#*mack; dash chat

[romerutherford]

Oh, what brought you to bearcreek? You got family here or something?

I am not. New to town, only really started interacting with people within the last month or so. As for where my friends are, Texas and Boston, mostly.

[ladylooch]

Big Dogs and Big Changes - Lio Meier

A/N: Originally from this request asking for a sweet moment between Lio and Liv. Let’s go back to Liv’s important role in Lio’s survival during his spiral.

Word count: 3.6k

Lio Meier is in a foul fucking mood.

Whoever said that working out was the key to unlocking mental blocks never had their dad show up to their work out and throw them against a wall.

Any hope of an endorphins rush was dashed when his back hit that concrete wall.

He can’t blame his dad though. He knows he was lucky to walk away from that.

The man may be older, but he’d still beat some ass for Lio’s mama. No question.

In retrospect, maybe he should thank his dad for his visit thought. Lio finally realized how fucking miserable he is here and he is leaving. He told the trainer not to expect him back as he was walking out the door earlier.

One of Lio’s palms turns the steering wheel while the other hand rapidly flips through his Spotify account. He is looking for a song that matches his negative energy, but nothing comes across that soothes the acidic fire in his chest.

Lio wishes Connor was here. He would find the exact right song for the mood and they would rip around the curved roads of this mountain town until the speakers blew out in Lio’s car.

But Connor isn’t here.

He’s back in Massachusetts with his wife and daughter that he won’t let Lio see anymore.

“Fucking prick.” Lio scowls then throws his phone onto the passenger seat. In one more right turn, he hits his street. His heavy foot on the pedal eases off when he sees Luca Fiala’s black Audi sitting on the other side of his driveway.

He really doesn’t want to deal with Luca today. His sour puss attitude can’t handle Luca’s domineering possessive energy with his little sister. Ever since they got back together, Luca’s been puffing around town like a big dog. It’s annoying and reminds Lio a bit too much of his dad. But if Livy is around, Luca is around so he should probably just get the fuck over it.

Lio cuts the engine on his car after parking in the garage. He heads inside immediately assaulted with the smells of onions and garlic.

“Hi!”Liv bounces excitedly over to him. “I’m making you dinner.” She kisses his cheek and Lio fakes a smile for her. His blue eyes roll over to Luca, nursing a beer at the counter.

“Fiala.” He tilts his chin at him. Luca nods back, saying nothing, just taking a sip of his beer. Well, Lio’s beer that he clearly helped himself to from the fridge.

“I’m like thirty minutes out from dinner being ready. But I have snacks! Go help yourself.” She waves him over towards Luca where a spread of charcuterie is laid out on various cutting boards and platters. Lio wonders if this shit is his or if she brought it over. He grabs a square of gouda, popping it into his mouth.

“What’s for dinner?” He asks his little sister, picking up a slice of salami next.

“Luca and I went to the farmers market and got the most amazing vegetables. So we are having a salad, some roasted asparagus, and Luca is going to grill pork chops. Then for dessert, I made a pie! A whole freaking pie!” She exclaims, arms going up above her shoulders incredulously. Lio can’t help but smile and chuckle at her excitement. It’s short lived. “Mack might come over too. She’s in town.” And there it goes. Mackenzie Hischier is not someone he wants to chat with right now. Big dog across the counter here keeps his mouth shut out of respect for Livy, but Mack won’t.

“Livy…” Lio sighs.

“I highly doubt she is coming. She’s trying to meet up with Enzo for one last summer fling before heading to New York.”

“Who’s Enzo?”

“Do you ever pay attention?” Liv gives him a look like Lio should know who she is talking about.

“No.” Luca answers for Lio around a bite of cheese and meat.

“How’s my beer, asshole?” Lio pops back at him.

“Pretty good, fucker.”

“Boys.” Liv sighs. “Don’t ruin my dinner.”

Luca closes his mouth and then gets up, walking over to Liv to give her a kiss. Lio turns his back on them, opting to demolish more of the cheese on the charcuterie board.

“Are you ready for me to grill the pork chops?” Luca asks between loud smooches. Lio cringes, then grabs one last piece of cheese before leaving the room.

He heads upstairs to his master suite, taking off his workout clothes to hop into the shower. As he rinses shampoo out of his hair, his mind drifts to Savannah. He wonders if she is still in the Alps. Or did she divert from her plan and head down to Italy to roll through Tuscany. When he saw her a few days ago, she seemed unsure of her plan. That’s been her summer in Europe though. He loves that she has this fluidity about her. He also wishes she had taken the olive branch he extended to her for him to take her up into the Alps.

“I’ve already booked a service that does historical tours and such. I don’t think that would be exciting for you as a Swiss native.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. Lio would rather do a lot of other things, but he just wanted to breathe the same air as her again for an extended period of time.

Lio turns the shower off then lazily goes through pulling on his clothes. He flops down on the bed, scrolling through Savannah’s socials. She has a few stories posted, but none of them look particularly European. He wonders if she is back in the U.S. or posting old pictures to hide her whereabouts. Would she do that to hide from him?

The thought makes Lio scowl. He throws his phone, laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. He lays like that for fifteen more minutes, then rolls himself begrudgingly out of bed when more smells from downstairs waft up.

When he hits the downstairs, he pauses for a stride. Luca and Liv are sitting at the table, clearly waiting for him.

“Oh shit. Sorry.” He murmurs.

“No worries.” Livy smiles sweetly. “How was your shower?”

“Good.” Lio says, sitting down across from Luca who glares right through him.

And that’s about how the rest of dinner goes.

Livy makes sweet conversation. Luca looks at her with googly eyes. Their forks and knives scrape against plates as they eat the meal. Liv and Luca talk back and forth about how incredible the flavors are. When Liv tries to invite Lio’s opinion, he just shrugs and says its good. It is. But food hasn’t really tasted the same for Lio recently. Like everything else in life, it’s taken on a grey, unappetizing presence.

“Okay, I am dying for us to try my pie!!!!” Liv squeaks, tossing her napkin onto the table.

“Do you need help, baby?” Luca asks her.

“No, just relax. Thank you for asking though.”

“Sure…” Luca trails off with another gooey smile at her. Liv gets busy in the kitchen opening appliances and cabinets. Luca’s gaze slides off his girlfriend and onto Lio. “Did I hear you’re leaving town?” Lio pauses. Luca’s voice is low and it’s unlikely Livy can hear them. This must be on purpose.

“Uh… yeah probably by the end of the week.”

“Usually Liv would have brought that up by now, ya? In this stimulating dinner conversation we always have with you.” Lio tosses his hands to the side as if to say “your point?” Luca wipes his napkin across his hands then puts it beside his empty dinner plate. “I know you’re not bailing on town without telling her you’re leaving. You wouldn’t be that fucking stupid?”

“I just decided.” Lio rolls his eyes. How does Luca even know? It then dawns on Lio that he told the training staff that on his way out the door a few hours ago. “I’ll tell her.” Lio waves Luca’s murderous gaze off.

“Good. You wanna skip town on your parents? Cool. That’s your business. But when it comes to Liv, it’s my business.”

“Okay, Timo.” Lio mocks, taking a long pull from his beer. He leans back in his dining room chair.

“I’ve wanted to rock your shit all summer, man. Don’t give me a reason.” The last part is clearly a threat. But Liv comes rushing back to the table with the pie in her hands.

“Ta-da!” She exclaims, putting it into the center.

“Baby, that is stunning! Look at the lattice work on that.”

“I know! So good for my first time!” She claps excitedly, wiggling back to the kitchen. “Do you want ice cream?”

“Of course, I do.” Luca pats his stomach. “Lio does too.”

Lio watches quietly as Liv scoops up pie and ice cream for each of them. The pie is out of this world good and Lio immediately compliments Liv. Her entire face lights up as the boys devour not one but two slices.

“So what do you have going the rest of the month?” Lio asks, trying to figure out how to casually drop his early departure into the conversation.

“Um, not much. Just training for Luca and seeing people for me. Daddy wants me to golf with him every day, but I just can’t do it.” Lio gives a small smile. Normally, that would be his and Lio’s tee times. But then the realization of how much continues to fall on Liv’s shoulders from this family tension makes him feel like shit. “Luca and I had a vacation planned to Portugal this weekend, but…. I don’t know if we are going…”

“That sounds fun. You should go… I’m, uh, heading back to Jersey on Friday.”

Liv inhales heavily, holding her breath as her eyes rapidly search her brother’s face.

“What’s in Jersey?”

“My life.”

Liv exhales heavily.

“Yeah, but it’s so early…” Liv trails off again. “You never go back this early.”

“Yeah, well everything has kind of fallen apart since I got here. IT’s time for me to go.”

The instant sadness that washes over Liv’s face has Lio feeling like utter shit. No, he’s beyond shit. He’s in the fiery pits of hell between her face and Luca’s squinting glare at him. He’s the one who told Lio he had to tell her. Now look at what’s happening! Dinner is ruined.

Silence falls over the room without Liv trying to fill it this time. She rubs her thumb along the fork she had been using for her pie. Lio squeezes his beer bottle tightly in his hand, trying to think of words to say to her that would soothe some of that sadness. It’s not about her. He should tell her that. Instead, he says:

“I could stay another week.”

“No you don’t have to.” Liv sighs, putting her used fork on her plate, the pushing it away from her with half her slice left untouched. The piercing of Luca’s glare gets harder and more uncomfortable.

“No, uh, I’m gonna stay. I want to.” He offers. Liv shakes her head. For once in Lio’s life, he feels a strong urge to make his little sister feel better, so he blurts out. “I… maybe I can come with to Portugal.” Liv whips her head to him, excitement flooding over her face.

“Oh!!!!!!!” Her blue eyes dash between Luca and Lio. “We could do that! Oh my gosh! We haven’t been on vacation since what… I was in high school? Maybe?” Luca Fiala could disintegrate Lio on the spot with his look, but Liv beams back at her big brother like he just made her entire year.

Lio decides that is worth whatever ass chewing Luca will give him next.

With how Lio’s summer has gone, what’s one more bite out of his cheeks?

- - -

Portugal has been the best vacation Lio has ever invited himself on.

Not that he has done it often, but the fun he has actually had has been the highlight of his summer. They’ve ate well. They’ve lounged around on the beach and at the pool. They’ve sipped fancy cocktails and played volleyball on the beach. It’s been fun. And relaxing. Everything Lio had been needing once again provided to him mostly by his little sister.

He can’t believe how fast four days has gone. They all decided to extend their trip one more day and are spending their last dinner together at the resort they’ve been at since they arrived. It’s been magical. All the tension between the three of them has completely erased, left behind by casual, fun conversation and an ease Lio can’t remember feeling with Liv, ever.

It’s nice. He wants more of this with her.

Maybe he’ll go visit them for Allstar break this year. If he’s not playing in the game that is. If he is, maybe he’ll ask Livy to come to the events with him. She would like that. He could wine and dine her, buy her fancy dresses and accessories, really shower her with love in a way he’s never cared to do before. He hates that. He wishes that he had done all of this before it came across as an obligation.

But what Lio has recently discovered is that he can’t change the past. He has no control over what has happened. All he can do is navigate what will happen. And heal the parts of him that have been screaming to be acknowledged for decades.

No big deal, huh?

Lio brings his warm beer to his lips, downing the rest of it. Liv went to the bathroom and is stopped at the bar ordering the three of them another round. To Lio’s right, he can feel the annoyance and frustration rolling off Luca in waves as the bartender flirts with her. He’s been like a guard dog this whole trip which is ridiculous because Liv can hold her own in these situations and she’s probably getting them free drinks with the long lashes she keeps batting at the guy.

Lio stretches his legs out a bit more, then casually flicks his fingers in the direction of his little sister. “Simmer down there, big dog. She’s fine.”

Luca turns to him, squinting like he isn’t open to Lio’s feedback on how he monitors and guards Livia Meier. Lio tilts his sunglasses down his nose a bit so their eyes meet. “If everything is a threat, you really aren’t the big dog. Learn when you need to pounce.” Lio pushes his sunglasses back up, tilting his face towards the setting sun. “If you need a tutorial, watch my dad with my mom.”

Confusion and contemplation cover Luca’s face and he slowly turns back to look at Livy. She’s walking back balancing three glasses. Lio stands, coming to grab his beer from his little sister and thanking her.

“I got these for free.” She giggles, so proud of herself.

“I bet you did.” Lio grins, giving her a fist bump. Livy is gorgeous. There is no doubt about that, but it’s her sweet soul that makes men like a moth to a flame around her. Luca drapes his hand casually across Liv’s shoulders, kissing the one closest to him before relaxing his body back into his chair.

“I don’t want to leave.” Liv sighs after a sip of her drink. “Life has been so good here the last few days.”

“Yeah. Thank you for letting me crash. I’ve had fun.” He gives her a soft smile. Liv radiates pure joy back to him.

“I’m really glad, Lio.”

A warmth settles between the two siblings and Luca picks up on it.

“I’m gonna go stand in line for some shaved ice. You want some?”

“Mhm. Mango.” She puckers her lips at him. He deposits a kiss, then wanders off towards the ridiculously long line.

When he is gone, the silence takes over. The two spend a few moment people watching together until Liv speaks.

“Are you going back next week?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you gonna tell mom and dad? The twins?”

“Probably not, but Livy you also don’t have to. That’s not your job. You don’t need to take care of me or them or try to mend this with our family. I did this. I’ll be responsible for putting the pieces back together.”

Something flashes across his little sister’s face. Apprehension. Guilt. Sadness. Lio isn’t sure. If they knew each other better, if he knew her better, he would know. But he doesn’t. And like everything else Lio has been learning these last few weeks, that’s on him.

“Can I tell you something?”

Fucking shoot me now, Lio groans internally.

“Sure.”

“When you go home, you should… give Lucie some space.” Lio was not expecting that. Liv turns, looking back out at the darkened blue water. Her bottom lip tucks into her mouth for a moment before she continues. “She needs it.” A sigh drops her slim shoulders. “I think if it were just her, this would be passed. But Connor is… very upset.”

“I don’t get that.” Lio tosses his hand in the air. “It’s not like anything happened to Stella. Lucie made her choice. I was just there, okay?”

“You really don’t know anything huh?” Liv chuckles. It’s sad, almost pitiful. Lio closes his eyes, trying to keep his simmering temper controlled. “It’s not about Stella. It’s about you and him. In his eyes, you’re his brother. And what you told him that night was that you would pick Lucie, even when it hurts him.” Lio rolls his eyes.

“Why does it always come back to this shit?” He flicks the question off his fingers.

“Maybe you should be asking yourself that.”

“I know that Luc and I are… a little co-dependent.” Lio shrugs. Whoa, where did that come from?

“You think?”

“Fuck, Livy. Can you cut me some slack here? I’ve got like two and a half decades of repression and trauma to work through. I’m not gonna figure it all out in one beach getaway.”

“Sorry.” Liv sighs. Lio closes his eyes immediately, scrubbing at his face.

“No, I’m sorry. You don’t deserve my anger. It’s not at you.”

“I know. You’re going through a lot.”

“Yeah. And you’re the only one who didn’t leave. I really haven’t deserved that loyalty from you. It’s not like I’ve been a good brother to you.”

“Probably could have been better.” Liv smiles sadly. But then she shakes her head slowly. “I don’t agree with what mom and dad did. They fucked you up, Lee. That’s their shame, not yours. I hope one day you figure out how to put that down.” Lio’s eyes start to burn. No one has ever said that to him. “I know they love you. They love all of us and they did the best that they could with the circumstances of what happened. But it wasn’t the right call. Now, we’re all living the consequences of that choice.”

“I was really mean to mom.” Lio hears himself stutter out. His cheeks are suddenly wet. “I shouldn’t be living anymore. I can’t believe dad didn’t take me off this Earth with what I said to her.” He looks down at his bitten down nails. “I don’t know how I’m going to fix that. What would I even say to her? To Lucie too?”

“Time has a way of bringing the answers we are looking for. You should take some of it. Figure out where you want this all to go. Not just with mom and dad, but with Lucie… and Connor.. and Savannah…” Hearing her name rips through Lio, making a heavy exhale drop his chest. Lio starts to laugh maniacally, incredulously…. Brokenly.

“Wow, I’ve fucked up with everyone, huh?”

“Maybe a bit.” Liv acknowledges. Then she reaches across the table to grab his hand. “But every single one of those people that we have been talking about loves you.” She bites her bottom lip. “Now it’s time for you to love you, Lio.”

Lio scoops his arms around his little sister and pulls her up into a standing hug. He wraps his arms tight around her, crushing her into his chest then forcing himself to ease off of her.

“I don’t know how I would have gotten through this summer without you. You’ve been the only thing keeping me afloat at times. I don’t know how to thank you for it. But I’m extremely grateful. I need you to know that before I leave. I wish I had better words.” Lio swallows hard at the tears he feels hitting his chest from Liv’s eyes. “I love you, Livy. I know I’ve been a shit brother to you for a lot of years, but… I’m going to do better. I promise.”

Liv slides a palm up and down her brother’s back. Lio can smell her flowery and light perfume mixing with the beach breeze. It makes him emotional. She reminds him so much of their mama right now and he can’t help but miss everything that he’s lost. It’s like he is grieving it all over again- the past, the relationships that are blown to bits, the time he’s lost out on with the choices he has made. Lio finds himself clinging to Livy again, to hold on through another moment that he would be disintegrating in without her right now. He shudders. Liv holds him tighter.

“It is going to be okay, Lio.” She whispers to him.

And because it’s his perfect little sister, who hasn’t lied to him a day in her life, Lio believes her.

He’ll cling to her words more in the coming months than Liv will ever know.

[selfsabotaqe]

hi everyone! it's been a while & finally i'm making my comeback. work has finally left me some room to breathe so i'll be reappearing on your dash and hopefully getting back into the swing of replies. down below there's a full list of everything currently in my drafts. please let me know whether you'd like to continue or drop these threads. whichever scenario is completely fine and understandable (it's been a hot sec after all), just let me know. if you'd prefer to start something new, we can also do that. feel free to message me or reply to this post anytime. there's no rush at all to make up your mind, but just to start off i'll start with replies for threads people do actively express interest in. so if anything from this list is something you're still excited about, let me know and i'll prioritize. we can always waitlist the other stuff while we feel it out. anyway, let me know, come chat, let me love u down and can't wait to continue writing together. love u all! 💗🥹

with @persephonyed. carlos x lorenzo marley x camille

with @silvrmoon. nadiye x milo axel x kadri zehra x sierra

with @lilacwiine. drew x felice amara x maya

with @invcntions. alec x lucas mateo x saxon devrim x leo beau x koa emre x noah luca x jaiden (smth new?) jesse x finn peyton x vance soren x lincoln

with @horrorphase. dominic x percy milan x kendall

with @slumpcd. max x theo kendall x nolan jinny x gwen

with @gcldcnhour. eden x mathias rhys x bodie isabel x tate alina x priya zoe x knox ethan x violet marisol x miriam

with @temptedfates. emmett x aydin noor x solana

with @spectraled. maddie x rory tbd x dallas (thought abt replying if u would like replies <3)

with @vacationeyes. marco x conrad julian x callum emre x frankie xavier x tyson jude x forest

with @lovecharged. jonas x antonio aleksei x drake bridie x quilo tbd x amie jonas x antonio (part two) julian x zayn felix x robin nadiye x rasim tatum x uziah carlos x gabriel

with @fruitpoem. ambar x joel

with @inkiidreams. aera x selin davika x esra carlos x mallory merve x yaritza robin x aurelia lais x nova casper x knox lachlan x olivia

with @wutheringdevotion. lachlan x oliver rowan x ginny connor x evan meera x monique carlos x gabriel gwen x jonah margot x adrian

with @gardenwalls. meera x paloma alec x mack naiyana x nadine daniel x minako laura x andrea fabien x mei li nazli x rhys

with @felteverywhere. alina x rowan

with @sunstvne. santiago x constantin

with @gvngsigns. gabriela x lucas kai x mateo florence x liam tobias x zuri andrea x cruz ricardo x vincent

with @scbrvght. all of our formula one threads (don't think i owe u the replies but let me know if you'd like to continue them <3) lale x finley soren x everly

mAYBE im missing things. if there's anything i owe you that isn't on this list, feel free to point it out to me! and also vice versa, if you owe me something & you want to discuss continuing or dropping it, just come message me and we can chat about it!

[bradyoil]

Chasing Creativity and Community with Mack Garrison of Dash Studio.

Mack Garrison, the co-founder and creative director of Dash Studio, a motion design agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mack and I cover a ton of ground in this conversation - from his adventures hiking in Patagonia, to the origin story of starting his own studio, to the importance of building genuine relationships in this industry. We also dive into the challenges of balancing creativity and business realities, and Mack shares some killer insights on effective leadership. So buckle up, because this is a free-flowing, fun chat that I know you're really going to enjoy.

COMMERCIAL DIRECTING BOOTCAMP 04.05.2025 Filmmakers learn how to win jobs and craft better work that leads to more opportunities. Agency creatives will learn how the flow goes on-set before the shoot. Limit 10 filmmakers. Includes one-on-one onboarding call.  Enroll now to direct with confidence.

FILMMAKER RETREAT JOSHUA TREE '25 Thursday, September 25th – Sunday, September 28th, 2025. Limit 15 Filmmakers. This will be our 4th year and it's so special, I'd prefer to jump on the phone with you and tell you more. Every year since our first, filmmakers have come back. Pretty much says it all. SIGN UP!

ONLINE FILMMAKING COURSES - DIRECT WITH CONFIDENCE Each of my online courses come with a free 1:1 mentorship call with yours truly. Taking the Shadow course is the only way to win a chance to shadow me on a real shoot! DM for details. Want to level up your commercial directing game?

MAGIC MIND - MY MENTAL PERFORMANCE EXILIR - SAVE w BRADY20 Save hugely on Magic Mind with this link. — This link is the way. 

Thanks,

Jordan

My cult classic mockumentary, “Dill Scallion” is online so I’m giving 100% of the money to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. I’ve decided to donate the LIFETIME earnings every December, so the donation will grow and grow annually. Thank you.

“Respect The Process” podcast is brought to you by Commercial Directing FIlm School and True Gent, aka True Gentleman Industries, Inc. in partnership with Brady Oil Entertainment, Inc.

Check out this episode!

[gr8india]

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[expirisims]

EEEW Boys!!

Upon entering the Hedrick household I was greeted by this! YUCK!!

Even the guys themselves were disgusted! Not enough to clean it up without my intervention, but disgusted all the same!

And then this happened! Facepalm.

Yay! Joanna has given birth!

Mack cleaned up his mess before dashing off to work. And he earned a promotion! This is great timing because a new promotion just begs for a new look...and a new kitchen sink!

Why do all my sims insist on dumpster diving! Argh!!  Ok, maybe it’s not so bad this time, we just scored a free dishwasher! Awesome!

Looking spiffy after some upgraded clothing and minor tweaks...the face shadowing and a nose mask! 

Reggie was just being Reggie after his glow up!

Bahahaha!! Clark what is this face!!?? Boy am I glad I zoomed in just at this moment! Take a good last look because that mohawk is gone in three...

Two...one...

And poof! 

The guys just hung out the rest of the night watching tv and chit chatting. There’s still plenty of time to party on another day!

Reggie got one last swim in before heading to bed.

I’m not going to lie, I’m kinda glad they all missed out on this other worldly visitor, I don’t know if I could handle an alien pregnancy in this play through at the  moment!

[tashas-life]

Summer Shenanigans

Paxton and Devi spend the summer together and have a banging playlist

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Nothing really.”

“I’m outside, let’s go to the beach.”

Devi threw her bag through the back window of Paxton’s jeep and jumped in the front seat.

“Did you bring my suit?” Devi asks as she pulled on her seatbelt. Devi’s mom would never let her wear a bikini so she had to save up her money from working at the summer camp to buy it. She usually hid it at the back of her underwear drawer but since she’d been going swimming with Paxton more days than not, she just kept it in his car.

“Yep, I threw it in the laundry.” Paxton pulled out onto the road and Devi started messing with the music.

Her and Paxton were both working at the same summer camp so they spent most days together. Paxton had spent the last two summers working at the camp and Devi wanted to make her own money so she had applied too. It was also convenient because she always had a ride to work instead of asking her mom or Kamala. Paxton had promised to teach her to drive this summer but she always chickened out whenever he offered.

Devi always insisted on picking the music when they went anywhere and Paxton didn’t mind. She settled on Ariana Grande’s album and turned up the volume as Motive filled the car. Paxton rolled down all the windows and stuck his arm out to feel the breeze. It was one of the hottest days of the summer so Paxton’s shirt was mostly open and Devi had her new sunglasses on. This was the first summer that Devi was making real money and she tended to spend most of it by the time the next pay day had rolled around.

Once they got to the beach Devi jumped in the backseat and Paxton got out to stand guard. Devi was a pro at the quick change at this point and quickly shimmied into her bikini without having to take off her dress completely.

Once Devi hopped out of the backseat, Paxton grabbed the drinks cooler and Devi grabbed their towels and a speaker. Usually the beaches were packed on hot days but Paxton had a special super power of finding an empty part of the beach to spend the day. They found a spot to settle and Devi started applying sunscreen.

“Did you hear Kenny is sick again. Mono.” Paxton said with an eye roll and Devi groaned.

“You think he’s going to be out all week again? Taylor should just fire him and hire someone else at this point.” Devi tossed Paxton the sunscreen and laid down on her towel.

“Yea right, Taylor probably gave him the mono. He’ll never fire him.” Devi laughed and closed her eyes.

“I don’t even understand how they find the time to mack. Those kids never stop.” Devi said.

“Yea well, next week they’re going to be our problem again.” Usually each camp leader had about 5-10 kids to watch but with Kenny constantly gone they always ended up with more kids.

“Honestly, fuck Kenny.” Devi grumbled and Paxton nodded. “Did you see Eleanor’s insta post? Her and Trent are like embarrassingly in love.” Devi asked as she pulled out her phone to show him a boomerang of them kissing on some hike.

“I think it’s cute.” Paxton grinned as Devi made a vomiting face. “I invited them to come today but apparently they would rather be aloneeee.”

“That’s so nasty.” Devi said and Paxton laughed.

“I’m going in, you coming?” Paxton asked but Devi shook her head.

“Nah man, I’m working on my tan.” Devi said but really she just preferred laying on the sand and watching the water than actually being in it.

“Your loss.” Paxton replied, shoving her as he got up to go swimming.

……

“Okay, the thing is that I just don’t think I’m coordinated enough for this.” Devi said as she stood on Paxton’s skateboard. She felt a little embarrassed at how wobbly she was and that she was wearing her bike helmet that she got when she was ten. Paxton had his car door open and Lizzo’s album was playing. Juice blasted into the street and Devi knew people would complain soon.

“I’m literally holding on to you. You can’t fall.” Paxton said as he led her down the road.

“I feel like I could still fall.” Devi said as she started tipping back and Paxton’s grip tightened as he pulled her forward.

“I won’t let you fall Devi. Would you just trust me for once?” He asked playfully annoyed.

“Shut up, I literally trust you all the time.”

“You shut up.” Paxton countered.

“Wow, real mature.” Devi replied sarcastically.

Devi was too busy arguing to notice them start to go faster. Of course that is until she did notice. Then she was falling again and she was falling fast. Paxton managed to grab her before she fell on her face and swung her off the skateboard. Devi held onto Paxton as the skateboard started rolling down the street without them. They looked at each other and immediately started laughing.

“I think you might be right about the coordination thing.” Paxton said and Devi shoved him away from her.

“Or maybe you’re a bad teacher.” She grinned at his shocked face as she ran to grab the skateboard.

“I’m never teaching you anything ever again” he retaliated.

“Come over here and help me loser.” Paxton crossed his arm in defiance.

“Tell me I’m a good teacher.”

“Stop being a baby.”

“Wooooow, even more insults. Bad teacher and a baby.”

“Fine, you’re a good teacher. Now let’s get on with this.” Devi said as she started to get on the skateboard again.

“Thank you.” Paxton replied satisfied. He grinned and went to help her again.

……..

Usually, they were separated during their days at camp since each group rotated through activities but on Fridays all of the kids got to go to the community pool. Those were obviously Paxton’s favourite days because he got to hang out with Devi but he also loved getting to teach some of the kids how to swim.

Usually, Paxton stayed in the shallow end with the younger kids and Devi sat at the deep end with the older kids. Vacation by Dirty Heads was playing over the pool speakers and Devi had her legs in the water as she chatted with some kids.

“Yea, high school kind of sucks. What you gotta do is find a popular kid and force them to be your friend.” Devi told some kids who were going to be freshmen in the fall.

“That’s terrible advice.” Paxton laughed as he came to stand next to her in the pool. He had switched with Kenny who was now watching the younger kids. They had given up on learning to swim and were mostly just playing and splashing water at Kenny.

“Really? You got anything better?” Devi asked crossing her arms.

“Yes. Find something that makes you excited to go to school, for me that was swimming, for D it was being my best friend. And also don’t give a shit about what other people think of you.” Paxton told the kids and Devi kicked his arm. “Oh shit, I mean just don’t care what other people think.”

“I meant the best friend thing.” Devi rolled her eyes.

“You were literally obsessed-“ before Paxton could finish Devi had jumped in and shoved Paxton’s head underwater.

Paxton managed to push Devi away from him and had his arm out separating them.

“Hey, you better stop or your top is going to fall off again.” Paxton laughed and Devi’s face started burning up. Yes, the bikini was cute but it wasn’t the most reliable bathing suit she had. Rough housing had led to a very embarrassing incident that Devi was trying to forget.

“I’m going to kill you.” Devi lunged at him and Paxton managed to grab her arms.

“Hey anger issues, chill out.” Paxton said with a grin. Devi managed to pull her arms away and splashed Paxton.

“Go do your job loser!” Devi yelled as she turned to go back to her post.

……

Devi swung the door open and was surprised to see Paxton. Usually he just texted her when he got to her house.

“Let’s go for a drive.” Paxton said as he held up his car keys.

“Okayyy.” Devi said as she grabbed her backpack from the door.

“Here ya go.” He said as he tossed the keys to her. She just about dropped them and didn’t move from her front door.

“Naaaa, I don’t think today’s the day.” Devi said nervously. She had failed her drivers test last month because she hadn’t practiced enough. It was the first time she hadn’t prepared and it was also the first time she had failed a test.

“Come on D, your test is in a few weeks and don’t you want to have your licence by the time school starts?” Paxton asked as he opened the drivers side door. He motioned for her to get in and she groaned before going to the car.

It wasn’t legal for Paxton to teach her how to drive but her only other option was her mother which hadn’t worked out. Devi was pretty sure she failed her test because driving with her mom had made her so anxious that getting behind the wheel made her want to throw up even when her mom wasn’t around. She had even done drivers ed but that apparently wasn’t enough because she still failed.

“Are you sure? What if I scratch your car or something?” Devi asked as they both got in the car.

“Then I’ll literally kill you, so don’t scratch my baby.” Paxton said as he gently caressed his dash.

“That’s not really helpful.” Devi muttered as she nervously changed the seat settings.

“We’ll go to the school parking lot. It’s just down the street and the lot will be empty.” Devi nodded as she turned the car on. She kept her foot on the brakes as she looked at Paxton desperately.

“Listen to Tai, you’re going to be A-O-K.” Paxton said as he turned up the music. “Also, don’t forget to signal, you lost so many points for that.”

Paxton didn’t look nervous at all which made Devi feel a little bit better. If he could be confident in her driving skills than so could she. Devi signalled and did a very exaggerated shoulder check before she pulled onto the road. There were no cars around the whole way to the school so the only thing she had to deal with were some stop signs and one set of lights. She totally could do this.

Devi’s whole body relaxed once they pulled into the parking lot and she didn’t have to worry about hitting things or people anymore.

“That was pretty good actually. How did you fail?” Paxton asked.

“Probably because I suck at driving?” Devi told him as she put the car in park.

“Shut up, you had issues with the parallel park right?” Paxton asked as he got out of the car.

“What are you doing?” Devi asked as he closed the door.

“Im going to teach you how to parallel park.” Paxton grinned sticking his head through the window.

Devi waited as he grabbed stuff from out of his trunk. A bin full of blankets and an empty cooler he had forgotten about. He set them up as pretend cars and he went to the drivers side.

“Okay, line yourself up.” Paxton said as Devi slowly moved the car so the bin of blankets was lined up with the back of the jeep.

Paxton gave her instructions and ran around indicating for her how far to back up and how much to turn the wheel and eventually she got into the spot.

“I don’t think they’re going to let you guide me into a spot on the test.” Devi said annoyed that it took so long.

“You just gotta keep practicing, eventually it’ll just be second nature.” Paxton said as he got back in the car. “Pull out and this time I’m not going to help you.” Paxton said as she groaned.

“I hate this.” Devi said getting frustrated.

“You won’t hate this once you can drive yourself anywhere you want. Now start moving before I force you to practice highway driving.” Paxton said as he relaxed into his seat.

Devi wanted to hit him and get angry but she knew he was her only hope of passing her test in a month so she contained herself and kept practicing.

When the day of Devi’s test came around she felt pretty confident she was going to fail again. Paxton had given her a pep talk before he left her house the night before but it hadn’t helped with her nerves.

“You got this, okay? Just make sure you signal, and don’t forget the emergency brake when you do the hill park.” He told her as he held her shoulders. “By this time tomorrow, you’re going to be fully licensed because you’re a great driver.”

Devi was just as shocked as her mother when she pulled into the DMV and had almost no deductions on her test. Nalini didn’t know about Paxton teaching her to drive but she managed to convince her that is was because the tester was a lot nicer than the last one. She had smiled the entire time she got her new license and had raced back to the car. She knew Paxton would be waiting for her at her house and she was beyond excited to tell him that his methods had actually worked.

Paxton was leaning on his car checking his phone when they got home. She had to stop herself from running to Paxton to tell him the good news. She got out of the car and Nalini kissed her head before going into the house.

“How’d it go?” He asked as she crossed her arms and pretended to look disappointed.

“I passed babyyy!” She screamed as she whipped out her temporary license.

“I fucking knew it! You never trust me.” Paxton grabbed her and spun her around.

“Where do you wanna go? I’m driving.” Devi said and Paxton laughed as he got in the passenger seat.

…..

“Can you spot me ten bucks?” Devi asked as she searched through her backpack for some money.

“You have literally worked all summer, how are you always broke?” Paxton muttered as he pulled out some change from his console.

“I just don’t have any cash on me.”

Paxton gave her a handful of change and Devi looked at him annoyed.

“Quarters? Really?” Devi struggled to hold all the coins and Paxton shrugged.

“Take it or leave it, but if you want boba I suggest you take it.” Paxton grinned and Devi rolled her eyes as she realized she couldn’t open the door holding all the change.

Paxton laughed as he leaned over to open the door for her. “Get me a milk tea.” He said as she hopped out of the car.

“If I even make it there without any hands.” She grumbled.

By the time she got back with their drinks, Paxton had all the windows down blasting Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid.

“Really?!” She had to scream for him to hear her over the music. He lip synced to the lyrics as he pointed to her and dramatically danced to the music. “You’re so annoying!” She screamed as he took a big sip of his tea. He pointed at the drink as if to say that it tastes good and gave her the ok sign with his fingers. Devi just rolled her eyes and sipped on her mango slush. She guessed it was worth the embarrassing amount of quarters she gave to the cashier and having to listen to Paxton call her dumb and broke.

“Are you going to make it to Trent’s this weekend? Last party of the summer.” Paxton asked as he turned the music down.

“Have you met my mother? She’s not going to let me go to Trent’s house for a party.” Devi replied looking through Paxton’s Spotify.

“Since when do you tell your mom about going to parties?” Paxton asked snorting.

“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf this year. No more lying, especially to my mom.” She said as she put on Savage by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé.

“What if she knew I was taking you?” Paxton knew the party would suck without Devi there.

“Yeaaaaa, my mom might like you now but not that much.”

“Come on D, it’s the last party of the summer. You have to go!” Paxton pouted as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Fine, fine, I’ll figure out a way to go out but there’s no way she’ll let me stay out past 11.” Paxton smiled at her and agreed to be DD so he could get her home by 11.

By the time the weekend rolled around, Nalini didn’t even seem bothered by Devi leaving. Her and Kamala had been going crazy planning her wedding and Devi tended to be unhelpful in that area. She was only good for the grunt work, which she was sure there would be a lot of once it got closer to the day.

All she had to say was that she was going to Eleanor’s house for a back to school hangout and Nalini quickly agreed to get her out of the house. Technically she wasn’t lying because they had to pick up Eleanor at her house and they were having a back to school hangout. It was just a hangout with most of the school and alcohol.

Devi acted as casual as possible as she closed the front door but she sprinted as soon as the door closed. She didn’t want to risk her mom seeing her actually getting in Paxton’s car instead of Fabiola’s. Devi had been asking her mom for a car for weeks but still nothing. Her mom was convinced that she should have enough money saved since she had a summer job but summer camps didn’t exactly pay top dollar and Devi was pretty irresponsible with her money this summer. She figured she had two more summers to hustle before she went to Princeton.

“You look so pretty in that dress.” Paxton said as soon as she got in the car.

Devi blushed and couldn’t control her smile. “Shut up loser.”

Paxton smiled back at her as they went to pick up Eleanor and Fabiola.

Trent’s house was packed full of people but he was standing at the door waiting for Eleanor. He hugged her tightly and dragged her off to the back of the house.

Paxton went to grab them some drinks and handed Devi and Fabiola beers. “Bread soda.”

Devi rolled her eyes and shoved him away. Fabiola had learned a long time to ignore their inside jokes and she wandered off.

Paxton was always treated like a god at parties and everyone wanted their time with him. Paxton gave people his typical cool guy head nod and pulled Devi outside where it was less crowded.

“So, you excited for school to start?” Paxton asked and Devi looked confused.

“Sure, I guess.” Paxton looked nervous which made Devi more confused. “Why are you making weird small talk?”

“I just guess this is the last time we’re hanging out before school starts.” Devi’s confusion became anger very quickly.

“What is that supposed to mean? Like things are going to change when school starts?” Devi questioned starting to get upset.

“No, chill Devi. I mean I do want things to change but not the way you think.” Now Devi was back to confused.

Paxton looked frustrated and looked around them. No one was around or paying attention to them. Paxton turned back to Devi and got way closer to her than she was used to. Kiss Me More by Doja Cat and SZA was playing in the house but it sounded far away.

He touched her cheek and lifted her mouth to his. “Is this okay?” He asked nervously.

Instead of answering Devi pushed her lips against his. Paxton smiled against her and pulled her tight to him.

……

“You want me to pick you up tomorrow?” Paxton texted and Devi smiled when she saw the message.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” She replied quickly.

“No worries, we’re both going to the same place. Better for the environment and all that”

“I’ll make a driving playlist.” He sent back a smiley face and an ok hand.

Devi couldn’t wait for tomorrow. This was going to be the best summer of her life.

[glurg]

🍓 hello o_o

hiii Mack we have been mutuals since basically the dinosaurs which is so crazy bc we've been following each other throughout everything 😳 seeing you on my dash feels so normal to me like I expect to see you there bc its like we're friends running into eachother on a busy street and then we stand on the street corner chatting for too long even though it's raining and other pedestrians are trying to push past us. lots of love!!

[badass-at-fandoming]

We're halfway there, Royal Blood 2 fans!

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

Where we last left our heroine...she cheated on her fake boyfriend with his brother >.< Theo and Dorothy got caught out in the rain, and Andrew catches them fucking (or cuddling), and feels betrayed.

She also does not tell Andrew the thing with Theo happened!!! GIRL. And Theo doesn't either??!!! BOY. Instead, we're in the library studying for exams with Andrew. Except Andrew is easily distractable because his finals are all about making clothes and he's done already. Dorothy shoos him away so she can study...except she can hear him giggling in the art section. Uh oh, it's kissing time.

THEY GET KICKED OUT OF THE LIBRARY FOR MACKING TOO LOUD LOL. Giving up on studying, Dorothy and Andrew decide to have a therapy session. As they walk around campus and chat, many people wave to Andrew: it's clear that, out of all the brothers, Andrew has the least trouble connecting back to his humanity. Andrew excitedly informs Dorothy that he even sponsors/organizes an art club. Dorothy asks to see, and it's like like the salons of old. Poets, visual artists, writers, sculptors, fashion designers, philosophers, and other creative non-conformists eat, entertain, and discuss in a comfy space.

Dorothy is suitably impressed, and Andrew gifts her a dress he made for her. These 'd'awwwww' feelings turn to laughter because Andrew gets so happy his Presence gets out of control and suddenly the whole salon turns into an orgy lkadjfakdjfkdajf. No one is surprised, so apparently this just happens sometimes!!! LOL. Andrew's a siren predator type, haha. Dorothy tries to be chill with it but lasts all of 5 minutes until she nopes out. She yells some super slut-shaming things at Andrew. Not her most shining moment. 😡

When she returns to her dorm, she goes to write in her therapy journal, but finds it missing. Uh oh. [MASQUERADE BREACH]

Dorothy races around campus like a chicken with her head cut off. As she dashes around, she spots Lars and Kane arguing over...having to move in with the Russell brothers? And somebody got murdered? That can't be right! This is a college romantic dramedy! Dorothy passes all her stealth checks to follow them to Chancellor Dmitri. The Russells, Hegners, and Chancellor Dmitri discuss that like, no joke, multiple students have been found mauled and/or ex-sanguinated on campus. So the werewolves think the vampires did it, and vice versa. 😱😱😱

Doing these summaries has convinced me that it is just. So awkward how Royal Blood 2 married the "romantic dramedy" and "race war brinksmanship" themes. It's just. Sigh. I'm supposed to believe this college has changed nothing in response to MULTIPLE student murders? That they're still running?? I know my college experience isn't universal, but one campus suicide about turned everything upside down.

This discussion leads to the inevitable reveal that Kane and Lars are werewolves. Dorothy FREAKS the fuck out (about that and not the murders???) and runs to her dorm to cry. Roommate Amy comes in and is like ??? and immediately spills that she stole Dorothy's journal and gave it to Eliza. Since school started, Amy has been terribly lonely, and Eliza promised to be her friend if Amy gave her Dorothy's journal. Welp. Now shit's gotten worse.

Dorothy picks herself up and tracks down Lars. Because she wants (1) him to corral his girlfriend, and (2) to confront him about the werewolf thing. I imagine Lars' mental monologue during this interaction is just "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK" because he gets REAL scared when Dorothy tells him she knows.

Somehow this boy turns it around!!!! He admits to lycanthropy: all his family members are werewolves. Yes, the Russell brothers are their mortal enemies. Yes, he DOES want to kiss Dorothy and only Dorothy. He was going to confess to his werewolf status and his feelings at prom, but got dragged away. By the time he worked up the nerve to tell her, Dorothy was already "dating" Andrew, and he felt dejected. That, plus the stress from football, schoolwork, and ongoing murder investigations (!!!), drove him into Eliza's arms. As the football team's manager and all around star student, she could relate and help him. She's also had a crush on him since high school, and, yanno, it feels good to be unequivocally wanted. The player can choose to also confess romantic feelings for Lars. If you do, you get this cuddly CG:

[[Image ID Royal Blood 2: Secret Lesson Lars Hegner CG 2, Lars and Dorothy cuddle in Lars' dark bedroom. Lars holds Dorothy against his chest in a warm hug and she nuzzles into his Letterman jacket]]

The couple agree to get their shit together, before they do anything besides hug (and one kiss for the road). Lars will break up with Eliza. Dorothy will break up with Andrew and sort out the issue with Chancellor Dmitri, since her partnership with Andrew was part of the deal for her memory to remain in-tact. It's like, a shockingly wholesome and mature scene with characters who haven't been the most mature. Also. I love them.

But that's not dramatic enough!!! We need to come down from this high!! Dorothy's new misery comes in the form of...stapled photocopies of her journal all over the school bulletin board. AHHHH [MASQUERADE BREACH]

Like the Toreador he is, Andrew senses Dorothy's distress and races over. Taking yet another opportunity to shit on this poor vampire, Dorothy accuses him of posting the journal photocopies in revenge for her fucking Theo. Yes, that makes 0 sense, but here we are. Andrew calls her on her bullshit and admits he knew she cheated on him with his brother. And/or Lars. Listen. Andrew doesn't have a good time in this game.

Andrew breaks up with her, because he is a KING. Dorothy cries and takes down the journal pages. Even now Andrew is looking out for her because he sends Jay to help. Jay, uh, begins the process of Dominating the whole school to forget everything. #Flex. YAY the Masquerade is in tact again!!

After that's over, Jay and Dorothy investigate who could have done such an awful thing. It's Eliza. Eliza did it. You know: the last person reported to having the journal. Jay splits off to Dominate more of the school, and Dorothy heads to East Tower for an important apology to Andrew. Except he's sulking in his room and refuses to come out.

That's the holding pattern until New Year's. There's a confusing bit here because somehow they're celebrating New Year's on campus? Wouldn't the campus be closed for winter break? Also, why no other winter holidays, like Hanukkah or Christmas? Eid al-Fitr? Hewwo.

In any case, Dorothy kicks down the club room's secret door and is like "Boys!!! We're having a New Year's feast!!!" Except no one is there besides Lars, hahaha. Since everyone else is in the wind, Lars offers to feast with Dorothy. And we say yes! Lars and Dorothy go shopping, and Lars once again promises to cook, haha. Before he can so much as slice a carrot, the Russell brothers walk in...with Sophia!!!

[[Image ID screenshot of side story "Back Story of Sophia" from Royal Blood 1. The description reads: "Learn Sophia's secret when you become her special someone! [Get an item!]" The white-haired Sophia sports her signature broad smile while wearing a blue dress. The blonde and red-eyed Chloe, the MC, wears a black sheer top with a red and white striped ribbon and blue brooch. The player can unlock the story for 46 diamonds and will receive the Midnight White Rose clothing item as reward.]]

Sophia, my beloved! She's a sort of love interest from the first game: she and MC only smooch in the above side-story. Anyway, Sophia fusses over Lars and how big he's gotten and then lovingly puts her boot in his butt so she can have the kitchen lol. Dorothy is a little alarmed.

Everyone, shockingly, gets along. Sophie's cooking is magical, y'all. Even Kane sits down with the rest of the group and has a good time. When midnight rolls around, Dorothy gives Andrew an apology kiss, which is a weird, forced plot point. I expected a choice of kissing partner for the New Year's Kiss, but the game forces you to kiss Andrew. If you're not going for Andrew's ending or have already confessed your feelings to Lars, it feels awkward. Surely there's a different way we can apologize.

But whatever! Andrew is so happy to be kissed that he spits out a surprise meant for later. Everyone's invited to ski on their private mountain! That's right!! They own a mother-fucking mountain???

Dorothy: :D

The Russells: :D

The Hegners: D:

Link to Part 5!

[sincerelyasomebody]

For This Moment || Jose "Sad Eyes" Guzman

(GIF Credit: @merakiaes)

A/N: Grammatical errors are expected, took a few days to write this. Kept getting distracted. Added background-ish info on Sad Eyes. Tried to mix in what has been mentioned on the show and what I came up with. Please let me know if changes need to be made with the Spanish translations. 

Pairing(s): Sad Eyes x Reader 

Summary: Everything happens for a reason. 

Warnings: fluff, friendzone(d), language, 

Word Count: 2716

- ♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

The sheer joy on the children's faces and the sound of their laughter, as they watched Principal Nichols be dunked in a water tank, was definitely going to be a highlight for this year's Freeridge Elementary Fun Fair. (Y/N) cheered with them as he was met with a pie to the face, exiting the tank, from his wife Lois. She laughed when a few of her colleagues ambushed the pair with silly string. 

A great way to officially declare the fair to be open. 

(Y/N) maneuvered her way through the crowd, saying quick 'hello's to the parents of her students, and walked up the pathway leading into the school hall. The space had been split into two areas – hers was the booth of prizes with Kira and Lyall, the music teachers. Instead of the multiple game booths having their own set prizes, winners of the games would be given a token. The amount of tokens won equated to what kind of prize you could get. On the other side of the hall was face painting which Rachel, David and Connor, all fifth grade teachers, were in charge of. This would be (Y/N)'s first time in charge of a booth and she was bubbling with excitement. As a past pupil of the elementary, she was happy to know that the fun fair was still going. Only this time more planning, effort and funding was put into it. The hall was beginning to fill up with those wanting to get their face painted, so she decided to look at the classroom photos from the past hung up on the walls. It didn't take long to spot the familiar second-grade classroom photo that hung up in her parents house. Her eyes scanned through the faces until they landed on the boy in the black button up shirt, khaki shorts and scuffed up shoes; Jose Guzman. 

A boy she hadn't really thought much of when the school year started. Until an incident involving both of them allowed an interaction to occur.

Mr Macks (a college student on placement) tried to entertain the students, while their teacher Mrs Robin left to do some photocopying, but it was proving to be difficult. Even more so when he stepped in to deal with a scuffle between three students. He sent them to the reading nook at the back of the class, with the message that Mrs Robin would talk to them when she got back. Then he focused his attention on the rest of the class.

(Y/N) held the drawing of her Poppa's garden, scribbled over with a marker, tightly to her chest as she sat beside the window. Bobby sat next to the library shelf, with his arms folded, and Jose sat in the space between them with legos in his hands.

All three of them knew they were trouble, they just didn't know how much trouble they were in.

"Bobby's a shithead," Jose whispered.

(Y/N)'s eyes widened, "that's a bad word!" She looked over at Mr. Macks who continued to read to the class, "you're gonna get in more trouble!"

"Are you gonna tell on me?"

"No." He gave her a nod, "good."

"Okay if I don't tell on you, you can't tell on me."

"Why would I tell on you?"

She looked at Bobby, "because he's not a shithead, he's an asshole."

They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into giggles, their hands quickly covering their mouths. However, this caught the attention of Bobby, who glared at the pair, "you're not allowed to talk."

"You're not allowed to talk," mocked Jose, "shut up, asshole."

(Y/N) giggled and looked over at Bobby's face, "yeah, shut your face shithead."

"Your mama played you when she put that big ass bow on your head," (Y/N) turned around and was met with a smirk, "Lyla teased you the whole day."

Jose 'Sad Eyes' Guzman. 

No longer the boy in the picture, but a man.

"I had a sore head and she got a bleeding nose," responded (Y/N) with a shrug. 

Before he could reply, (Y/N) was called back over to her booth. A line had formed and those waiting were getting antsy. She gave her old friend a smile and then dashed back to where she was stationed. Quickly checking over the prizes and helping those in front of her choose what they wanted. When (Y/N) had been offered a job at her old elementary, she immediately packed up her life in San Diego and moved back to Freeridge. Despite San Diego being her home all throughout college and two years post graduation, Freeridge would always hold a special place in her heart. Upon returning she had moved into an apartment a few blocks away from the school and also her parents home. Moving back felt different, but a good kind of different. She was surprised that the interaction with Sad Eyes (she was unsure if she had a right to call him by his government name) wasn't awkward, considering the way their last interaction had ended. But, (Y/N) concluded that they had both grown since then. 

Exchanging tokens for prizes, chatting with some more parents (mostly discussing their child/ren's progress) and grabbing more prizes from behind the stage was beginning to take a toll on the woman. Thankfully, the fair was almost over - just another hour or so, before the staff and parent helpers would pack everything up. With the prize booth looking a bit empty, she decided to take a walk.

"I'll be back to help pack up," she told Lyall and smirked when his focus was on Kira, talking to a group of her students, "ask her out." 

He gave her an eye roll, "get outta here." With a laugh, she moved in front of the booth and walked out of the hall. A bouncy castle on the front field caught her attention, but she stayed away from it when she noticed the clown printed on the front. She followed the smell of (food) which brought her to the junior courtyard of the school. Buying herself two and a (drink), she sat herself down at an empty table. She ate and drank, enjoying the somewhat peaceful atmosphere. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and just happened to land on Sad Eyes. She stood up when she noticed he was cradling his hand in the other. Catalina, his sister, walking beside him. She threw her rubbish away and walked up to them.

"What happened?" 

He shook his head, "nothing, I'm fine." 

Catalina scoffed, "dumbass punched the button for Oso to be dunked and now it's most likely bruised," she then smiled at (Y/N), "lookin' good, chica." She then nudged her brother, "tell her she looks good, idiota." 

Laughing, (Y/N) shook her head, "thanks, Lina, I'll take it from here." She was met with a smile and nod, before the young woman walked off. (Y/N) gestured for him to follow her. They walked into the front office and made a right turn into the sick bay. (Y/N) had him sit on one of the bunks. Gently taking his hand into hers, she looked it over, "it's not swelling up, so it doesn't appear that anything's broken, probably bruised like Lina said." She turned around and grabbed an ice-pack from the refrigerator, wrapping it in a towel and placed it on the hand, "here you go." 

He smiled at her, "thanks bubs."

The sound of her old nickname mixed with the situation at hand, caused a reminiscent wave to wash over her. 

"I guess it's official," (Y/N) gently placed the cloth wrapped ice-pack on Jose's shoulder, "congrats, how do you feel?"

Gently laying back on the couch, he winced as another ice-pack was placed on his stomach, "siento que me voy a desmayer." "

"Jose."

He laughed, but quickly stopped, "mierda!" (Y/N) handed over the ibuprofen and a cup of water. Gulping it down quickly, he handed the empty cup back, "I was kidding."

She snatched the cup and put it on the coffee table, "better be… but you feel any different?"

"I guess the only difference is that I know my Ma and Lina will be taken care of if anything happens to me."

(Y/N) flicked his forehead, "don't say shit like that," smirking she looked at him, "Mama G's gonna kick your ass."

"She's gonna kick both our asses," he looked at her, "I got jumped in and you skipped a day," a smirk appeared on his face, "not a good look on your college application, Miss (L/N)." "

"Shut up."

He reached out and squeezed her hand, "kidding, bubs, you'll be accepted in whatever college you want."

"You think so?"

"With your grades, extra curricular activities and the recommendation letters you're gonna get? Kind of hard not too," he replied, "but, you've got time until the application process."

She nodded, "yeah," shifting on the couch, she smiled, "so, have you got a street name?"

"Yeah."

Looking at him expectantly, "well, what is it?"

"Sad Eyes."

(Y/N) gave him a smile, "no worries, Sad Eyes." 

He sighed, "Sad Eyes?"

"It's your name," she pointed out and gently removed her hand from his, "you can stay in here, but I've gotta help with the pack up." Just as she stepped back, he got to his feet, "Sad Eyes just –" 

"Jose, (Y/N)," he cut her off, "okay? Not Sad Eyes."

"Everyone else calls –" 

"You're not everyone else, bubs." His eyes locked with the (colour) orbs, he was familiar with, "when it comes to you, I'm Jose." 

"Alright, then, Jose," she laughed when he gave her a goofy grin, "you staying here or what?" 

He walked through the door, "let's pack some shit up." 

She followed after him. The junior courtyard was filled with parents and teachers alike packing up the tables and chairs. They made small talk along the way. Entering through the side doors, she hurried over to help Lyall take down the leftover prizes and place them into boxes. Anything that was in good condition would be kept for next year's fun fair. Kira carried the boxes onto the stage. (Y/N) took over sweeping the hall with Rachel because David and Connor were using the brooms as swords. Jose tried to help, but (Y/N) didn't want him to injure his hand even more. Her coworkers didn't seem bothered with having a Santos member in close proximity. Once everything was cleaned and packed away, Kira and Lyall made their way to the staffroom where a lunch was held to say thank you to the staff and parents for their help.

(Y/N) decided to opt out of the lunch, when Connor, David and Kira joined the pair and asked if she was coming along. Parent-Teacher conferences were coming up soon and she wanted to make sure her classroom was all set up for it. As it was her first official year teaching (after graduation she worked as a learning support member to gain a bit more experience 'cause she felt she needed to do more groundwork) she wanted to make sure it was presentable. 

"It doesn't look like anything's changed," commented Jose, as he followed (Y/N) into their old second-grade classroom, and put his ice-pack on her desk.

She laughed, "yeah, just a few things to keep up with the new generation," she walked over to the reading nook, "remember this?" 

This time he laughed, "how could I forget? Bobby was and still is an asshole and a shithead," he shook his head, "can't believe Mrs Robin made us write him apology letters, even when he was the one who started the whole fight." 

"He was her favourite," replied (Y/N), as she rearranged a few books, "but, I didn't mind 'cause I made a new friend that day." 

A silence fell between the duo, but she didn't think anything of it. She moved through the classroom straightening up things as she passed by. Jose watched her and couldn't help but smile. He couldn't deny that he missed her when she moved away for college. Being involved with the gang allowed him to be a part of a brotherhood and he was so caught up in it that he didn't recognise that he was pushing her away. 

Until it was too late.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)." 

She immediately stopped what she was doing and turned around, "what?" Realising what he was apologising for, she shook her head, "Jose it's fine. It was years ago." 

"That doesn't make it okay," he replied, "if I could go back and fix everything, I would." 

(Y/N) stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket, staring at the Santos party across the street. She watched as the party-goers laughed and danced to the music. Her heart sank at the sight of Jose with his arm wrapped around a girl. Spooky noticed her and shouted, "(Y/N)!" With the call of her name, Jose looked up. He quickly got up from where he was and walked to where she stood, a bright smile on his face.

"Are you gonna stand there or come and join the party?" he laughed.

She bit her bottom lip, "no… I just – uh, Lina told me where you would be," her eyes drifted over to the party and then back to him, "after we waited for an hour for you to show up."

His eyebrows furrowed, "show up for what?" 

"My birthday dinner," (Y/N) explained, "just finished actually, the celebratory mood kinda died when Lina let it slip that Spooky was also throwing a party," she kicked at the curb, "not a surprise that your priorities have changed, but it doesn't mean it hurts any less."

"(Y/N) I –"

"I get it. But, it wasn't just a birthday dinner you missed. It was the fact that I announced that I'm graduating," she blinked back the tears, "at the top of my class. And, I wanted to make sure everyone that helped me along the way knew how much they meant to me, you know? It fucking sucked 'cause the one who has always supported my venture outside of Freeridge promised they'd never switch up… and then switched up."

Jose moved to hug her, but she held up her hands. He watched as she wiped her eyes and looked at him with her (colour) eyes. The (colour) eyes that always allowed him to know what she was feeling, when the words didn't leave her mouth.

"(Y/N) –"

"Whatever, enjoy the rest of your night, Sad Eyes."

And with that, she walked off.

"Unfortunately, time travel hasn't been invented yet, so you can't go back. But, that's okay." She stepped towards him, "I wouldn't want you too. I'm sorry as well. For ignoring all of your calls. If I could go back, I would pick up every single one and answer." She wrapped her arms around him, "I missed you, Jose." 

He kissed her head, "I missed you too, (Y/N). 

They held each other close. Jose rubbed his hands up and down her back, loving the feeling of having her back in his arms. (Y/N) breathed in his scent and squeezed him tighter. She listened to the rhythmn of his heart, before stepping back to look at him. He smiled at her, hands still caressing her back. 

All of a sudden the atmosphere shifted. 

His hands wandered down to her waist giving it a gentle squeeze, while hers gently gripped his arms. Slowly, their faces inched towards each other until their lips touched. Jose trailed up a hand to the back of her head to deepen the kiss, (Y/N) happily accepted it, hands moving to wrap around his neck. 

"Been wanting to do that since you punched Bobby in the face," he commented once they broke apart.

"That's interesting, 'cause I've wanted to do that since you poured the bucket of legos over his head."

Jose kissed her nose, forehead touching hers, "gotta be some full circle kinda shit, querida." 

"Yeah, it's gotta be," (Y/N) replied and pulled him back in for a kiss. 

- ♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

Spanish Translation(s):

Chica - girl

Idiota - idiot

Siento que me voy a desmayer - I feel like I'm going to pass out

Mierda - shit

Querida - honey

[thebirdandhersong]

So I love how your liveblogs have little names for each of them, would you be interested in going through and explaining why each one is called what? It's a lovely system.

OH!!! :D of course!! I started giving them little names because I was bored and wanted to spice things up, I think ;slkksfl;jsd;kl

Princess Tutu (pt liveblog ft. lots of love for ahiru): The very first thing I realised about Princess Tutu (other than the fact that I was going to love it) was that I was going to love Ahiru a Lot. I thought at first that this was because I tend to love the optimistic, energetic, Extremely Sunny heroine you see in most magical girl/shoujo manga and anime (examples from past experience include: Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura, Kobato from Kobato, Shirayuki from Akagami no Shirayukihime, Najika from Kitchen Princess, Naho from Orange... I could go on). But that ended up only being a surface-level reason for why I love Ahiru's character so much :) She is so full of love and joy and eagerness and hope. (I love her!!!)

The Mandalorian (md liveblog (with a friend!!)): exactly what it says on the tin! My friend had already watched it once, and loved it so much she persuaded me to watch it with her. It was SO much fun, but even more fun because I watched it with her and was able to chat with her after every episode. We both loved Din and Grogu and Cara and Omera, and spent many happy evenings together over Zoom. (I watched Agent Carter with her later on, too, and we also had a wonderful time!)

Agents of SHIELD (aos liveblog: my whole heart!!): I watched the first two(? ish) seasons of AOS years ago and never finished it, but because the ladies at Jellicoe Lodge loved it so much (and because I understood a grand total of 0.2% of the AOS posts on my dash slk;fsd kjfl;s and wanted to know who Mack and Bobbi and Hunter and Lincoln were) I picked it up again. It is still on hold (because three seasons of my emotions being churned like butter was a bit much for me to handle all at once) but those characters do have my whole heart :)

Racket Boys (rb liveblog: too happy for words): ran out of ideas slkfj dkls;j but it IS true. This show is just so lovely. Nothing much goes on my head when I'm watching it, other than: !!!!!! Oh Yes!! You go, honey!! WOW I'm so proud of you. Food scene?? (FOOD SCENE!!) Bonding scene?? (BONDING SCENE!!) What a good big brother!! What a good friend!! What a good player!! [insert name] MY BELOVED. I can't believe these kids (the actors) are all younger than me. Boy, he sure can cry (Kim Kang-hoon). Boy, do I wish I started watching this show sooner. These kids are so cute. These kids are SO cute. [insert name] my darling!!! :'O :'O :'O anyhow I keep running out of adjectives to describe Racket Boys and the characters I Love. Too happy for words is my current state!!

[venactricisfics]

Down Time

Part 1      Part 2

The Unit Based Story

The mission I was tasked with this time was more terrifying than any I had been on before.  I couldn’t take Beau with me or my gun. I was meeting the Unit wives for the first time.  I never enjoyed meeting my squadmate’s wives. They seemed to assume that I would be a liability for them or a distraction.  I even had one wife assume that I was interested in her husband off the battlefield. 

It was a barbecue at Jonas’ house.  Semi-lowkey. And only three of the five were married.  So at least I’d have Charlie and Hector as buffers. 

I balanced a bowl of potato salad in my arm as I step out of my SUV and walked to the door.  I wore a pink tank and light jean shorts.  I felt more feminine than I normally did at the office.  I pause debating between knocking or making a run for it. 

The door swings open as I lift my hand to knock, “Welcome, come in.” 

“Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Blane,” I step over the threshold and follow her through the house to the back yard.

“Molly, please,” she told me, “You’re Mitch?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” I respond relaxing a little when I see Bob and Mack with their wives sitting at the picnic table. I shake Bob’s wife, Kim’s hand while Mack’s wife, Tiffy’s takes the bowl from me.  They seemed normal enough. For wives.  I still felt like I was an exhibit in the zoo. 

“Did you bring your dog?” A little girl about five asks me. “Daddy says we can’t have a dog cause it’s a lot of work.” 

“That’s our daughter Serena,” Kim tells me.

“Your daddy is right,” I kneel down to her level, “Beau is a lot of work but he’s a working dog so I have to keep him at the kennel so someone can take care of him all the time. One of the cadets is feeding him his dinner right now.” 

“Oh,” she says, “what does he eat?” 

“Kibble mostly,” I answer, “though he did try to eat Col Ryan’s boots one time,” I give her a smile, “while he was still wearing them.”

“I’m gonna go play with Lissie,” she says and runs off to play with the other girls. 

“She’s cute,” I stand back up.  

“We think so,” Bob responds.  I glance around looking for my single squadmates.  Was I early? The only thing worse than being a female soldier surrounded by Army wives was being the only single person at an event with couples.

I take an offered seat as I’m asked about my life before Fort Griffith.  I told them about my family.  I was the youngest of five, the only girl.  Two were military men, one went to college, and the other moved to California to become an actor. 

After a half-hour of being prodded and poked about myself, I noticed that Charlie had slipped in undetected. I felt his gaze. I welcomed it by giving him a smile before turning my attention back to the conversation. 

"What's your housing like?" Kim asked.  

"I'm still in the barracks, " I respond. "It was supposed to be temporary but it is taking longer than I thought to get into an apartment." 

"Transition to Unit housing doesn't take this long, normally,  " Molly said. "Jonas?"

"Unique circumstances, sweetheart, " he responded. 

“My roommate options are limited,” I tell them, “and there’s a waiting list for a single. ” I couldn’t have a non-Unit roommate and well there were no other women in the Unit. 

“It’ll get sorted soon enough,” Jonas says, “food is ready.”  I grab a plate and find an empty seat next to Charlie.  

“Hey, you,” I sit my plate on the table and step into the picnic table seat as ladylike as possible. I give him a smile, “I’m shit at small talk. You wanna come to the Stand with me tonight?”

“I’d like that,” he takes a drink of his beer then narrows his eyes in thought, “but I can’t, I promised Hector I’d double with his girl and her sister.” 

“Oh,” my shoulders slump a little, “cool. Maybe some other time.”

“For sure,” he gives me a killer smile. The rest of the meal we chatted between each other and the other guys, careful to keep the topic off of our missions. 

"Thank you for having me, you have a lovely home, Molly, " I say as the party starts to wind down. I dig my keys from my pocket and head to my SUV.

"Hey, Mitch, " I turn towards Charlie's voice and stop. 

"Yeah?"

"You still going out tonight?" He asked. 

“It has been a hell of a first week,” I respond as I open the car door, “I think I need it.” 

“Yeah, it gets easier,” he says resting his hands on his hips.

“No complaints of course,” I give him a smile, “I’m used to it. Some dudes have to put down the little woman to make them hard.”

“I never heard it put like that,” Charlie gives me a smile in return.  “Hector and I may stop by the Stand after the movie if the girls are up for it.”

It was that last bit that dashed the bit of hope that had swelled.  Fifth wheel, great. I kept my smile painted on, “Y’all should come out. It’ll be a great time.”

“I’ll see you there then,” he gives my hand a squeeze before turning to walk toward his own car. The man confused me. Only because he didn’t seem to be like any other man I’d known before. I glance in the rearview a moment, if I really thought about it, all of them were different.  

A couple of hours later I’m squeezed into a pair of tight jeans and top that made me feel and look like a woman. Dressing up and putting on makeup can make you feel like a new person. Being in the Army can sometimes make you forget you've got curves and swerves. Tonight I was flaunting them. 

"You want to dance?" A tall guy asked as he leaned against the bar next to me. I could feel the Latin beat in my hips. 

"Sure, " I give the handsome stranger a smile before letting him lead me to the dance floor.  I felt the music. Smiling and dancing with him for the next few songs. He seemed to be a perfect distraction. As the music slowed I asked, "You wanna get a drink?" He nods and we make our way back to the bar. 

"Hey, " a familiar smiling voice calls from behind me. I turn to find Charlie and Hector with their dates standing behind me. 

"Hi, " I turn to my companion, "I'd introduce you but I don't think I caught your name." 

"John, " he says to me.

"I'm Mitch, " I respond, "this is Charlie and Hector, my… coworkers and their dates."

"Alison, " Hector introduces his girlfriend, "and her sister Kelly." 

"There's a big table open in the corner, " I motion, "y'all want to grab it." My Southern accent flows from my lips more freely after a couple drinks. 

"I'll  bring our drinks, " John says, waiting for the bartender, "I'll be over soon."  I didn't think anything of it. 

Though I suppose hindsight is what it is. 

"You look good, " Charlie whispers as he pulls out a chair for me than his date. 

"Thanks, don't get the chance to get pretty very often, " I reply. I felt John behind me close before he set the beer bottle in front of me.  The conversation flowed. I finished my beer and promptly John gets me another. I felt the second one go straight to my head. I blink through the dizziness. 

"I'll be right back, " I stand, "I think I need some air." 

"I'll join you, " John says with a sweet smile pulled across his lips.  His hands seem to be all over me the moment we step outside. I didn't want it. I pushed him. But my movements were sluggish. "Let me make you feel good." He whispered as he pushed me against the brick wall of the bar. 

"Stop!" I use the last of my strength to plant a knee in his crotch. He stumbled back and I tried to regain control of myself but I felt my face get cold and the whole world spin as I slide down the wall. 

"Mitch, are you ok?" My chin is lifted so my eyes meet Charlie's. 

"I don't think so, " I felt groggy. "I only had two beers." 

"I know, " he says, "Kelly said she saw him put something in your drink." 

"Oh, " I rest my hand on his hand, feeling the cuts, "what happened to you?"

"Might have punched him a couple times, " he smiles, "Can you stand?" 

"Maybe, " my legs were as wobbly as a newborn deer as I try to stand. “I’m normally not this stupid.” I steady myself holding onto his arms, “What happened to your date?”

“She let a friend of mine get drugged so I lost interest,” he looped his arm around my waist, “not that I was really interested before.”

“Sounds like a shitty person,” I lean into him a little and feel my pockets, “I can’t find my phone.” 

“Who you gotta call?” he walks me back to the door of the bar where Hector stands with the girls.

“Cab,” I respond, “don’t think I should drive if I’m seeing two of you.” 

“You OK, Mitch?” Hector asks. I give him a nod.  “I’m taking Alison and her sister home,” he says and looks to Charlie, “you need me to come back?”

“Don’t think so,” Charlie responds, “I’ll get her home.  See you when you get back.” Hector gives me an apologetic look before walking with his girlfriend and her sister back to his car.  "Where are your keys?" He asked me. 

"Pocket, " I pat my hip stumbling a little. "I can't get them out." 

"This is not exactly how I pictured getting into your pants, " he fishes my keys from my pocket. 

"Me neither, " my words slurred. "I don't know if you can tonight. I'm so tired." He holds me up as we walk to my car. He fastened my seatbelt then climbed in the driver's seat and drove us back to the base. I drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely remember the guard at the checkpoint talking to Charlie. 

"Where are we?" I groan as he helps me from the car. 

"My place, " he says, "I can't leave you alone like this." 

"K, " I rest my head against his shoulder as he scoops me up in his arms, nodding off a little. He carries me up the steps and into his apartment. 

"Stay awake for a little while longer, Mitch, " he says as he carries me down the hall and into the bathroom. I sit down on the edge of the bathtub as he looks me over.  I groan when he shines a light in my eyes, "Almost done." He smiles, then takes my temperature. "You'll be ok. Just need to sleep it off. Wait here." I'm not sure where he was expecting I was going. My legs were so weak I couldn't imagine moving. A moment later he comes back with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "Can you do this?" he asks. I try to stand but he catches me as I stumble. 

"I'm sorry, " if I were completely in my right mind I would be more embarrassed as my fingers fumble with the button of my pants. "This normally isn't this hard. I have good underwear on though." 

"Is that right?" He steadies me and helps me peel the tight jeans down my hips. Then he helps me step in a pair of running shorts. Taking care not to look too long at my black lace panties. He helps me off with my top and on with a t-shirt. I lock my glassy gaze on him for a long time, then lean forward, dangerously close. 

"When you are yourself again, ok?" He says pulling back from the near kiss. I nod. He was probably right. "Let's get you to bed." 

"K, " I responded. He scoops me up again and carries me into his room, keeping the door open he lays me on the bed. I start to doze but jump at hearing his front door open then close again. 

"It's just Hector, " he says. 

"I like Hector, he's nice, " I mumble as I snuggle into the pillow. It smells like Charlie. 

"I brought saline bags from the cave, " I heard Hector say. "Do you know how much he gave her?" 

"Don't know, she was fine when we first got there, seemed to hit pretty fast, " Charlie responded. "I'll stay up with her." 

"We can take shifts, " Hector stated. 

"You're on duty in the morning. I've got the day, " Charlie replied and looks back at me then steps out of the room for a minute. I lost track of their conversation and drift off into a dreamless sleep. 

I squeeze my eyes tight to keep the room from spinning but it wouldn’t stop, “Bathroom.” I groan as I try to climb from the bed, hand over my mouth.  Charlie helps me to my feet and guides me across the hall to the bathroom, holding my hair back as everything I ever have eaten in my life comes up. 

I sit down on the bathroom floor leaning back against the wall, keeping my eyes closed, “What happened?” 

“That guy, John, put GHB in your drink,” Charlie says as he places a cool cloth on the back of my neck. 

“Shit,” I open my eyes a sliver trying to focus on him. “Did he?”

“No, we stopped him,” he hands me a cup of water. 

“I’m not this stupid normally,” I take a sip turning my eyes to focus on the wall. “Thank you for looking out for me.” 

“Not your fault,” he said, “and don’t worry about it. You want to lay back down?” I nodded, taking his hand to help me back up. I still felt wobbly on my legs as we walked back to his room and settled back on his bed. He put an extra pillow behind my head to prop me up.

His room was minimal.  I suppose like most single men in the army. He did have an impressive firearm display mounted to his wall.  Vintage and working. “I’m not really surprised by that,” I look back at him sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. “You’re not sleeping over there are you?”

“Na,” he says, “I’m staying up. Keep an eye on you.” 

“I’m fine,” I sit up and the room starts spinning again, “or I’ll be fine.” 

“Right,” he smiles and comes over to help me get settled again, “just let me take care of you, woman. It’s not a weakness.” 

“It’s not?” I ask settling back, “I let some asshole in a bar drug me. You beat him up and here I am.”

“It was you,” he said, “you kicked the shit out of him. I got there after. So lay back and get some rest.”

“Ok,” I let him tuck me back under the blankets, “but you’re not sitting in the chair all night,” I motion to the empty spot beside me, “I’m not budging on this one soldier.” 

“You sure?” he asked.

“I’m not asking you to sleep with me,” I said, “Well I guess technically I am. But if we did anything more than actually sleep I’d probably puke again. And that would spoil the moment don’t you think?” 

“Probably,” he says back with a smile, “I don’t want to take advantage of you.” 

“You’re not,” I yawn pushing my hair from my face, “I trust you.” 

“You need fluids,” he said.

“Sleepy, later,” I grumble. He smiles, shaking his head at me as he grabs the bag of fluids, “You’ll feel better, sweetheart.” I stick my arm out, for him to start the IV, keeping my eyes closed, barely wincing as he inserts the needle. “Get some rest. I’ll be here.”  I feel the bed shift beside me as he sits on top of the blankets beside me.  

[heart-eyes-kippen]

fairygclds

MARI!! one of my fave mutuals pls ily so much

• okay literally u have the prettiest username i’ve been meaning to tell u but i absolutely love it, and also i love ur current layout!! the pink is just...chef’s kiss...so cute

• one of of those people i feel like i’ve known for so long in the am fandom, all ur posts are great and u seem so nice, i always love seeing u on my dash!!

• ur crush seems adorable sent tweet

• i feel like we interact quite a bit but also i’d be totally down to chat with u so feel free to message me anytime abt writing, andi mack, etc etc, ur ideas for fics and in general are always godtier and u seem like u’d be great to bounce off?? 100% galaxy-brained

• PLS I SEE UR COMMENTS ON MY LCA POSTS SOMETIMES AND THEY ARE SO NICE THANK U 💞💞💞

• overall i love seeing u in my notifs, ur fic ideas are great and ur chaptered fics are always some of the few i like to keep up w when i have time 😌✨

• keep being amazing ily

[rosedavid]

andi bonds with tj over motorbikes and she then helps him get together with cyrus

This is so long overdue! I’m so sorry!

Send me prompts 

Outside, the air is hotand dry. Heat wafts across the landscape, causing a visible ripple effect. Inthe driver’s seat, Andi squints as she makes her way along the dirt road, handsclutching at the steering wheel. Beside her, Buffy is resting her feet on topof the dash, basking in the cool air blowing from the vents. Meanwhile, in theback, Cyrus is spread out horizontally, one arm hanging over the edge of theseats as he presses cheek into the cool leather.  

“Are we almost there?”Cyrus groans. “We’ve been driving for forever!”

“It’s only been likethirty minutes,” Buffy reminds him.

“Exactly!”

Andi rolls her eyes ather friends’ bickering. “Don’t worry, Cyrus, we’ll be there soon.”

“You said that 30 minutesago!”

Earlier that afternoon,Andi excitedly texted the group chat about a surprise she had for them. Cyrus,of course, expected something predictable such as lunch at the Spoon or a dayat the museum; however, Andi obviously had another idea in mind. She assuredthem it would be fun, but Cyrus had yet to experience it.

“Trust me, it will beworth it,” Andi assures him with a smirk.

True to Andi’s word, theyarrive only a few minutes later. She parks her truck close to a prodigiousboulder. When they all hop out, everyone immediately feels the intense, overwhelmingheat. The sun sits at its peak in the sky as it scorches the earth. Cyrusstarts uselessly fanning himself.

“This is worse than thecar! I’m dying from the heat,” Cyrus whines. “Is this the surprise? Sufferingin the middle of the desert during the hottest part of summer?”

“No! Of course not,” Andisighs, walking to the bed of her truck. Buffy and Cyrus share a confused glancebefore following behind her.

They watch as Andi opensthe back of the truck and unlatches her tarp in the back. Cyrus peers overcuriously, watching as she pulls the tarp off with a flourish. It’s revealed tobe Andi’s bike and gear, which Cyrus honestly almost forgot about. Despite thebig reveal, he’s still confused as to what exactly they were doing, as Andiknew that Cyrus would never get on that deathtrap, and Buffy wasn’t interestedin bike riding either.

“So, I’ve been practicingriding a lot more recently,” Andi begins, “and I came across this group here intown that also does motocross for fun! I decided to join, and now, once everyother week, we get together and practice! Sometimes, they even do races, andthis is my first one I’m participating in so I thought you both could comewatch!”

Cyrus is immediatelyrelieved that he doesn’t have to ride Andi’s bike. After all, the only type ofbike he can handle is foot pedals.

Buffy smiles, “That’sgreat! I’m glad you found another hobby. We’d love to see you race.”

“Of course,” Cyrusagrees, “Anything to support you, even if it feels like I’m slowly melting outhere. So, where is everyone else?”

Andi heaves her bike andgear out of her truck, then motions for them to follow her. They walk behindthe group of boulders where numerous other cars are parked and a bunch of peoplesit on their bikes, all decked out in helmets and gear. A few others sitagainst the largest boulder, hiding out in the shade to watch the action.

“Hey, Mack! Took you longenough. You ready to lose?” A male voice taunts from beneath a helmet.

“As if,” She grins as shegets ready to go. First, though, she turns back to Cyrus and Buffy. “You twocan go sit with the others and cheer me on.”

Cyrus eagerly hurries tothe slight amount of shade provided by the rock, Buffy following. He feelsextremely out of place as he looks around at all the bikers. After all, Buffyis at least a sporty person, but Cyrus doesn’t have an athletic bone in hisbody. He’s thankful that Buffy at least is there to keep him company.

As more bikes start,Cyrus continues to flinch at the loud noises, trying his best not to cover his ears.He watches as Andi lines her bike up to the other four bikers. She looks smallcompared to all the others, but Cyrus knows better than anyone to neverunderestimate Andi Mack.

Someone raises a flaghigh into the air before quickly bringing it down, officially starting therace. Cyrus watches with rapt attention as Andi and the others kick off andstart biking around the homemade racetrack. They soon enter the first turn, kickingup dust with their tires. For a few seconds, Cyrus can’t see anything, and heworries that Andi may have crashed. Then, he sees her fly out of the dust inthe front of the pack, neck in neck with the biker she was talking to earlier.

Cheers fly out of the crowd,despite it only being a few people, and Cyrus can’t help but join in to cheeron his friend. Buffy rolls her eyes at him but soon finds herself caught up inthe moment as well. The race is so intense that it makes Cyrus’s heart poundand hands shake. The intensity of the heat doesn’t help, either. His eyes stingfrom the dryness and dirt being kicked up. Still, he finds himself having morefun than he thought he would.

“She’s so good!” Cyruspractically shouts over the noise of the bikes.

Buffy nods, “I know,right?!”

Although the other bikersare putting up a valiant effort, Andi and the other boy are clearly the starsof the race. The boy edges closer to Andi, barely taking over the lead as theygo around another corner. Cyrus can’t even imagine being out there. He’d be waytoo overwhelmed. In fact, he’s overwhelmed just watching them.

“Go Andi!” He shouts intandem with Buffy.

The bikers approach thefinal corner. The boy still has the lead over Andi. As they head into the turn,though, Andi maneuvers her bike tightly around the corner right beside him, soclose that Cyrus thinks they might crash into each other. Thankfully neither ofthem crash, and Andi straightens back out only to have a substantial lead. It’sthe final straightaway, and she urges her bike faster. The boy is close behindher, but not close enough. Andi finishes first. Cyrus and Buffy cheer and clap wildlyfor her.

She rides up to them andparks her bike before removing her helmet, a wide smiling gracing her face.They all high five each other and laugh together at Andi’s helmet hair.

“I can’t believe you hidthis from us for so long,” Buffy mentions, “You were amazing out there!”

Andi’s face is red, bothfrom the heat and the compliment. “Thanks, but I’m really not that good. And I’m sorry I hid it from you both, I was justnervous.”

“You are that good.” Cyrus replies, “And it’s okay, we’re just glad wegot to cheer you in your first race!”

They pull each other intoa group hug, ignoring for a moment how hot and sweaty they all are. The soundof another bike breaks them apart. It’s Andi’s main competitor who rides up tothem. She smiles when she sees him, smacking his shoulder lightly as he getsoff his bike.

“Told you I’d win,” Shelaughs.

He groans, “Yeah, yeah, beginner’sluck. I’ll beat you next time, for sure Mack.”

The boy reaches to takeoff his helmet, and Cyrus gasps quietly when he does. The boy underneath thehelmet is undeniably gorgeous. Much like Andi, his hair sticks up everywhere.It’s blonde and soft looking and Cyrus just wants to run his hands through it. Hisgrin is infectious, and it makes Cyrus’s knees feel weak and throat close. Theboy’s green eyes shine in the sunlight, and Cyrus can just barely make out afew freckles dotting his nose.

“Aren’t you going tointroduce me?” he says with a smirk, breaking the moment of silence. Cyruswants to melt into his shoes.

Andi rolls her eyes. “Thisis TJ. He’s kind of okay when he’s not being a jerk. TJ, this is Buffy and Cyrus.”

Cyrus notices her lingeringon his name, but quickly moves on as he and TJ make eye contact. He tries notto do anything too embarrassing under TJ’s gaze. He ends up tapping his fingersagainst his thigh and biting his lip nervously. TJ smiles at him.

“Don’t listen to her,” Hesays, gaze still focused mainly on Cyrus. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Another voice calls out somethingthat Cyrus doesn’t really hear, and he sees Andi wave a hand before dragging aconfused Buffy with her down to the other biker. Cyrus immediately feelsawkward, lacing his hands together and dragging his eyes down to his feet.

“So, Cyrus,” TJ begins, “Everridden a bike before?”

“I’ve ridden a bicycle numeroustimes, but I can hardly handle that let alone one of these bikes,” He rambles,unable to stop himself from spewing out words.

“I’m sure you could do it.”

Cyrus blushes, shakinghis head. “No way. I don’t have an athletic bone in my body! I almost failed P.E.”

TJ giggles, and it makesCyrus swoon. He risks a glance up at the biker, who is smiling fondly at him. “You’readorable.”

Cyrus tries to form acoherent sentence in response. “I—you, what?”

“Do you want to hang outsometime?”

“You’d want to hang outwith me?” Cyrus asks in disbelief.

“Yeah, why not?”

“Because I’m me and you’re…you,”He trails off, motioning between the two of them. “I’m not interesting. I don’tlike normal stuff that boys should enjoy like sports. Instead I like dinosaursand musicals and screenwriting.”

TJ steps closer. “Hey,you don’t have to be interested in sports. I think that stuff all sounds cool.”

Cyrus finds himselfinching forward slightly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” TJ breathes out quietly.Then, he pulls a phone out of his pocket and hands it to Cyrus, who staresblankly for bit. No one has ever really wanted Cyrus’s number let alone askedfor it so directly. His fingers fumble over the letters as he types in his nameand number before gently handing it back. As he does this, his fingers justbarely brush TJ’s own, sending shivers throughout Cyrus’s body.

TJ types out a quickmessage on his phone, smiling as Cyrus’s own phone goes off. Cyrus opens histexts.

(***)-***-****: It’s TJ (:(: (:

Cyrus sputters at theexcess amount of smiley faces. He looks up at TJ with a smile before texting back,feeling a sudden boost of confidence

Cyrus: Three smileyfaces? You sure know how to make a guy feel special.

TJ bursts out laughing. “Ihave to go, but text me later?”

Too flustered to speak,he nods.

He likes motocross a lot more than he thought he would. 

[matthewshegelund23-blog]

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[thistleandthorn-rpg]

How is tumblr used in this roleplay? Are dash interactions face to face or are they as if characters are chatting on tumblr unless specified otherwise? (Are tumblrs considered public like our character's blog?)

Great question! Convos on dash are considered online and public unless otherwise stated. Tumblr is used kind of as the basis for the rp and Tumblr blogs are public for other students to see.

Admin Mack