we get a juxtaposition with Nina's "what the F is going on, am I losing my mind???" rightful attitude underlines this. And I truly believe Aziraphale isn't exerting said manipulation with intent, but rather doing so subconsciously, because he's just so fixated on the idea of having finally the perfect set-up to have Crowley as he desires that he is influencing everything around him. After all, we all know they both have the tendency of making things happen the way they want simply by thinking that's how things are supposed to happen.

And again, he's so manic and giddy when he asks Crowley to dance, his ass is not LISTENING. He literally needed a brick thrown through a window to snap out of it.

So, in the present we have an Aziraphale who , in his own way, is trying to take the initiative, come out with plans. There is a moment that I think might have slipped under the radar of a lot of people but that's frightfully important about who Aziraphale is at this point in the story, and who he will need to become: "I have a plan," Aziraphale said to Crowley during the stare down with the demons outside of the bookshop after the ruined ball; Crowley didn't even seem to have registered that sentence at all, because his mind is already projected forward and going a mile a minute about what to do to keep both the humans and Aziraphale safe in this situation.

Crowley, who loves to swoop in and save Aziraphale, doing what he's always done to keep his angel safe, even to the detriment of their relationship with one another... And Aziraphale, who adores playing the part of the damsel in distress in turn, is actually telling Crowley that *he has a plan*.

That's not something to take lightly, methinks. That's very much just another sign that Aziraphale's individuality is struggling, trying to emerge through Aziraphale's anxiety and doubts and fears and deeply ingrained habits. Aziraphale's cognitive dissonance in regards to heaven, and his shaken faith in God are huge motivators of his actions, and in the grand scheme of things the scant few years he had away from under the oppressive thumb of heaven is nothing. It was barely any time at all in the face of the eternity of an immortal life spent under that oppression, and yet we are already seeing little glimpses of Aziraphale's rebellious side struggling to get fully free.

I think these little glimpses inform us at great lengths about the evolution Aziraphale's character will go through in S3, and greatly explains that strange smile right at the end; in my opinion that smile isn't the smile of someone who's trying to convince himself that he's ok, or realizing that Crowley loves him (he knew already, they both knew and have known for a long time, their inability to properly express those feelings was their downfall, but I don't think either of them has doubted even for a second when it comes to how much they love one another). In my opinion that smile is the smile of someone who is steeling himself for what he envisions in his future; equal parts old-sedated anxiety and yet determination to actually enact plans he's surely concocting in his brilliant little mind. That's the smile of someone who has just realized that not only they can, but that they need to do something, and you can damn well be sure they won't be sitting and twiddling their thumbs waiting to be saved, but they'll be the one saving themselves and everybody else along with 'em, this time.

Just as Crowley needs to actually spend some time define himself as himself, and not just in relation to Aziraphale, Aziraphale needs to spend some time shedding all those fears and doubts that are weighing him down, and emerge the other side someone much more self-assured and ready to do what he thinks is right without all the hesitations that have indirectly been strengthened by Crowley; in a way, by allowing Aziraphale an out with his 'temptations', Crowley had been feeding into those hesitations, and had been holding Aziraphale back from fully maturing, even if not done on purpose, obviously. Imo is very important for Aziraphale's character that he comes to realize that he doesn't need those excuses Crowley gifted him to keep doing what he thinks is right, that he actualizes his own morality properly, and enacts on it.

I don't have the faintest clue about what is going to happen in S3, but I do fully believe the above paragraph is what Aziraphale and Crowley's respective character arcs will focus on. And once they'll come back together they'll be the most power couple that has ever power coupl-ed, and the Metatron will have no clue about what is about to hit him >:)

[d34dg1rl5]

Saviour

Opening your eyes you take in your surroundings. You're in Ormond. Quickly you decide to look for a totem since you're running Inner Strength.

After some while of running sround you finally find a totem in the corner of the killer shack. But you weren't alone. Mikaela also just arrived at the shack and started to work on the totem, she probably runs a Boon perk.

"Uhm, Mikaela... Could I maybe have this totem? I have Inner Strength, I could-" She glances at you and grunts. "Why don't you go find another totem?" You tilt your head. She never has been so mean, but maybe she had a bad day. You nod. "Yeah true..." You sigh and decide to work on a gen for now, you're sure you'll find another totem somewhere else on the map.

Just as you work on the gen, Jake rushes towards your gen - he's injured. Quickly you get up and try to heal him, but he backs away. "Don't touch me, I don't need your help!" You raise an eyebrow. "But. You're injured?" He starts to work on the gen and continues to groan in pain. You decide to also continue working on the machine. "Jake, I really hate to bug you, but you really should-" "Shut the fuck up and leave me alone!"

Quietly you let go of the issue and shake your head. What's up with him? Did he also have a bad day? A bad trial? More than one bad trial? Well, you didn't want to push any further... The gen is repaired and Jake takes off, leaving you behind, confused and thinking.

After some time you see a totem behind some crates and you quickly destroy it, unlocking Inner Strength. Well, at least something positive!

After some while the killer had downed it's first victim - Jake. You didn't feel to bad... He didn't want to get healed after all! Soon after Jake got hooked another scream erupted from within Ormond. Mikaela also met her demise. She also got hooked. You didn't meet the fourth survivor yet. Let's just hope they didn't have a bad day aswell...

Just as you were thinking that you run into said survivor. It was David. With a thud you fell on your butt. "Oh David! I'm sorry, I didn't see you-" "Quit the bullshit! Everybody knows you're working with the killer!" Your eyes went wide. "What? What are you talking about? I never worked together with any killer!" How could he say that?? What did he mean by 'everyone'??

He pushed you out of the way and makes his way over to the hooked survivors. You look after him as you could feel hot tears starting to run down your cheeks. "What the fuck..."

You trot over the map. Mikaela and Jake had been saved a while ago but you had lost your fighting spirit for this trial already. And you didn't meet the killer yet.

Let's analyze this! You were friends with some of the nicer killers like Susie, Rin, Anna, Carmina, Trickster and even Danny.

Susie is a nice girl, always listening to you and talking to you about all kinds of stuff. Like the rest of the Legion she is always down for the weirdest shenanigans.

Anna is a big woman, her hugs are almost bone crushing yet she always takes care of you outside of the trials telling you different russian fairy tales.

Even though you were friends with Rin, she is more reserved than Susie or Anna. You love to style her hair and learn more about japanese culture. But most of the time she rather wants to be alone than have any company. In all honesty she is ashamed of how she looks. Poor girl...

Carmina is a nice company. Sometimes you chill in her realm, watching her feeding the crows and paint new pictures. One time she surprised you with a picture of you she drew. You liked it alot and she was happy, letting out a proud croak.

Trickster. A hard case. Yes, you were some kind of friends with him. He LOVES talking about himself, his incredible shows, his murders and everything involving him in general. This man is in love with himself and sometimes it's annoying as fuck but you stick around because you're the only survivor he still kind of tolerates.

And the last person - Danny. Infamously known as Ghostface. He is really something. A deadly and quiet stalker, always there when you need him. He also is narcissistic but not as much as Trickster. He likes to talk about the murders he commited when he wasn't in the entitys world. You couldn't see his face but everytime he talked about this topic you could swear he has a big ass smile plastered on his face. And to admit this you kind of have a weakness for the masked stalker.

Looking around you decide to go for the gen in Ormond. Someone has already started to work on it but the killer has destroyed it. Just as you sit down Mikaela comes running towards you and groans in pain. "Heal me!" You get up and look at her. "You could ask me nicely instead..." Not waiting for her answer you still start to patch her up as she backs away and pushes you back, running out of the house.

You gasp as you fall against a hard thing. Immediately an arm wraps around your neck. "Hey doll... What's up? Didn't see you all trial, it was about time, don't you say?" Danny. Of course. Why didn't you notice that sooner...

"Please hook me. I want this trial to be over." He huffs. "You're no fun." He removes his arm and puts a hand onto his hip, making him look a little bit like a Karen. "Hm... I'll get back to you."

After some time Danny downed Jake, Mikaela and David, having them laying on the floor. You were still working on the gen in Ormond, not able to concetrate. The gen had blown up many times even though you were REALLY trying to make it work. Maybe todays events just got to your head...

Danny comes back and grabs your arm. Without questioning him you follow and see your fellow survivors laying on the ground, whincing in pain losing a lot of blood. David looks up to you. "(Y/n)! Heal- I fucking knew it... You're working with the killer! I fucking knew it!!" Mikaela and Jake look at you with looks of disapproval, annoyance and hate. All mixed feelings, but not good ones.

Danny grins and kneels down in front of David. "Heh.. I'll be right back." He brings Jake to the hook and then Mikaela. They get sacrificed immediately. Like promised, Danny comes back. You were still standing there, not knowing what to do. You WANTED to heal David, but after him being an asshole and just treating you like shit you were starting to question things.

Danny chuckles and hands you his knife. "Now (Y/n)... Why don't you show David what you think about his mean mean behaviour earlier? I think he needs to be punished..." He puts his head on your shoulder. "C'mon... Make me proud..."

You look at Danny and grab the knife tightly in your hand kneeling down in front of David. "David...", you start. David huffs. "You're a fucking traitor... You're the reason we always lose when we're teamed up with you... Sometimes I wish you were fucking dead. Forever."

Those words hurt. Like someone plunging multiple needles in your heart. David was always a guy who loved to brag about his fights but he was there when needed in trials. But now. You despise him. You really do.

You look at the knife in your hand, knuckles white from gripping the knife so hard. David grins. "You're weak... I knew you-" Before the brit could finish his sentence you plunged the knife in his neck, making him bleed even more. He gurgles for a few seconds before closing his eyes. Now he was really dead. Not sacrificed and not mori'd... At least not by a killer.

You slowly get up and look at your now bloody hands. From behind you you could hear slow claps. Slow claps. Just like a villain in a superhero movie. You turn around.

"Damn... I really didn't think you would be able to do that... Yet you proofed me wrong. Interesting..." He smiled and takes the knife from you, cleaning it from Davids blood. Danny sighs. "Saw how they treated you earlier... I couldn't let that go 'unseen'." He sits down on one of the benches, manspreading. Quickly he pats his thigh. Not even knowing what you're doing you sit down on his thigh and let your head fall against his shoulder.

"I didn't even see you.." Danny nods. "Of course. I am Ghostface, I am a master at staying hidden." He sighs and puts his hand on your head soothingly caressing your hair.

"I didn't think survivors could be like this... Y'all are supposed to stick together when a killer is trying to. Well kill you." You sigh audibly. "I was confused and then I thought they were referring to my friendships with some of the killers including you... I didn't even know you were the killer until Mikaela pushed me into you."

"Yeah, what a move."

The wind is blowing and you shiver. Danny notices this and holds you closer to him. "Cold, are we?" He move his free hand to his mask and. Removes it?! You have never seen Danny without his mask and he looks really pretty... You look at him.

"You must trust me a lot to remove your mask..." He smiles a cheeky smile. "Think whatever you want about this. You should get the hatch as a little reward. For killing David and basically doing the dirty work for me." You just nod and get off his thigh. He grabs his mask but isn't putting it on just yet.

After a while of looking for the hatch you finally find it in the killer shack. "I'll see you around. If you want it or not."

With that he pushes you into the hatch grinning. Just before you get engulfed in the black fog, you see him putting his mask back on.

What will the others think?

[aschriles]

Secret identity shenanigans AU where Danny is an intern at LexCorp and has no idea the guy he's been flirting with these past few weeks actually wasn't a fellow intern, but was the son of his boss' boss, and is also Superboy.

(Yeah, that Superboy. From the Titans. The one who kept flirting with him while they were on the field, and sent him a DM on his Phantom account insisting they met during Danny's internship. In his defense, Kon wore flannel. And glasses.)

Danny might not have the best relationship with rich people (see: Vlad), but he had to suck it up if he was going to intern at LexCorp. Anyway, it wasn't like he'd have to personally deliver Luthor his coffee every morning.

Except that's exactly what happens. Somehow, by some sheer cosmic force of the universe, he ends up interning directly under Hope, aka one of Lex Luthor's personal assistant. Which means he's like, Lex Luthor's personal assistant's personal assistant... or something. In theory, it was perfect. In reality, it was stupid.

It was stupid, because Hope sends him out for Luthor's special coffee (an iced Americano from that one coffee shop all the way on the other side of Metropolis) and pastries (a whole-ass apple pie) at nine in the morning every single day when everyone and their mom knew the traffic was literal hell, then expected him to be back at the office five minutes later. Among other things, of course. For the thousandth time since he got stuck in this hell-hole, he made a mental note to burn all of Luthor's robots to the ground the next time Superman called for the JLD to help out with Luthor's stupid invasions. Stupid Luthor. Stupid coffee. Stupid apple pie.

Danny grumbled under his breath as he speed-walked inside the lobby. "Why can't Luthor just take his coffee and shove it—"

"Up his ass? Yeah, that's what I ask myself aaallll the time."

Danny whipped his head around so fast, he almost tripped on his feet. Sitting on one of the comfy couches was a guy around his age. He looked like a weird cross between a country boy (flannel and glasses) and a punk (messy dark hair, piercings, and was that a tattoo?) but like, in a hot way. He also looked—he looked kinda familiar, in an 'I know I saw you from somewhere' kind of way, but Danny couldn't remember where he actually saw him from. He shook his head, figuring he could deal with it later. "You an intern, too?"

Made sense he wasn't the only intern around, but a part of Danny couldn't help but pity the poor guy if he got stuck interning as Mercy's personal assistant. Mercy was scarier than Zatanna and Nightmare Nurse combined.

Flannel shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I do some odd jobs here and there, so..." His face lit up, like an idea had suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, I could come with you, if you want. As like, moral support or something. You're heading to Hope's office, right?"

Danny paused. Technically, it's not like there was any harm with letting another intern tag along. Plus, he could use some help with the apple pie. "Sure, man. I'm Danny," he added, since it was the polite thing to do, even if he couldn't go for a handshake because Luthor's stupid coffee and apple pie required both hands.

Flannel grinned, all teeth, and maybe he really was famous, like a model? Or someone from TV? Danny was pretty sure he'd seen that smile before. Maybe Flannel was a random civilian he'd rescued? "Nice to meet you, Danny. The name's Conner Kent, but you can call me Kon."

[d34dlysinner]

Back at it again with my war crimes shenanigans.

Kings + Lucifer (n anyone else who'd fit, not sure) with a MC who's lacking several braincells despite being a rather smart person. The type who'd touch a burning stove out of pure curiosity, or put tide pods in a microwave to see the reaction. Empty headed but not lacking intelligence it's just gotta be coaxed strangled out. They get themself into some serious ahh danger due to head empty y'know the usual 'I fucked around and now I'm finding out but hey, MY CURIOSITY IS SATIATED' cliché lmaoooo.

Oml, thanks for the ask😭 (minor spoilers chapter 4 ending)

Minors DNI

You were messing around on the streets when you heard someone call out your name. You looked up in the direction of voice and saw an angel smiling down at you. Not the kind smile of course. It was one of those sadistic smiles that said: "I'll actually blow up in a second and you'll die with me."

You normally would run around trying to avoid the angel, but for some reason your brain couldn't register that you're in danger. In fact, you were even more curious what angel blood (of an angel weaker than a seraph) would do.

So all you did was stand and watch up with a calm expression present on your features.

Satan ran up to you and pulled you away and ran with you through some alleys in Gehenna where he knew it'll be hard for angels to fly in.

He looked down at your panting frame and checked if you were alright.

"We're you frozen in fear or just curious to see what would happen?", he asked as he remembers how you stood there without any fear present on your face. When you didn't give him an answer and looked down he knew it was the latter option to his question.

"You made a promise to help us in Hell... You should keep it. Sitri, for now you shall stick to MC's side until she's out of this... curious mindset.", Satan said to Sitri who just made his way over to where you two were.

He wasn't going to scold you, but he needed you to be careful.

Mammon made hands rise up from the floor to shield you from the angel. Those golden hands shielded your entire frame, only disappearing a few seconds after the explosion.

When the hands opened up, you saw the normal blue sky and the red painted ground around you. You made your way over to Mammon and were dragged into a big hug.

"Master... I don't know why you just stood there, but don't do that again."

You felt a bit guilty because of how worried he became. You wanted to apologise, bit were interrupted by Bimet scolding you.

"How could you make his majesty so worried. How could you just stand there without even a reaction of fear in your face. You should be grateful that his Majesty blocked the blast.", the ginger demon rambled on.

He was only stopped when Mammon told him that he scolded you enough.

Beelzebub somehow got you away from that blast. You didn't really know what happened because it went by so fast.

"You should try and fight back or run whenever there's an angel.", Beelzebub said.

He wasn't scolding you, but he did think that it would've been a waste if a snack like you did something like this.

"Oh... and you should sometimes ignore that voice in your head. Stay curious.", he said. He understood what you tried to do. Or why you did it. In fact he has heard Bael rant many times about how you let your curiosity get the better of you. Beelzebub was at least happy that he was on time with saving you... This time...

Leviathan dragged you into his coffin and you both managed to get away from the blast.

You wanted to thank him for saving you, but stopped yourself from doing so the moment he shot an angry glance at you.

"Are you insane? Why did you just stand there instead of running?", he started and didn't stop.

"When I told you that you were dangerous factor to Hell and when I locked you up in my coffin I should've done so.", he said. He didn't really register what he said at that moment, but you did. He was talking about that moment where you met him and that he almost killed you by locking you up in his coffin.

He wanted to continue scolding you and being angry, but it stopped the moment his words fully registered and when he saw tears stream down your face.

He really didn't mean it like that, but he did understand that to you it may have been a bad memory. He embraced you.

"I didn't mean to say that. I just need you to be more careful in general. I've see the stupid things you did out of curiosity, but atleast try to be safe.", he said.

Lucifer, a fallen angel, had more tolerance to the angel's blood than most demons had. Also him having an entire kingdom full with healers helped him in what he did.

He just took the blast for you.

To say that he was angry at yet another wound, that he may or may not be able to heal, was an understatement.

But his anger did vanish a bit when he saw you tear up out of shock, guilt and worry.

"You should continue crying. It's the only thing keeping you safe from me.", he said.

Whether he meant that sexual or not, no one knows. Lucifer's words are just as mysterious as his actions.

He would be healed in no time. Searching for you only to see you getting scolded by Marbas. He didn't stop Marbas.

"His majesty blocked you. You should be very grateful. Also, what would you have doenif you were hit? We are healers yes, but we don't create miracles. You are just like those demons in Abaddon. The ones that give us extra work."

Marbas was angry, but not only because of the explosion incident. Also because of the amount of times you let your intrusive thoughts win. Which results in him and the other nobles of Paradise Lost to heal you.

You coming to Paradise Lost to heal was on par with the amount of times Dantalian came. It maybe is an exaggeration, but that didn't mean that you didn't frequent that place to get healed. At first they blamed it on you being a human, but that thought broke the moment you told Buer that you just wanted to see what would happen if you touched a hot pan.

He, the others and Lucifer were worried.

[obislittleone]

Your Beauty Never Ever Scared Me

Dbf!Joel Miller x College!Reader

A/n: Listen… I don’t have any excuse for ditching my other three active series except for tiktok made me do it… That, and the CLM series by @macfrog has ascended me to a new level of crazy and I just needed an outlet for it somewhere. Another shoutout to @theatrelove3000 who keeps putting up with my dbf joel shenanigans, they are indeed insane.

Warnings: girl this whole concept should be a warning but anyways… age gap, some fluff, light smut, uncomfortable situations with readers father… probably some editing mistakes bc ya girl is tired ok its 2am

Please be kind to this chapter, I actually like it, despite the horrors.

Decided on the song ‘Mary On A Cross‘ by Ghost for this one bc it fits ig.

MASTERLIST

Age gap is approximately 15 years or so, reader is over 21 and joel is about 37

"I think I'd probably only slow'ya down," you chuckled, looking to Sarah who seemed to read the displeasure off your face from your dad's offer. "I'm studyin' to be an archeologist, dad. I don't know nothin' about framin' and all that house buildin'..."

Maybe it had been your dad's idea, but he wasn't the one who planted it into his own head. Joel subtly turned to you and cooly uttered a response.

"You could work on interior stuff with me."

It had been almost three days.

You looked out the window to the front of your house repeatedly to try and remember it clearly. The drive home, the kiss, and how abruptly it ended with a promise to see each other around. You thought about it so often you almost wondered if it happened the way you perceived it, if any details had been skewed in your mind simply because you wanted to keep it there, fresh, untouched. Maybe he thought of it differently... but maybe he didn't.

"Did you bring home the stuff I asked ya?" Your dad came into the kitchen with a smile, embracing you with a side hug and turning to help you unpack the groceries.

"Course' I did, Pa," you handed him the bag with the six-pack of bud and the other one full of snacks.

It was the first Rangers game night, and as per tradition, that meant the company of the next-door neighbors. It had been a while since you'd been around to enjoy it, but now that you were back, there were quite a few more reasons why you were on edge to now participate. It would look weird if you came up with an excuse not to be there, and you knew that. You also knrw that you'd gotten into a rather complicated entanglement with your father's closest friend, and weren't sure what the outcome really was.

Had that driveway light not spooked you both apart, and had that little black stray cat not made an appearance, how far would it have gone? Things were pretty heated, but even still. Would he have said something? Maybe along the lines of 'I've known you since you were sixteen, and this isn't appropriate at all.'

You didn't have time to think about it, you were set to work on helping your dad cook dinner for the soon-arriving neighbors. Dinner and a baseball game, once a relaxing and enjoyable time to bond with your dad, now turned into an anxiety fest where you were convinced you'd have to walk on pins and needles around every topic.

"So," your dad piped up from his silence at the stove, stirring the pot of chili he'd been prepping. "Joel told me he gave you a ride 'few nights back."

You knew it was harmless, and that he wasn't asking for any reason, other than that he was probably curious. You hadn't seen Joel in a while, not since two Christmases ago. Your dad had driven up to Dallas to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with you last year, and you didn't come home for summer break given an internship opportunity. You must have seemed different to the man in some way. All grown up.

"Yeah, gave me a ride n' saved me at the bar," you chuckled, trying to seem playful and unsuspicious about the encounter.

He seemed to be confused, his brows furrowed and a funny look on his face.

"Whad'ya mean he saved ya?" he of course was continuing to speak all the while dumping his favorite spices into the pot of chili, looking across here and now to keep engaged.

"Just scared off some weirdo who couldn't take no for an answer," you let a sweet and genuine smile fall across your features, but didn't let it get out of hand. Your relationship with your father was airtight, and he could read you pretty damn well. You weren't going to give anything away, not with what was potentially on the line.

"Glad he was there," he replied with a chuckle, sending you a soft glance. "Never thought you'd have grown up so fast, now I gotta carry a shotgun whenever we go places. Fend off the wild beasts."

His jokes were only so funny now, because in this situation, you knew he wouldn't hesitate to shoot Joel if he found out what had happened. All in the nature of protecting you, but it made you sad to think of the situation that way. Joel wasn't just another weirdo following you around at a bar.

"It's only because I'm so pretty," you did your best to respond lightheartedly, making a quip that would soothe the silence. "And I believe that's yours and Mama's fault, givin' me the genes and what not."

You'd finished chopping a nice garden salad by the time the doorbell rang. You ran upstairs to change your shirt to the Jersey your dad bought you for your birthday, claiming it was good luck for the team. Truth be told, you didn't wanna be downstairs when Joel and Sarah got here.

Sarah was here, too. Her, you could easily handle. You were almost hoping that she would be in a rather talkative mood, that way the attention could be swayed to her inconspicuously. You doubted Joel would even try to talk to you, anyway.

"Lovebug, come on down, Millers are here!" Your dad shouted up, even though he saw you run upstairs right when the doorbell rang to change your shirt.

"I'm comin', hold on," you replied sassily while heading for the staircase.

You got to the bottom and had to take a breath before turning the corner into the entryway. Joel stood there with a sweet smile to you, and you tried your best to hold back the one you wore. It was too bright, too happy to see him. All despite your nerves.

You were quickly embraced by Sarah, whom you paid immediate attention to.

"My lordy, girl," you held up your hand by your shoulder to show the height difference, "last time I saw you, you must've been this tall."

"Dad tells me I'm growing like a weed," she tossed a finger over her shoulder to where he was standing, and you gave him a small glance and a smile.

"Us daughters do have a tendency to grow up," you laughed, slinging an arm around Sarah and pulling her along to the kitchen as your dad and Joel did the same behind you.

Why had you been so anxious? Joel is happy to see you. He makes causal conversation with your dad, but he catches your eye every chance he gets. His expression doesn't change, except for the tug of his lips in a smile that's barely there. Joel doesn't smile too often, except apparently when you and Sarah are around.

It doesn't take long for everyone to get situated with their food at the table, playful banter between Joel and your father filling the air as you made less rambunctious chatter with Sarah.

She's doing pretty well since last you saw her. She was always a bright girl, but as she grew it became more apparent that she would probably excel further than anyone in her graduating class. You were sitting across from a future valedictorian, you were sure.

You'd tried to ask her about her out of school interests before your dad interrupted with a question.

"How about you, lovebug?" He watched your eyes flick over to him with a turn of your head. He added context, given you hadn't been listening to them earlier. "Are you gonna look for a summer job?"

You really should, if you're being honest. There's not much work in your aspiring profession located here, but you weren't as lucrative as you used to be, given your educational expenses.

"I've thought about it," you tilted your head back and forth, and your dad seemed to need more from your answer. "I need to earn some cash before I get back to Dallas, but I'm not really sure where to apply."

Sarah seemed to know where this was going before you did. She'd been around the last time your dad was begging Joel to find some help for the contracting team they worked with. But surely your dad doesn't expect you to build houses, does he? Your dream job is to dig holes in the ground, not fill them in and put homes on top.

"We got some spaces to fill, you should come work with us 'few months. The pay's good and you don't have to stay on long, probably just till the end of July."

You gave him a look, and he instantly knew you weren't interested, but you figured you'd try and justify your reasoning. It was an argument either way.

"I think I'd probably only slow'ya down," you chuckled, looking to Sarah who seemed to read the displeasure off your face from your dad's offer. "I'm studyin' to be an archeologist, dad. I don't know nothin' about framin' and all that house buildin'..."

Maybe it had been your dad's idea, but he wasn't the one who planted it into his own head. Joel subtly turned to you and cooly uttered a response.

"You could work on interior stuff with me."

Did he just-?

"S'not much more fun than what your dad's been doin,' but at least it's out of the sun, and easier to learn."

You were almost dumbfounded. Your dad offering you a job that potentially could give you heat stroke with your lack of experience seemed like the worst idea in the world... but working on interior projects? With Joel of all people? Well, that didn't sound so bad.

You didn't want your dad to catch on, of course. Being so protestant of his suggestion, but then falling right into it as soon as Joel was the one to offer would be a dead giveaway to some sort of favoritism to his best buddy. It simply wouldn't look right.

"What kinda interior stuff?"

He smirked. The motherfucker was smirking. He knew you'd changed your mind, but couldn't exactly just come out with it. He understood, but it was still slightly amusing to him.

"Flooring, cabinets, countertops... 's things like that," he explained, knowing you really didn't care what all it entailed. He was still happy to play along. "S'not as fun as archeology, but it pays alright."

You nodded, acting as though you were turning the thoughts over in your head.

"Well, if you're sure I won't mess it up, I'd be happy to try it out," was your final response. You figured it left some leeway in case your father became suspicious, but gave a good enough answer to end the conversation on.

"That's my girl," your dad clapped a hand on your shoulder in excitement. Truth be told he would very much enjoy your presence on a work site. "I'll go ahead and call Eddie in the morning, let 'im know I found someone to replace Charlie for interiors."

It was said more to Joel, you figured, because you didn't really know who either of those people were. He'd nodded to your dad, taking a sip of his beer and then looking back to you. You smiled sweetly, nobody catching it but the one it was meant for.

"Game's gonna start soon," Joel spoke aloud, drawing everyone's eye to the clock over the stove.

Sarah cleared her throat before jumping in on the conversation.

"About that," she looked to her dad with the same puppy dog eyes she used to use against you. He was just as poor at saying no to her when she pulled those bad boys out. "Sammy texted me to ask if it's okay to stay over at her place tonight?"

Joel sighed. He knew that no matter the attempts he made for her to like baseball, it wasn't her thing. It was summer vacation, and he had no reason to say no, so he didn't.

"Is she coming to pick you up?" He began, fishing his keys out of his pocket to drive her if need be. The girl lived five minutes away, he'd be back only a few minutes after the game started, but he didn't really want to leave.

"I can ask her," she pulled her phone back out of her jeans, opened her screen, and checked her messages.

"No need, I can take you," your voice rang out, standing from the table and taking your bowl to the sink. It was a genuine offer, but it was also to get out of the house and process what just happened with the job situation.

Joel was the first one to stand up with you.

"You don't have to-"

"It's fine," you cut him off, leaving no room for discussion. It was lucky he liked you, otherwise, Joel Miller might have put up quite the argument for such a small dilemma. As was his way, of course. He huffed, but accepted he had been overruled.

"Thanks, then." It was mumbled, but there was gratitude in it.

"We gotta hop over to ours real quick and grab my stuff," Sarah told you, waiting for you to return from the kitchen before beginning to head out through the front door. You'd grabbed your keys off where they hung on the wall before going behind her.

"I'll be back soon," you called over your shoulder into the house, and got a chirped 'alright' reply from your dad.

You walked out passed your driveway, seeing the light flicker on as you both went passed the censor on the ground.

"Y'know, I didn't think you'd have caved so fast on that job thing." She had piped up once you were almost to her porch. You found it only slightly funny that she chose the exact topic which had been swirling in your mind since it happened.

"Not sure I really wanna do it, but your dad made it sound better than every time my dad's talked about it, guess he just convinced me," you chuckled, playing it off in a way that she absolutely was about to use against you.

"That's another thing," she turned to you as she backed into the house through the door, only turning once she was inside. "Since when are you friends with my dad?"

She said it in a joking tone, but having known a few things she didn't about interactions that occurred between you and her father, you felt constricted to answer seriously. Probably with a lie if need be.

"I've always gotten along with your dad," you gave her a confused look, accompanied after by a playful smile.

She grabbed her backpack and opened it, checking to make sure she'd taken all the school stuff out before starting to shove things in, her charger, headphones, etc.

"Yeah but... you're just all young and cool and stuff," she shrugged, turning around to walk towards the staircase. "My dad is all old and boring and only talks about baseball."

"Thirty-seven isn't old, babe. My dad is two years from fifty, and I don't even think he's old, yet. Boring? Maybe..." you reasoned, hearing her laugh before she sprinted up the stairs, giving you time to think of some answers before she asked any more questions. Had she really caught onto you that fast? You didn't think you'd acted noticeably. If Sarah was able to see it, then maybe your dad did, too. You needed to be more careful, in that case.

Sarah returned a few minutes later, her backpack now stuffed and her pillow under her arm. You nodded out the door and headed back to your driveway to open the door for her, seeing as though her hands were full.

-

The drive after Sarah had been dropped off felt so much longer. Maybe it was just your thoughts, or maybe you consciously drove slower to avoid getting home too quickly. Your dad was waiting, but above that, Joel was there, too. Probably sitting back on the leather couch, relaxing with his feet kicked out on the floor. He usually leaned onto the armrest with his elbow, and held his face against the hand it supported. You'd noticed it years ago. He only ever spoke up when your dad did, usually in reply to him.

He was content simply watching the game in the presence of a friend. It was endearing.

When you pulled into the driveway, you had come up with an excuse to not remain downstairs for the duration of the game. It was too risky, and you weren't apparently as good with self-control as you'd thought you were.

You went inside and hung up your keys on the hook, immediately passing the living room on the way to the stairs.

"Hey, lovebug, you missed the top of the first," your dad called. He knew you liked baseball, so if you were to lie and say you didn't want to watch, he'd know something was up.

"Y'know, pa, I think I'm just gonna watch it upstairs, I forgot I still got some stuff to unpack," you peaked your head into the room to respond, and saw that Joel, just as you had pictured, was sitting in his most usual position on the couch, feet out on the floor, arm up with a hand holding the side of his face.

"Can't you do it later?" Your dad pleaded, but you knew, seeing as how your father occupied the recliner, you would have no where else to sit but on the floor or next to Joel. You didn't trust yourself with that.

"I could, but I might fall asleep if I wait too long."

He sighed, throwing an arm in your direction and shooing you away. He wasn't annoyed, but he'd admit he missed watching these games with you. It had been like a tradition, but if Sarah wasn't here either, he wasn't gonna make you stick around.

"Sure you don't wanna stick around? We could use your lucky jersey down here," Joel piped up, lifting his face from his hand and giving you a pair of soft eyes. That was exactly the reason you would not be staying. He didn't even realize how much he affected you, but you'd make sure he did at some point. Maybe you could just tease him a little.

"You're right, it would be a shame to take the lucky jersey with me."

You walked behind your dad's chair, out of his sight, and tauntingly stripped the jersey over your head, revealing the tight black tank top beneath it, just like that night at the bar. Joel's jaw clenched and his eyes turned darker, even under the bright light of the flatscreen in the living room. You never took your eyes away from his as you slung him the jersey.

"Hey pa, can I get you anything from the kitchen before I go upstairs?" You leaned over the back of his recliner, looking at him upside down. He chuckled and shook his head, trying to move your hair from obstructing his vision.

"We're all good, lovebug," he spoke in addition to his physical response, his laughter dying down as you stood back up. "Come on down if you change your mind."

"I'll probably be down later," you spewed a half-lie. You weren't sure if you would be or not, especially if Joel was still lurking in the living room.

You gave those brown eyes one last look before heading straight upstairs.

You grabbed your remote and flicked on the TV. It was already on the right channel, so you tossed the remote aside onto your bed and flopped back into it. You didn’t actually have anything left to unpack, but they would never have known.

Your phone buzzed beside you, and you lifted the screen to your face to see a text from an unsaved number:

Missin you down here…

You’d never put Joel in your contacts, because in highschool, your friends thought it was weird to even text or call him regularly, but you had his number for years, always just as a backup. You’d known it by heart, now, and nearly had it memorized back then, too, for the times you needed his help.

I’d come back if there was an open seat.

A bit sassy of a response, maybe, but you were hoping he’d understand the hidden meaning behind it… Although, Joel didn’t usually pick up on those things very easily.

Open seat right next to me

Yeah, that’s why I’m up here…

You huffed, realizing it wouldn’t be that easy. The three little dots indicating his next response was on the way slightly nerved you. Maybe he took the last text you sent the wrong way. You didn’t mean it to sound badly.

What’s that supposed to mean?

Means that I can’t keep my hands to myself.

You quickly rectified the situation, although you might have gone too far. He was taking far too long to answer, now. The little dots that before nerved you would now be your saving grace if it meant he would just fucking respond, already. You dropped the phone on your chest, raising up and down in a scattered rhythm while you wiped your hands over your face. Your phone vibrated over your shirt and you immediately opened it.

I can’t either. Stay up there.

You breathed out a sigh of relief. He was thinking the same things you were, and likely was under more stress for it, given he sat right across from your dad, responding to his comments about the game here and there. Your dad had no idea what was happening right under his nose.

Wasn’t thinking about leavin.

This little back and forth went on, the majority of the game, in fact. It was more-so about the plays then on, because you didn’t have anyone to talk to up here.

Joel thought it a bit funny, your dad would say something oddly specific about one of the players, and then you’d text him right after saying the exact same thing. You’d been a product of watching baseball with your old man for just about ever.

“I’m thinking about gettin’ some tickets over the summer for a game or two. They’re always cheaper in them group packages, you n’ Sarah should come along,” your dad was barely paying any attention to the words he spoke, but they came flowing out anyway, clear and cool. “Could be fun.”

Joel knew that there was only so much group interaction he could handle with you, and you with him. It stands to why you’re upstairs, an he’s down here, fist wrapped tightly around your lucky jersey. All out of your father’s sight, of course.

“It could be. Don’t think Sarah’s much for baseball anymore, though.”

He’d hoped that your dad would drop it. Halfway through his third beer, he hoped the man was a little more than tipsy, and maybe didn’t even mean the words he was saying.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t still tag along,” your dad was definitely still sober enough to keep it up, although the way he spoke became slower. Maybe he was getting sleepy.

“I’ll think about it.”

His response was followed by a hum, then a lull of silence that endured the rest of the game. He sat all the while and thought about his predicament a bit more.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you. It was insane… like you’d leeched yourself to the inner workings of his mind and he wouldn’t be able to pull you off without hurting himself, too. You were just upstairs, and had been texting him. You were within his vicinity, and yet… so unreachable.

He’d wished for you to be down here, or for him to be up there with you. Obviously, that wouldn’t go too well with the man sitting next to him, but he’d be asleep soon. If he could just touch you again, just kiss you one more time, maybe his cravings would be satisfied and he could go about his days… but what would happen if he kept feeling the addictive urge to do more? What if he was never satiated enough to quit you?

The game was called, and you’d texted him a small ‘victory’ at seeing the Rangers had won.

It was wrong, and the presence of his friend beside him was a constant reminder that you were his kid, and he would have a final say. Even though you were an adult, he understood this was completely taboo, and you should be off with guys your own age... but he’s made up his mind about the thoughts spinning in his head.

He didn’t respond, though. Your dad stood up out of his chair, his arms stretching outwards with a loud yawn as he took a few steps forwards, clapping his hand down on Joel’s shoulder.

“I hate to kick you out…” your father joked, a low and tired chuckle under his words.

“It’s alright, I got some stuff to sort out anyway.”

They started making their way towards the door when light but fast footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

Joel turned quickly, a smile on his lips and in his eyes when he saw you trying to catch your breath after sprinting down here.

“Leavin’ already?”

They both laughed heartily. As if Joel hadn’t been here almost three hours, most of which you spent upstairs. Your heart was beating far too fast for your liking, but there didn’t seem to be a way to stop it. Now that you were present again, in the room with him, you didn’t know what else to do.

“Your dad’s half asleep as it is, if I stay any longer I’ll send ‘im into hibernation,” Joel’s response made you giggle softly, although you withheld most of the laughter, because in all honestly, it wasn’t that funny, and you needed to learn to control yourself.

“He’ll be over next week, we’ll talk about gettin’ you into that job.”

You nodded, turning back to Joel as your dad opened the front door. What were you supposed to do? You couldn’t hug him, could you? That’s too much… maybe just wave, or maybe-

He held his hand out… for you to shake it. A hand-shake. Yeah, sure, fine.

You shook it, but he pulled you in half way, tapping your back once and then letting go.

He just bro hugged you. This man just-

He turned and did the same to your dad, giving you one last glimpse as he stepped out the door. Your dad closed it behind him and you were almost clean out of words to say. That had to have been the strangest interaction you’ve had.

“I’m beat, love-bug. I’m gonna head to bed,” he slung an arm around your neck and kissed the top of your head before turning and going down the hall to the stairs. “Don’t be up too late.”

“I won’t, just got a few things to do.”

You waited approximately ten more seconds before running to the garage door, going as quickly and as quietly as you could through to your front yard. Joel was still on his porch when you got out there, but was about to go inside.

You ran out to the sidewalk in font of his house and called out to him, all the while still barefoot.

“Hey Miller,” you crossed your arms, watching him turn around and lean in one direction. “Did you just bro-hug me? Or did I imagine that?”

He stepped closer to the edge of the porch, leaning against one of the wooden beams closest to him.

You slowly walked up to him, tilting your head to side as you observed his stance. he looked rather good. Hair tousled, body adorning a black t-shirt and some dark jeans. He was a sight, even in the dark light of the neighborhood.

“I reckon I oughta’ try again?”

"Seems like the fair thing to do."

“You’re takin’ your sweet time, baby,” he irked, grabbing gently under your elbow and pulling you up onto to porch once you were close enough.

You smiled to him, and wrapped your arms round his neck, over his broad shoulders. He pulled you close, tucking a head into your shoulder. The anxiousness you felt before fell apart, the rapid beating of your heart slowed, because you were comfortable. You felt immense peace in his arms like you’ve never felt before.

He backed away too soon, but still kept you relatively close to him.

“Was that better?”

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

There was a moment of silence, of contemplation, but it wasn’t stiff, and it wasn’t awkward. It was just there, a nice and pleasant quiet, and you standing still with Joel Miller on his porch.

“You wanna come inside a while?”

Sarah wasn’t home, and wouldn’t be till morning. Your dad was probably passed out in bed by now, leaving the opportunity completely open. You had nothing to lose, no risk to be had.

“Yeah, I think I will.”

He didn’t let you go, he just walked you both backwards until he was able to reach the door, reaching with one hand to open it before stepping slightly to the side to allow you entrance first.

“Ever the gentlemen,” you smiled, walking inside before he followed you in.

“Gotta make up for all that nonsense earlier,” he closed the door, taking your hand and walking to the kitchen. He pulled out a stool at his counter and let your hand fall to your side as he made his way to the fridge.

He pulled out two beers and uncapped them with the tool hanging on the side of his fridge. You think you remember your dad buying it for his birthday one year. You can remember sitting in this exact seat many times before, actually. Never alone, though. Never just you and Joel, and nobody else near.

He slid you one beer an you smiled at him in thanks, taking a sip.

“Last time you had one of these, I didn’t know if you liked it or not,” he gestured to his own bottle, drinking some and setting it down on the counter.

“I don’t know, I think it’s growing on me.”

He looked straight to you, leaning both hands on the edge of the counter. You leaned forward, mimicking his more stern face of features before he said anything else.

“I didn’t wanna say so with your dad around, but you look awful pretty tonight,” he spoke the compliment smoothly, but he had to drop his head after he said it. Seemed that giving you compliments alone in the night was something of a struggle for him, since he was blushing still even when he looked back to you.

“I seem to be feelin’ a lot prettier as of late whenever I’m around you. Think you’re just good for my self esteem,” you paused, leaning back onto the stool to take a drink of your beer. “That, or it's just nice to be complimented by a handsome guy like yourself.”

He didn’t seem to believe you. His scoff was loud and heard immediately after your compliment returned to him.

“You think I’m handsome?”

He’d always thought he was average. Maybe even slightly below. As he got older, that notion grew until he felt that maybe he was beyond trying for a woman on behalf of his looks. Perhaps there were women from time to time that would agree to a date, but there were none since Sarah’s mom who actually stuck around, not until you… but you were different as far as relationships go, because technically, you shouldn’t even be considering one with him.

“Absolutely, I do. Why wouldn’t I?” You were curious, because he was clearly attractive. Maybe you’d spent too much time around the more traditionally preferred young men in dallas, but something about Joel intrigued you that never did with anyone else. Maybe it was the forbidden aspect of what you two were doing, but before that, it was something else. He was rough and rugged, and good looking in a mature way that the boys your age couldn’t mimic if they tried. Those dark brown eyes with little crows feet at the edges every time he smiled were a dead give away to his age, but it was so appealing somehow.

“Don’t know. Guess I’m just old,” he spoke, trying to hide the insecurities that phrasing brought about. He was too old for you, he shouldn’t be sitting here with you you alone and calling you pretty, and yet…

“Maybe that’s a good thing. Too many boys my age are still very immature these days.” And it was very much true. Too young, too immature, and too stupid to see what’s in front of them and really appreciate it. Older men have a tendency to take care of the things they have, because they know that with time they can lose them.

“That so?”

“Mhm.”

“They don’t even realize what their missin’ out on, do they?”

You shook your head in reply. Nope. Not a single one of the younger guys you’ve dated has treated you with the care you know he could. He’s always treated you with care, before… why would that change now?

“They probably figure there’s a million girls linin’ up after me that they can take a shot at,” you raised your eyebrows and drank some more. Maybe it was just a thought of some past experiences, but this beer was tasting better and better to you.

“I pity them,” he said nonchalantly, without really thinking about it.

“Who, the girls? I mean, I kinda feel bad, but other times, I think we all know what we’re getting ourselves into n’ we just try to ignore the red flags.”

It was meant as a joke, but he was being genuinely serious.

“No, the guys. I pity ‘em.”

“Oh, do you?”

“I do,” he nodded, thinking of the right words to say. “They lost you, didn’t they? Biggest mistake of their lives and they didn’t even know. Pity ‘em just for that.”

You didn’t know what to say. You figured the wide smile you wore was doing a fine enough job, but he wasn’t looking like he had anything else to voice yet.

“You think I’m somethin’ special, Joel Miller?”

He set his bottle down on the counter and walked around it to stand right in front of your barstool. He took both your hands and pulled them to his chest, just holding them there and looking to you with the sweetest expression you’ve ever seen from him. He’s so different than what you remember in your earlier years. He used to be so stoic and serious. Sometimes even a little grumpy. Guess time changes things.

“I wouldn’t be gettin’ myself into sum’ this crazy if I thought anything else,” he mumbled it almost, but he definitely meant it. His words rang true in every aspect of the implications they made. This was crazy, it was very unlikely in the first place, but even still, it was happening. Neither of you backed down, neither of you said no.

“If it helps, I happen to think you’re pretty damn special, too.”

He didn’t respond, just leaned closer towards you, nudging his nose against yours, before letting your lips meet in a kiss. it washed rushed and hazy like the last time. It wasn’t forceful or fast or anything of that sort. It was gentle, and it was meaningful. All the years he’d known you, but never like this. You knew this attraction was new, but it was still real. You wondered how many women pined after him over the years, only for you to now gage his attention when clearly no one else did. The man’s been single since Sarah’s mom left, and otherwise, you didn’t know him to be much of a ‘dating around’ kinda guy. Standing here with him, now, you felt such excitement in knowing he’d pursue you, the off limits woman, over anyone else. It was a true victory, or at least you thought so, sitting on a stool in his kitchen while he kissed you softly, his thumbs going over the backs of your hands that still lingered in his.

When the kiss broke, you inhaled deeply, the scent of him so close to you, surrounding you. He was like a warm blanket you just pulled out of the dryer. He was comforting, and soft, and his skin was currently hot to the touch. You could only hope that you had something to do with that.

“Baby,” he breathed, hands letting go of yours and finding a new home at your waist. You left your hands on his chest, feeling his heart rate fluctuating. “Gotta know something before this goes any further…”

You hummed in response, still trying to even your breath intake. He backed away a few inches to be able to look you in the eyes correctly. He’d spent enough time with you in the past to know if you were telling the truth, and he was going to use it just this once to his advantage.

“What we’re doin’, you sure you’re okay with it?” He knew better than to jump into this without clarification. “Don’t want you feelin’ pressured if you’re not.”

“I want this,” you spoke softly, just loud enough that he could hear. “Promise.”

You had thought you’d been the instigator to this, if memory serves you correctly. Even still, you know now that whatever happens, he won’t take it somewhere you don’t want it to go. This show of good faith was something you could put trust in him over. He’s a good one, you always knew that.

And again his lips were on yours, differently this time. It was a bit more hasty and fervent like the first time, but there was still something different from then that you couldn’t quite decipher.

You absent-mindedly opened your legs and he instantly came between them, letting your bodies become flush with one another. His hands ran up and down your sides, every once and a while dipping to your hips and somewhere below on your thighs.

There was a heat between them that you didn’t realize was there until he came so close to touching it. He never actually did, though, and you were both endeared by and upset about it. He was the one making that heat spread, he can’t just leave it there… but he’s testing his limits, and you think it’s respectful that he is.

He doesn’t want to cross any lines… as if this entire entanglement has not already done that. This situation in every sense of the definition, has crossed the line. Him hugging you that tightly on his porch, him inviting you in after dark when it’s only you and him alone, having a beer with some very personal conversation, and now making out with you in his kitchen. They all crossed the line of what should happen between a man and his best friend’s daughter.

“Tell me to stop,” he mumbled against your mouth, almost as if reading your mind. His hand on your thigh drifted between your legs, just barely caressing the heated pool sitting there, waiting for him. It was still very reserved, and you had to buck against his hand for more friction, but at least it was something.

The taste of him somehow made it worse, the feeling growing inside you without an end in sight. The arousal was evident, but you weren’t sure he would be able to do anything about it, yet. You could tell it was weighing on his mind, what was okay for him to do, and what wasn’t. You would beg him if you had to, you just needed more.

He had an idea, one that could allow both of you to explore this dynamic easier, and one that could potentially keep him from overstepping like he was afraid to.

He removed his hands only for a minute, bringing yours up and over his shoulders before he settled his back down below your ass.

“Hold on,” he told you, lifting you from the seat and walking until he got to the living room. From there, he let the space guide him until the back of his knees hit the edge of the couch. He sat almost abruptly, and when you relaxed your weight onto him, you felt the stirring between his legs as well. You moaned into his mouth at the mere size and feeling of it, beginning to slowly grind down onto him. He encouraged your movements, and used his hands to guide your hips as you went, back and forth, getting into a rhythm.

“That’s it, baby,” he praised, tearing himself away for a moment to expel his breath from his lungs at the new feeling. Your head fell against his, and suddenly it was the movement of your lower half taking you over.

He let his hands move over your body a bit more freely, now, but still careful not to make any harsh movements, or grab in places he felt he shouldn’t linger too long. He knew you wanted this, but something inside him questioned how comfortable you really felt… that was until you started doing the same, roaming his body with your delicate touch, making him feel like the most important man in the world. You could have sworn you marked the exact moment he snapped, rolling his hips upwards into yours shamelessly. It was so deliciously addicting, the feeling of his body pleasing yours, and vice versa. His rough and sturdy hands, though still gentle, ravished any part of you available to him.

The air between you was hot and thick, and you could swear that by breathing it in, you were drawing even more arousal into your body.

The motions kept going until there was a quickening of pace brought on by you both simultaneously. You couldn’t mark a distinction of when it increased, you just knew that the speed you were going wasn’t where you started. All you could think of was that your spend was fast approaching, and you wondered if his was, too.

“Gettin’ close,” you murmured, barely able to get the words out for the moans that slipped passed your lips. “M’gonna…”

He heard you, and understood. Truth be told, he’d started getting hard since that moment on the porch, so this was just nothing but sweet relief to him. He kept on, trying to meet you at your finish.

“Let go , baby.”

You had no qualms about being told twice when it came to him. You gave it up easily, the muscles in your body contracting when you felt the wash of utter ease through every inch of you. He tensed beneath you, but relaxed with a groan of relief right after, and you could feel his length twitch in his jeans.

You just dry-humped Joel Miller on his couch. Like a horny teenager. What the fuck.

The dawn of realization was cut short by his hand softly coercing the back of your neck, bring your lips back for him to claim as he did earlier. Soft, and gentle, no rush, no heat. Just that feeling between you both that started this mess.… and it was indeed a mess.

“You wanna stay over?”

-

Tags (open):

@justanothersadperson93 @moonchild-warrior @hopplessilse @brittmd115 @michilandcof @untamedheart81 @just-someone-broken @joelalorian @xybil @yvonneeeee

If i tagged you wrong, or you want to be taken off at any time, just lmk!!

[demonpiratehuntress]

Hi, I want to ask something, have you seen the tik tok trend where there is a couple, and the girlfriend does the dance with the song 'everytime we touch' and the boyfriend just stands there giving their reaction. Can you please make some reactions from one piece characters (Ace, Sabo, Zoro and Law)? Thank you for reading this. Hope you have a nice day🌹

hello! i haven't seen the trend because i don't have tiktok, but i did look it up for this request :) also i don't know a thing about Sabo because i haven't met him in the anime yet, but i have read a few things about him so i'll try. i hope he's not too OOC but if he is im sorry!

also i don't do AUs so the song will play from a dial like the ones in Skypeia :)

taglist - @kabloswrld

everytime we touch

featuring - Ace x F!Reader, Law x F!Reader, Zoro x F!Reader, Sabo x F!Reader

summary - the ask :))))

warnings - slightly suggestive???

ZORO

Zoro has reached a point where he fully believes that he is used to your pranks and shenanigans. He thinks that there is no way you could surprise him now, because he thinks he knows every trick or shenanigan you could pull.

But he eventually finds out just how creative you can be when you pull him aside from training one day in the crow's nest, saying you have something you want to show him. He's definitely not prepared for what he sees next.

"'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling..."

An unfamiliar (to Zoro) song starts to play from one of the dials you picked up in Skypeia, but your boyfriend recognised the voice because it belonged to a famous singer you liked to travel to islands to just to see.

"Babe-"

And then you start.

Swaying your hips and moving your body to the beat of the song, Zoro's eyes never leave your figure. He's mesmerised by the sight in front of him, and he'll deny it vehemently but a light blush dusts his cheeks as he watches you move. He's never seen anything like this, but he's sure he only ever wants to see you move this way - and he only ever wants you to move this way for him.

His eyes are wide and his lips parted slightly by the time you're finished, and he looks like a fish gaping for air. You giggle, and that apparently snaps him back to reality because then he growls and grabs your waist, roughly pulling you against his body.

"Do it again for me baby, but this time without the clothes."

ACE

Ace had just returned from a long mission and you wanted to show him just how much you missed him. You had a song recorded on a dial Ace had gifted you for your birthday - though how he got it you had no idea. But anyway, you prepared a little dance for your tired boyfriend, feeling only slightly guilty about pulling him away from dinner so he could see it before he KO'd.

"I promise babe, you're gonna love it!"

He offered you a sleepy but still goofy grin as you tugged him along to your shared room, "I know, baby. I love anything and everything you do."

Blushing at his sweet compliment, you closed the door before turning to him and began your dance. Ace's eyes immediately shot wide open, all sleep disappearing from them as he drunk in the sight of you moving that way before him. His jaw dropped, stunned for a moment before his eyes regained that familiar mischievous gleam they sported for almost every hour of every day.

"Babe, you never told me you could move like this," he smiled, though he immediately joins in when he's over his initial shock.

He is definitely the type of boyfriend to go along with this kind of thing and even add in his own moves, just to watch you giggle and tell him that's not how you do it, and just to watch you repeat it for him so he can drink it in over and over.

"I'm sorry babe! I really don't get it, show me again?"

LAW

Law absolutely does not stand for your shenanigans. Every time you try to trick him or prank him or otherwise do something that will annoy him, he will 'room, shambles' you into another part of the submarine. Which is why you have to get rather creative with your methods of showing him certain things.

"Captain! There's something wrong with (Name)!"

Law was up and out of his chair before the bear could blink, racing down the hallway at the speed of light to find you. However the ruse was quickly revealed to Law when he walked into the dining area and saw you were okay.

"(Name)-ya, what-"

You cut him off by standing up and beginning to dance for him, after pressing play on something behind you. Law felt like all the air had been knocked out of his lungs, as he gazed at you moving so mesmerisingly. For a while all he could do was stare, his body stiffened up as his eyes went wide and just locked onto your moving figure, never once leaving it.

That's not to say Law didn't like it. He did, he very much did, but he was so awkward that he didn't know how to properly react. This big nerd just blushes an insane amount that you all have never seen before and just stares at you. He feels like his own body forgets how to move, and for a while all he sees is you. You are the only thing filling his vision, and with your movements he swallows thickly.

"(Name)-ya...you are absolutely stunning but this is something that should be for my eyes alone."

SABO

Sabo is a very busy man, you know that. He's got a lot of responsibilities and an equal amount of duties to the Revolutionary Army, so he barely has time to just relax and have fun. You're pretty sure he doesn't know how to, but you're slowly helping him with that. And today is no different, because today you have a surprise for him.

"Hey baby, do you have a moment?" You walk into his office without knocking, something you got away with - most of the time.

"Of course, what do you need love?" The blonde answered, without even looking up.

You sighed, "For me to answer that, you need to look up."

He stopped what he was doing then, his eyes drifting up to meet your figure. As soon as you were sure he was looking and wouldn't immediately dismiss you again, you pressed play on the dial and started to dance as a song started to fill the room.

Sabo dropped the pen he was holding as he watched you, his eyes widening and his heart hammering. He swallowed thickly, leaning back in his chair to observe you as you danced. Several emotions flared within him, but he was unable to tell which was more prominent. However, he knew one thing for sure, and that was-

"Love, you're absolutely amazing you know that?" Coupled with his cute smile, the compliment almost had you tripping up.

"Yeah?" You smiled when you were done. "You liked it?"

He grinned and stood up, walking around the table to snake his arms around your waist. He pressed gentle kisses to your forehead, your cheeks, and your neck, the kisses getting slower and more sensual with each change in place.

"I think like is too weak of a word to describe how I felt about that."

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

New Faces in New Places

Pairing: Derek Hale x Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: none really, just run of the mill teen wolf dangers lol

Genre: fluff I'd say

Summary: After a few signs from your familiar you're moving to a new town and you find out very quickly that it is anything but ordinary

***

You cross-reference the address your mom gave you with the building you're currently parked in front of. It looks like the right place but man, moving to a new town is always a hassle.

"We finally made it Ellie. You almost burned down my old apartment to get me here but- we made it. You'll have to wait here though, okay? I know mom trusts this guy but I'm not too eager to bring you into a vet's office for no reason." You say to your bird before you get out of the car. You make sure to leave the windows down because heavens know how long you'll be here. You walk into the office, startled slightly by the sound of the bell over the door. A Black man walks out of the back room wearing a lab coat over his maroon colored button-down. He's bald and has neatly trimmed facial hair.

"Hello. How can I help you?" He asks.

"Hi, Dr. Alan Deaton, I'm guessing?"

"Excuse me, do I know you?"

"Not me. But you do know my mother."

"And who is your mother?" He asks, an eyebrow quirking up at you. You wave a hand over your wrist, exposing your family crest marked into your skin, and show it to him.

"My goodness." He gasps stepping back. He swings open the door by the counter and gestures for you to follow him through the doorway he originally came through. "It's like seeing a ghost. I never thought I'd be seeing that crest again after your mother and I went our separate ways. Wait is she-"

"She's fine. Living her best life in Europe." You say, eyes shifting around the room to take it in as you lean against the metal exam table.

"That's good. What brings you here then?"

"Actually, my familiar. Kind of. She knocked over a candle that burned this spot on a map and when I did some digging, spoke to my mom and she told me it had to be here. Also that I'd find you at this place."

"I wasn't aware your mother still knew where I was but honestly leave it to her to keep track of her associates." He chuckles.

"Yeah, she told me if I was coming to Beacon Hills I had to find you first. So what do I need to know about your little town?" You ask.

"Oh well, we definitely get a lot of strange activity here. Beacon Hills has a nematon."

"Beacon Hills has a nematon?" That gets your attention. You had no idea.

"It was cut down many years ago so it's been dormant for quite some time until recently when a group of teenagers accidentally reactivated it."

"A group of teenagers reactivated a nematon?! What the hell kind of teenagers are running around here?" You blink at him.

"They weren't trying to. They were only trying to track down their parents and stop some human sacrifices."

"And they somehow reactivated a nematon? And they did that accidentally on their own?"

"I didn't know it would reactivate a chopped down tree but we also didn't have many other options at the time."

"So I take it you're quite involved with this group of teenagers?" You ask.

"Their ringleader works for me." He shrugs.

"Their ringleader works for you? So you're the adult to our resident Scooby gang." You laugh.

"What?"

"A Scooby gang is the term I use for a group of teenagers who have a knack for getting into shenanigans they have no business getting into." You shrug.

"Well, you know. Druids are advisors by nature."

"Sure- to supernaturals usually. Is this group of kids supernaturals?"

"Not all of them."

"Not all of them?! Are there a lot of supernatural kids around here?"

"Relatively?"

"What does that mean-?" You shake your head.

"Deaton! We need your help! It's Isaac- something's wrong he's not healing!" The frantic yelling along with loud movement from the front of the office turns your attention from Deaton to the doorway, your question forgotten as a man with dark hair comes barrelling in with a younger boy behind him carrying another. They all halt at the door when they see you standing there and you're smart enough to pivot so you're standing next to Deaton, out of the way assuming they intend to lay the half-conscious one on the table.

"Well don't just stand there bring him here. What happened?" Deaton asks. The man steps to the side boy carrying the other can lay him on the table.

"Wolfsbane." You say quietly, immediately picking up its signature with a magical scan of the boy.

"What?" Deaton's gaze snaps to you.

"It's Wolfsbane, we have to get it out of his system if you want him to heal himself. Do you know what kind? How it got in his system?"

"Does that matter?" The man asks staring at you from across the exam table.

"Kind of. All of that stuff affects potency and subsequently the best solution to-"

"Y/n." Deaton says gently.

"He's a bit old for your Scooby gang but I take it he's part of it?"

"I should've prefaced. They aren't all teenagers."

"Noted. But he is. And he's dying." Your gaze shoots down to the kid on the table again. "How do you want to go about this?" You ask crossing your arms.

"Can you tell me if it's yellow wolfsbane?" He asks.

"It's not." You say after a moment of your eyes flitting across the gash in his side.

"Good. So we can burn it out of him."

"You're going to induce a fever?" You ask and Deaton shakes his head.

"He's bleeding too much too fast. You'll have to burn it out."

"Me?" You blink at him.

"You know how to right?"

"Of course I do." You say.

"Well I don't keep a torch in the office so yes you'll have to do it." Deaton nods. You hardly notice the other two watching your conversation like it's a tennis match, both sets of eyes darting back and forth between you as you talk quickly with Deaton.

"Very well." You sigh rotating your neck and cracking your knuckles in preparation. You grasp the young boy's hand.

"What is she doing?" The man asks, almost growling as he shoots a glare.

"Saving Isaac's life. Back down Derek. You came here for help." Deaton says.

"Hi, Isaac. My name's y/n. I'm gonna do my best to make it quick but this is gonna be uncomfortable for a little while so- feel free to scream or break my hand." You say gently to the boy on the table, Isaac you presume, before closing your eyes. When they open again your irises are literal flames that shock the two people watching you carefully as their friend's life is in your hands. Isaac groans, his back arching off the table and his fingers squeezing around your hand with a strength that would probably crush it if he wasn't currently bleeding out on the table. It takes longer than you expect, seeking out and burning the wolfsbane coursing through his blood, but after a few minutes his blood starts to boil and you know there's no more of the deadly plant in his system. You close out your spell and wait for his grip to loosen before releasing his hand.

"I think you should wrap that gash. He's clear now but- there's no way of knowing when his healing will kick in." You tell Deaton. Deaton nods and grabs a gauze pad and medical tape.

"He'll be okay?" The other teenager looks at you and Deaton.

"Yeah he'll be fine." Deaton nods.

"What are you?" The teenager looks at you curiously.

"Who are you?" The man asks, his gaze is still skeptical but much less hostile, there's something in his eyes that you can't quite identify. Akin to awe but not quite.

"Scott, Derek, this is y/n. She's new in town. Y/n, this is Scott McCall and Derek Hale."

"Members of your Scooby gang." You say.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Derek asks.

"Before you walked in here Deaton was telling me about a particularly atypical group of teenagers that had a knack for getting into shenanigans."

"I'm not a teenager." Derek says.

"You haven't already met Stiles have you?" Scott asks. You turn to Deaton with a confused look on your face.

"Scott's best friend. Shenanigan might as well be his middle name. He's quite the erratic kid." Deaton explains.

"Ah- well, no. You, four are my intro to Beacon Hills." You say. Isaac groans as his eyes finally start to open. His half-lidded gaze turns to you and his brows furrow as he tries to identify the stranger in the room.

"You saved me." He mutters. "Are you an angel?" He asks suspiciously making you giggle at the question.

"No sweetie. In fact, some people would call me the opposite."

"Y/n don't freak him out." Deaton chuckles.

"No angel, just a witch. But welcome back. Whoever did this knicked you real good." You tell him with a soft smile and gentle squeeze of his arm.

"Well- thank you." Isaac says.

"A witch?" Scott blinks at you.

"Yep. I don't understand how this kid got wolfsbane poisoning. Are there hunters in Beacon Hills?" You frown at Deaton.

"Sometimes." Deaton says.

"One of them's an ally now though. He helps us a lot." Scott says.

"Hunters and werewolves working together. This is one interesting little town." You muse.

"You'll get used to it pretty quick." Deaton chuckles.

"Oh I'm sure. I'd hang around but Ellie will start to get antsy if she doesn't get out of her carrier soon so I have to find my house. I'll be in touch Deaton. I have a feeling this conversation is far from over." You say.

"You can call me when you get settled if you have any immediate questions. Or swing by later." Deaton says writing his number on the back of a card.

"You rest up Isaac at least a few hours before you do anything strenuous. And watch that gash, if it doesn't start healing within the hour come back to Deaton. And I assume you two will look after him. Nice to meet you all." You say to the trio of wolves before taking the card from Deaton and leaving the office. You don't notice the way Derek's eyes follow you but Deaton does, and he has to make a conscious effort to stifle his smile.

A week later and you're mostly settled into your new home. Ellie is also pretty well acquainted with her new space, which is great because she can be quite particular.

"Something interesting out there Ellie?" You ask when your bird perches by the window, staring outside as intently as a bird can. Her wings flutter fiercely for a moment and she attempts to pry open the window with her beak. You quickly stand from your couch and whistle at her, tapping your finger to guide her over.

"I take it we have to be somewhere? Now when I take you out there wait for me to get on my bike before you start rushing off to whatever danger you're chasing." You warn her as you put on your shoes. She coos at you with her head tilted slightly and you roll your eyes before leaving your apartment. Outside you barely manage to get the bike running before Ellie flies off down a street.

"Dammit Ellie." You huff, speeding after her on your bike, looking up every so often to check her flight path. She eventually perches on a perches on a light by a warehouse and you take off your helmet ready to curse her for being so frantic but the sound of voices inside grabs your attention.

"I told you not to rush off you silly bird." You hiss at her when she flies down to sit on your shoulder as you approach the door curiously. You can see two people standing to the side but ready to jump in along with three, no four, people circling each other and you can hear growling, which is cleared up when one of the faces is revealed to be Scott from Deaton's office. You've had a couple more conversations with Deaton since your first one and have since learned that Scott is the ringleader he'd mentioned that first day and that he's got a whole bunch of supernatural friends. You whistle loudly enough to get everyone's attention and six pairs of eyes snap to you. You recognize Isaac in the bunch too. The two other guys they were growling at don't match any of the descriptions Deaton's given you so, process of elimination tells you the other two people looking at you must be Stiles and Lydia.

"Whatever you think you saw, you didn't we were just teens doing- teen goof things." Stiles, you're pretty sure, frantically says.

"You know Stiles I'd have expected a better excuse from you." You say. "That is Stiles right?" You ask Scott. He and Isaac nod which causes Stiles to look frantically between the three of you.

"How do you know my name?! And you two know her? Why don't I know her? Who are you?" Stiles asks.

"I'm gonna ask that you hold all questions briefly." You tell Stiles before turning your attention to the two unidentified individuals who still look to be on guard. "You two, I'm guessing, do not belong here." You address them only to be met with a growl that you immediately counter with a command. "Ciúin." You say sharply and their aggression dwindles. "I suggest you both return to where you belong of your own free will while you can. This territory is not up for grabs." You say sternly, flashing your magic in warning. The boys glare at you as if they are planning to challenge your demand but neither seems willing to take the risk when they meet your warning gaze. After a stretch of silence, they let out another growl at Scott and Isaac before leaving.

"We totally could've taken them." Isaac huffs.

"What did you do?" Scott asks.

"Nothing really just- a scare tactic I learned some years ago." You shrug.

"Well thank you." He nods.

"Can I ask my questions now?" Stiles asks.

"Stiles, Lydia, this is y/n. She's new to Beacon Hills." Scott says to his friends.

"So how do you already know her?" Stiles asks.

"She knows Deaton. And, she saved Isaac's life." Scott says.

"Yeah." Isaac nods. "Hi again." He says to you with a shy smile.

"Hi, Isaac. You look much better than the last time I saw you." You return his smile with one of your own when he straightens up at your attention.

"So do you! I- I mean, now that I'm not like half-conscious or whatever." He says awkwardly shifting his gaze from you.

"Hey, how did you even know we'd be here?" Scott asks you.

"Ellie." You say lifting your shoulder slightly to show off the bird still perched there contently. "She flew right to you." You add, handing her a treat you conjured.

"That's a pigeon." Stiles says.

"She's my familiar." You correct him.

"You have a familiar?" Lydia asks.

"Correct." You nod.

"What does that mean? Is she not human?" Stiles asks Lydia.

"I'm a witch. Think druid but cooler." You wink at him. "Don't tell Deaton I said that." You add in a stage whisper that makes the others laugh.

"So is that how you knew my name?" Stiles asks.

"No. Deaton's just been giving me the 411 on everyone I need to know about so I made a guess based on the names and descriptions I have." You say.

"Scott we've gotta have a talk man. When you meet people who might be of significance like witches you're supposed to tell me!" Stiles says.

"I figured you'd meet her yourself soon enough." Scott shrugs.

"Before this continues- because I'm sure it will. What were those guys doing here anyway?" You ask interrupting the couple's quarrel that's about to start.

"They were- sending a message." Isaac says.

"A message? To whom?" You frown.

"Scott. Looks like word's gotten around that he's an alpha."

"It's a good thing you showed up when you did because I had a really bad feeling about them fighting." Lydia mutters.

"I guess Ellie's taken a liking to you all. She's the one who sensed there was trouble."

"Thank you Ellie." Scott says nodding at your bird.

"You all should get out of here and head home before any more trouble comes looking for you." You say.

"Will you be alright getting home?" Isaac asks you.

"I should be asking you all that." You chuckle.

"Stiles will drive us." Scott tells you.

"So?" Isaac prompts.

"I appreciate the concern hon but I am an adult, with enough magical power to level a city. I'll be fine on my bike." You laugh. "Now you guys get going." Everyone starts to move towards the door except Stiles, who starts to object when he sees his friends leaving.

"Hang on now just because you stopped a fight doesn't mean you can- woah woah hang on!" Stiles loses his train of thought as Scott drags him towards the warehouse entrance and you chuckle.

"Come on man don't be an ass." Scott mutters to his friend.

"I just want you to know I have more questions for you that I will be asking at a later date!" Stiles calls to you even as he's being removed.

"Deaton has my address! Have him give it to you and you can come by and ask as many questions as you want!" You shout after him.

"I will do exactly that!" He points just before the group exits and you laugh to yourself in the empty warehouse.

"You brought me across the country to protect this group of teenagers?" You ask Ellie. "I hope you know we'll have no more peace." You scoff at her before the two of you leave the warehouse yourselves.

A few hours later a knock on your door pulls you away from the movie you're watching. You place your mug of hot chocolate on the table before walking over to your front door and checking the spyhole to find Derek on your porch.

"Derek?! What are you doing here?" You ask with a frown. You haven't seen him since you met last week and quite frankly you weren't sure you would. He seemed rather apprehensive around you all in all.

"I- heard you helped the kids out of a jam earlier. I wanted to thank you." He says.

"Oh- no need. They probably could've sorted it out themselves honestly but Ellie really felt we had to step in."

"Ellie?"

"My bird, familiar."

"Familiar- that's right, you're a witch."

"I am indeed." You chuckle. "You- said you came here to thank me? I don't want you to feel like you have to do-"

"Oh I don't! Didn't. I'm not here out of obligation I wanted to come. It's not every day someone as pretty as you moves to Beacon Hills."

"Are you flirting with me Derek Hale?" You ask, surprised at his direct line.

"Depends on if it's working." He says.

"Are you here to ask me on a date or not Derek?" You ask. There's a moment of silence before he replies.

"Will you go on a date with me?" He asks.

"I would love to." You smile at him.

"I've been trying to work up the courage to ask you that all week." Derek breathes out.

"How cute. Do you have a phone?"

"Of course I do."

"Do you have it with you?" He hands you the device eagerly and you input your number for him. "You can call me when you've figured out the details." You say handing it back to him. "Okay?" You prompt when all he does is give you a goofy smile.

"Okay." He says still giving you a pleased look that makes you want to laugh at how cute he is. You jolt suddenly when your own phone rings on your coffee table.

"Oh shoot- one second." You say rushing to grab it. Unknown number. "Hello?" You answer walking back over to your front door where Derek has his phone pressed to his ear, looking at you cheekily as he speaks and his voice comes through your device.

"I'll pick you up at 7:30 on Friday?" He asks and you laugh before you give him an answer.

"Didn't realize you already had a plan."

"Oh, I've been planning all week. If you said yes I wanted to be ready."

"Then I will see you Friday. For now, you should go home, looks like it's going to rain." You say noticing the clouds obscuring the usually starry night sky. Derek looks up as if he didn't even realize.

"Right. I'll see you Friday." He says with one last smile before he takes off. You smile to yourself as you return to your movie and hot chocolate. Friday just can't come soon enough. Maybe moving to Beacon Hills was a more perfect idea than you gave Ellie credit for.

***

[loonylooly]

at this point i'm wondering what sarah is thinking when writing her love interests, like ok it's clear she finds them hot but like....are they good people

Rhys:

UTM lap dance shenanigans

throwing Feyre into danger constantly (Weaver, destroying cauldron, getting the book from Adriata, etc etc)

Still not doing jack shit about wing clippings in Illyria?? Emerie is right there, Rhysand, go enforce your damn laws

Insulting his wife's sister constantly

Almost killed his wife's sister cause she dared give her important medical information

Locked Lucien (MY BOY!!) in the house of wind

Locked Nesta in the house of wind

Didn't give Mor any warning that time he made her face her abusers and she cried i think (ngl i forgot most of it)

Ignoring Hewn City even tho...Kier is like the only bad guy we've seen from there?? Surely there's decent people in Hewn City, don't gotta make everyone suffer

Nesta windhaven kidnapping intervention so she stops spending Rhys' money (if it was really about her own sake, they would've put a stop to it much earlier)

Seemingly alienates everyone in Feyre's life that could and would stand up to Rhys for Feyre's sake. Lucien? Nah, shoo. Nesta? Nah, shoo. Weird thought but Tarquin? Yeah, makes her steal his book.

And last but DEFINITELY not least; demon baby wife death

HE COULD'VE TOLD FEYRE... OR ATLEAST NOT THREATENED TO KILL HER SISTER FOR TELLING HER WHEN HE HOULD'VE TOLD HER IN THE FIRST PLACE??

THERE'S PROBABLY MORE BUT MOVING ON

Cassian:

Barely ever stands up for Nesta in the IC

Aids in kidnapping Nesta to Windhaven so she stops spending whysand's money

Laughs at Nesta when she falls down the stairs

Aids in punishing Nesta for daring to tell Feyre important medical info

Constantly going agaisnt Nesta's wishes and trying to "save her" when she doesn't want him to

That one time Azriel asked Nesta if Cass had pushed her down the stairs...Like are we gonna ignore that?? Personally I'd have a quarter life crisis if my closest friend, who is like my sibling and has known me most of our lives, seriously entertained the idea that i would physically assault the girl I like

general aggressiveness all of ACOSF

aids in bulldozing Nesta's apartment

Rowan goddamn Whitehorn (Who I've yet to see people bashing him somehow,,, HoF rowan was like if ACOSF cassian had a horrific murder baby

Left his pregnant mate alone during a war cause he wanted to prove himself....like..idk man if i had the choice between war and taking care of my pregnant wife i'd pick the wife (did he know she was pregnant? i've kind of forgotten by now)

Rowan's kid would've been hundreds of years older than Aelin.....just think abt that

Literally everything he did to Aelin during training in HoF

Their argument where he PUNCHED HER IN THE FACE

Threatened to whip Aelin...I repeat....Threatened to whip Aelin, an ex-slave....

Told Aelin it'd be better if she died 10 years ago (unprovoked?? bitch you met her like 2 weeks ago just cause she's getting on your nerves doesn't mean you gotta wish DEATH upon her)

Literally was relieved to find out she was only 19 because if she was a few years older she could've been THE CHILD OF HIS BEST FRIEND.

No issue with marrying the cousin of his best friend's child....Imagine if he hadn't met Aelin first.. If he'd met Aedion first, Aelin would've always been the relative of his friend's son to him

FOR THE RECORD i hate all of the SJM age gaps but rowan and aelin's specifically irks me because Aelin LITERALLY CALLS HIM OLD throughout the WHOLE SERIES

Literally tells Aelin he doesn't care about what she's been through and that she is nothing to him after she confronts him for leaving her

Puts Luca in danger by sticking him on to a frozen lake with a monster inside where he'll DIE if Aelin can't save him

Funnily enough, some of the only seemingly decent person guys in SJM 1. Are completely forgotten about in the books or 2. SJM had to make them violently unlikeable

Like we've got:

Tarquin, seemed like a pretty good guy, rightfully pissed that the IC stole his family heirloom, shows up like twice in the books (LET HIM COME BACK SARAH I LOVE HIM)

Tamlin, was pretty decent in book 1, was made violently unlikeable in book 2 onwards

Chaol, very strong morals, generally a good person, loves his wife, made violently unlikeable and boring in late CoM, HoF, and QoS (ToD is one of my favorite books in the series, will praise ToD till the day I die, my boy EARNED his own book)

Aedion, seemed like a good person, strong morals, spent years trading his dignity for the sake of Terrasen, loved his cousin above all else, made violently unlikable in KoA (even tho I think he was justified in being angry about it, i'd be SO pissed)

Sartaq, good guy, strong morals, Nesryn's chapters were some of my favorites in ToD, Sartaq is one of my favorite SJM love interests, i'll never forgive author lady for forgetting about him in KoA (tho i guess she forgot about everyone from ToD? Yrene and Chaol are the only important ones, she barely even mentions Nesryn even though Nesryn's BEEN an integral part of the gang since QoS, giving her the Suki from ATLA treatment)

[efangamez]

Yoooooo the GRIM expansion "The Palace of Eyes" has some actually NUTS lore. The work for the content is almost finished, but it needs to get fine tuned for publication while I include it in the handbook.

I'll be talking a bit about it here, so if you don't wanna possibly get ANY spoilers, you can dip now!!!

Okay so because I have pretty chronic pain in my fingers I'm going to be using text to speech or speech to text to share some of this information. So this will be my first time writing something that has like time travel and dimension travel shenanigans and the way that I was inspired by Metal Gear Solid to have these wild storylines all going on at once with some twists and turns but it's still kind of holds together through lower explanations is really really cool. I've honestly had a blast making every one of the story beats come together in one giant epic of a story to be honest with you.

There are actual pieces of lore in here that were crafted not only because they were cool but because they are thematic and have almost a cinematic and ideological feel to them. I think that the more that I build worlds and the more that I come to terms with who I am as a person the more fleshed out and well built stories can be created through my games. I kind of realized that when I made Neon Nights and some of my other games. I thought that if I just made a system that had a little bit of scaffolding I think that would be enough but to me I really do think that just like in a video game playing in a world where you are able to explore and uncover mysteries and be shocked by events I think it's really really cool and I like that. I think that's because one of my strengths and interests is in narrative and while I've gotten older I don't really have the patience too much anymore for prose, but I have fallen in love even more with World building and creating narratives with that World building if that makes sense.

I think that this expansion will not only be a really fun thing to explore within the GRIM multiverse but to also kind of look within yourself and to relate to some of these characters in their struggles and to kind of be invested in their stories and what's cool about tabletop games is that their stories are not fleshed out all the way. The scaffolding is there with strong connections to the world but the way that you the players will interact and the way that the watcher who is basically the standing for GM or DM in a game will be completely unique. I think that that's one of the powerful components of an RPG. And while GRIM may not have the most robust mechanics for role-playing in a system or using a system to roleplay rather you can still create Grand narratives by just being interpersonal with your players.

I don't know I just kind of wanted the info dump a little bit and not have my fingers hurt while I type so that's why I use speech to text. I'm really really excited working on this. I have over 34 pages of content in a document that hasn't even been designed yet. This thing is going to be a big lad probably over 100 pages at least. It's going to be kind of hard also to price this at $9.99 but I think that to me what matters most is getting this out there and kind of showing off my talents as well as giving people an awesome epic to play along with GRIM.

Anywho I hope you have a fantastic day today! Make sure you drink your water you eat your food and you take care of yourselves. Love ya!

[jq37]

Descendants: The Rise of Red is kind of a bizarre movie to talk about critically because, imo, it almost doesn't make sense to talk about it in the usual terms of good vs bad or enjoyable vs not enjoyable when the way more obvious tension is finished vs unfinished.

Because, more than any other movie I've ever seen, it does *not* read as a full movie. And I don't mean in a "this movie has a cliffhanger" kind of way. The Empire Strikes Back and Across the Spiderverse fit that description. They end on big dramatic cliffhangers that point to a resolution in the third installment.

But Rise of Red just sets all this stuff up and then...ends without concluding anything. It doesn't feel like the first movie in a trilogy (or duology). It feels like the first act of a two-act musical. It very specifically reminds me of the end of the first act of Into the Woods where all the main characters sing the song Ever After about how they all fixed their problems with magic and nothing bad will ever happen to them again and then the narrator ominously says "To be continued" before the curtain drops. But in Into the Woods you know there's a second act and this movie wasn't sold as the first act of a bigger story. Like sure, it has the, "You didn't think this was the end" tag at the end like all the other movies, but those movies were complete, self-contained stories even though they had sequels. This was NOT a full story. It's half of one story.

Like, if we're supposed to take this as a full story, there are so many bizarre choices:

Why did they make sure to mention that Cinderella and Charming fell in love at the ball at the top if it wasn't meant to set up Back to the Future style, "Oh no, I accidentally got my mom banned from the ball so she's not gonna fall in love with Dad and I won't be born" shenanigans?

Why did Maddox very pointedly have that bit about "you could lose your mom completely" if that was never going to come into play? Red never did anything to endanger Bridget or endanger her own birth so it doesn't make sense as a warning in that way.

Why was there all this focus on this Carrie on prom night moment for Bridget if we LITERALLY NEVER SAW CASTLECOMING? Why dance around this moment and talk about it all cloak and dagger with no specificity if they weren't building up to some big reveal that it wasn't as straightforward as it seemed? And like, they leaned in HARD with making Bridget the nicest, sweetest, cotton candy princess as a teen so I need WAY more than, "She got pranked by known bullies she's been enduring with a smile very handily up to this point" to buy that she went from that to "murderous dictator". And even if she did become murderous, I find it insanely hard to believe that she'd include her best and only friend on the list of people she wants to suffer unless there was a betrayal. I find it INSANE that there wasn't a falling out scene at any point in this movie with how thickly they were laying on the admiration and camaraderie.

(Note: And adult Cinderella def has guilty vibes re: the Queen at orientation. Which I know I'm not imagining because it's literally spelled out in the Jr Novelization!)

Before the time travel element of the movie started, I thought they were going for something like they go to the past and realize that Bridget was bullied not by the VKs but by the spoiled royals, and Ella ends up joining in the bullying once she gets with Charming, betraying Bridget and justifying her whole "Love Ain't It" philosophy. Or Ella ditching her at the last minute to be with Charming meaning she has to deal with the monster prank alone and it was the being alone rather than the prank itself that hurt her (though that is NOT a good enough reason to go all off with their heads on your subjects). The fact that, as far as we know right now, it literally was just a relatively mild and reversible prank that caused all of this is just, such flat storytelling, you know?

But! All of this makes way more sense if this is meant to be the first act of a single contained story. And I don't wanna be all "Pepe Silvia, secret good 4th episode of Sherlock" about this but I did see this picture:

Which seems to indicate that this was written as a Part One. Which, if so, idk why they wouldn't advertise it that way but whatever. The point is, if that's the case then it means that we're potentially in bad pacing territory rather than straight up bad storytelling territory. Because this isn't a bad place to be halfway through your story:

The heroes, warned that time travel is dangerous, have gone back in time to change the heart of a brutal tyrant before she can stage a coup. They seemingly succeed in their mission and when they come home, everything is great! But then, the side effects of time travel start to catch up with them. Chloe realizes that, in breaking the vase, she prevented her mother from going to the ball and falling in love with her dad (who was conspicuously absent from the final scene btw) which means she's starting to be forgotten and erased from the timeline. And Red realizes that though this new version of her mom is as sweet and kind as the teen she once met, she's a complete stranger to her (fulfilling the Hatter's warning that she could lose her mom completely). So they have to go back in time once more to make sure the Ella and Charming fall in love again, perhaps at the cost of whatever bad thing that happened to Bridget happening again and bringing back the original version of her future self. But, now with more context of how her mom became that way, Red can now talk to her mother and persuade her to give people another chance.

Boom, that gives us time to go back and hit everything we haven't yet hit. We can pay off the time travel tropes that were set up but not explored. We can go to Castlecoming which feels so obviously set up to be the centerpiece of this story (like, come on, Back to the Future literally does the school dance thing. This is Time Travel Storytelling 101). We can actually get info about what the prank was and why it affected Bridget so completely.

(Note: This is a side thing but it really strikes me as so crazy that Bridget would so SUCH a big 180 here. Like, I know the Queen of Hearts is a silly, goofy, campy villain, but she straight up murders people and there's no way to get around that if we're taking her out of the surreal story she comes from and putting her in a (comparatively) grounded story. If I wasn't doing a betrayal plot, I would make the twist that the spell that turned Bridget into a "monster" didn't just have a physical effect, it had a mental effect and it magically twisted her personality to be the way it is now. So they broke the physical half of the curse, but neglected the other half and it's been festering the whole time, turning her as evil as she was sweet. Because like, a simple physical transformation isn't that big of a deal to have such heavy security--Bridget made cupcakes with a transformative effect and that was totally fine. I'm not saying that that's what's gonna be the case. I just think it would be an explanation that makes sense for why she changed so crazy much that makes more sense than a simple prank or even a betrayal. Her mom wasn't even evil! How did she go from zero to murder without even an evil mom to push her onto the path? But I'm super digressing right now.)

(Note #2: OK, one last thing. The trap on the book presumably would have hit the VK's and trapped them in Merlin's office regardless of what Chloe and Red did, right? That's like, net zero influence on the timeline. I genuinely can't tell if that's a straight up plot hole or set up to be like, "Oh no. Actually when she said that she was turned into a monster in front of everyone it was meant in a less literal way." Like she was just made to look bad and that was the real thing that pushed her over the edge. Like idk. It really feels like the only thing they really did that would change the timeline was get Ella banned from the dance and presumably out of the way where she couldn't hurt Bridget. OK NOW I'm done.)

Anyway, my point is that this is not how I would have structured my movie and I think this was a super weird way to go into the second era of Descendants movies, but they can still tell a complete story if that's their plan. I'm genuinely really curious to see if this pans out to be a fairly competently told story that just happens to be split over two movies or a complete fumbling of the narrative bag because it could really be either at this point and it's fascinating to me.

[sw-33-ts-stuff]

Could you do a Wednesday Addams x gn!reader/ yoko tanka x platonic!reader

R is Enid’s younger sister and is very different *she’s blind since birth and is condescendingly treated like a baby by her family because they think she a helpless weakling that need constant supervision 24/7 depsite her being extremely gifted in playing the violin*

The only one she is close to is yoko and Enid as they’re the one ones who let her be a little indenpent. Enid litterally had to negotiate with principal weem that let r come with her to nevermore and yoko see r as a little sister as she is her roommate. Enid introduce Wednesday to her sister and falls hard for r

Her sister and yoko are happy to see r being with someone who love her dearly, but they can’t help but feel a bit overprotective

*however they know they can’t do the shovel talk to Wednesday as both are terrified of her and know she can and will hurt anyone that would lay a hand on r. They would deny nor confirm that they may have had a hand in help Wednesday in torturing those people alongside with thing and them getting into shenanigans whenever r has a date with Wednesday or uncovering a mystery 😂😂😂😂

*idk why but it would be funny if people would refer the three girls and thing as the protection squad or something or. The reason why is because while Enid and yoko are friends and Wednesday barely tolerate them and thing, they form some sort of mutual respect as they form an alliances with each other and making sure nobody messes with r. I could see Wednesday being like her dad as she unkowningly has the urge to protect r from anything that would harm her. she see r as a very beautiful and strong person with a gentle soul. While R can’t see her gf face but she can detect the sincerity in Wednesday voice and appreciate her being sweet to her and is the only one who r will allow to treat her like a baby *she know Wednesday doesn’t do it to be condescending but rather of her family curse. r is the only that Wednesday will allow to call her “Ness” She sometimes lets r be with her when playing her cello even allowing her to do a duet with her violin

I got so lost in this I think I may consider trying to make this into a series 😭…

3rd Person POV

Y/N Sinclair sat on her bed practicing her violin when her sister barged in.

"Y/n! You'll never believe this I'm getting a new roomie!" She squealed.

The younger girl smiled at the thought of her sister having someone to talk to, knowing how lonely she'd get whenever she or her roommate Yoko wouldn't be able to.

She knew how hard it was to be alone. For a werewolf solitude was a death sentence.

"The strength of the wolf comes from the strength of the pack."

Their mother always said this as their father would quietly sit back already preparing to speak to each girl separately.

"Your mother loves you she just doesn't know how to show it."

Her unseeing eyes almost rolled at the thought.

"I'm kind of worried though," her older sisters voice dropped below a whisper as she leaned in. "Rumor has it she killed one of her old school mates by dropping piranha in the swimming pool."

Y/n felt her eyebrows raise at the information before she shook her head.

"Now you of all people know better than to start spreading rumors. Don't you remember when Kent tried getting everyone to think Yoko and I were a thing?" The older Sinclair growled.

That was the tame version of events she'd given you, Kent had actually spread a rumor that you were "up for a good time". She remembered how she had threatened the boys manhood if he or any of his idiot friends even thought about looking your way. Her claws dug into his thigh, mere centimeters away from his favorite appendage as she made sure he knew just how good she'd be on her threat.

She nodded smiling. "You're right I'll wait until she gets here to get the 4-1-1 for my blog."

Y/n laughed at her sisters need for gossip. Of the two, Y/n was far more reserved than her sister.

Since she was born, her family had been...protective of her. A wolf without eye sight to them was by far the worst curse put on anyone, even worse than being sentenced to a life alone. As a child her parents kept her in their sights at all times, the only times she was truly alone and free to do as she pleased were when she'd practice the violin. The music was her only solace, which is why Enid had begged Principal Weems to grant entry for her sister to Nevermore. She knew if left alone with her parents she'd never have any type of privacy or a chance at independence.

While it was true Enid could be overbearing at times she never tried to dictate her sisters choices or influence her actions to benefit her in anyway.

.

.

.

It had been a few days since Enid showed Wednesday around and tried to get to know her. She felt that the girl was far too rough around the edges and may need to relax but she was dedicated to getting her roomie to break her walls down. Especially since she'd grown attached to Thing, who was practically her new bestie.

They were walking to lunch when the two girls caught sight of Yoko holding a lanky boy by his shirt collar against the wall. Her girlfriend Davina trying to calm her down by placing her hand on her shoulder.

The girl hissed fangs bared to the boys neck lightly grazing it with each word she spoke.

"If you even think of doing something to Y/n again I promise I'll forget school rules and make you my personal blood bag, understood?" The boy gulped nodding as he trembled in fear.

"I swear." She let him go grabbing the bag and pushing him as he ran away cowering as he met Enid's gaze.

Wednesday observed in silence as Enid's claws began to elongate, Davina rubbing her girlfriends shoulders and whispering calming words in her ear. Enid had walked up to her almost forgetting Wednesday was with her.

"What happened?" Enid asked. Yoko felt herself grow angry once she caught wind of the fur balls words. She'd overheard the boy laugh about how he'd stolen the blonde girls bag, already going through her wallet as he counted the money left inside. The fang just took a deep breath and handed the bag to the older Sinclair sibling. Enid growled lowly looking back into the direction the boy had gone.

"That's the third time this semester." She gritted out. Yoko nodded irritated.

Her relationship with the younger Sinclair sister was much like the one she held with Enid. The shorter blonde had wormed her way into her heart the minute she introduced herself. She didn't know if it was her aura of pure innocence or the smile that rarely left her face but Yoko found herself bonding with the werewolf quicker than she had expected. Vampire were usually cautious of her kind but Enid and Y/n we're nothing like the other furs. Besides the curse of the full moon, they were more alike than she'd thought.

Yoko knew all about overbearing parents and a need to be your own person. She was expected to run her coven and follow their traditional ways, including marrying a strong young male vampire. They had yet to find out about her girlfriend or the fact that she didn't want to lead.

It irked her to no end how her parents never truly listened to her. And she knew Enid and Y/n were of the select few who understood.

She couldn't fathom how anyone could want to take advantage of the blind girl.

Wednesday watched them both glancing into the direction the boy had gone.

"I don't care for bullies." Yoko and Enid looked to the goth. The vampire smirked as her fangs peeked out a bit, she lowered her glasses looking at Wednesday.

"Rumor has it you put piranha into your last schools swimming pool. The boy lost a testie." She grinned.

Wednesday merely nodded. "It's true I did fail to rid the earth of another brainless jock like Dalton but I doubt he'll make the same mistake twice."

Yoko just nodded smirking, it was nice to know there was at least one more person who wouldn't try to bully Y/n just because they could.

Enid went to take her bag to her sister. She found the girl in her room on her knees hands out trying to feel if she could find her bag on the floor.

"Y/n" the girl called softly. The younger girl shot up quickly.

"Oh hey Enid," she blushed slightly dusting the dirt of her skirt. "I was just looking for my bag."

"Right here pup." She said softly as she handed it to her. "How about we get some lunch?" The younger sister nodded.

The Sinclair Siblings sat at a table that with Yoko, Davina, Wednesday, and Eugene. Most of the group saying hi except Wednesday who kept her attention on the book she was reading.

"Wednesday," Enid called out. "This is my sister Y/N, Y/N this is Wednesday. I'm going to grab our lunches."

The goth went to give you a quick glance before she paused. You looked slightly to the left of her providing a small smile and a wave.

"Enid mentioned you're not big on touching or talking. So I'll keep it short its nice to meet you."

Your soft voice was like a symphony to her ears. Wednesday continued to stare as Enid returned sitting next to you. She looked to her roommate fully prepared to try and negotiate that she please, please be nice when she noticed something different in the pigtailed girls usually dull gaze. It looked to be...intrigue?

"Nice to meet you as well bellisima." Wednesdays eyes widened as she stood abruptly leaving without another word.

Yoko's eyes narrowed as she looked to see you blushing.

"Doesn't that mean beautiful?" Your bestfriend asked.

You shrugged paying extra close attention to your meal as Enid felt her jaw drop. You knew exactly what it meant and something about the way the word rolled off her tongue made you feel warm inside.

Did Wednesday just flirt?

Wednesday slammed the door to her room startling Thing.

"Something is wrong with me."

Thing signed frantically as Wednesday continued to shake her head at every guess he had. 

"Worse." She paused. "I'm becoming my father."

.

.

.

It was late and you knew you probably shouldn't be practicing your violin but there was someone playing cello and you felt compelled to play with whoever was on the other side of campus. You went out to your balcony careful to not wake Yoko she could sleep through anything but if she were to hear you moving she'd immediately wake up to make sure you wouldn't hurt your self.

The piece began simple enough but as the cellist continued they began to increase the tempo. Half of campus shaken from the slumber at the sound of a concert hall echoing throughout. Enid smiled slightly at your playing for once not annoyed with Wednesdays late night session.

The two of you continued for a while before Wednesday had finished. She climbed back in turning to Enid.

"Who else at this God awful school may actually have acceptable music taste?" The werewolf smirked internally still fearful that her roommate would skin her alive if she did so externally. Wednesday saw a slight smug glint in her roommates eyes knowing she'd most likely hate her answer.

"Y/n." The raven held back a groan, it seemed there was even more to you that intrigued her.

As if looks weren't enough.

Enid watched her roommate quietly go to her bed, glancing to Thing who sat smugly on her desk fingers kicking like a child on a swing.

.

.

.

"Hello Y/n." Wednesday spoke softly as she went to sit next to you in Botany. You smiled in her direction.

"Hey Wednesday, I didn't know we were switching partners?"

The gloomy girl glanced over to Ajax who couldn't meet her gaze. Yoko laughing silently behind her hand as she had watched Wednesday threaten to feed him to her menagerie of pets if he didn't switch seats with her. Enid glanced amused and irritated at the scowl Xavier wore because Wednesday had chosen to sit next to you instead.

Both Yoko and Enid continued to watch Wednesday closely as she spoke to you. Both surprised when she managed to get you to laugh. Since she lived with her, only Enid could detect the microscopic changes in expression as she looked to her younger sister. Her eyes softened ever so slightly and the corner of her lips were quirked up as you'd responded to whatever she'd asked you.

Class began and the two were forced to pay attention to the lesson before them.

Wednesday couldn't help but stare at you as you listened intently to what the teacher was saying. In most cases people would type their notes but you felt the noise may disturb others so you would record the lectures and later go over the notes in your room.

The goth couldn't help but admire you. Personally, she wouldn't care if they found it to be a nuisance, yet she found it endearing that you would. It made you seem that much stronger, not letting such trivial things hinder you.

As class finished she found herself helping you by taking your books and leading you to your next class. You quietly thanked her as she did so, as you went to sit down someone's foot shot out to trip you.

Wednesday caught you by the waist standing you upright before turning to the culprit. Her eyes narrowed to see one of the Gorgon boys laughing with his friend. He looked back and froze at the sight of Wednesday's glare.

"Thanks again Wednesday." The girl immediately softened at the young werewolf's voice.

"I'll be back after class mi vida."

Wednesday sat in her next class writing a note to Thing who began to crawl his way to the boys dorms.

He placed mirrors in the boys locker-room showers before he made his way back to Wednesday.

When class ended Wednesday was already making her way in to help you.

Enid and Yoko were outside expecting to help you but froze at the sight of Wednesday walking beside you and directing you to your next class.

The two glancing at each other unable to determine if they should be happy with your newest friendship or terrified at Wednesdays unpredictability.

.

.

.

Enid babbled on about her beloved Poe Cup to Thing as Wednesday began her hour of writing.

Yoko came into the room hastily.

"Enid," she glanced to see Wednesday glaring at her as she paused her typing.

Oh shit.

The fang gulped as Wednesdays typing resumed. Enid looked to Yoko.

"Did you hear?" The werewolf just shook her head.

"That kid Josh and his friends were trapped in the locker room for hours. Someone put mirrors in there." Wednesdays typing faltered for a brief second but both girls noticed as Thing moved around "innocently".

Enid watched him as Yoko looked to see a small smirk on the ravens face.

Enid walked closer to Thing knowing if she'd ask Wednesday she'd probably make her into a nice rug.

"You wouldn't happen to know about this would you?" The hand shrugged as he continued flipping the pages of a magazine he'd gotten from the werewolf's drawer.

Wednesday knowing his will was weak glared before Yoko began coughing. The girl doubled over in pain as Enid rushed to the girls aid more people flooding in once they called for help.

Wednesday grabbed Thing as they made their escape.

"I need you to check Rowan's room while I go to the library."

The hand scurried to find more clues as a soft clicking caught the dark haired girls attention. Her usual glare softening as she found Y/N slowly making her way downstairs. She rushed to her side making sure she'd let the girl know of her presence.

"It doesn't seem safe for you to be wandering alone, querida." The girls head snapped up recognizing the voice right away. It was in her thoughts a lot lately and gave her butterflies every time she thought about the person behind it. She blushed as she felt a cool hand offer help slowly getting her down the steps one at a time.

"Thank you Wednesday, you always seem to be there whenever I need help." You couldn't see it but you felt her dark eyes on you as you both reached the last step.

"And I will continue to do so, for as long as you shall let me."

Wednesday wanted to bite her own tongue off as she had realized what she'd said. Obviously the filter between her mouth and mind was incompetent once you were in the vicinity.

She hated how soft her voice became when she spoke to you.

And how she felt this overwhelming need to protect you.

Or how-

"Thank you." She felt herself sag in defeat. You were too nice and for some reason it was her kryptonite.

"Why are you out so late?" The girl then started to shake.

"I think someone tried to hurt Yoko I smelled garlic in our room, but she’s deathly allergic and I would never eat it." Wednesdays eyebrows shot up.

That explains the coughing.

"I think it was Bianca," Wednesday found herself intrigued.

"Why?"

"The Poe Cups tomorrow." The goth nodded. Yes the competition that her roommate had yet to shut up about.

"Oh no." The girl gasped in realization making Wednesday step closer as if to protect her.

"What's wrong?"

"Yoko was on Enid's team and the cups tomorrow she doesn't have enough people." She watched the younger Sinclair sibling take a deep breath steeling herself. "Wednesday can you help me back to my room so I can get ready for tomorrow?"

The goth shook her head as Thing ran up to them holding a mask, stopping short when he saw Wednesdays hand begin to raise to the other girls cheek.

She felt her eyes rolling at what she was about to do next.

"I will help you back to your room," the girl went to turn, but a hand on her cheek stopped her short as her face was turned to Wednesday. "But I will be the one to replace Yoko at the Poe cup not you."

The werewolf's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

According to her sister, Wednesday wouldn't waste time on something as childish as games nor would she willingly help others. However the girl in front of you touching you so gently as if you were glass about to break made you think something else entirely.

"Wednesday," you breathed out. She leaned closer you could feel her just a breath away from you as your hands slowly began to lift up.

"Can I-"

Thing crawled up to Wednesdays shoulder abruptly making her glare at him. He pointed to the stairwell where Bianca and Xavier were walking down still yet to see either of you. She grabbed you, covering your mouth and hiding you behind a pillar.

"Wednesday Addams thinks she's better than everyone else and I can't wait to make her and her little werewolf roommate cry after we win the Poe Cup tomorrow." You growled behind Wednesdays hand as the two went to their rooms.

When the coast was clear Wednesday had let go of you seeing you breathe heavy as your claws began to elongate. You felt tears well up in your eyes as you realized you couldn't help Enid as much as you wanted to.

"Wednesday promise me you'll make sure Enid wins tomorrow." She grabbed your hand placing a kiss on the back of it.

"Anything for you, mi corazon.”

[btr-rewatch]

Big Time Rush Season 1, Episode 18: “Big Time Concert” (Part 3)

Highlights: 3/4 of Big Time Rush move on with their lives.

In my previous post, we'd just left off at the scene where Hawk and his assistant have made the decision to target James in their big "take down Rocque Records once and for all" plan.

Over at Rocque Records, Kelly informs Gustavo that since Griffin spent $2 million on the band, it'll take that same amount to get them back.

This scene brings back such memories of a younger me being so intrigued by Kelly's necklace because it looks like big pieces of Orbit chewing gum.

I just. I want to chew on that necklace, ok?

Kelly thinks she's figured out a way they can get that kind of money, and Gustavo is thrilled...until Kelly tells him he's got to sell his mansion.

Meanwhile, everyone is settling back in at the Knight house (minus James, who's out riding his tiny bike around and brooding). I like the touch of having the wall of family pictures that contain actual photos of the actors—I spot a handful of Kendall's headshots that I recognize. I especially like that there's the same photo twice.

Rather than seeing it as a funny mistake on the part of the set designer, I choose to believe either

Mama Knight likes that picture so much that she had to include it in two different frames

Or, alternatively, someone (maybe Katie or Carlos) decided at some point to pull a prank where they slowly start replacing every photo on the wall with that one single picture and see how long it takes before anyone notices.

Kendall asks Logan to go over where they are currently in their "Rebuild our Minnesota dreams schedule," and can I just say that the guys (minus James) have slipped back into their lives as nobodies in Minnesota seamlessly? Like, I know it was James's dream, and the whole reason they went was because Kendall's offer made it so James could have that shot at stardom, and Kendall never really wanted to be in a boyband, but still. They had so many opportunities in that short time, experienced so much, made friends, established romantic relationships, and saw how amazing that life can be. You'd think they'd all be mourning at least a little. Unless they're just in a different type of denial than James was.

Although, I suppose their response can make sense when you look at their individual personalities. Logan's pragmatic, so I'm sure it could have been easy for him to brush off their brief taste of stardom with self-assurances that it wasn't a sturdy, logical career to pursue anyway, and failure was much more likely than success in the long run.

Carlos is such a carefree, go-with-the-flow, high-on-life guy that he can find happiness anywhere. He rolls with the punches and just looks to the next exciting thing (ie. becoming a radioactive superhero. Love that for you, Los)

Kendall is a little trickier because he does kind of have an obsessive personality, and he's just as determined about things as James. I'm almost surprised he doesn't take the end of the band, his chance with Jo, and so on harder. But then there's the part of me that says there are other things at play that overpower whatever sadness Kendall might have, such as him seeing it as a chance to finally relax for a bit. He'd been working so hard to hold everything together in L.A., churning out pep talks and dealing with Gustavo and constant shenanigans. He can take a breath now. Also! While I don't think Kendall has necessarily had a difficult life overall (it's clear he's had a good, loving upbringing, has a nice house, etc) I don't think his life has been easy. He watched his parent's marriage fall apart when he was super young; his dad walked out, his mom has had to work her butt off to support him and Katie, and Kendall also has a job (I think the only one of the boys who does) to help bring in extra money. That kid knows that sometimes life throws you a curveball, and you've got to hold your head up and just keep going. No time for a pity party or wallowing in "what ifs."

So yeah, anyway...tangent over. My favorite part of this little scene is the look Kendall gives to Logan after he reads the first item off their list.

Look at him. There's so much love in that look. He's so proud of Logan going after his dreams. I love Kendall, and I love their friendship, and I love this stupid show.

And I need to briefly get off topic here solely to mention how much I've always liked Logan's accent. Love the way he says words. He turns the short "e" sound into short "i" in so many things. "Ten" becomes "tin," and "Kendall" becomes "Kindall." I also have a distinct memory of one episode where he manages to turn the two-syllable word "ruin" into the single-syllable word "roon." Always got a kick out of that.

With all this sidetracking, it is going to take me FOREVER to get through this episode. I am barely twenty minutes in.

After Super Carlos bursts into the room and announces they're going to start righting the wrongs they left behind when they moved to L.A., the guys go to apologize to Mrs. Magicowski. They promised to shovel her walkway if she let them use her car to get to the audition, then they ditched her and went to be a band, lol. I love Mrs. Magicowski; she's such a sweet old woman. I want to know more about the relationship the boys have with her. I imagine they took good care of her prior to leaving—checking in on her, shoveling, raking leaves, bringing her meals—and in return, she was like a grandma to all of them.

They look ridiculous, btw.

I mean, Kendall I can excuse, but Logan and Carlos look like they've just rung a doorbell and are waiting for candy on Halloween. Bunch of weirdos.

No, wait, you know what? This is exactly how they looked on Halloween night as kids, I guarantee it. Carlos as a superhero, Logan as a doctor, Kendall as a hockey player, and James like a rockstar. Speaking of James, what's he up to?

Oh.

Shake it off, Jamesy.

Also, the tiny bike still is very funny, but @day-dreams22, I'm pretty sure you're right that it's a BMX bike. After he gets hit, there's a shot where you can see the words "goose" on the bike, which means it's likely a Mongoose-brand BMX trick/stunt bike. And look at that hop off the curb. James Diamond, secret BMX stunt rider CONFIRMED.

Ok, you know what? I was aiming for 4 posts total for this episode, but it looks like it'll end up being 5 because I'm rambling so much during these. Hope no one minds having to split it into so many parts, but I worry if they're too long, they'll be difficult to read and get through. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun being able to just go on about whatever, haha.

And James getting hit by a car seems like a fitting place to leave this episode. Hope he survives <3

[somewhereincairparavel]

🪸 𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼 Percy Jackson headcanons starring Elora! (An island and summer girl at heart!) 🪸 𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

Thank you @sequinsnstars for reigniting my interest in this series. It's time I did a remake!

I know everyone is just thinking "why did you have yourself be a camper in camp Jupiter if you hate camp Jupiter so much?" Well. I exist in camp Jupiter because I want to spite everyone who gave Jason a hard time there 😤

Anyways, I had no claiming in Camp Jupiter, the moment I stepped foot onto the campus with the 7, a huge shiny blue trident appeared over my head, the storm clouds were huddling together to form a storm, and all that typical dramatic Poseidon shenanigans. I think that kinda cemented that I was officially a part of camp half blood now??The claiming actually made me feel good? Because Poseidon chose to be extra dramatic and made sure to do it when basically everyone at camp was inside the huge campus, so basically everyone stopped what they were doing to like, stare in curiosity.

Because in Camp Jupiter, I never received any positive kind of attention yk? Neptune was considered bad luck, so I was basically receiving the child of hades treatment, but the Roman version.

As a legacy of Athena and Hermes (thank you to my moots for helping me figure this out!) I naturally get along with them very well.

@gentlehue would SO teach me how to grow plants, and I'll help her water them 😤💅 Cynthia I'd definitely give you potted flowers every time I run into you 🩷

I swear the Aphrodite children are SO superficially judged by people in camp sometimes :/ I'd defend my pretty babies from harassment and gossip any day fr (@sequinsnstars @auroraofthesun)

Also dear Aphrodite children, I love makeup and would spend hours in your cabin with you drowning in lip gloss. Y'all would be the best teachers for my make-up lessons.

Percy and I have beds facing diagonal to each other, while Tyson sleeps in the bottom bunk. We have fun game nights all the time omgg.

I have pictures of my happy times in Rome stick on my board (‘happy times’ translate to pictures w my bb boy Jason Grace since we were kids and he has them stuck too awh 🥹)

Since I'm an Athena legacy, I always tease Annabeth and Percy that “I'm related to BOTH of them” and also, they make me pick sides when they're annoying e/o by saying “cmon family sticks together!”

I would be great buddies with Castor and Pollux (let's pretend they're both happy and alive) and would always reassure them that Dionysus kids don't deserve to be called “lazy and useless” bc THEY DON'T.

Speaking of which, Dionysus rolled his eyes at my dramatic claiming muttering “another useless sea urchin that provides nothing but high attitude to our camp” 😭 bro didn't even Hesitate

I feel like I wouldn't get along with Ares children that much. Neptune children are known for their high temper (with Neptune representing the ‘violent and turbulent’ side of the ocean, unlike Poseidon who represents the positive sides of it) and it would totally clash with Ares kids tbh. Frank Zhang, however, is the biggest exception!

I have these moments where Annabeth is just so used to calling Percy “seaweed brain” and teasing him about being oblivious that she forgets that I'm an Athena legacy aswell and just assumes I'm not that smart. (Not implying that she thinks Percy's dumb, but her teasing kinda gets to her head sometimes) and i have to snap back with some quick smart response to remind her that lol

am considerably close to Nico, because I already knew him at camp Jupiter, and we kinda had a small heart to heart about how terribly we were both treated because of our parentage. Of course, that closeness continued in camp half blood as well.

I'm the closest to Kayla and Will in the apollo cabin because they almost always are the ones who treat my injuries (and @auroraofthesun too because you're an Apollo legacy!)

I have a Pegasus that I took with me from Camp Jupiter, his name is ‘Alga’ (meaning, ‘seaweed’ in Latin) he's steel blue with a grayish tint. I didn't get a Pegasus of my own like Reyna did, but more rather, I came across one who followed me around, and i adopted it without telling anyone but Jason about it while I was at camp. He thought it was sweet and didn't snitch on me or even tell Reyna <3

And Yes, Alga and blackjack are buds. And yes they do roast us, and yes we do understand them.Also, just like how Demeter kids hate when flowers are being plucked from their roots, and how Percy hates aquariums because they confine sea creatures, I hate it when people take too many seashells from the beach. (irl I actually love seashells and used to collect them, but I've heard taking too many spoils the ecosystem in a way, and realistically if I am in the pjoverse, that would naturally make me dislike it)

But I do love making sand castles and attachingseashells on them, because I'm not taking them with me right? It's just gonna stay there. I can have fun in an eco friendly way lolzAnd I prefer keeping fake seashells made of ceramic and stuff as decor to maintain my aesthetic

Me and Percy can communicate underwater, but to other people, it would sound like we are speaking gibberish. He was ECSTATIC when he discovered this new made-up sea language ability lmao

Also, we are both in-charge of cleaning the ocean if it gets too dirty, so we have “chores days” where we dive in, and clean every ounce of harmful algae. And tending to sick sea animals.My nickname is ‘Kelp head’ because I have extremely wavy hair that's shaped like kelp. I've had that nickname ever since my time at camp Jupiter!I'm extremely competitive at capture the flag! Because of that Roman wild war blood in me, I just can't help but take it kinda seriously. I feel like Percy's way more chill when it comes to this lol

[eldritch-spouse]

"Him and the other angels, have they been seen anywhere specific?"

Also I focus on the hallway and drink from the cup again trying to ascertain what's calling us for help.

"Off topic question Hudd, how did you break into my house? Not that I'm upset or anything Hudd, nonono. It's just *exhale* I got robbed a few days ago and I thought I fixed all of my security. I would like your input to make sure my house doesn't get broken in again unless it's you. Come to think of it, that may have been the second time my house was broken into. First time was a about a week after you popped in. It's strange, that intruder didn't even steal anything, at least I couldn't find anything out of place. They just went into my bedroom and-well, let's just say I had to use some spare sheets that night. What kind of a pervert does that?"

(The demonoid nods intently.)

" Angels function almost exclusively in groups, it has been that way for as long as they were created. If one ventures alone, it's a bad sign. "

(Hudd sighs, the exhaustion of his non-stop shenanigans seeming to catch up with him for a second.)

" Nowhere near here, I'll tell you that much. I know what is causing them to concentrate, mentee- "

(His eyes widen.)

" We're not biting off more than we can chew. Not this time. So I do hope you understand my secrecy. "

(It's unclear if Hudsyn is being vague because he doesn't trust you or simply to keep you safe from your own curiosity.)

(The next time you take a sip of the cup's contents... You don't get anything. You sit quietly, wondering if perhaps you've already built a resistance to its effects, when the phantom sensation of a breath on your earlobe makes itself known.)

" ... please... i can't move. "

(Blinking, you glance behind you, finding nothing but air. Paranoia beckons you to stare back at the dimly lit hallway, yet it too hasn't changed. Hudsyn looks at you quizzically for a couple of moments.)

" Protégé, I would suggest putting that cup down. Now. The documents I procured had led me to believe this dosage is safe for humans, but let's play it safe this once. I don't want you hallucinating right before our main act. "

(Whatever else he had to say dies into an unsettling quiet as soon as you voice your off-topic concerns. And, for the longest time, Hudsyn doesn't say a single word, or move a muscle for that matter. One could believe you've been making conversation with a statue all this time.)

" ... That sounds... Dreadfully unpleasant. "

(Another calculated pause.)

" My condolences. " (Hudsyn clears his throat.) " You've seen me 'vanish' before, haven't you? I won't bore you with overcomplicated explanations of my quirks. I had a clear view of your home's interior, and thus, I could phase myself into it. "

(Sure enough, there were never any signs of a break in when Hudd visited you. All doors were untouched, windows left exactly as you recall them. His answer is deliberately ambiguous for a reason however.)

" If- If you don't have any more relevant inquiries, I believe we should move on. "