#and that very chilling final scene with the whole gang hanging out and helping do chores around the barn

[july-19th-club]

oatmeal book! oatmeal book!! oatmeal book!!!

[patchofsunlight]

Backyard Boy | Sokka x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Mordern!AU | Sokka goes out on a date with his best friend, and it goes as perfectly as he longed it to.

REQUEST (by anon): “In my Sokka feels so I thought I’d request! Could be modern or not but the reader would be in the gang and is best friends with Sokka (who has a fat crush on her). One day he asks her to go on a picnic, just the 2 of them, she doesn’t know if it’s a date or not so she asks her gal pals for help getting ready. She and Sokka have fun (piggyback rides, eating food, making eachother laugh) at the end of their date they cuddle, look into eachothers eyes and kiss. Their friends called it! Thank you!💕”

WORD COUNT: 2.6k this is the first thing I’ve ever posted here with less than 5k I’m proud

WARNINGS: yes I made Jin from Ba Sing Se Y/N’s friend. I think there’s one swear word near the end? also just teeth-rotting fluff. a bit of angst if you squint but like just a little. bad editing as usual. kinda rushed? idk

PLAYLIST (songs that help set the ~vibe + songs that inspired me): Backyard Boy by Claire Rosinkranz ; Electric Love by BØRNS, I Do Adore by Mindy Gledhill ; Lucky by Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat.

Hey! I had a lot of fun and smiled a lot while writing this, so I hope you guys like it too! It’s not perfect, but I tried my best. Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you for reading!

(not my gif)

“You know what? Maybe this was a bad idea, Jin. Maybe I got it all wrong. I should just cancel.”

“Absolutely not. If you cancel, I’ll be forced to punch you in the face, and no one wants that.”

“You don’t even have the guts to punch me in the face.”

“True. Well, I’ll just get someone else to do it.”

Y/N smiled nervously at her friend’s words, fidgeting.

Sokka and she had been best friends for a long while. They had met years ago and clicked instantly, falling in pace with each other so easily that “impressive” was a big understatement — friendship at first sight, he called it. And yet Y/N yearned for more, trying miserably to conceal her dazed smiles and flushed cheeks whenever he as much as looked her way. Her feelings were obvious, but she was too afraid to act on them: it was easier to just leave it alone, pretend the pounding of her heart when around him was ignorable, and maintain her dear relationship with pretty boy Sokka secure. Y/N would choose never having her feelings returned over losing him any day of the week, and it was probably for the best. 

She couldn’t lose him, she refused to — he was more important than whatever love she gathered in her chest, than letting go of the suffocating confession always lingering on the tip of her tongue, and she simply wouldn’t let herself lose him.

Y/N was finally settling for the friendship and painful longing when the Water Tribe boy came to her during one of the Gaang’s movie nights, scratching his neck shyly and avoiding her stare.

“Hey, Y/N,” his voice was slightly high-pitched and he cleared his throat, blushing lightly, talking quietly so as to not disturb the others around them, “I—I was thinking—maybe we could, I don’t know, hang out? Tomorrow?”

“That sounds great, Sokka. Didn’t Toph want to try that new restaurant that opened near the Jasmine Dragon?” she replied almost absentmindedly, eyes trained on the scene playing on the television.

“No, Y/N, I—I thought—Well, what if it was just the two of us?”

Now that had caught her attention, “oh.”

“Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t want to, I—”

“I’d love to, Sokka.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she smiled softly, cheeks reddening, and Sokka wondered if she could hear his heart skip a beat inside his chest.

“That’s great. I—” he couldn’t stop his own face from blazing pink, a grin taking over his lips, “I was thinking of a picnic?”

Cue to the present moment, in which Y/N freaked out about misunderstanding Sokka’s words because he had never really called it a date and she had gotten all excited about it as if that’s what it was but what if it wasn’t?

“I don’t know, Jin,” she peeked at her own reflection, noticing how pretty she looked and how flawlessly Jin had styled her hair. Spirits, Y/N had overdone it, hadn’t she? “Maybe he just wanted to spend some time with his best friend and I just projected what I wanted onto that and—”

“Y/N, stop,” the Ba Sing Se girl held her forearms to intercept the frantic movements, “I’m pretty sure he sees you as much more than a friend, okay? You guys have been dancing around each other’s feelings for years now, everyone sees it,” she widened her eyes to emphasize her words, “so stop being crazy and just go meet him! Even if we’re all wrong and he wants nothing to do with you romantically, you can still go and have a good time, right?”

“Right,” Y/N muttered in response, breathing deeply, “right, you’re right. I’m just—I’m just gonna go.”

“Yes! Good luck! It’s gonna be great, I’m sure of it!”

-----

Food, drinks, flowers, extra sweatshirt, the comfy blankets he had stolen from Katara’s apartment, all the courage he could muster, her favorite candy, the blue shirt she had said looked good on him. Yeah, it seemed like he had it all pretty much covered.

Sokka was nervous, yet confident. She had accepted to go on a date with him and he had done the best he could to make sure it would be a lovely afternoon Y/N would absolutely adore. Everything would go as planned and, if he was lucky, he would leave Y/N’s favorite park with a girlfriend.

However, nothing could have prepared him for finally seeing her. She looked as beautiful as always, but there was something about her shy smile and sparkling eyes that made his heart jump around so quickly Sokka thought it might just break through his chest and run towards her.

His best friend walked to him with hands behind her back, endearingly bashful in that old manner that had slowly creeped its way into Sokka’s thoughts and heart. He beamed at her when she reached him, and moved for a hug she gladly returned.

“Hey,” her voice was quiet and shy and it made the Water Tribe boy melt on the spot, “did I make you wait for too long?”

“No, of course not,” Y/N took a step back from the hug and he immediately missed her warmth. Spirits, he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Do you want to sit down? Katara helped me make those sandwiches you like.”

Her eyes widened in excitement, quickly remembering how easy it was to be around her best friend and how pointless it was to be shy with him, “yes! Sure!”

Their banter was lighthearted while they ate their sandwiches and sipped on some orange juice, laying on Katara’s soft blanket. He couldn’t help but admire her figure, her smile, her eyes, her voice, tuning out from her anecdote momentarily and simply appreciating her presence. He liked her so much.

Y/N paused when she noticed Sokka’s stare, gaze filled with affection sending chills down her spine. She stared back at him, feeling her face blush, “I feel like I should have brought something,” she complained, touching the candy bar the boy had taken off his backpack and smiling — it was her favorite one. “You put so much thought into this, didn’t you?”

He scratched his neck, embarrassed, “is it too much?”

“No, no!” she was quick to deny, lifting a hand up to touch his upper arm in reassurance. “It’s—it’s kinda charming, really.”

Sokka smirked teasingly, “oh, you think I’m charming?”

“You know I do, dumbass.”

Their eyes met and the Water Tribe boy could feel his whole body tense for being the subject of her attention, heart beating so loud he could hear it by his ear, unable to not ask himself if maybe she could hear it too. She smiled — her hand was still on his upper arm, but she moved it carefully until their fingers brushed. He smiled too, his thumb drawing gentle circles on her palm. As best friends, they had always been very touchy and loving with each other, yet both knew this was different. It was not like their friendly touches and hugs: it was softer, more hesitant, new. And they loved it.

“I’m glad you came,” he declared, finally letting his fingers fall in between hers, “I… I like to be around you.”

Y/N grinned, squeezing his hand lovingly, “I like to be around you too.”

Their small staring contest ended when she took the last bite of the sandwich and got her phone from her purse, turning on some music and positioning the object next to them in the blanket. Sokka grinned at her, aware of how much she just loved to listen to music while doing everyday things — he loved to be included in that little habit, loved to know she felt comfortable enough to let him be a part of it. It was a small gesture, but Y/N had once told him she avoided listening to music around others so as not to be a bother. He loved the fact she didn’t worry about that when next to him.

Spirits, he loved her. He had known it for a while now, yet being with her like this served to set it in stone: Sokka was in love with his best friend, and there were absolutely no doubts about it.

They talked softly over the nice melody, occasionally falling into laughter with crappy jokes and inside references that always got them cackling, fingers unconsciously playing with each other by their sides, finding comfort in the simple but intimate touch.

“Sokka! Listen!” she lit up suddenly, making him shake his head in confusion. Y/N stood up, pulling his hand with her until he did the same. Her eyes shone with agitation while she dragged him until they were standing on the grass, off the blanket.

“What?” his voice was as incredulous as he felt. “What happened?”

“I love this song,” she smiled brightly and his heart skipped a beat at the beautiful sight. The girl slowly but surely positioned his hands on her waist before circling his neck with her arms. “Dance with me, pretty boy.”

Sokka was entirely sure that wasn’t exactly a song you could slow dance to, with the funky rhythm and all, yet he didn’t have it in him to disagree. She swayed from one side to the other in a way that would give Zuko, who was trained in dancing, an attack of sorts, but he still loved it, letting her lead him wherever she wanted to. They danced in silence — Sokka kept admiring her features, watching as she hummed the song’s tune and gazed at the sky behind him. Sunset was nearing closer and the shades of blue were slowly being exchanged for oranges and yellows that she loved almost as much as she loved the boy in front of her. With that thought, she turned her eyes back to him.

“This is nice,” she muttered, content, and he smiled, planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead that killed every coherent idea in her mind, “really nice.”

Sokka snickered, “I agree, pretty girl.”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows and stepped backwards, crossing her arms defensively, cheeks reddening immediately, “don’t call me that.”

“Why not, pretty girl?”

“Because it makes me blush! Stop it”

“But you look so cute when you blush, pretty girl.”

“Stop.”

“Oh, come on, pretty girl.”

“I’m gonna punch you.”

“You could never, pretty girl.”

“You better run. One…”

He laughed out loud and she did her best to ignore both the pinkness to her face and the smile fighting to reach her lips.

“Two…”

Sokka couldn’t stop laughing while he took off, running away from her as fast as possible. His laughter was light and cheerful and her chest fluttered at the sound, extasiated by the fact she was actually responsible for it. Y/N ran after him with a big grin on her face, intent on catching her best friend. Laughing made it harder for him to take deep breaths so it didn’t take long for her to be able to jump on his back, creating an impromptu piggyback ride between the two lovers. Sokka was still wheezing when running with the girl on his back, making her scream in excitement.

He made sure the blanket was right underneath before throwing himself to the ground, bringing her along. She giggled as he turned around so she was laying on his chest, not on his back. He held her tightly in a hug and she rested her head on his shoulder after kissing his neck so softly Sokka was certain his soul momentarily left his body, pulse so accelerated he truly feared a heart attack. They waited for their frantic breaths to calm down, holding each other dearly, entangling their legs together. He could hear her sigh happily next to his ear.

They stayed in that position for long  minutes, too stubborn to let go just yet, to give up on the indescribable feeling this type of touch caused them. Never before had Y/N felt this safe, her best friend’s erratic heart beating against her chest, his warm hands keeping her in place so firmly and still so gently — she always knew she had feelings for this boy, but now she couldn’t help but think of how she wouldn’t mind staying by his side forever. She wouldn’t mind listening to his stupid voice forever, wouldn’t mind being next to him forever. That realization was enough to stir her from her spot atop him, moving under his reluctant arms until her forearms supported her upper body and she could lift herself to look at him.

He was so beautiful, and, Spirits, she loved him so much.

Y/N ran her hands through his messy hair, making him hum in delight. She smiled.

“I love you, Sokka. So much.”

He smiled back, heartbeat picking up under her skin, “I love you too, pretty girl. More than I could ever put in words.”

They leaned in at the same time, lips molding together tenderly. She tasted like candy and he revelled in every second of it, bringing a hand to hold her neck as he deepened the kiss — nothing had ever felt so right.

Sokka followed her lips blindly when Y/N distanced herself and she chuckled, pressing an endearing kiss to the tip of his nose before blurting, absolutely embarrassed, “you know, before I came I was freaking out because I thought maybe you asked me out as a friend.”

He laughed and she loved the way his chest rumbled underneath her, “you’re unbelievable! Are you kidding?”

“I’m not! Ask Jin, she wanted to kick my ass because of it.”

“You’re an idiot. I have been in love with you for so long, I thought it was obvious!”

“It probably was, but we both know I’m bad at taking hints.”

“Not just bad, you’re the worst at taking hints.”

“Okay, now you’re overdoing it.”

“Shut up and kiss me again, Y/N.”

“Well, if you insist…”

“I do.”

The girl giggled and smashed her lips to his again, feeling her heart full with happiness and love. She questioned herself why she had been so nervous about this in the first place — Y/N should have known there was no way something could go wrong if she was accompanied by her favorite boy in the whole world.

-----

The phone rang twice before Jin’s voice came on, “hello?”

“Hey, I just got home.”

“How was it? Did you have fun?”

“Well…”

“Oh, no,” she was immediately worried out of her mind, afraid of any bad news her friend could possibly deliver after what was supposed to be a great date with the guy she was in love with, “did something happen?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Y/N bit her lip to hold back a snort, heart not entirely calm yet, excitedly remembering all the sensations Sokka made her feel.

“What, baby? Talk to me.”

“I got a boyfriend.”

One second of silence.

“OH, I FUCKING CALLED IT! I TOLD YOU HE WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU! I TOLD YOU!”

“That’s true.”

“I TOLD YOU IT WAS A DATE!”

“You surely did,” Y/N had a large smile on her face, skin still tingling with the reminder of his touch against it, lips itching to be pressed to his again.

“I love being right,” she could hear the grin in Jin’s words and it made her smile grow ever larger, “now you know to never doubt me, stupid ass.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

that was it!! I hope you liked it!!

ATLA taglist: @bottledcostcowater​ @lammello​ @coldlilheart​ @azucanela​ @samsmultifandomblogs​ @officiallydarkgeek​ @20coldhearts​

all taglist: @stfukie​ 

thank you for reading and see you soon!!

[fuckingthefictional]

Runaway Lovers

Pairing: Finn Shelby x reader

Warnings: Swearing, suggestions regarding to sex, crap writing?

Requested: yes, part two requested by @hamdehlesmis

A/N: for the part where Finn writes a letter, I’ve made it so the writing is more phonics based. Because I find it unrealistic to have a character who is illiterate to suddenly start reading and writing with the knowledge of perfect grammar and spelling.

Alfie Solomons was a name that struck cold fear into some on the toughest of men.

His cool and calculating gaze was enough to send uneasy chills up anyone’s spine.

He was a man who had red on his ledger and the mighty hand of God on his side.

To most he was a cold and calculating gang leader- with the proclivity of making violent, rash decisions that mainly benefited himself and anyone lucky enough to be considered a friend.

And most were not lucky enough to have that benefit.

Y/N Y/L/N was lucky to be considered a friend- more accurately she was a close relative of the Jewish gang leader.

Alfie’s Mother, was the sister of Y/N’s mother. The two women were close, but drifted apart after they were married to their respective husbands. Only to reunite during the Great War.

That was the first time Y/N had been in proper contact with her mothers side of the family- and thank God she continued to stay in contact with them.

Otherwise her and Finn would’ve been rendered homeless and well and truly fucked.

Y/N forced herself to drag her thoughts away from what would have been, and instead focused on the passing green pasteurs that sped past the train cars window.

The lack of pollution was obvious and made a huge difference. She was able to see the colours of the night sky, along with the scattered stars- such things that felt as if they didn’t exist in Small Heath.

Y/N felt a soft kiss on a stray patch of bare skin below her ear and at the top of her jawline. Finn.

“Stop stressing love, we’ll be okay.”

It was like he had read her mind, “‘m not stressing.” She mumbled into her palm.

“If you aren’t stressing then how come your leg is bouncing?” Finn chuckled as he pressed another kiss to her temple.

Y/N rolled her eyes. Of course he would pick up on the finer details, it was just another reason why she loved him.

It wasn’t long before the train pulled into Camden Town Station. The whole station seemed to be rather empty- apart from one man who seemed to be waiting for the trains arrival.

He was an older gentleman, who had a scraggly beard and clutched a cane. His face was partially covered from the hat that topped his head. But on his chest, he proudly bore a necklace that held the Star of David.

It was Alfie.

He had changed a lot, the pictures that Y/N had been shown of him depicted him to be younger, lacking a beard. But the face was the same.

“Y/N Y/L/N?” The older man addressed her, a slight smirk on his face, “My god ‘ow you’ve grown- I remember when you were a bloody babe.”

She turned to Finn, a soft smile gracing her features, “Love this is Alfie, my cousin.”

Both men shook hands, each of them sizing the other up.

“Thank you for letting us stay with you.” Finn nodded at the older man, “we really appreciate it.”

“‘S nothin’ alright?” Alfie boomed loudly, “any person whose a friend of our Y/N/N is a friend of mine- now let’s get your stuff back to my ‘Ouse ‘ey?”

The two teenagers followed the older man, out of the station, their hands interlocked- ready for this next chapter of their lives.

It was difficult not knowing what their future held. And what they would face in this grey part of their lives, but Finn and Y/N knew they were lucky.

Lucky to have a place to stay, lucky to be in London. And most of all: lucky to be with each other.

-

Two months later Y/N and Finn were still as strong as ever, and the pair of them had both gotten jobs in Camden Town.

Finn working down at the docks, where he loaded Alfie’s spirits into the boats that would travel across the Atlantic.

Finn had been clear with his girlfriend’s cousin that he wanted no part in the extremely illegal parts of the business. In other words he didn’t want to be a front runner, Finn was quite happy working behind the scenes or on the sidelines. Doing the smaller less risky jobs that helped boost business.

Thankfully Alfie has agreed with him, saying, “If I got you in trouble yeah, or you got fuckin’ hurt- then my cousin would have my balls hanging up above the fuckin’ fireplace.”

Y/N however had a different job role. As she helped run the books, Y/N had her mothers brains, math was her forte and not to mention her and Alfie were close, and her older cousin kept her well protected and safe.

Their jobs weren't particularly high paid and they’d told Alfie that they didn’t want special treatment when it came to their pay- either way they made enough to pay their part on rent at Alfie’s house (which usually meant paying for the food and occasionally the hot water bill).

But neither Finn or Y/N were disappointed, they were employed and bringing in an income. That was more than they’d done in small Heath.

“Y’know, I finally feel like I’m apart of something,” Finn mumbled as he kissed down Y/N’s bare back, “I finally feel wanted by others, that aren’t You, Ada or Pol.”

“Finn,” The girl sighed as she turned over to face him, “You have no idea how much purpose you bring to other people.” Y/N stroked his hair softly, feeling the bouncy curls slip between her finger tips, “Finn because of you, Alfie is finally reconnecting with his blood relatives- he said that if this hadn’t happened, then he was willing to give up on family. And by coming away from the life you had in Small Heath you’re making Ada feel better about her role as a big sister.”

Finn was in a semi state of shock, he had no idea he had made that much of an impact, “And you?” He asked.

“God Finn,” Y/N pressed her forehead to his, “ever since you pulled me back from that drunk driver, I knew that my life was going to be flipped upside down- that I was going to fall in love.” She licked her lips, “I can’t imagine my life without you- you’re my constant, my everything, the love of my life.”

The auburn haired boy pulled his girl close to his chest, peppering sweet kisses to her hairline, “I love you pretty girl.”

“And I you, Freckles.”

“D’you think we should come clean to Alfie- about my family I mean.” Finn chewed on his lips nervously.

Y/N sighed, “I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow, but for now my love we should get some sleep.”

-

Knock, knock, knock

It was one of those rare days that Alfie was working from home, Y/N had overheard his doctor telling Alfie that he needed to take it easy and rest more.

So of course Y/N forced him to stay at home. It was odd really, the pair had only reconnected a few months ago. But already it felt as if Alfie was coming into the older brother role in Y/N’s life, whereas she was the persuasive younger sister that Alfie never had growing up.

Their dynamic was one that many had never seen, there was constant teasing and banter between the two. And Y/N had been the only one to make demands from the big scary gang leader and live to tell the tale.

“Come in.” Alfie’s muffled voice came from behind the other side of the door.

As Y/N entered the office while balancing a tea tray on her arm, when she looked up she noticed her cousin sat at his desk with his specs on, Cyril layed down at his feet.

“Morning, Alf.” Y/N smiled warmly, “I’ve brought you some tea and biscuits.” She sat down opposite him, as he started across the desk accusingly.

“What do yer want aye?” Alfie squinted his eyes, “you only ever bring me stuff when yer tryna butter me up.”

“Well Is it working?” Y/N looked at her cousin as he poured himself a cup and necked down a biscuit.

“Depends that dunnit.” Alfie responded, raising his brow.

“Well I have some news,” Y/N started fidgeting with her hands, “Some news you might not take too well.”

“Fuckin’ hell- you’re not up the bloody duff are yer?”

The teenager promptly felt herself choke on her own spit, “What?” She shouted, her eyes as round as saucers, “No!” Y/N attempted to recompose herself, “Look What I was trying to get at is that Finn belongs to a family that weren’t good to him, he ran away from his old life after his brother tried to force us apart. And we talked last night about finally coming clean to you Alf, because we appreciate all you’ve done for us and we don’t feel like we’re being truthful and-“

“Y/N!” Alfie cut off her ranted speech, “I know that Finn is a Shelby.” He stated simply, “Do you really think I don’t do background checks on my workers Y/N/N?”

“And you’re okay with him?” Y/N was still in a state of shock,

“Well,” Alfie leant forwards, “ma always taught us to not judge a book by the pissin’ cover aye? Sometimes that shit also includes certain family names.” He paused, pondering what to say next, “Look I kept an eye out for the lad in the first few weeks yous stayed ‘ere, in case there was some spyin’ goin’ on. But there wasn’t, it was just a lovestruck boy who’s willin’ to do anythin’ to make ‘is girl happy. So as far as I’m concerned Y/N/N, he’s a new branch in the Solomons family.”

Y/N could feel happy tears brimming in her eyes, she finally saw what Finn meant. She felt like she mattered, like she had purpose for the first time in a very long time.

-

Two months. It had been two months since Finn had just up and left. Tommy didn't think that his youngest sibling what actually hold to his word- he didn't think that Finn of all people would actually quit the family buisness and leave small heath. 

And with all of that considered, Tommy didn't know where the fuck Finn had gone. And that was a first in Tommy’s experience- he didn't know something. 

It was incredibly frustrating and not to mention Polly was in bits since Finn had just gone missing in action. It wasn't hard to see that there was a soft spot in his aunts heart for the youngest Shelby.

He’d had men search every major city in Britain, knowing Finn couldn’t have strayed too far off the beaten path.

The youngest Shelby never was one for spontaneity, he was too much like his mother for that- he liked to have a plan set out in front of him.

But what made the situation all the more complicated was the war Tommy had made on Sabini, if Finn was in London then there was a large chance that he was in danger.

Tommy didn’t want more blood on his hands, he didn’t know if he could handle more blood on his hands.

-

Dear Pol,

This leter wil onlie be short, but its a leter non the less. All you need to no is that I am safe and happie, and hav started a new life for myself. If you want to meet, then go to Ada’s on Saterday and i will meet you there.

Lots of luv and take care,

Finn

P.S- Y/N is teeching me to reed and rite, it is a work in progres- but I am lerning!

Polly grinned at the letter in front of her, it was most definitely her nephew. Despite it being in letter form, his mannerisms and language hasn’t changed.

The older woman could feel her heart swell with pride for her youngest nephew, deep down Polly knew that the Blinder lifestyle wasn’t for him.

Finn was like Ada in that way- he followed his heart. And his heart has chosen a different path than his brothers.

Polly set the letter down on her desk as she pondered what her next course of action would be, obviously she was going to Ada’s to meet her nephew on the Saturday.

However she was met with the dilemma of how she could get it past Tommy.

One one hand, Tommy was the patriarch of the family- Polly knew that she was practically obligated to tell her older nephew her plans and whereabouts.

But on the other hand, Finn was safe. He was free from a dangerous life, he was happy and he had started a new path.

And that was more than anything Tommy could offer the lad. Polly knew that Finn valued his freedom and happiness over all the money in the world.

Pulling out a cigarette, Polly fiddled with the small stick of tobacco. After igniting it, she took a deep inhale, allowing the smoke to fill her lungs.

Every piece of her heart and soul was telling her to keep Finn safe. Maybe that was just the mother hen in Polly- but she was certain on one thing.

Thomas Shelby was going to learn to live with his actions and consequences of his words, because Polly had no intention of saying a word about Finn’s whereabouts.

Peaky blinders taglist:

@simonsbluee

[plus-size-reader]

House Party

Young! FP Jones x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1570 words

Warnings: none 

Summary: The reader has a huge crush on FP but she doesn't think he'll like her because she isn't like the girls he usually dates

———————————————————————————————————

As far as reputations went on the south-side, FP Jones was infamous. He was the youngest of his family to ever take over the serpent's gang and he didn’t go anywhere without a posse to prove it.

He was incredible, but you knew that he would never give you the time of day.

It just wasn’t how it worked.

In fact, you would be shocked if he even knew your name-even though you two had went to the same school all your lives and you lived in the same neighborhood.

You simply didn’t command attention like he did. No one paid attention when you walk past, and quite frankly, you preferred it that way.

Slipping under the radar was just how you rolled, it was much easier than having to deal with the ghoulies hanging on you, like they did with the popular girls or getting catcalled in the street.

In fact, you were hardly ever bothered when you walked the halls of Southside High school...until today.

Your step-sister, Julie had decided to throw a party and because she was much more popular than you, people actually showed up. However, when the doorbell rang for the fifteenth time tonight and you looked around to find Julz doing a keg stand-you decided to get the door.

It was probably just the rest of the football team. Apparently, they had stopped to pick up some beers and seeing as most of the south-side was here, you knew better than to leave them on the porch.

That wouldn’t go down well.

However, when you opened the door-there were no jocks to be found. Instead, one man stood in its wake, brown hair parted down the middle and a leather jacket hanging from his frame.

you were so shocked at first, blinking slowly as you tried to figure out if this was really happening or not.

It was FP in the flesh, the guy you’d been completely and totally infatuated with since middle school. You didn’t even know that Julie knew him, led alone that he would come to some party she threw.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, the words slipping from your lips before you even meant for them to.

He looked confused at your question, mostly just trying to figure out where he’d seen you before. Though, that look of confusion quickly morphed into a smirk that could have stopped your heart.

“This is where the party is right?” he checked, looking past your shoulder to the rowdy scene behind you. It was tame, compared to the things that he was used to but it could be interesting.

...If nothing else, he knew that he could find you if he got bored.

You nodded, trying to still your shaking hands as you let him in, pulling the door open all the way to make room for him before closing it. FP watched you, amusement in his gaze as he studied you.

He thought that you were in one of his classes, probably English though he didn’t attend very often.

One thing was bothering him though...he had never seen you at one of these parties before. By his standards, they were more like social gatherings but he didn’t mind.

It was better than going home to his drunk dad and a pile of dirty laundry he had to take care of-even if it wasn’t as eventful as a rager at the Wyrm.

FP just didn’t get it.

You’d never been at any of the other high school parties and now you were getting the door? It didn’t add up. However, when he took another look at you, he realized you weren’t attending this party at all.

Dressing your frame was a t-shirt, which hung low on your shoulders and fell just above your hip line and a pair of shorts. It wasn’t exactly typical of what girls wore to these things but there was something endearing about it.

You weren’t like any of the other girls here, and he thought it was cute, in a quirky sort of way.

“The drinks should be in the kitchen, I’m sure you’ll be able to find Julie” you gestured, instantly regretting coming down to get a glass of water and a snack.

You should have just stayed in your room where you belonged, because FP had just seen you in your pajamas, and probably thought that you were a total loser...not that that was a secret to begin with.

“You know Julie?” he wondered, not putting the pieces together. Julie was at least three years older than you two were, and he wasn’t sure how you knew her.

She didn’t usually make friends with underclassmen unless they could do something for her.

There it was.

That was the line that you dreaded in every conversation.

Your mom marrying Julie’s dad had been the worst thing to ever happen to you because every guy that talked to you now wanted to get to her. You should have known that FP would be no different.

Still, it sucked to hear it out loud.

“She’s my step-sister” you grumbled, hating the words as they bled into the air, seeming to stain the environment all around you.

FP could hardly believe it, he didn’t even know Julie had a sister...led alone the fact that you were that sister. If he had known, maybe he would have crashed one of her parties before tonight.

“Cool, are you gonna hang around? I don’t really care for anyone around here” he asked, making your stomach flip. If you hadn’t known any better, you would have thought that FP was flirting with you.

...but that wasn’t possible.

Guys like FP didn’t go for girls like you, it just didn’t happen. Guys like FP dated girls like Julie with size 2 waists and a collection of pumps. You couldn’t even remember the last time you wore something other than jeans and sneakers.

Usually, you didn’t have a problem with it but every once and awhile, moments like this came along and reminded you all about everything that was wrong with you.

...Everything you desperately wanted to change.

“I was actually gonna go watch a movie upstairs, I’m not much of a party goer” you shrugged, assuming that you’d just blew it, not that you really cared. As far as you were concerned, FP would be all over one of the seniors before midnight.

He didn’t actually want to spend any time with you. Who would with all the other exciting things he could be doing?

You could have sworn that you saw his face fall a little before he finally nodded.

“Well maybe I’ll come visit you if this gets too painful” he winked, leaving you to it. You let out a deep breath as he walked away toward the living room, your skin felt like it was on fire.

You couldn’t handle this.

Before you could have an actual stroke, you headed back upstairs, hoping to leave all memory of this whole thing behind you in favor of watching MTV until you went to bed.

Julie had a habit of not clearing out until the very last minute and it was likely that the party would go all night long. If you were lucky though, you wouldn’t have to go back downstairs until morning.

...Or at least that was what you were hoping.

Of course, nothing every worked out like that in real life so half way through watching a taping of the exorcist, there was a knock at your bedroom door.

At first, you assumed that it was just Julie, telling you she was going to leave with some guy she just met but if that was the case-she would have just yelled through the door.

This had to be someone else.

You groaned, rolling out of bed and pausing the tape, before making your way over to the door. You weren’t used to being interrupted when you were trying to chill but for all you knew, it could have been an accident.

There were a few different rooms on this floor and they could have just made a wrong turn at the stairs. You wouldn’t know unless you checked.

However, when you opened the door, it wasn’t  an accident at all. Standing there in the hallway, holding a couple sodas between his right arm and his chest, was FP.

You had no idea what he was doing here, but you couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach at the sight of him. Even if he got lost and was looking for another room, it was nice to see him again.

As nervous as he made you.

“Hey, the bathroom is down the hall” you gestured, pointing in that way as if that was what he was here for. You had no idea what he was here for but you knew that it wasn’t looking for you.

There was no way he would come all the way up here to find you.

“I actually came to see you” he grinned, holding out a can of pop for you with that same charming smile on his face. You were shocked, mostly, when the words left his mouth but you knew better than to argue.

It may not have made sense to you, but for whatever reason, Fp Jones was standing at your bedroom door and you weren’t going to close it in his face.

[gojoyogurt]

Jujutsu Kaisen Christmas!!

jjk headcanon!

characters: every character introduced in the anime so far! and you of course hehe

plot: everyone is invited to jujutsu tech for a christmas party, including the unidentified special grade curses that have the ability to talk but... ITS CHRISTMAS.

as you guys were preparing for the party in the function room, panda kept trying to eat all the snacks so nobara had kept trying to hold him back (to no avail because she eventually got crushed underneath him)

gojo... was nowhere to be found OBVIOUSLY and the curses gang were just chilling outside. you were lowkey praying that jogo wouldnt set anything on fire before the party even started.

megumi was just hanging around with itadori and junpei, playing with his gyokuken (divine dogs) [honestly wouldnt that just be so cute]

you, maki-san and mai-san were busy setting up everything and also having small chit chats here and there.

since gojo wasnt there yet, ijichi-san was everywhere, both panicking and pissed since gojo was NEVER on time no matter what the event was.

nanami couldnt be bothered anymore to settle the situation so he was quietly reading at one corner.

inumaki was just vibing to the christmas music playing in the background with panda after wrestling with nobara.

before the party started, a very popular christmas song that was trending on vikvok started playing, being the great senpai he is, todo dragged itadori to the middle of the room to start dancing with him alongside inumaki and panda.

it was already around 7.30pm and gojo wasnt there yet so yall just decided to start without him to not waste anytime

everyone gathered around the table that had food on it, “LETS EAT IM STARVING” jogo suddenly screamed in the room with his fire coming out of almost every hole in his head.

“now now, jogo, be patient.” mahito calmly cooled down jogo to prevent the fire hazard from creating havoc during the party.

“who thought it was a good idea to invite the curses here...” megumi sighed as he shot eye darts at junpei, which junpei completely avoided.

“c’mon!, the more the merrier!” you said as you thought that they really shouldn’t have come, but it was all the make junpei happy so...

as the party started, everyone was just going around getting food. everything was smooth sailing until... itadori suddenly spreads cake icing over megumi... yeah megumi was both pissed and confused at the same time so he chased itadori around the table. itadori was laughing his ass off while he had a raging megumi chasing after him. thankfully the food was fine so all is good so far.

after about AN HOUR, gojo finally shows up. “hey guys! what did i miss?” gojo said cheerfully. however, a dark ominous shadow appeared behind him and whacked his head so hard it made the whole room go silent.

“not even an apology?” nanami reprimanded gojo while staring down at him.

since an hour has passed, it was already time for the next thing on the agenda so gojo didnt even have time to eat the moment he arrived, he was okay nonetheless.

Game time!

the first game was something like blinfold elimination? im not too sure about the name. the way to play is:

two members of the team are blindfolded and is waiting outside a ring that has balls scattered everywhere

in order to win, the two blindfolded team members have to eliminate the other teams blindfolded members by finding a ball and throwing it at them

however, since they cannot take of their blindfold, the remaining team members will have to guide them to find the balls and help them to tell them roughly where and when they should throw the ball.

the non-blindfolded team members are not allowed to throw the balls and use their cursed energy.

the rules were fairly simple so yall split yourselves into 4 teams.

the 8 blindfolded people were itadori and inumaki, panda and aoi, mahito and mai, nanami (he was dragged into it) and nobara.

you were on mahito and mai’s team so you decided to just guide mai along since you were a lottle uncomfortable with mahito. jogo was there for him anyways and they make a better team.

gojo started the game by screaming and suddenly the room was filled with desperate screams to get the ball.

balls were flying everywhere and people were already crying of laughter because of the scene.

itadori kept scurrying along the floor like an insect which made everyone laugh but he couldn’t be hit no matter what.

as time passed by, more and more people got eliminated, including mai-san and the only people left were nanami and mahito. (oooo the matchup)

the rest were frantically screaming everywhere that they should go and throw in a certain direction.

it felt so tense yet so fun at the same time so it was pretty enjoyable to watch.

finally nanami hit mahito with the ball and the game was over. “good game, jujutsu sorcerer” mahito said in defeat while shaking his hand. “i only do what im supposed to” nanami nonchalantly replied as both enemies walked away from each other

the game took WAY longer than expected so it was time for the exchange gifts!

Exchange Gift time!!

yayy its exchange gift timee.

everyone gathered together and sat in a circle in the large empty space of the room with their gifts in hand.

“okay! lets all pass around the gifts until the music stops!” you announced as you started the music.

all the gifts were just travelling everywhere in very different directions including across the room.

you stopped the music and everyone made sure that they each had a gift in hand.

all of you took turns opening up the gifts and there were actually some pretty funny ones. by a huge coincidence itadori got a sukuna finger cake that was made by mai-san. it didnt look the best but.... hey the effort counts.

you opened up your gift and you found a keychain of megumis divine dogs. you guessed that it was from him and to no surprise it was. you found it so cute you immediately attached it onto your bag.

after opening your gift you proceeded to just watch the others open theirs. some of them were quite ridiculous as mahito got a hanger and jogo got a can opener.

it soon came down to the last person nanami so he opened up his gift slowly, he tore one side open, peeked inside, and immediately closed it. “whoever bought this gift must be very childish...” he said in disappointment

itadori ran towards him and ripped open the present and realised, it was a maids outfit.

everyone burst into laughter just imagining nanami in a maids outfit. “h-hey! who gave him that HAHAHAHA” itadori asked as he was rolling on the floor with his hands over his stomach.

gojo slowly raised his hand up and was already at the door, ready to escape.

nanami slowly rised, “please excuse me” he said calmly and he bolted out the door to chase gojo

that sight made everyone laigh even more until they had no more energy to laugh.

by the time they returned with gojo semi beat up, everyone was so out of energy and just lying down on the floor while listening to christmas music play in the background.

“should we pack up now? its also quite late” panda asked and everyone nodded in agreement.

everyone helped to pack up the remaining food and clean up the place before leaving.

once the whole place was clean, everyone siad their goodbyes and left in different directions.

andd there it is! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! hope you guys enjoyed this and i also hope you have a fun time with your families today! hopefully you get the gifts you want too HAHA. i may or may not post on new year’s but ill try if i can. ill be quite busy starting 2021 since thats when school starts, ew, but ill still try my best to post every now and then so please forgive me if im inactive! anywho, besides all that, please stay safe and have a merry christmas and a happy new year yalls! see you guys soon!!

[jelloopy]

The Forgotten Bird

What if our favorite Plane Jumping Embezzling Janitor was more than just that? 

Here’s my crazy long one shot of Clint McElroy being the Forgotten 8th member of the IPRE Crew. Be warned it is 8.2k.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No one really knows who Clint McElroy is. 

He seemingly popped up out of nowhere one day and continues to show up at random times and places. Little did the IPRE gang know that Clint was also on that mission with them. He was with them every cycle, every attack from the Hunger. He just disappeared after 48 long years when he learned about the Voidfish. 

Like the others, he was chosen for the simple 2-month excursion into space to explore the outer reaches of the planar system to potentially see what lies beyond it. He shadowed under Davenport in the year after finding the Light of creation. Helping him figure out how bonds work and assisting him with any sort of research. He met Barry while he worked at the institute as well. Never got to know him too well but worked alongside him in a few research projects. On the Mission, he was “Lieutenant”, second in command under Davenport.

He knew the mission was risky but his family supported what he did and urged him to go. So he waved his goodbyes from the hull of the Starblaster and went to his room as they took off. He is thankful most days that he didn’t see the attack as they exited the atmosphere. The last thing he saw of his homeworld was his family’s smiling faces and that’s all he needed. So when they reentered the atmosphere only to see a planet that wasn’t their own he didn’t know how to feel. 

When Magnus died at the end of the first cycle as they retreated from the Hunger and he was so afraid of what that meant. Just as the sinking feeling of losing a member of his crew began to set in they all were repositioned. Magnus was back. Clint was in his room on the ship. Everyone was still in their Red Cloaks from the first departure. How was this possible? No one knew. But as the next few years went by they fell into that routine of trying to find the light before the Hunger could. 

Some years they found it before the Hunger others took months and the Hunger had already spotted it. But every year within the first 2 weeks the sky would be filled with eyes for just a second. Those eyes, filled with fear, hunger, and hatred, burned into the crew. At that moment the clock started to tick. They had one year. In one year’s time, the Hunger would fill the sky and decimate the planet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

47 years they had been doing this. 47. This cycle was fun though. They were at a place called the Legato Conservatory. The locals said that the light of creation was in the mountain. So to follow their tradition on the planet the crew decided they could spend some time mastering certain arts to appease the mountain in order to get the light. They could have some fun. So everyone got to work. Magnus worked on carpentry, Merle danced, Taako gave motivational speeches, Davenport sang,  Barry played piano, Lup played the violin, and Lucretia and Clint took painting lessons. 

The year passed and they all submitted their works with pride. There was a moment with Barry and Lup that Clint saw growing over time and was ecstatic to see it coming to fruition. Everyone’s submissions were accepted and yet there was no Light of Creation. This made everyone in the crew on edge. Later that night Clint saw Magnus go for a jog probably from the nerves. 

However, the next night after the crew submitted their pieces Clint went to investigate the cave himself. When he peered into was greeted by a weird sort of jellyfish. The creature somehow gestured in a way as if to say “follow me” to him. So he did and it lead him into the cave. Looking around he notices a bunch of other creatures like the one he was following that start to float towards him. They are larger than the one he is following but stop short and float away as the smaller one in front of him hums and glows as if saying ‘he’s cool, he’s with me’.

 As they make their way further into the cave he spots another smaller creature with the duck that Magnus submitted in its tendrils and chuckles. Finally, they reach a back corner of the cave and Clint understands why the jellyfish brought him here, the painting he submitted leaned against the wall. He smiles as he approaches it.

The painting pictures a park from their home planet. Three boys are playing around in the sunlight, laughing. The smallest one in a blue shirt chasing what seems to be his older brother in a green shirt grinning ear to ear the whole way with joy in their faces. The last one who looks to be the oldest in a red shirt is hiding behind a big tree watching the other boys chase each other. Sitting in the foreground on a blanket leaning against one another is a man and a woman watching the whole scene take place.

“That’s my family. My wife ‘n I, then my three boys running around,” he says.

The creature hums softly. And floats closer to the painting touching a tendril to the man in the frame. 

“Yep, that’s me alright,” Clint assures. The tendril moves over to the woman. 

“That’s my wife Leslie. An absolute wonder of a woman. Always supported me. Took care of the boys. Never failed at bringing a smile to my face,” Clint tells the creature. Some tears start to well up in his eyes as he talks, smiling the whole time. The creature hummed a soft tone and glowed blue for a moment, brushing up next to Clint. It then pointed towards the Boy behind the tree.

“That’s my oldest Juice. His real name is Justin but when he was like 10 he had an obsession with drinking juice for a while so it just stuck. He’s such a good kid, always lights up a room when he enters, crazy funny too,” He explains, now sitting on a rock next to the painting. A few tears have begun to fall. The creature now points at the boy being chased in green.

“Ahh, Travis. He’s very passionate. Horribly afraid of spiders though. Insanely funny too. He and Juice butt heads some times but that’s what brothers do am I right?” He wipes a tear from his cheek as he chuckles. The creature finally points at the smallest boy in blue. 

“Now that’s baby Griffin. Spoiled Lil shit he is. Never will not bring up the fact that he has his “own birthday”. See Justin and Travis both share a birthday but they were born 3 years apart oddly enough. But Griffin got his own. He’s a little ball of energy. Used to help me out with stuff for the Institute before the Mission.” Clint can only smile looking at the painting now. He wipes a few final tears from his eyes and stands up. 

“Thank you for bringing me here to see this.” he turns to the creature, “I was hoping I’d see it again. Before we left this world.” He begins to walk away when the creature grabs his wrist and seems to hug him. Clint is very confused but goes with it. The jellyfish hums and glows bright colors but eventually let’s go. 

He visits again the next night but doesn’t tell the others about where he went the night before or tonight. This night as he is leaving he trips. He trips into the pool of water that most of the baby ‘voidfish’, as the crew wants to call them, are chilling out in. They all shine bright and hum a shrill note as they scatter away from him. He sits up in the pool wiping the hair from his eyes and spits out some water. 

“Damn I knew I was old but not that old!” he chuckles, looking at his voidfish friend while getting up. The voidfish hums another tune and glows what he can discern as happy colors. He leaves the cave making sure to not trip next to the second pool of voidfish on the way out. He only goes back once in a while, especially after he sees Magnus with another voidfish a few nights later.

The last few days of the year go on by, the crew is searching for the Light of Creation still and everyone is on edge. He tries to keep the peace as much as he can. 

However, about a week after his last visit to the cave he notices something weird while attending another submission ceremony. When the students offering was taken he still remembered the offering while everyone else forgot. Then when it was accepted and everyone remembered he still never forgot. He was very lost for a while and decided to attend a few more to test this. It wasn’t until a student’s submission was declined that he realized that he was in fact not under the effects of the voidfish. He tested it some more and asked Magnus if he could remember the submissions. When he got a very quizzical look from Magnus and an offer to take him to Merle to get his head checked out he also became very confused. 

It wasn’t hanging out around the voidfish that made him immune to their effect. Magnus was proof of that. So he brought it up in conversation one night. He slipped the question into the conversation about whether Magnus had drunk any of the water from the pools in the cave. Magnus denied ever having done so to his memory and Clint had his answer. If you drank the water that a voidfish has been in the effects of the memory alterations is nullified! He didn’t know what to do with this information. It was all so fascinating. 

He didn’t tell anyone. Not yet at least. He knew his crewmates and its not that he didn’t trust them it’s just that they could become very thoughtless and reckless at times and he didn’t know what they would do. Plus nothing would come of it since when they would leave this world the Voidfish wouldn’t even be in their grasp. He would just wait until the next year to tell anyone about it. 

That was the plan until Magnus smuggled Fisher onto the Starblaster and didn’t disappear. That changed everything. Still, no one knew what Fisher was capable of anyway, besides wiping memories and sometimes giving them back. 

Halfway through the next cycle, Clint hit a very grim point mentally. He was deeply depressed. He missed his wife and kids so much it pained him beyond belief that it had now been almost 50 years without them. Had they survived the Hunger’s attack? Was Leslie alright? How old were the boys now? Had they gone to College? So many questions he would never know the answer to. In this time no one really knew what to say or how to act. Clint was really the only one with any attachments back on their homeworld. Besides Davenport or Merle, everyone was really too young to have really set in stone a family. Davenport tried his best to comfort him, Taako made him his favorite meal one night in an attempt to cheer him up, Merle offered some medicinal options to help him out a tad, and Barry tried to offer his condolences but they fell on flat air.

To Clint, he was utterly alone at this moment. He had memories yes but he would never get to hold his wife again. He wouldn’t get to see his boys grow up. 

In a spark of inspiration after seeing Fisher while walking about the ship, he realized what he could do by the next cycle. He could wipe everyone’s memories of him and just disappear every cycle. Being around the crew reminded him too much of what he left behind. Plus he would just respawn the next year on the ship if he died or not so what was the difference. He can live a little. Thankfully he was in his room when the ship left their homeworld so he didn’t have to worry about respawning in the same room as everyone else. That was the new plan.

He spent the rest of the year writing down every memory possible that he needed the crew to forget. He didn’t mind if he would run into them in the years to come because they wouldn’t know who he was. He could say “Hi” then disappear. When the last few days came around he was finally finished with the journal full of memories of himself. 

Standing in front of Fisher’s tank he made sure he drank a little bit of the water just in case. He hesitated for a moment. Should he do this? It’s a drastic decision but if it was needed it could be reversed. He could just have a good few years and when he decided he could sneak some of Fishers water into the tap and bam they all remember him no big deal! 

He did it. Right as the Hunger made its first appearance. He dropped the journal into the tank and waited. 

No one called his name to make sure he was alright. So he waited. He would have to until they re-entered the atmosphere and landed when he could see if his plan actually worked. So that’s what he did. 

Upon finally landing he ran from his room with a bag of personal belongings and jumped ship. He ran into the nearby woods but stayed close though, just to make sure it had worked. Merle was the first one to exit the ship and was alone, he decided it was time to test it out. He set his bag and cloak on a low nearby branch and walked out. He acted as a curious native to hopefully catch Merle’s attention. And it worked thank the gods. Merle called out to him,

“Hello, sir! Do you speak common?”

“Oh! Uh hello! Yes, I uh, speak… Common?” Clint replied acting startled by the dwarf, trying to seal the deal.

“Ah! Well, that’s great! I guess you’re wondering about our ship here! Do not worry we are just humble explorers!” Merle explained.

“Well, that’s nice. I suppose… I’ll be on my way now don’t want to disturb your eh… exploring. Nice to meet you though!” Clint said walking back into the woods away from the ship. He needed to get away quickly. Merle shouted a goodbye as they parted ways.

When Clint traveled far enough away he cheered with excitement. His plan had worked! They don’t remember him! He felt a pang of loneliness for a moment but shrugged it off in favor of finding shelter. He was free to live life as a tourist, a nobody. 

Clint repeated this for the next 18 years. As soon as they would land he would jump ship as fast as possible and live his life whether it be in a new town or out in the woods. He would have his own adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they went into cycle 65 something extremely unexpected happened. The ship was attacked and they went down, hard. When Clint woke up he was thankfully on the ship and only had a few bumps and bruises. He was shaken from his hazy stupor when he heard Lucretia’s voice ring out through the ship calling for everyone. When no one answered Clint began to get worried along with Lucretia. He ran out and found her in front of her room with her own cuts and bruises. She saw him and backed away already preparing an offensive spell. 

“Wait wait wait! Don’t attack! I’m not an enemy! I can help you!” he shouted holding his hands up. She eyed him up and down and dropped the spell for a moment.

“Don’t move. I swear to the gods I will magic missile your ass so fast if you do.” she threatened. Clint swallowed and nodded his head. He was with them for about 50 years he knew what she was capable of. She began to back away and call out for the rest of the crew while running around the ship. She came back into the hall minutes later extremely flustered. No one was with her and Clint hadn’t heard any responses from the others. 

“Have you seen anyone else on this ship?” She demanded.

“N-no I swear.” He answered hands still up in the air. “I can help you through. You don’t know me but I know you and I can help.”

“What the hell does that mean how do you know me.” She faltered.

“It’s really hard to explain. I don’t know where everyone is but we obviously need to last the year until we can regenerate next cycle.” Clint offered.

“How do you know about the cycles… what is going on? Who the fuck are you?” She has tears in her eyes. Clint feels so much sorrow for her. She was only 16 coming on this mission. She’s too damn young to have been going through any of this. She reminds him of Travis though and he can’t just leave her stranded like this. He would have to just wipe her memory of him from this year when the Hunger comes around at the end of the year.

“Look we need to get this thing into the air and away from here I can explain more later but we need to not die for now.” he tries to compromise with her. She looks him up and down again and breaks.

“Fine let’s go but you better fucking explain what the hell is happening or you’re not going to like how you end up.” She starts to walk towards the helm of the ship. He follows in-suite and takes a moment to survey the situation before getting to work.

He is able to start the engines but is unable to get in the air. He takes a lap of the ship, making what repairs he can. The worst was the Bond engine at the stern of the ship. Though it could start up it there was no power going to the thrusters. He was able to fix it enough to get them in the air for a while and that’s all he needed. Someone obviously knew that the ship was here since the rest of the crew was missing. They needed to hide. 

Lucretia watched in confusion as Clint bounced around the Starblaster working on the repairs. How the hell did he know how to fix the bond engine let alone anything about the ship at all? While he worked she cleaned up the helm and readied the ship for the ascent. They made it a good distance flying around the planet aimlessly until they were attacked again. He made quick repairs as they flew leaving the steering to Lucretia. She could at least aim away from the enemy. Obviously neither of them were as good as Davenport but they survived. 

Once in a while, they would find a place to hide and make semi-proper repairs to the ship but as soon as they had any downtime they were back on the run from this relentless attacker.

In the short resting periods, that they did get, he tried to explain his situation as simply as he could to her. He took these times to write down their experiences as well, so he could wipe her memory in the new cycle. 

He loved his team. He really did. But he was having a blast living his own life from the non-stop mission that had stolen his family away from him. He had time to cope without the concerned looks from his crewmates. Most likely he would do this for a few more years then let them remember everything and deal with their wrath then. 

For now, he had to make sure Lucretia survived the year. It was drawing to a close and they were still on the run. He taught Lucretia everything he could about the ship in that time. So when the Hunger appeared in the sky he gave her the order to fly out of the atmosphere as he went to “check on the engine”. Really he ran to Fishers tank and dropped the small journal into it and waited. 

When they re-entered the atmosphere he heard Lucretia’s cry of relief. They- She had done it. She survived on her own the entire year. The crew was so worried about her. She was more than just a mess at this point. She had to live an entire year on the run, ‘alone’ without anyone to help her with the ship. 

Clint hid in the ship for the first day to figure out what the hell happened to everyone in that last cycle. He overheard them debriefing with Lucretia, saying that four giant statues killed them? They judged them on the sins they had committed? That’s insane. After he learned what happened he jumped ship and continued his lonesome adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end of cycle 82 threw him for a loop though. When the hunger appeared he saw a humanoid figure in a red cloak fly up into the air and destroy the first tendril from the Hunger. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen. But before he could even begin to process what had happened he respawned on the ship.

He grabbed his small go-bag and went to his normal spot where he jumps ship as soon as they land when he overhears a conversation in the helm. Davenport is yelling at Lup and Barry about something. He finally hears something about them becoming Liches when he has to jump because someone was walking down the hall near him.

When he found a place to settle down for a little while he tried to process what he heard. Barry and Lup became Liches? What does this mean for his disappearing act? How did the Voidfishes powers work with undead beings? I guess he will figure out when that comes to pass if ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something weird happened around cycle 90 though. He doesn’t stray too far from the ship this time and see’s Barry die within the first week. He makes sure to distance himself a little more just in case anything with memories pops up with Barry being a Lich and all. That was until he was laying in a big grassy field one day and a Lich in the IPRE robe appeared over him. 

“Clint.” It says.

“Uh who?” he replies. His heart jumped into his throat and his stomach sank.

“Cut the shit Clint what the fuck did you do. Why does no one remember you?” It demands.

“Ahh fuck. Barry?” Clint asks quickly. 

“Yes, it’s fucking Barry now answer the damn question, they all think I’m insane.” Barry shoots back.

Clint sits up and sighs. There was no escaping it now. He spilled the beans and told Barry everything. There was no point in hiding it. 

Barry now sat next to him. Seeing him in a Lich form was very odd but he got used to it after a while. A sigh came from him after a minute of contemplation.

“Well fuck… Shit man. That’s a lot. How long were you gonna keep this up for?” Barry asked.

“I don’t know. As long as I needed I suppose. It’s been fun living out here on my own. None of yall really had anything to leave behind. That’s why you all were chosen to go on the mission besides your expertise. Me? I had a wife and kids. I left them behind. I don’t know if they survived that attack, Barry. I know you all know about them but I can’t just not miss them. I miss Leslie’s hug, reassuring me the mission would go fine and that I’d be back home in no time. I miss my boys. Justin’s big ol’ smile, Travis’ dumb jokes, Griffin’s insane laughter. I miss them. I never got to see them grow up if they were able to. I don’t get to be by the love of my life anymore. And being out here alone has let me cope in my own way.” Clint explained, looking down at his hands.

“God damn Clint. I’m… I never thought of it that way. I knew you missed your family but. Damn, I’m so sorry man.” Barry tried his best. He didn’t know what to say.

“This is kinda why I left Barry. I know you mean well but it makes me feel broken and weak when you guys don’t know how to deal with me. I’m not trying to be the stereotypical guy who has to hide his feelings it just got to be too much. I wasn’t going to be gone forever. I’m gonna come back one day. I just want it to be on my terms. Please don’t take this as me blaming you because by all means its the opposite. I made this decision on my own. Plus you have Lup now and I can only hope that she makes you just as happy or more than Leslie made me. You two are amazing together.” He doesn’t know what to say anymore either. 

Barry lets out a small “thank you” before they sit in silence for a while. Later on, just as the sun is about to set, Barry turns to Clint as he gets up. 

“Well. Your secret is safe with me Lieutenant. I appreciate you telling me all that. Just come back when you’re ready alright?” 

“I will bud. Thank you.” Clint nods at him as he floats away. 

For the rest of the year, Barry and Clint meet once in a while to talk. It’s pleasant. Clint is happy to have someone to talk to again that he knows. They exchange all sorts of stories over the next few months. One day though Barry rushes into Clint in the woods. He talks so fast it’s a blur. Once Clint got him to calm down Barry explained.

“I don’t know what it means or how it works but when Lucretia and I sing a certain tune the rest of the crew hears static. I don’t know if its a big deal but its wicked weird.”

“Alright, that is really weird. What is the tune?” Clint questions him. Barry hums the tune and Clint can hear the notes just fine. He grunts and leans against a nearby tree, thinking. How is this possible and what does it mean. 

If Lucretia drank Fisher’s water that would mean she remembers Clint but she obviously doesn’t. Did she ever go in the cave with the Voidfish? Yeah! With Magnus that one time near the end of the cycle. So was it possible she accidentally drank from the pool too? Well if she did she would remember Clint. Then it clicks for him

He fell into the smaller pool of voidfish. That must be where the baby voidfish swim. It’s possible that when Lucretia was in the cave with Magnus that she accidentally drank from the Adult pool and can remember music from the conservatory. The adult voidfish must stay in one pool while the babies stay in another until they grow up.

Clint turns back to Barry and lies to him. He doesn’t know why but he does, “I don’t know how she knows the song but can’t remember me. I already told you what I know about Fisher. So it is pretty weird. I’d let it go though I doubt there’s anything to worry about.” 

Barry nods in agreement and begins to float away. “Yeah your probably right. It is pretty weird though. Oh well, I’ll see you later!”

Later that night the Hunger entered the atmosphere and then cycle 92 began.

This next time around he watches them as they all learn artificing and get to create their own magical items. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next 7 years, he lays low and lives out his own adventures. Staying in various Inn’s in nearby towns, learning different trades here and there, and overall just having fun

Cycle 99 was different right off the bat though. He hadn’t even had the chance to jump ship when the crew found the Light of creation and began discussing how to split it up. He listened in and learned what their plan was. It was actually a really good plan that could end the chase. He still jumped ship though and was awestruck with how similar to their homeworld it was. The only difference was the sky and the lack of one sun. He found a village to live in fairly easy and chilled out in a nice Inn for a while.

After 10 months of being on this planet, Clint heard word of some war for a powerful item start to spread. Everywhere he went that’s all anyone could talk about. He realized that it was probably from the plan of splitting the Light of Creation. After a year passes and the Hunger was nowhere in sight a dawning realization fell upon Clint. He could settle down again! Not start a new family, he was too old for that nor was he ready, but to find somewhere permanent to live out the rest of his years.

Another year passes and he finally settles down in Phandalin. He lives on the outskirts of town and works with the local authorities to make money from time to time. Within the first few days of being in town, he hears word of some man falling out of the sky on the outskirts of town. Other than that he lives in relative peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Then after 10 years Barry, Taako, Magnus, and Merle roll on into town talking about some guy named “Gundren”. Clint follows them into the bar and spy’s on them trying to figure out how they’re doing. When Taako, Merle, and Magnus leave Barry behind Clint decides it’s time to figure out what’s going on. 

“You and those guys here to look for those powerful relics?” He asks, approaching Barry who turns and looks him up and down.

“Not to my knowledge. Don’t know anything about ‘em personally. Just here on some escort business.” He replies and gestures to the bartender for a drink. 

“Well, you ever wonder about who created them? Some say its a group of powerful wizards, others say it was an evil Lich. What do you think?” Clint prods. Barry obviously isn’t going to just come out and say that he made the relics. So Clint has to try and trick him into it.

“Look pal, like I said I’m just here on some escort business. I could give less of a shit about those stupid relic things.” He snaps at Clint.

Clint moves away and leaves him to be. Something isn’t sitting right with him though. There is an odd feeling in his gut so he heads home and packs a bag. 

About two days later he looks out his window to see a trail of fire leading into town. He grabs his bag and a nearby horse from the stables and ditches town. Whatever that was, wasn’t good.

By nightfall, the entire town has been reduced to a sea of black glass. Clint watches though as three figures crawl out of a hole in the glass lugging a fourth behind them. He watches as they talk for a while then a glass ball comes from the fucking sky and flies them away to somewhere. Nearby though he spots movement in the woods and sees a flash of red. He knows that color anywhere. Must be Barry.

Clint mounts his horse and shouts for Barry as he rides towards where he saw the cloak. A few seconds later Clint and his horse are frozen in place. A red-robed figure comes out of the woods. When the figure sees Clint the spell is dropped and Clint calms the horse down.

“Clint, what the fuck are you doing here?” It asks.

“What am I doing here? Barry? What the fuck are you doing here?! What just happened with Taako, Magnus, and Merle? Why aren’t you with them?” Clint pressures.

“Listen you need to come with me. I’m not surprised that you don’t know yet. I’ll explain when we get somewhere safe. I can’t have her listening in somehow.” And with that, he simply turns around gesturing for Clint to follow him. So many more questions flood Clint’s mind but he gives up and just holds them for later.

After a long trek, they arrive at the entrance of a cave in the middle of nowhere. Clint ties the horse away to rest and goes in with Barry. The inside is insane. Papers everywhere, words scribbled on the wall, a fucking human floating in a tank?!

“Now I hope you’re going to explain all of this, because… What. The. Fuck.” Clint says just staring around the cave taking everything in. 

Barry does explain. He explains everything that happened in this cycle. What Lucretia did, what she's created. How he is trying to stop her and what he has to do, to do so. Clint is in awe. Lucretia knows about everything now. What Clint did. And she is using it against the crew too. This is why he didn’t want to tell anyone. Something bad was bound to happen with that information. 

Barry turns to one of the cave walls where the seven relics are listed and crosses out the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. 

“Holy shit. You were the guy that I heard about falling from the sky? Oh, fuck Barry. and Lup? I’m so sorry man. I’m sure she’ll turn up. But that’s a lot to take in holy shit.” He begins. They discuss all the implications behind everything that has happened.

“Wait there’s something I still don’t understand. Did you say that potentially there is a second voidfish? Not just Fisher?”

“Potentially yes. So everyone in the Bureau drinks Fisher’s ichor and they are able to learn about the Bureau and the Relics. But they just went to the base with one of the members of the Bureau so I don’t think Lucretia is going to let them drink Fishers Ichor unless she has a backup to keep everyone from remembering the mission.” Barry posits.

“But if there is a second voidfish then how am I able to remember everything. I haven’t drunk any of the second one’s ichor, as you call it.” Clint pushes.

“Well, that’s the question really. Because obviously Lucretia drank Fishers Ichor meaning she remembers you. But I think what happened was that she didn’t write you into the first story because she couldn’t remember you just like the rest of us. Maybe she just wanted to leave you be when not writing you in the second time around? It could be possible that she worded the journal to be that just the crew forgot each other. No one else in this world knew who we were so there wasn’t a point in deleting us from the world. So I guess she just left you out of the crew as you kinda wanted?” He shrugs. Clint hums in agreeance, thinking of the implications that this means for him.

They spend the next few days together talking about potential plans for Barry. Clint ends up leaving and goes to search for a new place to live. He liked living in a peaceful town. He misses the crew dearly but there was obviously too much drama for him to get involved again. After about a week Barry has a rough plan and Clint leaves to find another place to settle down.

He ends up in Never Winter and is chilling out in a nearby Inn when he hears screaming. He runs out of the building and follows some people down to the train station where he sees the tail end of a train seemingly disappear out of thin air. He looks over into a nearby field and sees about 6 figures get up after a while. Once again he recognizes Taako, Magnus, and Merle. He keeps his distance and instead works on keeping the peace around the town. As he debriefed with the local militia he met a young boy named Angus who claimed to be the world’s best detective. It was odd, but he reminded Clint of Griffin back home. Always curious and a bit vain at times, it brought a smile to his face. 

He ended up not liking Never Winter that much so he skipped town and headed towards Goldcliff. A Town he had heard nothing but praise for. It was now no surprise when all of the sudden vines began causing havoc around the bank. So he stuck around and met Captain Captain Bane who brushed him off. Yet no more than five minutes later those three boys came rolling up. Clint watched from a distance as Magnus tried to chop the vines, then as Merle sweet-talked the plants and got them inside. He saw when someone jumped from the top floor and flew away, he watched a few minutes later as the boys got carried out looking like actual shit. 

He never got to see them race but he heard stories of what happened. He was too busy helping clean up the dead vines from around the Bank and repairing what he could. He did go and visit the cherry blossom tree that sprouted from the race though. He saw the two women at the base of the tree and he knew that they had made sure that the boys were safe. He thanked them and made his way out of town. 

 On his way out Barry in his Lich form appeared out of nowhere and lead him back to his hidey-hole. Barry explained what had been happening. The Oculus and the Gaia Sash had been found, he was suspecting something was happening with the Philosophers stone soon so he has been combing radio signals for any word on it.

Clint found it funny but fulfilling that he ended up running behind the boys and helping clean up after them. He just happened to be where ever they were. He talked it over with Barry and decided that he would make it his job. When he could he would follow the boys and clean up what he could in their wake. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He couldn’t do much when the incident at the Miller lab happened but he was watching, just in case. He followed them with Barry to the town of Refuge. He watched in the woods while the four of them stood there talking about the town and what was happening. The statue of the boys in town was so amazing it made him tear up a little bit. He watched the reunion after the town caught up with the timeline, smiling the whole time.

When it came time for Wonderland Clint became very anxious. Barry told him what he knew of the place and it worried him. This was Barry’s relic after all, but the two Liches that ran the joint where a force to be reckoned with. It was decided that Clint would deter anyone from coming into the area, while Barry followed the boys inside to try and help them out. When they finally came out and he didn’t see Magnus but a fucking mannequin in his place he became extremely worried. He stays behind a-ways and follows them to Barry’s cave. He overhears everything Barry tells them. This was not in the original plan but it might just work. 

He listens to Barry now in his body forget everything and Merle and Taako talk to the Mannequin about the Bureau. He stays and just listens to what’s happening. He figures something big will happen when they go back to the base so when they leave the cave Clint chooses to go back to Goldcliff. It seems like a fortified enough place to be if hell breaks loose. He doesn’t know what is going to happen but he does know it isn’t good. The sky has been becoming darker and darker by the minute. Not only that but the saturation of everything around him has been sucked away.

He makes it to Goldcliff faster than he thought was possible, but he makes it in time just as the first wave hits the city. It’s the Hunger. It’s back with a vengeance. He runs through the town and banging on doors urging people to weaponize themselves and run for the Trust. The Hunger’s tendrils strike the earth and hundreds of Black opal Soldiers come flowing out of them. The insane and horrible noises already has enough people running throughout the streets. He sees the Hunger’s soldiers grab people from their families. What’s weird is that people seem to be running into the creatures. Clint can see them though, so he starts pulling people out of the fray and pushing them in the correct direction. He tries to gather the attention of as many of the figures as he can. He fights well with what weapons and spells he can. 

He takes out dozens as he makes his way towards the Trust himself. He reaches the Cherry Blossom tree from so long ago and finds the two women who are actually dryads protecting a young girl from the Hunger’s soldiers. He helps the taller one defeat a few before he shares a moment of comradery with her and he takes the young girl to the trust.

When he gets to the Trust he finds out the doors are closed but manages to get the girl inside after a lot of convincing people through whispers. He turns and goes back to fighting the soldiers. There’s a small lull of enemies until four figures come tumbling towards him. He readies himself for the fight when his heart sinks.

He recognizes them. 

He can’t even begin to process it when Justin lunges towards him, hands like knives swiping at him, slashing with animalistic movements. He can’t hurt him. Not his son. He plays on the defensive side, trying to figure out what to do. 

In the meantime, Leslie has grabbed broken pieces of wood from a nearby rubble pile and is beginning to advance. Travis and Griffin are following in suite. 

Seeing them like this brings all of Clint’s worst fears to light. They arent is family. But they are. Just corrupted. The Hunger took them. For the last 111 years, he has been mourning for them. He’s had time to cope but this changes everything. They didn’t die. They were taken by this evil world eating being that’s been chasing his crew for 100 years. 

And here they are. His family. But not like he remembered them. He can’t do it. He isn’t strong enough for that. He can’t hurt his boys. His wife. He can’t. He won’t.

He quickly casts hold person on all of them, and immediately starts to prepare to cast Imprisonment. He won’t have to fight or hurt them. They freeze in place and barely move when the hold person spell wears off and the Imprisonment spell takes over. 

Clint falls back and catches his breath. He looks up at his family tears flowing. All he wanted to do was see them again but not like this. Whatever was going to happen this time around needed to happen quickly. He hopes to the gods that he either dies now and stays dead this time time around or that the crew figures out to start over in the next cycle. 

He slowly gathers enough strength to stand back up. He walks over to Leslie. She is just as beautiful as the day he left her. Her face is filled with rage as shes frozen in place from running at him. Clint caresses her cheek one last time and kisses her forehead. He moves over to his boys one by one and does the same. None of them deserved this fate. He will figure out how to avenge them. In the meantime he leaves them be. They don’t need to die a second time.

He walks back towards the two Dryads from earlier and joins them in fighting the Hunger’s soldiers. One by one they all work together slaughtering the figures. Back to back, throwing weapons back and forth, and covering for eachother as they prepare spells.

He doesn’t know how long he has been fighting for but it feels like hours when the Hunger creatures just stop in place. They begin to glow white and slowly float into the sky turning into nothing. He takes a moment to catch his breath. Sitting down he looks around. Hurley and Sloan, as he now knows, join him in sitting down. No one knows what the hell just happened but they do know that they fought long and hard. They deserve to rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While helping slowly repair someone's home in Goldcliff Clint feels a tap on his shoulder. Wiping sweat from his brow he turns around to find Barry. They embrace, laughing about how they survived. Barry explains that they did in fact finally win. That the hunger was gone for good and they were safe. 

“So does everyone… you know… know?” Clint asks as they walk back to his makeshift house. 

“Clint, buddy? The universe knows, about everything.” Barry replies slapping him on the back. They make their way to the newly named Bureau of Benevolence. 

When they arrive Clint sheepishly greets everyone and is surprised to be met with a dogpile of hugs. Here is nothing but smiling and laughter filling the room. 

“Holy shit Clint it is so good to have you back.” Davenport exclaims, releasing him from a hug. 

“I would say that its great to have all of you back!” Clint jokes, “Barry told me the basics of what happened when we arrived here. We have a hell of a lot to catch up on.” 

Lucretia nervously laughs, “I suppose we do, huh?”

Clint walks over to her and scoops her up in a deep embrace. “Its alright. You know? Everyone fucks up. You just happened to follow in my footsteps and then out do me.” 

Once everyone is settled down in what seems to be a very luxurious lounge area they begin to tell their own stories. Lup’s is very brief , Barry and Taako sit next to her acting as guards. Very understandable. Clint already knew Barry’s story but there were a few things he had forgotten to mention before so it was a bit eye opening. There wasn’t much to Davenport’s story though he was most impacted by Lucretia’s wrong doings. Everyone already knew Lucretia’s story too, she just filled in some small blanks here and there even though she wasn’t very keen on talking a lot. What she had done was still pretty fresh and she didn’t want to make her case worse.

Then it came to Taako, Merle, and Magnus’ stories. Those three idiots had everyone rolling with laughter and crying within two minutes. Taako mainly joked about his whole experience, but that was just his way of coping and everyone knew it. He had gone through a lot of shit that he wasn’t ready to talk about and they all understood that. Magnus and Julia’s story hit home for Clint, he was silently bawling as Magnus explained it. He felt Davenports hand on his back as he cried. Then Merle with Mavis and Mookie, how he spoke of them resembled how Clint spoke of his own boys. Clint smiled, he knew how Merle felt. 

“Did you say Mavis?” Clint interrupted a moment.

“Yeah that’s my daughter.” Merle affirmed.

“No shit? She have red hair, teenageish, glasses?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah actually. You know her?” Merle questioned.

“Surprisingly yeah! She was in Goldcliff on that day and lost her glasses. Sloan and Hurley Protected her from the Hunger and I lead her to the Goldcliff Trust.” Clint explained.

“Holy shit. Thank you Clint! Thank you for protecting my baby. I had no idea that you were the one who did that!” He jumped over to Clint and bear hugged him.

Last but not least Clint shared his story which was shorter than everyone was expecting. The only thing they were really surprised about was him helping Lucretia during the Judges cycle. Other than that it was a bunch of jumping from Inn to Inn, meeting new people, catching low life thieves here and there, and so on. The night continued on with Taako and Lup cooking everyone a big dinner. They stayed up until the late hours of the morning joking and just being family once again.

“We really need to go to therapy huh?” Clint jokes at some point and everyone agrees. But life goes on. Clint is back with his family. Sure they grew apart and started living their own lives but they still talk and that’s what matters. Taako has his school, Merle has his camp for adventurers, Magnus made a school for dogs, Barry and Lup are now Reapers with Kravitz, Lucretia is helping people, and Davenport is doing what he loves. 

He may have been the Forgotten bird but at least he isn’t lonely anymore. He gets to live on his own still in a cottage out in the woods with a nearby town that calls on him for help every once in a while. Life is good. 

[thebeatles-world]

Dallas getting jealous that you moved on from him with Ponyboy ~ Imagine

You and Dallas have dated for 10 months. Sadly it didn’t work out since you guys would end up fighting a lot, Dallas getting drunk a lot and you would have to deal with his soberness, or Dallas not taking the relationship serious by him laughing whenever you would point out his mistakes.

You broke up with Dallas as much as it broke your heart but you knew it was for your own good. Even your family and friends agreed that it was best if you broke up with Dallas.

You broke up with Dallas in person and all he did was put his hands in his jean pockets and walked away without saying a word to you.

Ponyboy and the whole gang (expect for Dallas) heard the news that you and Dallas broke up and they were there for you and checked up on you every day to see if you were doing well.

You truly did miss Dallas but you knew you wouldn’t go back out with him ever again as much as it broke your heart. He wasn’t the first guy you dated but he was actually a guy that you loved more than any of your exes.

For weeks, you silently cried over Dallas as you started to throw away pictures that you guys took together, love notes that you guys wrote to each other back and forth in class, and it was more painful enough when you started to put the stuffed animals and jewelry that he gave you in a black plastic bag and threw it all away.

“I’m doing well.” You would sniff between tears. You knew that Dallas was avoiding everyone including going to the Curtis house and sometime school. Dallas would take a another route to class just so he could avoid seeing you or not be at school at all.

You were still devastated over the breakup. You honestly had no idea how Dallas was taking the breakup until one day you found out from Buck that all Dallas was doing was smoking & drinking while hanging out with the Shepherds and partying.

Your heart crushed even more and you couldn’t help but shed a few tears as you told Ponyboy about it. Even though the gang was there for you, Ponyboy did his best to comfort you during your breakup with Dallas and made sure you were eating well and even helped you catching up with your classes and walked with you to school and back home. Ponyboy even walked with you to your classes even if you guys had the same classes.

You and Ponyboy were very close friends. You guys met each other at English class and that’s how you met the whole gang through Ponyboy, especially Dallas. You remember how madly you fell in love with Dallas as Dallas felt the same way also when he first met you. That painful memory still broke your heart as you remembered.

You also remembered that you were there for Ponyboy whenever he broke up with his ex girlfriend a few months ago and now Ponyboy was returning the big favor to you.

“Thank you for being there for me Ponyboy, you’re such a great friend.” You smiled softly at him as he brought you your favorite book and goodies for you to eat.

“It’s no problem y/n, i know what you are going through. I know it hurts but trust me, things will get better I promise. Your precious heart will heal in no time.” Ponyboy smiled at you before adding- “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“You’re so sweet Ponyboy, I’m so glad I found such a amazing friend like you.” You smiled back at him which made Ponyboy blush softly.

“I’m always here no matter what and honestly I’m glad I met you y/n.” Ponyboy said and you both knew that you guys were lucky to have each other and go through the good and bad in life.

A Few Months Later...

Four months have passed since you & Dallas broke up and you recovered from the breakup by doing hobbies you loved, focusing on yourself and spending time with Ponyboy and the gang of course expect for Dallas. You haven’t seen Dallas since the day you guys broke up which honestly you were glad because it made you feel much better knowing that you didn’t get to see him at all while you were recovering through the months.

You and Ponyboy were dating now. It felt amazing dating your best friend that you knew since English class. You guys had the same stuff in common and everything. You were also relief that Ponyboy was more mature than Dallas was. You honestly didn’t know if Dallas even heard the news that you and Ponyboy were dating but it didn’t really bother you.

The gang were very happy when you and Ponyboy broke the news that you two were now dating. Even Darry and Sodapop started calling you ~ “Sister in Law.” every time they greeted you when you came over to the Curtis house.

You were very happy that you finally moved on and found a guy that healed your broken heart and was there for you since day one.

One day Darry and Sodapop decided to invite the whole gang on a Saturday afternoon and they were happy enough to invite you even if you were welcome any time to their house.

You were happy to spend with Ponyboy and the whole gang. Two-Bit and Steve and Sodapop were too busy playing cards with each other. Darry joined them as well in the next round and you and Ponyboy and Johnny were chatting about a book series that was coming out soon that you guys all liked.

As you were enjoying chatting to Ponyboy and Johnny, you suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Who could that be? You thought in confusion. Everyone looked confused as well. Was there anyone else coming here? You didn’t think that one of the shepherd gang came here unless they were late?

“Who is it?” Darry asked as he got up to answer the door. You paid no attention to the door until you heard a familiar voice as soon as Darry open the knob.

“Hey Darry it’s me Dallas, do you think we can talk?.” Dallas said in the doorway and you froze as you knew exactly who it was at the door.

Ponyboy and Johnny looked at your frozen expression. You did not expect for Dallas to show up at this time especially at the Curtis house since he hasn’t been here in months.

“Sure Dallas, come on in.” Darry said. You took a look at Dallas as he walked inside the Curtis house. He looked a bit rough and looked like he hasn’t had good sleep at all but you still thought he looked good after months of not seeing him. Dallas always looked good in your eyes but you knew you moved on from him and you were more interested in Ponyboy.

Steve, Two-Bit and Sodapop greeted Dallas as he came in and they were saying stuff to Dallas like ~ “Hey man what’s up?” Or “Glad to see you back!!” Or “I missed you man, long time no see!”

After they all greeted Dallas, you and Ponyboy and Johnny just sat there on the couch, not saying a word to Dallas or to each other at all.

You took another look at Dallas to realized that he made eye contact with you but then started to glare at you before going to a room to talk to Darry privately.

“I wonder what’s that all about.” Johnny whispered to you and Ponyboy. You slowly nodded as Ponyboy held your hand before saying “don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.”

“He probably just needs a place to cool down?” Ponyboy suggested. You and Johnny both agreed and moved on to start chatting about something else.

Not even 20 minutes has passed and you heard muffled shouting coming from the room that Darry and Dallas were talking privately at. Before you could ask Ponyboy if he heard a muffled shouting coming for the room, all the sudden you heard a door being open and footsteps quickly coming to the living room.

“Hey Ponyboy, I wanna talk to you man to man.” Dallas angrily said as he made his way to the living room while glaring at Ponyboy. Darry followed behind Dallas and tried to calm him down.

You could tell Dallas was pissed. He looked like he wanted to beat up someone up. You haven’t seem Dallas this angry since you guys dated when a Soc was trying to hit on you in front of him.

But what did Ponyboy do to Dallas that made him really angry? You thought in confusion.

“Dallas calm down man.” Darry said as he grabbed Dallas by the shoulders but Dallas just continued to shrug him off.

“Sure Dallas what’s up?” Ponyboy said in a calm voice as he stood up and looked at Dallas. Ponyboy looked so calm facing Dallas but you knew you were kinda scared of what was going to happen especially seeing a angry look on Dallas face that made you think not to mess with him. Never. Ever. You knew how Dallas got when he was angry and you made sure you gave him space or got out of the way every time Dallas was very angry.

“I wanna know why you stole my girl? Why did you take her away for me ?” Dallas glared at Ponyboy as he angrily yelled at him.

Two-Bit, Steve and Sodapop quickly got up from the seats and went towards Dallas. They knew what was about to happen.

“Dallas you need to chill out, cmon let’s go smoke outside for a bit.” Soda said to him calmly but of course Dallas Ingored him and went on towards Ponyboy.

Ponyboy wasn’t about to back down a argument or a fight. He raised a eyebrow at Dallas and said “You were the one that broke her heart, so I don’t know what you are talking about. I was there for her during the whole time you broke her when you guys dated but where were you? Nowhere Dallas. So you can’t say that I took y/n from you and you left her like dirt and everyone else here in this house knows that.” Ponyboy splat back at Dallas.

Dallas looked like he was ready to kill Ponyboy in a minute and he was just about to fight Ponyboy until Darry, Soda and Steve held him back to prevent Dallas from fighting Ponyboy.

“YOU ARE SO DEAD DO YOU HEAR ME PONYBOY? YOU ARE DEAD MEAT. YOU KNEW HOW MUCH I LOVED Y/N AND YOU STOLE HER AWAY FROM ME. YOU TOOK THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AWAY FROM ME.” Dallas started shouting angrily at Ponyboy while Darry, Soda and Steve continued to held him back.

“Here guys lets get you out of here.” Two-bit quickly dragged you and Ponyboy out of the house. As you shut the door behind you, you could hear Darry say to Dallas ~ “There’s no way that you are laying your hands on my kid brother do you understand me?”

“Man that was crazy.” You shook your head just thinking about the scene that Dallas caused. You did not expect him to be mad at Ponyboy for him dating you or for Dallas to still have feelings for you.

“It sure was, I’m sorry I argued back with him. I could have handling it more mature.” Ponyboy said to you.

You gave Ponyboy a kiss on the cheek. “You did great, I’m proud of you for sticking up.” You said with a giggle.

Ponyboy blushed and held your hang as you guys walked with Two-Bit.

“Hey Two-Bit where are we going?” Ponyboy asked in confusion.

“Yeah where are we going?” You also asked. You didn’t mind where you guys were going as long as it was somewhere to stay away from Dallas and avoid him at all costs.

“We’re going to a nearby McDonald’s, I’m taking you kids out to eat.” Two-Bit said as he pulled out a bunch of dollar bills from his pocket. “It’s my treat.”

“Awesome” you and Ponyboy grinned at the same time. You both loved McDonald’s consider the fact that you guys barely eat it since Darry was strict about Ponyboy eating healthy and so were your parents.

You guys ate at McDonald’s and after eating there, you guys walked for a bit until it was getting dark out.

“You guys ready to go back?” Two-Bit asked. You and Ponyboy both looked at each other. It’s been a few hours since Dallas went off on Ponyboy and hopefully he’s calmed down or gone home.

“Yes we’re both ready, he’s probably calm down or went home.” Ponyboy said which you nodded in response but you were still nervous just seeing Dallas. What If he was still there? Would he have went off on me also? You thought as you walked back with Ponyboy and Two-Bit.

Bunch of thoughts and anxiety went through your mind as you guys got closer and closer to the Curtis house.

You held tightly onto Ponyboy’s hand as you guys headed inside the Curtis house. Ponyboy nodded at you as you both relalized that Dallas was there, sitting on the couch and looking more calm than he did earlier.

“I took them out to eat and we walked for a bit, don’t worry we didn’t come across any bad harm or any socs.” Two bit said to Darry and Sodapop which they thanked Two-Bit and telling him that was a smart thing to do to get you and Ponyboy out of the house.

Suddenly Dallas hopped off the couch and went straight to you and Ponyboy. You suddenly looked into his eyes, the eyes you used to admire but now you started to glare at them.

“Hey listen no hard feelings but I’m sorry for yelling at you Ponyboy. I just didn’t take the news well that you and y/n were dating. I heard from Curly shepherd that you guys were now dating so that’s why I came here and talked to Darry to see if it was true and he told me that “Yes it was true please don’t get offended or angry.” But I paid no attention to him. I just let my anger take over me man. I’m sorry Ponyboy I didn’t mean it and I won’t do that ever again, just please take good care of y/n for me.” Dallas patted Ponyboy on the shoulder.

It shocked you what Dallas said to Ponyboy literally in front of you. You were just in shock after Dallas was done saying that.

“Yeah of course man, no hard feelings. I will. I love y/n so much and I wanna spend the rest of my life with her.” Ponyboy told Dallas and you couldn’t help but look In awe at Ponyboy but you didn’t realized how hurt Dallas looked when Ponyboy said that.

“Thanks man.... do you mind if I talk to y/n for a minute? I won’t hit on her or steal her away from you.” Dallas chuckled softly after he said the last part.

You and Ponyboy both looked at each other once again. “Do you wanna talk to Dallas babe?” Ponyboy asked you, making sure you felt comfortable with it.

“Um. Sure? He can ask me in person, I’m literally standing right here in front of him.” You joked which caused Ponyboy and Dallas to laugh.

“Alright I’m going to give you guys some space.” Ponyboy said as he peck you softly on the cheek. You smiled at him before turning to Dallas.

“What do you need to talk to about?” You asked in confusion. “I literally cried over you for weeks and weeks after the breakup and you just disappear for four months?”

You could tell Dallas felt bad after you told him that. He looked at you with a sad expression on his face.

“Y/n I’m sorry. I’m truly am. I wish I could have treated you better when we dated. After we broke up, I couldn’t handle it. I started losing control. I just kept everything to myself. I even thought about how to get you back but it was no use because I just knew you were done with me for good and I ruined it. I couldn’t handle the fact of seeing you in person again because I knew that it would torn me up. That’s why I avoid seeing the gang for a few months. When I found out that you and Ponyboy were dating, I started having mix emotions from angry, hurt, sadness and depression all at the same time which caused me to come here and talk to Darry to see if it was true. I also came here to talk to him about how I was going through the breakup and why I wa avoiding everyone way before he told me that it was true that you and Ponyboy were dating. I still have feelings for you even when we broke up but I understand. You deserve to be happy y/n. I will always love you and care for you as a person. “

You nodded at Dallas and looked at him with a sad expression as well. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out between us Dallas. But we can still be friends? I will always treasure our memories for as long as I live. I hope you can find a women out there who can bring your life to happiness and love and hopefully she can be your future wife. Yes I know it hurts that it’s not going to be me but you deserve a lot of happiness especially the fact that you went through a lot in your childhood.” You said, knowing that Dallas went through a lot in his life whenever he told you stories about his early life in New York City while you guys dated.

Dallas nodded and said “I know y/n. Thank you, and yes we can be friends. I can handle it I promise.”

“You sure about that Dallas?” You joked which earned a laugh and a smile from him.

“Of course y/n. Pinky promise. “ Dallas nodded with a chuckle before saying “Let’s go join everyone in the kitchen. I heard they were making brownies. I’m ready to eat some.”

“Not if I get the first bite.” You grinned at Dallas before rushing into the kitchen while Dallas ran behind you.

You were honestly glad you and Dallas made peace with each other and now moving on from the past.

[cupidssrosses]

i. love. ship. playlists.

so, i know for a FACT that im not the only one that uses songs to picture scenarios with a pairing i really love. like, sometimes im so set on the idea of a ship that i have to rewrite the entire show in my brain, rework it so that they end up together logically. songs are always so good to visualise too. harringrove is the BEST for this, because the show itself uses scenes set to 80s music all the time. 

anywho, this is a really longwided way of saying hey heres my harringrove playlist enjoy :)

this song has always been made for a scene where tension has to slowly build.

so, instead of the scene with billy and neil happening at the end of the season when theres much more world-end-y  things to deal with, it happens earlier. 

the  scene happens, billy goes to find max and ends up finding steve and the kids in that junkyard. 

“am i dreaming or is that you harrington”

(really rushed) “yeah its me dont cream your pants what the FUCK are you doing here hargrove you have to leave right now”

billy won’t shut the fuck up so steve has to cover his mouth and try to push him into the bus. then we hear a demidog, steve gives up on billy and gets ready to fight, quietly hands billy a broken pole or something just in case. 

the song starts from 0:00 right when billy sees the demidog, the camera pans in on his face, just so confused and scared, processing what hes seeing. then he joins the fight, he and steve back to back protecting the kids. this leads to billy being part of the gang, at least in some respects. hes strong as fuck and now they have to fill him in on the circumstances now so hes around more often to help. he wants to protect max, but also be near/protect steve. 

so ! during subsequent fights/situations, billy and steve get a little closer, damn they’re not in love but hey they’re getting more comfortable and theres deeeefinitely some mutal attraction, the energy from those shower and basketball scenes hasn’t gone away. if steves the mother figure billys the dad. 

on the “i need a hero” (BAM) part that leads into the chorus, billy saves steve with some kind of big action you know? RIGHT on the beat i swear i get chills every time i picture it to this song. like he pushes something off of him or pull him out of the way really suddenly after running reaaaallly fast to get to him. right after it cuts to steve looking all suprised and impressed while billy keeps fighting. 

same applies to the part that goes “watched out here i COME” in the second song, except its steve saving billy. 

since two thousand and fucking 17 ive seen this song as billys image of steve. it always sounded like his thoughts about him. 

this is one of the first moments billy realises he might really REALLY like steve. hes not just horny he might actually love this moron. at around 2:07 when all the instrumental goes away and its mainly the drums, thats when it happens. 

hes picking steve up from somewhere. theyve been spending more time together as buddies. he apologised for being a dick, theyve had some more serious conversations. hes taking him to hang out with the kids, maybe he just needed a ride home from school or work. anyway, its golden hour. hes waiting to see him and hes weirdly nervous, more than he ever was waiting to pick up a date with one of the hawkins girls.

and then he sees steve walk out onto the street, or come around the corner.

his heart STOPS. steve just looks so beautiful. the light hitting his hair. he smiles at someone he knows as the walk by. billys just HIT with hoe much he loves this stupid moron and his stupid fucking smile.

steves looking around for the car and looks so. happy. when he sees billy, billy smiles back. its been a while since hes smiled that genuinely. 

billy really really part of gang now. this might be sometime after the final events of season 2 i think?? billys saved them all, had a lot of experiences, hes built up some trust with the group and it feels normal that hes there. hes part of the family, and thats what this songs about. 

it night time, theyre at steves house, all the kids, nancy, jonathen, etc. some are swimming, everyones dancing, things feel a little more okay. 

at around 1:54, (again im a sucker for stripping away most of the instrumental and relying on a few key sounds, including loud drums) billy looks around. he has for one of the first times in a while this sense of FAMILY and ACCEPTANCE and SAFETY.

theres all these shots of everyone having fun, like 2 or 3 cuts, then to steve. just standing there laughing, hairs all wet from the pool, towel around his shoulders. he looks over, catches billys eye, gives him a smile, it feels like he knows what hes thinking, and he feels the same way. 

same night, during the part build up that starts at around 2:53, everyones trying to get billy to dance, hes been smoking on one of the pool chairs, not antisocial just not dancing. not his thing. plus he doesnt want to look like an idiot infront of steve. anyway. 

one of the kids starts it, starts gesturing for him to get up, pointedly singing the lyrics, the rest join in unti theyre all singing and chanting for him to join, all while the song builds and builds. finally steve joins in. maintains eye contact. thats enough for billy. he just keeps his eyes on steve as he stands up. its more like theyre dancing together, less like the kids are there. right at the end of that bridge he just lets go. takes of his jacket and dances around with everyone. he doesnt look stupid either. he looks good. and steve notices 

this is a small one, i dont even have a story to it. all i know is that comparisons between the scene that accompanies this song in top gun and the basket ball scene in st2 have been made, and itd be a super fun, corny scene :)

starts at the very begining. this song has ALWAYS felt so magical and me. i get chills every god damn time i hear the intro. i want their first kiss to be to the intro. 

its after the last fight of season three. someone else was flayed, someone we dont love. obviously billy survives. in FACT, he was along for the ride with robin and steve, all the shenanigens with the russians, billy was tied up and drugged too. BOTH he and robin admit their sexualities. 

billy still sacrafices himself to save the kids from the monster, he says something cute like “see ya round pretty boy” or some corny shit like that before he goes to run and save el, theres a moment when steve knows what hes about to do, theyre staring at eachother and theeeerse the electricity steve knows so much about. theyre really about to kiss, staring at eachothers mouths, but the monster makes a noise and billy knows its now or never, so he runs off. 

steve tries to save him but gets nocked out. he goes unconcious thinking billys going to or is already dead. 

it cuts to the end scene when theyre all in the car park. steves got an icepack to his face, hes obviously been sobbing. 

but he heres a voice. 

(clearly overjoyed and kind of smug) “am i dreaming or is that you harrington”

he looks up. its billy. we get a nice long run-jump-hug. steves in billys arms before he can even finish his sentence:

(nearly crying but SO excited) “yeah its me dont cream your pa-”

NOW. OKAY SO. i love love love they idea of billy steve and robin going home with murray, or at least showing up at his place. maybe billy cant stand the thought of going home, hell maybe neil was the one that got flayed and died idk. anyway.

nancy and jonathen are like, we know a place if people dont want to go home, and they go murrays place. when they show up at the door murray KNOWS. hes like “ffs two more people who have repressed feelings for eachother what am i a therapist. but he lets them in and they have a similar conversation that murray had with nancy and jonathen/joyce and hopper. poking fun at how much they like eachother etc. 

billy and steve have a really intimate talk. not sexaul intimate, just really open. theyre both so tiered, steve thought billy was dead, billy had to say goodbye to steve, who he KNOWS hes in love with by now, thinking he was about to die. they both KNOW how the feel about eachother now, but they havent said it explicitly. just lots of “i really thought id lost you”, “your my best friend”, “i cant believe youd do that for me” etc etc. 

they decide to go to bed, billy walks steve to his room, the one nancy stayed in when she and jonathen got together, theyre standing at the door. just staring at eachother like they were during that fight sequence. the energies back. billy really thinks he might go for it, but decides he doesnt want to ruin things if steve doesnt really feel the same way. he doesnt even know if he likes guys yet. so he just says “night steve” (steve, get it, not harrington, cause theyre close now and he loves him and those defensive barriers are down ahhhh). 

just as he turns to leave, steve does this:

this exact thing. he grabs billys arm, leans down and kisses him. he thought he lost his chance once, he nearly died like a million times in the past 48 hours. he cant stop himself. 

RIGHT HERE is when the intro to jump kicks in. FUck that synth, the rumbling note that runs through the whole thing. time. stops. its perfect. billys wanted this for so long, so has steve but in the grand tradition of fanfiction he didnt know it until he nearly lost billy for good. 

their arms are all over eachother, just as the rest of the instruments come in, at like 0:15, they both smile into the kiss and shut the door behind them, and it cuts away :). 

theyre finally together!!! theyre in the happy, honeymoon stage of realtionship. god theyre just fucking every. chance. they. get. i think this is a new season. it’s a montage of them hooking up all over hawkins. 

in the back of the video store, robin covering for them. in the car, outside school, steves house. someone walks in and billy has to hang out of the window. he makes a noise and steves like “thats probably just a bird or something” and billy MAKES A BIRD NOISE TO THE BEST OF HIS ABILITY. 

when steve helps him back inside he just stares a him with that “youre a moron but your my moron now” face. “~mimics the sound billy made~ really?” and then billy just laughs and goes back to hooking up with him. 

theyre just HAPPY. theyre comfortble, theyre stupid idiots whod die for eachother and horny as fuck allllll the time, like young guys are. i just want a really lighthearted, NOT INNOCENT, but lighthearted tone to a whole montage of them just being happy and stupid together. 

aaaaand we’re bassically at the end of the storyline i have for them based on music. these three i just like the thought of. i want steve do dance super shamelessly in his bedroom in a towel, not in a sexy way dont get me wrong he looks DUmb, and billys at his door window just admiring this stupid idiot dancing around. i cant believe im in love with this man this graceless lanky man i had to choose this one. but ill be damned if i wouldnt give my fucken life for him

and finally trust me go listen to any scorpions song its bassicaly a harrington anthem. it all started with rock you like a hurricain for me, i saw steve look at him, i saw billy and listened to the lyrics and just thought theres no god damned way this man is straight whats the bet hes into steve and then BAM same season hes just so obviously flirting with him constantly i-

anyway okay so

this song, like many other scorpion songs is allll about billy and steve in my opion. go have fun. 

PlayerEntity made this gif not me all credit to them i just wanted to include it cause its my favorite edit of them ever. 

and thats all!!! if youre seeing this and you thought it was cool thanks i had fun. i really just wanted to get this shit out of my brain its been up there since i was a fuckn 14 year old, now im 18 lol. 

i love these men more than myself and sometimes i forget that theyre not acutally together in show cause i live so completely through fanfiction and the sequence of events you just read. 

fuck why am i signing out like you just watched a youtube video or something i should just post this okay by now xxxxx

[losingmymindtonight]

I started writing this so long ago. It’s dedicated to for @agib-2002​, for the original idea, and @the-great-escapism​, for sparking it up again and giving me the inspiration to finish it.

(An extended scene between when Tony, Peter, and Strange originally meet the Guardians on the Q-Ship and when they all start planning on Titan.)

He doesn’t even know how it happened.

One minute, he’d been crashing an spaceship onto an alien planet. The next, his spider sense was flashing and he was being flung (for the second time in a handful of minutes) across the ship, Iron Spider suit clanging and screeching as it grated against the metal floors.

There was an alien with antennas, which was weird, and then some guy with a mask kicked him down. He knew, distantly, that he should never have let himself get separated from Mister Stark in the first place. He didn’t have a lot of practice fighting multiple opponents at once, and he wasn’t sure Berlin really counted.

There was just so much happening. Pieces of the damaged ship were still breaking off. He could hear pipes bursting, circuits sparking. The air was a chaos of shouts and repulsers and the hiss and sizzle of Doctor Strange’s magic. He’d lost contact with Karen way back on Earth, when he’d torn off his original mask, but the complex equations and data from the heads-up display still raced in the corners of his vision. All he could see was flashes: flashes of movement, of guns, of falling debris. There was blood in his mouth, blood in his nose. Every lungful of air was sweet with sweat and smoke and kicked up dust. His suit was too tight, too tight, too tight. The metal plates pressed against his skin and he didn’t think they’d ever come off.

For a minute, he really didn’t want to be a superhero anymore.

He scrambled across the ceiling above Mask Guy. He had to get behind him, right? He could’ve sworn Mister Stark had told him to get behind the enemy during training once. Or was that just something he’d learned from the video games he played with Ned on Sunday afternoons? Either way, it was the only plan he had. 

It turned out to be a bad plan. A very, very bad plan.

He wasn’t thinking straight, and not taking that into account was his major mistake. His vision was so bright, so skewed, that he didn’t even notice Mask Guy turn to stare straight at him when he jumped, the extra legs Mister Stark had put in his suit curling around him protectively.

Not that it mattered, of course. The ropes of electricity that snapped around his torso made the whole suit short circuit anyway.

Everything got even scarier after that. A mix of sensory overload and, you know, being electrocuted, made his brain fuzz out. Even after the shock stopped (but the ropes stayed, to his dismay, clamped tightly around his ribcage), it still took him a minute to re-acclimate himself to having a body.

By the time that happened, there was an arm around his neck and a gun against his head.

Oh. Oh shit.

Mask Guy hauled him to where Mister Stark and Doctor Strange were still fighting with the other aliens. The gun squealed loudly in his ear as he armed it.

“Everybody stay where you are! Chill the eff out!”

Peter only felt a little bit better when Mask Guy turned to gun to point at Mister Stark. “I’m gonna ask you this it one time. Where is Gamora?”

He could see his mentor swallow hard, eyes dancing between Peter and Mask Guy (who had disengaged said mask and, from what Peter could see from the corner of his eye, looked surprisingly human) as he held his repulser towards them.

Mister Stark’s mask had also been retracted, and it struck Peter rather suddenly that he’d never actually been on the receiving end of his fury before. Sure, his mentor had been mad after the Ferry Incident, but that was nothing compared to the rage burning behind his eyes now.

He looked livid. And... scared. Really, really scared.

For some reason, his adrenaline-fueled mind couldn’t reason why.

“Yeah. I’ll do you one better. Who is Gamora?”

It wasn’t until the Blue Alien spoke that Peter realized Mister Stark had a hostage of his own. “I’ll do you one better. Why is Gamora?”

If Peter wasn’t so sure he was only a few seconds away from literally dying, he might have laughed.

Mask Guy’s voice was murderous. The gun was back against his temple. He couldn’t feel the metal through his mask, but he imagined it was cold. “Tell me where the girl is or I swear to you I’m gonna french fry this little freak.”

Something washed over Mister Stark’s face at the threat. Something wild and vulnerable. His voice was a mix of harsh determination and pure terror. “Let’s do it! You shoot my guy and I blast him! Let’s go!”

A massive gun folded out from Mister Stark’s gauntlet at the threat. Despite the circumstances, Peter felt a brief flash of awe at his mentor’s suit. It was cool.

“Do it, Quill. I can take it.”

Another wave of fear washed through his veins. Maybe the Blue Alien could take it. Peter was 90% sure that a direct blast from Mask Guy’s gun at close range would kill him, even with the safety measures he knew Mister Stark had packed into the suit. 

Then, Antenna Alien spoke. “No! He can’t take it!”

Doctor Strange shook his head dryly. “She’s right. You can’t.”

“Oh, yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is? That’s fine. I’ll kill all three of you and I’ll beat it out of Thanos myself. Starting with you.” 

Mask Guy’s arm tightened around his throat. The gun jammed into his temple hard enough to ache. Tears stung at his eyes. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die. Please. He didn’t want to-

“Wait, what, Thanos? Alright, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?”

“What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say Jesus?”

Some of the fear left Mister Stark’s body. In fact, he almost looked annoyed, like when Peter told a really bad pun in the middle of a fight. “You’re from Earth.”

“I’m not from Earth. I’m from Missouri.”

“Yeah, that’s on Earth, dipshit. What are you hassling us for?”

He’s from Earth. He’s from Earth. He should know Mister Stark. Iron Man. He should know. 

He finally got up the courage to speak, and he hated how small and childish his voice sounded. He was sure Mister Stark could hear that he’d been choking back tears. “So you’re not... with... Thanos?”

“With Thanos? No! I’m here to kill Thanos. He took my girl.” The gun fell away from his head. “Wait, who are you?”

The mask retracted. The suit must have sensed the danger had passed. 

He tried to force bravery into his voice. “We’re the Avengers, man.”

The arm around his neck disappeared. He pushed out a breath of relief and hauled in his first full lungful of air in god knows how long. The restraints around his torso were still painfully right, but at least he didn’t have a gun shoved against his head anymore. At least Mister Stark only looked a little bit frightened.

Antenna Alien looked surprised. “You’re the ones Thor told us about.”

“You know Thor?”

“Yeah. Tall guy, not that good-looking,” Peter couldn’t help but flinch back at that, face scrunching in indignation, “needed saving.”

“Where is he now?”

“Nidavellir.”

Mister Stark’s mouth twitched in frustration. “I’m sorry, he’s where?”

“Nidavellir. Place that makes Titan-killing weapons, apparently. He said he needed a hammer.”

“He has a hammer.”

“He told us that his first one got destroyed.”

“How the hell did-” Mister Stark shook his head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. We’re good, right? Awesome. Peter, c’mere.”

Mask Guy reached forward and held Peter’s bicep in an unforgiving grip. “Whoa, slow down. You give me my guy, and I give you yours.”

“Fine.” Mister Stark gestured for Blue Alien to get to his feet and then pointed at Peter’s chest. “But get those things off of him.”

The electricity binding his arms to his side disappeared and he relaxed, wincing the muscles in his shoulders pulled. Mask Guy shoved him forward as Mister Stark did the same with Blue Alien. The moment he was in reach, his mentor lunged forward and hauled him a few stumbled steps backward. 

Mister Stark kept a firm grip on his arm as he maneuvered himself so that he was between Peter and any danger. He didn’t look at him, although Peter could tell he was dying to.

“You good, kid?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Alright. Hang in there.” He watched Mask Guy calculatingly. “You gonna introduce yourselves?”

“Quill, but most people call me Star-Lord.” He pointed at Blue Alien, then Antenna Lady. “That’s Drax and Mantis. Your turn.”

“I’m Tony,” he nodded in Strange’s direction, “Steven Strange,” he tugged Peter so he was just slightly visible to the other gang, “and this is Peter.”

Quill’s face brightened. “Hey! My name’s Peter, too!”

He forced a shaky smile on his face. He felt light-headed. “It’s a good name.”

“Yeah it is!”

“Alright, alright.” His mentor squeezed his arm lightly. “This is nice and all, but I’m gonna need some confirmation that we’re working together here. So,” he took a few steps forward, dragging Peter behind him, and held out his hand, “truce?”

Quill met him in the middle and gave a sharp nod. “Truce.”

“Perfect.” Mister Stark swung to face Peter head on, gripping his shoulders to hold him steady. “Hey. Hi. You hurt?”

“I-I don’t think so.” He swayed a little. The ground didn’t feel very stable, all of a sudden. “But I, uh, I think I need to sit down.”

“Okay, okay. Easy.” His mentor lowered him to the floor slowly, kneeling in front of him and holding him in a sitting position with concern in his eyes. “You’re alright.”

Quill’s face popped up over Mister Stark’s shoulder. “Is he okay?”

Mister Stark shrugged. “Strange?”

The sorcerer wandered over and looked Peter up and down. “Did his suit report any major injuries?”

“No. Just bruises.”

“It’s just adrenaline, then.” Strange gave Mister Stark a significant look. “He’s only a child, after all.”

The world spun around him lazily, like he was on a really bad tilt-a-whirl. “‘M not a child.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mister Stark cradled the back of his head as he laid him down, leaving his hand buried in his hair like a makeshift pillow. “Not a child, we know. Now take a breather.”

Quill seemed to survey Peter, and winced at whatever it was he saw. “Uh, he doesn’t look too good, does he?”

Uh oh. Mister Stark looked pissed. His head snapped towards Quill and his voice dripped with venom. “Yeah, he doesn’t. Probably has something to do with the fact you scared the shit out of him, asshole.”

Quill raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, listen. I’m sorry, man. Didn’t know we were on the same side.”

“Doesn’t give you a right to-”

“Mister Stark?” He winced at the way his voice wobbled. God, he really didn’t wanna cry. He was an Avenger now, and Avengers didn’t cry, even if they were stranded in a wrecked spaceship on the homeworld of a psychotic alien. “‘S okay. Jus’ gimme a second, and I’ll be fine.”

He liked the way Mister Stark’s face melted when he looked back at him. It made his chest feel warm and gooey, despite the adrenaline crash. 

“I know you’ll be fine, kiddo, but you’re gonna stay right there until you’re 100% again, y’hear me? No jumping the gun on this one. There’re only so many heart attacks I can handle in one go.”

He gave a half-hearted nod, then dropped his head back against the cool metal floor with an exhausted sigh.

God, he hadn’t even gotten to the big fight yet, and he already felt like he could sleep for a million years.

Mister Stark’s hand, his real hand, not the gauntlet, was suddenly pressed flat against his forehead. “You doing okay, buddy?”

“Mhm. Just... taking a sec.”

His mentor’s voice was apologetic. “Alright. Just don’t fall asleep, okay? I’m sorry, kid, but we don’t have time for naps.”

He flexed his fingers and blinked his eyes back open, suppressing a groan at the ache in his ribs. His gaze collided with Mister Stark’s, and there was a brief moment when neither spoke.

Up until that point, he hadn’t really realized that fear in Mister Stark’s eyes hadn’t been for himself, or for Earth, or even for the universe as a whole.

Now, though, the subject of his mentor’s terror hit him like a ton of bricks.

The fear was for him.

A fresh wave of tears glazed his vision, and he blinked them away.

“This’s,” he swallowed, offering his mentor a lopsided grin, “this’s been a really long day, Mister Stark.”

He won a wry smile in return. “Yeah, kid, it has.”

“It’s only gonna get longer, huh?”

“Probably.” Mister Stark ran his hand through his hair, either not noticing or not caring about how stiff it was with drying sweat. “But it’ll be over eventually. You just gotta stay alive until then, alright? Promise me. Promise me that your number one priority’ll be staying alive.”

He nodded, desperately wanting to relieve some of the terror in his mentor’s eyes.

“I promise.”

He really hoped that it was a promise he wouldn’t have to break.

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 7: Broken with Power

It is a new day, and the friends gather once again. This time, their conference takes place at the Heroto Diner. They squeeze together in a round booth and get comfortable. After having washed off the last of the rainbow chemicals and rest from their time at the ruined laboratory, the gang finally chills without having to be in an eerie environment. Brook takes a big gulp of sweetened iced-tea as Emmy sips on her mug of hot, steaming coffee. Hatboy and Zach, on the other hand, hold soda in their grips. Carly is the only one focused on the activity she creates in her drawing pad.

“Ah,” utters Emmy, smiling. “This is nice: sitting in the diner and having a good meal.”

“I second that,” Hatboy replies, reflecting his expression. “Nothing beats a good, old-fashioned burger and some french fries.”

“I agree!” adds the purple rabbit. “It’s so much better with you guys, unlike those cold-hearted animals known as Team Rescuers.” She turns to Zach. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up. No offense, you know…”

“None taken,” Zach tells her. “In fact, I’m happy to say I’m past all of that. You guys have helped me back on my feet and changed my life. You’re the greatest friends a fox could ask for.” She pats him on the back with a smile.

Emmy looks to the cat. “Carly, can’t you work on drawing another time? We’re at the table with our friends.” Carly scoots away slightly to ignore her. “Come on. Don’t be so-” The warthog pauses as she notices the people of the diner begin eyeing the gang. “Um, does anyone get the feeling something’s wrong here?” The others see what she means, observing the specters of the eatery.

Brook sees what she means. Her smile disappears. “Everyone is looking at us… Why are they looking at us like that?”

“We didn’t do anything,” Hatboy implies. “We’re just hanging out… Unless, they all think we’re weird because Zach is with us…”

“Maybe we should get out of here,” Zach suggests. “I feel like we’re attracting unwanted attention.”

“I second that,” Brook insists. “Besides, I’m feeling a little headache…” Everyone agrees, get out of their seats, and stand. Carly keeps her head in her sketchbook as she draws.

Hatboy places money down on the table before the whole gang exits out the diner. The eyes of the other animals follow them as they disappear, and remain fixed on them through the glass as the others distance themselves from the diner. “Okay, that’s so creepy,” he comments. “What is going on?”

The warthog halts beside the glass window of an electronic store, noticing her and her friends’ pictures on the screen mounted on the wall. “Guys, come look at the television right now…”

“Not now,” Carly says. “I’m working on something very-”

“We’re on the news!” the warthog interrupts. Everyone gathers by the screens and watches the news story.

“Welcome to Heroto News!” utters a well-dressed owl. “I am Helen Hooters with your regular news stories. We begin today with a warning to the town. Team Rescuers are advising us to be cautious of these five figures shown here. We’ve been told that they were at the old ruined Heroto Laboratory last night and are have been acting suspicious. Team Rescuers and police are urging residents to be cautious.”

Brooks remains fixed on the television. “What…? They think we’re suspicious? Suspicious of what? This is ridiculous…”

“We’re now going to turn to our breaking news,” the owl continues. “The Heroto orphanage had been ripped apart by a loud explosion. We go to you live on the spot with Camille Chicken.” The scene cuts to the orphanage building with a large hole in it and emergency services around the area.  

In front of the damaged structure stands a chicken in a trench coat. “Good morning, Helen. It is a surprising morning to everyone in Heroto as we have found the orphanage had been blown up in the early morning hours. Residents have informed the news team that they heard a loud “boom” last night around 4:20 a.m., and are calling it an act of terror. Team Rescuers had combed through the site to find evidence that it was, indeed, a terrorist attack, after finding pieces of explosive materials around the area. There have been only mild to moderate injuries, and everyone who was involved in the blast are expected to make a full recovery in the hospital. People have been informing us that they’ve seen five animals walking through town and suspect they are the culprits behind the attacks. Team Rescuers has advised us it’s the flawed fox and his freaky friends that hang about, but there is no word on whether they were the ones behind the attacks. This is Camille Chicken reporting to you from the Heroto Orphanage.”

“Thank you, Camille.” The shot returns to the owl. “Now, we’re unsure if these two events are related to each other, but it seems plausible at this time. Team Rescuers and police are urging caution. We now take you to Alan Hawk for the weather.”

“That can’t be good,” says Zach. “That can’t be good at all…”

“Indeed,” Emmy adds. “We better get out of here now before-”

“Flawed Fox and friends!” The gang turns to see Jay and the team appear before them. “You have made a grave mistake!”

“Oh, hello there, Team Rescuers,” utters Brook. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

“Can it, Hops! We had suspicions you would, Flawed Fox!” Jay marches up to the fox. “I know you always loathed the orphanage, and it’s a good enough motive to get you arrested!”

“Hold on.” Carly stands between the two animals. “What makes you so sure Zach was the one who blew up the orphanage? He was with us the whole time.”

“Indeed, you were,” says Miffy. “You five have quite the nerve attacking poor, defenseless children!”

Carly turns to her quickly. “What?!”

“We weren’t the ones who attack the orphanage!” cries Hatboy. “We were all hanging out last night.”

“Yeah,” responds. “Hanging out by the old laboratory!” Hatboy flinches with fear. “You don’t think we know? You’re all in big trouble! You’re coming with us!” She reaches for Zach and grabs him. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Flawed Fox!”

“Get off of him!” Carly smacks the sheep with her sketchbook, causing her to fall back. She then charges toward them, but Hatboy pushes her aside, tossing her into a trashcan nearby.

Jay growls. “No one hurts my girlfriend!” He starts for the red rabbit, clawing at him and scratching his face. Zach steps in and extends his arm across Jay’s face, punching him in the mouth and knocking him away. “That’s it! I’ll kill you, Flawed Fox!” He charges for the fox, but then freezes within three meters of them as Brook stands in front and sticks out her leg, which connects with the area between his legs. The wolf covers his sensitive spot and stumbles to the ground.

Brook smiles. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“You’ve messed with the wrong group!” Kenji gets into his ready stance. “Prepare to face a master in martial arts!” Emmy stamps on the monkey’s foot, which causes him to lift and hold it before Zach quickly pushes him into the trash with Cindy.

“You criminals won’t get away with this!” As Miffy presses forward, Carly grabs her by the tail, yanks her, and spins her around. With enough momentum, he lets go and tosses her into a wall, where she’s stunned and dazed.

“Don’t ever mess with my friends!” Carly yells. The gang looks around as a crowd of angry citizens gather by them. “Uh… Uh oh…”

“Let’s get out of here!” Emmy shouts. Her and the others bolt away from the area with the mob. They run, faster and faster, as the yells and cries of the mob continue from behind them. The gang gets chased around blocks and corners. Eventually, they head down into a subway station and travel down the dim-lit tunnel. The gang continue down the line, then hide. When they no longer hear the cries and yells of the townsfolk, the friends stop and rest in place by the nearest station.

“Phew,” comments Brook. “That was close… Who would’ve thought people would become agitated quickly…?”

Zach turns to the others. “That was amazing… The way you all took on Team Rescuers…”

“You did well, too,” says Carly, smiling. “It was a nice punch against Jay. Did it feel good?” Zach nods.

“Friends always stick up for each other,” Emmy implies. “That’s what we do. It’s too bad that everyone, including Team Rescuers, will be after us, now…”

“That’s just great,” Hatboy starts. “Now the whole town thinks we’re terrorists…”

“W-what do we do now?” asks Carly. “We can’t go back to our homes… Team Rescuers will be waiting for us up there…” She sighs. “Great, now my mother will definitely kill me, if not Team Rescuers.”

“But we didn’t do anything!” Brook utters. “How could they blame us for something we didn’t do?!”

“I don’t know,” Zach responds. “They’re probably just blaming us because-” The fox pauses and holds his head. “Ugh!”

Carly moves closer to him. “You okay, Zach? What’s gotten into you?”

“My head,” the fox tells her. “I-it hurts so much! It’s like a hammer is banging on my skull a million times! My whole body’s aching, too!”

“You should take s-” The cat mirrors the fox’s move and flinches, trembling. “Ow! Ugh, I don’t feel so good…”

Emmy heads over to them with worry. “We should see if we -” The warthog pauses, then quickly kneels to the ground as she grudges her stomach. “A-ah! W-what is happening?! Why does my body ache so much?!” Soon, the rabbits join them in agony as pain fill their minds, bodies, and senses. All they could do is endure it, with no help or relief. The friends moan, groan, tremble, grit, and clench as their suffering continues. Half of them lie on the ground as the rest lean against the wall, wishing it would all stop. And then, just like that, the torture ceases.

“W-what just happened?” asks Zach, getting off the wall. “What was all of that about?”

“Ugh,” Hatboy stands from the concrete ground, still holding his head. “Why do I feel so strange? I feel like a fly that’s been squished.” Light encompasses the red rabbit as he changes form. His entire body morphs into a giant black fly. Everyone stares at him with gaping eyes and mouths. “Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

“Holy!” Carly points at him. “You’re a giant fly!”

“What?” Hatboy looks down at his paws, which are the limbs of an insect’s. “What the?! What’s happened to me?!” He pulls out his phone, looking into the camera’s selfie function. “I’m a fly?! Ah! Change me back! Someone!” Just like that, he returns to his normal self. “Uh…”

“Oh my god!” Zach yells. “How did you do that?!”

“I don’t know… I just said I was a fly… I have transformation abilities?!”

“Hold on!” Carly puts his paws on the area between her legs. “I have to use the bathroom real bad!” She runs away fast, then returns within five seconds. “Phew.” Everyone stares at her in bewilderment. She looks at her friends before reflecting their expressions. “Oh my! Did I just run to the bathroom and back in a matter of seconds?! Wait a minute…” She pulls out her sketchbook, and within a few seconds, she fills the entire page with her speed. “Whoa…”

“You have super speed!” exclaims Brook. “That’s so cool!” She looks down at her paws to examine them. “I feel a little tingly in my paws… I wonder what happened to me…” She extends her arm out to Hatboy. He starts glowing bright light blue before being hoisted in the air. Brook’s arm conducts him high. “Whoa! I’ve got telekinesis! Cool!” She takes back her arm, dropping the red rabbit. “Oops, sorry, Hats.”

Emmy holds her head. “I feel a little light…” Suddenly, she vanishes into thin air.

“Oh!” Carly juts. “Emmy, where’d you go?!”

“I’m right here!”

Carly looks around frantically. “Where?!”

“Here!” The warthog reappears in front of her. “I’ve been standing her the whole time! Didn’t you see me?!”

Carly stares at her in surprise. “No… You just disappeared, then reappeared!”

Emmy thinks hard about it, causing her to disappear and reappear again. Her expression turns to reflect the cats. “I-I have invisibility… That’s insane!”

Zach looks down at his body. “Why does my body feel strange…?” Everyone looks toward the tunnel at the sound of a horn, seeing a railroad car speeding toward them Everyone but Zach jumps out of the way. The fox extends his arms out to the metal vehicle and shuts his eyes tightly. The train slams into him and pushes him along the tracks, but then slows to a halt. Zach opens his eyes to see the subway stopped in its tracks as he holds it out in front of him. The others come out of hiding, looking at the fox with shock. Zach himself examines the work that he’s done. “Oh… My… God…” He then pushes the cars in the opposite direction with great force. “I’ve got super strength… I… Whoa…”

“We have super powers,” concludes Hatboy. “That’s incredible… How did we get super powers?”

Zach gasps, tracing his thoughts back to the event that lead up to this point. “The chemicals from the laboratory! The rainbow liquid that washed over us! That’s how we’ve got them!”

“I’m down with that,” Brook says. She pushes the empty cans with her telekinesis. “Man, this is “super” cool. We’re like superheroes!”

“Hm.” Carly puts her paw on her chin. “That actually gives me an idea. We should start our own little super gang with our new abilities. We can blow Team Rescuers out of the water and show Heroto what real heroes are. We’d be better than them.” Everyone hesitates with her suggestion, but then soon come to an agreement on it.

“Just one question,” adds Emmy. “Where are we setting up our base of operations? We’re wanted by the whole town, and I’m pretty sure Team Rescuers will be out looking for us.”

“We can hide down here, actually,” Zach implies. “There’s an abandoned subway terminal just down the line on the third set of tracks. Been abandoned for years, and no one ever uses it.”

“Ooo!” Brook smiles. “I like the sound of that! Very interesting! Wait, how the heck do you know about that?”

“When I was with Team Rescuers, we intercepted Capital Corp using the tunnel, but we – I mean Team Rescuers – battled and pushed them out.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Carly tells him. “We should get our things if we’re going to set up down here.”

“And how are we going to do that with Team Rescuers and the townspeople above us, waiting to hurt us?” Hatboy queries.

“We’ll go at night,” Emmy suggests. “That way no one can see us. Carly can use her superspeed and I have invisibility, which means we’ll get everything down here quickly.”

“Yeah, that’ll work. First thing’s first, though.” Brook looks at Zach. “Lead us to the abandoned station, Zach. I’d love to see that.”

“It’s right this way.” Zach traces the third track down into the tunnel with the gang following him. “It’s going to be a bit of a long walk, but since no one comes down here, it should be safe enough to hide in.”

Emmy has her hoof on her chin as she follows the fox. “I’m starting to grow skeptical of Team Rescuers…”

@carlycmarathecat​ @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @bendy-bear-15​

[pug-bitch]

That’s not why I’m going (33)

Humidity’s rising

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some extremely suggestive, and a VERY steamy scene. This is absolutely NOT appropriate for people under 18. 

Word count: around 4,500 (let me know if the ‘keep reading’ cutoff isn’t working well!)

Notes: This picks up pretty much where we left off, as the gang is ready to go to karaoke, starting with Drake’s POV. This chapter is mostly fluffy stuff, because we need it :D

*****

Drake steps into the Uber, closely following Amara, who’s now sitting between him and Maxwell. He squeezes her hand once they’re all buckled in.

‘Are you sure you’re ok, baby?’

She nods enthusiastically. ‘Yes, please don’t worry. I had an episode, it’s gone now, I want tonight to be fun!’

He nods and kisses her hand. Maxwell rubs Amara’s other arm. ‘You’re right, let’s have a fun time! So happy to be all together! But where are we going exactly?’

Amara chuckles. ‘We’re going to the bar where Drake and I went for karaoke once. It’s a cop bar, it’s quiet, we just have to look out for Bastien or even Ilya, but if they’re both not there we’re in the clear.’

Max cheers. ‘Woo! A bar full of hunky cops, I love it!’

Drake laughs heartily. ‘Max, most of them are not hot. I just wanna manage your expectations!’

‘Who knows! Look, Amara was a cop, and she’s hot as hell! Why wouldn’t these cops be sexy?’

Amara gloats, ‘Oh, well he’s not wrong, Walker. Some cops are very hot indeed. Ever seen Broadchurch? David Tennant can get it.’

Max gasps, ‘YES, he can. Every time he yells ‘Millah!’ I feel a tingle inside of me.’

Drake rubs the bridge of his nose. ‘That’s all great, guys. I really needed to know what makes Maxwell tingle.’

The Uber driver lets out a throaty laugh, and then realizes that he did that out loud. They all pause for a second, and resume laughing together.

*****

‘Finally! What took you bitches so long?’ Liv complains as Drake, Amara and Max get out of their Uber. 

‘Relax, Liv, we’ve been here for two minutes!’ Hana chimes in.

Amara rolls her eyes, ‘Oh, two minutes? Poor Duchess Olivia, your time is sooo precious. Alright, let’s get in, and let’s have fun. Bertrand, I wanna hear your beautiful voice, ok?’

Bertrand blushes but smiles brightly. Amara can’t help but think they may have failed to include him enough in the past, but she’s determined to make it up to him. 

They walk into the bar, and Amara scans the room for any known faces, which she notices Drake is doing too. But they looked everywhere, and there’s no sign of Bastien, Ilya, or any other members of the Royal Guard. Just regular uniformed cops at the end of their workday, relaxing with their buddies or spouses. Amara notices there’s a lot more women in here than there were last time, which is great for them. They will stick out less.

‘This is everything!’ Maxwell yelps. ‘How come I’ve never been here? It’s so cute! Those peanut bowls are so retro, I’m into it.’

Amara and Drake look at each other and laugh. Oh, Maxwell. What a treasure. 

The six of them get a booth and Drake goes to the bar to order the first round. He knows Bruno at the bar, Amara remembers from last time, and Bruno makes strong drinks. 

‘Maybe I should tell Drake to just get me a tea,’ Bertrand says nervously. 

‘Bertrand! If you’re gonna sing, you need liquid courage!’ Hana says.

Bertrand shrugs and smiles. ‘Well, I suppose that’s true. I’m already two drinks in, though, maybe it’s too much.’

‘Live a little, babe,’ Liv says as she takes a flask out of her bra, handing it to a blushing Bertrand. ‘Have a sip. It won’t bite, it was just on my boob, not up my ass.’

Amara and Hana bite their lips in order not to laugh, as Bertrand reluctantly takes a swig from Liv’s boob flask.

‘I’m gonna go help Drake carry the drinks,’ Amara says.

She walks up to the bar, where Drake is chatting with Bruno while he’s making the drinks. ‘Hey ma’am,’ Bruno says. ‘I remember you. You sang Queen beautifully last time you were here with Drake.’

‘Oh hi Bruno! Nice to see you. It’s very nice of you to say, I was a little hammered, so I don’t remember much of that...performance.’

Bruno laughs, and serves Amara an extra shot of bourbon. ‘Bourbon, right? You’ll need it if you want to give another stellar performance. Lower your inhibitions.’

Amara laughs and downs the shot. ‘Thanks, Bruno. I’ll start a tab.’

He waves her off. ‘This one’s on the house. A friend of the Walkers’ is a friend of mine. And Drake already put his card down.’

‘Aw, thanks, Drake!’

They walk back to the table with drinks for everyone, a round a double shots of bourbon.

‘Ohh, guys, I’m tipsy just looking at these,’ Hana laughs.

‘Lee, stop it, or I’ll make you drink from my flask too,’ Liv threatens. Hana throws her hands up in defeat, and grabs a glass.

*****

A couple of rounds later, Maxwell gets up and goes up to the stage, under the cheers of a room full of cops. He does a little breakdance as he arrives on stage, provoking more excitement from the crowd. Amara gasps, nervous that he might fall on his face again. ‘Jeez, this man will break his neck just by being himself one day.’

Drake laughs, his hand around Amara’s shoulders. He’s feeling good. At home, even. He wishes his dad were here to see them all having fun together. He’d say, ‘See, Drake? You complain about the nobles, but you had to give some of them a chance. They’re not so bad.’

He looks at Amara. She’s smiling broadly, visibly happy to be here. Surprising in a way, since her past is still so painful. He was afraid, when they came here tonight, that the abundance of cops would trigger her anxiety again, but it seems like it’s doing just the opposite. Maybe she’s just enjoying the proximity to good memories, both from her past, and from one of their first dates. He enjoys seeing her like this. 

Suddenly, Maxwell clears his throat in the microphone.

‘Hello, you gorgeous bunch of cops!’ The crowd cheers. ‘I’m Max and tonight, I’m gonna sing an amazing, deep song that means a lot to me. Hit it!’

He gestures to Louis, who is manning the karaoke machine. Louis shrugs, and presses a button. Maxwell closes his eyes and clutches the microphone dramatically. As soon as the opening notes start to play, Drake rolls his eyes. No he didn’t.

I threw a wish in the well,

Don’t ask me I’ll never tell,

I look to you as it fell,

And now you’re in my way!

The gang cannot stop laughing at Maxwell’s dramatic rendering of Call Me Maybe. Amara actually has tears in her eyes. Before the chorus, Maxwell shouts, ‘Little Blossom, come join me!’ 

Amara, without missing a beat, plants a kiss on Drake’s cheek, and runs to the stage to join Max. He wraps his arm around her and they both sing in unison.

Hey, I just met you

And this is crazy!

But here’s my number

So call me maybe

Drake can’t wipe the smile from his face. Here she is, his beautiful girlfriend --he’s never said this word to her before, but tonight, when they can be normal and hang out with their friends in public, it feels right-- singing with their best friend and having the time of her life. She points at Drake as she sings the next words:

Before you came into my life 

I missed you so bad

I missed you so bad

I missed you so, so bad

Yeah, it’s a cheesy song, and the lyrics are so bad that they’re good, but he feels those lyrics on a deep level, which he would probably never confess to anyone unless he had a gun to his head. He definitely cannot remember one single good thing in his life before she showed up.

*****

Amara and Max get back to the booth, both out of breath and very smiley. Amara kisses Drake on the lips and asks, ‘Did you like it?’

He chuckles. ‘Yeah. You were amazing.’

Amara turns to Hana, ‘Babe, sing one! Come on, Max and I can even join you if you’d like!’ 

Hana giggles, visibly inebriated enough to say yes. ‘Alright, I suppose I can give it a try…’

She gets up and consults the list of songs that Louis is handing to her. Max turns to Drake and Bertrand, a self-satisfied look on his face. He says, ‘Gentlemen, I had an idea for a male-only number, are you with me, or are you not?’

Drake sighs, looks at Amara who is nodding furiously, and says to Maxwell, ‘Fine, I’m in.’

Bertrand, visibly altered by the contents of the boob flask, nods as well. ‘Sure, Maxxie, let’s do it. As long as I know the song.’

Max bites his lip. ‘Oh, you know the song.’

‘Shh, guys, Hana is on stage!’ Amara says excitedly.

Hana giggles into the microphone. ‘Hi all, I’m Hana. I’m not a good singer, so, I apologize in advance.’

Remember those walls I built

Well, baby, they're tumbling down

And they didn't even put up a fight

They didn't even make a sound

I found a way to let you win

But I never really had a doubt

Standing in the light of your halo

I got my angel now

Amara’s jaw drops. She knew that Hana was underselling herself by apologizing for her voice --after all, Hana is good at absolutely everything-- but she didn’t expect her to have the vocal range of Mariah Carey.  

‘Fuck, guys, I have chills,’ Max says, his mouth wide open as well.

Liv exhales loudly, ‘Holy shit, Lee’s got pipes.’

Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

Baby, I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more

It's written all over your face

Baby, I can feel your halo

Pray it won't fade away

For the rest of the song, the whole room is silent, taking it all in and enjoying the melodious sound of Hana’s voice. When she finishes the last note, there’s a pause, and a massive round of applause. The gang cheers and screams her name.

She comes back to her booth, blushing. ‘Thanks, guys, I hope I was ok…’

‘OK??? Are you kidding me, Lee?’ Amara says excitedly. ‘You were Beyoncé level! That was glorious!’

Hana blushes some more, as Bruno makes his way to the table, holding a round of martinis. ‘Guys, this is on the house. Miss Hana, you were incredible. I’m speechless.’

‘Oh please,’ Hana says shyly, ‘it was just a little song.’

*****

Drake goes up to the stage reluctantly, following Max closely, not knowing what’s awaiting him. At least, Bertrand is on the same boat as him. 

Maxwell whispers something in Louis’s ear, and the man immediately grins widely, which suggests to Drake that this is gonna be something else.

He recognizes the song immediately, and curses Maxwell under his breath. ‘Oh please, you love it,’ Max replies.

Drake looks to Amara, who’s looking more excited than she’s ever been, obviously recognizing the song as well. Maxwell gestures for Drake to open the song. He rolls his eyes.

You are my fire

The one desire

Believe when I say

I want it that way

He can’t believe he’s singing this in public, but judging from the look on Amara’s face, she’s thoroughly enjoying the moment, so to hell with this. He’s gonna have fun.

Then, the chorus comes, and all three of them sing in unison:

Tell me why

Ain't nothin' but a heartache

Tell me why

Ain't nothin' but a mistake

Tell me why

I never want to hear you say

I want it that way

Drake grabs the drink that Bruno is handing him, silently thanks his savior, and downs it in one go. He’s gonna need this liquid courage to finish the song.

*****

Amara can’t believe her eyes, or her ears, for that matter. Her Drake, willingly singing a Backstreet Boys song. If they weren’t in public, she’d jump his bones right now. But also, the very fact that he went with Maxwell’s wild suggestion without questioning it shows a lot of growth on Drake’s part. The Drake who came to NYC would NOT have gone for a boy band karaoke song. 

She gets up and greets the three guys as they get off the stage. Drake opens his arms to her, and she wraps him in a warm hug. ‘That was hot,’ she whispers in his ear.

‘Oh, was it?’ he chuckles. 

She nods. Now, a very tall and very muscular uniformed cop is starting to sing Rihanna’s We Found Love, and people are beginning to dance. Amara takes Drake’s hand and guides him to the makeshift dancefloor, where they grind on each other for a while, completely forgetting about the crowd around them. They don’t even notice that the music has changed, now a female cop has started to sing a Kings of Leon song. They keep dancing closer and closer to each other, Amara’s body pressed against Drake, and his hands on her hips, drawing her closer. Their foreheads rest against each other, as they try not to kiss, but the intimate position they are in leaves very little to the imagination.  

He whispers, ‘You’re so fucking sexy.’ 

She runs her hands on his chest, then down on his stomach, almost reaching below his belt. She smirks.

‘Don’t tempt me, Suarez,’ he chuckles.

She’s aching to kiss him. No one is watching them, everyone is dancing to the music, and looking at the successive performers. ‘I want you,’ she whispers in his ear. ‘I don’t know that I can wait until we’re back at Ramsford.’

He bites his lip, his breath ragged. She knows he wants her too. ‘Fuck, Suarez, you make me so hard.’

She takes his hand and leads him to the corner where the bathrooms are. 

‘Are you nuts?’ he laughs. ‘That’s a public restroom. Not a palace bathroom…’

She laughs and whispers, ‘We just won’t touch anything. Meet me in a minute.’

She gets in, her heart racing. She looks at her reflection in the mirror, notices that her eye makeup is smudged, in a way that makes it look like a smokey eye. Drake gets in, and locks the door behind them. Without a word, he places himself behind Amara, both of them facing the mirror. He throws his arms around her waist, and one of his hands reaches under her dress, and in her panties. He quickly finds her clit, and draws circles around it with his thumb. She gasps, her breath now uneven. She turns her head just enough to capture Drake’s lips in hers, kissing him more and more deeply as his fingers explore her soaking wet folds. 

With her right hand, she reaches behind her, to undo his belt, and she sets his throbbing cock free. She wipes off his precum with her finger and rubs his length up and down, making him moan. He slides one more finger inside her, and she can’t wait any longer, she needs him inside her again. She shimmies out of her panties, and he lifts up her dress. She bends over a bit more, enough for Drake to find her entrance. He teases it with his cock, but her low groans don’t leave any doubt: she can’t wait. He needs to fuck her now. He enters her completely, making her gasp for air. She whispers, ‘Fuck me hard.’ He obliges. His thumb still on her clit, stroking it, caressing it, he fucks her harder and harder, deeper and deeper. Her walls contract around his cock, they pulsate, she can’t handle it anymore, she’s going to come. She hopes she can stay silent enough. His fingers are driving her crazy, her clit is throbbing under Drake’s hand. She feels his dick getting harder and harder inside her, and his breath is getting quicker against her neck. He kisses her ear a bit more urgently. She needs to try to hold on, she wants to come with him. She hopes he comes soon, she’s about to burst. 

‘Amara…’ he whispers, his voice raspy. It sends her over the edge. Her body gives in, her knees buckle, she comes for him so hard, she knows he can feel it, her walls contracting all around him. He moans long and hard, and she feels him fill her with his cum. They both catch their breath. 

‘Oh my God…’ she whispers. ‘That was… I’m still dizzy.’

‘I can’t breathe,’ he chuckles. ‘Wow. I should sing to you more often…’

*****

When they come back to the table, no one is paying attention to them, Hana, Bertrand and Maxwell being deep in a very giggly conversation. Only LIv is looking at them with a smirk on her face. ‘Did you horndogs just fuck in the bathroom?’ she asks. 

Amara rolls her eyes. ‘Ew, Liv, who do you take us for? A bathroom in a cop bar? That’s insane.’

‘Yeah, Nevrakis,’ Drake chimes in, ‘we may be commoners, but we’re not peasants.’

Liv snorts. ‘You’re not actors either. You’re both very bad liars. I hope you washed your hands. Suarez, I have a mission for you.’

‘Oh?’ Amara says.

‘I’ve been told by Little Beaumont that if I don’t sing a song, I will be, and I quote, ‘a stupid ass loser’. As much as I don’t care what he thinks, I think it could be fun. Do you want to--’ she wrings her hands together, visibly in the position of asking for a favor for the first time of her life, ‘do you want to sing one with me?’

Amara squeals, ‘Yes! Yes, Liv, I’ll sing with you!’

‘Alright, calm your tits,’ Olivia says with a dismissive hand gesture, ‘I’m not asking you to have a quickie in the bathroom, it’s just one song.’

‘Charming,’ Amara replies. ‘Got a suggestion for the title?’

‘Yeah. I already talked to Louis over there. Let’s go!’

They hop on stage, Olivia looking fierce in her tight black pants, high heels and bright red blouse. Amara can’t help but feel like a teletubby next to her, in her bright yellow dress. She bursts out laughing when she realizes which song Liv has chosen. Soo off-brand, and yet so perfect.

Humidity’s rising, barometer's getting low 

According to all sources, the street's the place to go 

'Cause tonight for the first time 

Just about half-past ten 

For the first time in history

It's gonna start raining men 

It's raining men, hallelujah, it's raining men, amen

I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get

Absolutely soaking wet

It's raining men, hallelujah

It's raining men, every specimen

Tall, blonde, dark and lean

Rough and tough and strong and mean

Amara looks at the crowd, and sees that the rest of the gang is standing up now, dancing to the rhythm. She winks at Drake.

*****

‘Aaaah, it was so FUN!’ Maxwell yells as he flops onto the couch, back at Ramsford. ‘That was such a good idea, Amara and Hana! We need to do it again.’

Liv takes off her heels and rubs her feet. ‘I’m as surprised as you guys, but believe it or not, I had a lot of fun! I can’t believe that Big Beaumont over here sang Backstreet Boys like a fucking champ!’ she says as she pats Bertrand’s back. 

‘Ha!’ he says, ‘I blame your um… bosom flask, as you say. I’m afraid I’m a tad tipsy. I should put myself to bed. Ladies and gents, it was grand. Thank you for including me tonight, it was a breath of fresh air. I will see you all tomorrow for breakfast.’

Everyone wishes him a good night and he disappears up the stairs. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Amara whispers, ‘Did he just say ‘bosom’?’

Drake chuckles. ‘Nevrakis, how does it feel to have Bertrand talk about your bosom?’

She shrugs, ‘Everyone talks about my bosom, if you must know. It’s a glorious bosom. Not as glorious as Suarez’s, of course, but I do what I can.’

Amara fake curtsies, ‘I am humbled, Lady Nevrakis.’

Maxwell opens a small bottle of sparkling water. ‘So, now that we’re in private… are you gonna tell us everything, Olivia?’

Liv raises an eyebrow. ‘What do you mean?’

Max rolls his eyes. ‘Come on. We saw you on your phone all day. You were actually--’ he whispers, ‘smiling.’ He fake gasps.

Liv sighs. ‘You guys are the fucking worst. No one can have a private life around here, huh? Did you blab, Suarez?’

Amara shakes her head as fast as she can, afraid that Liv is packing some hidden weapons somewhere, near her flask or in her hair. ‘No! I promise I didn’t blab!’

‘It’s not that hard to figure it out,’ Max adds. ‘You’ve never been in a better mood and you’re texting all day. Amara is not the only one with detective skills, you know! Call me Agent Breakdance!’

Liv snorts. ‘I’ll call you Agent Break Your Nose, that’ll be more on brand.’ She takes a sip of water. ‘Alright, you bitches, you win. I was texting someone all day, and I went on a date on Monday night. Happy?’

Hana smiles broadly. ‘It’s wonderful, Olivia! Is he nice?’

Olivia makes a disgusted face. ‘Nice? That’s gross. He’s sexy, and fun, and he respects me.’

‘Well that’s the whole package, then,’ Amara says, stroking Drake’s hair, as he’s lying down on her lap, both snuggled on the couch.

‘Tell us who he is, Liv!’ Max pleads. ‘I’ll tell you anything you want in return. I’ll tell you everything there is to know about me.’

‘Beaumont,’ she says solemnly, ‘I want to know absolutely nothing about you.’ She takes another sip, visibly pleased with herself for the suspense she’s creating, blissfully unaware that everyone knows who he is. ‘Alright, it’s Domvallier.’

Max feigns surprise. ‘Ohhhh, I love that for you! And he’s hot as fuck.’

‘Yes, Liv,’ Hana chimes in, ‘he’s a very handsome man, and very stylish!’

Olivia nods, a small smile on her lips. ‘I may actually like him, so you clowns better not ruin it for me, ok?’

Max puts a hand on his chest. ‘Liv, we would never! Our lips are sealed. Plus, all our friends are in this very room, so we have no one else to tell.’

Drake sighs, and makes eye contact with Amara. He wonders whether he should tell Liv that Liam knows about the two of them. He doesn’t want to ruin the night. He wonders what it would accomplish to tell her. Probably nothing, right? But the five of them have made a point of being honest with one another, and that’s crucial. He can’t lose her trust, not now. 

‘Liv, I gotta tell you something,’ he says. Amara’s eyes catch his, and she nods at him. He continues. ‘I hope you don’t freak out. But um… I think you deserve to have all the elements.’

Liv suddenly starts frowning, her uncharacteristic smile vanished. ‘What?’ she barks. ‘What is it?’

Drake sits up. ‘I saw Liam Monday night, he was back from the beach. He had texted you, remember?’

Liv’s face falls. ‘Yeah, I got a text from him asking if I want to meet him at the beach at midnight. I never responded, though.’

‘Well,’ Drake pursues, ‘He waited for you there anyways. He saw you and Rashad, and he knows there’s something between you two. He was very upset, and last I heard, he wanted to have a conversation with you to discuss what you want. He seemed to want to make a grand gesture, like an apology for taking you for granted.’

Liv purses her lips, visibly angry. ‘Oh, so Prince Liam wants to apologize, and as always, you’re his little lapdog, huh? His wingman? Like when you broke into Suarez’s room to drop off Liam’s note?’

Amara shakes her head, ‘Liv, that’s not what he’s saying. And that note was ages ago, before anything happened between us--’

‘Stop,’ Liv says. ‘Liam can give me any amount of attention he wants, I’m done with his pathetic ass. I know you fucking love him, Walker, and you think he’s the shit, but let me tell you, he’s never had any goddamn respect for me and my feelings, until he saw me exchanging sexts with another man.’ She stops and catches her breath. She suddenly looks very calm, as if she had just solved her own dilemma.

Drake puts his hands up. ‘I agree with you, Liv. I wasn’t pushing Liam onto you, I promise. Fuck, I think he’s been horrible to you, very manipulative, and you deserve so much better.’

‘Agreed,’ Liv spits. ‘I deserve the world. Liam is willing to give me what? A pity fuck and a dozen roses? Pathetic.’

‘Yeah!’ Max says angrily, obviously wanting to be part of the discussion. ‘Get it, girl!’

Drake nods, ‘Hey, I truly wasn’t telling you that you should be with Liam. I think Rashad is a very cool dude, and I can see the two of you getting along. Like you said, he respects you, and that’s what matters. Please, Nevrakis, don’t shoot the messenger. I was just telling you what I know, so you’re not blindsided when Liam comes to talk to you.’

Olivia nods angrily, visibly calming down a bit. ‘Yeah. I guess it’s good to know.’

Amara chimes in, ‘It doesn’t change the fact that Rashad is good for you. It’s unfortunate that Liam saw you, but it doesn’t change anything at the end of the day. That’s not what Drake meant at all. He was just giving you a heads up.’

Liv, still frowning, nods. ‘Ok. Fine. Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just sick of Liam getting what he wants. It’s too little, too late. If he asks me, I’ll tell him the truth. I have no idea if Rashad and I are going anywhere, but he’s making me feel more appreciated than Liam ever has.’

Drake smiles and takes Amara’s hand, relieved that she understood him and what he was trying to do. He doesn’t blame Liv for snapping, though. He used to be what she said: Liam’s wingman whatever happened. Now, in the wake of finding out how forceful he could be, like he was with Amara, and how dismissive he was with Liv, he doesn’t know if he can ever really be in Liam’s corner again. Not like before, anyways. 

Hana clears her throat and speaks the words of wisdom: ‘How about we all get some rest, huh? Olivia, we’re all very happy you’ve found someone you feel comfortable with, and none of us disagree with you being upfront with Liam. We all want you to be happy. Now go to bed and turn off your phone.’

Liv snorts, ‘Yes, mom.’

*****

Taglist:

@drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @jovialyouthmusic @andy-loves-corgis @emceesynonymroll @mariahschoices @drakesensworld @thequeenofcronuts @notoriouscs @drakewalkerisreal @alesana45 @nikkis1983 @simsvetements @iplaydrake @lily1999love @drakewalkerwhipped @drakxwalker @drakewalkerrosenberg @drakeswalkers @drakelover78 @silviasutton1989 @dcbbw @carabeth @furiousherringoperatortoad @hollygirl1269 @sirbeepsalot @ladyangel70 @thisperfectmemory

Thank you for your encouragements, everyone! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist :)

[pi-cat000]

MSA shorts (Lewis and Arthur)

Summary: Arthur gets into trouble. Lewis gets him out again. (Lewis and Arthur friendship piece)

Context: So this is a discarded scene from the ‘msa time travel idea.’ It’s set before canon and was originally going to be a flashback. You don’t have to read the ‘ msa time travel idea’  to enjoy it. 

...

Arthur immediately notices the motorbike when it pulls off the highway, engine revving, ties squeaking across the pavement. It slides right into the only vacant spot outside Pepper's Paradiso, taking up all the space, leaving no room for additional vehicles.

Though the muscle-bike is impressive, heavy, built for long distance travel, it’s not that which draws his interest. As the bike's leather-clad rider kills the excessively loud engine, Arthur’s attention is pulled to an incongruent rattle, signalling a loose bolt or screw. Not immediately noticeable, drowned out by other motor noises, Arthur strains to place the potential fault. He squints up at the engine, scanning the bike's frame. He can’t tell from where he’s sitting, but the impressive array of exhaust piping seams off.

The staring earns him a harsh glare from the bike’s owner who stalks past. Arthur averts his gaze down to the pavement, unwilling to provoke someone who’s either in a bad mood or generally spoiling for a fight. A familiar bell chime, the diner doors open, and the man disappears inside. Casually, Arthur stands, pauses for a beat, then meanders away from the entry in the direction of the bike.

He is in the middle of waiting for Lewis to finish his shift. It’s taking longer than usual, the dinner seeing an abnormal increase in customers for this time of day. Of course, Lewis has to hang back and help his parents deal with the sudden rush. It has left Arthur with little to do but loiter in the carpark, watching patrons come and go. Despite his friend’s insistence that he take a table inside, Arthur’s not a fan of crowds or noise and doesn’t want to occupy any space or attention when they’re so busy. Thus, outside, sitting on the curb, fiddling with his phone, is where Arthur’s been.

The bike is the first exciting thing to happen in the last thirty minutes. Nonchalantly, Arthur glances over his shoulder, but there is no sign of Lewis or the bike’s owner. He really should leave this alone, that leather-guy looks like a person he doesn't want to piss off. Arthur circles the bike, ignoring his better judgment. He’ll make this quick. After he confirms his suspicions, he’ll resume his patient sitting.

The bike is doubly impressive up close.

One of the band-clamps, connecting the exhaust piping to the collector, is loose. Arthur eyes it critically, crouching down to get a proper view.  Shoddy maintenance work, he concludes quickly. Someone has obviously taken the whole bike apart, replaced several pieces, then rushed putting it back together. The error, not something immediately noticeable, will inevitably screw things up in the long term. It’s a shame because the bike is really nice. He stands and takes a step back. Okay. Suspicion confirmed. Time to bug out and mind his own business.

Quickly, Arthur powerwalks over to his van on the opposite side of the parking lot, pulls out his toolbox, snatches the correct wrench and powerwalks back, crouching back down. If he quickly tightens that bolt there and moves this a bit here, it’ll shore-up the pipe’s integrity and prevent a major failure.

“Oi. What the fuck are you doing.”

Arthur doesn’t even manage to tighten the first bolt. A hand grabs the back of his vest and yanks him away hard. He goes sprawling across the concrete, getting his arms under him, so he narrowly avoids hitting his head. On his back, Arthur squints up at a bulky, leather wearing, very angry, bike owner.

Rattled from hitting the ground, Arthur blurts, “Nothing!” An angry scowl is his unfavourable response.

“I mean,” He rushes to clarify, holding up his incriminating wrench, “I’m obviously doing something, but it’s nothing bad. I swear. “

“Sure kid,” Knuckles are cracked, “and I’m a priest spreading the good word.”

Damnit, why couldn’t he have just left well enough alone?  Quick, talk fast, explain the situation.

“The exhaust pipe is super screwy. Whoever put it together is an idiot, they obviously don’t know what they are doing…ah…”

“What did you say…” The man steps over him, casting a threatening shadow. Okay. That was the wrong thing to say. The guy is probably friends with the mechanic or is the mechanic. Arthur is very aware of how his downed position places him in a precarious spot. Regret. He regrets everything!

Before the taller man can take a proper swing a foreign hand flashes out from behind, catching his arm.

“Is there a problem?” Lewis steps around into view, still dressed in his chef uniform, shooting Arthur a puzzled glance. Arthur shrugs helplessly, having no excuse for the current situation.  

“Fuck off, this isn’t none of your business,” The leather-guy continues to scowl at Arthur, yanking at the grip.

“I work for this diner. And that’s a friend of mine,” Lewis steps forward, so he’s hovering near Arthur’s head. Slowly, he releases the other’s arm. The leather-wearing bike owner shifts in response, giving Lewis a critical once over. Unlike Arthur, who is wiry, athletic and generally unthreatening, Lewis is tall, heavy-set, and very intimidating when he wants to be. Usually, that’s enough to deter a fight, and deterring is important because Lewis hates physical confrontation.

There are a tense few moments while leather-guy considers Lewis like he’s weighing up the pros and cons of starting a brawl right then and there. Luckily, the guy’s not a complete nut-job and, after some inaudible grumbling, steps away.

“Little punk insulted my baby,” Is groused as the guy stomps back towards his bike, dismissing both him and Lewis.  

“Ah, your exhaust pipe is loose. I was trying to fix it,” Arthur calls after him, sitting upright now he’s not in danger of being punched. Lewis, who is in the process of helping Arthur up, gives him a withering look.

The leather guy turns slowly, growling, “Like I believe that shit.”

“Arthur’s a mechanic,” Lewis explains diplomatically, pushing Arthur behind him and out of sight, “A good mechanic. If he says there is something wrong with your engine, then there probably is.”

A disbelieving grunt, but the other man doesn’t come back towards them, “Whatever kid.”

The leather-guy mounts his bike, calling, “A word of advice. Don’t start fights when ya can’t follow through.” The engine roars and both rider and bike tear out the car park and onto the highway. A second later and they are gone. Lewis breaths out a sigh and turns to give Arthur an exasperated frown. He is tense, not entirely happy.

“What was that about?”

Arthur grimaces, feeling a bit guilty for dragging Lewis into a potentially dangerous situation, “Yeah. Okay. So that wasn’t my brightest moment, but there really was something wrong with the exhaust pipe.”

“And what. You just decided to fix it without informing the possessive owner?” Lewis gestures at the wrench he’s still holding. Now the adrenaline is fading, Lewis is relaxing, sounding a mix of amused and exasperated.

“It was a nice bike,” Arthur defends, “and I thought he would be in the diner for longer.”

Lewis shakes his head, “Nope. Only here for the restrooms. Saw him leave one as I was finishing.”

“I sort of figured,” Arthur mutters, examining the grazes running up both his elbows. Blood is pooling just under displaced skin. Probably a result of hitting the pavement. Lewis watches, wincing in sympathy.

“Do you want…”

“I’ve got gauze in the van,” Arthur anticipates the question, “Ugh. Some people have zero chill. What do you think? A gang member or something.”

“Not sure. He’s staying in the Tempo Motor Inn. So, we at least we know where to avoid for a while.”

Arthur pauses his inspection, glancing at Lewis, a question on his lips.

“The perks of grocery shopping multiple times a week. Mrs Burton mentioned seeing an ‘unpleasant man in leather around the motel.’ How many men in leather can there be?”  Lewis elaborates, walking over to pick up his bag, which lying discarded near the diner’s entrance.

“Lots. If it’s a gang.” Arthur jokes, adding, “And Vivi says there are no benefits to gossiping.”

Lewis laughs, finally losing the last vestiges of tension, his shoulders relaxing. He slings his bag over a shoulder. Likewise, Arthur also lets himself relax, thankful his dumb idea hadn’t caused irreparable harm. They both start walking towards his van. Vivi’s still needs to be picked up. Arthur has already texted her, but he doesn’t want her to wait any longer than necessary. While Arthur pulls out his first aid kit, Lewis pulls off his work clothes, messing around with his hair till it sits right.

“At least it’ll make an interesting story,” Arthur remarks, wincing as he applies disinfectant to the injury. Lewis takes the driver’s seat, Arthur being preoccupied. Not long after they hit the town proper, quickly navigating the sparse streets. Vivi is easily spotted, a blue blob, sitting on the steps outside her workplace, eyes glued to a thick book. Lewis sounds the horn to get her attention, causing her to glance up, frown quickly turning to a grin.

NOTE: Hey look I wrote something that’s not angsty

[the-angry-pixie]

(1) So. I had a thought about Theo. You know how in Passing the Time, at some point Theo thinks something like “maybe Will is supposed to cheat on me with Mike...?” or something? It got me thinking, there’s no way Theo didn’t imagine a threesome at least once (not seriously, but the thought must have crossed his mind). and THAT led me to this HC: one day (after Will and Mike have made up and the three of them are fairly chill, but pre-breakup), the three of them are hanging out.

(2) Theo and Will get into some sort of tussling war over something (Theo probably stole Will’s food or backpack or some shit and started holding it just out of his reach, teasing him until Will pounced), and Theo turns it into a tickle fight or a poke war or whatever. Will expects Mike to help, but at the last second Mike just yells “Treachery!” and gangs up against Will. Will swears revenge and pins Mike down, laughing, and suddenly Theo is just watching the two of them wrestle and…

(3) well his mind gets a little carried away, because with Will pinning Mike down, holding down his wrists, and Mike trying and failing to buck his way free, and both of them laughing but also kind of out of breath and clearly just realizing the position theyre in… well. It’s stupid, and he knows it, but for just a moment Theo wonders what it would be like to pull Will into bed then and there, and take Mike with them. (And hey, maybe for the purposes of this AU, he does ;) ;) )

———–

Oooo Anon. I love the way you think. You’re absolutely right. Theo may come off as worldly and unshakeable but truth is, he’s still young and still has sexual fantasies that he hasn’t tried and would LOVE to.

A threesome is definitely one of those forbidden fruit things that he would obsess over.

And yeah, its been established in this universe that he thinks Mike is attractive (despite Mike’s very obvious dislike for him). Sooo that wrestling scenario is totally one where his thoughts would run away with him.

I might not be able to give you an actual threesome scene. But I can definitely give you the conversation that would happen with Will and Theo after something like that.

Well, see below and mind the NSFW. ;)

————

“What time is your Mom home again?” Theo pushed his feet further underneath the warmth of Will’s legs where he sat at the other end of the couch, scribbling in his sketchpad.

“Late shift. Probably around 11.” Will murmured absently. His drawing headband on. His focus somewhere lost inside his fantastical mind. 

“And El?”

“Sleepover at Max’s.”

“And the Chief?”

At this Will looked up with a raised eyebrow. 

“At… work. Why?” The amused suspicion was heavy in his tone.

“Nothing!” Theo tried his best to look innocent. Though he was aware that he probably looked about as innocent as a fox in a chicken coop.

“What are you planning?”

“Nothing I swear. I was just wondering.” Theo buried himself further under the blanket around his shoulders until only his head was visible above the soft, flannel pattern. He fluttered his eyelashes at his boyfriend.

Will snorted and returned to his sketching. 

Theo could’ve left it. He really could’ve. But… the temptation was there. It had been presented to him so generously this afternoon. Heady and delicious. Like a cake sitting uneaten in a fridge. Or like a spot on your face that you know you shouldn’t pick at but you just can’t help it.

He waited a whole 20 seconds further. He counted them out in his head.

“So we’re all alone then…”

“Theo!” The sketchbook was slapped down into Will’s lap. He looked over in exasperation, patience obviously being drawn thin.  “Do you want to have sex? Is that it? We can have sex if you want. I just can’t stand all the–”

“Ok, ok I’m sorry with all the questioning. I’ll stop” Theo laughed. He was not laughing at Will. Just at the cute pouty expression he would sometimes get. He wondered if Mike had seen it? Whether he thought it was just as cute. Probably.

“It was nice having Mike over before.”

At this Theo witnessed that pout melt into a thoughtful smile.

“Yeah. It was.”

“I think he may even be starting to like me.”

“What do you mean?” Theo watched as Will fiddled with the pencil in his hand. Spinning it between his fingers. “Mike likes you just fine.”

“Really?” Theo raised his eyebrows as far as they would go, stroking his chin as though he was ponderously stroking a beard. “You sure that’s your final answer?”

Will bit his lip as he smiled. “Ok fine smartass” he reached out to pinch at Theo’s leg under the blanket. “But he’s definitely coming around to you. That’s just Mike. He doesn’t ever like anybody new.”

“Sure sweetie. Sure.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Theo ignored the question and the touchiness in Will’s tone. 

“Watching you guys wrestle was interesting” he continued casually.

“Interesting how?” Will had that suspicious expression again as he threw his sketchbook and pencil aside to pull his legs up to cross in front of him. Now facing Theo’s end of the couch.

Theo tried to look nonchalant as he pushed a hand back through his hair. He had to approach this delicately so as not to… well he had to be careful with Will.

“Oh you know. Two good-looking guys writhing around on the ground. Panting and heaving and grinding and all that. It was kind of hot.”

He could see the blush beginning to rise in Will’s cheeks.

“That’s not what we were– that isn’t what happened!” the indignation was clear as crystal in Will’s voice but Theo couldn’t help pushing just a bit more.

“Mike’s surprisingly energetic. Ever wondered what he’d be like in bed?”

He watched as Will’s eyes bugged and his mouth dropped open. As though he couldn’t believe what he’d just been asked.

“I– I don’t— No! I don’t think of him like that!”

“You sure?” Theo nudged at his boyfriend with his big toe, making the knee it was buried under bounce up and down. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself this afternoon…” 

“But– it was just wrestling. We do it all the time. Ever since he used to try to hog all the good crayons in kindergarten!”

Will’s eyes were large and to Theo’s surprise, seemed to be starting to look damp around the edges. By now he could tell that Will’s emotions were starting to bridge from defensive to upset and so he backed off. 

“Hey, hey! C’mere” he reached towards his boyfriend. Beckoning for him to come lie against him. Spreading his legs to accomadate. Pulling the smaller teens body back against his chest. Coaxing him into laying his head back against his broad shoulder and allowing him to wrap his arms around his middle. A kiss gently placed behind his ear.

“I was just teasing. That’s all mi amor.”

“Well I wish you wouldn’t. Not about Mike.” And something in that sentence struck a chord with Theo. Something that made the neurons in his brain fire and sizzle. Something that he would come back to muse on at a later time. But he didn’t really want to examine that right now. He had other thoughts he wasn’t quite finished with exploring for the moment.

“I’m sorry cariño” he murmured nuzzling his nose into Will’s soft hair. He couldn’t see his face. But he could feel his body beginning to relax back into him. “Can you blame me? You both looked so good. I got a little excited.”

“Stop!” Will giggled, a hand slapping at the arm around his waist.

“I can’t” Theo chuckled. “You got me all horny. You and that handsome best friend of yours” then he lowered his voice. As though sharing a secret for just the two of them. “Can you imagine it mi amor? Can you imagine taking him into our bed. Sharing him between us.”

“This is weird. He– he’s not like tha–”

“–He wouldn’t know what to do. You would have to guide him.” Theo talked over his questioning boyfriend. His voice was nothing but an intimate whisper now. Never taking his mouth very far away from Will’s ear.

Theo noted the dry swallow that scratched in Will’s throat. He moved one of his hands soothingly up and down his stomach. A shiver seemed to overtake his boyfriend’s body for a halting moment. And then… a shyly uncertain voice seemed to escape from between Will’s lips.

“G-guide him how?”

Theo smiled the smile of the triumphant. He squeezed the boy in front of him closer to his body and began kissing down his neck.

“Maybe he would let me kiss him. Kiss those beautiful, full lips. We’re the same height. It would be so easy. I wonder does he like to be kissed. I wonder does he make sounds when he is kissed.”

He heard Will suck in a deep breath, letting it out with a shudder.

“Would you like that mi corazón? Would you like to see me kissing your precious Mike? You know how good I am at kissing. He would be hard in his pants in no time. I wonder…” he punctured this sentence with a slow suck and a quick bite to Will’s pulse point. “I wonder has he ever had a mouth on his dick before.”

Theo could feel the heat building beneath the surface of Will’s neck. Could practically feel the blood buzzing underneath the skin.

“He has” Will’s breathy voice put forth. “Three times. He… he told me about a girl from the Science State Championships last year.”

“Three times. My, my” Theo purred, rubbing both his hands up and down his boyfriend’s torso. “Still, I bet that girl and those three times would have nothing on what you could do to him. We both know how good you are with your mouth.”

Theo heard a small whimper being bitten back.

“Close your eyes cariño” he paused until he was sure Will had done it. “Can you see it? Mike moaning into my mouth from the feeling of your lips around his cock. A hand for your hair and a hand for mine. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Who to pull closer.”

Another juddering whimper and Theo felt Will begin to grind back against him.  It felt bone-meltingly good. By now he was fully hard and very much ready to do something about it. He just had to take Will a little further.

“Maybe Mike likes to get fucked” he offered in an innocently questioning tone. “Maybe he likes the feeling of a nice thick cock in his ass” he punctuated his suggestion with a firm hand smoothed over the front of Will’s jeans. The warmth and hardness he felt there alerting him to just how excited his boyfriend was by now. “He would look so lovely. Knees bent. Ass in the air. Maybe he would like to swallow your cock as he’s fucked by mine. You would like that wouldn’t you. You would like to see me fucking him as he sucks you off. Right mi amor?”

“Oh f-fuck…”

The grinding was becoming more insistent now. Theo’s hand had made it inside Will’s jeans at some point. The panting sounds Will was making as he moved back and forth from pushing up into Theo’s hand and then grinding down against his dick… fuck, if he didn’t get some relief soon…

He could feel the sweat beading in the junction of Will’s neck as he delivered his finishing blow.

“Maybe Mike would let you ride him. We both know how much you like that. How good you are at it. I would… hnnngh I would give anything to see that. To kiss you and admire you as you take your best friend’s cock so well…”

“Enough.”

The voice was clear and determined as the hot body on top of Theo rolled over and he was met with fiery eyes. Pupils blown and hungry. Lips shiney-red and bitten. Theo was sure he looked much the same.

The kiss that followed was hard and animalistic and Theo couldn’t help but groan as he could now feel Will’s erection sliding desperately against his own - even through the clothes and blanket between them.

Will pulled back far enough for his green eyes to stare into Theo’s deep brown. 

“Fuck me” was all he said, his voice throaty.

It was all that needed to be said.

—-

So there you have it. Whoo! That kind of got away from me a bit. But I like it. An easy enough occurence for Will to brush off the next day (i mean, who wouldn’t get all hot and bothered from Theo’s stellar storytelling skills??), but also just enough to maybe provide some food for thought for the both of them. If you’re wondering where I would place this in the Starman timeline - I would say somewhere post-Castle Byers scene but pre-quarry scene. I hope you liked it. To the original Anon who sent me those amazing Theo HC’s in the first place… I especially hope you enjoyed it!

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 6. Argus Limited

This is a re-posting from Oct. 27th, 2018 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Volume Six is here, folks! I am so very, stupidly excited for this season. Heartfelt thanks go out to my friend who was all, “lol yeah sure” when I begged to use their FIRST account to watch. There are heroes in this world and they’re one of them.

A quick note about recaps from here on out: they will (my productivity willing) be uploaded sometime on Thursday or Friday proceeding the new episode. This is partly so that I’m not scrambling to post immediately afterwards—stress and bad writing all around—and partly so that, you know, we can actually recap stuff before the next episode airs. So yeah, that’s the goal.

Let’s do it!

We open on a gorgeous, snowy scene with ROOSTER TEETH PRESENTS smack dab in the middle. You know that feeling you get when you hear the Harry Potter theme at the beginning of a new film and the whole theater loses their shit? Same with Doctor Who and Star Wars? Whatever your preferred fandom, the point is I get the same chills when RWBY comes back and it’s excellent.

The animation really is gorgeous though and I sigh happily whenever I see it, thinking back to the days when cookies disappeared directly into Ruby’s mouth. There’s nostalgia, sure, but it doesn’t beat this detail.

We hear the distant sound of a train and then we’re thrown into exactly what we’ve wanted for literal years now: Team RWBY back together again, fighting not creepy adults but just some good, old fashioned grimm. They’re chimeras and… griffins? Ngl I’m not entirely sure, but they’re big, flying, fire-breathing nasties, so that’s really all we need to know. Luckily everyone falls back into old habits, easily supporting one another and executing perfect attacks (a contrast to the residual tension we’ll see in just a bit). Ruby is so busy posing after a successful kill that she misses the grimm coming at her from behind. Weiss saves her ass with a cheeky, “Thank me later!” At the end of the fight we get a reversal wherein a hit nearly sends Weiss tumbling off the side of the train, though Ruby grabs her at the last second with her own, “Thank me later!” It’s a fun little exchange made better when we think back to the Vytal Tournament. Weiss still “had her back” then too, but was more resistant to Ruby’s proclamation that they’re BFFs. Now the teasing is on both ends.

Notably, Ruby saves Weiss by taking her into her semblance, creating a cloud of rose petals that are half red, half white. Now combined with the old team-ups and some shots in the new opening, this has led a number of fans (myself included) to wonder if a WhiteRose pairing is in our future. Which also means that the ship wars are in full swing. Needless to say I’m not about that nonsense and I’ll only point out here what I said episodes back: if it’s a queer relationship with one of our main girls, and not a random side character who was previously out to murder a whole family? I’m on board.

Back in the fight though. The rest of team RNJR appears with Nora exclaiming, “Why is it always something?” God that’s a mood. Welcome to adulthood, kid. It’s just one crisis after another—except in your case the crises are objectively more dangerous. Sorry about that. We get to see Jaune’s improved reflexes as he fends off all the fireballs with his shield while Ren and Nora team up to knock some of the monsters out.

Honestly, I love this trope in action stories. Where—as Nora does here—a character just shouts out a friend’s name to get their attention and they immediately know what kind of move they’re about to pull off. It’s made more hilarious to me given that RWBY once had attack names and Jaune at least made the attempt with JNPR...but apparently they're not needed anymore. So unrealistic, yet so very cool when used.

So yeah, things are going pretty smoothly… up until Oscar yells out “Tunnel!” Ruby saves Weiss from falling, they manage to get over or between the cars, and in the sudden darkness we transition to what we only realize later is a flashback. At least, I didn’t realize it until later. Totally thought we’d had a time skip and they were just hopping another train…

My stupidity aside, before we hit the train station we actually see a familiar hallway filled with angry voices discussing the disaster at Haven—one of which is Adam’s. I really enjoyed this technique, wherein we slowly pan across the room as the voices grow more frantic and the sounds of fighting break out, the camera revealing bodies scattered across the floor. By the time we reach the throne—and Adam on it— we realize that the fight occurred prior to this moment, something that Adam is now remembering. He goes all skyward scream on us as he howls menacingly. Okay, dude. Compared to Cinder and Salem you’re really not all that.

Now we’re at the train station where Qrow is narrating a letter to Ironwood. Hell yes, please bring back the badass, protective Ironwood who defended the students at Beacon and stood up for Weiss. I’d be very pleased if he joins the RWBY gang by the Volume’s end. Qrow’s optimistic about the trip—they’ve plans to reach Ironwood before the letter does, which says either good things about Remnant’s transportation or bad things about its mail—though of course we as the audience know it’s not going to be nearly that simple. We learn that only two weeks have passed since the battle, but people are still reeling from all the implications. Lionheart tragically lost his life defending the school and oh, some students coincidentally were there and did some stuff. Excellent choice in showing us the mindless crowds while we hear this, the naive masses who, yes, would absolutely believe a story like this.

It’s easy to criticize no one supposedly noticing Salem, magic, the finger Ozpin has in every pie, etc. but ultimately people believe what they’re told—especially when it’s much easier to swallow than the truth.

Enough of the doom and gloom though. Ruby is having the time of her life.

Qrow: “What’s with the running?”

Ruby: “What’s with the standing?!”

I love this girl so very much and it’s wonderful when we get to see her acting like the kid she is. She uses her semblance with abandon because yeah, if I could turn into rose petals I’d be doing that all the time too. Ruby teases Yang with something from the gift shop and I really hope we get to see what that is. Yes, we end the episode with everyone left stranded in the wilderness, but if Yang’s bike can survive then so can Ruby’s souvenirs.

(Seriously though they presumably lost all their luggage that sucks.)

Everyone else is in top, feel-good form too. Nora daydreams about hitting the beach, complete with a thought bubble of topless Ren and a beachball. Weiss quips about how she spent all last Volume getting out of Atlas, thanks, but Ruby reassures her that at least she’s back with the team now. When two jokers arrive boasting about how they’ll be the ones keeping the train safe from grimm, Ruby and Yang act exactly as nieces should when your cool uncle is telling them off. AKA, making fun of them behind his back.

God they must have been terrors as toddlers. I mean we already know Yang carted Ruby off into the woods one day so yeah, I’m pretty confident in expressing my surprise that Tai doesn’t have a full head of gray hair.

The two Nice Guys go on to specify that they’ll provide extra protection for a “generous tip,” which—while essentially a throwaway line—reminds us how most of the world functions outside of our close-knit cast. Money, and more specifically Schnee money, quite literally dictates who lives and who dies. Not everything about RWBY is fantasy oriented…

We learn that everyone is just waiting on Blake— “as usual”—and we cut to her with Ilia as the two of them say their goodbyes. Ilia will be helping Ghira lead the Faunus in a “new movement” and is supposedly 100% on the straight and narrow now. Cool? I guess? To be honest I’m fine with her taking a back seat for this Volume. There’s a moment where we get a shot of Ilia and Blake’s feet, the former’s angled forward in a classic kiss pose, and I was super glad to see that they were just sharing a hug. I really don’t want the first LGBTQIA kiss on RWBY to be iffy on consent, considering that Ilia knows Blake isn’t interested. Hug though? That was super sweet.

Sun and Neptune show up to say their goodbyes too. They’re heading to Vacuo to meet up with the rest of their team because, in Sun’s words, he’s the “worst leader” ever. You kinda are, dude? I loved Sun up until they had him following Blake without her permission and continuing to do so after she asked for space, all in the name of the guy supposedly knowing what the girl really needs. The reminder that Sun abandoned his team to do this just reinforces how much I dislike that plot-line.

Sun gets the kiss—on the cheek—and after leaving Neptune lectures him on “letting [Blake] go.” Except it’s not about you? Blake is off to quite literally save the world and the fact that these guys view that as a threat to any potential relationship is… icky. Ugh. Oh well. They’re presumably gonna be offscreen for a while.

The train finally arrives and everyone piles in. We’re back to bunk beds! And of course Team RWBY is situated exactly as they were in Beacon’s dorms. Weiss gets annoyed with Ruby’s cloak hanging down over the side. Blake has a book in her lap. Ruby challenges Yang to a video game. Cue nostalgia. I fully expect fluffy AU fics where they ride the train all the way to Atlas and treat the trip as one giant, dramatic sleepover. This is non-negotiable.

Tension seeps back in though when Yang moves to pull her luggage from the rack and Blake immediately hops up to help her. In a super guilty “I know I fucked up and now I’m gonna smother you” way. Really excellent voice acting here. Yang ends up reassuring her. No, things aren’t perfect between them yet… but they’re definitely improving.

While short, for me this scene was perfectly balanced between acknowledging the girls’ complicated relationship without totally undermining the happy mood. Nicely done.

Then Qrow shows up with a drink. A drink with a slice of orange on the side. I have never enjoyed a moment more and I was so surprised I didn't take a screenshot of it. Clearly I was too distracted and am I too lazy to go back for one now? You betcha. The point is everything is fine, dandy, and filled with alcohol.

So of course RT goes and ruins it for me. Something hits the train and in a split second everyone is on high alert. A quick peek out the window reveals grimm and Blake mutters darkly that it’s “just my luck.”

Qrow: “Not yours.”

Are they gonna leave the safety of the train to those bozos from before? Hell no. Especially when one guy is grabbed right when the fight starts. I mean, poor dude, but he also kinda sucked as a Huntsmen. He wouldn’t have even made it past Beacon’s initiation, let alone graduated.

…I guess he’s kind of like early Jaune? Useless, wannabe hero who acts more confident than he actually is? Aw, now I really do feel bad.

He’s grimm food though. Gotta move on with our lives.

The other dude isn’t doing too well either, though RWBY and NJR + Oscar quickly show up, coming full circle to where we began the episode. Oscar insists that he’s got this fight under control which tells me (hopefully) that in the past two weeks they’ve had serious conversations about if and when Ozpin gets to have control. That’s super great, though I do wish we could have seen it. Flashbacks, maybe?

As the fight begins Ruby announces that the plan amounts to “don’t let anyone else die.” Uh...Ruby? Buddy. Pal. This is why people die. Because they didn’t have plans! Pyrrha—god rest her reckless soul—went off after a freaking Maiden by herself. Jaune got Amber killed because he didn’t obey the plan of watching the door. Lionheart frantically calls Salem with no real plan for what he’s going to offer her in exchange for his life! Plans are important, Ruby. You’re the team strategist. It was a badass line, I grant you, but please do not.

Luckily, no one (else) dies. That would have been pretty brutal for a premier. +1 point for world building where we see that trains like this have built in defenses to fight off grimm. -2 points for how useless it ends up being. As Qrow quickly points out, the turrets are drawing all the grimm to the front of the train where the passengers are. So, not good. Oscar is charged with telling the surviving goon to knock it off already while Qrow faces off against the super fierce chimera grimm. Not gonna lie though, when its tail first started up I thought Qrow was getting attacked by a dove…

This time when we hit the tunnel everyone makes it back safely inside with the exception of Goon #2 who gets his arm injured in the scramble. He’s literally crying on the ground when, in a pretty harsh move, Qrow drags him up and demands to know what the hell all that was. Civility and benefit of the doubt? Not Qrow’s strong points. It allows Ruby to take control of the situation though. How do you make sure that your cast of kids is continually calling the shots?  A) isolate them and B) when you can’t do that have the adults act like children instead. We see that a fair bit in RWBY.  

Jaune steps in to heal the guy’s arm, which is an unexpected surprise. I honestly thought we'd get a whole Volume’s worth of him figuring out how to access and control his semblance, though I suppose once it manifests you’ve got the basics down. We’ve seen that semblances can be improved upon—Ruby turning other people she carries into petals; Ren dampening the emotions of a whole train—so presumably Jaune will be able to heal more complex and life-threatening things in the future. We also hear in the ensuing conversation that he can amplify someone else’s aura…to be decided what exactly that means, how it connects to healing, and what the limits of the skill is.

During some theorizing about the attack Ozpin brings up that grimm are attracted to the relic they’re carrying and… oh boy. Here we go. Is it tradition that every recap the fandom goes for Ozpin’s throat while I stand here defending him? Might be. Let’s create a (semi) comprehensive list:

This might have been less of a secret and more of a slip. The guy is thousands of years old and the forces they’re dealing with are stupidly complicated. He can’t info dump every detail of a multi-century war in one sitting. So—

He might have thought this was one of those innocuous things that shouldn’t take precedent right now. Not the sort of thing he needs to worry them with. He claims in the promo that he didn't lie to the group and he quite possibly didn't. There's a big difference between lying and not telling someone every single possible thing that might be pertinent. Especially when—

We know that grimm are already attracted to people/negative emotion and they’re sequestered within a whole train full of presumably stressed travelers. There’s no reason to think the artifact would put them in more danger than they already are and therefore isn't at the top of the list of revelations to dole out. Especially with—

Qrow and his bad luck semblance. He literally just implied that the grimm were there because of him. There’s a reason he didn’t want Ruby near him during the fight with Tyrian and now they’re all stuck together in close quarters. The grimm were coming anyway. Even if we didn't have Qrow's semblance and big crowds we can also assume as much because of—

Those turrets. They weren’t there for a fashion statement. The whole train was crazy armored. They’re clearly very used to getting attacked on this route. It's a normal thing.

All of which is to say that the relic is one of MANY reasons why they might have gotten a buttload of grimm on their tail. Ozpin mentions this as one possibility in a very “Here’s something else to consider” way and everyone (characters and fandom alike) jump on him like he’s solely responsible for this predicament. Besides, what would they have done differently? Not carry the relic? That’s not an option. Be more on guard? They’re already constantly on guard. None of their actions would have changed had they known.

Really though, it’s the keeping of secrets that people are mad about, not necessarily what the secret is. So if we ignore the possibility above that Ozpin legit didn’t think this was worth mentioning/even forgot about it, we have a) he withheld the information because it might have made them wary about traveling with others, but they need to get to Atlas as fast as possible and the train is the best way to do that. So yeah, that’s a possible change, though I agree with Ozpin’s theoretical logic here. It was worth the risk.

b) he didn’t tell them because—again—worry is a negative emotion and that might have just doubled their problem. Awful as it is, knowing you're carrying a thing that might attract more grimm is one of the best ways to make sure that you do, in fact, attract them. Knowing what the relic does is dangerous. 

c) he doesn’t trust them with all the information about these super powerful relics that are going to decide the fate of their world. Which honestly? Kind of fair. Yeah, I know he promised them no more secrets, but this is a centuries old, god-like entity making a promise to a child. It’s not even really a matter of trust anymore. We’ve got a core group of nine here and everyone has someone else they’re close to. Ruby isn’t going to keep secrets from Tai. Blake will probably fill Sun in when she sees him again. Weiss is close to her sister. Etc. In short, as soon as this many people know a secret it isn't a secret anymore. Ozpin is no doubt aware that anything he tells to their now massive group is fair game and he has to carefully consider what he wants to risk going public/landing in Salem's hands. A general doesn't tell every lieutenant the details of every plan. That's a good way to lose the war. Fate of the world vs. a promise made to Yang? C’mon. There are priorities here.

d) finally, we’ve seen evidence—particularly after the iconic food fight—that Ozpin desperately wants his students to be kids as long as they can. He might keep information to himself simply because he doesn’t want to burden them. And given all the reasons listed above for why they'd be dealing with grimm anyway, what's the harm in giving them what little peace he can? It's not perfect reasoning and if this is the case the others have a right to be annoyed, but it's understandable. It certainly doesn't make Ozpin the monster I see countless posts painting him as.

Plus, Yang? I’m not sure you have the right to get indignant about keeping secrets right now. Granted, there’s some ambiguity surrounding whether she’s mentioned Raven as the Spring Maiden, but regardless we haven’t seen any evidence that she’s told the group the details of what happened down in the vault. That’s a pretty big thing to be keeping to yourself.

A lot bigger than, “Oh yeah this relic attracts the thing we’re attracting anyway. My bad.”

Why the relic attracts grimm is another question. Because it’s connected to the original brothers? Just because Salem wants it and she seems to be the grimms’ creator? We’ll have to see.

Ruby interrupts everyone’s fury to point out that they have bigger issues at the moment and Ozpin’s expression kind of kills me? He looks so shocked to have anyone standing up for him, even if it’s a defense of practicality instead of his actions. I wonder if this Volume is going to have the team starting to lose a little faith in Ruby. Given the clear divide here (angry Ren, Nora, Weiss, Yang, and Blake on one side; Ruby, Oscar, Ozpin on the other) this might be a major theme moving forward. It would make a lot of sense too given Ruby's past relationship with Ozpin. To Yang he's just her headmaster; to Ruby he's the headmaster that let her into her dream school early. To Blake he's someone who wanted information from her before she was ready to give it; to Ruby he's the adult who gave her advice at the dance and was emotionally open with her about committing more mistakes "than any man, woman, or child." No matter how far she's come, they'll always be a part of Weiss that sees Ozpin as the teacher who didn't give her the leadership position she thought she deserved; to Ruby he's the man that has put a staggering amount of trust in her: by letting her into his school, giving her a team, sending her to Mountain Glenn, etc.

Now, it might be time for Ruby to put her trust in Ozpin.

Fight temporarily averted, they decide to separate the teams… which felt a little forced to me. I mean I get it. As said, giant group. It’s hard to write and keep track of that many, so let’s knock three offstage for a while. Jaune, Ren, and Nora will see the people to safety while Ruby and the rest of the gang eventually catch up. We get a glimpse of Maria—the old lady with awesome glasses—clearly plotting something and then everyone heads back to the roof to finish the fight with the grimm.

Blake has a quick vision of Adam; the last time she separated a train car. Excellent touch there. Ruby tells Ren to use his semblance through the scroll, but we also get a glimpse of their signals getting weaker. Another nice touch considering how important we know the scrolls are throughout the RWBY universe: how the team keeps in contact during the Volume Four short, the damage that the fall of the CCT tower has caused, etc.

We get a final, epic showdown with a massive grimm where everyone’s teamwork proves to be some top tier stuff. Blake and Yang capture it using Blake’s ribbon. Weiss freezes off its wings. Then—in a fantastic split screen—Ruby and Qrow both use their scythes to cut the creature in two. I’m here for the power family moves.

Only problem is that a final fireball from the grimm hits the train, derailing their section. Weiss keeps them all from dying an awful death, but now they’re kind of stranded.

I mean, they already were stranded before, but I guess the hope was the back of the train would have carried them farther down the tracks before losing momentum?

In the final scene we have an unexpected voice happily proclaiming that they’re still alive but boy, that was a close one! Maria hobbles out, having clearly planned to be with this group when they went their own way.

My personal theory? She knows (and to some extent recognizes) Ozpin. I can’t believe he wasn’t involved in a conflict like the Great War. Hell, he was probably at the center of it and Maria looks very old by RWBY standards. We have no concept of how long people in this world can live so I don’t think it’s a stretch to put her in her 90s or well over 100—old enough to have fought in the War and potentially recognize one of the central figures, even in a new reincarnation depending on her instincts, knowledge, and semblance. Her name lends a bit of credence to her age, if nothing else. As far as I know “Maria” doesn’t mean/isn’t evocative of a color… though I’m far from an expert. Could totally be wrong about that.

Regardless, we’ll see. More info arrives next week!

Other Details of Note

The grimm are at a distance when we first spot them and they actually look a lot like crows. The same motif we’ve seen with Raven and Qrow’s entrances but, you know, bad.

I really liked Qrow’s line to Ironwood about how they’re bringing “more than bad news.” It’s appropriately vague—can’t go admitting that Oz is back with the group—and at the same time quite up-lifting.

I personally take Ozpin’s “I hope they’re not from Beacon” as more of a joke than a true worry. If you’re telling me that this old as balls control freak doesn’t remember every student that’s ever passed through those doors… I don’t believe you.

When Blake is saying goodbye to Ilia and Sun we have lots of animation for her ears, helping to express her emotions. It says a lot about her character development that she hasn’t re-adopted the bow in such a crowded, human packed space.

Neptune is pursuing the “wrong tree” okay lol that was good.

When Neptune and Sun discuss re-uniting the team we briefly hear the soundtrack from their Vytal Festival match. Excellent.

Interestingly, Oscar gives Ozpin control immediately during the conversation about the relic, almost like he already knew what was going to be revealed and understood that it was important… I wonder how much they’re sharing thoughts now, two weeks later.

Here, have a beach Ren and happy birb. Yes, I went back for the screenshots...

[kalico-to-the-letter]

REVIEW // RWBY | 6.11 | “THE LADY IN THE SHOE”

AKA my Naruto: Shippūden experience revisited.

Welcome in to my review of Volume 6, Chapter 11, entitled, “The Lady in the Shoe”.

In this episode: Atlesian pride is at sea. A shared demon is faced.

The hands, though … the hands.

HOW SHŌNEN OF YOU.

We’re officially in a weird spot with this, the sixth and current season of RWBY.  

I have – as have most of us, I’m sure – known for a long time now that the 26th of January would be the airdate of the season finale. Despite that knowledge, it was never something that had never rung any alarm bells in my viewing experience of the season – until now.

With only two (!) episodes left for this season, we remain hanging on the cliff of an uneven storyline’s hastily-escalated climax. (Remembering of course that the finales have tended to be at least double-length episodes.)

The whole thing was very entertaining, and at times, edge-of-the-seat action material. As a singular package, this episode is very good. And if there were, say, five more episodes left, instead of just two, I wouldn’t have any issues at all.

But therein lies the issue. Naruto and Dragon Ball can pull off storytelling like this – RWBY has struggled with it forever, yet the show can’t seem to stay away from it or find the formula to make it work within its own limitations.

I’ve criticised this show in the past for its tendency to act like it has more time and more room to manoeuvre than it actually does. This is also not the first time I’ve identified shōnen storytelling characteristics in the show. But it seems to remain an ongoing issue directly affecting the pacing of seasons. As up-and-down as last season’s overall quality was, it was one of the better-paced runs in the show’s history. And when this season opened with a good episode, then an ok episode, then four great episodes in a row, and we were getting these great set ups with the antagonists and Team RWBY’s internal issues, I thought that the lock had been picked after all – that the show could stay consistent in quality and pace at the same time.

Call it a wandering focus, or a loosening of the grip – the unique, tight direction of this season was lost with the arrival in Argus. The early stories of the primary antagonists were pushed to the sideline, as was the Ozpin story. Any problems still within Team RWBY were instead transformed into Qrow’s issues with life itself, and even though Yang and Blake are fighting Adam now and will probably smack his ass around next week, they have had far less to do with each other than one might have expected, given their obvious issues.

Of the main storylines for this season, the only one that has been consistently featured and worked on is the story of Ruby’s personal growth, which is still fantastic as far as the positives go, and this episode continues to build on that by giving her some fun moments, with Weiss in particular.

I struggle with the grade for this episode, too. Perhaps more than any other episode I’ve assigned a grade value; this could well be the best episode I’ve not given at least an “A-“, and it’s solely down to the season’s recent pacing woes. Ultimately, it was all very well done. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the execution of Blake’s plot was flawless in this episode, and I must spotlight it.  

It was staged and crafted in all the right ways, from fighting and flying around in the trees to being forced into the open above a waterfall. The swordplay choreography hit its beats without making the fight look like a dance, which maintained the sense of danger. It created some telling images, such as Blake catching one of Adam’s swords in the sheath of her own weapon, or Blake losing that sheath to the water, or Blake’s own sword being shattered to pieces. She’s had this weapon forever, and now it’s gone – you can’t say that’s not a big deal. For a second, I thought she had been stabbed again, and the afterimage clone was used to counter that strong parallel of the first fight with Adam, years back. The scene held its drama throughout, and built even higher as the fight progressed onto the bridge and brought Yang into the situation.  

And even though it left on another cliffhanger, it was not the irritating sort like the fight against the mecha suit. It was more in keeping with better shōnen cliffhangers, an ending which still had deeply satisfying components despite choosing not to resolve the overall storyline. Yang’s arrival was momentous on its own, tossing her beloved bike into the water, and then squaring off with Adam. In another acknowledgement of the parallels, the fight was back-and-forth rather than Yang’s original headlong charge into defeat.

Consider the complexity at play here. Despite being the fresh fighter and going toe-to-toe with an old tormentor, Yang knows that she cannot defeat Adam on her own – only “hold him off”. When her hand shakes again. of course Adam is quick to call her out for her supposed lack of nerve. And of course, Blake is there to take it and reinforce their bond. “She’s not protecting me, Adam. And I’m not protecting her. We’re protecting each other.”

They both had turns fighting him solo in the Volume 3 finale. They both lost spectacularly, and Adam has haunted the both of them ever since. Blake wounded his pride at the end of Volume 5, but that wasn’t a real fight. Here, they will, at last, fight him together, and exorcise the demon they both share – the demon that tore them apart in the first place.

An ending like that to this story – and this whole scene, really – is almost enough to make up for potential storytelling malpractice. So, let’s bring it home, Volume 6: I can’t say I’m not intrigued about what happens next.

OBSERVATIONS:

What’s more impressive? Sniping a missile out of a sky from the ground, or catching a missile with a giant mecha suit and throwing it at a moving airship? Open the polls.

I see Weiss and Ruby riding on a giant bumblebee … Nothing.

I feel like Nora’s trying to get something from Ren … I’m stupid.

The fight against Cordovin was something straight out of an JRPG – plenty of making the sword-wielding heroes look tiny against a giant boss enemy. Not quite Final Fantasy or Nier, but in the ballpark.

The reveal of Adam’s scar is pretty gnarly. No one tell Weiss about the SDC brand right on his freaking eye.

Blake didn’t just lose her weapon – she lost her coat. Oh my goodness. Let’s just … whew.

I got chills when Yang blocked the charged strike and just frowned at Adam.

Of course, I would have preferred both stories to wrap up in this episode, but given how both it played out, I feel instinctively that one of these two storylines should have ended with this episode.

The Gang vs Cordovin isn’t the most compelling fight on paper, and it isn’t helped by some heavy-handed emotional manipulation, but hits all the points it needs to. That cliffhanger was genuinely annoying and unnecessary, though.

Cordovin isn’t a great antagonist, is she? Like, we were literally introduced to her four episodes ago, and here she is having a fight stretched over three episodes. Remember Neo and Cinder? And Salem’s crew? I’d care more about a fight with any of those jokers than I do about this fight with Cordovin. It’s still cool to see Ruby and Weiss killing it, and Qrow seems to have stopped his moping.

The main disappointment with the realisation that the finale is so close also comes from the promising set ups from the early parts of the season, such as Cinder’s involvement with Neo, or Emerald’s return to the villain crew – or even more recently, with Saphron and Terra’s issues with the Atlesian camp kind of fizzling into nothing. A lot of ideas which started strong but seem to have since been shelved for either the finale or Volume 7, which doesn’t really feel necessary. With Atlas almost promising to be a battleground, the next season pretty much writes itself, and skipping through these random Volume 6 subplots feels like a bit of a waste.

GRADE: B+

Against the time pressure of a rapidly winding-down season, “The Lady in the Shoe” puts RWBY in a strange place. On the one hand, it is another example of the show’s historically misguided tendency to dig itself into the "shōnen" hole and demand more of itself than it can deliver, and leaves the trajectory of the remaining two episodes in a murky state. On the other hand, it is an episode buoyed by strong execution and compelling character beats. Blake vs Adam, in particular, is a scene which goes down as one of the strongest and most complete of the entire series, in terms of fight psychology, staging, and dramatic involvement. At the very least, it all keeps one guessing. – KALLIE

[evenstevensranked]

#1: Season 3, Episode 5 - “Band on the Roof”

ANNNND... “BAND ON THE ROOF” TAKES THE CAKE!

I cannot believe I’m publishing the #1 ranking. Next month will mark two whole years since I created this blog and now, after countless hours spent on 64 reviews, we’re finally here! Never thought I’d see the day. I never anticipated that I’d be this emotional about it either. I’ll save the mushiness and some final thoughts for the end of the post. 

When The Twitty-Stevens Connection gets back together, Tom shoots a documentary -- excuse me, “rockumentary” -- detailing the highs and lows of the band’s reunion! What we get is a rollercoaster of an episode featuring (almost) all of our favorite characters, the most legendary quote in the entire series, a mockumentary approach to filming that was ahead of its time, a heartwarming plot for our two main siblings, and one hell of a catchy song to boot. 

For the last time... 

Let’s get into it!

I know I throw the word "Iconic" around loosely sometimes but this is genuinely an iconic episode for the series. I feel like everyone remembers this episode. Even if you didn't watch the show too often, you still remember this episode. This one kinda makes me wish that Even Stevens was one of the first popular American comedy sitcoms to pioneer the mockumentary style gimmick for the entire series. (i.e. The Office, Modern Family, Parks & Rec) Because it works here. Really well. I’ve mentioned a few times before that The Office is my other all-time favorite comedy show, so I absolutely ADORE those strong vibes here. 

According to Wikipedia and their list of “Mockumentaries” (which includes this episode!) -- as far as the genre in television goes, it seemed to become a big thing in the UK first and then spread to places like Australia and Canada. The United States mockumentary television format boom started in the early-mid 2000s, specifically at or around 2003 with Arrested Development and then in 2005 with the humble beginnings of The Office. "Band on the Roof” premiered in 2002. Hmmm. Very interesting! Not sayin’ Even Stevens was ahead of its time once again but that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s almost like this show trial-runs ideas before they take off. First with “Influenza” and then this. Even though this episode was definitely more of a spoof of VH1′s “Behind The Music,” it still totally falls into that mockumentary TV category. 

It opens with the introduction to the documentary, narrated by Tom in a super unnaturally deep voice with a little reverb slapped on there for dramatic effect: “First, there was The Alan Twitty Project... Then, there was The Louis Stevens Experience... The coming together of these two musical forces begat the supergroup The Twitty-Stevens Connection! ...But the band broke up temporarily when bassist Artie Ryan’s mom made him take pottery lessons.” 

Tragic.

Tom introduces himself as “Thomas Gribalski: Rockumentary Filmmaker.” Wow, he’s wasting no time loading up his IMDb page. You document one Junior High band and it’s all uphill from there. He goes on to explain that when The Twitty-Stevens Connection got back together, Louis Stevens asked him to capture those “little moments” for them to look back on once the band becomes “rich and famous.” But, of course, no road to stardom is without its bumps. 

I wanna know how Tom, a 14-year-old, got this swanky studio to record in...

It cuts to band rehearsal in the Stevens basement where they’re jamming to “Crazy” from the Battle of the Bands episode!! Everything’s fine until the band randomly stops playing in the middle of the song and Louis goes off on a never-ending drum solo that he refers to as “a groove.” It always bothered me how the music just… stops. Why did everyone but Louis decide to stop playing for seemingly no reason?! Whoever was in charge of audio here couldn’t be bothered to make it sound more organic lol. It’s really weird and abrupt. Sorry for the nitpicking there. 

I love how Tom got that shot of a messy hamper in the foreground. It really amps up the grittiness. 

It’s pretty great how Louis subtly changed roles from the band’s manager to the band’s drummer. For once, this was an arc in Season 3 that actually aired in the correct order. In Episode 2, Louis became interested in playing the drums and was gifted a drumset. In Episode 4 he started taking lessons, and here in Episode 5, he’s officially the drummer of the band. Shia is playing for real here as well! So that’s very cool. 

While Louis is drumming his lil heart out during his self-indulgent extended solo, it cuts to shots of everyone killing time and I love it. 

Tom, lol. 

Ren eventually rips the drumsticks out of Louis’ hands and the two start arguing. Tawny reminds them that they promised to get along if the band got back together. Just then, we hear that shrill, annoying and unmistakeable voice chime in: “Can I say something?” The camera searches around until it lands on Beans just chilling there like he owns the place. Oh my god. 

Louis: “Where is he? BEANS! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!?!” -- Why is that mockumentary style sooo funny though?! The shaky camera looking around and zooming in is what makes this.

I seriously wish every episode was filmed this way. But honestly, just getting this liiiittle glimpse into what a mockumentary version of Even Stevens might’ve been like is enough to make me feel #blessed. If a reboot ever happened, I’d definitely looove to see it reborn à la Modern Family for at least an arc or one special season. I know the gimmick is a little outplayed at this point but I mean, the Stevens are an eccentric enough family for a documentary crew to follow! Am I wrong?! All of the flagship American mock-doc shows have already ended or are ending soon. The door’s open for a new one. Just sayin’. 

It cuts to Louis ranting about Beans in the first interview portion or “talking head” of the documentary. This is the greatest thing. Holy crap. He says: “Beans is like that policeman in Terminator 2, you know who I’m talking about? I swear, he goes liquid! He can fit through cracks in windows... under doors... through little keyholes!!” And right on cue, Beans appears outta thin air -- “I’m hungry. Let’s get a sandwich!” Again, the camera work makes this 10x funnier and Shia’s face is just too good: 

Note: “Terminator 2″ is yet another completely solid reference to make! 

Something I’d like to point out before I forget: While reviewing the series, I couldn't help but notice that the show could be even funnier if there was no background music all the time. (I tested that theory with this edit and was proven correct, tbh.) If you pay attention.. you'll notice that there's some sort of background music during almost every scene. Sometimes it works if it's heightening a moment or adding some flavor comedically. But during scenes where there’s just dialogue, I feel like it would be much better with silence -- because 1. It's more raw/realistic, and 2. the performances/writing is already so strong, it doesn't need extra sound clogging the material. And that's one of the reasons why this episode is so great! It's dead silent the entire time except for the Twitty-Stevens songs of course and some transitional music for the documentary. I love it. 

So, yeah. Turns out Beans is a bassist?! He walks over to Artie and tells him “you’re horrible. Read my lips -- take a lesson!” Artie quits on the spot and leaves in a fit of rage (”I don't have to take this! I’M ARTIE RYAN!”). Beans backs up his insult by showing off his sick bass skillz to the gang, immediately earning himself a place in the band as Artie’s replacement. I love how Beans isn’t even touching the neck of the bass at all at one point. Seems legit. 

It cuts to an interview with Artie and it’s so good: “I was thinking about quitting the band anyway. I didn’t like the direction it was going... NOWHERE. Since then, I’ve started my own band. Artie Ryan and the Funky Kats. I had some promotional materials made up!! Tom, you want a free one?!” 

Tom (off-screen): “N.. no, thanks.” 

Also... A frisbee?! LOL. I had to write out that whole Artie quote because it’s the last we hear from him in this episode and Artie is the best.

Next, it cuts to an interview with Twitty who claims that there was a whole new energy after Beans joined the band. It’s hilarious because Beans is this tiny, annoying 8-year-old, yet Twitty’s talking about him as if he’s some amazingly respected bassist who helped take them to the next level. He goes on to say that the ~revitalized spirit~ Beans brought to the table motivated everyone to work on new material... Including Louis & Ren, who teamed up to write a song together!! Ahh! It shows us the two of them writing out the skeleton of “Another Perfect Day.” I always laughed at how they’re not just writing lyrics like most middle schoolers would do... Nah. They’ve whipped out the staff paper and suddenly know music theory like it’s nothing. They’re literally transcribing their ideas by ear. I’m a Berklee grad and I still struggle like hell with theory. 

Donnie happens to walk by and notices that his brother and sister are getting along for the first time, like, ever... and calls for Steve and Eileen to come quick and bear witness to it themselves!! 

This show throws in some great little lines here and there that are easy to miss sometimes. When Steve and Eileen come running, Steve shouts “Donnie! Hang in there! You still have 5 minutes left on that hot oil treatment!!” thinking Donnie desperately needed help with his hair. HAHA! I never paid attention to that until recently. We get interviews with Donnie as well as Steve and Eileen here. 

Donnie: “It was just... the sweetest thing. I wanted to hug them!! But I didn’t wanna ruin my hair. Wait!!! That sounded stupid. Don’t use that, ok?” 

Gotta love the trophies as a backdrop lol. 

Eileen: “It was amazing! It was as if the music brought them closer together.” 

Steve: “Those were the happiest days of our lives. It was bliss! Sheer bliss!” 

Hey! This is real stuff, though. Never underestimate the power of music!!

One of the funniest things about this episode is that Tom prefaced the documentary by saying the reunion happened a mere TWO WEEKS AGO! These interviews are so extra, as if they’re recalling something that happened years ago when it literally just happened and is fresh in their memories. It’s great. 

We get a voiceover from Tom elaborating on Steve and Eileen’s sentiments, telling us that Louis and Ren had “reached a new level in their relationship” over corny footage of them casually playing freaking cat’s cradle like a couple’a besties! hahaha. 

At their next rehearsal, the band starts working on “Another Perfect Day.” Once they have it down pretty well, Louis decides that they have a hit on their hands and need to do something big to get the word out. He comes up with the idea to hold a free concert on the school roof. Twitty interjects “Ya know, that’s not a bad idea because The Beatles did a free concert on the roof once!” Tawny adds: “So did U2!” and Louis finishes: “And now... The Twitty-Stevens Connection.” -- As if they’re anywhere near the level of either of those bands and should easily be mentioned in the same breath. That always cracked me up. (Speaking of The Beatles, the title of this episode is supposed to be a play on the Paul McCartney song “Band On The Run.” Or at least, that’s what I’ve always assumed.) Also, take a look at their single art. Amazing. 

Things start to go sour now. Everyone’s on board for the rooftop concert except for Ren. That’s a shocker! She’s totally against the idea. She agrees that free publicity is great as long as you’re not violating any rules. She even double checks with Wexler who confirms that students on the roof is “strictly forbidden.” 

At lunch the next day, Louis is super excited about the concert and giving Twitty and Tawny a rundown of his plans to set everything up. He says they should “get there early. Really early. Like... before school starts early” so they can get all the equipment and set it up on the roof. Another little exchange that’s easy to miss here is between Twitty and Tawny. Twitty says: “Sweet. What if we wore camouflage?” And Tawny sarcastically bites back: “That is a brilliant idea. What if we dressed up as giant metal vents to blend in with the roof decor!” HAHAHA. I’m just imagining that in my head right now and all I can picture is them looking like Eric Matthews dressed as a couch. Oh, yeah. They’ll blend in, no problem. 

When Ren starts approaching their lunch table, Louis invites her over yelling “Hey, sis!!” Awww. Since we all know that Ren is practically Vice Principal, he asks her for help and advice on how to get up to the roof and such. But then it does a hard cut to Tom:

This needed to be gif’d. 

Ren starts blabbing about how they’re forbidden to step foot on the roof and that she got a permit to perform in a public park instead, but Louis cuts her off before she can ramble any further: “Ren. You’re chickening out.” Ren protests and insists that she’s not a chicken and is just being smart about the situation, but Louis ain’t having it and explodes: “JIMINY H. CRICKETS THE THIRD JR., REN!!! We’re not robbing a bank or anything!! We’re singing on the roof!!!"-- I love this so much. He tells her to take a risk for once in her life. But, Ren being Ren, decides that she doesn’t want to get in trouble and essentially quits the band. As Ren storms away from them, Louis stands his ground and shouts at the top of his lungs: 

Possibly the single most-quoted quote of the entire series. Actually iconic. I have this quote on my Facebook, it's my © footer quote on this very website, people have used this quote in their high school yearbooks. Yeah. It’s a big deal. Plus, it’s a pretty great quote to live by if you think about it tbh. 

Ren leaving the band was only the beginning of their downfall. I love this photo the ‘documentary’ uses to illustrate the in-fighting lol. 

There’s super melodramatic music with an ~emotional~ guitar lick playing here. It always gets stuck in my head. I’m humming it right now. As hilarious as the music is, it actually does make me feel a little upset... 

And just like the ending of an America’s Next Top Model episode, Ren disappears from this photo of the band: 

At home that evening, an instrumental knock-off of “Kiss Me” starts playing in the background of the doc while Ren contemplates the meaning of life. Tom does a voiceover saying that Ren’s decision to leave the band would lead her down a path to “self-discovery.”

She ends up having a heart-to-heart with Eileen about why she’s so reluctant to take risks. We get a glimpse into Ren’s childhood with “home video” showing her being a total caution freak at her 8th birthday party. She ate a single potato chip so she waits an extra 20 minutes before going into the kiddie pool with her friends. I’d like to point out that Young Ren is played by Alexa Nikolas, who would later go on to be a regular on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101. 

Eileen assures Ren that she’ll find something worth taking a risk for someday and go for it!

CUT TO THE DAY OF THE CONCERT! Ren’s decision to leave the band causes everyone else to rethink the rooftop performance as well. Twitty decides to back out because he has one too many detentions already and can’t afford another. His initial poor attempt at an excuse plays out in the most hilarious way possible. (”TWITTY, I WROTE THAT NOTE FOR YOU LAST WEEK!”) Tawny just agrees with Ren. She decides it’s not a good idea and peaces out. And lastly, Beans calls at the eleventh hour and says he can’t make it because he has a hamster cage stuck on his head -- which amazingly, is not a lie. In the end, Louis is the last one standing. Or as Tom says, “A man without a band.” 

At lunch, the sound of someone drumming starts to fill the air, leaving everyone confused for a minute. It’s Louis, of course. He’s up there drumming away and singing his background vocals alone and fully intends to perform the whole song that way. His determination to continue with the concert as the lone remaining member of the band is so admirable and badass honestly. It really shows how bold he can be and how he’ll always try to see his ideas through. Not only does this highlight Louis’ fearlessness, it also leads to an amazing moment for Ren as a character. As everyone runs to get a view of Louis, Ren starts remembering what Eileen told her. She slowly realizes that this could be her chance to seize the moment. 

One by one -- Twitty, Tawny, and Beans join Louis up on the roof! They pick up their instruments and jump right in, each one building and building on the song. All leading up to Ren being the last one to finally run up there as the final piece of the puzzle! It’s a cheesy and predictable climax, but it’s still amazing. Seeing Ren take a chance like that always makes me emotional, not gonna lie. You can FEEL the happiness radiating off of everyone here. It makes me beam every time. 

This gives me legitimate goosebumps. God. Watch this and tell me it isn’t freaking epic and CLASSIC. The final interviews paired with that tasteful background music always tugs at my heartstrings, too. 

The gang ends up facing the consequences of their stunt and are punished by Wexler putting them on trash pickup duty. ^ That ending (seen in the video) is probably my favorite Louis/Ren bit ever. Seeing them both secretly admit to the camera that they had a great time together just warms my heart. I love how they say the same exact thing at one point too: “Don’t tell her/him I said that” lol. It’s so simple but so effective and really sums up their relationship. Two siblings who are always at odds, but at the end of the day, they’re family and have that unconditional sib love whether they want to admit it or not. I love the little slideshow of photos from the rooftop gig to wrap everything up. 

...and the very last frame of the episode is this picture of THE GREATEST DISNEY CHANNEL SIBLINGS OF ALL TIME and it’s so precious. This photo is so genuine. You can tell it captured more of Shia and Christy than Louis and Ren. It's just so nice:

I would have this framed and hanging in my house somewhere if I were them. Wow! Also... What could possibly be a better final shot for the episode that’s concluding my specific project?! Tell me. I’ll wait. 

And that’s it.

This is one of those ~special fun plot~ episodes, but it’s not super wacky or zany. Like most of the schemes Louis pulls, they somehow manage to make it seem like a couple of middle schoolers could successfully put on a school rooftop performance like this irl. There’s super solid humor, great dialogue, some incredible character moments and plenty of heart to top it all off! It ends on such a satisfying and happy high note. And even though I prefer Comedian Louis over Musician Louis, this episode is just too damn fun for me to care. It sort of benefits from the “Influenza” effect. If you add a song to an episode, odds are it’ll automatically make it that much more memorable. The only difference between this episode and “Influenza” is that it has a lot more going for it story-wise. 

This episode has everything for me. The way it's filmed is unique to every other episode in the series. The humor is extra dry and a little different for the show here, but still feels very distinctly Even Stevens and stays true to what we love about the show. This episode includes practically every major character, too! Let’s round up everyone who makes an appearance here: Louis, Ren, Twitty, Tawny, Tom, Beans, Steve, Eileen, Donnie, Coach Tugnut, Principal Wexler, and even Artie Ryan! My only complaint is that Larry and Ruby should’ve made appearances. Like, just a little scene of Larry taunting Ren about not having the guts to go up on the roof or something would’ve been cool.

Just adding some extra photos from the episode to break up this sea of text.

This is the only episode other than the finale that actually manages to make me shed a tear. But the tear this episode squeezes outta me has more meaning behind it imo. In the finale, I’m pretty much solely crying over the resolution to the Louis/Tawny saga and the fact that it’s the last episode of the series. Here, I’m crying over the pure relationship between brother and sister (the root of the show) as well as the gang’s friendship. No other episode gets me in my feelings like that across the board. It honestly feels like a finale in its own right and I can’t think of a better one to wrap up this countdown with. 

Is this the best episode of Even Stevens? You tell me. Is it one of the most memorable, iconic, hilarious, unique, and feel-good episodes of Even Stevens? Absolutely. Is there even a way to determine what episode is "objectively" or scientifically proven to be the best? lol who knows! If there's anything this whole project has taught me, it's that perhaps this show is just so good, there simply is no "best" episode. In which case, this whole blog has been a complete waste of time. 

SIDE NOTE: It was brought to my attention that this episode shares similarities to a Saved By The Bell episode titled “Rockumentary.” While the overall outline is pretty dead on (the rise, fall, and rise again of a garage band) the actual episodes themselves are extremely different. Annnnd Even Stevens did it better. No surprises there. So, WHO CARES?!

Aside from this being my personal favorite episode of the series and meeting my ranking requirements, I have a few little bonus stats to back up my decision to deem "Band on the Roof" worthy of the top spot:

It's the highest rated episode of the entire series on TV.com, boasting a 9.6, which I wasn’t aware of until a few days ago and was honestly surprised.

Back in 2003, while the show was still popular/on-air, some fans held a march madness style poll for the Best Episode of All Time and "Band on the Roof" was the winner.

This episode has popped up on various nostalgia articles as one of the greatest in the series. One of my favorites is by a published author and screenwriter in the biz who also ranked it #1 on her Top 7 favorite episodes of Even Stevens list. [article] 

In the comments of this episode on YouTube, (which I probably should’ve saved before Disney recently deleted the video... ugh) the general viewer consensus was that it's a widely beloved episode and one of the greatest/solidly written/most memorable. Easily Top 3 or Top 5 in the opinion of others.

I've gotten quite a few comments across the socials for the blog from readers asking about where this episode will be ranked and/or simply randomly stating that ‘Band on the Roof’ is the greatest and iconic.

Basically, there is massive love for this episode. No matter what, there’s a good chance you'll consistently see this one mentioned as one of the best or at least in someone's personal favorites -- Myself included. Obviously, me being a musician and loving the mockumentary style/drier humor here has contributed tremendously to my favoritism -- but the general fan love and praise, mixed with the actual solid content of the episode, makes me feel like ranking it #1 is justified. As objective as I tried to be throughout this process -- I created Even Stevens Ranked to get some personal thoughts and opinions out of my system. Well, that, and to do my best to highlight how fantastic this show is. Please remember, at the end of the day, this is my list. So. :)

Now that I’ve finished the project, I’m honestly quite satisfied with the outcome here. Not only am I so unbelievably proud that I actually saw this thing through to the very end -- I feel like my Top 10, in particular, (or the Top 25 on a larger scale) is the most solid crop of episodes I could’ve ever come up with. I think they all include nice and important moments for all of the characters, some of the strongest humor, and capture the spirit of the show the best. They’re objectively pretty darn good ones to subject a newbie to if ya ask me! 

This project was extremely difficult. It was time-consuming and stressful, but it was also such a blast and only solidified Even Stevens as my favorite show of all time in my heart even more than it already was. When I started, I always knew that “Band on the Roof” would be #1, “In Ren We Trust” would be dead last, and “Influenza” would be #15, but other than that I made countless changes to the list as I went on. The closer I got to the end, I was worried that I’d look back and hate my list, but I’m so relieved to feel very confident in my final decisions and reasons for those decisions. If there’s anything I’d change, it’d probably be to rank “Stevens Manor” sliiiightly higher. But still, I don’t even wanna say that because I have no real problem with placing it at #17. It’s not a bad slot. As I’ve said many times, anything in the Top 25 is pretty much top notch to me.

So... What else is there to say? Here we are. 65 episodes down. 0 to go. The entire series ranked and reviewed. Mission accomplished. From the moment I posted my very first review, I always hoped I’d make it to this point but for whatever reason, I never thought I actually would. I talked about this a little bit when I hit my one-year milestone. Milestones like that are what kept me going, though. Even the littlest ones. I’ll seriously never forget when I completed 5 reviews and hit #59! It felt like the greatest accomplishment ever. And so on and so forth...

For years, I felt like I was some weird, lone fan of this show. I thought that maybe 5, 10 people tops, would care enough to read this blog. I am shocked at the decent following Even Stevens Ranked has garnered over the last two years across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and right here on Tumblr. My strange urge to rank and review every episode of this fantastic show has somehow turned into a ~community~ that is 1k+ strong if you combine all four social accounts. That is staggering. Meeting other fans of the show through this blog has been so, so awesome and I plan on keeping Even Stevens Ranked alive because of that. I can’t just leave it behind. I have some cool ideas moving forward, including a pending podcast. :D

I can’t thank you enough if you’ve actually bothered to read even just one of my reviews and found it the least bit interesting. We went on this weird little journey together. So thank you! Truly.

I’ve completed what I initially set out to do, but you can definitely expect a bonus video review for a change of The Even Stevens Movie sometime in the near future. I mean, how could I do a project like this and NOT discuss the big finale film?! 

Just a reminder that there’s a Twitty-Stevens Connection design up on Redbubble! Available in black text and white text. 

Thank you sooo much for reading. You know the drill! Please, journey into the Disqus comment section below if you’re so inclined. I’d love to hear any of YOUR thoughts now that this crazy project is complete. Ahh.

- Brittany

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