#I told him about her music and the next day he reported back to me lol

[icouldbeyourprettygirl]

He told me today that he was talking about music taste with my sibling and they brought me up. They kept emphasizing the fact that I LOVE Lana. When the two of them walked into his classroom right after that conversation, he opened his computer and Diet Mountain Dew automatically started playing

[cheriladycl01]

The Rookie Prodigy - Carlos Sainz x Driver! Reader - Part 2

Plot: You are a rookie coming into the 2022 season of Formula One into Alfa Romeo with team member Zhou Guanyu, being in a mid tier team can you help them rise up the ranks. What pressures occur for the only rookies within the 2022 line up!

Credit to macrazylive for the GIF

The interview was good, everyone was really kind to you and your PR team made sure that the questions were only about racing which was nice as you really got to talk about the teams and cars with the others there.

There was a joke that you were being ganged up on as there was two Ferrari drivers sat next to each other, the two Mercedes drivers sat next to each other and then there you were sat in the middle with Lewis and Carlos either side of you.

"So Y/N what more can we expect from you in 2022? We've got Saudi Arabia next weekend that I'm sure you are excited for it" he says and both Carlos and Lewis look at you as you raise the mic.

"Jeddah is one of the toughest tracks on the line up this year in my opinion. I just hope i can make my team proud and i can finish the race with some more points for them!" you smile settling a hand down on your lap.

"And Lewis as a World Champion do you have anything to say to the new rookie this year that will inspire her in her future career"

"Jheez man, you out here making me sound so much older than her! But listen you'll always here people talk about the car and driver. Sometimes the car and driver are on the same level, sometimes the car is better than the driver and sometimes the driver is better than the car. And i think today proved that Y/N is already out-performing in her Alfa Romeo and I think all the team principles will be keeping an eye on her throughout the year. Keep driving the way you are, and you know where to find me whenever you wanna talk" he smiles at you, he leans into you hugging you slightly making you blush and smile at the contact.

After the conference it was a shamble getting you back to the hotel. PR had pulled you out early while the other in the interview stayed behind a little. You hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye before you were whisked out to multiple fans. You stayed to sign stuff with Zhou who had kindly waited for you so you could go back to the hotel together.

You and Zhou knew there was no point going home or going to the factory when in a week you had to travel across the short flight to Saudi Arabia. Monday you and him went to the water park in Bahrain for the whole day. After that you guys flew to Jeddah on the Tuesday readying for the week ahead.

You had a good qualifying coming in P8 and you were happy that you were starting in a points worthy place. You'd reported to your team that something felt wrong with the car, its pace just wasn't as good today and you were told that the overnight engineers would take a look for you.

It was getting late and you should be sleeping, but you just couldn't seem to shut your eyes. The nerves of tomorrow eating away at you. It was about 11pm when you decided to throw a hoodie on and walk down to the hotel bar.

The elevator music was soft and you checked you phone, thinking it probably wasn't the best thing to upload a photo to show everyone you were currently awake right now.

You walked out and sat down at the 24 hour bar, only a few people were there, not that you took much notice of the people around you.

"Got anything to knock me out?" you ask the bar tender who looks at you in shock.

"Rough night?" he asks.

"No, just struggling to sleep" you smile lightly.

"Well if you don't like cherry juice or Chamomile tea I have some bricks out back that may help" he laughs out his offers trying to lighten your mood.

"Cherry juice?" you ask having never heard that it was a drink for helping sleep.

"I dunno, but it works!" he defends before you shake your head opting for the tea.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?" a voice asks and you turn seeing Lewis steps up behind you. He opens his arms gesturing to the seat next to you.

"Oh, Lewis hi. This is so embarrassing. Sorry you have to see me like this. You can sit, only if you want to though" you smiled at him.

"Thanks. I cant sleep either" he's smiles at you before flagging the bartender and asking to have what your having.

"I think I'm just nervous about tomorrow"

"Yeah, i get that! You have a lot of pressure on you as a rookie! But your are one of the best rookies we've had for years! Qualifying was good today! Keep that smile up" he smiles at you placing a hand gently on your shoulder.

"What's going on here?" a voice behind you asks. You and Lewis both swivel to find Carlos standing there at the entrance to the bar watching there pair of you with narrowed eyes.

"Carlos! What are you doing awake?" you ask in shock, even Lewis being down here was a shock to you.

"More like what are you doing down here?" he frowns.

"I couldn't sleep, and then Lewis was down here so he joined me!" you smile, and point to the seat on the other side of you. He takes it and shimmies into the seat, waving the bartender off when he offers a drink.

"So, what are you also doing awake?"

"I also couldn't sleep, I've got a lot on my mind" he says looking over the pair of them.

"So, how do you think tomorrow will go?" Carlos asks trying to run a conversation but the vibes were awkward after his arrival. He'd stood watching them talk for a little before he had made his presence known.

"She doesn't want to talk about it" Lewis huffs out sipping on some of his drink.

"Oh i didn't realise she didn't have a voice anymore" Carlos sasses, making you shake your head an push away from the bar so you chair scrapped back, enough for you to hop down.

"I'm going to go try and sleep, i can practically smell the testosterone overload and that tea has made me far to dopey to have any clarity of this tomorrow" you admit and with that you left the two along who stayed for a little longer ... to talk.

Race day was always fun, however this year Saudi wasn't your shot. You wanted to cry when you heard the words to come back to the pit because your car had a cooling system failure and it was a danger to drive meaning you'd gone from 8 all the way down to 15.

You had spent a significant amount of time crying in your drivers room, before you went out to congratulate Zhou on his P11 finish. He hugged you and told you reassuring phrases that sort of went past you head because you were worried you were about to get butchered by your team principle Alessandro.

You didn't want to do the interviews, knowing there would be derogatory comments coming your way, but it was something you had to put up with.

"So Y/N not your best rest today" the interviewer asked the minute you walked up to them.

"Yeah, unfortunately there was a cooling system errors in three of the cars out there tonight and mine was one of them. I reported to my team that the car didn't feel right yesterday during qually, so I don't know if that was what happened out there but yeah pace was slow, car was faulty not much else to report. Hoping for a comeback in Australia but congrats to Max, Charles and Carlos for the podiums!" you smile trying to make it as quick and painless.

"Thank you for your time!" he smiles politely before letting you wonder off across the paddock.

"Carlos! Carlos Hey" you shout over to him and see his and Charles head whip round to look at you.

You run up to them, placing a hand on Charles shoulder that doesn't go un-noticed by Carlos.

"Well done on the podium today guys!" you smile, trying not to show your sadness at the lack of points you'd gained today.

"Thank you Y/N! You know, were you invited to the after party today?" Charles offers first before Carlos can even thank you.

"Oh, no I wasn't told. But I don't really like clubs so ..." you admit sheepishly.

"It's not really a party, just dinner with us, Lando, Daniel Yuki and Pierre" he offers.

"Could i bring Zhou with me?" you ask knowing you were closest to him right now and getting through a dinner with that many people, you'd for sure need him them.

"Of course!" Charles exclaims.

"I'll see you guys tonight then?" you smile before walking off to go tell Zhou the good news.

A/N: Next part is going to be this cute ass dinner, should there be any interruptions from any other drivers? Or should it be kind of a private thing?

Taglist

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc

[bitchinbarzal]

the other woman | mat & mama

you’d had the best weekend with the kids and mat. It was nice to get away from being “doc” to just being a mom and wife.

you were on day two, standing at the end of the carpet waiting for mat to finish his interviews while wyatt slept soundly on your shoulder.

he finally made it to you, taking wyatt from you to give your arms a break.

the kids were all on a sugar high, antsy and looking around for the next thing to do. Bailey had run off, not wearing his cochlear so you chased after him, bringing him back to the family giggling.

Your spot now taken by a woman you didn’t recognise. Before you could introduce yourself you heard her say

“Oh she’s gotten so big! I remember when you were just a baby” a tickling a now wide awake Wyatt’s belly.

You frowned “and how do you know Wyatt?” You asked, taking the baby from her dad.

Mat and the woman looked at one another, Mathew considerably nervous looking “We um-“

“Molly used to come to daddy’s house!” Ryder, ever the one to throw dad under the bus. Mathew closed his eyes and sighed.

“Yeah this is Molly.. she’s a reporter for the league we went out once or twice last year” Mathew explains while Molly stands looking uncomfortable.

You smile “Well it was nice to meet you Molly”

“Likewise…” she trails “I’m gonna go” and takes off into the crowd to interview someone else.

You look at Mat who has those puppy dog eyes “Babe…”

“C’mon guys let’s go see the mascot’s! Uncle Jack told me they’re playing musical chairs” you exclaim, plastering on a fake smile to distract the kids from the obvious tension.

Before you could walk very far Mathew grabbed your waist “Hey! Don’t walk away-“

“You slept with her, didn’t you?” You ask, tears lining your eyes.

Mat couldn’t lie, not to you “Yes… we were separated though!”

“So all that shit about wanting to work on our marriage, how I was your only girl… that was all a lie? You just can’t seem to keep your hands off girls at your work”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“No Mathew what isn’t fair is you never telling me that! That I was at home worrying about my job, our kids and our marriage while you were out finding them a new mom?!”

He looks hurt “It wasn’t like that! Lets not forget you drafted the divorce papers”

And one last stab at his heart

“And I wish I hadn’t thrown them out now”

[plutoccult]

LET THE LIGHT IN

pairing: jean kirstein x female reader

description: the aftermath of the moment you and jean shared the night before had proven to be more awkward than you wanted it to be, but now you were determined to say how you feel this time around. if only jean would stop avoiding you like the plague, then it would be a whole lot easier for you.

word count: 3.6k

read part one here

also available to read on my ao3 here

author’s note: i genuinely didn’t expect to get any notes when i posted three little words, and i honestly never thought of writing a continuation of it, so thank you to @spicytvna for suggesting it! you really got my brain cooking, and i’m very grateful! thank you for everyone you liked and reblogged it as well! it’s very much appreciated! i honestly struggled with the title as i didn’t want to use the same title just with “part two” on it, and since music is what flows my creativity, i decided to go with a song that i felt represented jean and the reader. shoutout to lana del rey for having a chokehold on me since middle school. you really are that bitch fr. sorry this took quite a bit to get to you guys, but i really wanted to make sure i was giving you all something great. enjoy!!!

neither you or jean could sleep after what happened that night. you were too in your head to finish writing to your father while jean was too embarrassed to say a word to connie about what happened. you were in the same boat the next morning when sasha tried asking if something happened between you two, but your erratic behavior scared her off, so she ran back to connie with no intel to report.

you couldn’t help but mentally beat yourself up over and over about the whole thing. why did you have to freeze up? why couldn’t you just… say how you feel? you knew you loved him, and you finally knew he loved you, but why couldn’t you help but be scared? you were always the kind of person who never wanted to say how you feel first, but when the chance came to where you could say it without rejection, you chicken out.

it replayed in your head on a loop. you got all worked up just by the very thought then would always curse yourself afterwards. you had to do something about it. you had to talk to jean. he had to know you felt the same way as he felt for you. there isn’t anything to be scared of anymore, or so you thought.

every time you saw jean, he always just so happened to be going in the opposite direction as you. whenever you tried to call out for him, he acted like he couldn’t hear you. it was easy to figure out he was ignoring you, and he was doing—in your opinion—quite an awful job at it.

it seemed as if he was just going to easily write off what happened and never speak to you again, but why? you wanted to ask why he can’t give you a chance to speak, but you had your chance the night he spilled his guts. you just weren’t able to spill yours. still, you were on a mission to talk to him someway, somehow. you would do whatever it takes.

as the days passed, you figured you had to find jean in a place where he couldn’t run. you hoped you could get some help from connie as sasha told you how connie (allegedly) said that he would love to finally make the pairing of you and jean happen and work something out. so, you prayed that sasha wasn’t lying to you and found the courage to knock on the door of jean and connie’s room, assuming jean would be somewhere else, continuing to avoid you.

like you expected, connie opened the door. he knew you would come to him, but he wasn’t expecting it not long after sasha relayed his message hardly an hour ago. “y/n!”

“hi. i hope i’m not intruding or anything.” you say politely. you’re almost tempted to peer your head to see if jean is hiding in the room somewhere, but you don’t want to ruin this.

“nah, i was just bumming.” connie assured you, which brought you some relief. “you’re here for jean, aren’t you?”

“isn’t it obvious?” you force a laugh. it was hard to act like you were okay with what happened when you nowhere near weren’t. you were sure jean probably brought your name to shame when he returned to his room that night, but things weren’t always what they seemed.

“um, hello? sash and i been waiting for one of you to stop being a wuss and confess for ages. we essentially knew jean would be the one to do it first, we just didn’t think… uh…” he struggled with his words towards the end. you know exactly what connie was going to say, so you said the words for him and let him off easy.

“that i wouldn’t be able to say it back?”

“yup, basically. but that’s okay, y/n. feelings are scary, i get that.” connie said. “that’s why i’m here to help you properly declare your feelings for jean, and i have the best way to do it.”

“you do?” you raised an eyebrow, feeling unsure about what his idea of the “best” is.

“yeah, i’m feeling like picking a bunch of flowers, maybe an impromptu musical number in front of everyone—” connie began to list what you thought were a bunch of terrible, terrible ideas. this is not what you expected when sasha said connie would help you. it was horrendous, and you had to put a stop to it.

“um, connie, i’m not sure that’s a good idea—” your words were interrupted by a familiar voice, one you could recognize without hesitation. you turn around quickly, it’s exactly who you hoped and prayed to see for days now. finally. “jean!”

jean froze in his tracks as you and connie fall silent and share a look. he’s at a loss for words, unsure how to get himself out of this situation, except for one idea; run.

you didn’t even have a second to think as connie did what you would’ve done for you aka run after him. you couldn’t even believe what was happening right now. all you wanted was a way to fix things with jean, and while he finally entered your presence once more, he bolted as quickly as he arrived. at least the sight of connie apprehending jean and snatching his room key was somewhat entertaining to watch.

“you’re coming with me, buddy!” connie yelled as he had his hold on jean, practically threatening to yank out his arm socket as he dragged him across the floor.

“no!” jean whined, fighting for his life. it was such a childish thing, you thought, hearing him act like this. they argued back and forth like bickering siblings until connie finally got jean back to their room door, and all you could do was stand and watch.

“why not?!”

“b-because!”

“that’s not a reason!”

“because i don’t want to!”

your eyes met connie’s as he threw jean into their room. he was one to be chaotic, but this seemed like a whole new level for you. “hey, y/n, remember that idea i had? well, i have an even better one.”

“what is it?” you ask nervously before connie pushed you into the room with jean, tripping backwards over jean’s leg and falling straight to your ass quicker than you could blink.

“neither of you are leaving until you talk your feelings out. later!” connie said then slammed the door in both of your faces, leaving the two of you speechless.

you quickly get to your feet and reach for the doorknob, realizing it won’t budge on bit. connie locked the door and was the only one with the key. that sneaky son of a bitch locked you two in a room without any escape. well, unless you wanted to jump out a window.

“oh… my… god…” you say to yourself, hoping for jean to say something to you, maybe propose a way on how to get out of here, but he didn’t say a word, he didn’t even dare to look you in the eye, and you couldn’t stand it.

“aren’t you going to say something?” your question comes out desperate. “this is torture, jean!”

“ha, you’re one to talk!” jean scoffed, taking you by surprise. you couldn’t help but wonder what changed his mind so drastically between a few nights ago and now. you know what you didn’t wasn’t the best, but you were trying to make it right, and he wasn’t giving you a chance whatsoever. it was, like you said, torture. perhaps the greatest torture of all, in fact.

“really? this is how you’re going to act?” you ask in disbelief.

“yes, y/n, it is because i’m so embarrassed that even just being in the same room as you makes me wanna rip my heart out.” he said harshly.

you’re left speechless by his words. you wanted to say he didn’t mean it, but you know he did. you embarrassed him. you toyed with his poor heart without meaning to. yes, you did love him, but it almost felt like you were being crucified just for being scared to say it out loud, and you refused to be crucified any longer. whether jean still had feelings for you or not, you couldn’t stand to live like this.

as you failed to respond, you snapped back to reality as you realize jean is trying to force the bedroom window open. you noticed the window earlier, but you seriously didn’t think he would jump to such extreme measures as you didn’t consider it for yourself. from this level, it wouldn’t be easy climbing out either.

“what the hell are you doing?” you question him.

“getting out of here.” jean replied coldly as he focused on opening the window, which he did successfully after a bit of brute force. you really couldn’t believe this.

“you’re gonna climb out a fucking window just to get away from me?” you ask with sadness in your voice. “where’s the jean kirstein that i loved so much?”

jean froze. loved? you knew what you meant when you said it, but jean’s mind raced a mile a minute as he tried figuring out what way you meant those words. it was something he never thought he’d hear, but it only made him wish he wasn’t an impatient little asshole who gave you no chance to say what you wanted to when you were ready for it.

he slowly turned around to meet your gaze, noticing your eyes beginning to well with tears. god, he felt so awful now. “what?”

“you wanna get out of here? i’ll get you out of here. i’m in love with you. i love you. i was too afraid to say it that night, but i’m not afraid to say it now.” you say without faltering, even if this was nowhere near how you wanted this to go. “clearly i messed it all up and you would rather die than breathe in my direction, so there. we said how we felt, now you can get what you want.”

getting out here wasn’t what he wanted. it was those goddamn three little words he craved more than he ever wished for freedom and luxury. that was what he wanted. he knew it all came out so angrily from your lips, but that part didn’t matter to him right now. you loved him. you loved jean kirstein. that alone could mend any bone that dared to break or wash away any bad thought in his brain. you weren’t the one that messed this up, it was him. it was time jean tried to make it right, but he was too late. timing had a thing for never being on either of your sides.

before jean could speak and make this all better, you knock on the door for connie’s attention. “connie? you can let us out now. all feelings have been made very, very clear.”

connie, who could hear everything from the other side of the door, did as you wished and set you free. you look at jean one last time before walking out, the look of teardrops streaming down your face bound to haunt him. he immediately stood up and went after you, grabbing you by the shoulder to stop you. you turn around and face him, wiping away your tears in an attempt to appear strong.

“y/n, i’m sorry.” jean said quickly. there was so much more he could say, but that seemed like the best start, if you gave him the chance to speak, although he knew he didn’t deserve it.

“no, it’s okay.” you insist. “we’re even now, i suppose.”

jean didn’t want to get “even”, but he felt like he had no choice but to watch you walk away. you didn’t mean to hurt each other like this, but you both made it seem so easy. even if the execution came out so simple, the effects were like needles prodding your hearts. you had to find a way to heal your broken hearts somehow.

when you walked back to your room, you found sasha on her way out, assuming she was going to sneak herself some a secret snack before dinnertime. she was shocked to find you coming back like this, and without either of you needing to say a word, she wrapped her arms around you and held you tightly. you melted into her embrace, letting out all the cries you held back from before.

“come on, you should lay down.” sasha said softly. “all that crying is gonna tire you out.”

“okay.” you sniffle. “thank you.”

•••

sasha always knew you so well. it was the best part of being roommates. you fell asleep not long after going into your shared room, and she left you be as she assumed you really needed it. come dinnertime, sasha gently nudged you awake as food was always important in her eyes.

“y/n, hey.” she whispered. “it’s time for dinner. you coming?”

you groan as you open and rub your eyes. dinnertime? you’d rather have loneliness as an appetizer and shame as the main course. you couldn’t face jean so soon. besides, you knew jean always sat with connie and sasha, so where would that leave you? you were better off alone right now. “no, i’d rather not.”

“are you sure? i think some food could heal those wounds.” sasha said, trying her best to convince you to come to the mess hall. you could sense some ulterior motives, one involving a certain horse-faced soldier, so you brushed her off and insisted on not tagging along.

“i just want some time alone, sasha.” you say, pulling your blanket closer to you.

sasha decided to let you off the hook, not wanting to press you too much, but she couldn’t help but worry about you a little. “okay. maybe get some fresh air, alright? for my sake?”

“yeah, okay, i will.” you agree, thinking you won’t really do so, but the thought makes you think it could be a good idea after all.

“good. now… food awaits me.” sasha said before swiftly existing the room, assuming she would run to dinner like her life depended on it. like any other day, her life quite literally did depend on it. for you, however, some alone time was what you needed, but maybe some fresh air will do you some good.

forcing yourself out of bed, you leave the room so you could head to your usual spot, one you’ve shared with friends before in the past, but for tonight, it was meant to be all yours. you always enjoyed sitting on a set of steps on nights like these, with the stars twinkling and moon shining as if it were just for you. the night breeze made you feel safe, like a sign that everything would be okay with time, but when?

unbeknownst to you, when sasha entered the mess hall, jean had expected you to walk in with her. he and connie asked where you were, and sasha—almost acting like your own personal cupid—informed the two about your whereabouts. jean knew this was his opportunity to turn this all around, or at the very least make it known how terrible he felt about the way he acted. but he couldn’t just do it with words, he had to show it too, and jean knew exactly where you could be right now.

funnily enough, the second you were getting ready to go back to your room and lay down for the rest of the night, you found jean standing many feet behind you with a tray of food in one hand and some flowers in the other. you froze in your tracks, shocked to see him here, but also unsure what was going to happen.

“i know sasha said you wanted to be alone, but i, um… thought you’d still be hungry.” he said shyly, a stark contrast compared to earlier.

“and the flowers?” you asked.

“i picked them myself. they’re, uh, apology flowers.” jean replied, handing the flowers to you, which you hesitantly accepted. they were your favorite, of course he knew which ones to pick out. “can i sit? please?”

“um, yeah, sure. i’ll take that food off your hands too.” you say. it was impossible to say no to food, but if jean was going to improve his past behavior, then it’s best you take this chance and hear him out.

you sit back down at the steps and jean followed. he handed you the tray of food, consisting of a potato and some bread, which was all he managed to sneak out successfully. you set the tray down next to you and picked apart at the bread, using it as an excuse to not speak just yet. you’d let him do the talking first.

“i really am sorry, y/n.” he started off with. “i was such an asshole to you. i should’ve been more patient and understanding.”

you quit eating your food and looked at him with a puzzled look on your face. “what? no, i should’ve been honest with you about how i felt. i hurt your feelings, jean.”

“and i hurt yours. like you said earlier, we’re even, right?” jean questioned with a shrug.

“i didn’t want to get even.” you frowned. “i would’ve done it all differently. i wouldn’t have made such a confession so angrily like that.”

and why shouldn’t you? shouldn’t you be able to do what you had planned before it all turned disastrous? jean was more than willing to let you. earlier wasn’t enough. he wanted to hear more on your feelings. yelling in his face how you’re in love with him like it pissed you off wasn’t what he initially wanted. he wanted to hear you say it with that soft voice only so few people hear. just for him and him alone.

“why not have a redo?” he proposed, which you thought was downright crazy. “say how you feel, y/n. in the way you wanted to say it.”

your cheeks were burning red. it seemed like such a good idea in your head until jean actually encouraged it. you were so complicated like that; preferring the thought rather than the actual thing. you had to get better with that, but you didn’t seem ready for that just yet. “wow, this bread really hits different today—”

“y/n.” jean cut you off.

“hey, what happened to being more patient and understanding?” you pouted.

“and what happened to being honest about how you feel?” he was right. why did he have to be right? you hated that so much, but you knew you shouldn’t.

“it’s just…” you sigh. “it feels safer staying a thought in my head rather than spoken out loud.”

even saying that out loud made you uncomfortable. you tried to shy away from jean, but he wouldn’t let you. you couldn’t let yourself shy away either.

“it’s okay, it’s just me. you know how i feel.” he tried to assure you, but you couldn’t help but feel a little unsure. it was that small part in the back of your head that wondered what if his feelings had changed within a matter of days. it was silly, but your mind loved to mess with you in such heinous ways.

“do i?”

“i love you, y/n. that hasn’t changed.” that was exactly what you needed to hear. you couldn’t be afraid of the rejection when he laid his heart out on the line for you once more. it was time you took this head first without fear. no hesitating, no freezing up, no stumbling with your words, none of it. you’re doing this.

“jean, i love you so much it scares the shit out of me.” you say with tears in your eyes. “you’re my best friend, ya know? i can’t lose you. i don’t want either of us to run away. it would kill me.”

jean began to feel himself starting to cry too. this was all he wanted in the greatest way possible, just you saying you loved him with true, genuine meaning. it was what he wished for in the first place, but it was well worth the wait. “i won’t run away. not from this, not from you.”

“i won’t either.” you reply.

“good.” he smiled softly. a gentle stroke of your hair by jean made you want to fold over instantly. he used his thumb to wipe away your tears, which made your heart want to melt.

“is this the part where you kiss me now?” you ask breathlessly.

“do you want me to?” jean asked, waiting for you to say yes.

“yes.” you hurriedly nod.

“that’s all you had to say.” he said before gently placing a kiss on your lips. you liked that he treated you so carefully, like a porcelain doll. you wrap your arms around him as the kiss made your head feel hazy. you both felt comfortable with the feeling.

when you parted away, jean found himself lost in your glowing eyes. your smile made his heart skip a beat and he couldn’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. he’d be far more than willing to burn if it meant always staying close to you.

“so, how’s that bread—” he said to break the silence. a bad way to do it, you thought as you immediately laughed and shyly buried your head in his shoulder. he pulled himself away and lifted your chin so you’d face him, kissing you once more.

you and jean spent the rest of that night side by side, at some point finding yourselves laid out on the grass as you watched the stars, hoping to find constellations from the ground. you held each other close without wanting to let go, and neither of you intended to. now that those three little words were said, you wouldn’t dare shy away from the light.

© plutoccult / 310802. please do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my content in or outside of tumblr. reblogs are appreciated <3

[pynkgothicka]

ＣＯＮＴＲＯＬ ＫＴＨ

Synopsis - You visit your boyfriend the night he told you explicitly not to come. (Part 2 of the Monster Series)

Pairing - Dark! Yandere Werewolf Kim Taehyung x Fem! Reader

Featuring - Alex Wolff (Get it. Wolf. Please Laugh)

Tags and Warnings - Violence, Hints to Sex, Cannibalism??, Monsters, Transformations

Authors Note - Choosing exactly how I wanted to portray Tae took years off my life.

A friendly reminder that all my works are dark fanfiction! Please if you do not like that do not read them! This is your final warning before hitting the keep reading button!!

Your boyfriends hands ran over your skin as he sucked hickies into your skin. You giggled at the ticklish feeling. You could hear him snickering into your neck.

“Why are you laughing?” He said coming up to look you directly in your eyes. This only made you laugh more. “Can't take a few kisses?”

“You know I'm ticklish!” You say smacking his shoulder jokingly. Taehyung laughed, his deep voice resounding in your small apartment.

“Why do you think I do it?”

“Because your weird.”

“Hey! That's not very nice now is it?” He replied turning away from you. You knew he was joking, but you still wrapped your arms around him, his chuckling being heard from next to you. He then turned back around to kiss your forehead sweetly, his arm rubbing at your side as you say in your bed together.

Then your attention shifted to the television seemingly mindlessly. “These mysterious maulings have only one connection. They appear on the night of full moons.” The female reporter said, meanwhile her male counterpart laughed.

“Looks like we have a werewolf on our hands dont we!”

“Werewolves aren't real, maybe a goblin!” Both reporters laugh it off before transitioning into talking about the weather.

Taehyung scoffed next to you, his eyes rolling. “Why are they joking about that shit?” His brows furrowed. You take his much larger hand in your own and kiss it. Taehyungs face shifted to one of fondness.

“Well, maybe they're trying to be lighthearted about it… either way it's still very wrong. But hey that has nothing to do with us.”

“Mhmm, of course. Now come on I really want to kiss you again.”

🐺

About a month passed after that and Taehyung grew distant for past few days. When you called him he picked up but sounded really stressed.

“Did I do something… to make you not want to be around me anymore?” You ask, sitting down on your couch in the living room of your apartment. Your best friend Alex sat next to you. He wanted to be there for you for support.

"No it wasn't you, it's all me. I just want some time alright?"

"A-Are you breaking up with me..."

“No! Of course not… I swear tomorrow night I can come visit you and everything. Just not tonight.” Taehyung said.

"Oh, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. It's just that you're not usually like this. You have me worr-"

"I fucking told you I'm fine." With that Taehyung hung up. That's all it took for you to make the decision. You had to go visit him.

🐺

The sun set as you and Alex pulled into his small house's driveway.

"Stay in the car, I should be right back." You said getting out of the passenger side. You went under the door mat to find the spare key to let yourself back in. Almost immediately something was off.

It was quiet. Taehyung's house, whenever you called wasn't quiet. He told you he can't sit in silence in fact it unnerves him. So he usually lets Jazz music play throughout his home. Besides he usually hangs in his living room, doing crossword puzzles and sudokus. Maybe even playing a video game.

But he was no where in sight.

Something you did hear was the faint tussling of chains.

Following the noise led you to Taehyungs bedroom. You opened the door, revealing a jarring sight. Taehyung was only in his boxers and was chained to his radiator in his room. “Tae! Hold on let me get you out of those!” You said seeing a key lying next to his body. Taehyungs eyes kept going back to look at the setting sun and raising moon.

“No! Stay back!” He yelled at you, letting out andeep gutteral growl and groan. He hunched over, sweat pouring down his body. You followed his order, mainly out of fear. “I don't want to hurt you… I told you to stay the fuck away!”

“W-Whats wrong? You have to tell me what's wr-” You were quickly cut off by a sharp bone crushing noise. Taehyung let out a scream, his nails digging into the wooden floor beneath you. You watched in horror as your boyfriend's body bent out of shape, his bones snapping in a horror like fashion. His face contorted into one of a snout and fur spouted from his skin.

Oh god.

Your boyfriend was a werewolf.

He was THE werewolf.

The beast huffed in front of you, his golden eyes piercing into your soul. Seeing you made him almost roar to life, with a new found strength he broke free of the chains. You stood there in shock for a minute as the form kept huffing.

Then he lunged.

Thats what made you begin to run. His house was small and simple, yet you could see the signs. The walls were covered in scratch marks. In fact even the floor is. But you couldn't focus on that, you had to keep moving.

You made it out of the front door and closed it on him. You quickly head down the porch, seeing that Alex was still in the car. He looked in shock as you got in the passenger seat. “Alex turn the car on.”

“W-What why? What's wrong?!” He yells back at you his eyes stuck on the front door as it bangs against its frame.

“Listen to me. We have to fucking go!” You yelled back. Then just at that moment, Taehyung bursts through the door, the hinges falling off completely. He charges towards your car, his body slamming against the front glass. You and Alex scream as Alex fumbles with the keys, dropping them between the center and his seat. Taehyungs golden eyes make direct contact with Alex and he seems to lose it further growling and clawing to be let in.

“So he can't get us… right?” Alex says, jinxing it as the glass cracks.

“Get in the back seat!” You say jumping to the back and pulling down the drink holder to crawl into the trunk. You have Alex climb in first then you.

Then you hear it.

The bending of metal followed by shrill scream. You look back and see Alex's body being dragged out of the trunk and slammed to the ground. That should've instantly killed him, you knew that. So whenever you're grabbed you begin to freak out, but your not slammed to the ground. You knew some semblance of Taehyung was in him.

The way he looked at you as you cried and cowered away from him.

But the moment was seemingly ruined by Alex letting out a loud cough. “Get away… from her.” He said breathing heavy. Taehyung looked at him before setting you down on the nearby ground, licking your cheek. He grabbed the bumper from your car, pulling it off like it was nothing. He wrapped it over you to seemingly keep you down. You were forced to watch as Taehyung stalk towards your dying friend.

Now you could get a better view at how Taehyung moved. He was like a ordinary man, but with wolfish features. Anytime he walked with an intent he walked on all fours. Like right now. Alex began to crawl away, his head bleeding and nose broken. “C-Come on Tae. It's me. Alex… Alex Wolff. You know me man…”

Taehyung looked at him, you watched as his hand twitched in aggravation. “He never… liked you.” You were taken aback as he spoke. Most importantly how deep it was compared to Taehyungs voice. You let out a yell as Taehyung caught up to Alex and began to slash at him, mauling him with both hands and mouth. You cried out in fear, feeling almost immediately weak at the sight. Once hes done and Alex is for sure gone, nothing but a mangled mess in fact, Taehyung comes back to you. His fur was coated in fresh blood.

“Mate… You were always so... pretty…” The beast mumbles, snout moving in a weird way to get out the words. You cried as he swats away the bent metal to pick up your form again. He brings you back to the inside of his home and sits you down on his couch. You keep your eyes on him, widen in fear at the possibility of his next move. He could kill you if he really wanted too.

But he doesn't. In fact he just lays down on couch resting his head in your lap. He licks at your hand “We love you. Do you still love us…”

You feel yourself choke on a few tears. “…yes…” The sad part is you weren't lying.

Let me know through a dm or ask to be included in my official Taglist- @darkuni63 @fangirl-death-rose @captainengineer-trixie @chimmisbae @iloverubberduckiez-blog @mageprincess7

[humblequestvinyl]

mountain with a view

MOUNTAIN WITH A VIEW, EDDIE DIAZ X FEM!READER

APART OF THE ‘ROLLING UP THE WELCOME MAT’ SERIES

SUMMARY: after one too many late nights, y/n l/n is sitting at their kitchen table, debating if her and her husband's marriage is even worth fighting for.

inspired by mountain with a view, by kelsea ballerini

previous chapter, | next chapter,

lowercase is intentional! wc: 1.9k

warning: angst!!!!! swearing, marriage problems, trust issues (?) if there’s anything i missed let me know!

a/n: AHHH NEW SERIES W EDDIE <33! i'm so excited for this!! also my deepest apologies in advance bc i am so mean to eddie in this LMFAOO hope u guys enjoy <333

“COUNTRY STAR Y/N L/N HAS FILED FOR DIVORCE FROM HER HUSBAND, EDDIE DIAZ AFTER FIVE YEARS OF MARRIAGE.”

the voice of a news reporter flooded through the tv as photos of the former couple were placed on the screen. 

“L/N on instagram asked her fans on instagram to be mindful, and that both parties are fragile, and to respect their privacy.”the reporter went on, before a photo flashed of the h/c girl, “L/N is currently gearing up for her fifth album release; SUBJECT TO CHANGE this september.”

the video came to a stop, and she saw her best friend standing in front of her, with a horrified look on his face, “you and eddie are getting a divorce?” her heart hurt. this wasn’t how she wanted him to find out.

“it was bound to happen buck.”y/n’s voice was strained due to all of the crying she had done for the past two months, with a heavy feeling in her chest, “you and i both saw this coming.”

“i didn’t.” evan buckley’s voice dropped, and y/n slipped the shades to the top of her head, revealing her bloodshot eyes, “never once did i see this coming.”

“this wasn’t how we wanted you to find out.”her voice cracked, playing with the strings of her hoodie, “eddie said he was going to call you about it.” buck’s eyes watched as the girl avoided his eyes, refusing to make contact with them, knowing if she did she would probably burst into tears.

“why did you file for divorce?”

(TWO MONTHS BEFORE.)

STARING OUT THE BIG OPEN WINDOWS OF THEIR PENTHOUSE,

y/n could see the sun rising as she finished making breakfast for her and her stepson, making sure to leave some for her husband in case he came home in time.

eddie diaz and y/n l/n had first met when she was 21, and he was 23, one kick-starting on their music career, while one had just become a single parent to a son from a former marriage. somehow, they still made it work. getting married at 23 and 25,  going from texas, to los angeles, becoming a mother figure to his son chris, and making sure she could still go on tour.

they thought they had it all figured out, with everything working and a fixed schedule.

until they didn't.

so here she sat, waiting for her husband to come home while her stepson got ready for school, knowing she’d have to force a smile, make everything seem like it was okay, and be able to play the part of the perfect wife, perfect wife. it wasn’t until she smelt smoke that y/n realized the toast was burnt to absolute crisp, and was ruined, meaning she’d have to make more.  

“shit.”she muttered, rushing to make more, as she saw chris come down the hallway, and she forced a smile, brushing her h/c hair out of her face, making sure to tie it back.

“did you burn the toast again?”chris asked with a smile, and y/n forced a laugh, nodding before she brought over a plate with pancakes and eggs on them. “unfortunately, i did. i’m making more right now.”

a knock on the front door came, before it opened, revealing carla, and she had a wide smile spread across her face as she came in, and y/n waved as the toast popped up, less burnt than before. quickly placing it on a plate, and putting it on the table, making it so chris would be able to get to school on time.

“you go get ready for the day, i’ll make sure chris eats.”carla told the 28 year old, giving her a soft smile, and y/n nodded, before rushing off towards her room, and grabbing the clothing she needed for that day.

walking into the bathroom after she had changed, her eyes glanced down, seeing a wedding band that wasn’t hers sitting on the counter. 

it was her husband’s.

she felt anger run through her, with a million thoughts racing through her mind. why would he take it off? or why did he leave it at home? did he forget it? did he take it off intentionally before he left for work? 

why did he take it off?

“bye n/n!’chris yelled, breaking the girl out of her thoughts, and she gripped the counter, trying to keep her anger under check. “have a good day at school chris!”she yelled back, and the front door slammed, as she took a deep breath in.

it was a few moments before she walked back out towards the kitchen, noticing everything was put away, except for the burnt toast. opening up her refrigerator, y/n grabbed the butter out, and brought it over towards the kitchen table, before spreading the butter against the toast, and taking a bite out of it.

her eyes scanned back over the mountains as the clock struck 7:30 am, realizing her husband was over three hours late coming home, and had missed seeing his son in the morning for the second time that week.

it killed her. it absolutely killed her that he wasn’t coming home, and she was the one who was carrying all of that weight on her shoulders, trying to keep this marriage going when it was all one sided. she felt like a glass plate, and was breaking into a million pieces.

hearing boots come towards her, her head snapped towards it, seeing her husband eddie diaz walking towards her, before placing a kiss on the top of her head, with no words spoken between the two.  the tension in the air made her uncomfortable. it was so thick that you could almost cut it through it with a knife.

it was a while before any words were spoken between the two, and when they were, they were laced with anger and confusion.

“you left your ring at home.”y/n spoke up, taking another bite of the burnt toast, afraid to see the look her husband was giving her, “and you were late coming home again.”

“i forgot it when i left.”eddie admitted, glancing over at his wife for a moment, before looking back at his plate of food, “and i was finishing up something with buck.”

wrong. he wasn’t with buck, because buck had texted y/n back at five, saying he hadn’t seen eddie since he left his shift at 4am. 

“what? you don’t believe me?”eddie questioned, as y/n got up to throw the toast away, keeping silent for a moment, debating on how to handle the situation, before she shook her head no.

“i don’t believe you.”y/n admitted, placing the plate in the sink, avoiding eye contact with him, and she could feel the anger radiating off of him, “because buck texted me at five that he hadn’t seen you since you left your shift at four.”

she saw eddie freeze, knowing he had gotten caught into a lie, and y/n had seen right through it. he wouldn’t be able to hide whatever he was away for.

“okay fine, i wasn’t with buck.”eddie admitted, causing y/n to lean up against the kitchen counter, facing her husband to read his body language.

“so, where were you?”

“i don’t understand why you need to know.”eddie shrugged, getting defensive, causing y/n to read all the red flag, “it doesn’t matter to you at all.”

“it does matter to me eddie.”y/n spoke softly, fearing of an argument breaking out, but it was enviable with the two. “i want to make sure you’re not sitting in the goddamn morgue.”

“well guess what, i’m not.”eddie spewed, catching y/n off guard, “i’m standing right in front of you, trying to eat breakfast while you’re bothering me.”

“because i want for you to realize that i’m worried about you.”she told him, and she could tell he was dismissive, “i wait up for you every night, only for you to not come home until chris is about to leave for school.”

“and i never asked you to do that.”he stabbed his eggs with his fork, and y/n tensed up, “that’s your own doing for staying up and waiting.” y/n gave him a look as she took his words like gut punches, making her absolutely sick, “maybe you should just stop staying up and waiting.”

“maybe you should come home on time.”y/n shot back, folding her arms as she watched him closely, “to the family you have. to your son.”

“i do!”eddie defended, and y/n shook her head, “no you don’t! for the past four months you’ve been late coming home after every single shift eddie!” 

“you’re forgetting your ring, you’re not coming home on time and you’re distant.”y/n pointed out as eddie brushed past her to put his plate in the sink, and walked towards their shared bathroom, slipping his wedding band on, “there! are you happy now?”

“no i’m not!”y/n exclaimed as eddie started to change, and she followed him, “we’ve been in and out of therapy for the past three years and absolutely nothing has changed eddie. i’m so tired of it.”

“i mentally cannot handle another year of us being just fine.”y/n whispered, causing eddie to snap his head towards her, with a shocked look spread across his face, “what are you trying to say?”

“i want a divorce.”y/n spoke aloud, making all of her feelings real, and she saw eddie’s face fall.

“you want a divorce? all because i’m taking extra shifts to try and provide for our family? to pay for the mortgage for the house you insisted we had to have.”he shot back, and y/n felt her anger bubble over, causing her to snap, “you don’t even pay for the house! i do! it’s under my name and everything! not yours!”

“i’m the one who pays for the cleaners, the groceries, the electric!”she yelled, as the two stood in their bedroom, one that hadn’t felt like theirs in months. “i feel like i’m the only one who’s doing all the work all the time because you’re never home!”

“you loved me way more at 23 than you do now eddie, and that's a fact.”she told him as she brushed past him to pack a bag, “i cannot keep doing this anymore.”

“you’re just like your parents. giving up way too easy on our marriage.” eddie swore, and y/n felt something snap inside of her. “first off, don’t you dare talk about my parents! secondly, i have tried for months to get through to you.”

“you’re the one who never came to nashville when i called you begging to hop on that flight, one i paid for by the way!”y/n exclaimed, zipping up the bag she had packed, “i knew you had the week off and didn’t have chris at all and you still refused to come.”

“i’m done trying eddie.”she finished, before storming past him and walking towards the front door of their penthouse.

“so you’re done?”he questioned as she grabbed her car keys, and opened up the front door, staring right back at him with tears in her e/c eyes.

“this is when it’s over for me.”

[beardedmrbean]

The family of an Israeli woman being kept captive in the Gaza Strip has released her final, heartbreaking phone call with her mother — in which the terrorists could be heard arguing over who gets to kidnap her.

Romi Gonen, 23, called her mother, Meirav, just moments after the car in which she was fleeing the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 was ambushed by Hamas terrorists.

She was cowering from gunfire inside the vehicle, apparently in pain, as her best friend Gaya Halifa, 24, lay dying in front of her.

Trying to comfort her daughter, Meirav, 54, could be heard gently telling Romi: “Romichoo, I’m with you, sweetheart. Everything is going to be OK.

“We will go to the hospital — you will get better and we will take a trip anywhere you wish together … I am with you, my beauty,” Meirav says in the clip, originally obtained by the Daily Mail.

As gunfire and explosions could be heard getting closer, Romi — who was shot in the arm and lost movement in her hand — tries to make sure her mother is still listening on the other end.

“Hello? Mommy?”

Meirav responds by asking for details about the car she is in, so that she can send rescue teams.

But when she gets no response, the mother assures her, “Romily, you’re not alone. You’re with me, my beautiful one. Everything is OK.”

Meirav went on to stay on the line for 45 minutes, but the Gonen family said much of the recording is too painful to release.

It began around 10:14 a.m., when Romi informed her mom: “Mom, we were ambushed.”

“The driver is probably dead. Gaya was shot and she’s not answering. Ofir was shot, and I was shot in my arm,” the daughter said, according to the Daily Mail.

“Mommy, just so you know, I’ll be dead if no one will come.”

As the reality that this might be the last time she spoke to her daughter dawned on her, Meirav said, she decided to start recording the call.

“My mom told us she understood that no one was coming,” said Yarden, Romi’s older sister.

“She changed her voice to be much more calm, loving, just telling her how much she loved her and that everything will be OK.”

“She said she wanted her to hear her voice loud and clear, that she will know there is hope and that she will fight for her and that she loves her.”

In fact, in the final moments of the call, Meirav could be heard promising Romi they will return to the café they were dining at just three days earlier, and “you will tell me everything after you heal.”

But the terrorists soon arrived, opened up the car and could be heard debating whether to kill her and a man she was traveling with, Ofir Tzarfati, 27.

In the clip, the terrorists could be heard arguing over who got to kidnap to her, according to the Daily Mail.

Ultimately, they dragged Romi away and took her as a hostage.

Tzarfati was later confirmed dead, as was Halifa and the man who risked his own life to rescue them — Ben Shimoni, 31, who earned the title “the Angel of Nova.”

He had managed to escape from the music festival that morning, but returned twice to rescue nine other people.

Shimoni made one final effort to go back for his friend, Halifa, and they were on their way out when they were ambushed.

He called his girlfriend, Jessica Elter, 27, and told her he would come back home with them when he suddenly could be heard asking, “What is that? Terrorists?,” she told the Daily Mail.

Shimoni was soon shot and killed, as was Halifa, who sat next to him in the front.

Romi, a trained medic, tried to take her pulse when she was shot.

For 55 days, the Gonen family said, they did not know for certain what had happened to Romi.

Finally, as hostages were released in November, a few approached them and reported they saw her alive in Gaza, Yarden said.

They informed the family that after the phone call with Meirav cut out, she was pulled by the hair and her wounded arm and thrown to the floor of the terrorists’ car.

She apparently tried to play dead, but when she peeked out at one point, a terrorist hit her in the head with the butt of a shotgun — leaving her with a black eye and a broken back.

“They told us that her gunshot wound on her arm wasn’t treated good,” Yarden said.

“Her hand does not function. Her fingers are barely moving and are changing colors — and that was nine weeks ago.”

But, she said: “They told us also that she’s strong, that she’s holding up, that she believes in us — that we will do anything to rescue her: She knows that, she knows us and she knows our character and that’s what makes her feel stronger.”

Yarden and Elter are demanding that Romi be brought back home so Shimoni’s final sacrifice will not have been in vain. 

In the meantime, Yarden said, “Sometimes I feel the pain [is] so powerful, like I’m going to explode from the inside.

“I really miss her.”

[avatarrecom]

Sorry that I hit you, I actually love you

Pairing: Poly!recoms x Avatar!reader

Word count: 6.5k

A/N: This is the longest I've ever written lol. This story is sort of a little gift to @whxre-bxby, because I absolutely love their writing and it inspired me to write this story. I also totally did not want to write an enemies to lovers because I wanted to use the tag #foes to bro's to hoes.

There's one reason you came to Pandora. Only one simple reason. To make the people responsible for your brother's death pay. All you have is his name, the name of the man who killed your brother by ordering his helicopter to be shot down. Miles Quaritch. You will break him and everyone he cares about. You don't know how, but you will. get. revenge.

Your brother, Timmy, may he rest in peace, was fourteen years older than you and raised you from the moment you took your first breath. Your parents were even more useless than water was useless to a dead plant. Day in and day out, they were more concerned with getting high than with the two children they forgot they had. When you were four, your brother managed to become your guardian. You moved into the shitty little apartment that was the only one he could afford. Your brother insisted that you get the only bedroom. “Little girls need their own room, Butterfly,” he said before turning the old sagging couch into something that would resemble a bed.

The next few years consisted of school for you, a nine to five job for your brother and evening classes on top of that. After six years, your brother had completed his mechanical engineering degree. Shortly afterwards he told you that he had been offered a military engineer and helicopter pilot position by the RDA. But, for this he would have to go to Pandora. He told you that if he did this he would go to Pandora, his salary would be sent to you and the RDA would get you a caregiver.

And so, when you were only ten years old, he pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, and left for Pandora. He left you in the care of a wonderful old woman, Helen, who helped you follow your dream of becoming an Avatar Driver. But after less than half a year, you received news that your brother was dead. According to the RDA report, your brother betrayed his own race by helping his fellow pilot, Trudy, free prisoners and fight the RDA. You were devastated. Your only family was gone. The RDA tried to send you to an orphanage. But Helen refused to let you go. Finally, the RDA gave up and let you stay with her. You still followed your dream of becoming an Avatar driver.

Now, sixteen years after your brother's death, you have finally arrived on Pandora.

And oh man, was it a shock when you arrived and found out you were joining the squad of the man who killed your brother. You didn't expect it to be this easy. You were supposed to meet him and his squad in your Avatar body. By now you were used to being ten feet tall, having a tail and having better hearing, sight and smell.

After changing into cargo shorts and a sports bra, you make your way to the 'Recombinant' quarters. You will find your new squad in the gym, training. You immediately spot the person you are here for. Miles Quaritch. He lies on his back on a bench and pushes the heavy weights above him. A bald man stands by his head, hands ready to take over the weights if it gets too heavy. Your gaze shifts to the other blue bodies and everyone is focused on their exercises. You see a woman with corn braids and a headband curling a dumbbell while she talks to a woman with a mohawk who is doing push-ups. To your right, you see a man wearing a bandana sparring with a man covered in tattoos. In the corner of the room, three men are doing pull-ups on the bars hanging between the walls. And finally a man wearing sunglasses 'who the hell wears sunglasses indoors' is running on a treadmill.

No one notices you because of the loud music coming from the speakers, so you knock loudly on the door behind you. Several eyes shoot your way. You feel uncomfortable with all the attention on you. "And who might you be," purrs Quaritch with a nasty grin. “Y/N,” you answer, trying not to lose your temper. Nothing could have prepared you to come face to face with your brother's killer.

Quaritch's eyes widen in realization. "You're the new addition to the squad." You nod stiffly and clasp your hands behind your back. The bald man lets out a loud laugh. "Relax, beautiful, we don't bite." The woman with the dumbbell hits him on the head and says something about men and testosterone to the other woman, who laughs in response.

Quaritch walks towards you, his posture commanding respect and obedience. "Colonel Miles Quaritch," he holds out his hand, "Pleasure to have you." You force a bitter smile and shake his hand. “I wish I could say the same.” You see everyone looking at you in shock. You give them an icy look.

Quaritch's stupid grin only widens as he takes you in. "I see, you're one of those." “One of those what,” you snap. "It doesn't matter, we'll break that behavior out of you." He steps aside and you roll your eyes so he doesn't see it. “So Y/N, meet the squad,” He gestures to the others. "The bald one is my second, Corporal Lyle Wainfleet." Lyle and the two women look at you with an almost disgusted look. "The two ladies are Walker and Z-dog."

Quaritch gestured to the men sparring before your entrance, “That's Prager and Lopez.” Bandana looks at you suspiciously and the tattooed one looks at you with a feral grin that makes him look like one of those hyenas from the Lion King. “Brown, Ja and Fike are at the bars and that's Mansk,” Quaritch finishes. "Come on guys, meet our new victim."

Quaritch gestured to the men sparring before your entrance, “That's Prager and Lopez.” One looks suspiciously and the other looks at you with a feral grin that makes him look like one of those hyenas from the Lion King. “Brown, Ja and Fike are at the bars and that's Mansk,” Quaritch finishes. "Come on guys, meet our new victim." With that he walks out of the gym. You stare hatefully at his retreating back. When he's out of sight and you turn your attention back to the rest of your squad, you see them staring at you with equal hatred.

“So,” Lyle begins, “what the hell is your problem.” “That ain't your damn business,” you reply. Lyle grins at his friends. “Women shouldn't curse,” says the tattooed man with a shit-eating grin. You roll your eyes, “Get fucked.” He blinks in surprise, but doesn't answer. You turn your back to the group and walk out of the gym.

The next few weeks were absolute hell for you. You were trained as a medic in addition to your Avatar training. You had absolutely no experience in hand to hand combat and weapons. It didn't help that your squad took pleasure in seeing you suffer. Quaritch forced you to do five hundred push-ups every morning, to run for at least an hour, and many other exercises that completely exhausted you. In the afternoon the squad would take you around and kick your ass in hand-to-hand combat. After a few days you were already covered in bruises. You already had a bruised ankle and you had muscle pain in muscles you didn't even know existed.

And of course the favorite passage of time outside of training was to make your life miserable. You lost count of how many times they 'accidentally' slammed you into the wall, how many times they 'accidentally' stepped on your tail and 'accidentally' stepped on your ankles, especially your bruised ankle. They threw the most uncreative insults at you. You simply ignored them and continued to perfect your revenge plan.

About three months after you met and three months of absolute hell, you walked to the cafeteria in your 'human body'. You were so deep in thought that you didn't realize you were bumping into someone. To be specific, a ten foot tall and blue, someone. “Oh shit, sorry,” you heard someone say as a blue hand held your arm so you could regain your balance. You look up and see that Brown was holding your arm. He tilts his head and looks at you confused. "Have we met yet? You look familiar, beautiful." Your other tormentors watch you with interest, you shiver as they sweep their gazes over your body, and you don't shiver in a good way, the way that makes you feel the heat in your core. "Wait, I know you, you're the girl of my dreams!"

You jerk your arm from his grip and scoff, “that's funny, because this feels like my nightmare.” Immediately the eyes of the blue creatures in front of you darken. “Wait, Y/N?!” Walker says in surprise. You roll your eyes and nod. Everyone's eyes widen in shock. Just as you're about to walk away, you hear Lyle, "Y/N, wait." Normally you would have just kept walking, but something in his voice catches your attention. You sigh and turn back to the Recoms, who are studying you in shock. “What,” you snap.

"Timmy was your brother," Z-dog says breathlessly. You detect a slight tremor in her voice, but pay it no mind as the rage takes over your body. “Don't say his name,” you snarl between clenched teeth. “Don't you dare ever say his name,” everything you're feeling right now is the most intense you've ever felt. Your anger is mixed with grief and sadness. You don't even realize that tears are streaming down your face. "He is dead!" you shout, unable to keep your pent-up emotions in check. "And it's all your fault!" "What's going on here," you hear an angry voice command.

In your anger you turn to the colonel, who stops slightly in his steps, thrown off by the angry tears on your face. You vaguely hear someone in the background saying that Timmy was your brother. "DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" you roar. “HE IS DEAD, HE WAS MY ONLY FAMILY, THE ONLY ONE WHO CARED ABOUT ME AND HE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” You break more and more with every word.

Before anyone can say anything else, you storm off. Luckily no one comes after you. After rushing into your room, you collapse against the wall, exhausted. You shouldn't have gone to the cafeteria in your human body. You should have stayed in your Avatar body, then they would never have realized who you really were. Shit, if you take revenge now, they'll immediately suspect you after your public emotional explosion in the hallway. You drop your head into your hands and sigh. Then you fall asleep on the floor, completely exhausted from the recent events.

When you wake up, you are determined to continue with your plan. It doesn't matter if they actually knew your brother personally, he was your brother and he's dead because of them.

You manage to avoid your squad for a few days. You skip the daily training and don't answer when one of them comes knocking on your door. That surprises you, you expected them to be happy to be rid of you temporarily. But then again, they probably have Quaritch's orders to convince you to act like nothing's wrong. They would probably be in trouble if the bigwigs found out that they were the ones who kept damaging your Avatar body.

After about a week you appeared back in the gym in your Avatar body. The Recoms look at you without the usual hatred in their eyes. “Y/N, how nice that you're joining us, not so nice that you're a week late,” Quaritch speaks and he too looks at you without the usual hatred. You roll your eyes, “Come on, who wants to go first,” you challenge, eager to let your energy out, preferably on something that could hurt the Recoms.

Brown steps forward. You wrap your hands and walk to the mat, Brown on your heels. When Quaritch gives the signal that you can start, you jump into action. You deliver several quick punches to Brown’s vulnerable spots. Normally he would have already blocked them and thrown you onto your back, pressing his weight on your throat with his knee. Normally he wouldn't remove his knee, even if, according to the rules, you tapped the mat three times because you couldn't breathe. Normally he would only remove his knee from your throat when you almost faint from the lack of oxygen.

But this time it's different. He lets you hit him, does the minimum to block you. This only makes you angry. "Come on, fight back!" you shout. He doesn't show that he heard you, he just keeps avoiding you and doesn't do anything to fight back. "Come on! Do something!" you shout again.

Your emotions completely overwhelm you, you don't understand anything anymore. At first they looked at you with hatred and did their best to make your life a living hell, which isn't that strange since you were a bitch. Then they find out who your brother was and suddenly they look at you with sadness and pity and they are reserved, as if they didn't want to torment you anymore. As if the fact that Timmy was your brother suddenly changed everything.

With every punch you get angrier and angrier. Suddenly you see red and you snap. You get so angry that you grab Brown by the base of his queue, pull him down and slam your knee into his face. You feel his nose break and you faintly hear Quaritch yelling in the background for you to stop. It's like you're underwater, everything is muffled and you can't stop. You hit harder and harder. Brown leans on his knees and tries to block you as much as possible while also trying to stop his bleeding nose.

You feel someone wrap their arms around your waist and pull you away from Brown. You continue to fight and struggle to get out of the grip on your waist. Ja is seen kneeling in front of Brown and taking off his t-shirt to gently press it against his nose, hoping to slow the bleeding. The person with his arms around your waist roughly throws you to the ground, you land wrongly on your newly healed ankle and fall to the ground. You hold your ankle with your jaw clenched.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?!” Quaritch sneers. Before you can answer he continues, his voice louder with each word. "Stop your pathetic crying and get out of my sight!" You rub your cheeks and find that they are damp, you didn't even realize you were crying. You carefully stand up, careful not to put too much weight on your probably bruised ankle again. You look at the others and see that they are looking at you with anger and sadness. Just before you walk out the door you hear Quaritch coldly say, "If you know what's good for you, you won't come back until I say so." With one last look at the bleeding Brown, you walk out the door.

You stumble back to the Avatar's quarters and you sink onto your Avatar's bed and close your eyes. When you open your eyes again, you are lying in the link bed. The moment the bed opens, you quickly get up and forget about your bruised ankle. For the second time today your ankle collapses. The scientists look at you, but do nothing to help you. You manage to pull yourself up and limp out of the lab. Every scientist you walk past looks at you with disgust.

The nerds refuse to help you. After yet another injury, they gave up and left you to your fate. "Good," you think bitterly, "I don't need those know-it-alls, I can take care of myself." But deep down you know that's not true, right now you need your brother more than you ever needed him after he passed away.

You manage to avoid the busy hallways, limping to your room. The moment the door closes behind you you start screaming. You blindly grab the first object you feel, your favorite mug, and throw it across the room against the wall. Then you throw the next object, the book you were reading. You almost destroy your entire room and you keep screaming until your throat is so raw that no sound comes out. You don't even realize how much time has passed.

You grab another object and want to throw it against the wall when you see what it is. A photo frame with a photo of you and your brother. God, you seemed so happy then, together in your own little world. You hug the picture frame close to your chest and sink along the wall to the floor, crying. All the grief you have built up in you over the past few years is finally coming out.

It's already dark outside when your door opens. You start telling whoever it is to fuck off, but no sound comes out of your throat. You're so tired and in so much pain that you don't have the energy to do anything about the unwanted person who comes into your room. All you can do is stare blankly into space as the tears continue to flow.

You faintly hear footsteps in your room and out of the corner of your eye you see a large blue figure crouching on the floor next to you. You feel yourself being pulled into someone's blue arms, but you don't have the energy to protest, you barely have the energy to move your eyes. The blue arms gently lay you down on your bed. Through your blurred eyes you vaguely recognize Yes. Past him you'll see Walker and Mansk trying to salvage some of your destroyed room. Then Lopez walks in, pausing in shock when he sees the state of your room. His eyes land on Ja and your exhausted form. He approaches the two of you carefully and hands Ja a white box with a red cross.

You vaguely realize that Ja is putting ice on your ankle, that he is using an alcohol wipe to clean the wounds that you didn't even realize you had. He grabs a pair of tweezers and starts removing the pieces of glass from your wounds. You feel so numb that you don't even feel the pain. The mattress moves and you see Prager sit on the edge of your bed.

He waits until Ja has cleaned and bandaged your hands before handing you a steaming mug. "It's chamomile tea with honey. It's soothing and will help with your sore throat." When you don't respond and just stare blankly at him, he puts the mug on the nightstand next to your bed.

You don't react yet until you see Ja with a syringe in his hands. You start to struggle and try to scream, but only a rasp comes from your throat. "Hey, hey, calm down." Ja holds his hands up. You curl up on your bed in the corner of your room, wide-eyed, shaking and ignoring the blood through the bandages. “Hey, read the name of the drug,” Ja says calmly and holds the bottle out to you. You relax slightly when you see that it is a sedative.

Yes, he brings the syringe with the drug to your arm and if you don't protest, he pushes the needle into your arm and allows the drug to flow into your system. Your eyes become heavy and you fall into a dreamless sleep.

When you wake up again it is still dark outside. You roll your head to the side and see part of your squad, or it's probably your old squad by now, sitting in various places on the floor in your room. A painful, rough growl erupts from your throat as you feel blades shooting through your skull with the movement of your head. Immediately seven heads shoot towards your weak form.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" you hear Ja ask softly. You try to answer, but your throat is so dry that no words come out. Prager offers you the still steaming cup of tea, you sit up a little and take it gratefully. The first sip immediately soothes your sore throat. You look at Ja and say a soft "Okay." Ja sighs in relief and runs a tired hand through his hair.

"What time is it?" you ask softly. Prager looks at his watch, "zero three hundred." ‘Did I sleep that short?’ you think to yourself 'I feel like I've been hibernating.' Prager sees your questioning look and informs you that your training session and outburst was the day before yesterday and that you slept for over twenty-four hours. In the meantime, Ja has taken care of all your injuries, both your bruised ankle, which was completely swollen and blue because you didn't treat it right away and put too much strain on it during your outburst, and all the wounds from broken glass. Apparently you sat with your thigh in a pile of glass, which is how you got a large wound on your leg.

Z-dog, Walker, Mansk, Fike and Lopez cleaned up your room as much as possible and they even had to scrub blood from the floor, walls and furniture. They threw away all the broken items and even replaced some broken items. On the small counter you see your favorite mug, the one that was the first thing you broke. Lopez says that he and Fike did their best to glue it together as best they could, but it's not how it once was.

Apparently Prager didn't help clean up and just sat by your bed. He only got up to make you a new cup of chamomile tea with honey every time the tea started to get lukewarm, so that when you woke up you could immediately drink the warm tea if you wanted. According to Walker, he made dozens of cups of tea.

There is an awkward silence. “We have something to tell you,” Prager begins. The others move closer until they sit in a semicircle around your bed. You look at them questioningly and suspiciously. “We knew your brother,” Fike mutters under his breath. Lopez jabs him hard in the side and tells him to shut up. You try to sit upright as much as possible. "What?" you rasp.

Walker reaches out to you, as if to reassure you, but her hand stops in mid-air. Finally, she places her hand next to you on the bed, palm up, as if offering for you to take her hand if you want, if you need it. "It's true, we knew him," she says softly, "we knew him one day..." she trails off a bit and looks at the others uncertainly. “We knew him on a very, very personal level,” Ja continued.

You look at everyone in confusion. The Recoms see your confused look, but don't know how to respond. "We loved him," Ja said uncertainly. Your eyes start to water again, but you wipe them away roughly, you've cried enough. “What do you mean, you guys loved him,” you demand. Yes sigh, "we met him when he arrived on Pandora, he joined our squad as an engineer and Marine." You feel a pressure in your chest and you realize that you have replaced your brother in the squad.

"It didn't take long for us all to fall in love with him," Prager explains further and the others nod in agreement, "Miles, Lyle and Brown too." "He chose to go with Jake Sully to warn the Na'vi." Your emotions rise higher and higher, not only yours, also those of the Recoms. "We didn't know he was in the helicopter with Trudy, we really didn't know, otherwise Miles would never have given the order to shoot down the helicopter." You risk a look at the blue aliens and see the grief and sadness in their eyes and realize that they really loved him.

"Can you please leave me alone for a moment?" you whisper softly. The Recoms look at each other uncertainly, but decide to leave you alone. Mansk and Walker will stand outside your door so that in case you have another emotional breakdown, they will hear and they can help you.

As soon as you are alone, you start to cry softly again. And instead of having an emotional breakdown, you curl up in a ball on the corner of your bed and cry quietly so no one can hear. You are still so exhausted by all the emotions that you soon fall asleep again.

When you wake up again, you see that it is now daytime again. You stand up, careful not to step on your bruised ankle, and you hop to the sink. In the mirror you see that your eyes are red and swollen from crying. You also have a large cut on from the bottom of your jaw to the side of your nose, right under your eye. You look like complete shit.

You struggle out of your clothes and stop when you see all the wounds on your naked body. You didn't realize it was that serious. You carefully put on clean clothes. As you carefully hop out the door, you see Mansk and Walker still standing outside the door. They ignore all the confused looks from those passing by and focus their attention on you. They look at you with concern and mild concern.

"The colonel asked if we would take you to the Recom quarters when you were awake," Mansk informs, his voice, as always, devoid of emotion. You nod doubtfully and expect him to tell you that he is sending you back to earth. Mansk and Walker walk quickly in front of you, not realizing that you can't keep up with their bruised ankle and their long legs. Walker quickly realizes that you are a long way behind them and lightly hits Mansk on the arm, signaling that you cannot walk fast. The female Recom walks back to you to offer her support if you need it, while Mansk waits patiently for you to catch up.

The two slowly guide you to their living quarters. When you finally stagger into their living room, you see the rest of the squad sitting tensely in various places around the room. Your gaze shifts to Brown, who is lying on the couch with his swollen nose in bandages. You immediately feel guilty, you shouldn't have taken out your anger and all your other pent-up emotions on him.

You hear someone clear their throat and look up at Quaritch, who is staring at you intensely. You had never been in such a tense situation in your human body around the Recoms before, they only make you feel smaller. Quaritch sighs tiredly and gestures for you to sit on the couch, after a struggle and help from Walker you finally sit on the couch.

Quaritch sits across from you, resting his elbows on his knees. "What they told you is true," he begins, "we really loved your brother and we miss him every day. If I…" he trails off. "If I had known he was in that helicopter, I would never have given the order," he looks genuinely remorseful. “Here,” Lyle says, holding out a piece of photo to you. The photo shows the Recoms, in their deceased human bodies, and in the center, with Lyle's lips on his left cheek, Brown's on his right, and Lopez with his hyena grin hanging over his head, is your brother. He has the widest and happiest smile you have ever seen on his face. You don't know why, but suddenly you're sure he loved them, you believe the Recoms. Your brother was always an excellent judge of character and if he loved them too, as you see in the photo, you believe he was happy with them.

You give the photo back to Lyle and he offers you another photo. Another photo of your brother, this time he is sitting in the pilot seat of a helicopter with a toothy, silly grin. You smile sadly at the photo and hand it back to Lyle. He shakes his head, "keep the photo, we have several copies."

“We should never have treated you this way,” Quaritch says firmly. "We didn't know Timmy was your brother and I know it's not an excuse, but I'm sure we would have been different if we had known." You laugh softly and see the confused, slightly offended look in their eyes. "I was a bitch to you and besides, I came here planning to kill you all as revenge for what you did to my brother." You take in the shocked looks, slightly enjoying it. "I don't think I'll do it again, Timmy wouldn't want to."

“You know,” Lyle begins, “Your brother told us all about you, he loved you so much and he was so proud of you.” You smile sadly. "I know." "He also said he always called you butterfly, why was that?" Walker asks. "Our parents always called me an ugly duckling, so my brother started calling me butterfly, because a caterpillar blossoms into a beautiful butterfly." It was always your most favorite nickname anyone had ever given you. “And as a kid I was always hyper and he said I was always fluttering around like a butterfly.”

You suddenly frown and turn your attention to Brown. "I'm sorry, I should never have lost my temper to the extent that I hurt you." Brown looks at you in surprise. "Seriously?" he asks angrily and you recoil. "We have tormented you for weeks, months and you apologize to me?!" he asks incredulously. "And besides, I deserved it, I think we all deserve a broken nose, probably worse."

"Absolutely not, I don't want to deal with nine broken noses plus my own, we will pay for our actions in another way." Protested Yes. Brown pouts, "but if my nose heals wrong, at least I'm not the only one with an ugly, crooked nose." You smile and feel yourself relax slightly.

The following hours and then even weeks consist of exchanging stories about Timmy. Sometimes you laugh, like your story about his baking attempt for your eighth birthday that resulted in a cake literally exploding. And sometimes you cry, like their story about how he curled up next to them at movie night, just like you always did with him.

In addition, every Recoms continues to apologize every day. Ja personally sees to it that you heal completely, while he also has to listen to Brown's whining about his nose.

You slowly warm up to the Recoms, seeing and appreciating their efforts to earn your forgiveness. But after a few weeks you also start to feel things that you don't know how to feel. Every time Ja gently holds your chin in his hand to tend to the cut on your face, you feel his touch long after he lets you go. Every time Walker deliberately walks next to you to offer you support when you need it, you can't stop blushing.

It feels wrong, falling for your dead brother's lovers. It feels wrong, but also so good. You have decided to ignore your feelings, you have convinced yourself that they will go away on their own. But you didn't know that the Recoms feel the same way. Not because you are part of your brother, but because you are simply a wonderful person.

About five months after your breakdown, you and the squad are on a mission in the Hallelujah Mountains when you are suddenly attacked by several Thanators. You scatter in different directions, hoping to get rid of the Thanators with minimal casualties. You run with Prager and Z-dog through the thick jungle, fleeing from the two Thanators who are chasing you. The three of you don't have much luck when you stumble upon atop a waterfall on the edge of a high cliff.

You look around in panic, looking for a way out as the Thanators get closer and closer. "We have to jump!" Z-dog shouts. "WHAT?!" you shout back. "JUMP!" she shouts again as she grabs your hand and pulls you off the cliff. You scream all the way down to the lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Fortunately, the Thanators do not follow.

When you finally manage to get to the beach at the edge of the lake, you see Prager lying on his back in the sand, chest heaving. “Prager, are you okay?” you ask worriedly, slipping into the role of medic. Prager gives a tired thumbs up, "Let's never do that again." You hear sputtering behind you and see Z-dog walking onto the beach, her mohawk hanging wet in her face with a pissed off expression.

The two of you plop down on the sand next to Prager and let your clothes dry in the sun. After a while you hear sounds in the jungle, sounds that are getting closer. Prager and Z-dog are immediately in a crouching position. Prager pushes you behind him as he and Z-dog point their guns in the direction the sounds are coming from. "You don't think the Thanators found us, do you?" you ask nervously.

Then the rest of the squad bursts onto the mini beach. Quaritch sighs in relief when he sees the three of you. “Thank god, I thought something had happened to you guys when you didn't come back,” he studies you carefully, “why are you guys so wet?” Z-dog explains what happened and the rest look at you in shock. Quaritch walks over to you and gently takes your chin in his hands. "Are you OK?" he asks worriedly. You nod reassuringly. Quaritch sighs in relief and rests his forehead against yours.

“Thank god, I was worried about you my love,” you look up abruptly when you hear the nickname. Quaritch himself seems shocked at what he called you. You see the rest of the Recoms with the same look, until Fike breaks the silence, "why are we surprised, we all already knew we fell for her?" Lopez sighs in annoyance, "Yes, but she didn't know that."

"You guys fell for me?" you ask in shock. Quaritch rubs his neck uncomfortably. “Yes, we know it's weird because of your brother, but we can't help it.” "And the biology of the Na'vi is different, we can't control ourselves if we find someone attractive." Ja explains.

The following hours and then even weeks consist of exchanging stories about Timmy. Sometimes you laugh, like your story about his baking attempt for your eighth birthday that resulted in a cake literally exploding. And sometimes you cry, like their story about how he curled up next to them at movie night, just like you always did with him.

In addition, every Recoms continues to apologize every day. Ja personally sees to it that you heal completely, while he also has to listen to Brown's whining about his nose.

You slowly warm up to the Recoms, seeing and appreciating their efforts to earn your forgiveness. But after a few weeks you also start to feel things that you don't know how to feel. Every time Ja gently holds your chin in his hand to tend to the cut on your face, you feel his touch long after he lets you go. Every time Walker deliberately walks next to you to offer you support when you need it, you can't stop blushing.

It feels wrong, falling for your dead brother's lovers. It feels wrong, but also so good. You have decided to ignore your feelings, you have convinced yourself that they will go away on their own. But you didn't know that the Recoms feel the same way. Not because you are part of your brother, but because you are simply a wonderful person.

About five months after your collapse, you and the squad are on a mission in the Hallelujah Mountains when you are suddenly attacked by several Thanators. You scatter in different directions, hoping to get rid of the Thanators with minimal casualties. You run with Prager and Z-dog through the thick jungle, fleeing from the two Thanators who are chasing you. The three of you don't have much luck when you stumble upon atop a waterfall on the edge of a high cliff.

You look around in panic, looking for a way out as the Thanators get closer and closer. "We have to jump!" Z-dog shouts. "WHAT?!" you shout back. "TO JUMP!" she shouts again as she grabs your hand and pulls you off the cliff. You scream all the way down to the lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Fortunately, the Thanators do not follow.

When you finally manage to get to the beach at the edge of the lake, you see Prager lying on his back in the sand, chest heaving. “Prager, are you okay?” you ask worriedly, slipping into the role of medic. Prager gives a thumbs up, "Let's never do that again." You hear sputtering behind you and see Z-dog walking onto the beach, her mohawk hanging wet in her face with a pissed off expression.

The two of you plop down on the sand next to Prager and let your clothes dry in the sun. After a while you hear sounds in the jungle, sounds that are getting closer. Prager and Z-dog are immediately in a crouching position. Prager pushes you behind him as he and Z-dog point their guns in the direction the sounds are coming from. "You don't think the Thanators found us, do you?" you ask nervously.

Then the rest of the squad bursts onto the mini beach. Quaritch sighs in relief when he sees the three of you. “Thank god, I thought something had happened to you guys when you didn't come back,” he studies you carefully, “why are you guys so wet?” Z-dog explains what happened and the rest look at you in shock. Quaritch walks over to you and gently takes your chin in his hands. "Are you OK?" he asks worriedly. You nod reassuringly. Quaritch sighs in relief and rests his forehead against yours.

“Thank god, I was worried about you my love,” you look up abruptly when you hear the nickname. Quaritch himself seems shocked at what he called you. You see the rest of the Recoms with the same look, until Fike breaks the silence, "why are we surprised, we all already knew we fell for her?" Lopez sighs in annoyance, "Yes, but she didn't know that."

"You guys fell for me?" you ask in shock. Quaritch rubs his neck uncomfortably. “Yes, we know it's weird because of your brother, but we can't help it.” "And the biology of the Na'vi is different, we can't control ourselves if we find someone attractive." Ja explains.

Their eyes slide over your body with interest as they see how your body reacts to their confession. And this time, when you feel yourself shivering, you also feel the heat pooling in your core.

[theflagscene]

Wait! How!? When!? Where!? How is White suddenly there!? How did Tee meet White!? You can’t just play upbeat music and have the boys running around to show the passage of time and not explain how the fucking villain of the story got the most adorably innocent lil princess boyfriend on the planet!

Phee, bringing Jin on a date to the same place you and Non liked to go is just weird. I hate people who use the same ‘date’ spots for their new partners that they used with their past partners and no, this isn’t me projecting, why do you ask!? Lmao 😂 shut up it’s still tacky af

‘Friend’ the dreaded word.

What is with the ass slapping and window sex!? I mean, I get that they’re supposed to 18 year old boys, who are by definition perverted, but that was some porn level shit. Also, again, no prep. Phee wasn’t even the one blown so it’s not like they were even using spit for lube, or an already lubed condom. What is this, another ABO show? Just having the dudes slick and sliding all over one another apparently.

Ta’s got a decent ass at least, good for him.

“Did you cheat on my brother?” Nah, pretty sure they broke up when Phee saw him being raw dogged by the teacher and then told him to go die, but whatever helps you sleep at night Tan.

“Don’t fall in love with him.” Yeah, I think it’s too late for that.

Oh, mom is not looking so great. Hmm, something tells me that video isn’t real. Mom knows what’s up, it’s finally hit her, her baby’s dead. The actress did a fantastic job of a mother realizing the truth of the death of her child, it’s a startling realization that does take your legs out from under you. Your mind blanks, you can’t think about anything but the last time you saw them, the last terrible thing you said, all you can do is try not to scream. - That got a little too dark and real, sorry.

news.boc.com Cute BoC, very cute.

How long were Phee and Jin supposed to have been fucking by now? Weeks? Months? Because Jin has gotten very emotionally invested very quickly, which is appropriate for teenagers I suppose.

Two years, so they’d be in their what, second year of uni? Tan has gone full mad scientist I see.

Wait, he called to tell Tan that his mom was dead and it was her funeral that day and he just showed tf up! When his dad thought he was still in England!? Lmao, that’s fricking hilarious. I know, I know, wrong reaction to this scene but I’m weird, what can I say.

Oops, bye bye daddy. No wonder Tan is so fucking nuts! That would drive anyone insane. He literally needs Non to be alive otherwise he’s lost everything for nothing.

Is Tan his own guinea pig for his drugs!? Jesus dude, get some help.

Question, were Phee and Jin fucking during their time at university too? Or are you telling me all this ‘I love him’ crap was from one night of decent dick and a few ‘best friend dates’? Like the math ain’t mathing, establish a better timeline here for me when it comes to their relationship because in the first episode it made it seem like they were screwing around for a really long time, months at the very least. But now it seems like they fucked around a couple times in one 12 hour period, Jin decided that was enough to wanna date, caught Phee in a mood because of the fake news report and then they just… what? Kept fucking? Stopped? Jin carried a torch for him for over two years after one night together? Acted like a scorned lover for years because of a single teenaged tryst? Not to be that guy, but girl, you’re coming off a little desperate. I need a more accurate timeline!!!

“This won’t kill them.” Tan, could you try and be a tad more convincing when saying that?

That was a fantastic look from Tan to end on, ngl. Although someone needs to save baby White!

Next episode, we’re back in the present for the most part it seems. Jin somehow still trusts Phee, Fluke somehow gets the gun back and oh look, he holds White hostage, poor bb did nothing, leave him alone! And Tee clearly does know what happened to both Non and Keng as he runs up onto the roof where his uncle is to see the pair… unconscious? Dead? One of each?

I want some backstory about how White fits into all of this next time as well, that would be great. Although considering how little the timeline of events during grade 12 are fully explained, I doubt knowing more about White would make very much sense at this point.

[luvrrgirl444]

chapter 13: reading ur confessions

a month later

“hi, my stars!” you said to the camera. you were sitting in your pink and black gaming chair, with your ipad in hand.

“big momma is back again, and today i’m gonna be reading your-” you pointed to the camera. “-confessions.”

“i made a google form and told you guys to send your crazy confessions. so, let’s read some confessions.”

you opened the google form on your ipad. “kinda excited to see the shit y’all sent me.” you said with a smile. you went to the responses and scrolled to a random one.

“alright, first one.”

“when i was 14 i met a guy on imvu, i’ll call him bob.” you paused. “first mistake. girl, why were you playing imvu at 14? speaking from experience, that app is a crazy place to be on. anyways, on with the story.”

“bob told me that he was 15 and that he lived in the same state as me. we talked for a while and then he suggested that we met up. me, being young and dumb said yes and we decided to meet up at a nearby mall.”

“you met up with a guy you met on imvu.” you said, looking at the camera with an ‘are you serious?’ look. “let’s think about that for a second.” the jeopardy music started to play.

the music played for a couple seconds before it stopped. “at least you were smart enough not to go to his house or something. a round of applause for you.” you started clapping, and soon sound effects of cheers and claps joined you.

“alright. alright.”

“when i went to the meeting spot, i met with ‘bob’. but apparently bob actually lived in another country and used his younger friend’s pictures to catfish me. me and the guy both decided to report and block bob and we later started dating. im 17 now and me and the guy are still dating.”

“i was not expecting that ending at all. glad you guys are still going strong and i hope that weird ass bitch bob goes behind bars because that man deserves JAIL.” you looked at the camera while police sirens played. you took a deep breath before saying,

“anyways, onto the next.”

“when i was 6 years old i really hated my neighbor. one day at school she beat me in a race and i was so angry i pissed in a cup and gave it to her to drink.”

“girl.” you said, staring at the camera once again.

“you gave that poor girl pee to drink because she beat you in a race? now, thats some next level hating.”

“she told me it tasted funny but proceeded to drink all of it. she didn’t come to school for the next two weeks. i asked my mom what happened to her and she told me that the girl got an infection and was so serious that she had to go to the hospital. 11 years later and nobody knows it was me. i still hate that bitch.”

“i have so many questions. did she die? are you guys still neighbors? what the fuck?”

you read a few more confessions. some asking you for advice, others admitting crazy shit that they’ve done.

“so i’m gonna end the video here. definitely a little bit scared of you guys, but i had fun reading your confessions! thank you for watching and i love you to the moon and back!” you finished, blowing a kiss to the camera.

🫧

- finally wrote another yt video

taglist !! : @greeniegreengreen @hahaimnotdeadyet @bakuhoes-bxtch @itzgabz22 @princess-jaeger @marsandsaturn @violenthots @urlovemaze @conniesbbymama @llovergirlll @iheartamajiki @444yeager @liliorsstuff-blog @hoohoohope @akvrae @rinslutz @kokxm1

[rowyn-writes]

Cinnamon and Sugar

Chapter Four

Warnings: None

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Characters: Dean, Jo, Reader, Benny Laffite (mentioned only)

Word count: 1.5k

You looked around your nearly empty apartment. Pretty much everything was packed up, and what wasn't was going to be thrown away. You still had a few days until you had to move, but today was moving day. The truck was going to be there in four hours, and there was still things to be done.

You had searched for days on end for another apartment, not wanting to impose on Dean. When nothing came up, you finally decided to take Dean up on his offer. Dean was very sweet about the entire thing. He already had a spare bedroom set up, and even a cat bed for Storm. Hell, he even offered to help you move, to which you declined politely. He had already done so much for you and he barely knew you.

Normally, you would find the entire situation strange, but there was something about Dean, like he would never hurt you.

"Alright, Storm." You said, looking around. "Are you ready to go to your new home?" Your cat gave a sad meow. "No, silly, I meant a new home with me. I'm not leaving you behind." Storm began purring as he weaved between your legs. "God, you're a weird cat."

Not only were you stressed about having to move out, but you also had midterms in three days. But then you had Christmas break; four weeks off of school where you could just sit around in your pajamas and watch Christmas movies.

"Knock knock." A voice said, opening the door. "It's your favorite person!"

You rolled your eyes as you looked at the blonde girl. "Since when are you my favorite person, Jo?"

"Since we were ten, duh. Besides, I have to be your favorite, I'm here to help you finish packing and move your stuff into Dean's house." Jo said, grabbing a stack of books and neatly placing them in a box. "Even though I offered to let you stay at my place."

"Jo," You sighed. "I told you, if your landlord caught me living at your apartment, then you would be kicked out and neither of us would have a place to live."

"I know, It's just. . . You barely know Dean. He could be a serial killer."

"And that would be an upgrade from the last guy I lived with, so. . ."

"Y/N," Jo shook her head.

"Jo."

"Are you okay?" She asked gently. "You haven't really talked about Michael all that much and-"

"It's because I don't want to talk about it." You stopped her. "When I'm ready to tell you what happened, I will. But right now, I'm nowhere near ready to discuss it. No matter how much you and Jack badger me about it."

"We badger you because we care, Y/N/N." Jo objected.

"I know you do, but sometimes it's best to just give me some time. I promise I'll talk to you guys about it soon. Just give me a little more time."

Jo gave you a worried look but said nothing else. "So, what are you doing for Christmas?"

You made a face at your best friend. She was jumping from one touchy subject to the next. "I don't know. . . If Jack doesn't come home from Duke, I might go visit him. You could come too. Make a road trip out of it."

"That's a sixteen hour drive, Y/N. If we were to visit Jack, we would be taking a plane." Jo said as she packed up a few band t-shirts.

"Do you have money for a ticket?" You arched an eyebrow. "Cuz I sure as hell don't."

"Touché."

You decided to play some music while the two of you continued to pack up your apartment. Listening to music was the only way to make you unwind. You loved to her the loud beat of the drums and the hum of the guitar. The two of you danced around as you tossed things into boxes.

"Aren't your neighbors doing to report this?" Jo asked loudly over the music.

"What are they gonna do? Kick me out?" You responded, jumping around.

"This is why I love you!" Jo giggled.

Two hours later, you had everything packed up, and the stuff that wasn't was sorted into two piles: Throw away, and donate.

You and Jo fell back onto the couch, both of you out of breath. "I am exhausted." You wheezed.

"You're telling me." Jo agreed. "Hey, you wanna get some pizza?"

"If you're buying."

———

"So," You said, after taking a bite out of your pizza. "Why didn't you want to pursue anything with Dean again?"

"I mean, it's not that I didn't. He's a nice guy, super hot, pretty smart, but it just didn't seem right." Jo explained. "It's almost like I was stealing him from someone. I could tell that he didn't belong with me."

"Huh," You furrowed your eyebrows. "I've literally never heard someone say that about having sex before." You laughed.

"Oh shut up!" Jo growled. "You make it out to sound like I'm crazy."

"I mean. . ."

Jo glared at you from across the table. "I will hit you with something."

"I'd like to see you try. Your aim sucks." You challenged. Jo hurriedly got up and picked up a pillow from on the couch and chucked it at your head. "Hey!"

"Well, would you look at that, I guess my aim doesn't suck after all." Jo smirked.

"You little -" You picked up the pillow she threw at you and aimed for her stomach.

There was a knock at the door, which interrupted the fight that you were having with Jo.

You opened the door to see Dean on the other side. "Dean, hey! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to help you move." He said simply.

"Dean I-"

"Nope, you can't stop me." He chuckled as he lifted a box into his arms. "Whatever doesn't fit in the moving van I can put in my car."

You and Jo watched as he carried three boxes out the door. "God he is so sexy." Jo mumbled.

"I thought you said chasing after Dean would be like stealing something from someone?" You inquired, a light grin on your face.

"Doesn't mean I can't admire his great ass." You rolled your eyes and flicked Jo's ear.

"Perv." You mumbled as you grabbed a box and followed Dean out the door. Within twenty minutes, everything had been loaded onto the van.

"Well, that's everything." You huffed, resting your hands on your hips. "Okay, so, Jo and I are going to follow you in our cars, and we'll see you at your house."

You picked up Storm's carrier and put him in the back seat. He was sound asleep, as you slipped a Benadryl in his food earlier because it put him to sleep easily. Storm hated car rides with a burning passion.

It was about a twenty minute drive from your apartment to Dean's place, which was a good thing; you weren't too far away from the coffee shop. His house seemed to be in a good neighborhood. 

Jo parked the moving van beside Dean's car. Dean hopped out of his car and began grabbing boxes, taking them inside the house. After several trips back to the car, you finally had all of your boxes in the house. You crouch down and let Storm out of his carrier, and he darts into a corner, glaring at you. "Aaand now he's pissed." You chuckle softly.

"Ah, he'll get over it, sweetheart. Especially when he becomes hungry." Dean comments as he starts helping you unpack.

"Well, it looks like y'all have this handled. I'm gonna go, it's way too crowded in here anyways." Jo says, giving you a hug before leaving.

You and Dean worked in silence for a while as you unpacked. It wasn't an excessive amount of stuff, mostly things for your room. "I'll unpack the clothes, you don't have to worry about that." You tell Dean as he brings in a box labeled 'clothes'. "Thanks for letting me live with you, Dean. I didn't know what I was gonna do. . ." You say quietly.

"Nah, don't worry about it sweetheart, I look at it as a win-win situation. You have a place to stay and I have good company." He gives you a boyish grin.

"Still, I really owe you one. . . I'll have rent to you the first of the month and we can go half on the utilities." You say as you unpack your clothes, putting them in your dresser.

"Don't stress too much on that, sweetheart. I know times are tough, just pitch in when you can, okay?" He gives you a reassuring smile, gently squeezing your shoulder. "I'll leave you to get settled in. I'll order us some Chinese food."

"Oooh, that sounds really good right now." You sigh happily. "Marry me?"

Dean snorts as he looks at his phone. "You're starting to sound like Benny, there, sugar." 

"What can I say, it runs in the family." You joke. Dean left to go pick up the food and you were left alone in you thoughts. It was strange to be living somewhere other than your apartment, especially with this man that you met not even three weeks ago. But you trusted Dean, there was just something about his personality that just made you feel safe and secure. Storm jumped on the bed, looking up at you.

"Hey there buddy. . . I know, tell me about it, this whole thing is strange. . ." You sigh as you gently pet him. "Everything's gonna be okay. . ." You weren't sure if you were trying to convince your cat or yourself.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Cinnamon and Sugar Tags:

@vicmc624 @supernatural-jackles @laycblack @casdeancrowleys-blog @my-proof-is-you

[sariahsue]

Let Me Count the Ways (aka Chat Noir's List of Ladybug's New Habits)

Chapter One - The Gala

Chat Noir thought it might be a good idea to start keeping a list of all the strange things Ladybug had been doing lately. It might help him to figure out what it all meant. There was the stumbling, the stuttering, the blushing. It had appeared out of nowhere.

No, that wasn't quite right. It had all started when they were dancing at the gala, when she'd been so nervous that she tripped over the perfectly flat marble floor and smashed her face into his chest.

It had been the night of the annual Heroes Day gala, and they were the guests of honor. It was also the fourth time they would be spending the holiday together as a team, and Ladybug couldn't have been more anxious.

Reporters thronged the edges of the hall. The entire room filled to bursting with Paris's elite. Ladybug twisted in his arms, trying to spot anyone staring at them.

"Oh, I think that's Brigitte Bardot dancing with Jean Reno. They're both looking this way. Do you think they're talking about us? I wish the cameramen would turn their flashes off. I hate knowing when they're taking pictures."

Chat Noir just wished she would look at him.

"I think they're admiring the chandeliers actually," he said without so much as glancing over. He squeezed the hand she'd laid so lightly in his, but it wasn't enough to make her turn toward him. "And you have nothing to worry about. You look fine."

It would have been so easy to slip in "stunning" or "as beautiful as you always do," but it had been a long time since he'd last declared his love for her. She hadn't appreciated his attention back then, and she certainly didn't want it now with everyone watching. So with practiced severity, he stuffed those words and feelings back down again.

He no longer told her that he loved her with dramatic declarations. But he could still tell her in all the subtle ways. In how he treated her, the encouragement he gave her, how he held her on special occasions like tonight.

Muffled thunder echoed outside the building. Flickering flashes of lightning mixed with the cameras.

"I hate this," she said. "I hate that I'm still so nervous about these events."

"You don't have a reason to be," he said, not knowing what else to do.

"I know." She finally, finally looked at him, eyes a little wider than normal. "But it doesn't keep me from wondering what if. What if I spill something on myself and there's 500 pictures of it? What if someone asks me something I don't know the answer to and I say something stupid? What if I step on my dress and–"

She stepped forward. Chat Noir felt the exact moment she lost her balance. Her knee hit his shin. Her hand gripped his. And she faceplanted right into his chest.

His battle-honed reflexes were their saving grace. He twisted in a semicircle, dipping her in one fluid motion. The coattails of his suit flapped behind him. To any casual viewer, her misstep wouldn't have been noticeable (he hoped), just a showy dance maneuver.

They paused there, face to face, both holding their breaths, waiting for the reaction, but there were only a few scattered claps at his move. No twittering of gossip or thinly concealed laughter. Both of Ladybug's hands were on his shoulders for balance. Her grip loosened, and he could feel her body relaxing, unwinding, in his arms.

"Thanks, Chaton."

Their noses were almost brushing. All he would have to do was pull her up a little and their lips would be brushing too.

Gently, slowly, already mourning the feeling of holding her, he pulled them both up to standing and stepped back into the music like the whole thing had been planned.

"Of course," he said. After being so close to her, his face hovering over hers, the respectful six inches of minimum distance he'd been forcing himself to keep all night felt like a chasm. "Anything for my partner."

She shot him a grateful smile, cheeks still tinged pink with embarrassment.

They were silent for the next few minutes, while Ladybug matched his steps and kept her eyes trained on the hand she was resting on his shoulder, and the heat slowly left her face. Thunder rumbled. The conversation of two hundred people hummed in the background. Chat Noir focused on keeping his hand light on her waist and his eyes away from her mouth.

"I can't believe I did that," she finally said. "I'm so embarrassed."

He shrugged as the music ended and their feet stilled. "I like watching you mess up." That had come out wrong. "Wait."

Ladybug stuck out her tongue at him, but she didn't move her hands off of him. "You falling on your face is pretty amusing for me too."

"I just meant that I love it when you make mistakes in front of me. That wasn't right either." He glanced up at the ceiling for inspiration. It was easier than watching how her cute nose wrinkled in amusement.

"Cat got your tongue, kitten? You're not very eloquent tonight." The hand on his shoulder slid until she poked a finger into his neck. "Unless you're trying to insult me?"

"It's that–" he struggled to find the words for the feelings that he had. "I want to keep your mistakes to myself?"

She raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt him again. The orchestra had started the final song of the night, but they stood in the middle of the ballroom unmoving.

"I like seeing your vulnerabilities. And if I'm the only one who sees them, it's like I get to see a super special secret side of you, that I get to keep all to myself. I know you hate getting embarrassed, but…" He wondered if he was overstepping a boundary here. He couldn't tell her that he loved to see her blush, or that her sheepish smile was adorable, or the way she took ownership for her wrongs and was able to correct them with grace were qualities he admired her for. "But I know it's difficult for you, so I'm happy that you feel like you can share it with me. That's all."

Ah, that had probably sounded dumb. Ladybug was staring at him, slack jawed. The longer she stood there, blush growing deeper and deeper, the more he started to fear that it hadn't just sounded dumb but also offensive. Maybe she didn't feel like she could share it with him. Maybe she hated being embarrassed more than he had thought, and she didn't appreciate him calling extra attention to her insecurities.

A loud crash of thunder made them both jump. The lights in the room flickered. Chat Noir turned and looked at the rest of the guests, but most were already returning to their conversations after the brief interruption. When he turned back to Ladybug, she seemed to have regained a little of her composure. Her stare was a little softer, anyway.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to–" He wasn't even sure how she was taking it. He hated not knowing how to apologize and smooth it over.

"Won't d-dorry. Worry don't," she stuttered.

"You good, Bug?"

"Fess! Fine. Yes. Yes, everything is fine. Swell, even."

"Swell?"

She looked stricken. "Did I just say 'swell'?" Ladybug didn't wait for an answer. Her grip on him tightened. It had been a few minutes since they had stopped dancing, but their hands were still in proper form, and he could feel all ten of her fingers through his glove and the shoulder of his jacket.

Her eyes grew wider, she swallowed hard, and then she whispered a breathless, "Oh." Then she dropped her head onto his open shoulder, her face turned away from him. She pulled their joined hands in more tightly against her body and stepped closer to him, like she was trying to stay warm.

"I'm such a disaster. Why now?"

The question was so quiet that he didn't think it was meant for him, so he didn't answer.

His breath made the loose hairs at the nape of her neck flutter, and he tried to focus on that instead of how perfectly she had lined herself up to him. He counted the freckles dusting her exposed shoulders instead of thinking how easy it would be to slide his arm fully around her waist and pull in closer and hold her more tightly against him. Instead of mapping every point of contact as she leaned against him, he slid his eyes along the column of her neck, memorizing how the light played against it.

Her neck. In the position they were in, it would be easy to lean over and kiss her there. What would her skin taste like? They'd been dancing all night. Would it be warm and salty with sweat? Or would it taste like she smelled, like bread and a hint of her shampoo?

He realized his face was drifting toward her, and he slammed his eyes shut. Heart hammering. Breathing quick. She didn't want him to do that. Especially not in front of about half the reporters in Paris. She doesn't want me.

He swallowed hard, pushing away thoughts of leading her out on the balcony where they could have some privacy. She didn't want him and she was upset and he was being a terrible person.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His voice was rough and low, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Fine," she groaned.

She stayed there, clutching him, until the music swelled and faded and the audience clapped. Chat Noir let her slip away when she stepped backward out of his arms.

"Thank you," he said.

"What?" She still looked dazed, her focus on the empty refreshment table.

He motioned around them. "For a fun evening."

She nodded and turned, disappearing out toward the foyer.

Chat Noir was left to wonder what was wrong as he navigated through the dispersing crowd and took the long way home in the rain.

---

Author’s note: @jennagrinsoverml​ made me write this.

Read chapter two here.

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I'm So Tired of Being Lonely) | Also posted at AO3

Chapter 13A: Angel

I want your love // Let's break the walls between us Don't make it tough // I'll put away my pride Enough's enough // I've suffered and I've seen the light

Baby, you're my angel // Come and save me tonight You're my angel // Come and make it alright

Soundtrack: “Angel,” Aerosmith, 1988 [click here to listen]

The Road

May 1988

Claire sipped her mug of oolong tea and kicked off her boots, nestling into the curve of the high-backed chair in the corner of the room, flipping through the latest issue of Time.

“…said when you asked me yesterday, I really want to keep the press at a minimum this tour.”

“And as I said when you told me that yesterday, this reporter is a straight shooter.” Colum Laird – Print’s new manager, all five feet of him – crossed his arms, face stern. “I’ve known him since my first tour with Zeppelin back in ’73. Met him on the Starship. We had a thing for the same groupie.”

Jamie sighed, not meeting Colum’s gaze in the reflection of what Claire teased him was the “movie star mirror” that she now realized was standard issue in all dressing rooms.

“Anyway – I know he’s a big fan of the band. I invited him to the show tonight, to hear the new stuff. The new songs are fucking great, Jamie – and you’re so smart to do the acoustic thing now, to test out the new stuff before going back into the studio for a proper record. You’ve done a grand total of one interview in the three weeks since we started this thing. And you kept the focus on the music, which I understand. But everyone wants to know the stories behind the music.”

“And as I told you yesterday, I don’t want to go into the detail. It’s private.” He was polite, but Claire knew him well enough – from three weeks spending every moment together, from hotel rooms to restaurants to the tour bus – to know when he became exasperated.

“You’re gonna have to do it eventually.”

Claire felt Jamie’s eyes on her – and looked up. His gaze held hers for a moment.

“I’ll talk all anybody wants to hear about addiction, and recovery, and sobriety. I’ll do that every day for the rest of my life, if people will hear me say it. But I’m not going to talk about my heart with some reporter that I don’t know, and who will only print what I say for the public to consume and throw away.”

Colum sat down in the empty chair next to Jamie’s, arms still crossed.  “One of the new songs is called ‘She’s My Addiction,’ Jamie. People will want to know who she is.”

Claire watched Jamie’s jaw clench. His eyes tore from hers to look straight on at Colum.

“She’s my heart, Colum. I shit you not, from the first moment I saw her at The Ridge, that was it for me. I knew I had to be in her life, somehow. She took me for who I am, and she didn’t care about all the bullshit that had got me there in the first place. She’s it. She’s my ride or die. And I’m terrified that one day she’ll just have enough of what my life is, and she’ll fly back to Boston, and that’ll be that.”

Her heart clenched – she wanted nothing more than to hold him close, in that moment.

“Colum, what Claire and I have is so fucking special. I don’t want to share it with anybody. Not this reporter, not my band, not even you. But I just did with you, and it was so fucking hard to do it, so that you can really understand.”

Colum ran his hands through his shoulder-length gray hair, a wide silver wedding band flashing. Claire wondered whether he’d made an honest woman of the Led Zep groupie.

“Just meet with him, Jamie,” Colum sighed. “The first chat can be what they call off the record. I can bring him here after the gig tonight. Just to get a feel for him. And if you don’t have a good feel, I’ll drop it. And he won’t screw us over in publishing something anyway.”

Jamie extended a hand to Claire – and immediately she padded over to him, socks whispering against the floor. She sat on the table in front of him, and his hand settled on her jean-clad knee.

“What do you think about it, Claire?”

She traced his eyebrows with her thumb, not caring about Colum just feet away from them. “I think you should talk to this reporter, Jamie, and you shouldn’t shut out any questions he asks. People need to know who you are now, and since I’m part of who you are now, that’s fair game.”

“I don’t want to expose you to all of the shit, Claire. Reporters and paps and fans.”

She smiled. “Both my eyes are wide open. I don’t care. People always appreciate honesty, and they can always smell bullshit. Be honest.”

He turned his face to kiss her palm. “They’ll dig up so much dirt on you.”

“What do I care? You know all of it already. It’s not like you’re spotless. And if I hadn’t fucked up my life so badly, I never would have met you.”

He huffed. Thought for a long moment.

“I’ll do it. But Colum, I have three conditions.”

Claire saw more than heard Colum’s sigh of relief. “Tell me.”

Jamie took Claire’s hand in his, kissing the inside of her wrist. “No questions about my prior manager – he’s a bloodsucker but he’s still powerful. I’m not going to air that dirty laundry.”

Colum nodded. “Fair. What else?”

“Claire has to be in the room when I talk to him.”

“Seems reasonable.”

“And, she can’t be named in the article. It’s inevitable that I’ll talk about her. People will figure out who she is soon enough. At least let me have a few more weeks until the tabloids figure out who she is.”

Colum stood and clapped Jamie on the shoulder. “Consider it done. I’ll bring him by after the show.” He glanced down at his watch. “Twenty minutes until curtain. You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. And thank you.”

Colum nodded and slipped out of the room.

Jamie turned to face Claire, and she effortlessly slid onto his lap. He rested his head in the curve of her neck, nuzzling her collarbone, and she threaded her fingers through his hair.

“I can hear you thinking,” she said softly.

“I don’t want to burst our beautiful bubble,” he whispered.

“It’ll have to happen, Jamie.” She held him close, gently massaging his scalp. “Once you make the record, and once you go on a bigger tour. Easier for it to happen now, with someone who’s apparently got a good reputation. While we can control some of it.”

“And then the paps will camp out in front of your apartment. Mob you at the grocery store.”

She kissed the crown of his head. “I’ll deal with it.”

“Some tabloid will interview Frank. You know it’s coming.”

“I do. And those same reporters will find a dozen women you hooked up with after shows, all across the country. But it doesn’t matter.”

He kissed her neck. She shivered, and felt his smile.

They’d agreed to remain celibate until their wedding. It hadn’t been such a bad idea when they were still mostly apart – but these past three weeks on the road, sharing a bed in each hotel room, had put their resolve to the test.

“You’re right. We’re under no obligation to share more than we need to.”

She pulled back, and leaned down to kiss him.

“Finish getting ready. I’ll see you after the show.”

He darted in for a quick kiss. “Not if I see you first.”

[randomrabbidramblings]

Thanks to Bwahstrella's... questionable policies about her clients' privacy here's her quotes:

Not quite spoilers, but if you want to catch them yourself, don't go ahead. No spoilers about the DLC, just lil' trivia about the characters. There's A LOT of them, I don't even think you could get all of them in a couple of playthroughs, I may have missed a bunch, so if you find some I didn't let me know!

"Augie lives in fear his villagers will discover that their emergency food supplies are just bags of nacho cheese sauce."

"Augie was supposed to build a new temple, but he blew the funds on booking DJ Cheep Tuna for his birthday."

"I foresee Augie will be put on a "performance improvement plan" for using the lighthouse to cook a rotisserie chicken."

"Tell Augie our service hotline is not a free consueling service."

"Find out wich intern told Augie he was doomed and fire them. He is calling like a lunatic now."

"I foresee Augie wearing sweatpants to his parents' anniversary after forgetting to try on his suit until the day of."

"Orion's next cargo ship will catch fire after Salesbot's crates of "furniture parts" turn out to be illegal fireworks."

"I foresee Orion being swallowed alive by a Shovel-Nosed Gobblegazer while star fishing. He REALLY needs a new hobby."

"Magnesio and Vanesia sold MANY "prosperity crystals". The catch? They were ICE crystals. Rabbids got water in the mail."

"I sponsored Telesio in a book-a-thon fundraiser. He read every book in the Winter Palace - TWICE! Cost me a fortune."

"Each postcard of Dr. Vent is stranger than the last. That Rabbid is in dire need of a vacation."

"The balls they throw at the Winter palace are like knitting circles compared to the ones they had there back in my days."

"Woodrow is to recieve terrible dating advice until he rescinds the 5% fortune telling tax on Palette Prime!"

"Woodrow's ex-girlfriend couldn't even read a greeting card inscription without breaking into hives, poor thing."

"The Fates are many, and their voices discordant, but on this ONE thing they agree - they HATE Woodrow's poetry."

"When Woodrow needed money he wrote crude limericks under the name "Bell Chur". Oddly they brought only good luck."

"If Woodrow calls, tell him I am in a seance - DO NOT take a message, especially if it rhymes."

"Yes, it is bad if Woodrow's next poem destroys the galaxy, BUT if we don't have to hear it - mixed blessing."

"Lots of Rabbids from Palette Prime are calling for advice. Woodrow must be working on a new poem. SHUDDER."

"Tell the Palette Prime office I'm eagerly awaiting fresh gossip from the Spellbound Woods about Sweetlopek an the Dryad."

"I foresee the Dryad and Sweetlopek making a fortune selling fall-themed "farmhouse chic" pinecone wreaths to tourists."

"A certain Spark Hunter who is as dense as her name implies owes me for damage to my vacation home on Palette Prime."

"I didn't say Salesbot smuggles artificial pumpking spice into Palette Prime, but I also didn't NOT say it."

"The "authenthic" Paletteville Plaza Farmer's Market scented candles I bought from Salesbot smell like rotting garbage."

"The premium for poetry-related accident insurance on Palette Prime is six times that of our other locations!"

"A golden acorn of opportunity will fall in your lap while you are asleep. It will be eaten by a vole."

"Bea reports that "Madame Bwahstrella Doom n' Bloom Boquets" are a very popular item between mortal enemies."

"Bea's music made a small comeback after DJ Cheep Tuna sampled it for Darkmess Cheese Barber Wrap Tunnel Disco party."

"Tell my publicist to invite Galaxy Confidential to my Doomy Awards dinner party, then seat the Phantom near Bea."

"You didn't need to be psychic to predict the Phantom dumping Bea for one of her backup dancers, but would she listen?"

"Tell Alkementor I need a case of red banana-kumquat-star apple mineral fusion water for my Doomy Awards afterparty."

"I see Sullivan going dateless at the Engineer's Ball if he does not stop blowing me off for his stupid train."

"If Sullivan calls, tell him I'm having lunch with a handsome salesman who prefers electric trains over steam engines."

"Sullivan sent roses to apologize for calling me "vile rabble" after I said his steam train was a "ridiculous fossil"."

"Everywhere I go at the Everbloom I am asked. "Do you foresee more overtime in my future?" Hard to relax."

"I foresee Momma being thougher than leather and harder than steel, with an itch for action and living like there no tomorrow!"

"I wouldn't want to be a certain Spark Hunter when Momma catches up to them with an itch that only revenge can scratch!"

"Tell our Barrendale Mesa location they are absolutely NOT to close during "Big Momma's Bike Rally and Chili Cookoff."

"I foresee Gerspard moving into his Neo-Figurative Hyper-Expressionist Retro-Futuristic Tabloid phase to rave reviews."

"Rabbid Peach wants HOW MUCH for a sponsored post?!"

"Someone tell Rabbid Mario we do not use male models for our gift catalogues before he sends us any more beefcake shots."

"Prof. Backpack's lecture series is postponed until he can find a commercial spaceflight with room for his backpack."

"Can someone remind Salesbot he does not work here? He keeps popping in to help himself to our breakroom snacks."

"My competitor, Madame Bwahstrodamus, could not predict yesterday's weather if she had a newspaper."

"Find out how many lanes the bowling alley in Madame Bwahstrodamus' mansion has so I can build mine with twice as many."

"Sigh... Have my body double do the autograph signing. I need a vacation..."

"I see a new personal assistant in my future if my chicken cheesesteak is cold like last time."

"Curses, hexes, evil eyes... Fortune-telling USED to be fun. Now the Fates most rely on algorithms and statistics."

"I'm Doomed, My Partner's Not - my self-help guide for couples, it's due out this spring."

"Life is short - doom well, doom often, doom much."

[raynelovesyoongi]

Love me again

Party rock is… || Chapter Two

Paring:Xu Minghao x Fem!Reader

Warnings:cussing, drinking, mentions of weed, weirdo creep, flirting (yns friends flirt with her as a joke, it’s 100% platonic!), mean jokes (yn and her friends joke around but it’s all for funzies),mentions of menstrual cycle, that’s all I think.

Wordcount:1,856

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It was time for the party. Mingyu had picked the three of you up, and it was safe to say you guys were excited. Yeji was quite literally bouncing around in the backseat while Miyeon was already singing her heart out to the music you had put on. Mingyu and you got lost in your own conversation, talking about whatever came to mind. Mingyu stopped by Vernon’s dorm to pick him up too, and when you saw Vernon, your mouth quite literally dropped. Why the hell was this man wearing a goddamn suit? To a fucking frat party? "Aye change this trashy ass song, yo!" Vernon screamed as he slid into the backseat.

"YOURE LITERALLY LAST TO TALK ABOUT MUSIC, VERNON. YOUR FAVORITE SONG IS THE COVER OF ‘loyal’ ZICO SANG!" You argued back.

"Y/N, sit down. I'm literally going to crash if your ugly ass tries jumping in the back again," Mingyu said while pushing you back down in the passenger seat. You guys finally arrived at the party after a few minutes. The smell of alcohol and weed filled the air. You guys knocked on the door and were welcomed by the sight of Jake already drinking.

"Yoooo! What’s up, guys? Go make yourself at home. let’s get blacked out wasted, dude!" Jake shouted with a smile on his face while you guys made your way in, giggling as you guys did so. There were already a few people there, and you did what Jake told you to do; you made yourself at home and grabbed some drinks in the kitchen.

"Hey there, sexy." Oh god, you just got there, and you were already being hit on. You wanted to enjoy yourself by hanging out with friends before fucking around. You turned around expecting to see some random dude; you at least hoped he was going to be hot. When you turned around, you saw Seungkwan holding in a laugh. "HAH! I bet your huge ego just got bursted after finding out it was just me instead of some random guy hitting on you."

"Fuck you! I’m actually glad it’s just you and not some random because I was not in the mood to flirt yet." You hit his shoulder and poured him a drink as well. "Also, what was the new kid like? Are they hot? What’s their name? Do we have any classes together?"

"Oh god. Don’t get me started... He’s quiet and kind of lame, to be honest. But he’s good-looking. I’m not gonna lie, and I’m pretty sure you have like two classes with him. We have history with him, and you have math with him, I think."

"He’s lame?! How so? Do his looks make up for it at least?"

"Jesus, y/n, all these damn questions! He’s lame just because I barely spoke to him, and when I made jokes, he didn’t even budge. He’s just silent and a bit rude, but yeah, I guess his looks do make up for it." Seungkwan finished and took a sip from his drink. You were practically beaming with joy; you were always excited to meet new students and maybe even become their friend. Since Seungkwan was always the one showing them around, you always asked him for reports on the new students so you could talk to them one day.

"I hope he comes to the party! " You were interrupted by someone barging in through the back door of Jake's house. Jake didn’t live in the dorms because the dorms had too many rules, according to him and his roommate Yeonjun.

"PARTY ROCKERS IN THE HOUSE!" Someone loudly sang, making you and Seungkwan turn heads towards the door.

"ITS ‘PARTY ROCK IS’ DUMBASS!" Of course. It was none other than Soonyoung and Seokmin; behind them were Joshua, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Junhui, and some other guy whom Wonwoo was covering. They waved, but you still couldn’t see the guy. Whatever doesn’t matter anyway. You said your hellos, then let them go do whatever they wanted to. As the party went on, you had more fun and got more drunk. You danced with friends, played cup pong, and did many other fun activities with friends, and you thought this was probably one of the best parties you’ve been to in a while since school has been a pain in the ass recently. It was fun to let loose. Until the creep who sat next to you decided to show up.

"Y/n? Is that you? I thought you said you weren’t coming. Did you lie to me?" He said it with a frown on his face as his voice cracked a bit.

"Oh! Yeah, it is me. I decided to come last minute. I did tell you I don’t think so, I never said I wasn’t coming for sure." You responded and it was a half lie because you really didn’t know whether you wanted to go or not because of the schoolwork you had to do.

"You’re so pretty. You know that, right? It just stinks that you’re such a fucking liar. I saw the way you looked back at your friends and the way you shifted away from me in class. You tried avoiding me all night today. I’m not stupid y/n, don’t piss me off."

"Don't piss you off? What the fuck are you talking about? How about you don’t piss me off? You’ve been harassing me non-stop ever since we got assigned to sit next to each other, and you’ve been nothing but a literal fucking weirdo towards me. Leave me the fuck alone, asshole!" You spat back, your finger pointing aggressively at his chest. God, you were getting irritated, and being drunk didn’t help at all; it only fueled you with more adrenaline, and you couldn’t care less about the eyes that were now starting to stare at you two.

"You're embarrassing yourself, pretty girl, don’t you think we should take this outside? Hm? What do you say?"

"Don't fucking speak to me like that! I’m not your girlfriend. So don’t call me that." You said as you were making your way outside to the front yard of Jake's house; he was following behind you. When you both made it out, he grabbed you by the arm and pulled you into him.

"Don't fuck with me, y/n. Whenever I lay my eyes on something I want, I will find a way to get it."

"I'm not an object, so stop treating me like one. get your filthy hands off me and leave me alone! I don’t even know your name, so please just get the fuck out of my way." You said as you were struggling to get out of his grasp; that only made him angrier and made his grip on you tighter. You were about to give up until you fell to the ground suddenly. You opened your eyes because you closed them when you were struggling out of the guys grasp. When you opened your eyes, you saw his body on the ground. Mingyu had punched him, and Chan helped you up while wiping the tears off your face. You didn’t even know you started crying until he did so. Chan dragged you upstairs into Yeonjun's room after Vernon made sure it was okay to do so by checking in with Yeonjun. He set you on the bed and asked you what had happened while Joshua and Vernon came in the room with water and snacks in their hands. You were in there for about 15 minutes, trying to sober up. You told them what happened, and that’s when Miyeon came into the room with Seungkwan.

"Y/n!! Are you alright? I heard what happened, babe!" Miyeon said as she replaced Joshua by sitting where he was, and when you told everyone you were okay, they all left and began to join the party again after checking in with you and making sure you were really okay.

"OH! THE NEW DUDES HERE, Y/N!" Seungkwan announced jumping up from his spot. You completely forgot about the Youngbin guy; apparently that was his name. You also got up and dragged both your friends downstairs, making Seungkwan show you where the new guy was. You guys looked around and couldn’t find him anywhere. Yeji joined in, but with no luck. Just as Yeji was about to ask Jeonghan about him because, according to Miyeon, he was talking to the new guy, you stopped Yeji and told her it was fine because you’d just see him tomorrow at school. The party was soon over, and everybody left, including you. Mingyu told you that Youngbin refused to leave and the cops were called. You sighed in relief but also thought about how you’d have to still see him at school. When you got home, you were way too tired to wash up or change, so you just slumped. You could deal with everything tomorrow.

Your alarm rang and woke you up. The headache you had was insane. You got dressed up in a lazy fit and washed up, then made your way to school with Jihoon. You told him about last night, and he laughed in your face about how stupid you are for partying on a school night, but he became serious when you told him about what happened with the creep. You told him you didn’t want to speak about it because you were embarrassed; he understood and dropped it. Class went by fast today. Youngbin moved schools and was in big trouble for what he did last night. You were so happy that you couldn’t care less about your sore body and the headache you had. When you entered work and greeted all your co-workers, they all smiled, and you guys all began talking to each other while working. Today the cafe was a bit packed for some reason, but it was okay since you were with your friends, until you heard a familiar name being called out.

"Minghao! You’re finally here. What the hell took you so damn long?" You could’ve just been hearing things; there was no way he was actually there in the same room as you. You were too afraid to look back, so you decided to keep your focus on the line you had in front of you. You kept taking orders until you heard the damn name again. "Minghao, since you came here late after promising you’d help me study, you have to go buy me a drink. My friend is working at the register! You’ll like her for sure, she’s cool!" That’s when you decided to look over and see who was there. You swear you felt your heart sink to your ass.

"Seungcheol! cover for me! Please, it’s urgent. I have to use the restroom! I…uh… got my period! I gotta go!" You rushed out.

"Wait, did she just say she got her period? Oh my god, that means I’m next! We always sync! Goddamnit.." Miyeon groaned as she worked on the orders she was getting with Mark. You panicked as you ran to the bathroom. You couldn’t believe this; there was no fucking way.

An: minghaos grand(?) entrance 😜😜 story will start get interesting next chap fs🤓☝️

[perfectlyvalid49]

So, I got to have a “fun” experience yesterday.

My son is in first grade, and on Sunday mornings he has Sunday school from 9:30-11:30. Our synagogue actually has a lot of kids programming on Sunday mornings – the aforementioned school for kindergarteners and 1st graders, a music hour for younger kids, sometimes parties if there’s a nearby holiday. The Channukah party was two weeks ago, and yesterday they were actually going to be holding a parents’ forum to get feedback on what we want in a new clergy member because we’re looking to hire.

So at 9:25, my whole family is getting out of the car, meeting up with some of the other parents and chatting. My daughter runs ahead – she’s only four, but she’s trying to get into the school to see if she can talk the teachers into letter her come to class. She thinks it’s neat that there’s a second alphabet for her to learn and doesn’t want to wait until next year. My son and one of his friends run after her, so my husband runs after them so that the kids are supervised while I stay behind to help some friends unload their 1 year old and associated gear (stroller, diaper bag, etc.) from their car.

Everybody is laughing and having a good time, but as we start walking toward the door, we see that my husband is hustling the kids back to the cars. I ask him what’s up and he says that everything is canceled for the day and we should leave. Our friends ask why, and once he’s sure the kids aren’t paying attention, he tells us that there’s been a threat, and while they don’t think anything will actually happen, they’re playing it safe and cancelling all activities for the day. He didn’t have any more details than that.

We quickly made plans and wound up hosting an impromptu play date at our house, and the kids seemed mostly fine with it, though they did ask several times why school was cancelled, because it seemed weird. We distracted them with legos and some painting kits.

And everything wound up being fine. I have not heard any news, so I don’t think anything actually happened, but I agree that acting with an abundance of caution was the correct call. And obviously, nothing happening is better than something happening, but not having the threat in the first place would be best of all. I’m still trying to process it. Part of me is like, if whoever it is picked a Sunday instead of Saturday, then they can’t be very bright, as there are a lot more people present on Saturday. But part of me wonders if they picked Sunday instead because they were deliberately targeting young families/children. And that makes me worry too, because there’s a preschool/daycare in the building.

I still haven’t given my kids a good explanation for why school was cancelled yesterday. We told them that the teachers just decided that it wasn’t a good day for class, but I don’t think it answered all their questions. I’m hoping that they forget about it, because I don’t really know what else to tell them. I’ve said before that I want to protect them from the fact that some people want to hurt them just because they’re Jewish for at least a while longer. I don’t think they’re ready. I know I’m not ready.

I’m not worried about going back to my synagogue. I think their policies and procedures are sound, and they have a longstanding good relationship with local law enforcement. Since the beginning of October, they’ve increased security in a bunch of ways, and while I hate that it seems necessary, stuff like yesterday makes it feel like a good idea.

I dunno. To relate this to some of the larger conversations happening right now, I think that this is a prime example of antisemitism that is felt by Jewish communities, and invisible outside of them. Like, in the end, nothing wound up happening except a bunch of families getting hustled out of a building. It won’t be reported on, and most people will never know that anything happened. But “nothing” is still me having to figure out what to tell my kids, and plans getting cancelled, and people worrying for their safety. Due to the staggered start times of events, I’m sure our director of family engagement was there for at least 2 hours telling other people to go home, and I can’t even imagine how she must have felt telling people, “Go home, it’s not safe here,” while she stayed. Psychological attacks are still attacks. Even if you don’t hear about them, it doesn’t mean they’re not happening. When Jews tell you that antisemitism is an issue, please believe us.