#because the cause she believes in now is her and nick and their family

[55sturn]

✮ BUSIER THAN EVER

series masterlist!

pairing: boston bruins player!chris sturniolo x fem!reader!

synopsis: in which chris busies himself with training and practices, not realizing that it’s driving a wedge between him and y/n, leading her to believe that he’s hiding his true feelings about telling the world about their child.

warnings: swearing, angst, chris not being mentally present, verbal arguments, mentions of depression, anxiety, vomiting, chris is being a jackass, angst, this is another sad chapter sorry.

THIRD PERSON POV

waking up to an empty house and being left alone with her thoughts has become a common occurrence for y/n. chris used every window and opening in his schedule to be away from the house as y/n began collecting trinkets and furniture for the nursery.

she figured he just wanted to get as much ice time in right now as possible before the baby came. but there was a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach, telling her that chris didn't want to be home while she prepped for the baby and began nesting.

that raw, unwavering feeling told her that chris was sticking around for her sake, for the sake of not letting another kid come into this world without both parents. not because he wanted to raise and start a family. it led her to believe that he wasn't sticking around for the sake of loving the life growing inside her.

so as she unboxed a few of the baby items that she had ordered from small businesses online, she felt an overwhelming sadness claw at her heart. this was supposed to be a bonding moment for her and chris. preparing the nursery as expecting parents was supposed to be a shared core memory, and yet here was, putting together the baby's room alone.

she couldn't reach out to matt and nick because chris had led them to believe that he was all in. that he wanted this as much as y/n did, and if she expressed that she had been completely alone thus far, it would cause a rift between chris and his brothers, and that would be the straw that breaks the camel's back in their relationship.

she had already taken something from him by announcing the pregnancy to him instead of terminating it, so she couldn't bear to take anything else from him. she started to feel like a black hole in the universe of chris' life. she felt like she had sucked up everything that he once loved, only to spit them back out and turn them into something he despised.

the baby blue giraffe statue that she held fell from her grasp as sobs wracked her body. the crashing and shattering sound of the ceramic figurine only amplified her sobs. she felt so lost and alone.

after grabbing the broom and dustpan, she quickly swept up the broken shards, disposing of them, and returning to the room she was converting into a nursery, making quick work of folding the baby blankets and jumpers, placing them in the closet for the time being.

once she had finished unpacking her orders, she made her way into the kitchen, her body exhausted and drained with dried tear tracks on her cheeks. she made herself a quick meal, dishing out another helping for chris, again, out of pure habit. as she ate, she stared at the empty seat across from her.

she thought of all the dinners they shared, the loud laughs, the loving smiles they flashed as they ate in comfortable silence, and the domesticity of it all, and the memories tugged at her heartstrings. they felt like a distant blur in the back of her mind. she couldn't remember the last time they sat down together without it leading to a tense silence or an angry conversation. she looked down at the small bump forming beneath her shirt with tears in her eyes,

"looks like it's just going to be me and you, baby."

chris was stressed. he didn't know what to think. all he did was train, practice, go home, fight with y/n, sleep, and repeat. he tried so hard to believe he wanted the family life right now, but the selfish part of his mind told him that having a family would only drag him down.

that same selfish part told him that his career was all he needed right now. that his position on the bruins was the most important thing going for him currently. and he tried hard to sway that part of his mind but it was no use.

he did want a family of his own, more than anything, but he couldn't convince himself that now was the right time for it. and he couldn't bring himself to be in the house while y/n put together the nursery because it reminded him of what he was going to give up.

it reminded him that he had a choice, his family or his career. he knew he needed to be there for y/n but he was angry and frustrated and that led to him shutting her out. he knew he was fucking up but he just couldn't see that he needed to be there for her, not when she is the reason he felt like his life was in shambles.

and he hated himself for feeling like that towards her, he knew it wouldn't be a permanent feeling, he just needed to come around to the news but it'll take time.

as chris walked into the house, he was met with silence, and for the first time in a long time, he missed hearing y/n run up to him with her arms open wide. as he walked through the house, he stopped at the nursery, and found her curled up in a ball on the plush recliner placed in the corner of the room. as he approached her, he noticed the dried tear tracks staining her cheeks, and for the first time in a long while, he felt his heart constrict. had he really left her alone while she was battling such intense feelings? had he really left her alone in a fragile state? normally when he left for practice, he'd check in on her. and yet, he's acting like she doesn't exist.

he felt anger stew in his chest as he realized how selfishly he had been acting. he knew better than to abandon the girl he loves, and yet, he'd been doing just that without showing any remorse. sighing, he gently shakes her, stirring her awake.

"hey ma, why are you sleeping in here?"

"i figured you would want to sleep when you got home so i decided you could have the bed and i'll just sleep in here tonight." she whispers, her voice thick with sleep and distress as chris' brows furrow.

"why?"

"you've been so distant lately, i figured you'd want the bed to yourself so instead of causing another fight, i can just give it up."

"y/n don't."

"you're never here anymore chris and it is killing me to go through this alone but i can't make you want this, so the best i can do is let you be alone and come to terms with whatever is happening on your own."

"i do want this, what the fuck do you mean?" chris spits, his voice raising as she sits and stares at him, her face void of all emotion while chris' face grows taut with frustation.

"no you don't chris. if you did, you'd be here, you'd help put this room together, you wouldn't leave me alone to deal with it all by myself if you wanted this. you're making yourself and your family think you want this because you can't stand letting people down but you're already doing that. you're never here and you're starting to hate me. i can't remember the last time you hugged or kissed me since i told you i was pregnant chris."

"i do want this, it's just so new to me and i need to process."

"you don't think i need to process? you don't think it's new to me?"

"i never said that!"

"well the way you act chris, shows that you have no regard for what i am dealing with during all this. i need you and instead of being here, i'm losing you. you're pushing me away and shutting me out and you still blame me. it's not fair."

"well i need to focus on my career too." chris seethes, his chest falling and rising rapidly, quickly growing stressed as they start to have the same fight they've had almost every day.

"your career isn't everything chris, and you promised me that when you got drafted that i wouldn't come second place to it but i guess breaking promises has become your thing."

"can we get this over with? i'm tired and i just wanted to see my girl."

"am i really your girl chris? or am i just here?"

"y/n, come on, you know i love you." chris sighs, crouching in front of the girl as tears well along her waterline.

"i don't know that chris! you don't say it anymore."

chris sighs as his lips turn downward, without another word he pulls the girl to her feet and takes her place in the recliner, pulling her into his lap. as he tucks her head against his chest, right above his heart, he realizes that he really was letting the one person that he's ever loved slip away because he fed into his own selfishness, not seeing how badly it was killing her.

"i know it's hard to trust me right now baby, but i do want this, i'm just so overwhelmed and scared but i'm going to do better."

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© 55STURN 2024 ! REBLOGS NOT EXPECTED BUT GREATLY APPRECIATED ! [ you do not have permission to copy or save or share my work to other platforms and devices! ]

[mattslolita]

teddy bear - m. & c. sturniolo ( 001. )

in which ... after the haunting and fatality of the ghostface killers who made you their final girl, they come back for you.

( ghostface!matt x black!fem!reader x ghostface!chris )

warnings ; death , gore , stalker behavior , possessive behavior , eventual smut , ghostface!matt , stalker!matt , possessive!chris , ghostface!chris , angst , blood & knives , final girl!reader

"𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕?"

( ^ this playlist is for the wattpad version of this fic ! if you are interested in reading it, my wattpad is : faerieribs )

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🧸🔪୧⋆ ˚｡⋆⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🧸🔪୧⋆ ˚｡⋆⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🧸🔪୧⋆ ˚｡⋆⋆ ˚｡⋆୨🧸🔪୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

it was as if she was foreign, an alien even — y/n felt aliented to those around her now. it was like as if a switch caused everyone to look at her differently, or rather not at all. she felt like some kind of monster among the normality of everyone.

the only people who y/n did not feel like a stranger to were nicolas and nathan — of course, unfortunately they'd been dragged into what's happened to her even though it was the last thing she expected or wanted to happen.

she was still surprised that marylou even still wanted the girl within vicinity of the remainder of her family — those being nicolas, her husband jimmy, and her oldest son justin who had moved away a while ago. nevertheless, she still treated the girl like the daughter she never had. and y/n felt guilty, because two of her sons were no longer with her due to what she blamed herself for.

but how was y/n supposed to know the horror of what matthew and christopher were capable of?

she inhales deeply as she accidentally squeezes nick's arm too tightly when they arrive at somerville high school — he gives her a reassuring expression, squeezing her hand that was in his.

"i doubt anyone's gonna give you a hard time," nate says to y/n, shrugging his shoulders, "we can always ditch first too, if-"

"nate, you just want an excuse not to go to class," y/n laughs dryly, causing the boy to roll his eyes playfully. sure it wasn't the best laugh she could muster, but nate still liked the sound.

"we're right here with you," nick reminds y/n, as they walk towards the front of the school. "if they stare, i'll stare right the fuck back."

"thank you," y/n says quietly.

there's already students milling around the school, most people just waiting for classes to start. they're scattered about the area, gossiping and talking aimlessly. but y/n could already sense it before it happened — as if on cue, heads turned when the three of them begin to slowly make their way towards the front entrance.

people stare. 

y/n wants to hide out under a rock, because she can't take the looks of either pity or disgust she received. she swallowed thickly as she tried to ignore the people icing her out, but y/n could feel her hands become clammy as she walked on. she felt like a zombie walking amongst the living.

"i can't believe she came back," someone whispers, staring the girl down, "and how are they still friends with her?"

nick's head is quick snap towards the girl's direction, and he gives her a cold glare that causes her to zip her lips as the three continue to walk inside of the school grounds. thankfully enough, not many people seemed to be occupying the lockers which bianca was assigned to, so the three of them hurriedly made their way towards it.

"i swear i was seconds away from punching that junior's nose," nate said, shaking his head as he looked at y/n, "this is gonna get old really fuckin' fast."

"i don't think i'll ever get used to it," y/n says bitterly, opening her locker. she took out her books needed for her first four classes, then she shoved her bag into it. "guys i don't think we ever went over our schedules."

"oh fuck, i forgot about that," nick says, reaching for his paper inside of his bag, "here's mine."

nate fishes his own out of his backpack, then the three of them hold theirs up to each other — great. y/n only shares her third period with nate, then her fifth and sixth with nick. she frowns at her elective on her paper : she was a cheerleader. last year, y/n would see matt and chris at practice whilst she and her squad went over new routines or even old ones, and she remembered when they would chat when they took breaks. a gulp rode down her throat as tears almost prick her eyes at the memory, but she forces it to the back of her mind.

the inside lockers start to fill up, and y/n could feel multiple eyes on her as they're passing by her. it's almost time for the bell to rang, but y/n wishes that she could just hide in the bathroom for the rest of her senior year — no need in sitting in seven classes a day filled with people who would inevitably never look at her the same way.

she would never stop blaming herself for what happened on october thirty first of last year.

the bell rang, and y/n knew it was time to face reality unfortunately — nate gives her an apologetic smile as he shoves his schedule back in backpack.

"remember to text me y/n/n, i'll be down," nate reminds her, and she chuckles lightly as he gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "i'll see you guys later."

nick turns to y/n, his gaze concerned as he looks over her. "you're gonna be okay? you sure you don't want me to switch any of my classes?"

"absolutely not, nick," y/n says sternly, "if you switch anything it'll probably fuck up photography and i'm not risking it."

"bitch i'm like the only person in it," nick reminds her, causing her to grin and let out a small giggle. "but if you say so."

"i promise i'll be fine," y/n tells her best friend with a nod of confirmation, "i don't need to be babysat."

"you know i'm not trying to do that," nick said with raised eyebrows, "i just wanna make sure people don't make you uncomfortable."

"they'll do it regardless," y/n laughs bitterly, "i'll text you if i need you, okay?"

"you better," nick says, giving her a pointed look before pulling her into a quick hug, "love you, see you later."

"love you too," y/n tells him, and he gives her one last smile before he walks in the opposite direction.

she inhales a deep breath as she starts walking in the direction of her first class of the day — nobody's giving her a break. she receives so many looks and she has the urge to just tell everyone to fuck themselves, because they didn't know the half of it. the permanent image burned into her psyche forever, they didn't have even an inkling of a fucking clue.

the universe must've completely had it out for her, because her first class was trigonometry — oddly enough, she usually loved math. it was one of her strongest subjects. but then memories of helping chris with anything math related plagued her mind, and she accidentally remembered a day in specific and it made her want to throw up when she remembered the exact date.

a few students had already sat down in their seats, and as soon as y/n walked in everyone's eyes shot up towards her. she tries to ignore the lingering stare from a junior who has a sneer on his face as she sits in the spot closest to the window, not bothering to look around her.

instead, she looks outside towards the corridor with her hand under her chin, surveying the small huddle of a few students as they sit along the brick wall. it reminds her of her old group, and how they used to spend their free period enjoying each other's company.

a tear almost threatens to escape y/n's eyes until the loud ring of the final bell snaps her back into reality — when she turns around, she sees the three seats on either sides of her are all unoccupied, as if everyone has chose to purposely avoid her. very few people give her a pitiful expression, but it does nothing to help the blossoming feeling of dread that lingers in her chest as she slumps down in her seat.

the teacher, mr. christensen quickly hushes the chatter coming from the students, whilst y/n remains quiet and instead looks towards the man with a dull expression painting her features. "good morning class, i'm mr. christensen. i taught p.e. last year so some of you might remember me. i see a few new faces though, so welcome to trigonometry."

y/n remembers mr. christensen and the welcoming speech he gave last year, so she allows herself to tune out of it as she stares ahead blankly. unfortunately for her, her mind wanders back to the memory of how things were.

before halloween of last year. 

she longed for things to go back to how they were before, but she knew that would never be possible. all she could do was blame herself continuously for allowing herself to be fooled into thinking they could be innocent.

the dark, crimson blood that stained their faces as sadistic smiles painted the once innocent expressions...

but were they ever really innocent in the first place?

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 

at the end of trig, mr. christensen had pulled y/n to the side to talk to her about the resources the school provides as far as counselors are concerned. of course she didn't want to be rude, so she just smiled meekly and thanked the man, but her honest opinion? no amount of counseling could help y/n help to forget all that's happened to her.

she texted nate to meet her in the hallway at her lockers before they got to their third period, which was spanish II — they both took it together last year, and both were grateful since they pretty much helped each other out.

as y/n walks down the hallway towards her locker, it seems like people are staring at her now more than ever. she inhales deeply as she continues, looking ahead of her to spot her locker. she does, but there's a small crowd gathered around it when she gets even closer.

when they see y/n getting closer as she approaches them, they disperse quickly. when y/n finally reaches her locker, she lets out a small gasp at blood red, capitalized letters that are spray painted in graffiti on her grey locker,

FINAL GIRL.

her eyebrows furrow before she hangs her head in defeat — in hindsight, there was a chance that whoever put this was probably right; it was almost as if she was kept alive to retell the story, to live it down for the rest of her life.

"who the fuck did it?" nate's voice booms angrily as he reaches y/n, looking around at the people as y/n is reluctant to tear her eyes away from her locker. "you alright, y/n/n?"

"i'm fine," y/n answers dryly, her voice barely above a whisper as her throat runs dry. she nods her head, but still cannot tear her eyes away from the letters that stare so boldly at her.

"i'm gonna ask again, who the fuck wrote this?" nate asks people who still continue to watch.

he receives a few 'no's', but not an answer he's satisfied with yet, until a sophomore steps up towards the two shakily, looking back and forth in between y/n and nate. "um, i saw it when i went to the bathroom during second period. i didn't see who wrote it. i'm sorry that they did."

y/n turns to the sophomore girl, giving her a genuine small smile as she nods to her. "thank you for telling me."

"of course," the girl says, this time her voice is softer and more prominent. y/n searches her face for any type of sarcasm, but she finds nothing but a pure sweetness within her. 

"somebody did this while everybody was in class, then," nate concludes, turning to face y/n, "should we tell the principal about this? you know he said if anyone bothered you or-"

"actually nate, it's okay," y/n tells him, looking at him as she lets out a sigh. "if we're being honest, people are gonna say shit no matter what. so i don't really care about this."

"are you sure?" nate asks her once more, his expression laced with concern. y/n hated it.

"i swear i am," y/n tells him again, "now can we get to class? you know how ms. murphy gets when anyone's late to her class."

"remember in the first quarter last year when i was late that one time and she made me do two puzzles with spanish adverbs?" nate recalled, and for the first time that day, she lets out a real giggle at the memory.

"we were up till almost eleven that night because you bribed me with money," y/n snorts, as the two begin to walk down the hallway. "you're gonna have to start figuring this shit out on your own, nate."

"yeah yeah kid, i know," nate says, shaking his head.

kid.

the nickname rang in her head, taking her way back to the night everything changed.

( lilly's corner 💌 )

this was supposed to posted AFTER i hit 2k on here, but i already hit 2k on wattpad and i'm impatient so ☺☺☺☺☺ shoutout to my angel @mattluvr u were one of the first to see😝

the way i just basically changed out y/n & the oc's name for the wattpad version...ANYWAY ! hope y'all enjoy this fic ! lots of love to you, muah. 💌

[thenickgirl]

DAD!Nick HeadCanons

nick x male!reader

disclaimer: this is all fictional and based on my own conclusions.

warnings: all fluff

a/n: alright so, reader x nick are married in this, and you have a little girl through surrogacy.

Nick as a dad:

♀ all throughout his youtube career he’s made it plain that he’s not too keen on children, but now that he’s older and once he falls in love with you, his feelings change. you decide to start a family and when it comes to your daughter Aliyah Jade, he’s absolutely obsessed.

♀ the day Aliyah was born was the best day of his life. after seeing her for the first time you both knew there was nothing you could love more.

♀ his heart absolutely melted the first time she wrapped her tiny hand around his finger.

♀ he happily takes on the role of a ‘stay at home’ dad. he quickly finds a balance between taking care of your daughter and the household.

♀ the first few months of her life were hard on, the sleepless nights trying to keep up with her feeding schedule, the never ending laundry, and bottle cleaning easily wore you both out.

♀ he is very (but not overly) protective of Aliyah. he’s cautious about who holds her or watches her.

♀ Aliyah is so spoiled by the both of you, but especially nick. he’s constantly coming home with something for her:

“i know i knowww, but i saw this and i couldn’t help myself. c’mon it’s so cute, look it!”

♀ he’s capturing all of her milestones. from her first crawl to her first steps to her first words, he’s got it all on film. he loves having those memories of the three of you as a family to look back on.

♀ he straight up talks to her like she’s grown. he doesn’t believe in the baby talk whatsoever, and Aliyah just smiles at him when he does.

♀ he’ll give her a cute nickname like ‘bunny’ or ‘pumpkin’

♀ he handles her ‘terrible twos’ like a pro. he’s taught her how to communicate and use her words. on occasion whenever she does throw a tantrum, he throws one right along with her, causing her to stop and look at him so confused:

“babe, did you seriously just throw a tantrum WHILE she throws a tantrum?”

“yep, works every time!”

♀ Aliyah’s preschool years are his favorite. he loves playing with her and chasing her around the house. he loves having her with him while he run errands, she’s his little lunch date and his partner in crime. he’s always down to dress up and play princesses or have a tea party.

“daddy can we pway pwincesses pweeeeease?”

“absolutely honey, come on”

♀ sometimes he’ll hear Aliyah slip and call or refer to him as ‘mommy’ and he just blushes like crazy.

♀ he’ll let her play in kids make up and give him a little makeover. he’s giggling the whole time, thinking about how crazy he’s about to look at the end of this.

“you look so pwetty daddy!! look it!”

“oh girl you ate! i love it so much thank you, pumpkin”

“let’s go show daddy how pwetty you are”

♀ he first trip to the dentist is stressful mainly because he also hates the dentist, but he keeps his composure for her. he’ll sit and hold her tiny hand through it all, giving her encouraging words to keep her calm. Aliyah gets through it like a champ!

♀ he loves taking her along to the nail salon, letting her get a kid’s mani and pedi. he just loves seeing the smile and excitement on her face.

“daddy, can i get lellow on my nails?”

“you sure can, bunny, whatever you want”

“daddy, you get lellow too like me!”

“okay”

♀ when it comes to discipline he hates it. he doesn’t like having to be stern or the ‘mean parent,’ it makes him feel awful. he always does it with love and never ever yells. he makes sure she understands what she did and why it was wrong. luckily, Aliyah is a pretty good kid, so he doesn’t have to discipline her often.

♀ when Aliyah starts school, he’s an absolute mess because he’s losing his little partner in crime. he’ll make her favorite breakfast and he’ll be so emotional the whole morning while he’s getting her dressed and doing her hair. once you all get to school and to her classroom he’s hugging her so tight, not wanting to let go.

♀ if Aliyah ever came home and said that there were other children bullying her Nick would lose it. he’d go up to the school and go off on the principal because why the fuck are they allowing this to happen!!

♀ he’s front row at every dance recital, soccer game, and cheer competition. he’s bringing the biggest bouquet of flowers and cheering, telling everyone around him about his baby girl.

“yesss you got this, bunny!”

“that’s my little girl right there in the yellow!”

♀ he throws her the biggest and best birthday parties. there’s always a fun theme, and every year he does a photoshoot for her. there’s endless amounts of food, sweets, and games/activities to play. he’s the best host for her birthday parties.

♀ if Aliyah ever has nightmares, he running t cuddle up next to her, holding her tight and telling her there’s nothing to afraid of, that he’d never let anyone anything hurt her. he’ll hum a little song and rock her back to sleep, not leaving her side.

♀ he loves planning vacations for your family, the three of you are always on the road when time allows it. he wants Aliyah to be able to see the world, show her there’s more out there than their quiet little hometown.

♀ once Aliyah hits her teenage years he becomes her safe space. he always makes sure that she feels comfortable enough to talk to him about whatever. he never judges and and lets her know that there’s nothing she can say or do that would make him not love her.

♀ he tries his best to help her with homework, but most of the times he’s just googling the answers.

♀ he believes in freedom of speech so if Aliyah starts swearing during her teen years, he wouldn’t care. his only rule would be that she only does it at home, and not at school in front of teachers or in front of other adults.

♀ he’s the parent that all the kids love. Aliyah’s friends love coming over to her house because Nick is such a fun and understanding dad.

♀once it’s time for Aliyah to start driving, he’s panicking. he lets you teach her because the whole process just stresses him out. the thought of his baby girl driving makes him sad but he’s also relieved that he doesn’t have to keep driving her around everywhere.

♀ when she’s out with friends, he’s got her on life 360 and he’s checking her location all the time.

“aliyah jade! go charge that phone right now, it’s on 18%!!”

“dadddd okay i will!”

♀ he’s there through all of her relationships and heartbreaks. he’ll hold her and wipe away her tears, letting her know that he’s there for her, cause he knows how earth shattering teenage love can be.

♀ on graduation day, nick is filled with joy, pride and sadness because his baby girl is going off to college. her childhood memories run through his mind all day, not wanting to believe that she’s grown up so fast right before his eyes. Aliyah graduates with honors at the top of her class, and Nick is grinning ear to ear, camera in hand, as she gives her speech, but his breath hitches at the end when he hears her say his name:

“and last but certainly not least, i’d like to thank my parents, nick and y/n. i wouldn’t be here without you. it was your unconditional love and guidance that shaped me into who i am today. i’m going to continue spending every day from here on out making you proud. i love you, dads!”

♀ nick is such a wonderful, fun, and loving father.

Bonus UNCLE!Nick:

➳ he loves having all the kids over for the weekend, sleepovers at uncle nick’s are always elite.

➳ he’s the fun uncle for sure, he basically lets the kids do whatever (within reason) when their with him.

➳ he always has the best snacks and makes sure to have all the kids favorite toys.

➳ he lets them know that he’s there for them, they love coming to have talks with him about things they’re afraid to tell their parents because he makes them feel so safe.

➳ during family trips, all the kids want to ride in the car with him cause he’s gonna play the music they like and sing along with him (even though he barely knows the words or who’s even singing).

➳ he loves taking photos of all the cousins together at every family gathering, knowing they’ll want to look back on it later and see how much everyone has grown.

➳ he’s there at all the recitals and sporting events, he never misses any big moment in his nieces or nephews lives.

🏷️: @mattslolita @muwapsturniolo @guccifrog @luverboychris @freshloveforthefit @matty-bear @mybelovednick @imsosillygoofylol @sturniolossss @nickgetsmewetter @moonk1ss3d @certifiednatelover @ghostking4m @meg-sturniolo

[6ix9inewiturmom]

Show And Tell- Matthew Sturniolo

Summary: When matt takes your virginity and shows you how to make yourself feel better about not being so experienced in the sex world

Warnings: Smut, Inexperienced!sub!reader, Experienced!Dom!Matt, praising, cursing, use of Y/N, Oral (fem receiving), P in V, Unprotected sex (Safe sex is great sex, cause you don’t want that late text that I think I'm late text- Lil Wayne), TW! brief talk of emotionally absent parents!

A/N: i absolutely love writing sweet Matt, but what i love writing more is MATT THE MF MUNCHHHH!!

psa: DONT STEAL MY WORK!! THIS BELONGS TO ME MYSELF AND I!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Ever since Middle school Nick, Matt, Chris, and I have been inevitable. Their mother, Mary Lou, has always taken me in as her own, considering I was the youngest out of 5 in my family, and my parents had me later in life, as soon as I learned how to care for myself, they quit raising me and only came through in times they ‘needed’ to be parents. Mary Lou was the woman I called my mother. whenever they went on a family vacation I always went with them. To the mall? I went. She basically had Quadruplets. When the triplets moved to LA, we were all over 18, and I was more than ready to leave my parent's house even though I had pretty much moved in with them for how much I stayed over, so I moved with them. I offered to get an apartment close by, but all of them collectively agreed and even argued with me about it, so now we all live in the same house.

Today was pretty much a normal day in the house, very calm, no one was filming, and we just did our own things. Matt and I had no plans, Chris went out shopping with some friends, and Nick had meetings and then dinner plans with Tara for a collab idea which left Matt and I at the house.

“Cant believe that you and my mother BOTH collectively agreed to let me walk out of the house looking like that” Matt said laughing showing me a memory that popped up on his moms Facebook page.

“To be fair you were dead set on wearing that entire outfit and your mom and I both knew we couldn't talk you out of that” I said laughing back and throwing my hands up in defense.

“That's when I dated Cassie too, how gross,” he said giving himself the Ick.

“She was the town whore, what'd you expect,” I say giggling at my comment.

“You know I never asked, whatever happened to Jackson? I just recalled he spread some rumor about him taking your virginity, and a bunch of other stuff, and you came to the house crying and Mom was comforting you and you never spoke about that again” he looks over at me as my head hung low looking at my hands.

Jackson was a guy I ‘dated’ junior year of high school, he took me on one date, it was very nice and he seemed amazing, though I should've listened to Nick when he told me Jackson was no good. After our date instead of taking me home he insisted on talking more and drove to the park in the middle of the city. His intentions were not pure. Jackson tried every which way to get me in the backseat, I rejected many many times that night and made some excuse on how I was on my period and that immediately grossed him out. Come to find out, as soon as we got back to school he spread a rumor around the entire school that he had taken my virginity and told the school I was into weird kinks. I knew I couldn't go to my mother about that because she would have taken me directly to the health clinic to ‘check if I was still pure’ so I went to Mary Lou, i and made sure to tell her to tell the boys not to bring it up to me and try their best to shut it down.

“I uh thought i told you about what happened?” i lied and nervously laughed.

“Nope,” he said popping the ‘p’ “I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something that important to where my own mother had to come to me, Nick, and Chris, and tell us not to talk to you about it, plus I mean it's been 4 years if you don't wanna talk about it I understand,” he said reassuring me.

I've always felt comfortable with all 3 of them, and always had a special relationship with all of them, and trust them with my life. I never went to them about this because I was embarrassed I was a virgin, I wasn't gonna tell them I didn't lose my virginity, considering both Matt and Chris came to me about sex advice I didn't want them to look at me any different for not being experienced enough so I lied and told them that Jackson did take my virginity but I wasn't into the weirder stuff Jackson accused me of.

“Fuck” I mutter under my breath. “Okay so, I just wanna say one thing before I tell you what actually happened between Jackson and me” I look back at him with nerve piercing through my body.

“Y/N, you know you can tell me anything” Matt adjusts himself to face me.

“So don't judge me,” I start taking a deep breath. “So Jackson made up that entire rumor,” I take my bottom lip between my teeth.

“I’m extremely confused” he scratched the back of his head laughing.

“God this is embarrassing” I place my head in my hands “fuck it, so he didn't take my virginity at all, and obviously the kink thing was a lie” I look up at him who still has a puzzled look on his face.

“So if Jackson didn't take your virginity then who did? Cause you basically swore off dating after him” he raises his eye brows in confusion.

“No one, Matt, I'm a uh Virgin” I drop my head down in embarrassment fiddling with my fingers.

“No fucking way, you gave both Chris and me AMAZING sex advice, stop fucking with me Y/N/N” he said laughing.

“Matt I'm being for real,” I shoot him an awkward smile “and please the sex advice ain't nothing, I know what I would like so I kinda made an assumption and by the looks of it, I'm guessing it worked” I nervously laughed.

“Holy shit,” his eyes go wide “why haven't you, you know?”

“It's hard for me to trust people, especially with something like that,” I shrugged my shoulders “When I hit puberty, my mother gave me a ‘save yourself till marriage’ talk instead of informing me of my body she scared me from sex, but I had gone to your mom one day when you three were hanging with Nate and she actually gave me that kinda talk and more or less told me to always make sure I felt safe and in the hands of someone I trust, and Jackson did neither of those things” I continue to fiddle with my fingers.

“You trust me right?” he says curiously

“Matt don't be stupid, yes I do” I lightly giggle. “Why is that even a question?”

“ah fuck it, never mind” he brushes it off.

“No, no, I told you something that no one knows so come on speak up,” I lightly push his arm.

“I was gonna say I could teach you a couple things about sex but i ain't too sure you'd be down for that anyway” he shrugged his shoulders turning his body back towards the TV.

“What if I was down?” I look at him through my lashes.

His head jerks in my direction, “actually?” his eyes light up.

“Matt do you know how embarrassing it is to be an almost 21-year-old who's never had sex,” a soft giggle escaped my lips.

“Have you ever like, touched yourself before?” he said slightly cringing at his words.

I was a little taken aback by his curiosity “I mean yeah, once or twice” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Did you like ever finish from that?” he shifts his body back in my direction. “I know this sounds a bit invasive but I promise if you want to do this I have a reason for asking these questions” he placed his hand on my knee.

“No… it just um” I swallow the lump in my throat “I just couldn't..”

“So you've never experienced anything sexual?” the curiosity in his voice makes me feel safer and know he's not judging me and is actually caring enough to ask and not just crawling on top of me and getting down to it.

“Nope,” I say softly

He slowly nods “Do you want to learn?” his voice goes soft.

“H-how?” I stutter out.

“Obviously if you feel comfortable enough with it, I could be the one to show you, If you catch my drift” he sends me a reassuring smile.

“Y-you would take my virginity?” I ask nervously.

“Only if you want me to” his voice trails off

“What about Nick and Chris? God that would be awkward if they walked in or something, oh my god I don't want them to think any-” he cuts me off

“Woah slow down, it's okay, they won't be back till like 9, and it's 4 now, we'll be okay kid” he laughed rubbing soft circles with his thumb over my knee. “Do you want to do this?”

I nod softly. “No this is important to you, I want your verbal consent that this is okay” he moves closer to me.

“Yes, please, I want this, all of this,” I say softly adjusting my body closer to his.

He smiles leaning closer to my face and softly pressing his lips against mine. My eyes fall shut and I turn into jello as I feel the way his hand that was once on my knee moves up toward my hip. A small smile creeps upon both of our lips. I softly pull away.

“Can we not do this on the couch?” I say laughing a little

“Absolutely,” he stands up almost immediately and picks me up bridal style walking into his room and kicking the door open as I giggle like a kid in a candy store.

He carefully sets me down on his blue silk sheets crawls on top of me and presses his lips onto mine once again making a soft groan travel between our lips.

“Can I take this off?” he says softly playing with the hem of my shirt.

“Yes” I bite my bottom lip

He smiles down at me and pulls my shirt off leaving me in my bra. He hooks his finger under my bra strap rubbing his finger up and down just looking down at me. “You're so beautiful. I don't ever tell you much” his comment makes a soft pink shade appear on my cheeks.

He leans down again kissing me and pointing his tongue out for permission to enter, my mouth opens slightly as his tongue explores my mouth, and this time his hands start to grab at my covered breast. “You can take it off, Matt” I giggle between kisses.

He gave me no response but his left hand held my lower back and his right unclasped my bra letting it fall right off my shoulders. He pulled away from kissing me and looked down at my breast in awe. “God you're Fucking beautiful” he mutters.

His mouth begins leaving kisses down from my jawline to my collarbone and stopping at my breast looking up at me through his lashes almost asking for permission without asking. I shoot him a smile and nod and his tongue licks softly across my nipple sending shivers down my spine. He smirks to himself attaching his mouth to one of my nipples and slightly tugging at my other. He sucks and nips at my nipples taking them between his teeth every now and again. My breathing gets heavier at the sensitivity and my head falls back as a soft whimper falls from my mouth.

He lifts his head up and places himself between my legs to unbuckle my shorts, shimmy them down my legs, and throws them with the pile of clothes next to the bed. He admires my choice of underwear today, smirking as they're unironically his favorite color, purple, with a tiny little bow right up top. He hooks his finger at the top of them sliding back and forth before sliding them down my legs leaving me bare beneath him.

“such a pretty fucking pussy” he groans out. he leans his head down and spits down onto my aching pussy. using his thumb he slowly moves up and down.

“Holy fuck” I gasp out.

Matt chuckles and moves his body down where his head is now between my legs. His thumb is still slowly going up and down he begins kissing down my thighs on both sides. “I want you” he places another kiss on my thigh “to tell me” Another kiss “What feels good to you alright?” he places a kiss right above my clit.

“O-okay” I say nervously

“And please don't be afraid to tell me to stop” he gives me a reassuring smile.

I nod sending him the same warm smile. He starts to place a soft kiss on my clit before flattening his tongue on my pussy and licking a stripe up and groaning once the taste of me hits his tongue.

“Oh, Matt” My breathing hitches and I throw my head back in pleasure.

His tongue begins to flick up at a faster pace making moans spill out of my mouth, his eyes are fixated on me and how my body reacts to his mouth pleasuring me.

“Fuck you're so fucking good at this” My fingers run through his hair forcing his head deeper into me.

He moans into me sending vibrations through my body as my hips jerk up and my eyes roll back. His lips attach to my clit sucking on it a little causing a squeal to fall from my mouth.

“Fuck i-i I think I'm gonna cum” I stutter out as an unfamiliar knot forms in the pit of my stomach

“Mhm” he mutters before lifting his head “Let it go sweet girl” he lowers his head again taking my clit between his teeth and flicking upwards on it.

“Oh my FUCK” I scream out when that knot snapped a wave of euphoria pierced my body and my orgasm dripped out of me making Matt move his body to watch it happen.

He wiped his mouth using his arm smiling “you okay baby?” he chuckled.

“Fuck” I breathe out “If that's why people are sex addicts I see why god damn that was amazing” I smiled up at him.

“I'm not even done yet” he smirks lifting his shirt over his head and throwing it across the room.

“Are you 100% positive you want this?” he asks as he stands up removing his belt.

“This is the first decision I've ever made that I'm 100% positive I won't regret,” I say as I watch him remove his pants and free his cock with his tip red and throbbing for attention.

He climbs back and moves me farther up on the bed. “Fuck there's no way that's gonna fit in me, that's fucking massive,” I say as my eyes stare at his cock.

“It'll fit baby” he chuckles “shit I don't have a condom,” he says rummaging through his bedside table.

“I'm on birth control, you don't need one” I smile up at him.

“Are you sure?” he smirks.

“Yes Matt,” I smile batting my lashes up at him.

“Okay then” he brings his hand up to his mouth and spits in it before gliding his now wet hand to coat his aching cock. “I gonna go slow, inch by inch and you tell me when to move, and tell me if it hurts too much I'll stop immediately,” he says aligning his cock with my entrance.

“Okay,” I breathe out.

As his tip slowly enters me I hiss. “Are you okay?” he says with a concerned look on his face.

“I'm okay just hurts” I reply biting my lower lip.

He slowly enters another couple of inches. Watching how my face nuzzled up at the new feeling. Then he slides in another few inches. After a couple of minutes, he's fully bottomed out. “Look at that, you're doing so fucking amazing,” he says adjusting himself closer to my face and brushing loose strands out of my face.

“Y-you can move,” I say nodding slowly.

He smiles before slowly thrusting out and moving towards my hips as the pain I once felt turns into pleasure in a matter of seconds.

“Oh, matt fuck faster please” I plead gripping his biceps for support.

“God you're so fucking tight” his pace speeds up as he lowers his body and begins kissing my neck and groaning into me.

“S-so fucking big” I moan out.

He rolls his hips towards mine and slams them into me. His grunts become harsher. “Fuck” he growled in my ear. “I love the way you feel wrapped around me” he moans in my ear which is almost a whimper.

“Matt” I scream out as his cock finally and repeatedly kisses my G-spot.

“Someone close eh?” he lifts up sadistically grinning at me.

I nod vigorously as my legs begin twitching and shaking around his waist and that knot forms in my stomach for the second time tonight.

“Cum all over my fucking dick baby, I know you can do it,” he said as his thrusts become sloppy.

With just his words that knot snapped in my stomach and formed a white ring around the base of his cock as my cum coats his cock. With a couple more thrusts he nuzzles his head in my neck and paints my walls a shade of white. He slowly pulls out careful not to hurt me.

“Fuck you're amazing” I breath out coming down from my euphoric state.

“Yeah? You did fucking amazing,” he smiles down at me laying next to me and pulling me into a cuddled skin-to-skin hug.

“Thank you matt” I mutter into his chest.

“No problem sweetheart” he kissed the top of my head. “You know I'd do anything for you” he softly whispers making me smile and nuzzle into him more.

“Do you want me to run you a nice bath? Or you wanna go get food? What do you wanna do, cause we got about 2 hours till Nick and Chris come home” he pulls away looking at me.

“We can shower and I can cook for us” I smile at him.

“Perfect” he smiles at me and picks me up bridal style again to carry me to the bathroom.

The way he cared for me, I knew I made the right decision. Losing my virginity to the man I knew I could trust.

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A/N pt 2: TY TO THE PERSON WHO REQUESTED THIS!! BECAUSE THIS WAS VERY FUN TO WRITE!! anyways i hope you guys are having an amazing evening, afternoon, morning, or night!! and i love you guys!! 🩷🩷

[inbarfink]

So the AA Fandom has no shortage of jokes about how our favorite Anime Laywers generally prioritize stuff like the Power of Friendship above more mundane concerns like 'getting paid for doing their job' but...seriously now, how often do they actually get paid for lawyering?

Well, welcome to...

The Big Overview of WAA Lawyers and Actually Getting Paid!!

The vast majority of AA Cases do not discuss payments for legal services explictly, so I will be Ranking how probable I feel it is the Lawyers got Paid. With a 0 standing for 'explictly and unambigiously did not get paid' and 1 standing for 'explictly and unambigiously did get paid'

The First Turnabout

That's an easy one, it is actually explicitly mentioned that no, Larry did not pay Phoenix for his services as a Lawyer.

And so, my first trial came to a close. Larry slapped me on the back and said, "Gee, Nick, it's good to have friends!" But I'm pretty sure he's not going to pay us. Unless you count the clock he gave Mia.

Which is brought up again months later during 'Turnabout Goodbyes'

Butz: Whoa… Nick. S-so, is that why you helped me out for free? Phoenix: Uh… yes. I helped you because I believed in you. (Except I don't remember saying I'd do it for free…)

So Phoenix expected and wanted to get paid, but he’s just, like, not assertive enough to get his money off Larry. And thus a long legacy of Not Getting Money was born!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0

Turnabout Sisters

Okay, so the subject of money does not come up directly in ‘Turnabout Sisters’ but like… Maya does not seem to have a lot of liquid funds on her at this point. For most of the games she generally relays on Phoenix to pay for things for her. At best right now she is semi-dependent on Morgan for cash - and considering her motivations, she probably came out with some excuse like ‘oooh Mystic Maya must prove her independence in such a dire situation or something, the whole Fey Family is broke we can’t afford to give you any more money I feel so bad ooooh’.

So I think if Phoenix got paid for defending her that was mostly a token symbolic gesture of gratitude more than actually anything that’ll help him pay the rent. And obviously Phoenix wouldn’t gain anything if he paid himself for that second trial of the case lol

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

Turnabout Samurai

Okay, so this is the first case where I think it is more likely than not Phoenix Actually Got Paid. There’s nothing textual, but I think with the implications of Phoenix starting the case fretting over how to pay the rent:

Phoenix: A month has passed since my trial. Mia's murder was the talk of the town for some time… But no one paid any attention to the Wright & Co. Law Offices… How am I going to pay the rent this month? Maya: It'll be okay. I'm sure some big client is just around the corner! Phoenix: Hmph.

And THEN his new Client is Will Powers who is:

a fairly sucessful actor whose life and career seems to be unglamorous but financially stable.

the first cilent Phoenix has who isn't a friend, a relative-of-a-friend or Literally Himself

generally just a really nice and wholesome guy.

It seems pretty likely to me that Phoenix and Maya got paid for this one!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

Turnabout Goodbyes

OKAY so, I've seen folks say that Phoenix would've probably done this for free cause he sees this whole thing as repaying a debt for Being Nice to Him in Fourth Grade because as we all know, Phoenix is a Certified Ridiculous Human Being.

Phoenix: This is my chance to finally pay you back. Maya: Pay him back…? Edgeworth: Pay me back? For what? I don't remember ever doing anything for you. Phoenix: Never mind… I guess you don't really need to know.

Buuuuut... Larry at the time was also part of that Class Trial Bestie Pact and Phoenix did expect him to pay I mean Larry is not the Love of His Life but still.

And more important, this case ALSO established that Miles has a problem expressing gratitude and overcompensate using financial gifts.

Phoenix: Thank you. Oh, wait! Umm… I was wondering, how much is bail going to be? Gumshoe: Don't worry about that. Mr. Edgeworth is posting the whole amount. Phoenix: What? Edgeworth…? Gumshoe: Didn't I tell you? He's grateful to her for what she did. Alright, pal. Well don't forget to go pick her up, okay? Phoenix: (Hmm… Maybe I can get Edgeworth to pay this month's rent, too…)

So I feel, like, regardless of what Phoenix wanted - at the end of this trial - Miles IS going to make sure he is GETTING PAID. Dude was probably shoving checks into his mailbox like a full month after the trial concluded.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.9

Rise from the Ashes

So... the person who initially hires Phoenix to the case is Ema Skye, a 16 year old girl whose main funds are her allowance. And Phoenix was kinda willfully ignoring his financial situation at the start and only took this case for sentimental reasons. (just more evidence that Miles was STILL sending him payments for 'Goodbyes' lol)

It's been two months since Maya left the office… Two months without a single trial. I've had offers… But none I took. That is… until the day that girl showed up.

However he does get 'formally requested' by her probably-well-off-considering-prosecutors-in-this-series older sister shortly thereafter.

Lana: … Mr. Wright? Phoenix: Y-yes? Lana: I believe our discussion here is ended. The rest… I leave to you. Phoenix: …! Um… you mean, you're requesting my services as your defense? Lana: Don't lose any sleep over it. Your client has confessed, after all. The case is over. Phoenix: Right… I'll do what I can to get to the bottom of this. Lana: …

And after a very long and harrowing journey of being in-conflict with his own client, Lana did end up being very grateful for what he did. And again, this case espacially emphasizes that 'prosecutors make the big bucks' - so she had both the means and will to pay him.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.6

The Lost Turnabout

Alrighty, so, Maggey is generally a nice girl and also a fangirl of Phoenix Wright and that gives her an incentive to support him financially...

Actually, I really love to watch court proceedings, and I always root for you to win! When I'm off duty, I like to come here and…

But with how unlucky she is, that might imply that she could have Money Troubles. Although on the other hand she at least has a stable job at the moment... But on the other OTHER hand she does mention how all the other lawyers 'laughed her off'

Just when I thought all hope was lost; when all the other lawyers had laughed me off… "Leave it to me!" you said! You! The one and only Phoenix Wright came to save the day! And just like that, I was moved to tears, sir! I'll never forget what you're doing for me, EVER!

Which usually I wouldn't note as a financial thing. Usually when an AA Defendant is like 'oooh I have no one else to turn too, all the other lawyers turned me down......" this is because the case is considered too impossible to win or Unbearably Wacky (or some sort of conspiracy like with Maya in 'Sisters'). But, like, this is a Tutorial Case. Phoenix won that one with Fucking Amnesia. The 'impossibility' of the case was not the issue, so, yeah, it might legitimately be the money?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.4

Reunion, and Turnabout

It's Maya Murder Trial Time Again! Pretty much the same as before with the two added factors being:

Maya is now officially employed in the Wright & Co. Law Offices during the duration of the trial.

AFTER the Trial, when Morgan is like, in jail - Maya might have a bit more acess to her family funds. Although they are established to Not Be Doing Well Financially in general....

A piece of cloth with a ton of finely-written characters jammed onto it. Probably esoteric knowledge only mediums should know. …Hmm, let's see… Here's one in English… It says… "100 Ways to Save Money". … Being a medium sounds like a rough way of life…

I think all in all these kinda even out to the same Chances of Getting Paid at last time??

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

Turnabout Big Top

So if you ever start discussing how pointless the AA 'middle cases' are - just remember this one crucial detail; they are the most reliable way Phoenix Wright gets food on his plate! We once again have a stranger (that Phoenix won't feel obligated to defend for free) that is very explictly Fabulously Wealthy.

He's not as nicey-nice as Will Powers is but I feel like paying Phoenix's legal fees is not something Max will bet an eye at.

Phoenix: It's a table for guests… There are some papers scattered on top. Maya: Ah! Look at this! Max's salary is written on this piece of paper. YIKES! Phoenix: W-What is it? Maya: I didn't know a magician… This salary is incredible! Phoenix: (She looks like she's about ready to pass out from shock…) How much is it!? How much is it!? T-T-THAT MUCH!? Maya: Incredible, huh? Phoenix: You can say that again.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Farewell, My Turnabout

Okay so this is the Big One. This one’s a really complicated one to determine.

Let’s just get the first thing out of the way, the fact that Phoenix “”lost”” the case does not matter one way or another. Criminal Defense Lawyers, as a general rule, do not work on a Contingency Fee Basis. That means they are paid regardless of the result of the trial. So if this was a normal trial, Phoenix would probably be paid.

But this was not a normal trial, was it?

Phoenix was FORCED to work as a Defense Attorney due to a KIDNAPPER. And, like, my first instinct is ‘if you are already forcing someone to work via criminal means, why the hell would you also pay them??’ 

Buuuuut….. This is MY instinct, not the instinct of goddam Shelly De Killer. 

Since Shelly’s whole thing is being the Honorable Assassin, and he has some level of respect towards Phoenix as like a Fellow Professional. I can see him thinking maybe wanting Phoenix to get paid for the work he is Coercing Him To Do Under Threat of Murdering His Best Friend for the sake of Honor. 

But also also, Phoenix’s terms are not officially with De Killer, it’s with This Asshole!

And Matt Engarde is absolutely the kind of guy to casually take advantage of Phoenix’s frantic ‘please please just let me be your lawyer or my Friend is gonna Die!’ thing where, like, obviously getting paid is NOT gonna cross through Phoenix’s head atm in order to not pay/severely underpay the guy even though he can obviously afford it.

All in all, things are not looking good for this case’s probability, which is a shame considering how it ends.

Powers: Um, anyway… So, who's paying for this lovely dinner party? Maya: As if you need to ask! Everyone say, "Thank you" to Nick! Phoenix: Huh? Gumshoe: Ah, yeah… I'm kinda at the point where I can't even buy instant noodles, pal. So I kinda already put your name on the bill.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Memories

First time covering a Lawyer that’s not Phoenix!

Now, Mia’s client in this case is a college student who probably doesn't have tons of personal funds, and considering her own motivations for taking on the case she probably would’ve done it for free but…

At the time she was employed at the Grossberg Law Offices, and Phoenix hired just the office in general and then Mia took over the case just last night.

Grossberg: Still, you surprised me… What, with your earnest request last night… "Let me handle this case!" you suddenly said. And quite forcefully, too! Mia: I just found out yesterday. About the case, I mean.

So... really this is just the Vibes I get from the Grossberg Law Offices, being generally the more professional and by-the-book law offices compared to the utter chaotic energy of Wright and Co, that makes me assume that they usually reliably charge their clients and pay their lawyers.

There’s some evidence further down the line (which we’ll get to soon) that some of their lawyers do some pro-bono work - but I dunno if Phoenix’s case was extreme enough to necessitate that (I mean he might be a broke college student but his family would probably help him with the legal funds although that assumes they even exist) . So my assumption is that Mia probably did get paid. Probably?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.75

The Stolen Turnabout

So, Ron DeLite used to really financially struggle to keep up with his wife’s shopaholic habits - but that seems to have stabilized ever since his ‘benefactor’ showed up. So I’d assume he still has some funds left to pay his lawyer. I mean I guess it won’t be totally implausible if Desiree did manage to blow through them all…. Or maybe being a a high-spending shopaholic means that she’d want to pay extravagantly for her lawyer as well?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Recipe for Turnabout

It’s Maggey again! And now she’s:

Closer to a friend, or at least a friend-of-friend. Rather than Just Another Client.

Is probably in a more dire financial state than before, on account of being unemployed and also in jail for the last two months.

Also being a waitress isn’t that prestigious a job anyways 

And if anyone is gonna help her cover her legal fees it could only be Gumshoe which… does not bode well to anyone involved!

Pissed at Phoenix cause it took her some time to realize that no, that guy who got her found guilty two months ago is not him

So basically everything that changed since her last trial makes it less likely that Phoenix charged for his legal services. I'm sure she'd try her best by the end, but Phoenix might just wave it off to save everyone a headache.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Beginnings

So first things first I want to reiterate that Criminal Defense Attorneys generally get paid regardless of if they ‘win’ and while I couldn’t find any concrete statements about the matter - I believe they get paid even if their clients die mid-trial??? I mean, the legal fees just get added to their posthumous debts? So the lawyer would hypothetically be able to claim their due payment from the deceased’s remaining funds and possessions. If they wanted to, that is…

Cause, well, this is why I said the Grossberg Law Offices might do some pro-bono cases. Terry Fawles was, like, a part-time tutor who has been incarcerated for the last five years. If he has any family or friends outside that could help him with his legal fees, he never mentions them. 

So I’m really not sure if he bought Mia services or if she volunteered to do this pro-bono after hearing he had no options for legal representations out of concern for, like, prisoners rights. 

And even if he was supposed to pay Mia for her service, after the grim ending of the case - I’m not sure if she would’ve even tried to pursue getting her legal fees from Fawles’ posthumously/from his next of kin. From how deeply traumatized she was by that trial, I think that would’ve only made her feel worse about the whole situation. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.05

Bridge to the Turnabout

Iris is a nun from a small temple that is mentioned to not-be-doing-so-hot (cause it’s tied with the Kurain Channeling Technique and it’s been on a downturn since DL-6), but she does have at least enough personal funds to have her own cell-phone and occasionally go into town. So it’s not a lot, but I think it’s enough to get Phoenix at least a a symbolic token-of-gratitude payment.

Also, it might be possible Phoenix will wave off the fees due to the Personal Connection to the case. You know, he was doing this primarily to Uncover the Truth and get some personal closure for the Dahlia mess.... Or maybe not, cause he did still get paid (or tried to get paid, or forced to get paid) to save his two Fourth-Grade-Life-Debt Childhood Best Friends in court?

(And I do mean just Phoenix, Miles probably would never charge for his services as ‘acting defense attorney’, we don’t need that farce to get any farcier)

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Trump

Now this is a complicated one, let us list the factors here one-by-one:

1. As per Apollo’s comment in the next episode, the Gavin Law Offices probably operated strictly quid pro quo.

(Good-bye, quid pro quo. Hello pro bono. sigh)

2. Phoenix is supposedly friends with the boss of the Agency. And in reality, Kritoph Gavin has a very VERY vested interest in making sure the trial goes According to Plan. Incentivising him to at least give Phoenix a discount.

3. Phoenix is also not doing that great financially right now. 

4. Oh right, that entire law agency disbanded once the boss got arrested at the end of the trial!

…Speaking of which, I may be out of a job. I work for Gavin Law Offices, after all. (I still can't believe I just saw Mr. Gavin get led away in handcuffs…)

I think it is most likely that Phoenix got some sort of “”Friend”” Discount from Kristoph. But I really don’t know what happens if an entire law firm gets disbanded right after the trial cause the owner got arrested as a result of it. It probably depends on whether Phoenix was in agreement with the Gavin Law Offices who then assigned Apollo on the case or if Phoenix had an agreement with Apollo directly.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.5

Turnabout Corner

Oh hey, look! Another rare case of an Ace Attorney that actually discusses the issue of money directly!

Well, I mean we know how much Apollo got paid for solving the case of Phoenix’s accident and Trucy’s panties (nothing) and for solving Eldoon’s Noodle Cart Theft (a free bowl of ramen). We don’t see them directly discuss the subject of payment regarding Apollo’s Actual Job…

Apollo: Your request… let me guess, something's been stolen? Alita: Um, your flyer… It says "now defending" so I thought… Apollo: Whaaaat!? You mean, you mean you want me to defend you? Me? Trucy: Maybe you can tell us what happened? Were you hit by a car? Did someone steal your stand? Or your panties? Alita: No! No… I'm not the client, actually. The client would be my… well, my fiancé, I suppose you'd call him. Apollo: Fiancé…? What happened to him, then? Alita: He was arrested this morning. The charge… was murder.

But as he was complaining before about not only being pigeonholed as some sort of a detective, but also not getting paid for anything…

Um… I was wondering when I get paid? We solved the case of your accident, and um, found a missing article of clothing.

And then getting this job and being so happy about it...

Trucy: Polly! You look as happy as a clam in its shell. Apollo: For a lawyer this is it, the place where the battle begins!

Implies that He’s Getting Paid - just as much as with Phoenix’s rent stuff in ‘Turnabout Samurai’ if not more. 

Also, I don’t think the fact that the person who hired him wanted him to fail and is now going to prison is a factor here.

As I already mentioned, Defense Attorneys get paid regardless of the outcome of a trial and logically that would apply both when they lose and when they win. Plus, I am pretty sure Alita filed her request officially through Wocky’s name or the Kitaki family in general and they were obviously very grateful for what Apollo did, and they had both the wins and wills to pay him.

So let’s give a big round of applause for Apollo Justice, the WAA Lawyer most likely to get paid!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.99

Turnabout Serenade

These kind of showbiz-focused Middle Cases are generally pretty good for Getting Paid Probabilities, but this case is a bit more complicated.

Cause the plot of this case hinges on Machi being so desperate for money that he was willing to risk death via cocoon smuggling,

Situation… I cannot explain. But money. I needed. Very much money.

That doesn’t necessarily mean he was unable to afford a lawyer - without details of why exactly he needed that Sweet, Sweet Cocoon Money we can’t be sure.  But it’s plausible that hiring Apollo was not out of his price range but he was desperate for something far more expensive. 

Considering his young age and… you know, until the final day of the trial he pretended to not understand a word of English, it’s also possible hiring Apollo was a matter handled by Lamirior and/or the duo’s agency. Both of which will probably feel committed to Actually Paying, each from their own angle. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Turnabout Succession

Now, HERE’S a complicated one! 

Going generally over the usual stuff, Vera is a pretty nice person and she’s clearly grateful for what Apollo and Trucy did for her. And while the Misham Family was driven into forgeries by financial desperation, at the present-time they seem stable enough that Vera could at least afford the rates of the WAA. If this was just another case, it’ll get like a solid 0.7 at minimum. Pretty typical stuff by now.

But this isn’t just one more ordinary case. This a weird sort of ‘Test Trial’ for the Jurist System with every factor - including the Defendant and the Attorney - arranged by Phoenix’s weird little committee.

Well, for one, I'll be chair of the Jurist System Simulated Court Committee. The chair constructs the ideal situation… choosing the case, the jurist candidates… …even the judge and the courtroom.

Apollo: So… what kind of case is the trial simulation about? Phoenix: Well, since it is the first run through of a new system, I wanted something simple. Trucy: Good thinking! No sense wearing yourself out on something too serious! Phoenix: True. The case is a murder. Apollo: That's not simple at all!! Trucy: By "simple", did you mean that the defendant is… Phoenix: …Guilty. Yes. Most likely. …So, good luck, Apollo. Apollo: Um… with what? Phoenix: With the trial tomorrow. You're defending, of course. Recall that I said it had something to do with you.

So I guess the question here, did Phoenix basically make Vera officially hire Apollo? Did the committee hire Apollo and they’re the one paying him? Is this another case of Phoenix trolling Apollo into doing Free Volunteer Work for him?

Honestly I wouldn’t put that past the AA4 version of Phoenix..............but also if he did that I doubt he would’ve missed a chance to crack a joke at Apollo’s expense about that. 

...You know, I started this thread of thought with the thought I’m arguing for a lower Getting Paid score for this case but I think I just talked myself into increasing the probability.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

Also bonus round: THE TRIAL OF SHADI ENIGMAR!

Zero fucking chances Phoenix got paid on this one. HIS CLIENT DISAPPEARED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURT PROCEEDING! And even if Phoenix gets paid before a trial is concluded (unlikely, since he didn’t know Larry wasn’t paying him until after the case was closed), he was his attorney for like half-a-day before he disappeared so wouldn’t have much of a chance either way.  And considering Zak’s character (and how he also tried to sabotage Phoenix’s current Poker-based career seven years after that), I doubt he put that much thought into Phoenix and his financial considerations to give him a down payment in case he had to to do his disappearnce act or whatever. The only thing Zak left Phoenix with when he left was his goddam abandoned child and ONE LESS BADGE!

So I think this case deserves a very special score!

Probability of Getting Paid: -1

Turnabout Countdown

It’s time for Athena’s first case! Or second case, depending on how you look at it.

Now, one of the major ways that Dual Destinies is gonna shake this Deep Serious Analysis up is that before we had, like, one Active Full-Time Lawyer at any time (maybe with a backup lawyer for Flashback Cases), and we now have Three Different Lawyers actively working together on the same cases. My main concern is primarily not which WAA Lawyers get paid for these cases, but IF any of them got paid at all. Still, shenanigans of cases changing hands officially and unofficially are gonna play a factor in my analysis as well.

And it’s here right from the start! We once again have a Lawyer defending their bestest friend in the whole world, and while some people’s instincts might suggest that means that Defense was for free, well… First things first, we already established Precedence for that back in the first trial of the first game with Larry (not for Lawyers getting paid by their friends, but at least expecting payment) and Juniper’s family is probably doing Just Fine considering she attends this super-fancy-pant prestigious Lawyer High School - so she would want to financially support Athena I would think.

And ALSO, Juniper technically didn’t hire Athena, Apollo was the one supposed to defend Junie in court at first. And although Juniper is… growing closer to Apollo at this point in canon, I don't think it's quite the ‘defend me in court for Free’ point of their relationship, compared to where Juniper and Athena are at. So this is just, like, one extra point to the Final Score!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

The Monstrous Turnabout

So in this episode, we actually have two different jobs we need to make sure if Apollo actually got paid for. We have the actual criminal defense case, and we also have Babysitting Trucy.

Trucy: Oh, we'd better hurry. Doesn't look Daddy's going to make it, so let's get going. Apollo: Huh? Where are we going? What about the job he mentioned? Trucy: This IS the job, Polly! You're supposed to keep me company today! Now, come on! Apollo: Another day of not being a lawyer. Should've seen this coming. Trucy: Well, this is the "Wright ANYTHING Agency," y'know. And there's no law-related work at the moment, so… Apollo: (Tell me again why I chose to "work" here?) Where is Mr. Wright, anyway?

That being said, Phoenix might still be a bit of a troll but the WAA is doing a lot better financially now that Trucy has those Sweet Gramarye rights and he’s not quite as mean to Apollo as he was back in Hobomode. So I get a feeling that even with this little runaround, Apollo is probably at least getting paid for chaperoning Trucy around?? Probably?

The actual case is actually a lot more clear cut. It is directly mentioned that Damian Tenma could probably afford lawyers much more prestigious than the WAA, it’s just a matter of the WAA being the only ones crazy enough to take on this ‘doomed’ case. 

Trucy: Apollo! Maybe this is your chance. Apollo: Chance for what? Trucy: To do the right thing and defend Jinxie's dad in court! Apollo: Who, me? Wouldn't a man like Mayor Tenma have access to more experienced lawyers? Jinxie: Umm… You wanna know what the detectives said? They doubted there was a lawyer who could get a not-guilty verdict in this one.

And with Mayor Tenma’s personality being based around being almost overly-generous and grateful…

Tenma: How… incredibly… RUDE! Apollo: Umm, sorry. Did I do something to offend you? Tenma: A visitor when all others shun me like a common criminal! And here I am with nothing to offer! I am the epitome of rude! Apollo: (………Wait, so he wasn't mad at me?)

I feel like it is almost a certainty that Apollo and Athena did get paid for this case! 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.85

Turnabout Academy

Okay so, it’s Junie again! Or Junie for the first time depending on how you look at it!

So all of the points I already brought up about Juniper from ‘Countdown’ still apply (save for the stuff about Apollo, of course) but ALSO this is right when Athena and Juniper reunited and their whole emotional arc in this case is about Athena feeling Juniper is being Uncharacteristically Cold and Distant towards her. So defending her on a Friend Discount would be a bit strange at this point. Maybe I can see Athena trying to insist she’d do it for free but Juniper refused?

Although I think that IS a bit weird that they had this big whole scene with Professor ScaryStatue taking over Juniper’s case and the issue of payment doesn’t even come up in passing. I mean, yes obviously, the issues of Trust and Truth and Aristotle Means being Sus as Fuck are the important things in this narrative but I’m suprised there’s not even a mention in passing. Like Means accusing Athena and Apollo of wanting this case back for the Money but they refute him???

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

The Cosmic Turnabout

Okay, look, I know I keep bringing up the Larry Precedence but it really IS quite relevant. If Actual Overly-Sentimental Human Disaster Phoenix Wright tried to charge a rate for his childhood best friend who was drifting through life doing weird odd jobs at that time. - Then Apollo, who is generally more practical minded, is probably going to charge a rate for his older acquaintance with the stable Astronaut Job. And while Solomon is a bit of a Space Larry, I don’t think he’d try and avoid the payment in quite the same way. Probably.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Turnabout for Tomorrow

This trial has Phoenix defending one of his own employees in a trial forced on by a hostage situation. I feel silly even extending this paragraph any longer. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.01

Turnabout Reclaimed

First things first, yes, an Orca cannot pay for an attorney - but I assume that the person who hired Phoenix is officially Sasha Buckler. Who IS a human being with her own funds capable of hiring a lawyer. Especially as we know that other lawyers turned her down specifically because her case is ridiculous (and not for financial reasons). 

Phoenix: What's the real reason you picked me, Sasha? Buckler: …Well, to be honest, I asked a whole slew of lawyers, but they all refused. They said stuff like, "There's no merit to taking your case," or "I'm not sure I can help." They're all as cruel as sharks, with hearts punier than whitebait!

She does mention doing a performance as thanks at the ending of the trial but that’s probably no replacement for Actual Money.

But I think most notable for our analysis about this case, is not actually any of the Orca stuff - it’s this exchange right here.

Blackquill: Today, the orca. Tomorrow, Sasha Buckler. You intend to save them both? Hmph. You say you "believe" in your clients, but isn't money really your true motivation? Why not admit you're only doing this for your own benefit? I could understand that much more readily than your empty, righteous talk. Athena: Our own benefit?! That's not why we're doing it! Phoenix: Now, Athena. Try not to let him get to you.

Yet another rare case of the game Acknowledging Lawyers Are Paid As a General Rule! And notably, when Phoenix and Athena deny it, they don’t deny the fact that they are getting paid - just that it’s not why they’re doing this. This is not exactly an explicit confirmation of Getting Paid to get the score up to a full 1, but it’s probably as close as we’re gonna get. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.95

The Foreign Turnabout

Okay, so Phoenix basically just bursted into the Courtroom and bluffed his way onto the empty defense bench despite the protests of his own so-called Client. Said client also only started unlearning his Defense-Attorney-Hate during that same trial. And is ALSO a tiny little child who has to work part time as a tour-guide to make end’s meet. I highly doubt Phoenix asked for anything more than, like, a very token rate or maybe a discount on his next tour. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

The Magical Turnabout

Considering how this case has a WAA Lawyer defending the actual CEO of the WAA, I highly doubt the WAA got any money from it. But maybe Trucy could give him some of her personal funds as a token of gratitude?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.2

The Rite of Turnabout

It’s MAYA TIME again! And while some consideration has to go to her bond with Phoenix or the possibility of some sort of Frequent Accused card the WAA issued for her - the fact that she is not currently a Coworker at the law office and has been an Actual Independent Adult for quite some time now means it is actually a lot more likely she’s able to pay Phoenix now than in any case in the Original Trilogy!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.5

Turnabout Storyteller

This one’s a pretty average case. The Defendant is not a total stranger, but he is more of a friend-of-a-friend (and Simon was originally planning to get Apollo or Phoenix into the courtroom so the connection was even more distant when he contacted the WAA). He seems to be doing alright financially with his own noodle business, and he’s a pretty alright kinda guy. The only possible concern is that he’s too totally slushed to remember he’s supposed to pay his attorney. But then again, Simon might be ‘officially’ the one who hired the lawyer for the case.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.6

Turnabout Revolution

It’s time for the THREE CASES IN ONE SPECIAL!! Because we don’t just need to consider Dhurke’s trial, I think it’s only appropriate that we take into account both Apollo and Phoenix’s side of the civil case. They are both WAA Lawyers, after all.

On Apollo’s side, he is defending Datz Are'bal, an escaped prisoner/wanted revolutionary criminal in his own country hiding away in an abandoned building and making homemade lizard skewers for food- but Datz did apparently enter Japanifornia legally via legitimate means.

Apollo: What are the charges this time? Datz: Unauthorized entry, or something like that. They think I'm an illegal alien! And I can't prove otherwise ‘cause I lost my passport! Trucy: Is there any way they'd let you go? Datz: Not without my passport… If only I had it! Dhurke, AJ! You gotta find my passport! Apollo: …All right, we'll find it. (One more thing to add to our to-do list. Now, where might Datz's passport be?)

So he presumably has some sort of funds to pay Apollo for his legal services, at least a little bit. 

And with him being Dhurke’s best friend and knowing that he also struggled financially to make end’s meet as a defense attorney at first - I would like to think that’ll incentivise him to support Apollo financially if he can?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Meanwhile on Phoenix’s side, while Phoenix uses the word ‘hire’ when talking about working for Atishon. Phoenix was once again coerced via kidnapping into the position of attorney. 

And THIS time, there is no Assassin with a Code of Honor who might consider paying Phoenix a fair rate. Both Atishon and his ‘benefactor’ are sleazeballs who would not pay Phoenix a dime if they can get away with it. Plus, with this being a civil case, there might actually be a Contingency Basis going on when Phoenix basically quit and then they lose.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.001

And finally, the grand event of this case - the Trial of Dhurke! 

So… Can a summoned undead spirit pay for an attorney? I suppose it’s probably easier in Khura'in than in other places. And it’ll mostly work the same as if the client died before the case finished, right? It’ll be considered a debt to be carried by their next of kin. Who in this case will be Nahyuta… but also maybe Apollo? Still, considering all of Dhurke’s living family ranges between ‘wealthy and well-respected’ and ‘Literal Royalty’ - I’m going to assume they’d be more than happy then to pay their Weird Brother for his help. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.75

Turnabout Time Traveler

And here we are! The last case, and a relatively straightforward one at that - at least compared to the last one lol!

Ellen herself does not have many funds as a housemaid, it seems - but since she literally just married one of the richest inventors in the world, I assume her husband is gonna cover the legal fees. The WAA Legal Team and Also Edgeworth and Ema also got an invite to the Wedding but I assume this is not instead of actual payment?

That is, of course, unless it’s technically Larry who hired Phoenix actually.

Then he’s never getting the goddam money he deserves for his labor.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Average Probability Score for All Cases (not counting the Zak Bonus Round): 0.51721875

So what have we learned today? I think that while the WAA’s reputation for basically giving away legal services for free is not entirely unearned, it is perhaps somewhat exaggerated. While there’s certainly a lot of Shennanigans and their rates are probably not high (especially not for people they know), they still get paid for a decent amount of high-profile cases. I mean, this Getting Paid Probability Score is over the 50% mark at least....

And… the odd thing is that the First Turnabout really is the only time the subject of the lawyer getting paid is really brought up directly. I get that it might, y’know, ruin the Drama if we acknowledge that our Brave Heroes are getting paid to save people from being convicted of a crime they didn’t commit - or on the other hand of the equation, that they should get paid cause They Need Money to Live. But still…

Is the fact that the only time payment is brought up directly is when Larry isn’t paying Phoenix a bad sign for the general financial situation of our Anime Lawyers? Or is it actually a good sign? Like, that they only mention Larry not paying implying that every time it is not mentioned that means the client did pay them?

[sir-subpar]

Striker redesign/reimagine!

Might tweak a few things in the future, but here he is!

I'll talk about him under the cut, because I have some things to say

Okay! So: Striker

Let me start by saying that I don't really hate his design as is. I think he looks fine. But! As somebody from the southwest, I wanted to add a little extra southwestern style influence on him. And I also wanted him to look more like a rattler.

Now if some of you might be a little confused by the blue, I do have an explanation for it. Admittedly this is more personal than logical, but here's a cool little factoid about my nick of the woods.

As I've mentioned multiple times, I'm from the southwest, and we have a local very old Superstition around here, the Superstition goes that West is the direction of evil. It's where the sun is swallowed and darkness rises. What time were evil spirits would rise and torment the living. But it was said if you painted your window sills or doorways blue, you would be safe. Blue was the color of safety and protection.

So I kind of gave Striker little blue accents, as a reference to that color of safety. I like the idea that it's a comfort color for him.

Anyway! Aside from my barely filtered Self Indulgence, here are my thoughts;

I don't like his fingerless gloves, 90% of the characters seem to have fingerless gloves, literally everybody in the main cast has fingerless gloves or something similar. I like fingerless gloves, but I'm sick of it being everywhere in this show

As mentioned before I wanted to make him look more snake-like, so I gave him a rattler Style tell, larger fangs, more orange toned, a different horn Style just a match a little bit better. And eyeball imagery on his clothing. Since rattlesnakes sometimes look like they have eyeball patterns

Gave him scars, I was just like with millie, I feel like he's got into a lot of fights, and since they're both from wrath they should both have some Battle Scars.

Speaking of Millie, I had this idea for a rewrite, let me know what you think. What if Millie was actually considered the weakest in her family growing up? Which has caused her to be very self-conscious about her strength and constantly want to get stronger. All of this leading to her currently being extremely competitive to the point where it can be detrimental. And what if, when she wasn't able to actually help around the farm, the family had Striker come over and help?

Striker could be a long time family friend she grows up with, but also goes on to resent because she feels he is, in a sense, replacing her.

So the Harvest Moon episode would be more about her feeling an internal rivalry with him rather than a cliched masculinity episode with Moxxie

Maybe he goes easy on her because he cares about her, and she notices, leading her to feel like he sees her as weaker, which is very insulting to her Pride.

This could be why she eventually joins IMP, maybe assassinating humans makes her feel strong.

Those are my thoughts with Millie and Striker. Now, to explore another Dynamic that I'm sure you guys have been eager to hear my thoughts about...

Striker's dynamic with Blitzo

It probably doesn't surprise any of you, but I thoroughly believe that they had far more chemistry in this one episode, then Blitzo and Stolas do throughout the rest of the show

Clearly Blitzo likes him, and at the very least, Striker does have some respect for him upon their first meeting

The way he talks to Blitzo, it plays into what Blitzo actually *wants*. He offers a ticket out. A way to success without being shackled to Stolas

Striker calls Blitzo: impressive, sir, above sucking on a pompous Goetia.

Stolas, on the other hand: my impish little plaything, adorable, itty bitty imp, constantly baby talks him, "Blitzy" which was established Blitzo hates.

I will get to Stolas eventually, I have some thoughts I'll Explore More with him. In due time.

Would I make Blitzo and Striker a couple in my Reimagined Helluva? I don't know, because I don't really think it's necessary. I do think however that Striker eventually could become one of Blitzo's friends.

I have a very specific scene in my head:

____

Blitzo's uncertain about Striker's offer, he doesn't know if he should actually trust him, if he should uproot his whole business for the stranger just because he's saying the right things, or if he should just do what he's doing now and see if he can get success.

They fight, for a bit, Striker keeps talking throughout their tussle, tempting Blitzo to join him on killing Stolas.

They are equally matched, both holding the blessing tipped rifle, in a tense game of tug o' war.

Their rumble goes on for just long enough that now, Striker looks out the window, to see his opportunity to kill Stolas while he was on stage has passed.

Striker sighs, dissapointed as Stolas is once again surrounded by guards blocking his clear shot.

He releases his rifle, causing Blitzo to stumble back a bit.

He composes himself, straightening his clothes and dusting himself off.

"Tell you what Blitz, I'll give you some time to think on it."

Striker takes Blitzo's hand in his own for a moment, his tone of voice more welcoming than before.

He pulls away, revealing je placed a Buisness card with his phone number in Blitzo's palm.

"And when you decide what you want, you give me a call."

____

So! Those are my thoughts!

If I were in charge of the show, I would let Striker's business card sit on Blitzo's desk, or in his wallet, showing the audience that Striker is still in the back of his mind, even if Striker doesn't make a direct appearance in a few episodes.

I had a lot of fun with Striker, as you all can probably tell, he was one of my favorites before season 2 happened.

[muffinapologist]

girl help I can't stop thinking about an AU where Edgeworth is conscious when Von Karma shoots his dad but he doesn't realize it until months later after he's already been adopted by the man because the lack of oxygen and trauma made his vision fuzzy.

and then Von Karma finds out he's a witness and stages an Accident at that river near Hazakura temple. and he's declared dead but he washes up on shore without any memories and is raised as an acolyte alongside Iris.

 and then Phoenix shows up literally 17 years later and sees not only someone who looks just like his ex but also his supposedly dead best friend.

Some details because this AU is taking up all my brain space lately:

Phoenix is a prosecutor because he has suspicions surrounding Miles’ death (particularly about Von Karma).

Mia was still sort of a mentor to him because she saved his ass in college and helped him study for the bar but he obviously didn’t come to work for her.

Maya is actually still good friends with Phoenix and something of an assistant a la Kay. Phoenix was very dedicated to finding Mia’s killer and never believed Maya was responsible. They bonded. Now Maya causes trouble for the prosecutor's office.

Gumshoe is Phoenix’s direct subordinate and spends a lot of time keeping Maya out of trouble (at least theoretically, she actually usually talks him into whatever nonsense she’s up to)

Gumshoe is a little less formal with Phoenix than he is with Miles in canon, he still calls him ‘sir’ but also calls him ‘Nick’. The result is usually something like “Nick, sir, we found this bloody shoe at the crime scene”

Franziska is there on the day that her father pushes Miles into the river although she doesn’t witness it. As she grows older she grows suspicious as to her father’s involvement in Miles’ death and in DL-6. She becomes a defense attorney to spite him and so that she can look for Miles (whom she believes is still alive) without her father watching her every move.

Franziska is Phoenix’s courtroom rival/frenemy. The butt heads a lot but they share a common goal and work together on Miles’ case. They also wouldn’t hesitate to risk their lives to each other. You know it’s kind of “I hate them [affectionate]”

Maya and Franziska flirt a Lot in court and Phoenix teases Maya relentlessly over it.

Miles’s name is Hyacinth for the time that he lives at Hazakura temple because he doesn’t remember his name, so Bikini gives him one when he washes ashore. She chose Hyacinth because it matched the tropical theme she has going on with Iris.

When Iris is dating Phoenix covertly she brings back books from the city for Hyacinth about a wide range of subjects. He’s a massive nerd.

Miles is a prodigy in canon so while he wouldn’t remember his interest in law specifically he is still incredibly sharp and gets bored easily when his mind isn’t engaged.

 I think he’d play chess with Iris and Bikini and read a lot to stave this off. Bikini has some books delivered for him before Iris starts bringing them home for him. He’ll read about just about any subject with a preference for non fiction. 

He’d have read at least some of the scrolls about Kurain that are at Hazakura temple but there are some that are secret to anyone outside the family so he hasn’t read all of them. 

Bikini is still the tour guide though because while Hyacinth knows the history he is not great with people

When Phoenix meets Miles at the temple he’s like hey can we talk in private and Miles is like sir this is a place of worship. And Phoenix has to be like that wasn’t a come on,

Hyacinth wouldn’t recognize him immediately. He never met him as Iris’s boyfriend and he lost his childhood memory. However when Phoenix introduces himself Hyacinth recognizes the name

you know in canon Miles has that recurring nightmare about DL-6? well in this AU he has a recurring dream about almost drowning in the river and "a man's voice" guiding him to the surface and telling him to keep swimming. But he always wakes up just as he breaks through the surface, before he can see who it was (spoiler alert it’s Gregory Edgeworth)

[cornertheculprit]

okay kind of long post incoming because i've just now figured out how i want to word this. i made a little post a while ago saying that i think maya started to consider phoenix her family when he insisted that he would help her in 2-2 despite her thinking that she killed someone and gave him her magatama and that i think phoenix started considering her as his family when he realized she was kidnapped and his vision started going gray and blacking out in a way it hasn't ever done for any other character and while i could make an entirely separate post detailing maya's side of things i'm going to focus on phoenix for now. i don't know if this is a proper analysis or something i'm just rambling lmao

okay. as we all know. phoenix does not believe in people unconditionally unless they have given him prior reason to do so (like edgeworth and mia). this exchange that happens in aa1 is, i think, the biggest example of him admitting it out loud:

Phoenix: I'm going to believe in you two until the end.

Larry: Us two?

Maya: Edgeworth and... who else? You mean me right?

Larry: Nah! He means me! Right, Nick?

Phoenix: Yeah, you, Larry.

Maya: Not... me?

Maya: ...

while it clearly hurts for maya to hear i think it makes sense. they've known each other for a very short time at this point and phoenix does, at this point, have more reason to trust in larry than he does maya (even though that trust seems pretty much revoked by the time aa3 rolls around because of larry admitting he was the one who stole the lunch money that caused the class trial at the end of turnabout goodbyes but i digress). while they're still in the process of quickly becoming good friends and while maya does seem to have grown attached to phoenix more quickly than phoenix to her (presumably because phoenix had defended her when no one else would) it's clear that phoenix isn't quite at the point she is. HOWEVER! according to rfta he also gets so depressed at the fact that she went back to kurain village to train that he literally doesn't take a single case for two months until he meets someone (ema) that reminds him so much of maya that he can't say no. fast forward to aa2:

Phoenix: What's wrong?

Maya: Are you sure? I mean, I'm guilty! I'm a murderer!

Phoenix: No one's decided that yet.

Maya: But I did! I killed that person... with these... two hands...!

Phoenix: That's enough, Maya.

Maya: It's hopeless! If you defend me, you'll lose, I'm sure...

Phoenix: Stop it!

Maya: ... ...Help me... Nick, help me... I'm scared...

Phoenix: Don't worry, I will. When is the trial?

this exchange is interesting to me because it's at this point that maya holds him back from leaving and gives him the magatama. their friendship, even though they've only just been reunited, is strong enough that phoenix insists that no one's decided WHO the killer is yet even in the face of maya admitting she thinks she's done it. but the thing IS—phoenix doesn't explicitly state he BELIEVES she hadn't done it. and when the topic of belief does come up later in the case, this is what ensues:

Maya: Um, Nick...

Phoenix: Yeah?

Maya: Why do you believe in me? Why do you think I didn't kill Dr. Grey?

Phoenix: ...Because of something Mia told me.

phoenix says out loud that the reason he believes wholeheartedly in maya's innocence (NOW, mind you) isn't because of his belief in maya's character, it's because of mia's words: spirit mediums can't dream when they channel. and he wholeheartedly believes in mia, which means that he now wholeheartedly believes in maya's innocence by EXTENSION.

and then farewell, my turnabout happens. and again, the minute he hears that maya's been kidnapped, his eyesight goes grayscale and starts fading like it doesn't do for any other character in the series:

Phoenix: (M-My sight... Everything's fading away... Maya... Maya... Maya's been kidnapped!)

and suddenly, phoenix is doing everything in his goddamn power to try to get her back. it's to the point that even the people of the gallery start turning against him when he attempts to pin the blame on adrian andrews to buy some time. it's even to the point where MIA, of all people, starts looking at him with seemingly genuine disapproval and not just her usual exasperation when he fucks up in court. and the only thought running through his head?

Phoenix: (This is to save Maya... This is to save Maya... Even if the whole world turns against me, this is one fight I can't give up on!)

Mia: ...

and then the case is over, and maya and phoenix have this exchange (as well as the happy little picture which always make me want to combust so i'm putting it in this post because look at them):

Phoenix: M-M-M... MAYA!

Pearl: Mystic Maya! Mystic Mayaaaaaaaa!

Maya: Oh, Nick! I knew you would come through! You got Engarde convicted, like I knew you would... And on top of that, you even rescued me!

Phoenix: Well, of course I did! You know I would never desert you!

and it's DIFFERENT when phoenix says it this time. when he told her he wouldn't abandon her all the way back in aa1 it was different. it was when she thought she'd been abandoned by everyone and phoenix compared it to his own past and made the decision to stay by her side through that trial partly because of that (and partly because of the fact that she was mia's sister). this time, when phoenix says he would never desert her, he EXCLAIMS it and states it like it's a simple fact of life. he would never desert her! that's all there is to it! and from then on things change. aa3 is known for its phoenix&maya moments for a reason: the banter is hilarious, the dynamics sublime, and if you didn't really see it before, you REALLY start to notice that you're getting hit with the wacky friendship/sibling-like shenanigans (maya whacking phoenix over the head with the shichishito is, of course, the first thing that comes to mind, but there's so so so many more moments) now. the conversation of "belief" between them starts in the stolen turnabout, where pearl starts crying and tells phoenix she'll never forgive him for taking ron delite's case. but when he asks maya about it?

Phoenix: And what about you...? Are you OK with me taking Mr. DeLite's case...?

Maya: Y-Yeah... I'm fine, Nick. I believe in you.

Phoenix: ... *sniffle* (I think I'm going to cry.)

she believes, wholeheartedly, in phoenix. and later, of course, bridge to the turnabout happens. you see how phoenix quite literally knocks larry (who he once said he'd always believe in) out of the way despite larry's very rational protests that the burning bridge was too dangerous to try and cross in his effort to reach maya on the OFF CHANCE that the murderer had fled to the other side. despite the fact that phoenix, just hours earlier, had been so terrified of the bridge that he needed literal time to recover after crossing it. and when dahlia-as-iris starts trying to pin the murder on maya....

Dahlia/Iris: I saw her commit the crime with my very own eyes... And then I cleaned up the area to try to protect her.

Phoenix: OBJECTION! Th-That's ridiculous! Maya could never do such a--

INSTANT dismissal. INSTANT refusal. it's not at all like his rationalizations (and his trust in mia over maya) in 2-2. he BELIEVES, wholeheartedly, in maya. in the fact that maya could never kill anyone. and the thing about it is that his belief in maya didn't come from some grand showcase of saving him like mia and edgeworth did—it was the product of years of friendship. throughout the entirety of the time that dahlia tries to pin the murder on maya, phoenix refuses to even CONSIDER the idea:

Phoenix: (I still can't believe it... The idea of Maya cornering someone at knifepoint! It's just silly!)

bridge to the turnabout even ENDS with maya saying that phoenix is one of the feys now. she calls herself his big sister TWICE and the only objection he has to it is that she was trying to claim that SHE was the older one and not the other way around. he (as shown by the end credits) literally ended up sitting under a freezing waterfall with her for the special course spirit training despite not being a medium at all. it's very clear by the end of the trilogy that phoenix and maya are absolutely irreplaceable in each other's lives, no questions asked.

so. overall. i think the moment that the dynamic between phoenix and maya shifted from "good friends" to "family" is actually different between the two of them. for maya, it was near the beginning of jfa, when she gave phoenix her magatama after he refused to let her admit she was guilty without a fight. for phoenix, it was near the end of jfa, when maya was kidnapped and he realized that he'd do anything to save her. and i think this shows throughout the entirety of trials & tribulations. i don't have a proper ending to to this or anything they're just my blorbos and i love them so much

[psychedelic-ink]

We Fall Like Snow ║ Part VIII

After the events that took place at the Cliff Beasts set, needless to say as his bodyguard (and friend) you became overprotective of Dieter. You have all your worries under control until you accidentally flip over a young fan by grabbing her wrist, causing the media to stir with speculations as to why. Luckily Dieter's family arrives in the nick of time, scooping you both from New York to their cozy cabin; however, winter wonderland can't last forever and you need to face the consequences of your actions sooner or later.

pairing: Dieter Bravo x bodyguard!ofc; Amina Addams, written in reader format

chapter summary: refusing to believe it's the end, you crash the premiere.

word count: 2.6k

chapter warnings: piv, bondage with christmas lights because why not, oral, fingering

a/n: this is very cliche but that's what the holidays are all about!

**dividers by the amazing @saradika

You stare blankly out the window. It has stopped snowing, but it still lies thick above the pavement. The sun is setting, and the colorful string of lights strewn about the city is becoming more vibrant. You shouldn’t be here. You should be with Dieter at the premiere. You’ve been trying to get in touch with Dieter, but he's been ignoring you—rightfully so if you might add.

You don’t enjoy feeling helpless. Everyone down below, walking through the snow and entering and exiting shops, looks so peaceful, unlike you, who has most likely ruined the best thing ever to happen to you. There’s still an hour until the premiere, an hour until it’s truly too late. You don’t know what to do. In the end, Dieter had been right. It wasn’t about careers or what the fans thought—you’re just afraid.

Letting out a breath, your eyes flutter closed. How things would be different if only you had confessed that to yourself the day before. Without even thinking, you start to trace letters over your cold skin. The faint touch of your own finger and his name makes you shudder.

Contemplating your next move, there's a sudden knock on the door, breaking the silence of the room. You're surprised; you weren't expecting anyone. You glance through the peephole and see the hotel mailman holding a beautifully wrapped box.

You open the door, and he smiles kindly, "Delivery for you, miss."

The box is exquisite, adorned with a rich burgundy ribbon. A small card is attached, and the handwriting on it is elegant, unmistakably Adaline's, the card is signed by both the Bravos. The anticipation builds as you carefully untie the ribbon and open the box.

Inside, nestled in tissue paper, is a breathtaking dark red dress. It has a sultry split on the side, a V-neck with thin arm straps. The fabric feels luxurious to the touch, and you can't help but run your fingers over it, admiring the craftsmanship. The card reads, "Go get him, honey— A & C."

Holding the card, you stare out the window once more. 

It's time to make a scene.  Just like Dieter would. 

Dieter feels incredibly guilty. 

Some part of him knows he did the right thing. At least. . . he hope he has. But still. . . he regrets firing you. The premiere is lifeless without you there. Plus he’s colder than usual thanks to whatever the fuck he was wearing right now—he can’t even describe it. It’s kind of like a mesh top but luckily no one can see his hard cold nipples from the sleek suit jacket he’s wearing. 

He sighs, everything about today sucks. 

Dieter moves mechanically along the red carpet, signing posters for eager fans and posing for selfies. The flash of cameras is blinding, but his smiles lack the usual warmth. He exchanges pleasantries with his co-stars. Emma seems to understand, at least he figures she does when she shoots him a small smile and a polite nod. 

Dieter, with a practiced smile, heads towards the reporters. The handsome man with sun-kissed skin raises his microphone, ready to ask about the movie.

"Dieter! Congratulations on the movie. Can you tell us about your experience working on it?"

"Thank you. It's been an incredible journey. The cast and crew—"

Just as Dieter is about to delve into the details, a sudden wave of screams pierces the air from a distance. Heads turn, including those of the reporters, as a ripple of curiosity sweeps through the crowd. 

Dieter's gaze shifts from the microphone-wielding reporter to the unfolding spectacle.

Internally, he’s cursing. If he ends up dead the day he fired Amina he’s definitely throwing hands to whatever god is up there. 

Dieter's eyes catch a sudden stir. Two bodyguards on the ground, they’re both groaning in pain— he assumes they are, at least. He can’t really see their faces from here. Confused, his gaze notices someone standing between the two bodyguards. He blinks, then blinks again. He’s not high, is he? He’s not sure. 

He’s not sure because there you are.

In a dark red dress, a stark contrast to the glitz around, you're running. It's like a sudden burst of color in the middle of a black-and-white movie. Dieter's jaw drops. More bodyguards join the pursuit, chasing after you as the crowd's attention shifts. But despite everything, all he can focus on is the slit in your dress and your thigh peaking through it with every move. His cock twitches underneath his very expensive pants.

The scene feels surreal. Your eyes are searching—searching for him, he hopes— and all cameras turn to you, the premiere. . . the actors promoting it. . .all of it forgotten. 

“Dieter!” 

He startles at the sound of his name, heart pounding in his throat. You swiftly sidestep, narrowly avoiding the grasp of a pursuing bodyguard reaching for your dress. The red fabric billows with your movement. Realizing you’re here, real, it feels like getting hit by a truck. Once more, he hears his name tumble from your lips.

And that’s his cue to start running. His exposed nipples be damned. 

“Amina!” 

Your eyes find his, and he can feel literal electricity shooting up his spine. As cameras flash, the world blurs around them. Feet pounding against the red carpet, they run towards each other.

Finally, your hands meet his, and for a moment, the world stops.

“You—You’re here?” Dieter stammers. “How on earth—You look amazing—” He has no idea what to address first, the fact that you’re here or your dress that has his cock hard as a rock? 

You cup his cheeks and he despises how cold your palms are. Dieter immediately takes your hands into his, kissing the curve of your palms, one by one. You pant heavily. You seem completely stunned. Out of place. 

“Tell me why you’re here.” He says, no he demands. You shake your head. 

“Had to see you,” you swallow. “I—I do care about you, Dieter. I want to give us a chance. I—You’re everything to me.” 

As Dieter takes in your words, he notices the bodyguards attempting to take you away. His eyes narrow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dieter's voice cuts through, his gaze piercing the bodyguards.

"Sir, it's for your safety. We need to—" one of them begins to explain, but Dieter cuts him off with a firm interruption. Your shoulders tense. 

"If any of you lay a finger on her, you're all out of a job. Clear?" 

"She’s not allowed on the carpet sir. She resisted two of our best. . ." 

"She’s with me. Back off."

The bodyguards exchange reluctant glances but slowly, they take a step back.

You respond with a chuckle, “There was no need for that.”

“Yes, there was,” he asserts, his gaze never leaving yours. 

With a gentle yet firm tug, he pulls you towards him, your bodies flush against each other. Dieter captures your lips in a soft, tender kiss. He’s delighted when you part your lips on instinct and he gently slips his tongue between them, tasting you for the first time in what feels like forever. 

He’s still holding your hands when you break away, he doesn’t want you to disappear. Not again. 

“I think we should stop making out on the red carpet,” you smile. 

Dieter’s heart seizes for a moment, his chest heaving as he just stares at you. He can’t fucking believe you’re here. He’d fuck you on the red carpet if he could. 

“You’re actually here,” he manages to say. 

“I am,” you take his hand and lead him down the carpet, ignoring all the flashing lights. “And I don’t plan on leaving your side ever again.” 

Everything had gone as smoothly as smooth could be. 

Shannon was furious, of course, but other than your interruption, the premiere had gone well. Everyone there seemed to enjoy the movie, sadly you couldn’t form an opinion thanks to Dieter’s fingers tracing your name over and over on your bare thigh. Towards the end he’d begun to drag his lips up and down your neck, making you a mess between your legs. 

Now, he finally has you all to his own, sprawled above his giant bed. 

“Aren’t you going to take my dress off first?” you ask. 

“No way,” he rasps. “I’d rather die. You look so hot.” 

“So. . . you forgive me?” 

You hate the quiver in your voice but you had to ask. You have to know for sure before moving on. His eyes soften. Two coffee-colored eyes flitting over your face. His lips press against yours as he murmurs, "Of course." 

His hand slides up your thigh, pulling your dress up as he goes, until it's bunched around your waist. His touch is electric and your body reacts instantly, tingling. He deepens the kiss, his tongue exploring your mouth as his other hand trails up your back, pulling you closer. 

Dieter's hands roam over your body, his touch igniting sparks. He breaks the kiss to trail his lips down your neck, nipping and sucking at your sensitive skin. His touch sends shivers down your spine and you can feel the arousal building between your legs. 

He hovers over you, his eyes flashing with something possessive. Your heart skips a beat. He had protected you during the premiere and before that as well, he’s always been in your corner. Always. 

He starts kissing down your neck, his lips trailing down your chest and stopping at the top of your dress. He looks up at you, his eyes asking for permission. You nod eagerly and he tugs the fabric down from the cleavage, revealing your lacy bra. 

He takes a moment to admire you before leaning down to kiss you again, his hands roaming over your exposed skin. You can feel the heat between your legs growing and you can't wait for him to touch you there. 

Dieter doesn't disappoint as he slides a hand between your legs, his fingers finding their way to your core. He starts to rub small circles, causing you to arch your back and moan. Leaning over, he sucks a pebbled nipple into his mouth, tongue circling the tightened flesh. Your breath hitches, the air caught within your throat. 

Moving down your body, his mouth reaches your panties, and he pulls them off with his teeth, making you gasp in surprise. He smirks up at you before slowly sliding a finger inside you, making you moan loudly. 

He adds another finger and starts to move them in and out of you, his pace increasing and his fingers hitting all the right spots. He sucks on your clit, the pleasure sending shockwaves through your body. He can tell you're getting close, so he moves his mouth to your thighs, gently biting and sucking as his fingers continue their work. 

"Dieter. . ." you moan, your body writhing beneath his touch. 

He looks up at you with lust-filled eyes and says, "Come all over my mouth, beautiful." 

His words send you over the edge. You can feel the wave of pleasure building inside you. You grip onto the sheets as you come undone, your body quivering. He slurps and swallows while your cunt continues to throb and gush. Your fingers tangle into his hair, pulling him closer. 

After a few moments of catching your breath, Dieter crawls back up to your level, a satisfied smirk on his face. He kisses you deeply, the taste of you on his lips. 

"Wait a moment," he says, pulling away from the kiss and getting up from the bed. 

You watch with curiosity as he disappears into the closet. After a few minutes, he comes back holding a string of Christmas lights. 

"What are you up to, Dieter?" 

He comes towards you, tying the lights around your wrists and securing them above your head to the bed frame. He then plugs in the lights, illuminating the room with a soft glow. Your skin grows warm. 

"Merry Christmas," he teases, however, his face drops momentarily, worry crossing his features. “This is okay, right?” 

"More than okay.” And with that he leans over you, slanting your lips together as he grinds down. 

As his lips move down your neck and towards your breasts, he takes a moment to appreciate the colorful lights. You're completely lost, the sensation of his lips and hands all over your body driving you wild. But then you remember the strappy dress that's still on your body and the thought of removing it suddenly seems like such a hassle. 

But Dieter has other ideas. He reaches down and expertly unzips the dress, slowly sliding it off your body and tossing it to the side. You're now completely exposed to him, your tied up wrists adding an extra level of anticipation. 

“I thought it was going to stay on?” you breathe, chest heaving. 

“Don’t want anything between us.” 

Dieter means it and your body thrums as he strips, throwing his clothes to the floor near your dress. He takes his time, admiring every inch of your naked body before moving down to your core. 

"You're so wet for me," he murmurs, running his cock back and forth between your folds. 

You moan in response, feeling the wetness between your legs increase at his touch. He continues to tease you, lightly rubbing his tip against your entrance and slowly dipping it in every now and then. 

"Please, Dieter," you beg, desperate for more. 

He chuckles and finally slides his entire length inside you, causing you to gasp and arch your back. He begins to thrust in a slow but steady rhythm, each stroke hitting all the right spots inside you. 

You can feel his hot breath on your skin as he leans in closer, his hands grip your hips tightly as he continues to thrust deeper and deeper. Every inch of his cock inside you bringing intense waves of pleasure coursing through your body. 

His forehead drops on top of yours, his breath fanning your skin, “I love you, Amina.” 

“I love you too,” you say without a thought. It’s the truth. You do. 

His lips find yours in a passionate kiss, his tongue exploring your mouth as his hips move in perfect sync with yours. The tension builds inside you, the need for release becoming almost unbearable.

"Fuck," he groans, feeling you clench and tighten around him. "You feel so fucking good, baby."

A whimper rips from your throat, unable to form any coherent words as he picks up the pace. Your body is on fire, your senses overwhelmed by the pleasure radiating from every part of you.

Dieter's thrusts become more erratic, his grip on your hips tightening as he pounds into you with a fierce intensity. Another orgasm builds rapidly inside you, the pleasure coiling tightly in your core.

"Come for me, baby," he whispers against your skin, sending shivers down your spine. "I want to feel you come on my cock."

With one final thrust, he hits that perfect spot inside you and you explode, your body convulsing and shuddering as waves of pleasure crash over you. Dieter follows soon after, his own release washing over him as he continues to thrust through your orgasm. You feel him dripping out with every slam of his hips, the sensation of it making you tighten around him. He kisses you again, over and over, until your lungs burn. 

“Fuck,” he groans, pulling out. Leaning down, he grabs his jacket and cleans you up. “I guess I won’t be returning this.”

“Shanon will be thrilled.” 

“Honesty I couldn’t give less of a shit.” 

He pulls you snugly against his chest, both of you having perfect view of the city illuminated by colorful lights. You bring his hand up to your lips and kiss his knuckles. 

“Sorry about hurting you,” you whisper. “I won’t ever do it again. I’ve always cared about you, Dieter. I was scared.” 

“It’s okay. As long as you make your way back to me I don’t care.” 

He should, but you figure that’s an argument for another time. Your gaze lingers on the outside. 

Snow starts to fall. 

whew a year later we're finally at the end! I hope you enjoyed their journey as much as I did!

A special thanks to,

@nicolethered who has been cheering for this story since the very beginning. Thank you so much love! You have no idea how much I appreciated the edits and the lovely comments 💖

@radiowallet who has read the previous chapter before and still read them when I reposted and been always so supportive of dieter and amina's journey together 💜

and lastly @agentjackdaniels who's comments made me smile so big and wide. Thank you so much to you all, honestly this fic wouldn't be what it is without your support 💞💞💞💞

happy holidays and a merry slutty christmas from Dieter and Amina! 🎄🎄🎄🎄

[dontcallmethuperboy]

CR’s Raven Queen & the old god of death: A History & Theories Part 2

“So what does all this mean for CR Downfall” you ask.

Well it tells us a lot about the gods, and in particular the Raven Queen. Here are the theories:

Theory 1: RQ was the “paper doll” being fought over in the initial schism

This theory only works if the Raven Queen was actually either an elf or a human whose lifespan was somehow extended so she could have been present during the Schism (which isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a wizard, specifically from Avalir which we know already was funneling magic to the top brass for prolonged lifespans) AND was insignificant enough during the Schism that the Betrayers didn’t take note of her name (hence Asmodeus not knowing it).

If we run with this theory, then maybe the Betrayers and the Empyrean took umbrage with the old god of death purely for defending mortals against his siblings. 

Now the question here is did the Betrayers know the old god of death was defending mortaldom as a Prime Deity because of his new mortal side piece whose name they didn’t care to learn (because c’mon man, who cares about her when there are other siblings gods to love on and if we scrap the whole project and you’ll have your pick of the litter of this next batch of mortals) OR was the old god of death keeping her secret. Did they just believe that the old god of death was too wrapped up in the consequences of losing his domain, cause like who needs death if there aren’t mortals to die amirite?

This theory still ends with too many questions: why did RQ ascend if the god of death went so hard for her and her kind? Maybe the relationship changed-after all we know the old god of death didn’t share everything with her. Would she have known about the Empyrean, would she even know that she caused the schism? And still why hasn’t any other god picked up the poor Empyrean from detention post EXU Calamity??? Which leads to theory 2

Theory 2: The old god of death just was too curious/too depressed to carry on and RQ was the only one they trusted to pull the trigger, but the old god still didn’t have the will to tell her everything before biting the bullet.

This theory works even if the old god of death and RQ weren’t romantic partners. We do not know if “partners" in the Critical Role Universe means romantic OR business. Unlike Melora and Erathis in the source books, RQ and the old god of death’s relationship has never been outright romantically defined. 

I REALLY like Nick Marini/the Dawnfather’s theory that the old god of death truly did in fact wish to die or experience death, and chose RQ as his conduit. Maybe he’d already given up based on  family, his previous devastating relationship (death or break up related), the Calamity, and left only with a child who rebels against him. In this one the old god of death is just a depressed tyrant  dad who finally gives up and hands the reins over to his best business partner. Plus death is such a crazy domain, why fret over giving it to the betrayer gods (who’d use it potentially to punish mortaldom) or the prime deities (who might exercise loopholes for their followers). Who better to take the place than a mortal who understands its purpose as a true neutral across both sides of the Schism? Even if RQ didn’t get the full portfolio, she’d at least have control over the one that matters. And why tell your siblings the plan if you knew they might scheme against you, or worse, talk you out of it? No, better to trust your loyalist follower and have her deal with the fallout (no need to tell her about Tengar, she’ll figure it out when she ascends).

This theory still leaves the question: why not tell RQ about the Empyrean? Was the god of death worried about his son challenging her post ascension? Some one pick up this boy from daycare!!! Which leads us to theory 3.

Theory 3: Oh no the god of death had a mid-life crisis!

This theory basically posits that after a break-up/death of this last partner during or before the Calamity (hence the Empyrean’s existence), the old god of death spiraled without his god-partner and got his freak on with RQ. RQ shows up as like a weird step aunt who’s A LOT younger than your recently remarried uncle and half the family (the Prime Deities) is like “well it is really weird that your new wife is young but she’s not all bad so we’re not gonna take it out on her for being young. Still this is just…not healthy.”

RQ then ascends either via theory #2 (divorced dad energy only goes so far, and mortal side piece is sympathetic/already used to the weird look s the rest of the family gives her), or as part of her grand plan to attain godhood OR, if she and the old god of death broke up on bad terms, the most insane version of keying someone's car I’ve ever seen

Then when the other Betrayers come out of their hole they’re basically like “yikes what an age divide! She must have been a golddigger (but for godhood) that’s creepy as hell and also she sucks cause she is nothing like og aunt!”

This one actually kind checks out and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d crack open a white claw with a grin if it was confirmed in Downfall Parts 2&3.

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 26

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 2207

Warnings: Talk of death

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Also sorry for the delay in posting this (again). I'm trying to unpack and it's going slowly, and I've been exhausted between that and work. I use my downtime to sleep or read (for the record, I now understand why everyone loves ACOTAR).

Chapter Songs: Right Now For Her

****

Hangman

Sophie stayed next to Hangman's side like velcro, only breaking it when she discovered Ghost played guitar. Then, her attention focused solely on the female aviator. Hangman watched the two of them with an entertained smile, but the thought of his impending conversation with Matt never strayed far from his mind. He had barely been able to look at his brother throughout dinner, and when they all migrated to the living room, Matt's inevitable request to talk about 'some family stuff' arose. Not wanting to cause a scene, Hangman reluctantly agreed to it.

The two brothers casually strode outside to avoid being overheard by the women. For a moment, neither spoke. Hangman didn't know what to say. After all, the last time he'd seen Matt had been before he headed to the Naval Academy when his brother snuck him into the house while their dad was away so Jake could collect his belongings. Hangman studied Matt, noticing the fine lines gracing his face, the tiredness in his green eyes, and the sag in his once confident shoulders. Although still handsome, the recent events had evidently taken a toll on him. However, what Hangman noticed the most was the gentleness in his features. He'd only glimpsed those twice in his life: the night their mom died and the day he collected his stuff from the house. It seemed odd to see it now in a situation that was anything but relaxed.

"Were you going to tell me you were here?" Matt finally queried, searching for an answer in his brother's eyes that matched his own.

Hangman leaned back against the porch railing. "I don't know..."

"Wh-what do you mean you don't know? You either were or you weren't!"

"I mean it. I wasn't sure whether I was going to tell you or not. I came here for Ghost, not to solve my family issues, and I knew that if I told you I was here, you'd want to talk about things, and there are some-" Hangman sighed and met his brother's gaze- "there are some things I don't want to talk about. Dad, Nick, I want nothing to do with them. You're the only one that ever tried to reach out to me after what happened to Mom, but them? They made my life a living hell, even after I was gone."

Matt cocked his head, genuine surprise on his face. "What do you mean?"

"After Ghost and Ghoul's accident, Nick texted me. He said: I heard you killed your girlfriend's best friend. Looks like you're adding to your body count."

Horror fell onto Matt's face. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh, he didn't stop there. He proceeded to ask me if I was going to kill Ghost and Coyote next since I apparently cause deaths of those closest to me."

"You don't- Mom's death wasn't your fault, no matter what Dad or Nick say or believe."

"I know that, but you hear something enough, it starts getting to you."

Matt nodded, bracing himself on the porch railing. "It's not right what they did to you, and I'm sorry they've made you believe such bullshit. I'm sorry for any part I played in it, too. I wasn't the greatest big brother when you lived at home, and that's putting it mildly."

Hangman shrugged. "You tried to be there for me when it mattered most: the night Mom died."

"I should've been there for you more than that."

"Why weren't you?"

Matt hesitated, searching for the right words. "Dad wasn't always the easiest to get along with, and you and I both know he and Nick always got along better than the rest of us did with him. Back then, I thought if I followed his lead and bullied you the same way he and Nick did, they'd bring me into their inner circle, and they did to a point, but I always felt like the third wheel. You always had mom, and she loved me, don't get me wrong, but you were her favorite, and not going to lie, I was jealous of that, so I took it out on you, and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for it all, and I realize it's late, but you're the only family I truly have left. Nick has estranged himself from me, Dad's knocking on death's door, and I want Sophie to have family in her life. I won't let Nick near her, and Dad was great with her when he had the ability, but now..."

Guilt rose in Hangman's chest. He'd always been so wrapped up in his bitterness over his dad's treatment toward him that he never stopped to think why his brother might be acting the same outside of simply being an asshole, and the more Hangman thought back to his interactions with Matt, the more he realized that his oldest brother never initiated any of the fights. Not really. He usually only joined in once their dad or Nick started it.

"I'm sorry you felt like that," Hangman said, unable to come up with anything better. He meant it, but it still sounded hollow to him.

Matt shrugged. "I never gave you reason to believe I was any better than those two."

Hangman turned around and braced himself on the railing, mimicking his brother's pose. "I'll look into the events at Disney, see when they have good things going on so you, Sophie, and Melissa can come visit."

"Seriously?" Matt replied, looking at his brother in shock.

"Yeah. I mean, you're right. We're the only family we have left now and-"

"I'm not the only family you have left. You're the only family I have left."

"What do you mean?"

"Ghost, Jackie, Charlie- and Nathan when he was alive- they took you in as one of their own and have treated you more like a son than Dad ever did. They may not be your blood, but they are your family, even after all this time, even after what happened between you and Ghost. Speaking of which-" Matt stared pointedly at Hangman- "when are you two going to get together? Seriously, I've watched you silently pine after her since you two met. How long do I and the rest of the world have to endure it?"

Hangman chuckled humorlessly. "The rest of your life. It's not like we stopped talking because of a stupid fight. I killed her best friend." 

"Jake, if she hated you as much as you think she does, you wouldn't be here with her right now. She wouldn't have allowed it."

Hangman swallowed down the hope rising in his chest. He couldn't let himself believe Ghost didn't still hate him, no matter how they were acting toward each other now, because if she didn't, he risked doing something stupid, like admitting his feelings for her. "We're trying to make amends to our friendship for the sake of our other friend, who we're both close to. We don't want to cause her distress by always being at odds, especially while she's pregnant. It's fine, though. I'd rather have Ghost in my life as a friend than not at all."

Matt clapped his brother on the back affectionately. "I won't push. Think we should head back in?"

"Yeah. Don't want them thinking one of us is committing fratricide." Hangman wanted to add that Nick might be capable of it, but Matt had once been close to the middle brother, and Jake recognized that the betrayal hit hard for his oldest sibling. He followed Matt inside, where they found Jackie and Charlie cleaning up the kitchen while Ghost taught Sophie how to play a kid-sized guitar.

"What are we learning?" Hangman inquired, kneeling between the two girls. 

Sophie piped up, "I'm learning chords!"

"An absolutely essential lesson," he confirmed. Hangman nodded at Ghost and added, "You have the best teacher."

"You taught Uncle Jake?" Sophie asked, her green eyes flitting between the two aviators.

"I did. After I almost hit him in the head with my guitar. Accidentally, of course," Ghost said, bumping her shoulder playfully into his.

"That's what I get for scaring you," Jake remarked, nudging her.

"Hey, Soph-" Matt interrupted gently- "ten more minutes, and then we have to go check on Mom, okay?"

"But I want to spend more time with Uncle Jake and Annalise!" Sophie protested, sticking out her bottom lip in protest.

Matt shook his head. "I know, but they got in this afternoon after a long day of travel, and they have some family matters to handle. Maybe we can see Jake again while he's here if his schedule allows."

"You're all welcome to come to dinner tomorrow if you're not busy," Charlie said, entering the living room. "Family is always welcome."

"Only if we can bring a dessert," Matt countered.

"I certainly won't say no to that. How does five-thirty sound?"

Matt agreed, and Hangman scooped his niece into his arms and carried her to the car. She clung tightly to him, still pouting that she had to leave. After hugging Sophie and his brother, Hangman watched them pull out of the driveway and down the street. While Jackie and Charlie reentered the house, Ghost remained at Hangman's side and asked, "How'd it go?"

"I think that's the longest I've ever talked to my brother without fighting," Jake mused, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It was good, though. We worked some things out, and we still have a ways to go, but I think we'll get there."

"Good, good. Then is it safe to say I didn't misread the signal to invite them in for dinner earlier?"

"You read it right. I didn't want to invite them in as your guest."

"You're not a guest. You're family. Mom wouldn't have said what she did earlier if she hadn't meant it."

I'm family to her but not to you. Jake refrained from speaking his thoughts and chose only to nod. "I know, but it's not my home, no matter how much I lived in it with y'all."

Out of his peripheral, he noticed her look up at him. "Where is home for you?"

Wherever you are. The words nearly rolled off Hangman's tongue, but he caught himself in the nick of time, choosing to give a partial truth instead. "In my jet cruising above the earth."

"You feel free up there," Ghost said, sounding like she spoke from experience. 

"Yeah..." Hangman rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he had the guts to ask the question that had been on his mind since his talk with Matt: did she still hate him? "Well, I guess we should head in. I should let you get some sleep. You have a busy next few days."

Ghost nodded subtly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "I guess so..."

"That didn't sound convincing."

"I don't like being alone in the house without Dad. It... it feels weird." Her voice hitched at the end, and Hangman realized how close Ghost teetered on the edge of breaking down.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"What?" Ghost replied, her teary gaze meeting his. 

"I mean, I could crash on the floor or something, but then you wouldn't have to be alone."

"I don't care if we share the same bed. It's not like we haven't done it before, but are you sure? I don't-" Ghost hesitated, tripping up on her words as she searched for the right ones- "We're just now getting back into our old rhythm. I don't want to-"

"We can go as slow or as fast as you want with this. I messed us up, Annalise, not you. I'm going to play this by your rules, so if you're comfortable with me in bed, that's fine. If you're not, that's okay too. This is all up to you," Hangman said softly, aching to reach out and brush the stray tear rolling down her cheek but refrained, not wanting to push her too far. The fact she'd lowered her guard and walls down this much for him remained a mystery, albeit a welcome one. Still, he would risk nothing when it came to their fragile friendship. He swore it could break again at any moment, and he prayed he wouldn't be the cause of it if it did.

Ghost's eyes softened, and her lips tugged upward into a playful smile. "Make sure you shower first. I have a-"

"-weird thing about getting your bed dirty with germs?" Hangman finished knowingly. "I remember."

I remember everything. He wanted to say.

Ghost blushed as Hangman threw his arm around her shoulders and directed them inside, pushing down the fluttering of his heart and the wall he'd broken past with Ghost. Never in a million years did he think she'd allow him to share a room with her again, let alone a bed. The gesture gave him the slightest hope that their relationship had truly turned a corner and that the past would stay just that- the past.

If only Hangman could've seen what the future held.

How wrong he'd be.

How the fragile relationship he'd so carefully repaired with Ghost would shatter at his feet.

****

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @bradshawsandbridgetons @catsandgeekyandnerd @peachiicherries @multifandomcnova @fandomsstolemylife00 @bookloverhorses @mak-32 @midnightmagpiemama @luckyladycreator2 @ellamae021 @kmc1989

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[headstrongblake]

was any of it true? / kass & nick / @thewholecrew

 every second nick's been locked away from kassy is painful, but nothing compared to the stabbing sensation that works its way through his body at the sight of her when she does come see him. of what he’s done to her. now, staring back at the agony he’s caused her, he’d do anything to take it back. but he can't. this was the only option. now, all he has left is his effort to convince her that he hasn't been lying. they are his people. his chosen family. people he'd do anything to protect, especially from his father. ever since she's entered his cell, she's kept a distance, but as she crosses to him, hissing to know if anything he's said or done this past months has been true, he feels a tiny trickle of relief. she may look at him with hate right now. but love and hate were such a thin line, this he could work with.

"every moment," nick confessed. "every second i've been near you, all of it is true, kassy, you've gotta believe me." he deserves the cruel scoff, and her disbelieving gaze. but he continues, unwavering from his position, "you don't understand my da...he's a bloody brilliant hunter, he would've made sure. he..." nick strained against his metal shackles, wishing he could be closer to her as his voice filled with painful emotion, "you would've stayed dead, and he woulda kept octavia like some kind of animal, caged. torturing her until he knew exactly how to kill her. the only one who might've gotten away unscathed is grant and only, only because he fades away like ash," his voice broke, unable to continue his rambles as a defeated sigh left his body, leaning against the dungeon wall. anguish filled his eyes as he looked at kassy, watching how despairingly his choice weighed on her. if he could have foreseen any other option that never would have left kassy heartbroken, he would've done it. but this...there was no other choice. it's the only way he could ensure their safety and he had to. he had to protect them.

"are they..." nick's eyes lowered for the first time, unwilling to hold her furious gaze as his guilt festered, swamping him with grief as his jaw clenched tightly. he'll never be able to erase the image of grant's disintegrating body. the sound of octavia's horrific screams as he fell to the ground. how betrayed she looked as she slowly died at his feet. god, he hated how cruel he had to appear before his father. how much he had to hide his heart behind steel to not break as kassy and the others died by his very hand. thank god for nate. it was hard enough to end octavia, even temporarily. he knew he didn't have it in him should he hold kassy's fate in his hands. at the thought of nate, instant panic surged through him, head snapping up as his eyes looked past kassy to the darkness. was nate alive? surely he had to be. if he was, that had to mean nate was too. just locked up like he would remain. that calmed the race in his heart a touch until his regretful yes met kassy. "are they awake...?" he asked, refraining from asking if grant or octavia were okay.

[thequeenopower]

Unplanned ; Sapnap

I don't even remember the night, never mind where I met him. But he was cute, kind of awkward, but cute. He was forward even though he seemed shy around girls. So I went home with him, it didn't seem like he knew what he was doing, but once he figured it out he was great at it. But then it ended and I snuck out before the birds began to sing.

And two months later came two lines.

I didn't expect it, I was half expecting some sort of STD but definitely not a baby. And the worst part was, I didn't have any way to contact him. I gave him a fake number and the goddamn state of Florida is so huge that I have a better chance of finding him in outer space.

I tried planning an abortion appointment but since I've never done it before, I was too far along to get the thing out so know I had two other options;

Keep it and live with it, or, give it up.

Now I was planning on giving it up, I was never fit to be a mother. I was still in college with a shitty job. I couldn't support myself, never mind a child. But there's something people never talk about when going through with giving a child up, its the connection you make with the baby growing inside you. Now I never believed I'd make a connection with it, but the second I saw his face on the ultrasound, I fell in love.

I became a better person for him, and because of him. I quit my job and worked my ass off to try to graduate sooner, which didn't quite work out. But, I was able to get a good job at a high up corporation doing their finances while continuing school part time. I was also able to get an apartment and split rent with a friend.

Then when 34 weeks came along, so did the baby.

What had happened was I was on a flight from Florida to California for a family vacation and then went into labor on the plane. They landed somewhere in Texas where I soon had my baby, Benjamin Michael l/n.

That was nine months ago, and two months ago I re-discovered his father.

~~ two months prior

"Hey, y/n! Whatcha doin'?" Ashley announces her presence which scares Benji.

"Not much. Just changing baby butts," I shake a diaper on Benji's face, it itches his nose a little which makes him giggle.

"Could I use your TV in here to watch a streamer?" I nod, knowing she only wants to use this TV so she could spend time with Benji before her trip.

The three of us got comfy on my bed as she started up the stream called, "FORTNITE TOURNY WITH PUNZ AND KARL". By someone named Sapnap. It's an odd name for a stream but maybe it was normal. I never normally had time to watch stuff anymore, if I did it was either TV shows, movies, or Markiplier, cause who wouldn't want to watch Markiplier.

The stream turns on and it's immediately on the lobby menu of Fortnite, a man in the top left corner goes on for some time talking about god knows what. For some odd reason, the stream stayed on for about 2 hours. Though I wasn't paying attention as I was doing my own thing, like school work and checking up on Benji and Ashley. It wasn't until I was done with my work that I finally laid on the bed and paid attention to the TV. The man on the screen looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. It wasn't till I heard him speak that I realized who it was.

"Nick?" Ashley looked at me confused before her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open.

"No way. It can't be." I nodded as I was entranced by the man laughing and playing with a ball on the screen.

"You have to contact him and tell him! His name on Insta-"

"No, I couldn't do that to him. It's best if we just leave it at this. It'd ruin him and his career." My eyes were teary as I had finally come to terms with Benji not growing up with a father.

~~ present day <3

You had taken a trip to TwitchCon with Ashley's little sister Jenny. Ashley couldn't make it since she had an art contest at her school to be in. Though she wanted to still be able to give art to her favorite creators so she paid for Jenny and me to go. It was very hard to handle two other people but at least Jenny was 14 and was able to take care of herself when I wasn't able to.

Jenny was going to be wearing costumes for the days we were there for and the first day she was dressing up as someone called 'Dream'. So I decided she couldn't have all the fun and dressed up as a Minecraft creeper, which was three sizes too small, and Benji dressed as a Minecraft panda. It was a regular panda suit but I put a Minecraft panda head as the hood and made it so it could stay on his head.

We walked around outside for a bit before the building opened. We took some photos of people who asked, Benji getting complimented every two seconds. He would just smile and kick his feet since I was baby wearing him. Then it was time for us to go in and we got straight into line for someone, I never checked the name. It was about an hour-long wait, but it wasn't bad as Benji was mostly quiet. He did get fidgety at times which is when I would take him out and let him stand or be held by Jenny.

Finally we made it to the front of the line and Jenny was getting excited.

"He's one of Ashley and mine's favorite streamers. You have the stuff to show him right?" I nod and turn my back a little so she can take out the items from my bag.

"Hello," The man greets as Jenny excitedly walks toward him.

She gives him the pictures which he accepts and thanks. I then take a picture of the two of them. He goes wide eyed as he looks at me, as if he knew me.

"Hey, uh, cute baby." He replies. He seems unsure of what to say and kind of awkwardly stands there.

A couple seconds passed as I thanked him for the compliment. We're then told we have to move along which lets us go into the next line.

As we stand in line I try to remember who the man was. The person floats in my mind a little, it's fuzzy and only there for a few seconds at a time, like clips of a movie.

"Hey, what was that guys name that we just met?"

"His name is Sapnap."

~~

I couldn't get him out of my head for the rest of the day. It was like he was stuck there and I had no intention of getting him out. He knew, he had to of. If he didn't, then why did he stand there like a fish out of water when he saw me. I knew he didn't know Benji, but he most certainly knew me.

Jenny and I sat in our chairs at the panel, the creators sitting above us all waiting to be asked questions. Jenny asked me to go up and ask a question for her and to ask them if they had seen a certain art by her which she had accidentally posted on my account.

"Hello, I'm y/n, this is Benji," I wave his hand for him which got people to aw.

"My friend has a couple of questions, if you don't mind me asking two." They sat in silence waiting for me to ask. Sapnap whispered to a boy beside him which made the boys eyes go wide and look at me bewildered.

"So one, what's your favorite Minecraft animal slash mob?" They all answered with their respective answers, Sapnap's animal being a panda.

"And second, my friend wants you guys to check out a piece of art she created but accidentally posted on my account. Is it alright if I tell you the user so you could check it out?" The blonde one all the way to the right nodded and took out his phone.

I told him my account and he replied back with his reaction to it which got some others to ask to be shown it. As I sat down, the man's phone was being passed down the line of people. It stopped at Sapnap as he took out his phone to most likely copy the user to also like the photo.

The panel continued on for another couple hours until it finally finished. Jenny begged me to stay a little longer and go outside to meet some people we couldn't before.

I waited off to the side as she took photos and just played with Benji outside of his carrier. It wasn't long until we were interrupted by someone tapping my shoulder.

"Hey, y/n, right?" I turn towards the voice and see Nick. I nod and he smiles leaning against the wall with me.

"So we finally meet again, at last." I chuckle and see Benji looking at Nick with his big green eyes.

"How old is your son?" He looks puzzled, like he knows something but just wants the last piece to be sure.

"He's going to be nine months soon." He looks at me. Does he know? Surely not.

"Is he- is he mine?" His voice is low, like a scared kid.

I nod, not really knowing what to say. A tense air blankets us and there's nothing else said between us. It took minutes, a couple of photos that he took with fans, before he finally asked a question.

"Could I hold him?" I stare at him blankly, not knowing what exactly to do. Finally, I slowly started to move Benji towards him. He holds him under his armpits, far away from him like the second they'd touch they'd explode. I push them together which gets Benji to laugh and clutch onto Nick.

Nick smiles, realizing that this is probably the best feeling in the world. He fell in love that day, not with the woman standing next to him, but his son that was in his hands. From that day onward, he vowed to take care of them both. He put their needs before his and eventually stopped streaming for some time to fix the relationship between the three of them. After a while, he got back into streaming and showed off his newly wedded wife, who was pregnant once more, and his son, whom he explained he loved more than anything in this world, and outer space.

ill be honest, the time line is a little messed up but fuck me it was hard to find things that sewed everything together perfectly. please just go with it, im tired lol.

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Annnnnd I’m back….

So, the scene in Beth’s kitchen where she says “What did I do now?” and the discussion ends up with Rio stating “he’s in our way”… super curious to hear what you you read between those lines. Cause the exchange feels loaded even tho it’s brief.

Please come back any time! ❤️❤️❤️

It is so heartbreakingly funny that all these two people needed from each other was some sort of confirmation of the other’s feelings. Like, that is ALL they needed.

Rio tried every single shady approach he could possibly think of to woo her. Set her up as his fall guy, kidnap her and try to force her to commit murder, threaten to kill her, make her watch while he killed someone, take all her stuff and money, threaten to turn her in to the cops for a murder he committed, make fun of her dead bedroom and rub up against her ass, invite her to dinner with his family and bring her to orgasm for dessert, then tell her she looks pretty in her dress the following day, kidnap her sister and make her cry… Like, this man tried every trick in the book and somehow she still wasn’t choosing him. Imagine! He pouted over her SO much that whole season!

Until he gave it one last shot and changed his approach. Instead of playing tug of war with her, he let her win. He brought back her stuff and her campaign money, told her he believed in her, made adorable banter with her, took a t-shirt with her face on it because he thought it looked cute. If we remember all their interactions prior to that – he was extremely guarded, wouldn’t even glance at her cleavage, resigned himself that she isn’t going to choose him. Probably told himself he didn’t care. Until Nick really started goading him about it. Rubbing in Rio’s face that he took Beth from him. And in true male fashion, Rio suddenly became capable of emotional intelligence when presented with a male rival.

The way that man GIGGLED when he realized Beth was screwing Nick over. All his angst and pouting and frustration with how Beth was slipping further and further away was suddenly gone and his world was full of possibilities again. She gave him the smallest sign, and he was at her door, knocking respectfully, sitting at her counter with his soft smile and sparkling eyes, telling her he’s choosing her. He needed SO little from her to dive in head-first again. Just a sign that she wasn’t Nick’s and BOOM, there’s Rio basically proposing to her.

All that is to say, I don’t think there’s much between those lines in that conversation in her kitchen. It’s one of their most straightforward interactions. Rio’s being fully and completely honest with her. “He’s in our way.” I’m choosing you. Above family. Above my pride. Above my anger and above our history. Because of our history. I’m choosing you. So if you need something, darlin’, all you gotta do is ask.

And that was all Beth needed. Just a sign that she isn’t “just work,” and BOOM, there’s Beth trusting in him implicitly. Despite the fact that he never showed up to meet with the Secret Service. Despite the fact that Mick came to shoot her and she believed Mick worked for Rio. She believed in him fully. Took off her mask for him. Stopped lying to herself for him.

How f&$@ing romantic is that???? I still can’t get over how insane this couple is. And how hypnotic their standoff is. Until it isn’t a standoff anymore and they decide to be terrible people together. A love story for the ages.

[lovebillyhargrove]

Wake me up when July is around

Chapter 7

Chapter 8/?

Billy knows he's not the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to family matters. However, he's also aware that people have it worse, so he's not complaining.

Especially, when once in a million of years the sun shines down on him,

and when it does, Billy truly appreciates it. Turns out, having Susan's relatives living in a nearby town can be a blessing

Cause guess what

Neil and Susan are going to visit Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dean this weekend, with Max and

Drum roll

They are not taking Billy on this little family trip because Neil doesn't want to undergo the shame of his "imbecile of a son" interacting with his wife's respectable relatives again. Seriously, does dad really think he's punishing Billy like that, does he believe it is going to make him feel bad?

Cause Billy would take such punishment any day. Gladly.

He can't believe his luck. He is willing to behave in a more imbecilic way in the future if it gets him free passes out of family situations like that.

Max is upset, heheehe, of course she is, she'd rather stay here and hang out with her friends from that stupid AV club. On Thursday evening Billy overhears her asking Susan, voice full of bitter spite

"Why do I have to come? Why isn't Billy coming?"

What now? He wants to strangle her. If Neil and Susan change their minds and decide to drag Billy along, he'll definitely commit a crime, he can't be held responsible for his actions. Just shut up, Max, it's not your fucking business why he's not coming.

"It was dad's decision."

Max snaps

"His dad's, he's not my dad! Don't say it like he's our dad!"

Susan tells her to be quiet and "we talked about it, honey."

Susan is deranged if she still believes Max is willingly going to call Neil "dad".

Billy can't help but smile gleefully at his stepsister and give her a little wave when he sees her stomping to her room.

Max flips him off and slams the door.

Wait, it's getting better. Neil, Susan and the little rat are leaving on Friday evening and coming back late on Sunday. Dear parents and beloved sister are gonna be away for two whole fucking days. Uncle Dean wants to show them the farm which is, apparently, huge, and they are also gonna visit Susan's 100-year-old nana or something.

Billy's so happy, he's afraid of jinxing his luck. It happens so seldom, when he gets the house all to himself. When just the two of them - his dad and he - lived in pre-Mayfield era, Billy got plenty of time alone at home, and he couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand the emptiness, the silence. He used to go to Nick or his other buddies, stay out late on the beach or the streets. He never invited any of his friends over because Neil never welcomed it.

When the Mayfield ladies moved in, instead of feeling better cause he was never alone at home anymore, Billy hated the intruders with all the hatred his teenage heart could summon.

So hell to the fucking yes, he's getting a breath of freedom this weekend. Billy does have work on Saturday and Sunday, but he can do whatever the fuck he wants to on Friday and Saturday evenings.

After he says "Have a great trip!" and closes the door at 5 pm on Friday

He takes the weights out to the living room, turns on the tv, and the music, opens the windows - it's going to be chilly but he wants to smoke inside, and cracks a can of beer open after a hard-working day at school.

Heaven.

The entire weekend is fucking his.

He's home absolutely alone.

He spends the whole Friday evening like that, working out, watching car programs on tv, making something quick to eat, smoking, drinking beer when he feels like it. At some point he takes out a porn video tape hidden in his suitcase that's in his closet, puts it in the VCR in the living room and ends up jerking off to porn multiple times till his balls run dry, right on the family couch.

He then rolls a joint and smokes it sitting in his car blasting the speakers at midnight.

When Billy goes to bed at around 1.30 am, his head is blissfully empty.

On Saturday he gets up late, ignores the mess he's left in the kitchen and living room, - he's gonna have plenty of time to clean up tomorrow morning, - has breakfast watching MTV on the couch and drives to work. Old Joe makes a note of Billy's good mood and invites him to share lunch together in his little office in the garage. The old man is okay, knows a lot about cars. Been in this business his whole life. Billy thinks he misses his son who got married and moved to Indianapolis, he sure likes talking about him. Mr. Daley also seems to like Billy. What's there not to like? Billy's work ethic is excellent. He's never late, he's smart, quick and knows what he's doing.

When he gets home at four in the afternoon, he takes a long shower, throws a sandwich together, rewinds the porn tape he's left in the VCR and goes to his room to look for another one.

Billy then changes his mind, digs into his school bag and finds a copybook with Vicky's number scribbled on it.

***

On Monday, through quiet whispers, gossip, like spiderwebs, is spreading all over Hawkins High.

Rumor has it, Hargrove and Vicky have fucked.

Rumor has it, Vicky's in love with him. She's walking around the school with her girlfriends, having private conversations, blushing slightly and exchanging eloquent glances

Her eyes always on the search for Billy.

Vicky's sitting in classes with a dreamy look on her face

Languidly examining Billy's profile while he's busy writing stuff down from the blackboard.

Judging from the way she's staring at him, it's probably true.

She's in love.

Hargrove, on the other hand, seems his usual self, only much calmer. Sex with Vicky did him good.

During lunch break he's sucking on a straw of the juice-box and listening to Tina talking about the absolute must-be-there of a party she's having this Friday night for Halloween.

"I hope everyone has figured out their costumes!"

Vicky is watching Billy's lips and tongue play with the straw.

She's not the only one whose eyes are following the movements of Billy's pretty mouth

Apart from some other girls, Harrington who is sitting two tables over and seems to be all lovey-dovey with his girlfriend -

what was it? A nice dinner with the princess's family followed by a timid and unskilled blowjob up in her room at the weekend? -

shoots an occasional glance at Billy, now and again

Harrington did have a quite pleasant Friday dinner, thank you very much, but not at Nancy's, although Mrs. Wheeler wouldn't have minded. No, he spent the whole evening with his parents, miraculously dodging all the questions about his future that he didn't and still doesn't have answers for. Well, mom and dad drank wine and were in good spirits, Dad was mostly preaching the wisdom, so Steve was just stuffing his belly.

On Saturday morning while Steve was still in bed, parents went to Indianapolis for a couple of days to visit mom's sister. Harrington drove to Tommy's place and they hung out in his room dishing about the people they know.

Steve told his mom and dad he didn't want to go to Indianapolis cause he had plans to study, and he indeed opened some school books. For a couple of hours. He also had a very nice Sunday with Nancy. They went to a diner, and spent the night at his place, and yes, they had sex which started with a timid blowjob which lasted a minute, and led to missionary. Steve has been meaning to spice up their sex life a bit, but he feels it's not the right time now with everything Nance has been going through, so he's happy with whatever he's given.

Harrington's eyes fall on Billy's tongue again -

the hell he's doing with that straw? -

and he's losing the trail of their conversation with Tommy.

All of a sudden there's an uneasy feeling in Steve's inside, simmering, lurking. It feels like calm before the storm. He can't explain it. The sex was good and tender, although Nancy seemed a bit distant but when hasn't she lately?

Maybe it's asshole Hargrove who's been minding his business and it is strange? Steve's probably overthinking things that might have actually just settled down. It's quite likely their stupid rivalry with Hargrove has somehow dissolved. He's got a girlfriend now - if Vicky has been honoured which is still a big question, - his own circle of buddies to hang out with, he's got a job, he's got off Steve's back.

Feels strange.

Hargrove was the one who fixed Andy's yellow camaro. The guy must be good with his hands, huh. Steve's never fixed anything. Has had everything done for him. Never worked a day in his entire life.

Speaking of cars, his beamer needs an oil change, and just uh .. a check up. Just a thought, for later.

As for their relationship with Nancy, Steve will keep on trying to bring it back to the way it was.

Calm before the storm? Nah, it's most definitely bullshit.

He shrugs the feeling off, hugs his girlfriend tighter and resumes listening to Tommy rambling about him wanting to dress as the Karate Kid for the upcoming party.

***

Tina wasn't lying when she told everyone the party is going to be massive. The trees on the front lawn and the house are toilet papered, cars are parked haphazardly near the house and down the street, there's Steve's BMW, Tommy's Ford, Andy's and Billy's camaros .. Drunk up to various degrees teenagers are everywhere, outside and inside, talking, dancing, shouting, making out, drinking some more. Hawkins High students went wild with costumes, and with alcohol. There's a huge bowl of punch which Roy still needs to come up with a name for, endless beer and vodka bottles and a keg.

"Shout at the devil" by Mötley Crüe is ripping the night up. The party in in full swing. Tina welcomes everyone dressed in Madonna's "Like a virgin" costume. The outside crowd is counting

" .. forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two !!"

All are cheering and Billy is brought down from the keg, beer foam flowing out of his mouth and down his well-defined pecs and abs. He's dressed as a .. Terminator? Black leather jacket, black fingerless gloves. Chest out for everyone to see and drool over, help yourselves.

The crowd is going insane

"Yeah! Fifty-two!"

Tommy - in a Cobra Kai Dojo costume - is sticking a lit cigarette in Hargrove's mouth

"We got ourselves a new keg king, everybody!"

Billy's holding a cigarette with trembling fingers, taking a shaky drag, yelling

"That's how you do it, Hawkins! That's how you do it!"

He is so wasted, god please help him.

People start chanting

"Bil-ly! Bil-ly! Bil-ly!"

Hagan is putting his arm around his shoulder and they get inside the house. The place is trashed. Toilet paper gets in Billy's face and he wants to .. what, lick it?? It's so soft .. He's fucking plastered.

Hargrove spots King Steve leaning on a wall with his prissy princess and without giving it a second thought starts walking towards him, through the crowd, climbing over the couch, which he doesn't really register cause his legs seem to move on their own, and

when he comes face to face with the King

Harrington takes his sunglasses off, like .. like he doesn't want to hide from Billy's intense stare

Why? What is this smoldering animosity between them?

Tommy's again materializing by Billy's side

"We got ourselves a new keg king, Harrington! Fifty-two!"

Mike, who happens to stand nearby, cuts in although no-one asked for this dude's opinion

"Yeah. Eat it, Harrington!"

Steve just stares back at Hargrove, holds the gaze

Is Hargrove back at it again? Just when Steve thought that the guy found something better to do.

Nancy who was standing by Steve's side, suddenly walks away, and Harrington has to go

"Yeah, whatever, Tommy. Not now."

I've got something else going on here.

Nancy walks into the kitchen and curiously smells the red liquid in a huge bowl

"What's in this?"

Roy who's been hanging around the bowl practically the whole evening provides the necessary information

"Pure fuel, pure fuel! Whoo!!"

Burps loudly and goes on pumping more fuel into his system. He's totally going to end up puking all over the kitchen

Nancy fills a plastic cup with punch and takes a big sip. When Steve catches up with her, she's already drunk half the cup

"Hey .. Who, whoa, take it easy, Nance? Take it easy!""

"We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?"

***

Steve knows he dragged her to this party, she didn't want to go. Nothing new.

Today at school Nancy thought that she had seen Barb in the library. It wasn't Barb, of course, but the silhouette and the hair colour reminded Nancy of her missing friend.

"Steve, I can't keep doing this." She told him behind the closed door of a small library room

"Doing what?"

"Pretending like everything is okay."

"What are you talking about?"

"Barbara. It's like everyone forgot. It's like no-one cares. Did you hear her parents want to hire a private detective and they'll have to sell their house to scrape the money?"

"Their house ..? How much does this detective actually cost? Are they sure it's not a scam?"

"I .. I don't know about the money, but they are going to spend the rest of their lives looking for her. It's destroying them."

"Nance, I know it's terrible. But .. I don't understand what we can do about it."

Nancy looked as though she wanted to tell Steve something but stopped herself midway. It wasn't the first time when Steve got the feeling that she was hiding something from him.

She fell quiet and Steve decided to use the same strategy - distraction.

"Hey, it's hard but .. but let's just go to Tina's stupid party .. wear our stupid costumes that we've been working on for a stupid amount of time and just pretend that we're stupid teenagers, okay? Can we just do that, just for tonight?"

"Okay." Nancy sure sounded super excited about it.

"Come here." Steve pulled her into a hug.

Nancy sighed and laid her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

***

Steve remembers their conversation now, it happened about eight hours ago and backfired pretty quickly. Looks like Nancy took his words as a guide to act exactly like Steve said but multiplied it by a hundred.

Why can't things just be easy?

The thing is, Nance has already had enough. The girl isn't experienced enough when it comes to alcohol, and a couple of bottles of beer she had earlier have done their job. Still, she willfully fills her cup with punch again.

"No, no no, Nance!"

"Get off!"

"No, you've had enough, okay?"

"Screw you!"

"Nance, I'm serious. Stop. Hey, hey .. stop. No, I'm serious! Put it down!" Steve's trying to snatch the cup from his drunk girlfriend's hands

"No."

"Nance, put it down!"

"Steve, stop!"

He doesn't stop because what the hell? It's enough! Nancy is not letting go of her drink, but he's still trying to grab it. They look like kids. It's hands moving chaotically and

Oh shit, one wrong movement, and she's spilling the blood red punch all over herself, all over the white dress

People around them gasp

"What the hell?" Of course, it's Steve's fault.

Everything is his fault, according to Ms. Wheeler.

"Nance, I'm sorry."

Nancy probably wants to wash the stain off, so she goes to the bathroom, and Steve's trotting behind her. Because that's what a good boyfriend does, right? She opens the tap and starts rubbing the stain with a wet cloth but it's useless

"That's not coming off, Nance." Steve just wants her to stop being so stubborn, what has he done, where's his mistake?

"It's coming."

"Come on. Let me just take you home, okay?"

It's not gonna come off, the dress it ruined.

"Let me take you home, Nance."

His girlfriend looks at him eyes full of anger, slurring the words

"You wanted this."

What does she mean? He only wanted them to have a nice time together, jesus, is that so awful?

"No, I didn't want this. I told you to stop drinking."

"Bullshit. It's bullshit."

Steve doesn't like the way Nancy's saying the word. It .. it doesn't make sense

"No, it's not bullshit. Okay? It's not bullshit."

"What? You're pretending like everything is okay. Like my friend didn't disappear in your backyard."

Pretending? .. Steve's not ..

"Pretending like we're partying. Like we didn't kill Barb."

"We .. what? I didn't kill anybody. Did you kill her?"

"Not with our hands, Steve."

"Whoa whoa hold on, Nance. I didn't kill her. You didn't kill her."

"Oh yeah? We shouldn't have left her alone there, near your .. pool."

"Nance, she wasn't even my friend! You brought her there!"

"Are you saying I killed her? It's all my fault?"

"Nance, it's nobody's fault. Also, why shouldn't we have left her alone? Were we supposed to babysit her the whole evening? How did we know something like this was going to happen?"

"I don't know, Steve! But she's gone now, and it's all bullshit, all of it, I'm so sick of pretending!"

The way she's looking at Steve, there's no love. There's only frustration and guilt.

"I told her to go home, so that I could spend the night with you!"

"Nance .. you didn't know .."

"It's all bullshit. Let's just party, let's pretend .. pretending like we're in love and we're partying."

Wait, what?

"Like we're in love?" Steve can feel his own voice breaking

"We're partying. Party. Let's party."

Maybe he misheard her, maybe she didn't mean it.

"Like we're .. you don't love me?"

"It's bullshit." Nancy turns off the water. The dress is definitely ruined. The evening is ruined.

She spins around and walks out of the bathroom, Steve is standing near the sink

"Nance! Nance wait!"

He knows that he has to follow her again, she's drunk and he has to take her home, and he will, he just needs to .. needs a moment to pull himself together.

He only wanted to have a good time.

It's all bullshit, apparently. He is bullshit. Their love is bullshit.

Is it for real?

Steve's alone in the bathroom.

He's looking at himself in the mirror.

Steve didn't kill anyone. He invited Nancy that night in June cause he wanted to spend time with her, he wanted to sleep with her, okay? He was, and still is, in love. Jesus fucking christ, they shouldn't have left Barb alone? Who would have thought something like this was going to happen??

Why is Nancy putting the blame on them, on him ? He didn't do anything bad. Steve can understand Nancy is feeling guilty, but .. he doesn't know how to help her. It's not their fault.

Distraction as a way to make her feel better doesn't seem to be working. It has only made everything worse.

Ffffuck.

He doesn't .. he doesn't know what to do.

The door of the bathroom opens wide and an absolutely wasted Billy Hargrove stumbles inside.

His heavy gaze is landing on Steve's face, hand going up slowly, and grabbing Steve by the collar of his jacket.

Almost gently.

The fuck?

There is no force.

"Haarrringtn .. Course it's you." Billy's snickering

"Can a guy piss? Or you're gonna throw a tantrum again and start shouting this is your fucking bathroom?"

He's such an idiot. It doesn't even make sense. It's Tina's house.

Hargrove's grin is obnoxious, Steve wants to punch it off the dumb drunk face. Bet one punch is going to be enough to knock him off his feet. He is so fucking hammered. Barely standing straight, slurring every word, and his eyes are so glassy, it looks like they're fake.

"You gonna stand here and watch me piss, Harrington?"

The grip on the collar tightens, and Billy starts getting closer, but Steve shakes Billy's hand off and shoulders past him.

When their shoulders collide for a second, Steve can't help it, there's something .. the force, the strength, Hargrove's body feels like a rock, big and solid.

He walks out of the bathroom but doesn't know where to go. The word bullshit echoes in his head, and he's suddenly so tired of this freaky night.

Let's make it freakier.

Steve turns around and opens the door to the goddamn bathroom again. If he can't distract Nancy, he can try distracting himself.

Hargrove's standing near the sink, washing his hands. He's swaying slightly, turns off the tap and is about to start on his way out when Harrington pushes him back inside. Slams the door shut without turning his back.

Something sweet and deadly is spreading through his veins. He wants to shove Hargrove further, wants to make him fall, nevermind that the guy's drunk, Steve doesn't care. There it is, a glimpse of weakness, and Steve wants to probe it, how deep it's gonna go.

Hargrove seems taken aback. Confused. Steve looks at him like crazy. What does he want? He's not so sure anymore. He wants everything to be the way it was before the summer, before the fall. His heart is turned inside out at Nancy's words, and anger is mixed with pain, because what the fuck?? Why is it his fault anyway? He didn't do anything bad, and now he's shit? He runs after her like a fool in love, but according to her it's bullshit?

And there's Hargrove, with his fucking basketball skills and badass car and he's so tough, so cool, so fucking macho, swaying his ass in those jeans in the school hallways, hanging out with Steve's friends and stealing his keg king title. Getting on Harrington's nerves by simply existing.

It can all go to hell, for all Steve cares. If it's bullshit, let it all blow up.

Billy is not the only one who's unhinged. Whatever it's called. Steve's hurting inside. She doesn't love him? Why, why not? What has he done wrong?

Both Hargrove and Harrington are staring at each other with wide open eyes. The trajectory is short and simple, eyes - lips, lips - eyes. Hargrove's eyelashes are too long, too thick, too fucking thick, it's annoying. Steve can hear them rustling.

He feels Billy's hot breath somewhere near his mouth, it smells like beer and cigarettes and a hint of mint gum. These smells are mixed with a barely audible scent of sweat coming off Hargrove's body and also some delicious perfume .. Steve knows this smell, he knows its name, he's sampled it in perfume stores

He notices that Billy's eyes are becoming predatory and wild. Unpredictable.

However, is it so hard to predict what's gonna happen if they stare at each other's lips like that?

Their lips are so close. A flash of a second, and it's Billy who goes for it

Stopping only an inch away. What the fuck, he's not gonna do it? Steve sees that Hargrove is slipping away from this, so he grabs Billy by the back of the neck, his grip feels like it's made of iron, fingers digging in that messy mullet. He pulls. He has to pull because Hargrove's balking like a stubborn donkey.

Fuck no, you're not getting away from me.

Steve locks their mouths together. Hargrove's lips are soft and .. and unexpectedly tender.

The kiss - cause that's what it is, right? - feels fucking weird. It's not gross, it's just weird but the kind of weird you wanna explore. They are looking into each other's eyes, Hargrove is narrowing his stare at Steve even more, like he's trying to figure out his game and then he pushes him away muttering a quiet

"The fuck .."

But the strength is not there really, so Steve pulls him back and kisses him again

Maybe I like it

Flashing lights at the back of his mind

He feels hot all over, feverish. It must be the alcohol, it must be the pain of Nancy's words still ringing in his head

Bullshit bullshit you are bullshit what we have is bullshit your love is bullshit

This time, Steve's lips stay on Billy's a couple of seconds longer, and when a low mmmm leaves his throat, he slides his tongue between Hargrove's lips. Billy is not making it easy, cause he attempts to shove Steve away again, but it's weak, and Harrington is holding him tighter, one hand still gripping the back of his head, the other slithering around Billy's waist. It's like Hargrove surrenders, opens his mouth more, but the moment his own tongue touches Harrington's,

Steve is pulling away as if he touched something hot, as if he got burnt.

Afraid to get burnt more.

Enough.

Everything is a rollercoaster together with a joyous and vile feeling blooming inside Steve - he now knows what Hargrove's deal is. He's cracked the Californian sun on hot wheels.

If someone, say, Tommy or .. or any other guy tried to kiss Harrington, he'd shove him hard, the hell you think you're doing? He wouldn't want it. He'd probably rinse his mouth after.

Hargrove didn't push him away. To be fair, he did, at first. But then, when Steve showed persistence? Billy kissed him back. He wanted more, didn't want to stop.

Steve knows his secret now.

There's a satisfied smile flickering on his lips.

You sure seemed to enjoy kissing a guy, Billy boy.

Steve swings the door wide and walks out, leaving Hargrove alone in the bathroom

As a matter of fact, Steve's got a drunk girlfriend here somewhere. Though it's not clear anymore if they're still together or not.

Steve goes to look for Nancy but can't find her.

He spots Tommy and Carol dancing and making out in the middle of the crowd. The party is still on and getting louder.

"Hey, Tommy, you seen Nancy?"

"Yeah, she went home."

Carol is smiling and Steve doesn't like her smile or her tone

"She's okay, Steve, she went home. She's probably in her bed already all tucked up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Did you have a fight or something?"

"Uh .. kinda. Okay, I'm .."

"Hey man, everything alright?"

No, Tommy, fucking everything is fucked up.

"Yeah. I'm going home. You guys have fun."

***

Steve gets home after midnight, falls on the bed. His mind's on fire.

Nancy, what the fuck was that with Nancy? Are they still together? Is their whole relationship bullshit, that's what it is for her ??

Steve's wounded, Steve's hurting.

What has he done wrong?

He kissed Hargrove, that was definitely wrong.

He has him figured out now though.

There's a burning tingling sensation on his lips that won't go away

It's not gonna happen again, but deep down ..? If he's completely drunkenly honest with himself?

He liked the feeling of his lips on Billy's.

Tomorrow in the daylight his mind's gonna be set straight. Now in the darkness, Steve can secretly relish the feeling

Steve's burying his hot face in the cool of his pillow.

Is it the storm? Or it is only the first gusts of wind rising and the first raindrops falling from the sky?

[key2earth]

hi hello & happy happy opening! i'm blue & this is xie ziying, local night terror edward cullen haunting the halls of sua! art student, red hall girl gang stan, & proud owner of a pretty pair of pearly whites that she's putting to dentist unrecommended use outside of regular class hours! here's a barebones profile & more info / plots under the cut, pls like to plot or ask for my d/scord & i’ll be there! 💗

*tw for discussion of blood is marked out in the intro with brackets!

info

addressing these first: her teeth r sharp & she drinks blood... the vamp allegations r true. ( /hj. u will see )

anyway!! she mostly lived a fairly normal life, insofar as having 3 outta 4 ( now 2 out of 3 ) of a family being anomalies would be normal? has a big bro in huitian but their abilities are as different as they come, so the anomaly gene sure is abnormal!

she's always been the black sheep of the family, but only in the way that someone who's unconditionally loved can act out? like deciding to play the violin when you come from a family of pianists, before abandoning that all together, & being the sibling whose teachers keep calling... but the point is. she's grown up being loved by her family, & that sense of self & safe harbour has pretty much tided her through what would otherwise have been some awful memories

those & her chompers it's hard to fight someone if they're willing 2 mike tyson u

speaking of teeth... they're sharp i'm not kidding! has nicked herself many times, but this was also how she figured out how her ability works. pure trial & error & teething pains

so how do those powers work? ( tw blood mention ) basically, a lil sip of blood gives her a power up! if it's her own blood, she gets physically stronger with enhanced condition. if that sip comes from someone else, she adopts/transforms into one property from them, though she doesn't get to choose which! ( tw end )

she's completely fine with her ability & down to use it when needed or entirely unnecessary, though the fact that the fun half of her power is a random grab bag is sometimes to her detriment. she knows this because she's gotten someone's sleep deprived mental state once when she wanted their cool colour-changing irises 💔

at sua bc they had really effective advertising & her grades + power combination was bad enough that she was applying to any college that might take her in. swears she didn't mean to tag along w huitian but she did apply to sua... so...

art student, which means being on her sixth can of bacchus at ass o clock & permanent eyebags, having the worst style intentionally & calling it avant goth

applied to be evo's treasurer but doesn't believe in 'the cause' or wtv that is. she j wanted to mooch money off them. its working!!

personality deets she's got that libra sun ( i see it i like it ) taurus moon ( i want it i got it ) scorpio rising ( goth ariana )! we're starting off goth, but she's unsrs about it. only emo 4 the aesthetics. might be a stoner gal & attends all the house parties when they have good greens. very chill & laidback, lowkey doesn't care about anything until it comes to her art or her ego, then her secret perfectionist self rears its big head! likes a good puzzle but would never help someone else solve one even if they were struggling. lives mostly in the twilight hours & naps thru class. could be spotted on your roof today!

chara inspos are sunny baudelaire, himiko toga if she had a loving family, vampire vibes really

plots

writing that intro has emptied my brain & i only have the usual suspects: besties, enemies, fwbs, exes! red hall hot girls & ppl she's pissing off at evo bc the funds keep disappearing

will update more but i love a brainstorm too we should do that 💗