#and she actually knows what she's doing which is a plus

[freyadragonlord]

Stolas and Blitz’s relationship is a really well written misunderstanding plot, and here’s why 

I didn’t exactly have bad expectations about the Full Moon episode, yet I find myself pleasantly surprised by just how well the show handled the final confrontation between Stolas and Blitz. It was perfectly tragic and, most importantly, it perfectly fits how their relationship was built up to this point.

But how did Stolas get to this point?

Stolas has been starved for love since he was a child. His father only knew how to buy Stolas’ stuff to distract him from his distress (whenever Paimon bothered to even be around). Stolas’ wife – whom he did not choose – disdained him and did not miss a chance to humiliate him. He used to have a good relationship with his daughter, even though things got more complicated as she grew up and started to realize that her parents hate each other; but having your own child love you isn’t the same as having someone love you because you are you.

And then, out of nowhere, This Guy whom he considers his first friend - someone who was at the center of one of the best memories from his childhood - sneaks into his house and tries to seduce him!! Needless to say, Stolas is taken by surprise!

He even tries to talk to Blitz at first, and asks him about his life. He wants a connection, but Blitz just kinda pushes Stolas on his bed and starts doing sexy things to him, while dodging his questions. And, well, Stolas has never had good sex before that moment! His only experience is with a woman who does not like him and whom he doesn’t like. He gets swept away! Turns out, kinky sex really does it for him, and Blitz just Keeps Going all night!

Now, we don’t get to see how Stolas reacted when he figured out that Blitz was there to steal his book. The next thing we know (which is actually the first time the audience is introduced to Stolas) is that he is determined not to let that night with Blitz be the last. And who knows, even if Blitz had an ulterior motive for that first night, Stolas could still have a chance to seduce him! But how to do that? Well, the only thing Stolas knows about Blitz is that he really seemed to be into kinky sex and dirty talk…. So, Stolas goes for that!

After a while, though, he realizes it isn’t working. Plus, as much as the sex is good, what he really wants from Blitz is romance! So, he tries changing his approach, he introduces the idea of dates, of staying at home without fucking… But every time Stolas tries to change things, Blitz is resistant.

Stolas has many flaws. He is unaware of his privilege, he can be entitled, too self-centered… but one thing he is not, at least, is clueless about his own feelings. Stolas knows he loves Blitz, he knows he wants them to be together, and so he spends a long time trying to figure out how to confess, how to convince Blitz that his feelings are sincere…

In a way, it’s all that planning that dooms him. He spends so much time thinking things over, finding the perfect words, the perfect selfless act to confess to Blitz and set him free, that he does not realize that his confession will come out of nowhere for Blitz. And that Blitz will not have had hours and hours to rehearse his own reaction!

To be fair to him, Blitz truly is spectacularly clueless – to the level that it’s difficult to understand, without knowing his history - when it comes to his own feelings…

Right, how did Blitz get to this point?

The first time Blitz met Stolas, as a child, Blitz’s father had literally sold him as entertainment, and then ordered Blitz to steal from Stolas' house. “Go make yourself useful for once.” “It’s what those rich privileged fuckers deserve.”

Blitz grows up in an environment where his own father prefers another child to him. His only worth to his dad is to be a trading card, and to be an instrument to get rich.

Blitz doesn’t grow completely without love, tho! He knows what it is like to be loved. He has a best friend, his twin sister, his mother… And then he manages to lose all three of them in one single, spectacular accident. And it was an accident! But it was also his fault. And that’s the night Blitz learns that nobody can love him for long, because he does not deserve it. Even if someone did care for him, eventually they will realize he is worthless and dangerous.

Blitz hates himself.

Still, he does what he has to do to survive, and he goes on.

Years pass, and Blitz is trying to achieve his oldest dream, the dream to be his own boss, to lead a successful business, to prove that he can do something right. He needs Stolas’ book to achieve his dream, so what? It’s what those rich privileged fuckers deserve. He can make himself useful for once.

Does Blitz understand that it’s not Stolas himself who bought him all those years ago, but rather his father? It doesn’t really matter in the end, the only thing that’s important is that he knows that if he distracts Stolas enough, it’s not that hard to steal from him. If he sells himself, he can get anything out of Stolas.

The sex an accident, in the end. Stolas suggests Blitz is there to seduce him (Stolas is joking, but Blitz doesn't realize that), so Blitz goes for that. He bites Stolas’ neck to distract him from the theft, and Stolas reacts to that! Blitz can use this! He just happens to encourage Stolas when Stolas talks dirty to him, he doesn’t know he’s the one planting the idea in Stolas’ brain.

And Blitz could leave Stolas tied up and flee with the book, but at the end he feels bad. He decides to fuck Stolas after all, and well… That wasn’t so bad. He was supposed to do it “real fast”, but ends up spending the whole night!

Still, what if the sex was good? Stolas is still an entitled and powerful prince. And Stolas’ behavior in the following months only confirms that the other demon is just using him! And when Stolas’ actions start to change, well, surely that’s just some new kink, some new game…

Blitz constantly confirms his own biases, and he is incapable of seeing beyond them. He expects to be used because he has been used so many times, ever since he was a child. He doesn’t expect to be loved, because he doesn’t believe anyone can love him.

And if he starts to enjoy the time he spends with Stolas, at least sometimes, well….. That’s just the good sex. Plus, he feels powerful, when he’s fucking Stolas. Not only because Blitz dominates him in bed, but also because this is an arrangement he entered of his own free will, and he’s the one directly benefiting from it.

And! Isn’t it easier this way??? Relationships are messy! This arrangement, tho, no feelings involved, at all! He can push Stolas around as much as he wants, and Stolas will let him.

(Stolas cannot get hurt, after all.)

(He can get hurt??)

Blitz has many flaws. Being clueless about his feelings, and other people’s feelings, is maybe his biggest flaw. Stolas’ confession comes out of nowhere from him. He is confused. Nobody can love him, so it is a game, right?

It’s not a game. Where did this “confession” come from? He’s mad now. Stolas broke the rules, Stolas is using him again, somehow, Stolas… Stolas is crying.

It’s not a trick.

Their whole relationship has been a huge misunderstanding since day 1, and Blitz only just realized.

And Stolas sent Blitz away before he had time to realize, as well.

[cbrownjc]

Theory: Why this second 'Interview' is happening

So a few weeks ago, Rolin Jones said that there was a reason the second interview had to happen, which will be revealed this season. And we would learn the reason why one character needed it to happen in ep 2x05; then we would learn why another character needed it to happen in 2x08 (the season finale).

Now the person we will learn needs the second interview to happen in episode 2x05 will, IMO, be Louis. For now, he seems the most clear as being one of the two people IMO. For, as we saw in ep 2x01 Louis knows he hasn't been remembering everything correctly, but that he really wants to. At the moment, Louis has been (deliberately) sidetracked from thinking/wondering if anything else he remembers might not be fully correct but, by ep 2x05, he'll start questioning that again IMO.

Plus, for some reason, Louis is very insistent on this interview taking place and happening no matter what. Because just thinking over everything that has happened storywise up to this point? I actually don't think Louis is in any way fully aware of just how off his memories are. I think he knows something feels off or wrong but he can't quite fully place what that is.

So yes, IMO, Louis is the first character who needed the second interview to happen.

But who is the second character who needed the second interview to happen? Well, this theory very much includes book spoilers (that IMO the show is very much hinting at) to talk about, so I'm giving fair warning right now: this theory very deeply goes into something from the books, as well as tying into another theory I have for what might happen at the end of the season. So, just to be safe, I'm going to place this next part under a spoiler cut:

The character who, IMO, will be revealed as needing this second interview to happen, which we will learn in ep 2x08, will be Claudia.

Yep. IMO Claudia is the one who needed the second interview to happen. Or, more importantly, her spirit/ghost does.

And what clicked this for me is remembering something Delainey herself noted in an interview before the season started which was -- yes, Claudia's journals are there but even they can't give you a full and accurate picture of Claudia and her story. So how can Claudia speak and tell her story?

And that is where this second interview comes in. Because, if you know the book, Merrick, then you know that book contained what was thought to be an appearance of Claudia's ghost/spirit. But that wasn't the only book where we see Claudia's ghost/spirit. We also see her in Tale of the Body Theif . . . or, at least Lestat sees her.

And who was the main antagonist of TotBT? Raglan James. Who, hell, even if Justin Kirk really isn't Raglan James (and is actually Marius or someone else) still works IMO -- in the context of hinting toward that storyline that had Lestat haunted by memories of Claudia and dealing with seeing her "spirit" talking to him.

Because yes, I do think very much that Louis is seeing Claudia's spirit right now, in some way. Just like he did in the book Merrick.

And it's from seeing her spirit and just feeling that something is wrong wrt all of what's going on about it, that has Louis so insistent that this second interview has to happen.

And it's why four other people have come to do this same thing Daniel is doing and either ended up dead . . . or undead.

Hell because again, if you know the story in Merrick then you know Merrick Mayfair herself is the one Louis enlisted to help him summon and speak to Claudia's spirit in the first place; and she ended up putting Louis under a spell to make him turn her into a vampire.

Maybe that comment from Raglan James was a hint about that having already happened to the show's version of Merrick Mayfair. Who's maybe already been there to help summon Claudia's spirit in the first place?

Anyway . . .

IMO, Claudia's ghost/spirit is not only around, but IMO she wants what really happened to her to be known; the truth of not only why Louis and Lestat created her, but how she was failed by them and, most of all, the full truth of not only how she felt about both of them about it all, but also the truth surrounding her death (The Frankenstein Experiment) to not just be revealed but understood . . . mainly understood by Louis and Lestat.

And no, the reason Claudia's spirit wants this isn't benevolent. Just as the spirit of Claudia in the books wasn't benevolent when Lestat and Louis encountered her in them. What she wants, I think most of all, is for them both to face the truth of their actions and what that makes them (in her eyes).

I don't think Louis knows all this of course. I think he just knows Claudia's spirit is still around for some reason and that he thinks going over everything that happened wrt his life will help him figure that reason out.

And after four previously failed attempts Daniel was brought in for the simple reason that, unlike maybe three of the first four, Armand won't kill Daniel to stop this whole thing. (And, you know, if Merrick Mayfair was the first of those four, Daniel can't steal either of their blood to try and make himself a vampire.)

And can I just say, if this theory is correct, then I don't think Claudia's spirit is going to rest after she convinces Louis to do in the show what her spirit in the book convinced him to do. Because again, Lestat also got haunted by the spirit of Claudia in TotBT. And while I'm not sure he'd see her spirit in Season 3 when he begins to tell his story and POV of things (and so when we see Claudia it will be when she's alive during flashback sequences) I do think the show would be setting up for her spirit to do so going forward after that.

Because spirit entities do play a major role in what is to come in the overall story I think the show is heading to (which I and others think will be a combination of the Akasha and Amel threats in Queen of the Damned and Prince Lestat). Starting off by showing Claudia as a spirit entity can be used to begin to ease non-book readers into this concept IMO.

And all of this fits very much with why Armand not only doesn't want this interview to happen but still reluctantly let it happen. Because, if you know his backstory, Armand very much can see spirits and ghosts unaided. That is how strong his Mind Gift abilities are. So if Claudia's spirit/ghost is around in the Dubai penthouse, Armand would very well know that. And so would very much not want her spirit hanging around anymore if at all possible. Because of what Claudia's spirit could, at some point, communicate about him. ("My name is in some of those pages.")

Because I do think that while Louis does know about the role Armand played in Claudia's death, IMO Louis doesn't know about The Frankenstein Experiment. Because, in the books, nobody knew about that -- least of all Louis and Lestat -- until Armand himself revealed it over a century later in The Vampire Armand.

And the show is very much not cutting that moment out but, instead, has been hinting and foreshadowing about it.

I said in another post that I think Armand is, for lack of a better metaphor, like a little kid who wet the bed and now is trying to hide the sheets when it specifically comes to this. This is why he's against the interview happening because it being revealed will crumble the contented life he feels he's built with Louis in Dubai. Because Armand just craves love and being loved so much and not being alone . . . and is fearful he very much will be if this all goes in the direction it could.

One of Armand's major faults is that, when he loves someone, he tends to go way, way, WAY overboard in trying to either secure that person's love . . . or to keep it. If you know the book TVL, Armand did that with Lestat, (forcing himself into Lestat's mind and drinking Lestat's blood without permission), and that is the reason Lestat, in the end, could never trust Armand enough to be companions with him.

And Armand repeated that same pattern with Louis in Paris in allowing Claudia to be killed when, as coven master, he very well could have prevented it.

And now Armand is doing something way overboard, once again, in Dubai, in trying to hide the one thing regarding Claudia in Paris that Louis doesn't know about -- as well as keep Louis safe from doing something extreme if Louis remembers everything the real way it happened . . . as well as hiding the one thing about it all -- regarding Armand's own role in Claudia's fate that Louis still doesn't know about (and in the book Armand says he kept closely hidden until this moment).

Many book readers have always wondered about that Frankenstein reveal because, once Armand reveals it, it's never brought up again. We never hear how Louis and Lestat felt about learning about it. However, I think the show is very much going to give Louis and Lestat both a reaction to and about it when they learn of it. (And no, they are not going to kill Armand for it. But Armand might just be right to worry that Louis learning about it very well might cause his life with Louis in Dubai to be destroyed.)

So yeah, IMO, the second character that Rolin said would be revealed to be wanting this second interview in ep 2x08 is Claudia. And, IMO, this theory also fits with what Jacob said about this being Claudia's season more than anyone else's.

[flower-boi16]

I just finished watching The Full Moon, here are my thoughts.

Positives:

+The opening musical number is good & is admittely pretty catchy. I expected it to be some god awful love ballad between Stolas and Blitz, and thank god it didn't end up being that.

+The scenes of the Cherubs being horrified of the stuff at Blitz is buying are pretty funny I'll admit

+Nice to see the Dhorks and Cherubs back as well as a team up between the two. That's a fun idea

Negatives:

-The Dhorks just. Randomly appear out of nowhere to capture the Cherubs...? Where did they come from????

-The Cherubs for some reason try to lie about being excorists...? Why??? Why are they lying about this??? Why can't they just tell the Dhorks their beef with the Imps???

-So the Dhorks got more funding from the government because of the incident that happened the last time they met with the Imps, implying that they did send the footage they had, implying that the government now knows about the existance of demons. Ok so woulden't an incident as big as this get on the news...? Did this thing get on the news or no???

-The Cherubs are screaming right behind Blitz yet he NEVER hears them for some reason????

-Blitz being on completely good terms with Fizz still feels very weird to me. Like Fizz just instantly forgives Blitz for the sheer amount of physical and emotional truama he gave him in one episode and their back to being buddies again. It just doesn't feel earned is what I'm saying.

-So it's revealed that Loona and the others were following Blitz throughout the whole episode, which is how they were able to find the cherubs. Ok so if they were following Blitz around then woulden't they have seen the Cherubs? They were plainly hiding on the roof in the first scene, anyone could see them. Did they see the Cherubs at first? And if they did, why didn't they attack them earlier???

-The whole fight feels oddly very slow. Like I just felt bored while watching this fight scene unfold and that sucks because season 1 was able to create good fights, and even season 2's first half has some well-animated fight scenes. Why do the movements of the characters here feel so sluggish now???

-One of the Cherubs for some reason doesn't cut Millie's tail off and stabs her leg instead even though it's literally the thing that’s strangling her.

-Millie throws st. Cherub with her tail after that which she for some reason didn't do earlier.

-Moxxie makes quip in front of one of the Cherubs when he could’ve just instantly shot him in the face there. Seriously that was such an easy opportunity

-That fucking line where Stolass says "I thought so highly of you, I didn't know you felt so low of me" is PEAK Stolass victimization and Blitz being demonized. Plus it makes no fucking sense; like, BITCH YOU WERE SEXUALLY ABUSING HIM. OF COURSE HE WAS GOING TO HATE YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

-The whole finale scene is very confusing to me. It starts out good enough with the show actually ackgnowlegding Stolas' mistakes for once but then towards the end the framing begins to shift into Stolas victimizing and Blitz demonization, all culminating in that final line. "Oh no Blitz hurt Stolas' feelings he's such an asshole!!!". Like although the show sometimes acknowledges Stolas' mistakes it's rendered null by the show Still framming Blitz as an asshole for not understanding that Stolas has real feelings for him, even though all Stolas has been doing is SEXUALLY ABUSING HIM.

It all feels gaslighty to me. And the line where Stolas says that Blitz not realizing that Stolas has genuine feelings for him and thinks it's just for sleeping with him shows that the reletionship can't work makes it sound like Blitz is apart of the problem for not reconizing that Stolas loves him, even though, again, Stolas has been treating Blitz horribly throughout the first season so why WOULD Blitz think that Stolas loves him???? It's just more Stolas victimization painting him as the sympathetic one while Blitz is once again framed as the asshole by the narrative. I'm sorry. But I'm fucking TIRED of it. I'm tired of Stolas victimization. I'm tired of Blitz being demonized. And I'm TIRED OF THE FANDOM BLAMING BLITZ AS THE TOXIC ONE HERE WHEN HE'S NOT.

And sadly, the Blitz demonization is only going to get worse from here judging by the latest trailer.

This episode was just as awful as I was expecting it to be. 2.5/10.

[loremaster]

happy belated mermay! i drew that final pic after i went with my family to the new england aquarium recently, and picked out something they had there for each of the nocturnal detectives - plus kurumi! more description (spoilers) under the cut:

kurumi - piranha! it fits her color scheme, and her little freckles… and well, you know *bites you*

yuma - emperor tetra. actually i lied this one wasn’t at the aquarium i had to look it up

yakou - anemone man. ouughhh so sillyyyy

desuhiko - tried to ID the guy I took a picture of and it looked closest to the crosshatch butterflyfish. could be wrong though.

halara, fubuki - i could not find the labels for either of these fish unfortunately

vivia - electric eel (yeah he’s there, look again)

———-

the mermaids were kinda based off these species, except fubuki changed to a betta fish. bred for glamour, not for function. she is out there living her best life tho!!! nothin gets this mermaid princess down!!!!

obviously squid shinigami (squidigami) is based off ursula. but also i liked her having squid tentacle hair. woomy!

i imagine it would actually be kind of a reverse ursula situation though (reversula?). poor unfortunate amnesiac yuma would go up to sea witch shinigami asking her for his memories back, but she reveals she was the one who took his memories in the first place, and they’ve actually already made a deal. which she’s not going back on, sorrynotsorry lol!!! of course he’s actually not a mermaid at all but a human under a spell to go investigate…. something underwater. idk. maybe the mystery labyrinths are still a thing in this universe?

vivia, i’m sorry to say, would be a hundred times more miserable than we ever see him in canon, because guess what. no books. he’d still have some sort of coping mechanisms like watching other fish, watching stuff above the surface of the water, wanting nothing more to join them and fly someday. (the dragonflies, of course, are a reference to the famous water bugs and dragonflies story.) he’d still find something to get distracted by… although if he had his forte he probably would ghost up to the surface and read whatever the humans are reading up above. i guess this would make him the real ariel of the story.

kurumi of course is still based on a piranha, because it’s cute. of course these fish shouldn’t all live together but whatever. it’s mermaids. she probably is still some kind of informant, and probably hangs out near yakou’s place a bunch.

i could see yakou running some sort of shop. or if he’s still into detective work, he’d probably need kurumi as an assistant since he’s uh. not much of a swimmer. (he claims he can too swim, but it’s really silly looking. google swimming anemone. you’ll thank me.) he considers those little teeny fish to be pests (or at least claims they are. they’re probably helping him hide some sort of secret in there.)

desuhiko is a wandering trader with a keen sense of fashion. he’s great at repurposing sunken sails into mer-clothing, not so great at making sales. also the fact that his hair is gelled is way more obvious when everything is underwater. he’s basically got a helmet.

halara of course puts up an intimidating front, but has a secret soft spot for cute sea creatures. i asked my irl friend what she’d consider ‘the cat of the sea’ and she said pufferfish. i do think they are very cute and make a lot of sense as an allergen. but i don’t think halara’s taste is limited to pufferfish only, no no no. they like anything cute.

fubuki has got to have been kept captive before the story - by humans? or other mermaids? but either way, now she’s free and having a blast exploring the deep blue ocean. she really wants to know what kind of exciting creatures live in the deep!!!

and that’s it. hopefully all this description makes up for being 2 days late to mermay LMAO. i guess now it’s merGAY

[storiesforallfandoms]

the space cowboy and the pa ~ tom ryder;the fall guy

word count: 2869

request?: no

description: in which the big movie star takes interest in the pa of his new movie

pairing: tom ryder x female!reader

warnings: swearing, tom being tom, use of y/n

masterlist (one, two, three)

When you were hired as a PA on a major sci-fi blockbuster, you were obviously beyond ecstatic. It was a big deal for many reasons, and it would look great on your resume as the first film you worked on.

What you didn't expect was for your job to essentially become you running after Tom Ryder all the time.

You knew who Tom Ryder was before you were hired on to Metalstorm. Everyone did. His face was on every screen and every poster. But besides knowing him for his work, you were also warned about his work ethic and entitled attitude. You couldn't say you were surprised to hear that. You figured most celebrities of his status were all into themselves. But when you started working with him, you realized it wasn't just his stuck up-ness, it was his lack of work ethic. Truly, you had no idea how any of his movies ever got made.

You didn't agree to work on Metalstorm so you could chase a self obsessed ego maniac around all day and convince him to come do his job. That's now what a PA is meant to do. On the plus side, Jody was very sympathetic and apologetic to you over this. Jody had worked with Tom for years, and had actually been the one to warn you about Tom's behavior. She knew you didn't want to just be a lacky to Tom Ryder, but when Tom's personal assistant was constantly out taking care of his dogs or getting him his super (annoyingly) specific Starbucks order, and everyone else was too busy trying to make a huge blockbuster to do it themselves, the responsibility had to fall to someone.

So, when you arrived on set to see Jody with her head in her hands, a sign that she was stressed, you already knew what was happening.

"He was supposed to be here an hour ago," Jody said, exasperated. "We don't have much time left for this shoot and there's still so much to be done, but he's nowhere to be found."

You looked up at Gail, sipping her usual Diet Coke. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I've already gone to his trailer twice. Each time he said he was on his way to set."

"Clearly he wasn't," you muttered. "I'll go find him."

"(Y/N), no - " Jody started.

"Try to film something with Colt in place of Tom or something," you told her. "I'll get the dickhead to set."

You made off for Tom's trailer. It was incredibly easy to find among the sea of other cast and crew trailers because it was the biggest one. He could probably live out of it if he hadn't gotten a huge apartment to stay in while filming. His name was printed in big, bold letters on the door, as if the size of the trailer alone wasn't enough to signal that it belonged to the star of the movie.

You walked in without knocking, something you'd realize later you might've regretted if you had found Tom in a more...revealing position. Luckily, he was just laying on the trailer couch, a sleep mask over his eyes and AirPods in his ears. He didn't notice you walked into his trailer, so you did something else you'd probably regret: you flicked Tom's forehead to get his attention.

He jumped and ripped off his sleep mask, snapping, "What the fuck?!"

You crossed your arms as his eyes readjusted to the light. He looked up at you and took out a headphone. "What do you want?"

You rolled your eyes. "You, on set, now."

"Gail already came to tell me it was call time. I'll be there in a minute."

"You were meant to be on set an hour ago. There's no more 'minutes', you're coming now."

Tom sat up. "Listen, assistant, I have a very intense process before I start filming that takes time and concentration. Gail already interrupted me, and now that you have as well I'll have to start all over. Tell Jody not to worry a hair on her pretty head, I will be there."

A combination of general frustration with Tom's behavior and the fact that he was dismissing you as just an "assistant" caused you to finally snapped. You grabbed Tom's sleep mask and snatched his headphones from his ears. He protested, but you ignored him as you kicked open his trailer door and chucked the objects as far as you could.

When you turned back to Tom, he was on his feet and he looked furious. But you refused to be intimidated by him.

"You listen to me, Tom Ryder," you said. "I don't give a shit about your stupid fucking pre-filming rituals. What I do give a shit about is this movie, that you're supposed to be the star of. I am sick and tired of chasing you around like a toddle to round you onto set when that is not my job. So, please, get off your ass and do your job."

You turned to leave, but paused to add, "And I'm a PA, not your assistant."

You walked out of his trailer, the frustration slowly starting to evaporate. You didn't think your words were going to have any effect on Tom. If anything, you were sure it would just make him pissed off and he probably wouldn't even come to set at all now. You'd feel worried for your job if you weren't so happy with yourself for finally telling Tom off.

You were planning on how you were going to tell Jody about what happened with Tom when you heard his trailer door open. You turned to see Tom stepping out of the trailer, already dressed in his gold space cowboy outfit which you hadn't noticed before.

He brushed past you, saying, "Let's shoot this fucking thing."

You let out a sigh of relief as you trailed after him.

Tom, luckily, was super professional and fantastic at his job for the remainder of the day. So much so that Jody was literally jumping from her seat to praise the cast, and to show her relief that the day had finally gone well. You were equally thrilled by this because it meant you were finally able to do your actual job.

When Jody finally called it for the day, you were collecting your stuff and noticed someone approaching you. You looked up to see it was Tom. You braced yourself for the verbal berating you were likely about to get.

"Hey," he said. "PA. What's your name?"

You'd be offended if it were anyone else asking. You had been working with Tom for months, so most people would expect that he'd know your name, but considering that he viewed you as just another assistant until hours ago, you weren't shocked that he hadn't deemed you important enough to remember your name.

"(Y/N)," you told him. "And, listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier - "

"No you're not," Tom cut you off. "That level of verbal smackdown only happens when you've been holding something in for a long time and you've finally had enough. And you're right, I haven't been making things easy for anyone on set this whole filming process."

Was this some sort of joke? Were the cameras still rolling trying to film your reaction? Had you passed out suddenly while filming and now you were dreaming? There was no way that Tom Ryder of all people was admitting to his faults, especially to someone he couldn't even be bothered to learn the name or occupation of until seconds ago.

When you didn't respond, Tom continued on, "What are you doing tonight?"

"Uh...just going back to my hotel room, I guess. Maybe grab a drink with Jody at the hotel bar."

"Change your plans. You're gonna come have a drink with me instead."

It wasn't a question because Tom Ryder didn't have to ask questions. Tom Ryder was used to just smiling at a woman - or at a man honestly - and having them fall to his feet immediately.

So imagine his surprise when you said, "No."

You started to walk away from him, but he quickly moved to follow you. "Uh...maybe you didn't hear me correctly."

"No, I heard you just fine," you said. "The answer is no."

"But...why?"

You stopped walking to turn and face him. "Tom, you are the star of this movie, and I am a production assistant. There are so many levels of not right about me getting drinks with you."

"It's just drinks," he said with a shrug.

"It's a date, and I can't go on a date with you while we're working together."

You turned to walk away from him again. This time, he didn't follow. He watched you go for a while before calling out, "What about when we're not working together?"

You looked over your shoulder and smiled at him. "We'll see."

~~~~~~

Weeks later, the filming of Metalstorm came to a close. It have become much less painful on set as Tom was always in costume and on set at the time he was supposed to be, sometimes even earlier. Everyone was so shocked by his sudden change, but no one was going to question it. There was too much left of the movie to be filmed to start bringing attention to the fact that Tom was actually being a professional.

During the last few weeks, Tom did not give up on his pursuit of you. He didn't ask you out again, but he was constantly sending you gifts to remind you that he still wanted to go out with you: flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals. The one that really made you laugh was when you found a magazine with him on the cover, shirtless, in front of your hotel room door.

The last day on set, as everyone was celebrating the end of the shoot and saying their emotional goodbyes, you walked up to Tom and slipped a piece of paper into his hand. When he opened it, he saw your number written on it.

You got a text almost immediately after: "drinks, my place. i'll send a car for you"

You got ready at the hotel, putting on the nicest thing you had packed. You hadn't really packed any dresses or outfits that would be date worthy because you weren't expecting to go on any dates. The closest thing you had was a nice pair of jeans and a short sleeved button up blouse that was white with red and pink flowers on it. It seemed more professional work vibes than date vibes, but that's all you had really prepared for.

You also hadn't packed makeup, not expecting to need any when you were just here for work, so you had to hope Tom wasn't expecting you to show up completely dolled up.

The car he had sent for you showed up around 8pm and took you directly to his apartment. He was waiting for you by the door, also dressed more casually than fancy for a date, so you felt a little relieved.

"Hey," he said when you got out of the car. "You look great."

"Thanks," you said. "Are we, um, staying in for drinks?"

"Yeah, I figure that's probably the better option. Less likely to be surrounded by paparazzi or crazy fans if we just hang out in my place."

Right, that would make sense.

You hadn't really thought about the fact that someone like Tom probably didn't get to go out as much as a normal person would. He hadn't been to any of the Metalstorm cast and crew nights out, but you had chalked that up to him thinking he was too good to go out with everyone else. Maybe it was actually because he felt like he couldn't.

You followed Tom into his apartment. Although, "apartment" was definitely an understatement. The place was bigger than the house you had grown up in, and even had two floors and a rooftop pool. You couldn't help but marvel at everything - the largeness of it, as well as all the film memorabilia Tom had placed on the walls and the shelves. And then you came across the walls covered in sticky notes and found yourself confused.

Tom noticed the look on your face as you stopped to read a few of the notes and laughed. "I like to remember things."

"'Next role: paramedic vampire'?" you read, giving Tom a playful look.

"I think that could be a good role. Imagine a paramedic who is also a vampire, and sometimes they have to struggle with all the blood they're exposed to every day."

"So basically Carlisle Cullen from Twilight?"

"I've never seen those movies so I don't know."

You chuckled as you followed him to the mini bar.

"What do you drink?" he asked. "I have...basically everything."

"Give me a whiskey neat." He raised an eyebrow at you. "I had a lot of hard nights during film school. You learn to enjoy the hard stuff."

He smiled and grabbed you a glass. He filled it halfway with a whiskey that definitely looked very expensive, and then got himself a glass as well. He held his glass up to you, and you tapped yours against his.

"What are we toasting to?" you asked him.

"To the movie finally wrapping so I could take you on a date."

You couldn't help but smile as you took a sip of your whiskey.

"There's something I have to ask you before we move forward, though," you said. Tom leaned against the island between you two and motioned for you to continue. "When did you and Iggy stop dating? I mean...obviously you've stopped dating...right?"

Tom chuckled. "Would I have asked you on a date if we hadn't?"

"I don't know how you big hot shot celebrity couples do relationships. Maybe you guys are like...open? I don't know."

"We're not, and we're not together. We broke up just before Metalstorm started filming."

You winced. "That's rough."

"That's acting. You can't just throw away a whole role because you have to act alongside your ex. Besides, it was mutual, and now she's dating Jason Momoa."

"And you're on a date with the PA from Metalstorm."

Tom gave you a look. "Don't say that as if it's a downgrade or something. I like you, that's all that matters."

You were speechless. This was the most sincere you had ever heard Tom be. Usually he was yelling or cursing on set because he felt like the take he did was awful, or he was annoyed by the Australian heat in his shiny gold costume. You had no idea that Tom Ryder had a softer side of him. Actually, you weren't sure anyone knew that.

You and Tom eventually moved from the car to the couch in his lounge. He turned on a movie ("I promise it won't be my own", he had joked) and the two of you sat close but not close enough to be touching. Tom had his arm across the back of the couch behind you, just begging for you to lean into him. You'd keep inching closer every so often until finally your side was pressed against his, and you were able to rest your head on his shoulder.

You couldn't help but think about how surprised you were with how quickly things had changed these last few weeks. For a majority of filming, you had basically hated Tom. You thought he was egotistical and annoying. You never would've thought you'd be on a date with him once filming had wrapped. Sure, you thought he was attractive. Anyone with eyes could see that. But you didn't think he would ever see you as someone to go on a date with, let alone that you would have agreed if he asked.

At some point during the movie, Tom shifted and moved away from you. You looked up at him, confused, to find him already looking down at you.

"I really want to kiss you," he admitted.

"What's stopping you?" you asked.

The answer was nothing, because once the words were out of your mouth Tom was cupping your cheek and pulling you in for a kiss. It was one of those magical kisses that people in TV shows and movies always talk about. The ones where they say you feel a spark and you see stars. You didn't want it to end.

But eventually you had to pull away for air. You looked up at Tom, who now had a small grin on his face.

"I suppose there's no chance you'd want to stay over?" he asked.

You really wanted to say yes, but you knew you shouldn't. You weren't the type of person to put out on the first date, and you knew there was a huge risk of that happening if you stayed at Tom's for the night.

So, you sighed and shook your haed.

"Thought so," Tom said. "I'll just have to get enough kissing in before I have to let you go."

You giggled as he leaned in to kiss you again.

[silverwhittlingknife]

hi Silver! o/ because that fanart made me wonder - would you happen to know when/where Dick's stuffed elephant plush Zitka turns up in the comics?

GREETINGS CAM <3333 THAT ART WAS SO CUTE

Yeah, I think your instincts are right - it's a truly adorable bit of transformative fandom, but I'm 95% percent sure it's not comics canon. Barbara has canon plushies, but I don't think anyone else does.

I got kinda invested in the investigation (it's hard to prove a negative!) and I ended up typing out an entire History of Elinore/Zitka, so, uh, if you're curious, meet me below the cut for:

Where does Elinore / Zitka - the animal - appear in comics?

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

Where does Elinore / Zitka appear in comics?

We're gonna go in chronological order!

Dick's circus elephant friend was first created for practical reasons: in Batman 436, Marv Wolfman does a big expanded flashback to Dick's circus backstory as a way to subtly show us Tim before officially introducing him (so that we can have a technically-solvable mystery-of-Tim's-identity in LPoD). In this comic, there's an elephant named Elinore who loves Dick:

Aww. Such a cute elephant!

Batman 436 comes out in August 1989. New Titans 60 comes out a few months later, in November, and guess what? When Dick visits the circus, he is suddenly surprised by an unexpected blast from the past! It turns out that even though it's been years, Elinore still remembers him!

Here's the part where Elinore remembers Dick:

SUCH a cute elephant. I love her.

(Guess who else still remembers Dick even though it was so long ago. Guess which other character is about to be an unexpected blast from the past. Guess which character Elinore is directly paralleling guess guess guess sorry everything is about Dick and Tim in my mind but I can focus I swear)

Four years later, in 1993, Batman: The Animated Series retells Dick's origin story. They like and keep Wolfman's elephant, but they change her name to Zitka:

Wolfman doesn't return to the elephant beyond those two appearances, and a few years down the line, New Titans gets cancelled and Wolfman's not writing Dick anymore anyway. So the animal gets abandoned for a while, until Devin Grayson, a fan of both Wolfman and B:tAS, revives the Wolfman-era Titans team in JLA/Titans and then the ongoing series Titans 1999.

Grayson then brings back the elephant in a flashback to Dick's past in Titans 16 (Jun 2000), where she imports the B:tAS name. Sometimes I'm skeptical of TV-to-comics imports, but honestly, I endorse this one. You lose the alliteration, which is a shame, but IMO Zitka is a better elephant name than Elinore.

Here's Dick with the newly-christened Zitka in Titans 16:

Grayson also briefly references the elephant in Gotham Knights 20 and - in a final angsty callback - in Nightwing 88 (Feb 2004), where Zitka tries futilely to comfort Dick in the midst of his trauma conga line:

... And... honestly, I think that's it for comic appearances? The two Wolfman comics plus the three Grayson comics.

Both Wolfman and Grayson are writing multiple titles - Batman, New Titans, Titans, Gotham Knights, and Nightwing between the two of them, spanning a big chunk of Dick's post-Crisis canon - and both writers use the elephant for heartwarming moments of nostalgia, which means if you're doing a post-Crisis readthrough for Dick, Elinore/Zitka feels memorable. But I don't think she actually shows up that much.

For post-2011, I am not as well-informed - throwing this out to the dash? anyone know? - but I feel like Zitka the heartwarming symbol of Dick's heartwarming circus past is, uh, thematically very at odds with the Court of Owls evil!circus vibes, so my instinct is that this story element was almost certainly dropped in the reboot.

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

In WFA, yes; in main comics continuity, no. Technically, I have not read every comic ever published, so I could be wrong!! But I don't think so.

Below, find my rambling reasoning on the tonal vibes of pre-Crisis, post-Crisis, and post-2011, and why this particular story element doesn't seem right to me for the first two.

Pre-Crisis (...okay, mostly the Silver Age): stuffed animal, yes or no?

tl;dr no, requires too much background knowledge on the part of the reader, plus the elephant wasn't a thing until later

Elinore doesn't get created until post-Crisis, but also just generally, pre-Crisis callbacks are more along the lines of this reference in Batman 129 (published in 1960), where, wow, Batman and Robin are hunting jewel thieves - and it turns out Robin recognized this strongman! BUT HOW?!

The comic goes on to recap Dick's entire origin story in flashback, on the assumption that you may not know it.

(BTW, if you'd like to know more about Haly's Circus throughout the years, nightwingology has a great post here summarizing a lot of fun plotlines and characters!)

Basically: Silver Age comics are very self-consciously episodic and kid-friendly; they're not generally gonna do overly-elaborate callbacks because they don't know what comics their kid readers may have randomly picked up or remember.

By the time of post-Crisis, comic books were being written for an adult audience buying from the direct market, i.e. readers who are collecting whole runs & don't need or want Dick's origin story to be recapped to us in full every time it's referenced. That's why in post-Crisis, we get stuff like "hey, neat, this particular soda brand is getting mentioned in several different books!!" or "in order to understand this story arc, buy SIXTEEN DIFFERENT COMICS in FIVE DIFFERENT RUNS and read them ALL ACCORDING TO A NUMBERED ORDER and also you better be following the individual plotlines and recognize these five minor characters who we don't bother to introduce!! Good luck!!" But the elaborate post-Crisis plotlines - and subtler worldbuilding like a stuffed animal callback to Dick's backstory - don't make a lot of story sense UNLESS you're imagining your readers as completionist adult fans.

So IMO a stuffed animal wouldn't be a pre-Crisis thing unless it was The Episodic Story Of the Week, and I don't think a stuffed animal is action-adventure-y enough for the fast-paced storytelling of the Silver Age. (Unless it, like, came to life and tried to eat you or something.)

Post-Crisis: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr: no, Dick's a manly tough guy, he's not gonna have a stuffed animal, that'd be lame, like something Tim might do

Part of the edgy grimdark adult vibes in 80s/90s comics is that some characters who used to be kinda silly & goofy & lighthearted - like Batman and Robin - get reimagined as Serious and Angsty and Edgy in a Tough Cool Manly Brooding Way. This massively affects characterization for Bruce, Dick, and Bruce and Dick's relationship.

(I obviously love this change & love the tense Bruce-and-Dick interactions, but plenty of fans of the earlier fluffy comics really disliked the edgy retcons of Miller / Wolfman / Starlin / et al.)

The upshot is that post-Crisis is a period when you could have a recurring reference like a stuffed elephant, but you wouldn't have a stuffed elephant, not for Dick. I think a toy like that would be too cutesy / childish / effeminate to give a male character in post-Crisis, unless you were poking fun at him.

Now, you could probably let Tim have a stuffed animal, because Tim is sometimes cool but also sometimes a tryhard loser who is faking being cool and not entirely pulling it off (see e.g. the Robin comic where he practices tough-guy faces in the mirror, or the Teen Titans comic where Conner discovers his cringy Enya CD, or when he's fanboying over Connor and it's awkward, etc etc.). A stuffed animal would be deeply embarrassing, and you'd have to be careful to compensate by having Tim do something cool afterward - but Tim's character concept allows for "he's kind of a loser sometimes."

But Dick isn't!! In post-Crisis, Dick's a tough / impressive / "cool guy" character, the kind of guy anyone would want to be, even in the flashbacks where he's Robin, and even in the stories where he's more lighthearted than angsty. It'd be kinda lame for Dick to have a stuffed elephant, so he wouldn't. I feel like Dick would be more likely to poke fun at it if someone had one, like when he's making fun of Wally for liking the Hardy Boys. Dick could have a Batman action figure, at most, and if he had one he would have it ironically.

Basically: in post-Crisis, a male character hugging a stuffed elephant feels more likely to be a punchline to me, not something poignant. (Even with Tim, Tim could have an embarrassing stuffed animal, but he couldn't hug it when sad - that's too far. Maybe Booster Gold might do this. Probably he wouldn't, but spiritually, he would. Sorry Booster ilu! <3)

Instead, Dick instinctively deals with his inner turmoil like the TORTURED ACTION HERO he is: by punching things and brooding and yelling and joining the mob and sleeping on rooftops and going on obsessive secret missions and acquiring Angsty Stubble!! Just like Batman!

(Technically I don't know if Bruce ever joined the mob but you know he would.)

Anyway as you know this is my favorite continuity and I am poking fun affectionately, but uh, yeah sdfsfdsfs. No stuffed animals.

Post-2011 / Infinite Frontier / Wayne Family Adventures: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr it's in WFA! Probably not anywhere else, but it could be.

Post-2011 stuff tends to be cutesier overall, most of all in the current Infinite Frontier era. So I don't feel like this would be tonally out-of-line with IF comics. Taylor tends to go for more meme-y references rather than fanfic references, though.

So the obvious best fit is WFA, which is aiming for a rough approximation of Silver Age family-friendly vibes - wholesome, episodic plots, Teaching Good Moral Lessons For The Youth, etc. - plus lots of Easter eggs for fanfic readers and some comic references.

And look, here we are:

Aww.

Whew - that's everything I could find!

Anyway as you can probably tell, I LOVE the elephant, so this was a very entertaining rabbit hole to go down, thank you <3

[coolshadowtwins]

I have this au that just kinda… drops off half way through, which is why I haven’t posted it before. But I can’t think of anything else for it, so you get what little there is!

SXY manages to survive the poison when giving birth. Maybe it wasn’t as strong, maybe she managed to cut it off early enough, maybe LBH’s demon blood helped. Who knows. The point is, she is now half dead instead of fully dead, in a lot of pain, and has a newborn baby because she just gave birth! She’s just thinking about doing her original plan- sending LBH down the river- when a nice washer woman comes along and finds her.

I’m going to call her Ms Luo for this, since she doesn’t have a name in canon. Ms Luo is a kind woman! She’s kind of enough to take in a baby she has found in the wilderness, and she’s kind enough to take in this dying, half feral cultivator and her newborn baby as well!

SXY doesn’t trust it- obviously. But she doesn’t get much of a say when she falls unconscious, does she, hmmm? And she stays in and out of unconsciousness for the next few days, at least. The poi didn’t kill her, but it did mess her up. I imagine for this au it would limit her lower mobility, if it was trying to kill the baby. Some bad nerve damage there.

But Ms Luo is here! She doesn’t have much, but she does care for the baby as SXY is unconscious. She tries to get medication for SXY as well, but isn’t successful. Just as well- normal medication wouldn’t do much for what’s wrong anyway.

And this is the new normal that SXY wakes up to- a week plus later, her cultivation (which also would have taken a hit) having done its best at repairing the damage, her lover and the father of her child either dead or sealed away out of reach, and at the mercy of this random washerwoman.

She’s not getting any better until she could see a sect doctor, preferably one of the best ones. But that’s never going to happen- she’s wanted now, surely! Demonic sympathizers were never treated well. (The cultivation world thinks she’s dead, tragically killed by TJL. But she doesn’t know this yet.)

So she does the only thing she can- hang around and help Ms Luo out. She can’t leave, not with her mobility issues, nor would she be able to provide for her baby. But she can stay here, under the kindness of this woman, and try and help her out.

She starts to help wash the clothes- don’t have to be standing for parts of that! To save on food, she focuses her limited cultivation so she doesn’t have to eat the limited supplies they have. She’s terrifying, and she’s uses that to her advantage when intimidating Ms Luo’s shitty boss.

Ms Luo repays her by not only letting her live there, but also helping with LBH, giving SXY a new name to hide with, and her friendship. (SXY will never admit it, but she never had a lot of friends. Having one in Ms Luo was… nice)

LBH, meanwhile, is absolutely loving being raised by two moms. He’s learning to cook from Ms Luo, and learning cultivating from SXY. What else would a young boy need?

And then LBH is ten, and Ms Luo gets sick. Like, really sick. Nothing SXY, in her limited medical knowledge, does helps her. The town doesn’t have a clinic, and the nearest one is a while away. Not only that, they don’t have the money to go. SXY can see only one way to help her friend- go to the one place that (probably) wouldn’t turn her away for being a criminal when there’s a life of the line. CQM.

Cue a travel montage of SXY (who has limited mobility), Ms Luo (who is deathly sick), and LBH (who is ten), trying to get to CQM before it is too late.

They do make it there- only to be stopped at the stairs. They aren’t stopped by an actual person! They are stopped by the actual stairs. SXY can’t walk them. Ms Luo can’t walk them.

That leaves LBH, ten and scruffy and probably looking too thin, to be the one to climb the giant staircase, up to the sect in the heavens.

The last thought I have of this au is the funny image of whoever happens to be at the top of the stairs that morning, being greeted by what looks to be a street urchin tell you that his mother is the long thought dead SXY and that she’s down the stairs, along with his other mother (by the way, he has two), and both are dying. Would you believe him?

(I have nothing after this. Please, tell me in reblogs and replies about how you would continue this)

[tiredfox64]

I’m Gonna Be Your Number One

Yip notes: It’s getting hot and audios came back on TikTok so now I remember songs. Ah

Pairing: Rain (MK1) x Afab reader

Warnings ‼️: SWIM

It seems magic can’t solve everything.

Everyone knows Rain has an amazing grasp on water magic. He can cause geysers to burst from the ground, shield himself with a wall of water, and hold an orb of water in the palm of his hands. Yet even the greatest who have mastered water cannot master it all. The waves will crash wherever they like. The pools will submerge whoever they want. Once the water has a grip on you, you lose your grip on it. That’s the last thing Rain wants to happen.

So in short, Rain doesn’t trust the water fully. Meaning he never liked going into bodies of water resulting in him being unable to…swim?

What? What do you mean Zeffeero can’t swim? He’s a water mage, how could he not know how to swim? That makes no sense! What do you mean it’s the same with me being a drummer? It is not! Just because I’m a musician doesn’t mean I need to learn scales. IT’S HARD OKAY! I DIDN’T START WITH THE PIANO IT’S NOT MY FAULT I WANTED TO BE AWESOME! HIM NOT KNOWING HOW TO SWIM IS NOT THE SAME AS ME NOT KNOWING BASS CLEF YOU DI-

As the seasons changed and the weather began to blister in Outworld it grew unbearable. You were visiting Rain more often just to find a way to cool off. He told you his magic was not supposed to be used to cool people off but you ignored that. Plus, he always gave in and created a cloud to drizzle over you to help you out. You are his dearest friend after all. He’d do anything for you.

Remember that for later.

Those little showers were not cutting it. Everyone else in Outworld were going to lakes and beaches to cool off. You wanted and needed to do the same, not alone of course. You want to go with your friend. It felt right to invite Rain to come with you to the beach. He could probably do some cool stuff with the ocean water. But when you suggested that to him he immediately said no. Actually, he raised his voice when he said that which caught the attention of others. He quickly apologized for raising his voice before saying he couldn’t. You asked him why and the excuses came. It’s not like Empress Sindel wouldn’t allow it, she wanted a beach day as badly as anyone else. Finally, he budged after you wouldn’t stop interrogating him. He whispered the truth to you. The truth is that he never learned to swim.

He was worried you would make fun of him or think he was a loser but you were more shocked in reality. How could your best friend not know how to swim? Well that won’t do. You’re gonna change that. You told him you would take the initiative to teach him yourself. He was very hesitant to do it, saying there was no reason for him to start learning now. You reminded him that he would do anything for you and this was something you wanted him to do. Fine, you win, but it needs to be in private. You promised him it would stay between you two and that you know the perfect spot to practice.

Better buy the man a pair of swimming trunks, he's gonna need them.

══💤══╡°˖✧🦊✧˖°╞══💤══

“Where are we going?” Rain asked while following you through a forest he had never been in.

“You’ll find out when we get there.” You replied with a smile on your face.

 You walked through a forest you frequently visit. It’s hidden from the eyes of others. The trees grow high into the sky, leaving the forest ground in a cooling shade while letting the sunlight peek through to allow the flora to bloom. In the distance, the sound of running water is heard. It’s a calming sound. Rain has no idea how you found this place but it does seem neat. He wished you would tell him what this visit was all about. Maybe he should take in the fact that you told him to wear the swim trunks that you bought him. Soon enough, both of you came across an opening that led to a pond. The water was clear enough to show the smooth stones that lay at the bottom of the pond.

Rain wanted to back out but you gestured for him to come closer to the water. The water was so calm that he could see his reflection without any distortion. No ripples or tiny waves. He wanted to tell you that he didn’t want to do this today but you were already taking your clothes off. He immediately looked away out of respect.

“Don’t be shy. I’m wearing a bathing suit.” The tone you used with him made him feel silly.

When Rain looked back at you he was stunned by your beauty. He has never seen you in a bathing suit before. He has never seen you like this. In all honesty, you were working that bathing suit like a model. He didn’t realize he was staring at you for so long that you caught him in the act. That’s perfectly fine. You wanted his attention. You took his hand to guide him to the water but he yanked you back.

“It’s…cold.” He was making excuses now.

“And it’s horribly hot right now. I rather be cold than burning up.” You were determined to get Rain into the water. You need to take it slow.

You held Rain’s hand tightly as you moved further into the pond. The water cooled your skin and splashed against your leg every time you stepped forward. It’s the sensation you have been desiring for days. But for Rain, it was like walking through a pile of needles. But he had to do this for you. If he backed out now he would disappoint you. As much as he hated failing himself, he would hate to fail you.

He marched forward, closing his eyes and holding your hand tightly. You guys went further into the pond until the water reached your chest. Only then did Rain open his eyes. You gave him a smile, happy to see him get this far into the pond. And…well…it wasn’t all that bad. The water did feel refreshing and helped cool his body down after the long walk. He was even brave enough to create an orb using the water in front of him. Your eyes sparkled seeing him use his magic. That was until he made the orb pop on top of your head, completely soaking you.

Rain couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle. Though you always enjoyed his laughter and found it to be a moment of peace, this was different. This meant war. You used your arm to create a wave of water that splashed onto Rain. His hair suddenly lost its volume and was now covering his eyes. You let out a triumphant laugh before feeling something wrap around your waist. There was nothing there, or so you thought. You got picked up from the water and you could then see that Rain was using water tentacles to mess with you.

“Hey! No fair! You’re using magic!” You yelled out.

“All is fair in love and war.” He shot back.

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

Whether or not it did make sense, it doesn’t matter now. You were telling Rain to let you down. He let you down all right. Right into his arms. Instead of water tentacles being wrapped around your waist it was his arms this time. This was all in good fun plus he was loving this moment with you. You saw that he was getting comfortable with the water which was a good sign to you. It might be time to push it. It might be time to push a lot of things since this moment was getting pretty intimate.

“Come on, let’s go deeper.” You suggested.

“Are you sure? Are you certain that you want to teach me?”

“I’m not the kind of girl who gives up just like that. I promise I’ll be holding on to you.” You were very certain. Your tone was confident which made Rain feel a little better.

He put you down into the water and you took his hand once more. Slowly but surely you made your way deeper into the pond. The shade of the water was becoming darker. You thought it would be best to see how long Rain could actually hold his breath. You told him to take a big breath and that you will be doing the same thing with him. Big breath in…and…dive!

You and Rain submerged yourselves under the water. You held hands as you looked at each other. So far so good. He wasn’t panicking which helped a lot. It might have been because you were right there with him. But the first breath might not be the best. You could already tell he was struggling as little air bubbles left his lips. You could signal for him to breach the surface to gain more air but at the same time you had an idea. You always wanted to do this little trick. You didn’t think it would actually worked but it doesn’t hurt to experiment. Plus it will be a great excuse to put your lips against Rain’s lips.

You pulled Rain in. He thought you would try to help him up to the surface but no. Instead, he felt your lips against his. He didn’t feel any air being pushed past. All he could feel was you. His eyes were wide while you stayed as calm as you could. Your heart was going crazy which really wasn’t the best when underwater. But it’s okay you’ll get more air soon. You pulled back from Rain and looked at him to see if that did anything. It certainly did something but it wasn’t what you expected.

Rain was so shocked his mouth went agape. All of his air came out in one big air bubble. You immediately panicked and grabbed hold of him. For someone who wasn’t a fighter you sure were strong. You brought Rain up to the surface in seconds. He took a huge breath, feeling the burning from his lungs become dull. He wanted to ask you why you kissed him but he had to catch his breath first.

“You know you were supposed to keep the air in, right?” You tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

“You…You kissed me!?” Rain pointed out.

“What!? No! I didn’t!” You tried to defend yourself.

Yeah it wasn’t really a kiss but you did want it to be. Why else would you try something that you knew wouldn’t one hundred percent work. You wouldn’t try that move with any other guy. You would never even dream of it. Except with Rain. You would do it to him. You DID do it to him.

“You and I both know that what you did doesn’t work. It’s a myth.” He called you out.

“…so?”

“So!?”

Now you felt like the silly one. You were wondering if Rain would be upset with you now and think you were a loser. You pulled a risky stunt and though it didn’t kill him he might want to kill you now. You were about to apologize before you heard him say something that surprised you.

“If you so badly wanted a kiss you could have asked. You didn’t need to do all of this to gain my attention.”

Well, you didn’t actually plan this whole thing just to get a kiss but it’s a win I guess.

“It wasn’t like that but okay. I’m sorry if I upset you.” Don’t go pulling that cute voice out when you apologize. You know he falls for it.

Now you’re giving him those puppy dog eyes as you pull him in closer. You’re truly killing Rain at this point. Just drown him while you’re at it.

“It’s not like you had competition. You should have been formal.”

“Ah well, actually every girl wants you to be her man. I had a lot of competition.” You corrected him.

He was surprised. Do women actually want him? You were telling the truth. The ladies love him. They love a man with power and magic. That’s why you needed to strike. But this wasn’t the strike you were planning on taking.

“It doesn’t matter now. You clearly feel the same since you told me I could have just asked.”

Rain wanted to protest but you were right. He did tell you that you could have asked him for a kiss and he would have given it to you. Shoot maybe you could have asked him to be your boyfriend and he would have accepted since you were so formal about it.

Might as well call this pond Awkward Lovers Lake cause that’s all that seems to be in it. Yes, it says lake when it’s actually a pond, this is not new. Things are misnamed all the time.

There was an awkwardness between you two that had to be broken. Luckily you still had some bravery in you to do it.

“Would you like to keep on playing in the water?” You asked.

You heard him sigh before he said, “Of course. Just don’t make me swim or hold my breath.”

“Deal!”

Yap notes: No I don't actually think he can't swim. I think he could swim fine I just thought it would be ironic 💀. I just really wanted to do more for Rain cause he was the first one I tried when it came to fanfics. I love my snookie pookie. Plus it's the first day of June meaning summer is getting hot, hot, hot. AND it's my birthday month so of course I had to involve him. He's just so handsome I love him. I would give him a kiss if he wasn't washing me away all the time. Adiós!

[realchemistry]

Everything that went right and wrong with 9-1-1 season 7 (according to me, duh!)

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the season a lot, but that doesn't mean that it was flawless and I thought the finale didn't deliver. So, this is me pointing out what I did and didn't like and why, and how I wish it'd happened instead.

Also: it's a short and somewhat rushed season due to the writers' strike, this I know. You know who else knew? TPTB. So, nope, it’s not a valid excuse for any of its shortcomings. If they tried to bite off more than they could chew, that's on them.

Everyone knows that having a three-episode arc for the honeymoon was a bad choice, it was clear because the episodes dragged due to it and the Bathena drama made no sense. Let's say they had to keep up with the tradition and that it's a huge budget deal to build those sets so they had to milk them for all they were worth. Fine. It could've still been made more interesting, but wrong choices were made. I didn't appreciate the whole pirates taking over thing, and the season ended with the cartel, which... why do you want to have POCs being the bad guys so badly?

So, let's go by the assumption that having a three episode arc for Bathena's honeymoon was the only choice possible, fine... but didn't Madney deserve a lot of attention as well considering they got freaking married? Why was that not a two-parter? Why not have a first part with cases and some fun bachelor/bachelorette shenanigans, and have Chim disappearing be the cliffhanger? Why not dedicate a big chunk of the second part to that, like they did, and then actually give the wedding some breathing room? Sure, it mirrored their kiss after the whole Doug debacle but these are two main characters who got married. It's a drama show but the drama gets old if there are no bright moments in between.

The inclusion of Amir was interesting because of what it brought up in Bobby. Plus, the actor was clearly great and he was such a big deal that he, well, he was given A LOT of screentime. This made me mad because the show, as previously mentioned, was short on time as it was. Having a new character come in and have such a huge role would make sense if we were talking about a full season. As it was, his presence meant that some of our regulars were pushed to the background. Their storylines suffered for it, and while the show usually does this, it's sorta okay when screentime is divvied up between the regular cast. When it's an outsider... well, I have some issues with that. Like, we literally know more about Amir than we do about Ravi at this point. Also: Amir was clearly an amazing person and he was wronged time and time again. Athena got to play solo-cop as it's her thing, and we're supposed to think she was being heroic instead of downright wrong and abusing her power? If I were Amir, I'd sue her and I'd burn their house down for real (not really, but you know what I mean). They put this man through hell. Sure, Bobby saved him... which felt such a white savior redemption thing. And I know the show and the character said otherwise, but it still felt awful and then it just got worse. In any case, they could’ve made this story play out with more nuances instead of devoting so much of a short season to it to the detriment of our stable cast. 

Buck had an amazing start of the season, finding himself and his truth and sharing it with his family. The fact that they had him entering the dating scene with a character like T*mmy... I didn't like that. Any random person would've been better. But, also, I don't wanna be that person but this is my blog so I'm gonna be: Oliver clearly hasn't been enjoying the latest interactions between these characters to the point where their scenes, few as they are, are actually hard to watch. The last one was literally the most cringe inducing moment of TV I've ever witnessed. Instead of Buck exploring himself, we have him reacting to the odd, negative and out of place comments that T*mmy keeps throwing his way. It's just weird and not at all the happy story Oliver was hoping for, so I get him. I hope this gets better next season, with BT being bones and Buck being able to thrive instead of falling back into a revamped awful dating life.

On the other hand, this season was the Buddiest of them all. Well, I mean, it had the most hints of it actually happening at some point. When Buck talked about there being underlying sexual tension in the premiere, it was just ashslgjñhjsdñgjsñdg. They were comparing Chris's interactions with girl friends and boy friends but we all know that wasn't all that was. We had Eddie talking about how much growth Buck had done from being a playboy, which funnily enough he never got to meet, to the person he's today. Another great indicator were the whole 100th/101st episodes, with Buck clearly wanting to get Eddie's attention due to jealousy, which everybody could see, and the ~reveal that the episode was from Buck’s POV which was also incredible because that man is so in love it’s just insane. But, even most importantly maybe, was Maddie's scene with Buck... It was a mirror of her calling him out on his guy crush on Eddie from season 2, with the circled with a heart around it, but the next episode it got real. To me, her words and her face spoke volumes: first she couldn’t believe Buck was with Eddie’s friend, then she told him he might not be sure of his own feelings and finally that if there’s something he needs to tell Eddie, he will, just in his own time. That was NOT about Buck being bisexual, it was Maddie reading right what Buck was reading wrong: how Buck had been jealous because of the way he feels about Eddie and how he was putting his feelings for Eddie into somebody else. Someone safe for the time being, all things considered. That's a thread waiting to be pulled when the right time comes if I ever saw one! I've been giddy just thinking about it ever since, tbh. We also had a Buddie scene in pretty much every episode, and I absolutely adored them in the bachelor party because they were so in sync, as they were all season long actually. The parallel of Eddie asking for Buck’s help at the end was nice as just that, but the story... I’ll rant about it later. I love that Oliver has been pushing the Buddie agenda harder than ever, so I'm hoping he's talking Ryan's ear off about it and that they'll demand it from Tim soon enough.

Onto Eddie, the problem with the whole Kim thing actually starts because they killed Shannon in the first place. They should've never done that, I've always thought this way. She was a great character and seeing Eddie co-parent with his ex would've been great storytelling, he could've still had a breakdown due to divorcing her or even her dating again or whatever. Besides the insanity of Kim going back to his house after learning the truth, the fact that Eddie broke down and caved in was understandable. I actually thought that was pretty well done. The problem was all that followed. We don't care about Marisol because the show never made us care about her, so her part in all of this is completely irrelevant.

As for Chris, I honestly have SO many issues with his reaction. Him being confused would only be right, but being that mad with Eddie? I honestly feel like I'm missing something because the two of them have developed such a strong relationship that it feels like Chris's reaction was totally OOC. Why wouldn't Chris want to know Eddie's side of the story? Why would he want to leave his dad and his house? Why would he want to leave the state? Why would he want to go live with his grandparents? Sure, he has a good relationship with them at this point, but we can only gather that by... imagining it, for the most part. How long since they been around? Why not mention that they were visiting or that Chris was with them when he was away to set the stage? It honestly feels like it was all improvised and they wanted to leave Eddie without Chris and this was all they could come up with. There were other ways that could've actually made more sense to get to this place, but they chose to do it in a way that's both hurtful to the characters and to their progression throughout the seasons. Make it make sense!!! There's also the fact that the finale script was all written under the assumption that Eddie and Kim were kissing when Chris showed up. That didn't actually make the cut. This is clearly a consequence of rushed scripts and filming schedules, and while we can interpret every scene saying they kissed as an exaggeration or simply a wrong interpretation of the situation, it actually made me very mad. Having characters rehash what happened the episode before so the people who missed it can catch up is normal but I hate it with my whole heart. Those people can go to hell, but if they're gonna spend time of the finale doing that, the least they could do is make the facts fact. Sure, Eddie was going insane and he said it was hard to explain but everyone in-show very much believed that Eddie kissed Kim. This is upsetting because of the exact reason why that kiss was cut, as said by Ryan in an interview this week.

On top of this, Chris is 13 years old. Eddie letting him go is not it. Eddie has every right to tell him he's staying whether he likes it or not because he's his father and he gets to decide where he lives. The show tried to make the whole thing come out as noble but I thought it was bullshit. From what we know about Eddie, he wouldn't just let him go: he would either tell Chris to stay put or go with him. The fact that, again, they clearly wanted to have Eddie alone for whatever reason, and they couldn't find a better way to pull it off... that's just bad on TPTB's part.

Hen and Karen were put through hell once more for no reason. Why can't the big obstacle for them be simply getting through Mara? Why do they have to get to a good place only for it to be ripped away? Don't say it's drama tv, I don't care, people on screen deserve happiness, damn it! They most of all, tbh, and the fact that Denny was so upset just made it 5464641636469 worse. Then we had Madney helping out, which was lovely but completely unrealistic from a legal pov and also... why can't HenRen just get what they want without a het couple's intervention? So Ortiz has enough power to get Mara away from them but she didn't know that the people wanting to foster her were part of the 118 even though she had something to do with Gerrard being reinstated? I know this is what Tim implied on his socials to explain why someone as shitty as Gerrard would be taken back by the firehouse... which, I don't know if that even makes sense? Does she have the kind of power to do any of this?

A lot of questions now:

Why was a random woman given so many precious minutes of the finale just so Athena could have a car to go after an innocent man? Why does she keep getting away with asking for personal favors, recklessly involving Maddie too? Why wouldn't the editor of the episode give us a frame at least of Buddie by Bobbie's hospital bed? This made me particularly mad because it actually looked like Oliver and Ryan were not there filming (though we knew they were), and that's why they kept showing their backs. Maybe they had lines, maybe not, but a few seconds while Chim, Hen and Maddie talked would've been nice... since it clearly seemed like nobody was particularly perturbed by Bobbie's state. I'm sorry but I can't fear for his life when his wife is away trying to get revenge and his team are just... there. Also, why are him, Athena, the aforementioned neighbor and Amir allowed to just walk into a house that suffered that much fire damage? Wouldn't the structure be compromised? Plus, Athena and Bobbie kinda were awful to Amir, first killing his wife and then accusing him and all, so why would he want to talk about anything with Bobbie, nevermind say he's earned his family? He was wronged so badly, he didn't owe them a thing, it's honestly ridiculous. Then Bobby came back so fast... but he had quit before and forgot about it? The Gerrard reveal was actually not something I hated because I love a good shake up. I bet he'll last three episodes at most. We know this isn't gonna be good exactly, and it makes zero sense, but a change in dynamics is always refreshing and could put some things into perspective. I hated when Buddie weren't partnered, but I ADORED the way Hen was weirded the fuck out by the closeness she is not used to having with Chim while on the field, so I can't wait for some of it.

Things I wanna see:

More May, more Ravi, Eddie’s sisters. More Buddie. No dating people to fill up time for either of them. Eddie’s gay/demi awakening (I swear, if this is not where his story is going, it will all feel like such a waste, much like during his previous breakdown). Chris and Mara going back home soon. Gerrard and Ortiz getting what they deserve.

This is so long it's insane, if you've read it, I thank you. If I think of anything I forgot, I'll add it later. If you have anything to contribute, please do. I'm around and I'd love to discuss this show and all its intricacies.

[nunalastor]

Cox Chronicles x Harry Potter

I've done some more thinking on the Cox Chronicles x Harry Potter AU, because I have nothing better to do with my time. And it's basically just a Cox Chronicles Highschool AU, because I realized that I don't remember anything about Harry Potter. But here's what I brain rotted over (and also this is a Human AU).

Susan:

Susan is the school librarian and an old (old) friend of Al's mom, which is where the grandmother dynamic comes from. She just wants her crusty grandson to "shape up," and what better way to do that than to push him into the school paper? Some work ethic would do him good (and maybe that "nice boy Vox" will rub off on him).

Susan is also the sponsor of the drama club, led by our illustrious Rosie. Rosie's actually the one who brought up the Approval Points system (later on, once the competition's under way). It was meant as a joke, but Susan ran with it (and Rosie only feels a little bad for fanning the flames).

Speaking of the Approval Competition, there's a bet running between the viewers (Rosie, Velvet, Val, and probably the Sins at some point). In fact, they've even set up a prize for the winner. Whoever has the most Approval Points by the end of the year is being set up on a date with Al at Hogsmeade (no, Alastor has not been consulted on this).

Some exposition:

But first, some set dressing. How does this whole situation come to pass?

Dear old Charlotte has been trying to publicize her new club in the school paper. Unfortunately, her submissions never seem to go through (if Vox threw them in the bin, who's gonna know?). Eventually, she just decides to go in person.

(Plus, she's heard through the grapevine that they've hired someone new. She's CERTAINLY NOT trying to ask for this new person's help behind the Vees backs, because that would be sneaky and underhanded. Popping in while Al was working was a mere coincidence.)

And great news! Alastor's absolutely willing to help! How uncouth to needlessly cast Charlotte's submissions aside. (And he just knows this'll upset that Vox guy, who won't leave him alone). He'll slip the advertisement in. But! He's not naive enough to go out of his way advertising something he knows so little about. So, in exchange, he requests co-presidency of of Charlie's club to oversee how things are going. (Plus, Charlotte already failed at advertising on her own. This club is bound to be an entertaining mess.)

Blah, blah, blah, a bunch of club shenanigans, and then steps in Lucifer. He really wishes his sister had gone to him for help instead of that tall, radio obsessed freak. (It took him forever to realize where he recognized the dude's voice. He's the asshole who does the very mildly entertaining sports announcements for the quidditch games.) He's the student body president (or head of the student council, idk what they have in Britain), he could've just forced the stupid news kids to stop ignoring her. Buuuut, she was adamant about doing things herself, and how Alastor has been such a great help to the club, and yada yada- so, he relented. He could work with this asshole if it's what his sister wanted.

NOW the plot starts:

So, cut to them working together in the library. They're going over logistics when Susan spots them. And frankly, she's appalled. She cannot BELIEVE her grandson would choose to spend time with this GIGOLO, rather than Vox, who's been such a gentlemen this whole time. That Lucifer boy's had THREE suitors so far! Eve, Lilith, and even that Adam boy for a while. Entirely unfaithful and untrustworthy. And she makes sure to tell him as such, storming over and chastising him for "lowering his standards." While Al's busy trying to explain that they're not even friends, Lucifer is just confused, and VERY offended. Sure, sometimes he forgets to turn his books in on time, but that doesn't make him worse than this "Cox" guy! He's been rejecting Charlie's advertisement requests for weeks now. And what? Susan thinks Cox is better for Alastor? Ha! He'll prove her wrong; he'll be the best potential suitor friend for Alastor that she's ever seen! (Definitely better than that Cox guy. What kind of name even is that?)

Anyways, THIS is where the real competition begins. Susan makes sure to warn Vox about the gigolo. This just means that Vox has to double down: Follow Al around even more, hold EVERY door open for him (+5 points), and absolutely attend each and every single play he's acting in (+10 points). And definitely be the one cheering the loudest. He built a sound amplifier for himself to make sure Alastor knows who supports him the MOST. (-10 points for disrupting the play.)

For Lucifer's part, he makes sure to rub in the fact that he and Al are both in the same house (definitely Slytherin). Not only does this piss Vox off to no end (win!), but he makes sure to actually start using this fact by spending more time with Al. He's been in the dorms more lately, trying to hide out from Vox, so it's the perfect opportunity!

When Susan hears Lucifer talk about "Cox," she gets on his case for such vulgar language (-30 Approval Points), but doesn't realize who he's talking about, so doesn't correct him. Neither does Al, so the "Cox" thing continues.

Lucifer's also been complaining about the whole situation to his other friends. The first time Lucifer complained about the "Cox" guy, Ozzie almost did a spit-take. A few of the Sins have heard about Vox, but don't bother to correct Lucifer. After all, he's annoying their friend, (and it's funny), so they just go along with it. And, since the Sins are pretty well known in school, it catches on with the other students. Velvet made NO attempt to warn Vox. The first time someone pointed him out and loudly called him "Cox" in public, he just about short-circuited.

Extra:

Adam could even join in at some point (for AngelicRadio fans). He's still salty about how much Lucifer was bragging about winning the last quidditch match - to his face, the audacity! - and how he stole Lilith, so what better way to get back at him than taking his new man? He strikes up conversation with Alastor the next time he's being interviewed for the school paper. You can imagine for yourself how that goes down.

Granddad Zestial can also make an appearance, as an older student or a professor who took Al in when he first arrived. Really, he knew the librarian was a crank, but how can she not see how controlling that Vox kid is? (Rosie may or may not have introduced him to to the ongoing betting pool, and he may or may not have put his money on Lucifer.)

👀

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Orange Blossoms

Pairing: Buck x Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Notes: It's 5/12/24 at 12:57am. Lmao I wonder if I'm actually going to post this series

Chapter 3: Just Keep Driving

Buck slept over at Eddie’s that night, he was just too excited to be by himself. All he could do was talk about you and Eddie didn’t mind it, he hadn’t seen Buck this obsessed with a girl before 

“Okay, so what’s the plan exactly?” Eddie asks as he dumps a pile of eggs on Bucks' plate 

“You and I are gonna pick Y/N up at Athena’s house around one” He gestures with his bacon before taking a bite 

“Why isn’t she driving herself” Eddie asks as he sits down with his plate 

“Because she’s only got a bike, she can’t borrow May’s car today, and because I might have told her it was gonna rain so she probably shouldn’t take her bike and that we would pick her up.” 

“Is it actually going to rain” Eddie takes a bite of his breakfast and Buck shrugs 

“That’s what the forecast said” 

“Okay, which seat do you want me in?” He butters his toast and Buck sighs, taking a bite of his eggs 

“I’ve been thinking about that all morning, I think I’m just gonna say I had no signal, so you go get her and offer her the front seat” 

Eddie chuckles, he’s thought of everything and all of the different paths to get what he wants 

“And open the door too!! So she can’t say no!!” 

“What if she walks ahead of me and gets in the back first” 

“Hold her hand, she’ll think it’s cute” 

“You want her to think I’m cute” 

“Yeah, like Big Brother, cute! 

“Okay what if I drive and you escort her to the car and buckle her in” Eddie offers while sipping his coffee 

“Because you can’t drive for shit and this is a new car, plus I’d be in the back”

Eddie scoffs indignantly and narrows his eyes over his cup 

“No-no, this plan is the best one, trust me. And if she insists on sitting in the back. You keep your body turned so she feels a part of the conversation. But like try to get her to sit up front anyway because I really really want to see her in my front seat” 

“I should trash your entire plan for that jab about the driving but I won’t.” 

After finishing breakfast and Buck changing his outfit at least four times, they head out. He even spent the night perfectly curating a playlist that he just felt you’d be super into. He plays it on the way there for Eddie, who goes through it, specifically taking out all his “baby-making” songs

“Oh come on!! I bet she loves that song! Everyone loves Bruno Mars”

“I’m so sorry I’m not listening to you sing Please Me knowing you mean her! I have to draw the line somewhere”

“Okay, well can you draw it at Seven? I can deal with that being off, even if I love Jungkook. And you don’t have a problem with W.A.P. but you have one with Please Me?!” 

“Well, you gotta have that one. And If you think for one second I’m not about to unleash my sweet rapping skills with W.A.P you are wrong” 

“Yeah okay I’ll give it to you”

“Call me by your name?!” Eddie looks at Buck and Buck whirls on him, putting the car in park at a stop sign and turning to him in order to fully sass his ass

“Eddie. Ed-dee. You tell me right now that you’re gonna delete that”

“….Yeah okay”

“That’s what I thought”

“Wait this is a good one” 

Eddie hits play and “Case 143” by Stray Kids starts playing through the speakers. Buck turns the stereo up and looks over at Eddie 

“Exactly!!! That’s what I’m saying! Hey, you know I learned the dance for this?”

“Oh my god really?” Eddie is incredibly impressed, as he should be because those dances are not easy. 

It’s raining before they even get there and Buck is starting to panic a little, Eddie can tell by the way he’s silent now. 

“Buck? Buddy?” He smirks when Buck doesn’t answer. He pokes at his thigh 

“Whatcha thinkin'?” 

“What if she runs out ahead of you and just dives into the backseat? That's logical, right? Like it’s raining and she told me yesterday she hates water”

Eddie leans back in his seat, watching the cars pass as Buck goes over every tiny detail in his head. He turns back to him and smiles a little 

“You trust me right?” 

“Course’ I do, why?”

Buck pulls up into the driveway, and unlocks the doors, Eddie reaches in back and grabs an umbrella 

“One Eddie Diaz special, comin' up” 

Buck watches Eddie as far as he can until he’s left alone. He taps on the steering wheel, everything has to be perfect today, or at least as perfect as he can get it. He knows he needs to be prepared for it to not be perfect but he can’t help himself. Not with a girl like you… he doesn’t want to say anything dumb again, all he ever does is say dumb things around you. 

The sound of the passenger door opening breaks him from his internal misery, you hop in and shake the umbrella out, tossing it in the back seat 

“Hiya Buck!” You say excitedly, leaning over to hug him. His eyes are huge as he hugs you back 

“Eddie said he had to grab something from the kitchen he left last time he came over. He said I could have shotgun since I was a lady” You giggle as you buckle up and sit back 

“You okay?” You ask, putting your hand on his cheek “You look a little flushed”

He’s not okay. Because one, you’re sitting in his front seat. And two, this outfit is a real banger. A yellow plaid skirt, fishnets (which drive him crazy), and a cute distressed Nirvana t-shirt tucked into the skirt. Your mini backpack is black and matches your black boots perfectly. He especially likes the belt you’ve got with little metal hearts in it 

“Buck?” You ask again and he blinks rapidly before clearing his throat awkwardly

“Oh! Yeah! No, I'm fine I swear I’m good, I’m cool, I am a- you know thing… that is cool”

You smirk and pull your hand away and he lets out the tiniest whimper at the loss of contact. You blush and pretend not to hear it. A deep blush creeps up his ears and he stalls a little. 

“So um… did you ever clear things up? With May?” He asks, turning to face you in his seat. You smile softly and fold your hands in your lap 

“Yeah, we talked for a long time that night. It’s the first time we’ve really talked at all that wasn’t just you know normal pleasantries” You smile fondly and he leans against the window, listening 

“That’s nice, I’m glad you guys can kind of start to build a relationship. The ax offer still stands though, just so you know” He winks at you and you whack his thigh, blushing.

 “Oh! I didn’t get to thank you for saving me!” You say suddenly, reaching for your bag at your feet and digging through it 

“Oh come on, it’s my job!” He scoffs, putting his hands up “Besides, I’m pretty sure that kiss was thanks enough” His cheeks flush and so do yours as you pull out a little envelope and a small box 

“Here!! I made you something”

Buck eagerly takes it from you “Can I- can I open the present first” He smiles sweetly, holding the little box to his face and you laugh 

“Of course!” 

He takes his time carefully unwrapping it even though you know he wants to destroy it. He folds it nicely and sticks it in his glove box and then opens the box. There’s a rainbow friendship bracelet made of little glass heart beads 

“I wanted to make a solid one but I didn’t know what color you wear most so I just made it rainbow” You blush and shrug your shoulders 

“I know it’s kinda stupid-“ 

He leans forward and kisses you, he seems to like to surprise kiss you. You squeak but kiss him back immediately, nipping at his lip a little, he laughs against yours and pulls away just a bit

“I love it and I’m gonna wear it every single day for the rest of my life” 

The back door opens and Eddie climbs in, dripping water, he shakes out his hair and looks up 

“Uhhh… did I interrupt something?” He grabs a towel from the back seat and wipes his face off 

“Look!!!” He takes it from the box and holds it out to Eddie 

Eddie takes it carefully and smiles at it, shaking his head “That’s disgustingly adorable” 

“Oh my god isn’t it?!” Buck takes it back, slipping it on his wrist. It’s a perfect fit and he slides down in his chair putting his hands over his face 

“Oh my god it's perfect Y/N I can’t handle this” 

“I’m really glad you like it… cause-“You pull another one from your bag, it matches his perfectly and put it on your wrist 

“I made us both one so we could match” 

Buck groans loudly and slumps in his chair even more and both you and Eddie laugh at him 

“Oh god I’m in love,” he says deliriously and Eddie shakes his head 

“He doesn’t mean that. Though that is really cute Y/N” 

“You know that’s also good” You reach into your bag and pull out yet another and hand it to him. “This one’s yours” 

Eddie’s is a solid navy blue with all three of your initials on it, he puts it on his wrist and smiles “Thank you” 

“Yeah, I kinda started going crazy after making me and Bucks” You look at Buck “I made one for everyone! But only you and I match, I put my initials on yours and yours on mine. I wanted ours to be special” 

He stares at his bracelet, your initials are on it. He hugs his wrist to his chest and turns to look at you 

“Thank you, honestly from the bottom of my heart. These are so cute”

You giggle and close your bag, holding it in your lap “Anytime, maybe I’ll make you a matching necklace” you joke and he sits up properly in his chair now 

“If you think for one second I wouldn’t also wear that every day of my life you’re wrong.” 

When you and Eddie get out of the car to head into the bowling alley Buck stops, saying he’ll be in soon. He waits until you’re out of sight and opens the card from you. It’s a bad drawing of a little dog in a firefighter helmet and he hugs the card to his chest, he’s gonna get that tattooed he swears. The card is sweet, just thanking him for being there for you and being someone you could confide in…. And there’s a deep, red, kiss mark on it. He kisses the card back and sighs happily 

He was so in love

You set your bag down on the chair next to Eddie and then sit down, Buck gets on one knee as he ties your bowling shoes for you 

“Are you sure you don’t wanna play?” You ask him, watching Buck concentrate on your shoes for a second before looking at Eddie 

“Oh yeah totally, my back is pretty tired today”

“Hey, I’m pretty good at massages if you want one later!” You offer and Buck’s head snaps up so fast Eddie is 90% he just broke his neck 

“Uh no! Nooo… no that’s- no that’s okay. It’ll go away! Just gotta rest it!” His excuse is flimsy but believable and you shrug it off. Buck sets your foot down and takes the other 

“You know I could have done this myself” you tease him and he looks up at you with a smirk on his face 

“Princesses don’t tie their shoes, I don’t make the rules I just follow them” 

You blush and get up from your seat, you’re up first. You pick up the purple ball and walk over to the lanes as Buck hands Eddie your bag and plops down in the chair next to him 

“Once we’re together, you can have all the massages you want,” Buck says, his arms crossed as he watches you. Eddie snorts laughing and watches the scoreboard, a 6. 

“You know it does hurt a little… maybe I should take her up on her offer” 

Buck’s mouth drops open and he turns to Eddie, punching him in the shoulder as you turn around 

“Did you see that!! I got three!!” You fist pump and do a little dance and Buck melts into a little puddle at how cute you are 

“Awww look at you, my lil bowling expert” He coos and you blush, rolling your eyes 

“Can you just go?” you say as you switch places and take his seat. Eddie puts his arm on the back of your chair 

“Don’t be mad” He says and you frown, confused 

“About what?”

He points to the lanes and you turn your head just in time to see Buck roll a strike. Your mouth drops open, it was completely effortless too and you know it. He gives you a little wink when he turns around to get his ball again and you narrow your eyes 

He gets a second one and you stand up 

“He’s… good at this isn’t he?” You ask Eddie and he chuckles 

“Only one better is Bobby” 

“You know I could teach you” Buck taunts you as he walks back and you purposely bump into him 

“No thanks!” 

He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you into him and you squeak while trying to pull away. He squeezes you tighter as you try to drag yourself to the lanes 

“Buck! You’re totally cheating!”

Buck gasps loudly “Me?? Cheating?! How!” He spins you around to face him and you pout 

“You’re trying to tire me out” You stick your tongue out and he lets go of you, booping your nose 

“Oh honey, if I wanted to tire you out, This?” He gestures between the two of you “Is not how I would do it”

Your cheeks flush as he turns you back towards the lanes, giving your butt a little pat 

“Now go on. Make Daddy Buck proud” 

“Daddy Buck??” You turn back towards him, snorting 

“You’re right! Just drop the Buck part! Sounds better that way” 

Eddie “boos” from his seat and you laugh as you go to take your turn, Buck sits back down next to Eddie and bats his eyelashes at him

“Hi bestie”

“Did you just tell her to call you daddy”

“I don’t think we need to discuss that, the past is the past!!” 

“What?! What past! it’s been ten seconds!” 

Buck spends the rest of the game taunting you harassing you and heavily flirting. 

He can’t keep his hands off you either, always on your hips or taking your hand and spinning you away so he can take his turn. He kisses you in a different place each time you finish and you always scrunch your nose up in that cute little way he adores. He enjoys the way your cheeks flush and your heart flutters for him… he doesn’t even mind purposely losing. 

Eddie just sits back and watches the whole thing like the third wheel he knew he was gonna be, you both still talk to him and include him, but the tension rising is clear, and he’s wondering when that’s going to explode. It’s only when you finally get a strike and Buck picks you up and spins you around that he finally speaks up 

“You guys are gonna make me throw up” He groans when Buck sets you down. You’re giggling as he wraps his arms around you and walks you over to Eddie 

“I'm not supposed to celebrate my gorgeous girl getting her first strike? Are you jealous Eddie? Do you want me to pick you up too?” 

“Yes, that’s totally what I want,” He says, plainly. 

“I dare you” you grin, looking up at Buck, he leans down and kisses your forehead before letting you go, he backs up a few paces and opens his arms 

“Alright bet, come on, come to “ 

“Don’t you dare-“ Eddie gets up from his chair, stretching. 

“Daddy Buck,” He says in a sickly sweet high pitched voice. Eddie rolls his eyes but goes over anyway and Buck picks him up spinning him around too 

“Lane five, stop spinning people around and finish your game” The man calls over the intercom system. Buck cups his hands around his mouth and shouts back

“Hey! I’ll spin you too if you want” 

“Wait, really?” you hear over the system and Buck goes running over to the shoe counter 

“He’s ridiculous” you giggle as you sit down next to Eddie, he slouches down in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest, letting his head fall back.

“Yeah but you learn to love him for it” He looks over at you as you twiddle your thumbs and swing your legs 

Huh… you are really sweet 

“He’s uh…he’s not overwhelming you, is he? I can get him to cool it” he asks, watching you and you smile, shaking your head 

“No, no he’s not. He’s so affectionate and open. I almost feel like I’m not giving enough to him” You chuckle a little and he smiles slightly 

“Hey, you just met him. And Buck… he’s just that kind of guy you know? He’s very open and helpful. He just wants to be loved by everyone, especially you” 

“I just wish I was less shy” You sigh and Eddie scoffs 

“Shy my ass, you’ve been making out with him all afternoon”

Your mouth gapes and he laughs, watching you splutter for an answer 

“We?! No. No! We have not been making out all afternoon!! It’s just… a friendly kiss between friends!!” 

“First of all, you wouldn’t kiss me that much, and I’d like to think we’re friends. Second of all… I think you guys would be pretty cute together if that’s something you want” 

“I think I could for sure go on a couple of dates with him” you blush “It’s just if he can put up with me being so… standoffish. It’s fine when it’s the three of us! But I just… I get so nervous when I’m alone with him”

“He literally introduced himself as Bevan and said you had pretty teeth. I don’t think you have to worry about embarrassing yourself; he's done it plenty enough for the two of you already. Just give it a chance…he has a way of bringing out the best in people”

You giggle at Eddie and lean your head on his shoulder, he kisses your head and smiles 

“You guys are gonna be perfectly fine” 

Buck is acting a little weird as he drives you all to lunch, you and Eddie are singing together and jamming out to whatever random playlist he puts on, but he’s a bit quieter than normal. You pull up to a good burger joint and he shuts off the car 

“Hey, why don’t you go get us a table? We’ll be in, in a second okay?” Eddie gets out and opens the door for you and then takes your seat 

“Will do!” You salute them and head into the diner and even if he is moping, Buck still turns his head to watch you walk in because he appreciates your ass. 

“What happened” Eddie asks and Buck looks at him now, then down at his lap 

“Do you like her? Eddie?” 

“Of course I like her, she’s adorable”

“That’s… that’s not what I mean and you know it” Buck sighs and toys with the bracelet on his wrist 

“Why would you think I like her?” 

Buck sighs and lets his head fall against the headrest 

“I saw you guys talking…she looked so relaxed around you. And… and then I saw you kiss her head and-“ he tears up the littlest bit and Eddie whacks his thigh 

“Evan Buckley do you think for one second I’m trying to steal her from you” 

“Of course not! But you’re just so suave and sexy” He sniffles “I wanna be sexy” 

“Buck you are sexy you know that! And I was gonna tell you what she was telling me later, but I guess I can tell you now”

“Is it that she never wants to see me again and wants to have your babies?” 

“Yes, that’s exactly it” he flicks his forehead, and Buck whines, rubbing the spot  

“You make her nervous, like really nervous. She’s shy around you and thinks you won’t like how shy she is. And that’s the simplified we need to hurry up and get in their version” 

“She said that?!” Buck unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out 

“Yeah, so just you know reassure her that it’s okay she’s that shy you know? I told her it was stupid because you guys were making out all afternoon but she wouldn’t believe me. I was just trying to reassure her I promise”

Buck hugs Eddie, squishing him tightly “Thanks Eddie, and thanks for putting up with my insecurities” 

“Anything for my best friend and his girl”

Buck being Buck turns everything up about 10 notches. He slides into the booth next to you and sits way too close, putting his arm over the back of it. Your cheeks flush and he just tells you how cute you look. You look at Eddie helplessly and he just shrugs like he has no idea what’s gotten into him. 

“So do you know what you want?” He asks, leaning into you, his chest pressed against your arm and you sink further into the booth 

He toys with the ends of your hair and stays in your personal space, the sweet perfume you’re wearing just wafts off of you, surrounding him in a delirious haze. He can smell that expensive conditioner you buy, he can see the glitter on your body from your lotion that he didn’t notice before. Is it bad he just wants to kiss it all off?

“Uhhh probably just a burger I guess,” You say and he looks at the menu in your hands instead of his own 

“Okay, but just a plain one? Do you want anything on it?” He’s trying his best to coax the answers out of you, Running a finger over your arm. You gulp and turn to look up at him, and he’s just so close to you, his cologne soaks deep into your senses and you melt under his soft gaze 

“Do you, pretty girl?” He asks again, softer now and you bite your lip, your eyes flicking down to his 

“How in the hell, are you turning ordering a damn burger into a flirting moment?!”

You and Buck snap out of your little haze to see Eddie sitting with his arms crossed and the waiter standing there awkwardly 

“Uhhhh can we have a couple more minutes” Buck blushes sheepishly and you hide in his chest, squeaking in embarrassment 

Your burgers are brought out, Eddie made Buck sit on his side of the booth and asked you what you wanted. He ordered for the both of you and Buck put his arms around his neck 

“What a gentleman,” He says dramatically, giving Eddie a big kiss on the cheek, you laugh as Eddie pushes him off and wipes at his cheek 

“Buck!! Gross!” 

You giggle and watch, shaking your head as you bite into your burger. You moan softly and swallow it, wriggling excitedly in your seat 

“Oh this is a good one,” you say, but Buck isn’t paying attention to his food anymore he’s paying attention to all of the sounds you’re making. His cheeks are pink as he watches you pop a fry in your mouth and you and Eddie are talking. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest, as you make another whimpering noise and he has to hold onto Eddie’s thigh for a second. Eddie blinks and looks down for a second before continuing his conversation with you and kicking Buck’s foot to get him to settle down 

“Do you like yours? You’re not eating very much” You ask Buck and his head snaps up to look at you 

“Oh yeah! No, it’s delicious!” He picks at his fries and you take one flying it like a little airplane 

“Open wide,” You say, your voice sweet like honey, and Buck's eyes go wide as he opens his mouth and you put the fry in his mouth. Eddie closes his mouth for him and pats his cheek

“I think you broke him,” Eddie says, munching on his burger and you giggle 

“Oops” 

You feed him another fry and he puts his hands on his cheeks, chewing slowly while staring at you, or rather through you. He looks like he’s on cloud nine as you continue to slowly feed him 

“We should go on a date,” He says dreamily and you nod along with him, Eddie pauses with his burger in mid-air 

“Are you asking me on a date?” 

“Hundred percent,” he says and Eddie nearly has a heart attack. 

“Are we ignoring she’s Bobby’s niece” 

“Yes,” you both say together and he nods his head 

“Yeah okay, I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. Carry on” 

“So…will you go on a date with me??“ 

“Of course I will!”

[mumms-the-word]

Dani & Gale's Wedding

Not to answer my own prompt list but I'm obsessed with them and I already have a bunch of this planned so LET'S FRICKIN' GO

Don't worry. Not only is it all under the cut for your sanity and convenience, but I'm making it a thread so you (and I) don't get overwhelmed. Plus it gives me more content throughout the week as I have another busy week ahead <3

But first, a quick summary!

Dani and Gale get married in a garden/park in Baldur's Gate in what can be described as a "relatively modest affair" (Gale's words) or "the best damn garden party this city has ever seen" (Dani's words). They were surrounded by family, friends, and former allies, as many as they could convince to join them, but the ceremony and reception were far from elaborate. Dani and Gale incorporated both Baldurian and Waterdhavian traditions, like Baldurian bard dances and Waterdhavian wedding rings, but ultimately they skipped out on a lot of traditions because they just wanted to have a fun ceremony/reception surrounded by their favorite people. They both were more interested in a ceremony that reflected love and commitment, and a bangin' reception where everyone was well-fed, well-entertained, and well-loved. Their wedding also ends up being like the bard-iest wedding ever because Dani knows so many bards and insists on using so many of their traditions (which I made up and are not actual dnd lore).

Details under the cut!

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Before the Wedding

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Wedding, or something else?

Dani had always considered marriage one of those idealistic things that only happen to madly in love people, or else it was a political arrangement. Her mother never married and her sort-of-foster-dad/mentor never remarried after his wife died, and she didn't expect to ever fall into a long-term romantic relationship. Gale changed all of that and the moment he proposed she realized she wanted nothing more in the world than to be his wife and officially become part of his family.

Proposal

Gale proposed to Dani, obviously! I've dabbled with the idea that maybe they had a different proposal than the one shown in the game, but I find that it works really well for them. I like the idea of them waking up the next morning after saving the city, and he says those lines, "I understand your purpose lies here, but I fear if I return to Waterdeep alone, my heart would remain here with you. And so, if you're at all amenable to the idea, I thought I could, perhaps, stay. There might even be room for two Dekarioses in Baldur's Gate?"

I love that it's a little informal, that he doesn't have a ring to give her, that all he's asking is that maybe there could be the two of them, a new clan of Dekarioses there in Baldur's Gate. Dani doesn't need all the bells and whistles, she just wants family all around her. So a sweet, informal proposal in the middle of an Elfsong Tavern room, well, it suits her just fine.

Bachelor/Bachelorette parties?

Dani absolutely has a hen do/bachelorette because her foster sister, Liara, positively insists. But it's less of a hen do and more like a party for Dani, her mom, and her Merry Rovers to celebrate together before she officially gets married, so it's not girls-only or anything. Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Astarion, and even Jahiera join for parts of it, and Dani desperately wishes Karlach and Wyll could be there, but otherwise it's a fun night of drinking, games, stories, and music for Dani and her bard family.

Gale gets a somewhat less chaotic stag do, which he probably prefers. If Wyll were around, Gale would have had a much wilder time (you know Wyll would be dragging Gale out for a traditional pub crawl like any former bachelor's best friend would do), but since he's not, he simply goes out for some drinks, planning on a relatively quiet night...until Shadowheart and Astarion find him and drag him over to join the Merry Rovers and Dani, officially turning their separate stag/hen dos into a mutual "celebrating the last days the two of us are not married" kind of event. Fun for all!

Pre-Ceremony Events

Gale does formally ask Maeva, Dani's mother, for her blessing, but it's mostly out of a sense of tradition. Maeva just laughs and says her blessing is only worth so much when Dani has such an independent streak, but she gives it willingly. Brann happens to also be there, and though he sometimes insists he doesn't have any "real" family ties to Dani (a lie that no one believes because he's basically her adopted/foster dad), he offers to bless their marriage too, if only as one bard to another. It's difficult to say who gets more teary-eyed during Brann's blessing, between the four of them in the room.

Dani also goes to meet Morena before the wedding, spending a few days in Waterdeep. She asks her and Tara if they're all right with her marrying Gale and she's a completely nervous wreck about it because she's convinced she won't measure up to Morena's standards, but she needn't worry. Morena is delighted with her (though a little sad that they're going to be living in Baldur's Gate and not Waterdeep).

It’s also customary (in my head) in both Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate to send a letter, poem, or song to each other the night before the wedding (often hiring a bard to do so, so that everyone in the street can hear the declarations of love). Dani goes to stay with her mother for three days prior to the wedding so they can finish alterations on her dress, while Gale stays in his and Dani’s new home in the Lower City. Just as Gale is sitting in their upstairs bedroom, penning this romantic, elegant, beautiful poem to send to Dani using a mirror image of himself, she shows up outside his window in the street below with her fiddle, serenading him with a love song that is both sweet and cheeky, romantic and raunchy.

Gale is caught between a tiny bit of burning embarrassment (the whole street can hear her singing about, well, some specific physical features of his) and an even more burning desire to pull her upstairs and have his way with her, but she ends her song with a wink and a little blown kiss and then disappears (handy invisibility spell). Gale returns to his desk and resolves to edit his poem to be a bit more spicy before sending an illusion of himself to stand outside her mother’s house and recite it for all the world to hear. Dani thinks it’s the funniest and loveliest thing ever.

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Part 2 coming soon!

[squidsmeister]

dungeon meshi is my favorite road-trip comedy film

[zeroducks-2]

Baldur's Gate 3 Ending Spoilers Ahead :)

Okay why The Fuck can't we have a romance ending with the Emperor. Why THE FUCK NOT. WHY. THIS IS UNFAIR. LARIAN YOU ALLOWED ME TO FUCK THE GUY, YOU ALLOWED ME TO TRUST HIM AND BE THERE FOR HIM AND TURN INTO A MINDFLAYER MYSELF, AND THEN I CAN'T HAVE A ROMANCE ENDING? THE FUCK???

[front-facing-pokemon]

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

pausing your regularly scheduled drama to announce that camp tensions are finally relaxing ~