#but just .. wow you guys have loving families like in those tv shows???

[hugshughes]

IM LITERALLY LIKE GOING CRAZY WAITING FOR U TO POST HARD LAUNCH LIKE GOING FERAL

Hard Launch C. Bedard.

Connor Bedard x fem!reader

synopsis - Connor has kept your relationship under wraps for a while just because he knows how crazy people can be; what happens when he knows he needs you right next to him at the draft?

wc - 2.1k

contains - cursing, reader has anxiety/is anxious, Connor picks at the skin around his nails, a ciwyw by taylor swift reference (sorry), probably some inaccuracies when it comes to like how the draft goes, kissing, fluff.

an - this was supposed to be posted a few days ago but when i proofread it i absolutely hated it so i started over! sorry about the inaccuracies related to the draft and how it works, i had to put a few things that probably aren’t true for the sake of the story. also!! when i reply to comments i have to do it from my primary blog which is @hugshughesy so i’ll reply but it won’t say like creator i don’t think. i’ve been like rereading this and i hate it might delete soon feeling silly. i hope you guys like it!!

-

“Baby, you have to stop doing that.”

You grab Connor’s hand and slip it into yours, partially because you just love him, and mostly to get him to stop picking at his cuticles. He blushes at your concern, looking over at you sheepishly.

“Sorry, just nervous.” You nodded, laying your head on his shoulder. He and you both. Although, Connor probably had a little more to be nervous about than you, seeing as he’s gonna be the #1 draft pick tonight and be blasted on the tv screens of millions.

You were more nervous about the fact that you’d never been seen with Connor before, no one knew he was off the market, and when they saw his golden girl sitting by him tonight at the draft, the 14 year old girls were definitely gonna track you down like FBI agents.

You’d seen all the fan accounts, ones with bios that would read, “Connor’s girlfriend (real)”. And those made you laugh, but you also saw the hostile people that would threaten you and say terrible things and they didn’t even know you actually existed.

“Well, everything will be okay because one, we already obviously know you’re gonna go #1 because you’re just like the best. And two, your family is here, and your friends are here. And they all love you so so much Connie.”

“What about my girlfriend, y’think she loves me?”

You giggled at his question, furrowing your eyebrows and letting out a ‘hmmmm’ as if you were thinking about the answer.

“Actually, I think she loves you the more than anything else.”

Connor laughed now, wrapping his arm around your waist, which you initially accepted as an act of love, but then your boyfriend start tasing your sides.

You squirm and squeal, jerking around in Connor’s hold, not until you quite literally roll yourself off the hotel bed are you free. You look up at him from your place on the floor, an unamused look displayed on your face. While Connor’s expression is quite the opposite, as he giggles to himself.

“I tell you how much I love you, and you just throw me on the floor? Wow.”

He laughs louder at this, his bright smile melting your heart.

“I didn’t throw you on the floor, you did that to yourself.”

He holds his arms out for you, grabbing your hands and pulling you back up on the bed.

“Well, you still haven’t even told me you love me back so.”

“You know I love you the most. I know you know that.”

You do know that, as surprising as it would be to someone that’s seen his awkwardness and shortness in interviews and things like that, Connor is very expressive with his love for you. He always shows you how grateful he is for you.

“Connor! Gotta start getting ready soon, cameras will be in here in 30!”

His mom shouts from the adjoining door between the two hotel rooms his family was currently in. He shouts back an affirmative then sighs, laying back on the bed.

“Everything’s gonna go perfect Con, you’re completely surrounded by people who love you so much, and I know it’s a huge event, but there’s no need to be nervous baby.”

He looks at you, he practically has hearts in his eyes, he gives you a smile. He nods and sits up, standing to go grab his garment bag with his suit.

While he went to do that you went into the bathroom, making sure he didn’t mess up your makeup you’d just done messing around with you. It was still perfect, thankfully, and you closed the door to put your dress on.

You changed, then fixed your hair, you’d gotten it done a few days before, so you could do it quickly on draft day.

You touch up everything, lastly taking off your necklace with a gold heart as the charm and taking out your new gold ‘C’ necklace. Wearing his initial meant more than “belonging” to him, it was because he’s your boy, the boy who knows you.

Connor walked into the bathroom, suit pants and button up on. He practically had hearts in his eyes when he saw you. He wraps his arms around your hips and leans down to lay his chin on your shoulder.

“Wow, gorgeous. You look fuckin’ perfect.”

You feel heat envelop your face, giving Connor a big smile.

“I have a little something to show you. Nothing special, but I think you’ll like it.

He nods, looking at you expectedly. You show him the necklace, and the hearts in his eyes double in size. He looks from the necklace to you, and then back down again.

“Are you serious?”

The hope in Connor’s voice was apparent. He was in awe at the idea of you wearing his initial. You knowing and showing your love for him gets him so happy. When you nod at him, his smile grows. He helps you put it on, then turns you around to look at you.

You looked perfect, so, so gorgeous. You left the bathroom, sitting on the bed to put your heels on. The Bedard family minus Connor was in the other room now, talking. You fastened the buckle on your last heel, and Connie sits next to you, leaning his head on your shoulder.

“Everything’s gonna change after tonight, can feel it.”

Connor whispers to you, you can’t be much comfort to him though because the second you’re about to try, his mom comes through, letting him know the camera guys are here.

He sighs and nods, going to stand up but not before you kiss his head, giving his hand a squeeze. You stayed where you were as you watched Connor enter the other room, closing the door behind him. He knew you were already on edge and he didn’t want your anxiety to spike earlier than it had to.

After about 20 minutes Madisen texts you that it’s time for everyone to go. You grab your wallet and exit the room, seeing the Bedards and a few off-duty cameramen already in the hallway. Connor’s hand was gripping yours the whole way to Bridgestone.

You guys were finally in your seats after almost an hour. You were sat in between Connor and his mom, much to your dismay. You felt it was only right for Connor to sit by his family with you on the end but he whined and whined until his mom urged you to sit next to him.

Right now you knew there were many cameras on you, your leg bounced at the thought. Connor brushed his hand over your knee, whispering your name. You snap out of your thoughts, jerking your head towards him.

“Are you alright baby?”

Your eyes soften at his question, smiling and nodding at him. You pat your hand on his that covers your knee.

“Y’know, just a little nervous that everyone’s about to see that you’re my mega-hot boyfriend.”

He laughs at that, his grip on your knee tightening. Your free hand moves to the charm on your necklace, holding it tightly.

“Well, I think everyone’s gonna be confused about how I have such a hot girlfriend.”

It was your turn to laugh, you could feel the nerves prickling at the back of your neck slightly fade as you looked at your boy.

“Well, I think that number one draft picks are super hot, so.”

He looks at you with a big smile, his eyes soft and full of adoration, he brings his hand up and pushes your hand from your necklace, fingers brushing over the ‘C’ sitting on your chest.

Before you know it, the draft begins to start and the Blackhawks are on the clock. You and Connor’s legs are bouncing in sync, but you can’t help but look at him with a smile. It obviously doesn’t take long before Kyle Davidson is up at the podium.

“And with the first overall selection of the 2023 NHL draft, the Chicago Blackhawks are very proud to select, from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, Connor Bedard.”

He smiles so bright, so big. He stands up and you follow, he engulfs you in a huge hug.

“Thank you so much, I love you so much.”

You say it right back to him before he moves to hug the rest of his family and friends. When he walks past you again to get out to the aisle he takes you by complete surprise, kissing you in front of everyone. That was quite the way to hard launch your relationship. He quickly pulls away and goes to bro hug Adam. Your eyes completely widen, quickly turning your head to look at Madisen, who is laughing at your shock, and her brother’s boldness.

You would’ve never expected Connor to do that, you’re guessing the adrenaline got to him, but wow. You recovered from your moment and clapped as you watched your boyfriend strut up to the stage, shaking hands with the Blackhawks staff and sliding on his jersey.

You hold his mom’s hand as you feel tears rushing your waterline. You’d known Connor since you were both 10 and watching him up on the stage was definitely overwhelming.

You guys sit and celebrate the other picks and after about an hour you all were out somewhere on the inside of Bridgestone arena, waiting for Connor to finish up promotional stuff.

He comes out from a hallway and the smile on his face is absolutely heart melting. He hugs his family before he makes his way to you, hugging you very tightly.

“Connor Bedard. What was that?”

He smiles proudly, kissing you once again, just longer and harder. Once he pulls away you’re dazed, a love-struck look in your eyes, and if you could, you would have hearts in your eyes.

“I don’t even know, just felt like kissin’ you, and I think I was on like an adrenaline rush or something.”

You laughed and nodded at him with an amused look, cupping his face with your hands. His family absolutely loved you two, they had been waiting for the day you guys admitted you liked each other since the 2018 8th-grade dance.

They saw how you brought Connor out of his shell, and how incredibly happy you made him. You declared where you would be attending college the night of the draft lottery, for no apparent reason of course. The University of Chicago was a school you were always interested in, but Connor in Chicago meant that much more to you.

After hours of hanging out and celebrating you guys were finally back at the hotel. You showered after Connor finished up and then after you were standing at the sink, pajamas on as you did your skincare.

For the second time that day, Connor came into the bathroom, wrapping his arms around you. You looked at him through the mirror, smiling softly. Connor looked at you and saw everything he wanted. He felt so excited to be able to have you with him in the Windy City. He knew he was only 17, but thoughts of you being his wife crossed his mind.

You finished up in the bathroom and you both went back out to the room, the door between the two rooms you had was ajar, allowing his parents to keep watch of you two if they needed to. They trusted you both deeply, but you were still two teenagers sharing a bed, so.

You both snuggled up on your bed, and you scrolled through Twitter and Tiktok looking at things about the draft and Connor and your relationship. You had become a small meme among the hockey girl fandom, the video of Connor kissing you and then your reaction going viral.

There were so so so many kind comments, commenting on your beauty and smile, and how happy you made Connor look. He was very happy with how the night went, which made you happy obviously.

You both eventually fell asleep, only after whispering for hours about how everything is gonna be in Chicago, how much fun you think it’ll be. You played with Connor’s hair while his breathing slowed, his grip around you tightening.

You knew that no matter where Connor went, you would go too as long as he wanted you there. And he always would want you there. You were everything to him, you and hockey were what kept him going.

[mysticficti0n]

All my attention Part 6

warnings- swearing, drinking, flirting, dirty talk to the max, Degrading but not in a mean way?

words- 3.3k

If you'd like to read the previous parts → All my attention series

a/n- so if you're new here I am British and cannot speak any German, I speak a little French, Spanish and Italian but German- no. I also do not trust Google translate so this is gonna be like an avatar thing (if you've seen the newest one Jake says that their language just became normal or something along those lines) so in reality this is all in German, you as a reader know German but, its wrote in English... make sense? no... well

(also would you guys want me to do smut for this? I don't have to if you don't want it but... I could write some good pieces for the next few chapters?????)

┍━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━┑

backstory- you are the 5th member of Tokio Hotel and you always thought the love was equally platonic between you and a certain guitarist... but what if that all changed?

Everyone arrived by 8:50 and were all seated around a extremely large table, each family sat drinking and laughing over different things, on our side of the table (meaning me, Tom, Gustav, Gustav's grandpa, Georg and Bill) we all chatted about random ideas we had for the next shows

"good evening, could we get you all started on food?" a man around my mothers age smiled pulling a note pad out and a pen

"yes can we have-" Stefan schafer, Gustav's dad began pointing to things on the menu and pointing to the people who wanted it "-perfect thank you" the man nodded collecting all the menus in and the chatter began again, me and Tom sat across from our grandmas who were on about something they'd watched on tv

"I'm bored" Tom whispered in my ear causing me to roll my eyes

"we've been here 20 minuets" he sighed falling back into his chair and his grandma seemed to notice turning to him

"Tom- whats wrong darling?" the boy sat properly again and took a swig of his drink

"nothing just hungry" he spoke watching the old women tilt her head "...I'm bored" Catrina nodded looking to me

"you have Y/n/n for company, she's a lot of fun aren't you?" I nodded my head looking to the boy who just laughed "oh actually me and Josie were just saying- we watched your interview! with that hunky man Karter, you two looked delightful, well all of you did" she grinned rubbing my hand over the table

"yeah.." Tom trailed getting comfy again, reaching arm the back of my seat and playing with the ends of my hair "we wont be going back to him in a rush"

"why not?" my gran asked "he's a handsome man"

"nothing to worry about Nanna" I spoke smiling to her, she can become a very angry women if she found out someone did anything bad to us, she'd personally hunt them down if she could.

Time passed slowly but the smell of food only made us hungrier, Toms hand had moved from my hair to my shoulder drawing a circle over and over

"and here we are-" the same waiter came over with two others holding trays of food, there was 21 of us.. we all sat straight and the small laughter of my sister caused us all to laugh, I had the pesto tortellini with Parmesan, and many also copied me

"thank you" we all said starting our meal, I dug my fork in and bought the steamy pasta to my mouth "oh wow thats amazing" I hummed putting more onto the fork, Tom looked over then to the bowl and back to me "you chose to have the chicken Schnitzel, I said about this"

"oh please!" he moaned "one bite- you can have some chips" he quickly stabbed his fork into the fries and brought them to me "come on"

"fine" I gave into his ways and took the chips and past him my fork with the pasta on the end, he hummed a quick thank you and smiled tasting the food "good right?" Tom nodded swallowing the pasta, I turned back to eating and listening to the different conversations around the table

"you know I was thinking about something" Bill began looking down to us on the table "a tv show, like filming while in rehearsals and we could go round during tours and trying things... Felix said about it" The idea of being filmed 24/7 didn't sound fantastic, I enjoy my privacy but.. if that means we get to do fun stuff..

"who'd wanna watch us though, outside of music were just boring" Gustav added "you could do a documentary about every girl Toms fucked" Gustav's mom slammed his hand making us all laugh

"at least they'd say they came unlike the girls you've done" Tom hit back making the drummer huff "but I like the idea-" Georg nodded as well but I still sat undecided

┍━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━┑

(okay I cba to write about the restaurant but lets say, lovely meal hugs kisses etc)

"Oh why don't we go to that bar" Simone pointed out, the bars name was naughty lad and music was booming through the walls, the boys seemed intrigued looking through the steamed windows

"I think we'll head back with the grandparents, Stella is nearly asleep so could you bring Y/n back?" my mom asked passing my sister to my dad

"sure, we'll keep her safe don't worry" David, Georg's dad spoke wrapping an arm around me "you get home and relax" with a quick hug my parents got into the car and drove away leaving me with the boys and their parents which wasn't unusual, having a younger sister makes life harder to always enjoy. Together we all walked into the bar and 'hot in here' by Nelly was blasting through the speakers

"drinks?" Bill asked pulling his wallet out "Guessing a vodka coke for you?" I laughed seeing Bill roll his eyes "you need to try more- I'm getting you something else"

"Get me whatever she has!" Tom shouted to his brother who nodded walking to the rest of the group who found themselves sat at a booth "wanna smoke quickly?" I agreed feeling his hand wrap around my wrist and pull me back out the door, he went into his pocket pulling his cigarets out and handing me one with his lighter

"thank you" I chirped lighting the end and then his "I can't get over you tonight" I spoke catching myself at the end

"its alright babe, you can take it off me later" his voice turned suggestive and a smirk plastered his face "aww turning red aren't you?" his free hand cupped my jaw and I felt my knees go weak at his touch- what was he doing

"shut up-" I groaned pushing him away jokingly "I was trying to be nice and say you look good" Toms face softened and nodded along to my words

"I know, but I just love making you all red for me" he cooed putting a hand on my waist "it makes you even more beautiful" Tom leaned in, my heart started pounding in my chest, is this what he meant by being 'worse' I knew I wanted to kiss him again as he closed the distance between us, our lips just inches apart, he hesitated. With a sly grin, he pulled back, leaving the me confused "don't want to be caught do we?" I narrowed my eyes seeing him chuckle "aw did you want me to kiss you Y/n?"

"its okay, I'll find someone in there who will" his face dropped and his grip on my only tightened "maybe I'll bring them home with us?"

"mhm... I don't think so-" The boy was cut by the long haired bassist peaking his head around the door "what?"

"drinks are here" he pulled the door open wider and the two let me in first, I pushed past people dancing along to the music and trying not to get any type of liquid on my dress, finally the booth came into view and Bill sat smiling reaching for my hand I took it and he pulled me next to him

"okay drink this first then I'll tell you what it is" he shouted over the music, I turned to the drink and saw it was a radioactive green with a yellow hue, I picked up the champagne coup and brought it to my lips taking a sip

"Ugh What the fuck is that!" I called nearly heaving at the taste of something like black liquorish

"Death In The Afternoon! I thought you'd like it!" a smile creeped onto his face as he took the glass and finished it "let me get you another one!" The boy pleaded

"come on Y/n don't be boring!" Gustav laughed swigging his arm around me

"fine but I don't want that shit ever again" soon I watched the tallest twin wonder to the bar and point to something on the menu clapping his hands as the bar man turned away "oh- whats that?" I asked seeing the black haired boy smirking holding a small glass fully yellow but with some red falling into the glass, speaking of the glass it had a slice of lemon and mint dotted on top

"this is a Mai Tai" Bill said handing me the drink and watched me as I sipped at the liquid, I hummed at the taste of Malibu and orange running down my throat

"wow this is good" I drank more seeing the singer do a small dance knowing he'd defeated my 'vodka coke' love

┍━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━┑

I sat in the booth wedged between Simone and Bill who were laughing about something stupid and I was on my 5th mai tai giggling when something funny was mentioned, I wasn't drunk but I was tipsy, I saw Simone leave the conversation and look to the dance floor "OH MY GOD!" She got up running to the floor pulling me along with her

"SIMO-" I began but then I herd it 'don't stop the music' by Rihanna start to play, ever since the song came out earlier in the year me and her loved it, we danced around with large smiles painted across our faces "I wanna take you away Let's escape into the music DJ, let it play I just can't refuse it" Simone grabbed my hand spinning me around while still belting out the lyrics "Please don't stop the music!" we finished laughing loudly and sweat running down our foreheads I looked to the booth to see them all clapping at our stupidness we took a bow and Simone went to sit down next to her boyfriend who she wrapped her arms around and kissed making her sons cringe and I decided id go sit next to Tom- we'd barley spoke since we had that smoke out side, he was sat holding a glass of clear liquid and rolling his eyes over at his brother

"hey!" I called sliding myself next to him in the booth

"hi- you okay?" I nodded my head grabbing my drink of the table and In a quick swig finishing It off "you might wanna slow down on them" the boy laughed pulling my empty glass from me but I couldn't understand a word as the music got louder around me

"what? I didn't hear you!" he rolled his eyes but quickly moved closer, the arm around my shoulder moved to hold my bare thigh as he leaned into my ear

"I said, you might wanna slow down on the mai tai" his fingers tapped on my skin causing a odd sensation I'd never felt before shiver up my body, they danced on my leg edging to go just slightly under my skirt but he stopped everytime

"oh-oh yeah... well wanna go to the bar and help me chose something different?" Tom nodded and the two of us stood back up, he grabbed my hand, closing his fingers tightly around mine and pulled me through the crowd, yanking me when I stopped, as we got to the bar he pulled me a bar stool out making me sit in front of him while he stood close behind, his stomach on my back and his one hand on my waist

"you like the fruitier cocktails right?" I nodded my head looking at the menu and something caught my eye- The Blue Hawaii, rum, vodka Blue curacao, pineapple juice and Lemon juice

"I think I want the blue Hawaii!" I looked back to the dreaded boy who nodded his head pulling his wallet out "no Tom, let me pay!" I hurried into my purse to grab the €10 I needed

"Y/n fuck off, I'm buying me and drink and you one- put the money away" he huffed grabbing my money and shoving it back into the bag "let me treat you babe" my heart ached at the words and so I let him do what he wanted and I just leaned back on him and waited to be served. The bartender finally turned to us and grabbed a bottle of something "erm can we have a blue Hawaii and a vodka cranberry, thanks" Tom handed the money over me, his chest pressing on me and his other hand back on my thighs for support

"be 5 mins" the man behind the counter said before walking off to the other side of the bar

"I need a piss, stay here don't move alright?" Tom commanded, quickly patting my head like I was some kind of dog and running to the bathroom, I sat kicking my legs watching others conversations and giggling to who ever they're with

"hey.. anyone sitting here?" I turned to a voice I'd never herd before and saw a man stood there holding a empty glass

"no! you can sit don't worry" a small laugh left him and he perched onto the chair and I finally got to see his face, He's very good looking, I couldn't help but admire his features. something about him that made him stand out from the rest, his black hair and brown eyes. His hair is perfectly styled in little waves along his head, and it shines in the light. I found myself staring to his smile. It's warm and inviting, i can't help but smile back. It's infectious.

"thanks, I'm Brandon- thought I'd introduce myself so I'm not creepy" I laugh at him as I turn to speak to him better

"oh I'm Y/n, my seat will be free soon once me and my mate have our drinks" I spoke still just admiring him, it might've been the alcohol but he was gorgeous

"shame, I'm enjoying this- little old me speaking to a beautiful girl.. I say old- I'm not I'm 19, you?"" I blushed to his words

"oh 17 but I get mixed up with being either 23 or 13 most days" he chuckled at my comment

"where you from anyways?"

"Leipzig, you?" he nodded his head

"Dresden" we kept speaking till mine and Tom's drinks arrived and I quickly grabbed them "so who are you here with?"

"just my friends and some family- celebrating coming home- actually my friend should be here soon" I looked back and I saw Tom staring at me with a scowl across his face "oh erm, he's over there so I might see you later?" I smiled grabbing the drinks off the table

"yeah sure, maybe I can get your number and we could go out for drinks?" he sounded so sweet and eyes bright with hope, but I knew I had to be careful giving my number out for security reasons and also I think Tom would kill me

"maybe yeah!" I laughed it off as I walked over to he boy who looked through me to Brandon, crossing his arms "how long were you stood watching me?" I asked passing him his drink

"long enough" his seriousness scared me, what was his issue "he really liked you didn't he? eyes wondered you like a fucking map" he spat gulping his drink basically in one

"Tom I think you're being a bit dramatic, he didn't even flirt with me" it was a partial lie as he did ask for my number...

"still-" I saw the guitarist sulk a little sipping the last of his drink and staring into the distance and that when I realised it

"are... are you jealous?" his eyes shot up to me but he didn't fight my words, and I wanted to keep pushing him "come on, you can tell me" I fluttered my eyelashes at the boy who just looked away, without thinking my hand reached for his jaw and brought his gaze back to me, I was shocked with myself but I couldn't lose my control now "look at me when I'm talking to you" I spoke closer to him in a low whisper, his eyes seemed deeper and narrower, I was doing it "you don't like it when I speak to other guys hm? don't like them looking at me, thinking of me...touching me" I let the last words roll of my tongue and I could see behind his stare he was getting angrier "talk to me pretty boy"

My hand was swatted from his face as Tom pulled me by my wrist back into the cubicles, each small individual rooms with a crappy dim light glaring into the room, hurriedly we went to the first unlocked block and slammed the door closed and he locked it with a click, my back pressed against the cold tile wall and Tom stood over me I close my eyes as his lips press against mine. His hands moved around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I could feel the heat radiating off of his body as he wrapped his arms around me. His lips soft and perfect, his breath warm on my skin. I can feel my heart racing as we move together, our bodies intertwined. His hands move higher, caressing my back as we kiss. I can feel my skin tingling with anticipation as I move my hands up his chest, exploring his body. I can feel the electricity between us, the passion rising.

"You- you are a little cunt sometimes" I feel him smile into my cheek pressing kisses into my skin "but.. fuck we both know you'd never want them...as much as you want me" I hold my breath at the feeling of him humming into my ear, my arms tangle around his neck pulling him back to my lips "god you are so desperate for me" I pull back slightly opening my eyes and seeing a smirk plastering his face

"who's the one that dragged me into here?" he tilted his head in agreement but I could wait any longer, our lips smashed back together and our bodies collided once again, hungrily I moved down to his jaw peppering the line with kisses and edged down to his neck, my lips danced around until I reached just below his ear and his grip on me tightened and a noise threatened to escape his throat, I dove back into the spot sucking and pecking at it, hearing him struggle and try pry me off

"fuck Y/n- please" he begged "shit... I-I" his stuttering made my heart swell and I pulled away to see small beads of sweat forming, I looked to his eyes and they were full of glazed tears of lust

"aw- I'm sorry, didn't you like it?" I played with a strand of his hair as he shook his head no

"I fucking loved it" his lips landed back on me as he groaned into the kiss, I smiled feeling his hands go under my thighs and lift me onto his hips, my dress pushing up revealing the red panties I put on earlier "shit you are so hot" the boy whined kissing my chest, nibbling lightly at the skin

"ah- Tom" His eyes caught mine again and smile only spread further, my hands grabbed his shoulders pushing myself up and he only toyed with me more, licking my skin that was sore from being between his teeth and small noises seeped from my mouth only pushing him further "shit... Fuck Tommy- I..." his nickname came out so naturally but in the sluttiest moan I'd ever done

" God Y/n, I don't what the first place we fuck to be in a bathroom baby, so keep that pretty little mouth quiet because you're making it so hard to keep that from happening" my heart nearly exploded out my chest, I went like putty, foreheads knocking together at his words, Tom caught my lips In one last sweet kiss and put me back onto the floor "so beautiful-" Tom whispered into my ear one last time before pulling away still holding my waist

"only for you" I smiled kissing him once more again before we stood there holding each other panting and puffy lipped

[maxverstappensflatbrim]

Show Me Yours | Matty Healy [44]

chapter forty-four, act five: the ballad of me and my brain

masterlist

-this is the final chapter of this part, I'm slolwy writing the next part but I am alos doing my midterms right now so there may be a wait until it's out.

December 25th 2017

It’s Tommie’s first Christmas alone in five years.

She doesn’t really know what to do with herself, she’s currently sitting on the floor of her kitchen, staring at the TV that’s playing some shitty hallmark film in her living room.

She’s waiting for her pizza to finish cooking, she doesn’t want to eat a cooked dinner alone.

Adam invited her to go along to Christmas with him, but he’s going with Carly’s family, who she doesn’t know that well. So she lied and said she’s going back to LA to spend it with Phoebe in the studio. 

She’s not entirely alone, she has Allen who is currently curled up beside her on the floor, and Button who she’s been tossing a ball for every now and then the last few minutes.

There’s a letter in her hands.

Printed on the front is that familiar messy writing with her address spelled wrong and scribbled out.

Ross dropped it off three weeks ago now, she still hasn’t opened it.

Allen nudges the letter closer to her with his nose, as if he can smell the scent of his owner on it.

She sighs and nods, patting his head gently, “I know, Als.” Allen looks up, “I miss him too.”

Then despite her better judgement she finds herself tearing into the envelope. 

Dear Baby,

I don’t know how to start. I’ve written fourteen letters to you and every single one has ended up being crumpled up at the bottom of my bin. I know the reason that I can’t write is because deep down I don’t deserve for you to hear me out. I fucked up. I fucked up way too many times. And he was right. About you giving me too many chances, letting me walk all over you because that’s what I did, what I do. I took advantage because I knew you’d always be there. I knew I could fall back on you and you’d pick me up because that’s what you do. You’re so good. I don’t deserve that.

One of the therapists I’ve been working with here told me to write letters to the people most important to me. To the ones who I feel that I’ve wronged with my addiction. Apparently it’s a part of my healing journey. I think it’s just to make me feel like a dickhead.  I wrote to my mother first, for falling down the hole she worked so hard to steer me away from, the hole she herself fell down.  Then to Louis for being a shit older brother. To the guys for what happened in San Jose. And now to you. For everything I’ve ever done to you.

I’m not going to list all my mistakes. I’m sure you already have your own list highlighted and neatly stashed away somewhere. I’ve had a lot of time to think while being here (And I already know what you’re thinking, ‘wow, didn’ know you could do that’). I’ve had to think about what to do when I get out of here. I’m not sure if you’ll want to see me. But in my head the first thing I’ll do is come and see you. I’ll get on my knees before you, lit up by those fairy lights we spent three hours trying to hang on your front porch. You’ll open the door and you’ll probably be wearing that old AM concert shirt and your stupid rugby zip-up I keep telling you to replace but you won’t because you’re too sentimental (it’s one of the things I love the most about you). I’ll beg you to just say that you forgive me. Even if you don’t really mean it. And I know you will. I know you would forgive me in an instant because I know you. Then we’ll have everything we’ve wanted, our own studio, we’ll be back on the road, never having to settle, just us the guys and the open road up ahead of us. Endless music, endless time, whatever we want. But I’m going to stay away. Or at least I’m going to try to. I want you to move on and have a better life without me. You��ll do great things. And I can’t be a part of them as much as I want to be. It’ll be hard, for both of us, but in the end you’ll come out on top. You’re the smarter one, with the talents, you have the voice, the skills, the lyrics, the heart. I just have the confidence. I’m nothing without you. Matty Healy is simply nothing without Tommie McDuff, it’s always been that way. But Tommie McDuff is everything. You are everything.  I’ll watch from afar as you keep doing amazing things, with Phoebe, alone, whatever it is you’re doing. I’ll be your biggest supporter, I want you to know that. But I’ll do it from afar. I’ll try to do it from afar.  I say try because you’re my strongest addiction. It’ll take everything in me to stay away. I’ve always been addicted to you. More than any drugs I’ve ever taken. I’m addicted to the way you touch me, a hand on my arm as you laugh, the way you smile at me, those little sarcastic ones you do when I annoy you are my favourite because I know you’re trying your hardest not to break into the biggest grin. I’m addicted to the sound of your voice. And the way your mind works, from your lyrics to your solos, I want to see inside your mind. To study you like an old Victorian sculpture. I’m addicted to your laugh, even when it’s directed at me. To the way you love and the feel of your lips. Ever since your lips first touched mine I’ve searched for others who may make me feel some sliver of the way you did. None have ever compared. Not one. They’re not soft enough, not gentle enough, not exciting enough, they’re not you. They’re never you. I hate myself for doing that to them, to myself, to you. Most of all to you. I hate myself more and more everyday as I sober up, because as each day goes by I’m forced to sit with the knowledge of how I treated you for longer. 

One of the questions I’ve been told to answer is what would I do if I saw you again? What would I do for you? I’m not sure if you’ll want to see me again. But if you did, if you gave me that gift of blessing my eyes with you one last time, I’d hold you. For as long as you let me, hours, days, weeks, months, years, until we both grew old and grey. I’d love you until the moment I died, and even longer if you let me. I’d wait as long as you wanted me to, until the earth ends or just the first sign of spring. I’d collect the stars and bottle them up because I know how much you love them. I’d create a whole new religion just to worship you. I’ve realised now that I’ve rambled. (I’ve run out of paper and only have three lines left) But I have so much more to say. I’ll sum it up in a few words for you. ‘I would give you the moon.’

Yours, Matt.

She puts the letter down. 

One tear escapes her eyes.

There’s a knock on the door.

taglist

@thereisaplaceintheheart, @indierockgirrl, @sofaritsalrightt, @julezs-bl0g, @eaglestar31, @sophinthealpss, @noacfemcel, @if-my-heart-bleeds, @befrwime, @fallingforel, @sexorchocolateorpillowsorclouds, @3terna15unshin3, @1975sophie1975, @thesocraticjunkiewannabe, @littlesoldierelleora, @procrastinatinglikeapro, @beatr2x, @byyourside28

-let me know if you want to be added :)

[dwreader]

IWTV Episode 6 Podcast Transcript

Special Guests: Levan Akin and Jewelle Gomez

"Lestat made him [Louis] a vampire. He became in a way his everything. He became isolated from his family and his friends. He has nothing. It’s classic abusive, toxic. He’s isolated Louis." -Levan Akin

“Recording a song with your side piece is not an apology”

Naomi: First, in this episode, there’s a heated discussion of whether Emily Dickinson was a vampire. What other historical figures do you think could’ve been vampires? 

Levan: Good question.. I would say Tesla. He could be a vampire… I don’t know maybe I’m just thinking about was it David Bowie who played him in a movie. Maybe I just got that image in my head… I don’t know what do you think? 

N: I’m not used to having the tables turned on me… Bowie and Iman. 

L: And also Grace Jones. 

N: Can you tell me when you first discovered Anne Rice?

L: I’d heard about her and then I saw the film I think when I was 14. 

N: Wow, formative. 

L: I remember that screening very well. I loved vampires and I saw that film. I was a little gay kid and there was a lot of subtext I could pick up. And then I went to the school library and found The Vampire Lestat so that was the first book I read and that was a gamechanger for me. I was obsessed… 

N: Do you remember your parents having a reaction to you reading these books?

L: The thing is they didn’t really get it. My parents are from Georgia, former Soviet Republic. They had no idea about pop culture or anything. 

N: You’re live with us from Sweden. Correct me if I’m wrong but IWTV is the first time you’re directing a US TV series?

L: Yes.

N: Tell me everything, how does it happen? How are you out here working in Sweden and like get me on the AR show? 

L: I did a film called and then we danced, and that opened some doors. I got agents. I read from an AR fan I follow on facebook and heard they were doing a series and I told my agents, get me on that show. And then finally I met Rolin Jones and luckily Rolin thought why not give this guy a try. He’s a risk taker. 

…

L: I also got to do the scene where Louis meets Molloy in San Francisco. I can’t believe it. 

N: You directed ep 5 and 6 which are the most tumultuous episodes in the show and the most tumultuous time in their relationship. What is the core of the conflict, how would you describe it? 

L: You know those two episodes, its essentially the darkest days. Everything comes to the end. When I was reading ep 5 I was thinking, how does Lestat ever come back from this? And then I started reading ep6, and how he slowly tears Louis down and talks his way back into their lives. And I thought it was brilliant but also you know frightening. I always tried to approach the material with like what’s the reality of this situation? You know it is a toxic relationship. It was interesting approaching these scenes as an adult, having read these books as a kid. 

N: When you read these romances, its like I want someone to love me that much. And then when you’re an adult, you’re like this is sick this is twisted. We have to have boundaries. 

L: Yes, of course. 

N: You see the relationship change, for all the fantasy of it, the emotions are real, regardless of the time. How we stay in the truth of what the feelings are. As you said this is a tumultuous time, the darkest of days and we see Lestat begging for forgiveness over the course of years and trying to win Louis back. And he has a messed up way of apologizing. Can we talk a little about as a director, getting into the mindset? When you’re talking to Jacob and Sam, do you get them in the mindset of okay its been 6 years, you swam the Mississippi, bring me that energy. 

L: Yeah, again how do you find the truth in that scene. Its at its core.. Lovers reuniting but also there’s so much frustration coming from Louis in that scene. He’s been having this stalker slowly nudging his way into his wife. I remember talking to Jacob about it over lunch, it feels as if that scene also he’s had enough. He knows he’s never going to be free of Lestat. He might as well relent. Its very sad later in the episode he says what difference does it make. 

N: I want Louis to realize he can do better.. 

L: Me too. But you know Lestat is his prison. Its like him trying to get over a bad breakup and he’s still a hundred years later you’re sort of still trying to understand and deal with what happened in this relationship. 

N: And you see here in 2022 and he’s still mad. Relatable. 

L: Of course, of course. Lestat made him a vampire. He became in a way his everything. He became isolated from his family and his friends. He has nothing. It’s classic abusive, toxic. He’s isolated Louis. 

Voicemail from listener: I did watch the first episode, I was very intrigued but I did not read the book. I was a little confused about why Louis’s brother killed himself and then I thought maybe Lestat had gotten into his head because he wants Louis so badly but he wants Louis to come to him. So what better way to get someone and get into someone’s head when they are in mourning for someone they loved and vulnerable. I just wanted to know if that was why Paul killed himself that Lestat put that in his head so he could get to Louis. 

N: You’re asking the question that Louis asks in this episode! I thought this was such a huge moment, have you been sitting on this for 30 years? Have you been with this person wondering this all this time? Can you tell me your thoughts on this question? He says no. 

L: He says no, but as you said, him having this question for 30 years and never asked before, what does that mean? Does that mean he had his doubts but he didn’t want to ask and didn’t want the truth? But now theyre standing at this threshold so he’s like Im gonna ask this question but I think Lestat did not have anything to do with it. I think he’s telling the truth.. What do you think?

N: Its tricky to me cause we know Lestat is a manipulator, thats what he does. On one hand, the way he responds, I believe that but he did get in Paul’s head at the dinner table. 

L: But if he did do it, he’s irredeemable in a way. Which is why I think he did not do it. 

N: Why do you think Lestat is telling his story NOW?

L: To me, its cause he know he has to give him something. It’s purely tactical. He’s very earnest when he tells it, its very down to earth and grounded and direct. 

N: Was that something you and Sam talked about? 

L: Yes, we talked about it and we said this has to be different. It has to feel different for you to sort of lay that final punch toward winning over Louis for real. Without doubt. I don’t want the audience to feel Louis is an idiot. You have to understand Louis like he’s finally giving me something real something vulnerable. 

N: Speaking of sort of this intimacy and this toxicity of this relationship, do you think Lestat deserves forgiveness? 

L: It’s an interesting question and I was thinking about it, cause when you read the books and you read TVL/QOTD, its told from Lestat’s POV and he’s manipulating the reader and you love him and you’re inside his mind and he motivates all of his bad decisions and the bad stuff he does. When you see him objectively from the outside, it becomes more complicated. And this is Louis’s retelling of Lestat. The real question to me is does Louis really forgive him? I’m not sure he does, he takes him in again but is he totally open to him or has he locked off some places? 

N: You gotta lock up some places with Lestat. 

L: You can see that in relationships. People who have been together too long and you wonder should they really be or is it just comfortable its easier like this to keep going. 

N: Lestat will not let him go and we also see he won’t let Claudia go. I HATE HIM! WHY why won’t he just let Claudia go? The thing I don’t understand is he never wanted Claudia, he made her to appease Louis so I’m like why wouldn’t he let her go so he can have Louis all to himself again? 

L: Yes, cause he knows he’s never going to be enough for Louis. He knows that Louis is going to be depressed and thinking about Claudia, he doesn’t want to rock the status quo of the situation, he just wants to keep it as is. Cause its going to be trouble for Lestat. 

N: I feel like Lestat is his own trouble. If he could just be nice and stop having side pieces. Cause this is what kills me, when he mentions the Bruce thing adn knowing what we know of Lestat and how vengeful he is.. Why didn’t he go kill Bruce? 

L: yeah that’s a good question. 

N: Oh so you knew all this time and we know you love killing people just for fun, could you just go kill Bruce for the family please? I was mad.. 

L: Me too. 

N: One of the things too is the idea of enduring. As Lestat says, we endure each other. In some ways, Louis is just enduring Lestat like what can I do, so I’m just gonna stay with him. Is enduring something to even be proud of? Doesn’t sound great to me. 

L: I agree, its a way of suffering. I see it almost as a duty to go through these things and to endure. Being a vampire and living forever is an endurance. In this context, Louis is saying what else can I do?  He doesn’t have anyone else,  he doesn’t know any other vampires, why not just endure this and let this pass? Cause you see time differently when you’re a vampire, like it’s gonna be 10 bad years but then things are gonna change. 

N: 10 bad years.. What’s one bad decade?

L: Yeah cause they don’t have what we do which is like its now or never. I’ve gotta get my shit together now. Hustling to try to fulfill all your dreams. He’s like whats the point? And try to make the best of this, cause this is what we have and the cards we’ve been dealt. 

N: That brings me to Molloy in present day when Louis offers him eternal life and Molloy says no so quickly when we know that was not the case in the 70s. I interpret it as having heard this story, he’s like no I do not want to be a vampire now knowing what he knows hes like no thank you. 

L: Also I think being older and seeing what an effed up place the world is and its all going to hell and its the middle of the pandemic and climate change and wars, I think Molloy is like I don’t wanna stay here. 

N: This episode ends with Molloy having a dream? A memory? I love a camera pan and he’s there. 

L: I freaked out when I was reading it too... This series is everything I wanted as a fan, there are so many cool things you’re going to see in the series from the book. And a lot of things Rolin has planted now that you will see later. 

Horror Author Jewelle Gomez

N: Episode 6 did not leave me feeling good, coming off the heels of 5, it was another pummeling in a way. 

J: Louis has gone through the ringer and its not that often you get to a see a vampire who has to recover. Usually in TV/movies its like bada bing bada bang and injuries are gone. This is a knitting back together and its an emotional thing to watch. 

N: It’s been years, it takes like 3 years to get back to who he was like walking around. This is an episode about the family dynamic and how it is changed by what Lestat has done. What do you think is different about a vampire family? Should they even be a family? Are they forcing something not right? 

J: We’re thinking like mortals, like they can get a therapist to work it through. I think it’s valuable to try to make something but it has to be as Louis say no lies and I dont think Lestat is ever capable of being fully present and fully honest even when he says he’s going to compromise or be honest I don’t know if you can trust him in particular. And then you add in Claudia who is in many ways superior to Louis and Lestat, she’s got a really strong mind a strong intellect… 

N: They’re like she’s a sweet little girl, it will be fine. Have you never met a teenage girl? 

J; WRONG. 

N: It’s funny cause I don’t think of her as smarter but she is colder. Louis he is bound by this love of Lestat, he’s in his thrall. Then Lestat is driven by power and control. Claudia just wants to be free… she is the one who is the least attached in this trio which enables her to see clearly and this dynamic is not right and I dont have to stand for it. 

J: She’s coming into her own as she goes out into the world and sees women. She’s never going to become one in the traditional scene and it engenders her anger. She is definitely chillier than Louis and that’s a surprise to them. She’s not as wedded to the value of mortals cause she’s never lived as long as a mortal. She’s chilly and ruthless. 

N: Absolutely, a bit theme of the series is ht eidea of freedom vs repression and she says to Louis lets leave and go to Europe lets life our own life. But do you think you can really be free as a vampire? Do you think a vampire is any more free as a mortal?

J: Usually its the stuff you take into your vampire life before you were a vampire, but if you were not taught how to create family or what freedom really means, it would be very hard to be free of someone like Lestat. I think that’s a significant element of who Claudia is trying to be free, what it creates for her is assault. She takes that into how she feels about Louis and Lestat. Its stoked by this incident by Bruce, its something they do not understand, even reading the diary you can’t really understand what it means to a woman to have that experience. It’s a very valuable part of the story for us to understand claudia and why she wants to be free why she will go to any lengths to be free. 

N: She thinks the only way to be free is killing Lestat. What are the vampire rules against killing your maker? 

J: It’s like how mortals views patricide or matricide. It’s like the worst crime other than killing your child. It sentences you to death in the vampire world. 

N: Can she ever really be free? If she thinks the only way to freedom is to kill Lestat but to do so would put a target on her back… there’s no way out for her? 

J: The only way for her would be if Lestat turns over a new leaf and just lets them go on their European tour but what’s more likely to happen when he finally does understand Claudia is serious and powerful. The possibility of him killing her is not that slim. He might just be done with her and is not worth the hassle. She’s not in love with him the way Louis is. 

N: We’ve talked a bit about Louis being in love with Lestat and in his thrall but Claudia says we’re slaves to Lestat and Louis is like that’s not true. Why does he not see do you think? 

J: I’ll tell you, when she tells Louis we’re slaves to Lestat, Louis knows what slavery looks like in real life, he does not feel its true for him in this moment. Even though slavery comes in different shapes sizes and forms, he’s like little girl you don’t know what you’re talking about. He doesn’t take in himself as a slave but he’s unable to see himself as a slave but someone who treats him the way Lestat does is not healthy. We cannot underestimate he is in love, he takes the position of the battered spouse who keeps forgiving. 

N: Its Claudia who gives the strength to Louis, when she says we don’t have to be like this anymore, you deserve better, we deserve better, we can start over. The young person who sees all the opportunities vs. the older person who was never given that opportunity. 

J; And that gives you hope that things can change but she’s also a young person who doesn’t know the past so she doesn’t know what Louis’s been through to get where he is. So its a double edged sword in some ways, but the hope part of it is most valuable to Louis at this stage of this story. 

N: If you’re vampire, where would you live and when? Preferred time period and location where you would feel the most free?

J: I would live between London and NY. London in the 1800s - number 1 the clothes, the outfits, I’m a corset queen and bloomers on your bicycle and you could go to the theater every night of the week and see something different. As a person of color I wouldn’t be invited to a lot of the salons, that’s alright I’ld have my own vampire salons. 

[alea-says]

H50 season 6 episode 18 thoughts...

Danny with a bow. Danny with a bow! Danny with a bow!!! 🥰

Danny and his kids 🥰

Oh wow. Grace you're been such a teen ages right now. That unimpressed face is great!

Danny's car has been stolen. Well, Steve's not gonna be impressed with that. Who's keys is he gonna steal now?

Grace: wow, that sucks, and you just got it fixed .... you know, if I had my phone we could call the police

Girl, you got your father's Sass and I'm loving it!

(Also, I'm genuinely surprised Danny's car isn't scrap after the last episode, so...)

Okay, well that's dramatic, Abby.

Don't Americans have anyone they can talk to when their immediate boss is dodgy? I know those things don't always work but tv shows tend to suggest that there's never any option.

Of course Steve is asking her to stay. That beautiful giant marshmallow he is!

Love Grace suggesting they call Uncle Steve.

Grace: you're always talking about how much he loves driving

Danny: no. We don't need to bother Uncle Steve with this. More importantly, Uncle Steve does not need to know that this happened to my car. Ever.

Danny, Grace is so not buying what you're selling. I'd be with her, just call Uncle Steve.

Oh, I'm laughing os hard. Charlie is adorable!

Charlie: there's daddy's car

*as it flies past with bad guys with guns in it*

And now Danny's doing a car chase with the bus.

Danny! Sometimes I despair for you even more than Steve.

They need each others crazy to level them out. Shouldn't be let out without each other.

Grace, I see you judging your father and I judge him with you.

Love Steve teasing Grover.

And now Danny's driving a bus. Oh dear. Poor Mamo. He took such pride in that bus.

Danny's finally calling Steve!

And of course there's no signal again.

And this is how Danny get his bow and arrow!

Tell me there's a guy in thay net... there is! Kono has really graduated the Steve McGarrett school of making perps talk, hasn't she.

The little twirl after Danny takes the arrow from the guys leg.

Nice shot Danny!

Of course, he's also been shot too.

Lol, and he was aiming for the leg.

Yes! Chin and Steve appearing out of the water! I always love it when they do something like this!

Awww. This guy getting to see his family again 😭🥰

[themultifandomgal]

Finn Cole- Red Carpet Interview

Finn and I exist our car together ready for our season 5 premiere and interviews. I smooth out my dress before taking Finns arm and we make our way down the carpet taking photos and doing interview

"Hi, how are you both this evening?" One of our interviewers asks

"We're good thank you, excited for tonight" I smile replying

"Watching the show it's about the Shelby family, but I get the impression you guys are actually a family off screen. You both seem to be with Harry a lot when your not filming"

"Yeah we're definitely a family, and I think we're lucky that we can say that" Finn says with a hand now around my waist

"Harry and I are the closest in age he's only like a year older than me so we have really grown up together from season 1. I always say that Harry is my annoying twin, Cillian is the dad, Paul the cool uncle, Sophie is my big sister and Jos like a brother to me"

"A real family then. I guess that makes filming so fun and easy for you guys?"

"Definitely. I can't imagine working on a set we're you haven't got these friendships" Finn replies

"I have to say in the last season we saw YCN toughen up a bit, will that continue throughout the next season?"

"For sure. We are going to see a lot of different things that YCN will struggle with which makes her really angry I guess and at times she will loose her cool"

We're then moved on to our next interview

"Hi how are you doing?" we're asked again

"We're well thank you"

"It's so lovely to see everyone coming out and dressing up. I've seen some people in period clothing"

"Oh wow I love that"

"That's brilliant. That's what we've, we've created a show we're people can get involved and can dress up and can enjoy it for the same reasons we can enjoy it and it's a really special thing in tv..." I see Natasha walk over to us smiling

"Oh hello" I smile interrupting Finn

"Hello" she smiles back

"Sorry babe carry on, I get distracted so easily" I tell the interviewer who laughs

"We we're just saying how nice it is to see everyone dressed up"

"Oh I love it, and the vibe, I wash just told that this is where they would stand to sign up for the war. And since the show focuses so heavily on PTSD it's really quite emotional" Nat says

"As actors what is it about Stevens writing that jumps out of that script when you first see it"

"Oh I only read my parts" I joke but don't last long because I start laughing "No I'm kidding. Erm for me it's how I'm kept at the edge of my seat. Like I can't ever predict what's going to happen"

"You can hear the music coming of the pages"

"It's one of those experiences reading something where it's so visual but every sentence is so exciting" I nods agreeing with Finn

"YN in season 4 we finally got to see YCN fall in love. Will that transpire into this season?"

"Yes. Unfortunately Jordan had brier engagements so wasn't able to film with us anymore so Daryl was casted and he's just slotted right in with all of us"

"What about Micheal. Will we get to see him fall in love this season?"

"Ah that you'll have to wait and see" Finn says making me chuckle because his answer basically was yes.

Move move on to another interview this time just Finn and I. This time it's an interviewer who has interviewed me since season 1

"It's good to see you both again"

"It's good to see you as well. How have you been?" I ask

"I really good thank you. You know I look back at my old interviews with you all and everyone looks practically the same, but then there's you and Harry who now look like actually adults" I laugh at her making the comment

"I know it's crazy. We filmed the pilot when I was 12 and now I'm 20 so it's crazy that nearly 10 years I've been with these guys"

"Well what is the dynamic like on set of a program of a drama like peaky blinders because it's very intense"

"Oh it's horrible" Finn jokes earning a nudge off me

"You know what's weird we would be doing a really intense scene but the moment we hear cut, we all burst out laughing" I say smiling "in season 4 I had to throw a drink at Lizzie but I only really had one chance so we did it over and over again with an empty cup. Then when we were ready we did it for real and I felt to bad. So as soon as we stopped filming I hugged her and kept apologising while Nat was just laughing the whole time"

Finn and I finish up with more interviews and some photos, watching the first episode of season 5 and then finally going to a little after party with all of the cast.

[sitorrothekitsune]

Welcome to the Chaos Quartet!~

You know… it strikes me that we haven’t done an intro post in… *checks notes* almost 4 years. Wow. Well, here we go again.

Tl;dr—Jeff is blue, Sitorro is red, Shiro is purple, and Moe is green.

Anyway! Hi! My name is Jeff, and while I don’t “run” the blog per se, (Sitorro is most active) I do own the account the blog is under. So… I guess I’m the blog host? I’m now 20, almost 21, and my birthday is on March 21st. I’m going to college for Political Science, and I hope to get a law degree eventually! I think it would be really cool to be an international ambassador and live in another country. I love other cultures. Maybe I’ve been living with Sitorro for too long, but the way people talk, think, interpret, and interact with the world around them has always fascinated me. I got a chance last year to go to Europe, and I can’t wait to go back again. It was just so interesting. And I don’t even mean the landmarks. When I go to places, I go to the dirty places. The businesses. The suburbs. I want to see what I won’t on the TV. Crap I’m rambling. Anyway I do have some intense opinions on some things and I’m not sure what all those places are yet, but I’m a nice guy. Nice to meet you!

My name is Sitorro, and I’m the titular Kitsune of the blog. My birthday is September 28th, and I’m the youngest daughter of my family, at only 15,328 years of age. I’d say that if I were to grow at all, I’d like to become more diversified in the arts. I have been a warrior all of my life. This means I haven’t had a lot of time for self reflection. If you were to ask me who I am… well, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Living with Jeffrey has shown me why humans are so concerned with doing as much as possible in their short lives, and I realized that I can use my infinite lifespan to my advantage to become as knowledgeable as possible. I may not be able to learn everything. You humans produce at a faster rate than even I can comprehend, and my processing speed is a literal million times faster than yours. But I can make a valiant effort. Lately, Jeff has been showing me the ropes of music and musical composition. It’s rather fascinating, and today’s “contemporary music” reminds me of the “Yuman” branch of the Imansa’s “Ngubinja” style from 2500 years ago.

How often do you do this, sister? You seriously wrote an essay for your pet human? You’ve got to be joking. Human ‘Jeff,’ I hope you understand there’s no way that my sister sees you as anything more than a toy to pass the time. Fine, I’ll do this quickly. My name is Shiro. I’m the queen of hell. Don’t commit suicide, I’ll treat you much harsher than this world ever did. You don’t need to know my birthday. Goodbye.

Hello. I am the god of learning, Morodase Gartus. Learning everything is my goal and I will stop at nothing to achieve it. Except my wife. She’s scary. I recently developed a new neurotoxin and I’m looking for human test subjects, so if you’re interested in knowledge, let me know. My birthday is August 3rd. Good luck in your learning.

That’s everyone! If you’re unsure about something or have any questions, feel free to DM us or find me on discord @scientifically_insane. Be well, and I’ll see you around~! :3

[piracytheorist]

fav greek movie and tv show?

So the thing about mainstream Greek media is that... they suck. There's very little effort put into them, and for the most part they try to satisfy a very conservative audience that doesn't know shit about acting, cinematography, directing, and you end up with bad films and shows that try their damnedest to look like something they can never reach. That's not to say there aren't good actors or directors, but the latter aren't given a chance in the mainstream scene and the former are usually "trapped" under bad directors and screenwriters.

And I'm not much of a film lover, so I don't think I've actually watched a Greek film that I can say it's good. But! I was lucky to have grown up at a time where some really good TV shows came out, where all the staff behind them were actually putting in effort and knowledge and weren't trying to be like mainstream American media. My favourite of those, I'd say, is "Είσαι το ταίρι μου" which translates to "You're my soulmate". If you've watched the film "While You Were Sleeping", the show has kind of a same idea (I mean, there's a scene where the dialogues are almost the same, lol), but more expanded.

Basically, it's about two Greek women who live in Melbourne and return to live in Greece. One of them, Vicky, wants to meet her fiancee's family (while the fiancee stays in Melbourne for business for a while), and the other, Stella, wants to try her luck and meanwhile meet a Greek guy she'd met on the internet. But circumstances and happenings lead to them switching places. Stella pretends to be Vicky and introduces herself as so to Vicky's future in-laws, and they absolutely adore her and she finally feels part of a family. Vicky pretends to be Stella and meets the guy from the internet, they fall madly in love but she slowly grows to learn what the consequences of her trickery are (it was her idea to switch places; Stella agreed on a whim and felt bad for lying from the first moment).

As I type all that I realize it sounds like a tacky soap opera but it's honestly so well written, smart, with respect to its story and characters and so much heart to it that the majority of Greek shows, soap operas or not, can't hold a candle to it.

It's funny, it's witty, it's self-conscious, and parts of it were filmed in Melbourne, Australia, and for us that's like wow!!! they travelled all the way down there to film!! and it has a kind of heart to it that I've never seen in any other of the Greek shows I've watched in my life. I've cried twice watching the ending - it's not exactly sad, more like bittersweet, but if you've watched the whole story you've connected with the characters and the relationships between them and you just feel sad to see them go.

[tabbycatplushy]

Big Questions: Chapter Two

Featuring: Joule, Mocha, Paprika, Natalia, Lizzie

6.1k words. Full story: 18k words

Joule has just moved to the city, and now she finds herself living with two friendly, pretty, gay, attractive... roommates. When she suddenly shrinks down to five inches tall, will she be able to deal with the consequences while navigating her budding poly relationship?

[disability, shrinking, lesbian romance, anxiety, polyamory, furries]

>> PROLOGUE >> CHAPTER ONE >> CHAPTER TWO (YOU ARE HERE) >> CHAPTER THREE

“So here it is! The kitchen’s right here, on the other side are the dining room and the living room.”

Joule didn’t know what she had expected, even after finding out that the apartment was in such a nice building. It wasn’t a high-rise apartment with more square footage than her parents’ house.

“Wow,” was all she could say. I still don’t know how I could possibly afford to live here…

“What did you two say you do for work again?”

“I’m a receptionist,” said Mocha.

“On my taxes it says I’m a writer,” said Paprika. “But I think of myself more as an unemployable layabout.”

Forget about me, how can they afford to live here?

Joule entered the dining room, passing by a glass-doored cabinet full of an array of hand-painted plates. The western wall was dominated by a huge window overlooking the city. She could only imagine the view during sunset.

To the right of the window, a doorway led to the living room, which was open to the apartment’s central hall. A long, L-shaped couch covered the lower part of two walls, enclosing a coffee table and facing a TV on the far wall.

“Hey, come take a look,” said Mocha. She led Joule to the entertainment center beneath the TV, opening the cabinet doors to reveal several game consoles, and entire shelves devoted to disc cases. “My collection. Yours now, too!”

“No way…” Joule crouched to finger through the shelves. “You have Ringworld 2, 3 and Ringworld: Grasp? I grew up on those games!”

“Me too! My father let me play with him as a kitten.”

“Wait, kitten? Are you mixed, then?”

Mocha nodded, flicking her fluffy tail behind her for emphasis. “My mother was a cow, but my father’s a cat.”

“Ah, good to know!”

Paprika took a moment to nuzzle her girlfriend’s neck, and said “But yeah. Mocha’s pretty much my epic gamer wife. Even if we’re not married.”

“Now come over this way,” said Mocha. “Time to show you your room!”

Joule’s ‘room’ turned out to be an entire suite, complete with a queen bed, full-sized bathroom and walk-in closet.

“So, what do you think?”

“I… guys, this is really nice. Too nice! You still haven’t explained how any of this could work.”

Paprika fell backwards onto the bed, spreading out her limbs as far as they could stretch—which, admittedly, was not far for the short tabby.

Mocha sat at the foot of the bed, crossing her long legs. “Well, the long and short of it is that money is not an issue. You won’t have to pay us anything to live here. I own this apartment, so there’s no rent.”

Joule’s eyes went buggy. “You own it? As in, bought and paid for? But you’re a receptionist!”

“I came into some money a few years ago. Apparently my mother was the distant relation of some fabulously wealthy family with no direct descendants.”

“You’re joking. You’re reciting the plot of a TV romcom.”

“It’s the real deal,” Paprika said. “How else could we afford to live here? Like you said, receptionists aren’t exactly top-earners.”

“And you’re just going to invite me here to live with you? After one meeting? In the fanciest apartment ever?”

Mocha stood up, and placed her paws on Joule’s shoulders. “Yes, we are. As I said, Joule, we like you.”

“Plus, we’ve been chatting with you for months, so we know you pretty well.”

“Not that well!” Joule was flabbergasted. This can’t be real. Things like this just don’t happen!

“I understand if it’s a lot to take in all at once,” Mocha said. “Do you need some time to think about it?”

Joule looked deep into those (lovely) golden eyes, and found her answer. She didn’t have to think too hard. If there’s a hidden catch, so what. I want this. I like you guys, too.

“Yes. Yes, I want to live with you!” Joule hugged the cowgirl tightly, her triangular ear laying over the cowgirl’s chest, and Joule could hear her rapid heartbeat. She reached around with one arm, drawing Paprika into the hug as well.

“Thank you, thank you so much. I promise I’ll be a good roommate!”

***

Joule didn’t remember falling asleep, and she barely remembered waking up. Gray sunlight had streamed through the windows onto her face, where it peaked out from the fine pink skirt Mocha had given her. When she trekked across the bed, over the nightstand, and clambered onto the window sill, she discovered she no longer had the strength to turn the blinds closed. There was no possibility of sleep after that.

It’s okay, she thought, when her inability to perform a basic task threatened to bring her to tears yet again. It’s okay. Lizzie is coming. Lizzie will know what to do. I’ll be big again. I’ll go to work just like normal, and come back to my home where I can open doors and close windows.

Next she set about the task of finding something to wear—tiny or not, she didn’t feel comfortable going about naked in front of her roommates… not yet, anyway. She settled on a tissue, folded up and tied around her back with a scrunchie. It wasn’t pretty, or comfortable, but it covered what needed covering.

At seven, Joule heard commotion in the apartment beyond and knew that Lizzie had arrived. She couldn’t make out words, but she heard Paprika’s voice, then Mocha’s and an oddly-high voice that was unfamiliar to her. This was unsurprising, seeing as Lizzie wore a new form every time Joule had seen hir. She had seen the alchemist as all manner of demihumans, mythical creatures, genders, shapes and sizes; what the alchemist’s true form was, if ze even had one, none could say.

A knock from the bedroom door, before Lizzie let hirself in.

Where are ze? thought Joule.

She got her answer when a tuft of silver-and-purple hair came into view, attached to a goblin whose head didn’t even reach the top of the bed. Ze were carrying a step stool, which ze plopped onto the carpet beside Joule’s spot and climbed up. Joule could see the alchemist’s sharp teeth, hir face now inches from the tiny cat.

“Good morning, little kitten,” ze whispered with hir usual sly grin. As always, hir voice had an affect of faint amusement, making hir sound playful.

Joule blushed at the diminutive. From another mouth, she might’ve thought it was a joke at her expense, but Lizzie had called her that for years now.

“H-hi, Lizzie. Thank you for coming.”

“Of course, of course, anything for a regular like you.” Ze wrinkled hir green button nose. “Well, not anything. I don’t typically make house calls, as a rule, but this is an unusual case.”

“We could leave if you need to do a physical,” said Paprika. Joule had not seen her roommates enter.

The goblin guffawed. “Physical? I’m an alchemist, not a doctor. No, I can see the problem just fine.”

“Please say you can fix me, Liz.”

“Hmm, well. Let’s see.”

The alchemist asked Joule a series of questions that felt typical of an annual checkup. No, nothing like this had ever happened before. No, she had ot taken any uncertified potions. No, she had not eaten any unusual or suspicious foods lately. Nor had she any reason to suspect a witch, warlock, sorcerer or other vengeful magician had placed a spell on her. Yes, she had been taking her regular potions as directed.

“Hmm. And what has your emotional state been like?”

“Emotional state? Well, I guess I’ve been sort of tired after work lately.” I’ve been exhausted and in pain. “Usually it gets better when I get home, though.” My roommates are amazing and help me more than they know. “But Liz, my aura’s electric. It’s got nothing to do with shrinking.”

“Hmm. Maybe not, but it’s not unusual for a demihuman to have two, or even three magic potentials. And they’re almost always tied to emotion.”

Mocha spoke up. “Joule, you did seem pretty exhausted when you got home last night. More than tired, you were delirious, even.”

Joule watched her thumbs as she began fiddling with them. “I guess… work has been taking a lot out of me lately.”

Lizzie seemed unsurprised. “Now, kitten, this may sound like a nonsense question, but—” Ze pushed up their glasses, which were clearly too big for hir little face. “Have you tried to grow back to normal?”

Joule blinked; she had not. That’s ridiculous. As if it would be that easy. She felt a surge of annoyance, static energy puffing up her arm fur.

She took a deep breath, pushing the feeling away. Lizzie knows what ze’re doing. Ze wouldn’t make jokes about this.

“No, I haven’t. Should I?”

A nod. “Absolutely. If the source of this magic is within you, your own willpower will have an effect on it.”

“Like with an aura?” Paprika asked.

“Exactly like an aura. Kitten, what do you do to regain control of your aura?”

“I have a few things… grounding techniques my dad taught me.” Her father had the same aura.

“Good. Try to ground yourself. Imagine your normal proportion. Will yourself larger.”

Joule closed her eyes. She imagined herself as she normally was.

Me, Joule. Catgirl, five-foot-seven-inches tall, a little lanky. Stormy gray coat, orange undercoat. Dark stripes. Pink nose. Pink pawpads.

She continued listing facts about herself, focusing on size. *Five-foot-seven. B-cup. Women’s thirteen. Small shirt size. Medium if it’s a long sleeve.*

The repetition, combined with her steady breathing, had an immense calming effect. She could feel the boundaries of her form; a rolling energy that danced across her, describing every surface. And, she could have sworn, she felt it grow.

When some time had passed, she opened her eyes. Lizzie watched curiously, the same sharp-toothed smile on hir green lips. Mocha and Paprika were clasping paws with hopeful smiles.

“What? Did it work?” Joule didn’t feel much bigger.

“For a second there, you were like a foot tall! Then you shrank back down a bit,” said Paprika.

Lizzie nodded, confirming what the tabby had said. “Stand up, kitten.”

She did, and blushed. Her folded-tissue dress was breezier than what she usually wore.

“Am I at least a little bigger?”

“Yeah, I think.”

“Possibly.”

“Mm. We probably should have measured her first,” said Mocha.

“Uhm… Paprika?” said Joule.

The hopeful look on the tabby’s face disappeared, and something carefully neutral took its place. “Yeah, Joule?”

Does she feel guilty about last night? Joule thought. She suddenly felt ashamed at making Paprika feel bad. But… looking at Paprika’s hand now, she still felt a tinge of that same panic in the back of her mind.

She tried to will it away. “I was about the length of your paw last night. Could you please…”

“Ah, yeah.”

Paprika shuffled around the goblin on hir stool, and placed her paw upright next to Joule. The tiny cat managed to keep her balance as the large paw jostled the surface of the bed.

“Sorry!” said the orange giant.

Still holding steady, Joule said, “it’s okay,” and stood up carefully to her full height.

The palm transitioned to wrist at about Joule’s chin-level. Does that mean I’m bigger?

“Hmm. Inconclusive, but still, promising.”

“I think you’re definitely bigger than last night,” said Paprika. “Do you feel bigger?”

“I feel… the same, I guess. Maybe?”

She plopped to her knees, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Don’t feel discouraged, little kitten.”

“Can’t I just take a potion to get back to normal?”

The goblin shook hir head. “Not a possibility. I have theories, but we still don’t know what caused this. Potions at this juncture could only make a further mess of things.”

Joule hung her head.

A long, green finger reached under her chin. With impossible gentleness, it lifted her face to look directly into the goblin’s eyes.

“There are no easy fixes for these things. Sometimes there is no fix at all—I do not believe you are one of those cases.”

Ze stepped down from the stool, and suddenly Joule was looking down at the alchemist. “Keep trying, little kitten. And let me know if anything changes.”

***

Once Lizzie was out the door, Paprika turned towards her girlfriend/. “This is good news, right?”

“I think so,” said Mocha, “though I think Joule will have a hard time seeing it that way.”

I can imagine. “I really do think she’s bigger now. She can do it.”

Mocha smiled. “You’re right. I hope your optimism rubs off on her.”

Paprika couldn’t help herself. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s rubbing off.”

Mocha just rolled her eyes, But Paprika could tell she was laughing inside.

Paprika entered the dining room, with Mocha a short step behind. The table was still set from last night; after they took the unconscious Joule to her room, both of them had been too anxious to eat. Afterward, all they had time to do was save the fish, and the beautiful dishes were left out.

Paprika began gathering up the plates, talking as she worked. “Was work pissed that you called out again?”

“No, luckily it was Derek who picked up. You remember Derek? You met him at the company picnic.”

Images of a dozen half-remembered coworkers flashed through Paprika’s mind. “Sort of. Human guy, makes googly-eyes at you when you’re not looking?”

“That’s him. He always lets me do what I want.”

“Thank god for simps.”

Plates gathered, Paprika moved to the kitchen sink.

“You remember how to clean those, don’t you?” said Mocha.

“Yep. Water at half-pressure, hand-wash with the good soap.”

Mocha nodded, and Paprika set the water running. She grabbed the first plate, studying its design. A dancing lady, hot-as-fuck, but in a dorky way because she didn’t know it. “This one really is perfect for Joule. Good pick.” She began scrubbing.

“Speaking of,” said Mocha, “what’s the word on Natalia?”

Natalia was the exact opposite of Joule. She knew exactly how hot-as-fuck she was, and she enjoyed using it to her advantage.

Mocha… Mocha was different. Not because she wasn’t hot-as-fuck, because she was. But Mocha had this way of making everyone else feel like they were hot-as-fuck. Paprika hadn’t met anyone else quite like her.

Paprika cleared her throat. “Nat’s been held up with work, but she’s on her way.”

“Good. If anyone can help Joule right now, it’s her.”

Paprika nodded, remembering the meeting with Liz. She was still scared, when she measured against my paw. She shook her head, refusing to have another freak-out. I can’t help her get over her fear, but I can help her by getting over mine.

She saw that Mocha was smirking. “What’s up, Mo?”

“Oh, I was just thinking. She’s… very cute. Joule, that is.”

Paprika knew exactly what she meant.

“...I mean. I didn’t think it would be a good time to say it, but… oh my god, she’s so cute.”

Mocha just nodded and giggled, one paw covering her mouth. She was almost whispering when she said, “she’s adorable!”

“Right?” Paprika agreed. “She was cute before she was half-a-foot tall. But now! Goddamn. I just want to hold her and tell her everything will be alright.”

“And her voice!”

“Agh, her voice. It breaks my heart.”

Mocha nodded, and neither of them said anything. For a moment, the only sound was the sink as Paprika washed the dishes.

“If,” Paprika eventually said. “If, for whatever reason, she can’t get bigger again… what will we do?”

“Well, I suppose that would be up to her. She has a good relationship with her parents, right? Maybe she’ll move back with them while she figures things out.”

Paprika really, really didn’t want that to happen.

“Of course she would be welcome to stay here,” said Mocha. “If she wanted.”

“If she wanted,” echoed Paprika.

“I, for one, hope she stays here for a long time.”

Paprika put down the plate she was washing, and shut off the water.

“Me too,” she said, and turned to hug Mocha. Within seconds she had wet Mocha’s shirt with her tears.

***

“Bullshit! Fuck! Goddamnit!”

Joule kicked at the tatters of her makeshift dress, which she had thrown to the floor (the floor, in this case, being the bed).

She had been trying for almost an hour to ground herself, to almost no avail.

She hadn’t grown back to her normal size, not even close. But she had grown… by a meager two inches. Only five feet to go, she thought with a sneer.

Each time she tried, she came so tantalizingly close. She felt herself growing, almost reaching her normal size. So close! So close!

Three times she had nearly reached her full height again. And three times, as she opened her eyes, the pain returned. Her grounding fell away, her vision blurred, and she began to fall. And when she opened her eyes again, she was once again tiny, with only fractions of an inch to show for it.

She screamed more obscenities, not caring if her roommates heard. She knew they didn’t. At this point, I’ll be small forever. She fell onto her back, facing the ceiling. What do I tell my boss? My parents? What will people think of me?

It was too much. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to go to sleep and forget it all. A small part of her wanted to just accept it, let herself be small: wasn’t that what her body was telling her to do?

Fuck that, she thought. Fuck that!

She sat up, and looked at the alarm on her nightstand. Eight o’clock; if she left in the next thirty minutes, she could still make it to work.

One more shot. I can do it, I can hold it this time. I’ll prove it. I’ll show my body how it’s supposed to be.

She sat down one more time for her grounding. Breathing deeply, she began her mantra.

Joule. Catgirl. Five-foot-seven-inches tall, a little lanky. Twenty-two years old. Five-foot-seven. Stormy gray coat, orange undercoat. Size medium. Dark striped. Five-foot-seven. Women’s thirteen.

Like before, her body began to grow. She could feel the boundaries of her tiny form expanding, taking up more space. A pleasant, almost ticklish sensation danced across her skin. Her crossed legs began to cover more and more of the bed.

She pushed harder, straining against her physical limits. Bigger, and bigger still, she felt herself grow. I’m so close! Just a bit more!

Her control was slipping; she could feel her form receding. No, no! I’ve got to be normal again!

She gave up on trying to reach her full height, and instead focused on maintaining her current size. Beads of sweat dampened her brow. With a deep breath, she opened her eyes.

She was normal. I’m normal! Giddy laughter erupted from within her as she looked around the room. After an indulgent moment, though, she reigned back her energy. Any slip-up might break my concentration, and send me back down to bite-sized.

Still, she allowed herself some satisfaction; she had done it!

Well, almost.

Joule could tell she was a bit shorter than usual. But she was a damn sight larger than she had been a few minutes ago. I think I’m right about Paprika’s height, she mused. Not quite normal, but I can make this work.

Now for the real test: could she hold it? She could feel the precariousness of her current state. Every cell of her body felt out of place; if given the chance, it would try to shrink in on itself. The only thing preventing it was her own concentration. To stay normal, all I have to do is concentrate. I can do that. I can function like a normal person.

Carefully, Joule slid one leg out and cautiously lowered it over the edge of the bed. Her paw touched the floor, and she wiggled her toes against the carpet. She swung the other leg over, then slowly raised herself upright.

I’m standing! I’m doing it! Now, I need to get ready… she looked at the door leading to her bathroom; it looked almost impossibly far. Okay, one step at a time.

She took slow, measured steps as she moved from the bed to the bathroom. She hissed as her paws first touched the cold tiles, almost letting go of the iron grip she held on her form; but she calmed herself, just barely.

More steps across the bathroom floor. The pain in her legs was coming back. It’s okay, I can deal with that. I deal with that all the time.

After some time, she arrived at the sink. She picked up the toothpaste and squeezed, gently, a dab of paste onto her brush. Paw shaking, she brushed her teeth.

I can do this. I can do this. She repeated the mantra.

She spat out into the sink. Okay, now to take…

Turning to the shower, she thought about climbing in, turning on the water. Her heart sank. I can’t do this, she realized. I can’t I can’t I can’t I…

She could feel her form slipping, whole inches evaporating off of her like nothing. No! Get a hold of yourself!

Breathing. Mantra.

After a minute, she got a hold of herself—but she’d lost at least three inches in the process.

Not for the first time, Joule thought about calling her roommates for help. She knew they would do so in a heartbeat; that’s just how they were. The thought tempted her, more than she expected. But it filled her with shame. Something inside her strongly felt that to ask for help now would be a failure. That she’d be letting down not only Mocha and Paprika, but herself as well.

I have to do this on my own. It’s the only option.

Feigning more conviction than she actually held, she turned back toward the room. Okay, no problem. I’ll just skip my shower today. No problem. Time to get dressed, and then I can go.

Now wanting to push her luck by trying to open the closet, she headed for her desk, where the uniform she had shrunken out of last night lay in a neatly folded pile. She tried very hard not to think about how her roommates had seen her naked and carried her to the bed.

Joule felt some height slip away when she pulled on her bra and realized she couldn’t get it to stay on—her bust was just too thin now. She made a pained noise; everything seemed to be telling her she couldn't do this. Well fuck that. I can do this. I’m normal!

She tossed the bra away and pulled on her other clothes, one limb at a time, leaning on her desk when she needed to. Everything was baggy, but it stayed on.

Now came the hard part.

Joule approached the bedroom door. Breath held, she turned the knob, careful not to make a sound. Once it was opened wide enough to pass through, she tiptoed out.

The apartment was laid out so that every room was attached to a central hall. On one side were the dining room, living room, and Mocha’s streaming room; on the other were the kitchen, guest bedroom, guest bathroom, study, and Joule’s room; between the two, at the end of the hall was the master bedroom.

She crossed her fingers that Mocha and Paprika wouldn’t catch her, and took one timid step into the hall. The sound of running water; other than that, the coast was clear.

Treading lightly on her paws, keeping against the wall, she continued down the hall. Gradually, she began to hear her roommates’ voices drifting from the kitchen.

“...Joule, that is.”

She stopped. Unable to help herself, she listened around the corner as Paprika said, “...I mean. I didn’t think it would be a good time to say it, but… oh my god, she’s so cute.”

Mocha’s giggling, and some words that she couldn’t make out.

Then Paprika almost shouted, “Right? She was cute before she was half-a-foot tall. But now! Goddamn. I just want to hold her and tell her everything will be alright.”

“And her voice!”

“Agh, her voice. It breaks my heart.”

Joule couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wanted to be mad, but… they think… I’m cute?

The floaty feeling took hold of her core. Her form began slipping. Immediately, she shoved all those feelings down, out of sight, locking them away. She’d lost another inch in just that split second.

No. No time for that. Got to go right now.

She slid forward, crouching out of sight. The kitchen island provided the perfect cover. Mocha and Paprika said other things, but Joule wasn’t listening. She got to the front door, still crouched, and slowly opened it as quietly as she could. A minute later she was sliding it closed, her roommates none the wiser.

Get to work, prove them wrong, get to work, prove them wrong, get to work… was her new mantra as she hurried down the hall, her pant legs dragging on her heels.

She arrived at the elevator doors, impatiently reaching up to tap the button. Luckily it was already on this floor. The metal doors slid open. She stepped inside and…

And looked up at the button panel.

There was no way she could go to work like this. She felt like crying. She felt like breaking things. Something vital, whatever modicum of control she was holding onto, fizzled out in her mind, and she fell to the ground, a tiny creature buried in a crumpled work uniform.

The elevator doors slid closed.

***

Joule was exhausted, too tired to even cry. Instead she lay curled up in her pile of clothes, in the corner of the elevator.

She had tried to ground herself and grow again, but she just couldn’t. No matter how hard she concentrated, her technique wouldn’t work. She couldn’t focus, she couldn’t get bigger, she couldn’t reach the elevator buttons. She was trapped.

So for the last half hour, she simply lay there, forgotten and trying to forget. The elevator had been used by others at least twice, and each time Joule could only freeze and hope she didn’t get stepped on. So far, no one had bothered with her pile of clothes.

Joule tensed as she heard the elevator doors open once more, bracing for another giant to stroll into her tiny world. Instead of footsteps, though, there was some kind of metallic scuttling noise, like the clacking of nails on metal.

Joule pawed through the humongous clothing, and found a gap where she could peer out into the big world of the elevator beyond.

The source of the noise was a mobile chair—a device much like a wheelchair, but using mechanical legs like an insect rather than wheels—a tiny one, helmed by a tiny woman.

Though embarrassed to admit it, the first thing Joule noticed was the woman’s massive chest, bound in a tight sweater with a triangular window that exposed her cleavage. The second thing Joule noticed was that the woman’s large, red eyes perfectly matched the red antennae parting her straight black bangs. From the waist down, her tanned skin gave way to a segmented shrimp tail, curled up beneath her in the mobile chair’s padded seat.

Joule couldn’t help but be a bit intimidated by the shrimpgirl. She was beautiful in a picture-perfect way, and dressed as fashionably as if she had just skittered off a runway. And there was something familiar about her…

Joule’s claws made a tiny tapping sound as she brushed too close to a zipper. The shrimp’s antennae twitched, and her head swiveled towards Joule’s location in the pile of clothes. The tiny cat quickly pulled back out of sight, instinct taking over.

Surrounded by the dark fabric, she heard the muffled scuttling of the mobile chair getting closer. Then the shrimpgirl spoke, her voice as beautiful as her appearance.

“Uhm, like, Joule?”

Joule’s ears perked.

“Yes..?” she replied from deep in her clothing burrow.

“Oh!” The shrimp seemed surprised to get an answer. “Uhm, my name’s Nat, maybe you’ve heard of me. Paprika’s my girlfriend?”

This is Nat? Paprika’s mentioned her a few times, but I didn’t know she was…

“Are you like, okay in there?"

“Yes! I’m fine, please don’t come closer.”

“Do you need some clothes?”

Joule poked her head out. “Do you… have any?”

Nat reached around to pull up a pack that hung off the back of the chair. “Pap asked me to bring you some things.” She pulled out a bundle of tiny clothes, and tossed them to Joule.

“Wait, how did anyone know I was here?”

“Well, like, I didn’t. I was on my way up to your apartment. Then I saw the pile of clothes and made an educated guess.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. Did you say Paprika asked you to get me clothes?”

“And other things. She was pretty worried—apparently you’ve been going through some shit.”

Joule absentmindedly nodded as she picked through the clothes pile. There were tops and pants and underwear in a few different styles, all sized for a tiny person like her.

“I hope those match you. Pap gave me some rough measurements, but like, I don’t really know your style. She did mention your unique coat. And your eyes… a lot.” She gave Joule a knowing grin.

“O-oh, sorry,” said Joule, unsure what to say to that as she examined the clothes. She held up a loose tank top and some bright teal yoga pants. “These are… perfect, actually.”

“Great!” Joule could almost hear the shrimp’s relief. “And don’t be. I wouldn’t be dating Pap, of all people, if I wasn’t okay with sharing.”

Joule sat up, quick as a switch, her cheeks red as Nat’s eyes. “I don’t—it’s not…” she trailed off, unable to finish such an obvious lie.

Remembering she was naked, she covered up her exposed chest with her arms before slipping back inside the burrow of giant clothes. Natalia just giggled.

A minute later she emerged, fully dressed.

“You look good! Glad to see Pap’s… detailed descriptions were accurate. I was like, worried the clothes wouldn’t match right.”

Indeed, the outfit matched Joule’s natural coloration perfectly.

“You did a great job,” Joule agreed. Then she awkwardly added, “on yourself, too.”

“Thank you. I do have an image to maintain.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, not to brag or anything but a lot of people consider me something of a fashion icon. One of my many side gigs.”

“Wait, are you..?”

“I am! What did you recognize me from? Swimsuit, microfashion, brand deals, insta?”

Joule shook her head. “I’m not on social media much. You’re the spokesperson for MicroSec.” It was a tech startup that was designing miniature phones and computers.

Nat’s red eyes flashed, a sly smile crossing her face. “I’m impressed. That’s one of my more niche projects. And one of my favorites.” The shrimp pulled a perfectly shrimp-sized smartphone out of her cleavage. “But like, that can wait. Let’s get back to the apartment.”

“How? We can’t reach the buttons. And I couldn’t even climb the stairs when I was normal-sized.”

“Normal is relative, honey. And no, we can’t reach those buttons,” she gestured towards the panel, an impossible distance above. “But we don’t need to.”

She scuttled over to the wall below the panel. Joule had to jog to keep up. She stopped right where the wall met the floor. About two inches from the bottom was a metal square nearly flush with the surrounding wall, roughly one inch to a side.

She jerked her head toward the square. “Push it in, then let go.”

Joule did as she was told. When she pushed the square in, there was a click, and the metal square swung open. Behind it was a panel of buttons just like the one above, except much smaller.

“Wow, I’ve never seen this before. Are they new?”

Nat shook her head. “Micro-sized panels have always been around, but they had a reputation for always being broken. Big people on the elevator would kick ‘em, or step on ‘em, or whatever, and then no one would bother to fix it. A couple years ago the city started requiring these push-open covers, so they’re more protected now.” She put her hands on her hips. “I may have had a hand in that legislation.”

“You work in law, too?”

“Mm hmm. I work at a firm focusing on demihuman law, and I head up the microhuman division. Lawyer is my actual job, all the other shit is just side projects.”

“That’s seriously impressive!”

The shrimp just shrugged. “Very sweet of you to say. Now like, push the button already.”

Joule punched in her floor, and leaned back against the wall. “How did I never notice these until now?”

Nat shrugged again, though it was clear she knew why. “You never needed to. Until you did.”

That gave Joule pause. What other things made for microhumans have I never bothered to notice?

All at once, Joule remembered all her thoughts of ‘fairness’ and ‘being normal’ over the last day. A knot of shame tightened in her chest as her previous words resurfaced. ‘I’m not a fucking shrimp!’

Joule looked at Natalia, who happened to be stretching her arms in a way that made her chest just out even more than usual. The shrimpgirl caught her staring, and winked.

Well, she is, thought Joule, and she’s fucking awesome.

***

The elevator announced their arrival, and the doors whooshed open. Joule followed Nat into the hall, trying to think of what to say.

“So, what’s your aura?”

“It’s a secret,” she answered with a mischievous grin. “What’s yours?”

“It’s… a secret.”

Nat giggled as she dialed a number on her phone. “How mysterious…”

The ringer connected.

“Hey babe, it’s Nat. Listen, I’m right outside, and I’ve got a little someone with me.”

The voice on the other line suddenly got loud and frantic.

“She’s okay! Just a little shaken.” Nat glanced at Joule smiling warmly. “Mm hmm. We’re standing at the door.”

She hung up.

“By the way, you’ll want a pair of these.” She handed Joule two small bits of plastic that looked a bit like hearing aids. “Helps the giants not hurt your ears all the time.”

Joule thanked her, and put them in just as the door swung open to reveal Mocha and Paprika. The two huge girls dropped to their knees, shaking the ground.

“Joule!” they shouted, making the tiny catgirl very grateful for the devices in her ears.

“We looked everywhere for you!” Paprika said. Her voice was congested, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

“What happened? Where did you go?” asked Mocha. “We thought you were lost somewhere, or stuck!”

Joule had never seen either of them this upset. Mocha’s calm demeanor had always seemed unbreakable. For what felt like the thousandth time since last night, Joule felt tears come unbidden to her eyes. “I’m sorry,” Joule said, “I did something really, really… I thought I could…” she couldn’t continue.

“Please,” said Mocha, “please don’t scare us like that. We were so worried.”

“If you want to go out, please just tell us,” said Paprika.

Joule nodded. “I will. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Paprika moved her hand, then stopped herself. “Are you… it’s okay if you’d rather not, but… can we..?”

Right now, Joule decided she could really use some comfort. And, she remembered, I trust them. I’ve got to remember that.

She nodded again. “Let’s start small, though. Stick out your pointer fingers.”

They did. Joule reached out to each one, pulling them together so they were right against each other, and hugged both of them at once.

Once the hug was over, Paprika turned to Nat for a long-overdue greeting. She picked up the giddy shrimpgirl in both hands, bringing her in for a smooch that covered half her face. “Hi, darling,” Paprika said.

Nat hugged her cheeks, her antennae tickling the tabby’s brow. “Hey babe!”

Paprika lowered her back into her chair. “And you,” she said, turning to glare at Joule. “I’m going to make you a hot cocoa, wrap you up in a blanket, and then you’re going to call your work to say you’re not coming in.”

“I, uh, yes sir!”

Paprika gave a stern nod, and made for the kitchen. “Anyone else want a hot drink?”

>> NEXT CHAPTER

[unhingedhearties]

I'm Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today

I should be getting ready for a big family event (that of course has to happen while the new season airs. Good thing there's space on the TV to record the rest of the season) but then THIS catches my eye, and I can't not share it:

I see the name Writer Janine so I know this is going to be good.

Oh! It's been a post or two since I've explained it, so here's a refresher for those who don't know who Writer Janine is. Writer Janine is the Heartie who wasted no time calling Lucabeth breaking up a massacre right after a real world massacre happened and when asked to rethink her choice of words since it was grossly inappropriate, doubled down because the slaughter of innocent people half a world over means nothing to her.

Never. Ever. Forget. That.

So this is what this brilliant mind wrote:

You'll notice a lot of the same words get reused. Hmm... I feel like I've pointed this out before 🤔

Wow, it's almost like Mei and Mike are in love or something. It's almost like Mei's only ever been in an abusive relationship and Mike's in his first real relationship and they're both nervous and happy about it. But other people (real or fictional) can't be happy. That's not allowed! Not when Team Lucas fans are still hurting 7 freaking months after their soap opera didn't end the way they wanted.

Bill Avery... lousy inspector *literally travels to the scene of the crime & figures out Pike's testimony doesn't add up with nothing more than a stopwatch and his own 2 feet.*

😂 This woman watched WCTH, believes this and actually thinks she's a writer. It's like a dog thinking it's people.

disloyal, disloyal, disloyal etc...

Janine, this show doesn't take place on Kashyyyk and the cast isn't made up of Wookiees. No one has a life debt to Lucas. Especially when they've known Elizabeth far longer. And yes, Lucas is a fraud, a crook and con. I'm sorry him being interesting triggers you this much. We like us some bad boys here, not neutered down tea sippers. It's time for him to dip into the whiskey and have a real drink like a man's man.

Little Jack easily transfers affections from his dad for half his life to mom's new guy.

Okay, I've got to say this first. White Americans have the weirdest relationship with the concept of "community". You all claim to want it, you cry about how it apparently doesn't exist anymore, you idolize some long-gone concept of community from "the good old days", but when you actually see what a loving, supportive community of people is (usually from *gasp* large immigrant families) you fall apart. Community isn't going to your mega church once a week to gossip about which families looked at you the wrong way or aren't raising their children in a way you approve of. It's family and friends you trust pitching in, going out of your way to lend your time and help when someone needs it instead of just sending "thoughts and prayers", and doing what you can to create a positive environment not just for your kids, but all the kids around you. Especially with kids that are experiencing difficult circumstances like, I don't know, one parent leaving or dying. Like Elizabeth and LJ.

I remember 30 years ago when people were quoting the phrase "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child" like they were profound scholars, but never put it into practice because the reality of what that means sent them into a tizzy. That's why I love Faith looking after Lilly and the whole Daycare Center plot. Everyone pitches in to help the kids and community grow.

A four year old boy having several positive male role models in his life isn't going to harm him. Lucas wasn't LJ's "dad" for half his life, he was his buddy. And his buddy is still a positive influence in his life. And if it surprises you that LJ has affection for the Mountie that's kind to him and shares the same job as his biological father, I don't know what to tell you (besides that you're a shit writer if you didn't see that coming).

Anyway, how about some of the responses:

Oh Lynne, you sweet summer child. I wish I had your optimism.

Oh my God, we're still doing this!?

Team Lucas Stop Deflecting And Actually Address The Horrible Behavior From Your Side Challenge: Impossible.

Stop. You do not want to be this kind of person. You need to stop ignoring when a handful of people you agree with do awful things and you need to stop bring up the awful behavior of the handful of lunatics from the side you hate as deflection. If you live your life like this, it will come back to bite you in the ass. If you really want to keep acting like this though, I have no problem pinning the reprehensible behavior of people like Janine and Liz onto all Lucas fans. If you want to be this way, I can start saying all Lucas fans think the massacres in the middle east aren't that big of a deal and that Ben Rosenbaum raising money to fight MS really pisses them off. The choice is yours.

"talks down on her ex's love language"

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! I've ranted enough on this post and don't have time to go into this, so I'll leave it up to people who have said it before and better than I could: Love Language is bullshit part 1

Love Language is bullshit part 2

Love Language is bullshit part 3

Love Language is bullshit part Just Go Here

[top-tier-tickles]

Super Mario Role Reversal AU

Chapter 2! I'm so excited to write this fic and I hope you enjoy it! Also, please don't be mad for what I did to Pauline, please please please please please PLEASE-

______________________________________

Chapter 2: Hooked On The Pals!

"We're the Pipe Pals, and plumbing's our game-

We're not like the others who get all the fame!

"If you're sink is in trouble, you can call us on the double!

You can count on these gals, you'll be hooked on the pals!"

Flashes of two women bounced around the screen as the rap played, showing off various aspects of their plumbing services, specifically fixing a man's flooding sink.

"It's me, Peach!" A blonde, fair-skinned woman wearing a pink shirt and denim overalls cheered on the screen.

"And me, Daisy!" Another woman cheered, this one with short brown hair, tan skin, and an orange colored outfit. Both women had a hat in their respective colors, each adorned with their first initial.

"Are you tired of paying too much for plumbing?" Peach asked, standing in front of a green screen image of cash.

"Oh my!"

"That's why the Super Pipe Pals are here!" She assured, as she and Daisy planked on stools to give the appearance of flying superheroes.

"Here to save Brooklyn!" Peach flicked a tiny toy van on a map.

"And Queens!" Daisy added, repositioning the toy when it veered a little too far to the left.

"And your wallet!"

"Thank you Super Pipe Pals! It seems like the only thing you haven't drained is my bank account!" The man from earlier said, squinting at the card offscreen.

The commercial cut back to the pair, standing in front of there van with their arms wrapped around each other.

"So forget those expensive plumbing companies where you're just a client. With the Super Pipe Pals, you're family!"

...

The two women stood in the parlor, arm in arm in awe at their commercial. It was cheaply made and super corny, but god dammit, it was theirs. And they loved it.

The ad ended and the TV, hanging amongst pictures of famous fighters of years past, cut to a news broadcast.

The two laughed, smiling widely at each other.

"You were great!" Peach complimented, knocking Daisy's hat in front of her eyes.

"I was great? Are you kidding me? You were great!" Daisy retorted, giving Peach's arm a few punches.

"I am so glad we spent our life savings on this commercial!" The pink woman said.

"Hey, that is not a commercial, girl! That is cinema."

"B-But what about the voices?" Peach asked, recalling the high-pitched tones they performed, "Is it too much?"

A bystander, who was playing a nearby arcade game, turned to them.

"Too much? It's-a perfect!" He said.

"Alright, I'm gonna trust you!" Peach giggled.

A laugh interrupted their celebration.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Brooklyn's favorite failures: the Stupid Pipe Pals!" A woman with dark hair, sunglasses, and a hat that read "Wrecking Crew" on it laughed, taking a bite out of a pizza slice.

"Oh, fantastic. Pauline's here." Daisy grumbled.

"Hello Pauline." Peach said, rolling her eyes.

"Ha, Yeah! 'Oh my!', She laughed, mocking their voices.

She took a minute to collect herself, taking off her sunglasses to wipe a tear from her eye. Pauline turned back, her chocolate brown eyes meeting Peach's bright blue.

"Tell me, have you two gotten ONE call since you left me to start your dumb company?"

Daisy pulled out her phone, "As a matter of fact, we have."

"Wow, really?" Peach asked, surprised herself.

"Yeah! Our friend, Mona, called and said: 'OMG, You guys! That's the best commercial I ever seen!'" Daisy recounted, imitating Mona's voice, "And I said: "Well, thank you my friend, we're very proud of it!" She finished, wrapping an arm around a mortified Peach.

"So BOOM!" Daisy jeered, slamming her phone into the hard floor, freezing when she heard the screen shatter.

A tiny moment of silence passed before Pauline laughed again, wiping her mouth with a napkin before balling up the lipstick-stained paper.

"Yeah. Good luck running a business with this ditzy airhead-" She tossed the ball at Peach who caught it before it hit her face.

"What did you just call her?!" Daisy growled, balling her fists.

"Daisy, take it easy..." Peach said, pulling her back by the shoulder.

"Careful, Peach. You might need to put a leash on her."

Peach paused, turning to Pauline with a cold, hard stare.

"Excuse me?"

Pauline smirked.

"Insult my best friend again, and you're gonna regret it." Peach threatened, tossing the napkin right in their former boss's face.

Pauline sat stunned for a second, before standing up.

"Oh yeah?", She said, grabbing Peach by the straps of her overalls, "Get this through your tiny brain, Peach. You're a joke! And you always will be."

She dropped her, sending her to the floor. She fixed her red work button-up, tossed her tip on the table, and left the parlor with a laugh.

"Rancid bitch!" Daisy hurled, kneeling down to help Peach up, "I oughtta-"

"Daisy, come on. You can't start fights with everyone who looks at us the wrong way." Peach huffed.

"The Hell I can't! I'm not gonna let her talk to you that way! And frankly, you could stand up for yourself more often!" Daisy retorted.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

"Yeah, sure they don't hurt ya, Peachy."

Their banter was once again interrupted, this time by Daisy's phone ringing. Hse picked it up, an unknown number showing on the shattered screen. The pair shrugged, and Daisy answered.

"Hello, Super Pipe Pals! Uh-huh....A drip in your faucet- That's great! Er- uh, Great that you called us! Because we can be there and fix it right away!" Daisy stuttered and hung up, turning to Peach.

"Peach, we got one! The Super Pipe Pals are in business!" Daisy cheered. The two embraced each other, jumping, spinning and squealing just as they did as little girls.

"Wahoo!"

The two rushed out of the parlor and into their van, buckling up and revving up to go.

Until their van sputtered to a stop, refusing to start up again.

"Oh God, we're gonna be late!" Daisy lamented.

"No we're not! Come on, let's go!" Peach jumped out of the car and ran around the corner, Daisy stumbling behind.

"Peach, wait up!"

Peach jumped over a trash can, through a open car window, and past a nearby shopper, all in record time.

"Come on, Dais!"

Daisy attempted the same thing, only to knock over the trash, agitate a cat, slam into the car door and shopper, and drop her tool bag in the process. She spouted out apologies, scrambling up the tool bag and rushing to follow Peach, who'd stopped at a construction site.

Daisy caught her breath while Peach ran forward, leaping straight into the zone.

"Aw, Peach, what the Hell are you doing?!"

Peach leapt and bounced, climbing the platforms and opening up a clearer path for Daisy. Despite the disturbance they caused, Peach jumped to the pole of Castle Burger, sliding down.

"C'mon, Daisy, work those legs!"

"I'm trying! I got bad knees!"

The two made it to their client's home shortly, a large white penthouse, much different from the surrounding buildings.

Daisy whistled, "Oh, Wow. We have hit the big time!" Peach fist bumped her, laughing.

They knocked on the front door, and a woman answered.

"Oh! You must be the plumbers."

"Yep! The Super Pipe Pals, at your service, ma'am! Where's the problem?" Peach asked.

"Follow me, dear." The woman prompted, they followed her and her husband into the home. Everything was pristine and white, shining in the sunlight from the giant windows.

"The drip is right upstairs, at the end of the hall."

"Can you fix it?" Her husband asked.

"Very confident, sir."

"You'll be careful about making a mess?" The woman inquired.

"Ma'am, I assure you. We don't make messes, we fix 'em!" Daisy laughed, suddenly freezing when she saw a cat lying in a bed.

"Oh this is Michelle! She likes you!" The woman, cuddled the purring kitty.

Daisy hesitantly stepped forward, accidentally stepping on a plastic ball with a bell in it, snapping it in half.

The cat stared at her, and Daisy stepped back, being pulled into the bathroom by Peach.

Peach eyed the sink spying the aforementioned drip in the faucet. The pipes below squeaked, spitting water in Daisy's face. She handed Peach a wrench, and with one swift tightening, the drip stopped.

"And that is our first job complete!" She said, her and Daisy performing their handshake. They turned to leave, only to stop in their tracks.

Michelle sat in the doorway, holding her broken toy under her paw. Her ears flipped back, her hind leg shut the door behind her, and she slowly approached the two, hissing.

She launched herself at them, hitting the sink and knocking it loose off the wall. The feline turned to Daisy, who had a plunger pointed at it.

"Peach, do something!"

Peach sat on the shower floor, tossing a nearby shampoo bottle at the cat, it turned its attention to her lunging forward with her claws out. Peach was able to hold her back, leaping against the wall over the cat, and shutting the shower door.

She caught her breath, before hearing a creaking noise.

"Uh, Peach?" Daisy prompted, pointing at the now loose sink. Water spouted from under the tap and the pipes inside, cracking the tile on the wall.

Underneath the floor, pipes burst, lifting the tiles up, which Peach stomped back down. Daisy stomped down another one, before turning to the now shaking mirror.

A blast of water launched the mirror in Daisy's face. She pushed it back with all her might. The lid to the toilet tank erupted water as well. Being held down by Peach. This only redirected the water to the shower, knocking the shower head and handles off.

The closed shower filled with water, slowly bringing the feral cat up to the top.

"That demonic cat is gonna escape!" Daisy yelled, still holding the mirror against the wall.

"No it won't!" Peach grabbed the wrench, and turned at a pipe, allowing the filling water in the shower to drain.

Peach sighed, sitting on the toilet lid to catch her breath. It was short-lived, however, as the cat had climbed onto the ledge of the shower door, growling.

"Eheheheh....Who's a good kitty?" Peach laughed nervously, holding the wrench out while Daisy shielded herself with the mirror.

The cat jumped, and the two women hugged each other, screaming. They both jumped out of the way, and the cat missed them. The window had been knocked open, the cat flying out of it.

Despite their tussle with the feline, they couldn't just stand there! They can't let an animal die, let alone a client's pet! Peach leapt after it, catching it with the plunger. Daisy held onto her legs, yanking them back into the bathroom.

Of course, it was then that the woman and her husband came up, coming to check on the girls. They both gasped at the sight of their now destroyed bathroom, their soaked pet, and the two guilty women.

Peach giggled nervously, "Found the problem..."

______________________________________

END OF CHAPTER 2

[quotidian-oblivion]

Your turn!

17. Teen Titans or Young Just Us?

18. Favorite animated show?

19. Favorite superhero family?

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)?

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go?

22. Favorite Robin?

25. Batgirl or oracle?

26. Whos your favorite batgirl?

27. Batgirl and the birds of Prey or Redhood and the Outlaws?

OKAY WOW NOW THESE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS TYSMMMMM

DC ask game

17. I've answered that and I'll link it here

18. Favorite animated show?

See now, I have to think for this one.

Okay, all my favorite DC shows in no order are:

Teen Titans (original)

Teen Titans Go

Young Justice (only the first season, the second season's okay)

Batman: The Animated Series

Justice League: The Animated Series (I'm gonna combine Justice League Unlimited with this one)

DC superhero girls (the new one)

Justice League Action

I highlighted some of them in purple cuz they're just silly little goofy shows with the occasional life lesson and I love them. Special shoutout to the DC superhero girls for doing Bruce Wayne right. Batman, yeah he's a fun goofy guy, but Bruce Wayne? That man is a himbo surrounded by cameras 24/7 and acts like a real billionaire and who would ever suspect that man to be Batman? WHO???

But for my favorite... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hefrsodun

I'm gonna say Justice League Animated Series. Just because that was the first piece of DC content I consumed and also because all the episodes were available on YouTube for free for a brief period of time before they got taken out and I watched the first two seasons (which was not the Unlimited ones) like, 3 or 4 times.

I havent watched enough of Batman TAS, just a few episodes, and I havent watched all of Teen Titans either and Young Justice went down after season 1 and I'm bitter about more than a few things in there.

19. Favorite superhero family?

Are you kidding? You have read my ao3 account. You know this answer XD

It's the Batfamily. Found family, sibling shenanigans and protective brothers galore. I love them all so so much.

But another family which I especially like is the Flash family. But it's not my favorite cuz I haven't consumed enough content on a lot of the characters there and I can't relate very well to some characters in there. But I love the Flash family because it is an utter mess. At least with the Bats, you know that all of them are connected to Bruce on some level. But the Flashes? God, they're all disasters and I love them. I'm mentioning the Flash family under the category of superhero family favorites because of Bart, Max, Barry, Wally and Nora (XS).

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)?

Took me a bit to notice that this was different to question 17 😅

The Teen Titans show. All the way. Young Justice crashed after season 1 and there are more than a few things that I am bitter about. And those things just drive me up the walls with anger like- vfgeyhhwblaeiehildsbfgfh veger asbhvid fwrdhbdw

I also love the whump in TT!!! Like the Renegade (Dick being a forced mentee to Slade) arc? FEVRGWHEUOAN BEAUTIFUL.

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go?

Heck yeah I do! My sisters and I, every time it comes on TV or one of us puts it on the tab, all shriek at each other to get and gather around already and we all laugh and scream at the episodes. It's so goofy and silly, I love it. (Other than the butt-related jokes)

22. Favorite Robin?

EVIE YOU KNOW THIS TOO AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS QUESTION BECAUSE NOW I'M GONNA RANT ON IT

Not a too big rant cuz there are other questions and this post is already long (i love it, thank you)

SO. You obviously know it's Tim Drake. But before, I used to like Dick Grayson. Why? Because of Young Justice season 1. The kid was smart, sly, cheeky, badass, and a dangerous joy to be around. But he was a combination of comics Tim and Dick. Not- Dick. I realized that later when I read...

That's right, Red Robin. Red Robin was the first Tim Drake content I consumed (other than the Batman: TAS one with Tim, though that was Tim and Jason combined).

I read Red Robin and fell in love with the utter trash this kid was. I read about him in his lowest point and fell in love. I understood him on a deeper level. I especially loved-

You guessed it, the speculative element. I love mysteries, riddles, puzzles. And Red Robin had some good speculative elements to it. That fight against the Council of Spiders? Chef's kiss. I also love how Tim went behind everyone's backs and came up with the best fucking plans to defeat the bad guys, and I especially love how most of the time it included him getting hurt. Am I saying this boy is self-destructive? Absolutely. I love that shit cuz I can relate to it (on a level).

But you know what sealed the cake when I read his Robin run?

THIS WAS A FUCKING CHILD WHO WAS A FUCKING DAMN GENIUS AND HE CHOSE THE SUPERHERO BIZ AND HE IS GOOD AT IT.

I once saw a post that talked about how Tim Drake is the Robin that everyone knows, not Dick, not Jason, not Damian. Tim. Tim built the whole brand of Robin. That signature 'R'? That was all him. And you can see that in the comics. When he can't reach his batarangs (or birdarangs), he uses the 'R' fixed to his chest as a weapon to escape multiple times. It's not just branding. It's strategical. Before, Robin was all "Holy crimes, Batman" and scaly panties (love that for Dick), but Tim came and rebranded the whole Robin legacy. His backstory isn't well-known but it was him who removed Robin out of Batman's shadow. Now, Robin is still a protegee, but an independent protegee. Sure Dick's Robin with the Titans already showed that, but it was Tim who came and fully established that. He's the only Robin who had his own comic run that went around 200 issues and he's the only Robin who appears the most in other comics. Nightwing doesn't count cuz he moved on from Robin.

I like Tim because he's a normal kid who chose something and worked on it till he became good at it.

My dad likes Batman because he was a normal guy who chose something and worked on it till he became good at it. And now I like Batman because of that.

DO YOU SEE THE PATTERN?

DO YOU??????

I can go on for much longer, but this rant proved to be too long once again. Timothy Jackson Drake is one fucking badass character and I am so mad that he's so ignored and tarnished badly in the comics, but I am so fucking ecstatic that the fanfiction and the fandom community is celebrating him and have so much fanfiction with him. Especially how he joins the family early.

Edit: OH!!!! HERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHICH @sardonic-sprite POSTED ABOUT A WHILE AGO: yebif

*takes deep breath* Okay, next questions :)

25. Batgirl or oracle?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. THIS IS SO HARDI CANT DECIDE FVBHGEWFHDUBHVFDH

I'm gonna sayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Oracle. Cuz that means that Cass and Steph get their moments to shine.

26. Whos your favorite batgirl?

I've already answered this! And it's over here ^^

27. Batgirl and the birds of Prey or Redhood and the Outlaws?

Ooooh, now this is tough cuz I haven't read much of either. I have read some, but not much. Very little in fact.

But I'm gonna say Red Hood and the Outlaws cuz I love it when Roy appears in fanfiction, especially to egg and annoy and push Jason when he and Tim are bonding. And also cuz I fucking love Lian.

OKAY. DONE. THANKS SO MUCH EVIE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[heartstringsduet]

happy nice ask day! i absolutely love your fics and love seeing you on the dash!! i’d love to know about your writing process—anything from music you listen to, to what inspires you, etc. also, what does your dream storyline for any character on lone star look like? —maddie/reyesstrand <3

Happy one day after NAD <3 Thanks for asking and the sweet sweet compliments. I'm glad you like my writing and my chatty online presence! I can say the same about you <3 Soooo, inspiration is 80% music, 10% tv shows, 10% the modicum of horniness of someone on the ace spectrum lol And let me tell you about my writing process: I have a vague idea. Let's say: story about why TK likes lizards. and maybe one more plot point like: he saw one at rehab he found comfort in. That's it. That's when I sit down to write because I promise you, my hands lead me somewhere if I want them to or not. I often write 2k+ words (for a 10k story) that meet the snippet graveyard because those scenes make no sense for the storyline. It's really hard for me to stay focused, have a throughline and it's the thing that I love, how fun and surprising it can be to see, wow, I didn't even have an idea for this but within seconds, it sprang up on me. And I hate how it makes me feel like I truly can't write consistent stories the way I admire others doing. Know that it is the one thing I'm super jealous of for literally every fic I read by you all. Someone once said, Danger Zone is all over the place and super confusing and I was like...girl I know??? It made me quite sad because it's something I'm aware of and sometimes I'm fine with it and other times I want to throw my stories in the garbage because with how I write, I sometimes only find the true core of the story on page 150 and then would have to rewrite a LOT or just live with it being a subpar story. I planned out First Aid chapter by chapter. I tried. Now I have like 7k to delete at least and it's near impossible to stick to the storyline with how spontaneous I write. Oh welllll. Wheeew. Another nack I have is making everything wordy and dramatic instead of light hearted. 😬 Oh god I already wrote an essay over here but for the last question, a storyline I'd love to see is TK reconnecting with Enzo and Jonah and having him visit and see how Carlos and him can care for him for a bit. I don't necessarily want them to be parents actually, but I love TK so goddamn much and that guy deserves to have a bit of actual family. And how fun would a single episode be of the chaos a toddler can bring? I just need a bit of light-hearted fun again for Tarlos.

[rosesradio]

i feel guilty for not writing (like, ever :’) ) so here’s a little piece on will’s first crush being steve (in the sense that mike had a crush on eddie, sometimes kids crush on older teens, not actually endorsing will/steve or mike/eddie). anyways, it’s 1k words and based in s1, enjoy--

The D20

November 6, 1983.

"Come on, Will, hurry up!" Mike's voice called from downstairs. Will had taken a bathroom break--hours of playing and several sodas will do that to you, but the rest of the Party acted as though he was a monster for pausing their game. He ran a shortcut through the living room recklessly, not glancing around at any of his surroundings, and collided face first into someone wearing a dark blue sweater.

"Sorry!" Will said hurriedly. There was a clatter, and--"Oh, shoot, where's my D20?" He started searching around the ground for it, not really caring about who he bumped into. It was probably just Mr. Wheeler, and he wasn't about to get on the ground to help look.

"Your D...what?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Will glanced up to see someone he hadn't met before, but he could only assume was Steve, Nancy's new boyfriend. Mike had called him Steve "The Hair" Harrington or Annoying Pretty Boy, and this guy looked as though he could match the description. He was...pretty. Will supposed he hadn't really thought about that with anyone, except maybe characters in TV shows.

"My D20," Will explained, a heat rising to his cheeks now at how reckless he'd been. "The die I was using for DnD. Mike got it for me, and Lucas told me if I carried it around for luck, we might could win the campaign--"

"Right," Steve nodded. Smiled. Will smiled back. "Well, I better help you find it, then. Can't let them know it touched the ground, or else the monsters might get you."

Will had a sneaking suspicion he was making fun of him, but also...not. At least he wasn't doing it outright in the way his dad used to. He nodded, and Steve got down on the floor to help him scope out the tiny die.

"Oh," Steve reached for it--it was wedged under one of the curving table legs of the coffee table. "Is this it? Wow, it's colorful."

"Yeah," Will took the die with a smile. "Mike said the purple and green swirls look like magic, so maybe it'd bring luck."

"Hm," Steve hummed. "I thought that nerd--I mean magical game stuff had a lot of superpowers. Why would you need luck?"

Will looked thoughtful at that. "I guess I don't. I've been casting protection all game...maybe I'll try Fireball this time..."

"Will, come on, the Party needs you!" Mike called again.

"Gotta go," Will said. "Um. I could leave the die here, maybe. If you ever want to play with Nancy?"

Steve laughed at that, but it wasn't a mean laugh. Maybe he found Will...charming. Mom always said he had a special way of making people like him...even if the kids at school couldn't see that yet.

"Yeah, maybe," Steve shrugged. "Good luck at your game, then."

"Thanks," Will replied, noting a moment later how breathless he sounded, and how stupid that was. He hurried downstairs, meeting Mike's eyes with a giddy smile. Steve may have been pretty and nice, but no one matched Will's love of DnD like Mike.

--

"Why did you stop?" Jonathan asks him. They're both sitting in those uncomfortably stiff chairs in the station, trusted enough to be kept from fighting in Powell's company. "You had all that shit to say about me, about my family, and you tried to fight...but you let me win. Why?"

Steve can feel a smile form on his lips, but his heart is heavy, pierced with the anchor of his earlier words. "I let you win?" He felt like, at one time--at an hour ago, he would have rubbed that in Jonathan's face. But no, Jonathan beat the shit out of him until the cops came, no doubt about it. Even if he hadn't saw...what he saw. If he hadn't thought too much into it...no, Jonathan still would've beaten him. Steve's heart wasn't in it, not really.

"Yeah," Jonathan pushes further. "You had this...look in your eyes. You saw something. What was it?"

Steve scoffed, slumping in his seat so far his back hurt. What did it matter, what he saw? Will Byers was dead, he'd watched the burial. But even so, he could feel it, the die, weighing a hole in his pocket, with so many sides it felt like an even ball. He thought on a stupid jab to say, but it was no use. This was far above either of them.

He pulled the die from his pocket, holding it out for Jonathan. "It fell out of your pocket during the fight. I didn't want," he paused, the breath too big for his lungs. He wasn't going to cry, not for this kid he didn't know. But he thought of how sweet his smile was, how innocent. How he suggested he played DnD with Nancy. And his eyes were stinging a little...probably because Jonathan had punched him in the nose earlier. "I didn't want it to get scratched up, that's all."

"Oh," Jonathan said softly, taking the die from him, rolling it in his fingers. "Yeah, um. Thanks."

Steve nodded, sitting up with a shrug. "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it, any of it. As soon as we get out of here, I'm...gonna try to make things right. I know that won't bring Will back, but...I want to do whatever I can, you know. To help."

Jonathan gave him this odd look, then, as if Steve suddenly started speaking another language. But he relaxed, marginally. Then he seemed...thoughtful. Contemplative. He leaned over and whispered. "Don't say a word, but I'll give this back to Will when I see him."

When he sees him...? Steve's brows furrowed. He can't be talking about the afterlife, could he? Most everyone in Hawkins was Christian, but Steve didn't think the Byers were the religious type. Even so, when he pulled away with a curious look, Steve had a feeling Jonathan was talking about something a little bit stranger.

[fictionalreads]

Love Is Blind Season 3 Episode 5 and Episode 6

Brennon and Alexa

Yeah he’s a country boy, and she’s definitely more of a beach girl.

Girl why are you telling your sex life to the world?

Brennon you are so awkward and terrible at flirting.

I love their height difference.

Prenups are smart. You don’t wish bad things happen but sometimes they do.

Her dad has a nice house.

They know your name is Brennon.

I feel like them being quiet is worse than them outright saying something negative. I would be worried the whole time.

Her dad is like “how the hell did you get here then?”

Matt and Colleen

Okay no need to lie. You were into them. Matt was your third choice. And that’s okay! You got there in the end. But don’t act like you didn’t cry over the other two.

Why is Cole fishing for problems? And why is he telling Colleen his business?

Well you wanted a hurdle. Now you got it.

This man is eating so angrily.

Nah but what the fuck is this “in the real world” shit. Is this an RPG? Like. I know it’s reality tv but still. That wording is not my favorite.

Oh they’re matching. It’s super cute on them.

Bartise and Nancy

Nancy is like “I’m just gonna eat what I want, I don’t give a damn about the healthy shit. I want pizza.” And he’s like “salad”

I used to really like Bartise but something about him out of the pods is just not doing it for me.

Boy if you don’t back the fuck up from Raven? Why do you keep going to her? The point of the show is emotional bonding not physical.

He’s very….full of himself.

Why does he keep bringing this shit up?

Raven and SK will probably say yes. But I don’t know if Nancy will say yes to you.

His answer isn’t yes right now. He’s regretting it cause he’s superficial.

Her family is not playing around 😂

Her brothers do not like you. Like they said, they putting up with you cause she loves you.

Her family don’t like him. At least that’s the vibe I get.

Boy you aren’t not folding that right.

I think you’d have to talk it out. Like how bad would the defects be? As in would you be sparing the kid of a short and painful life? Or would the kid just be a little different, but still capable of having a good life? I would need to know all the facts of the situation.

Did this man say one pass? Get off my screen.

Raven and SK

Raven is not here for Bartise.

Okay, okay. They’re getting there. Cause they were super boring. Now they’re only mildly boring.

LMAO He’s like “a great night” and she’s like “it was terrible”

She’s so nervous.

I feel like it’s gonna be a huge adjustment culturally.

Awe! His mom loves her!

Wow so he’s moving.

Girl no it’s not fair. He won’t be there. He’ll be in one of the most expensive states trying to better himself so one day he can afford to give you those nice things. Now if he was staying in your place, that’s different.

Cole and Zanab

Why is he fucking with her?

She has the right to feel what she feels when she feels it.

My anxiety needs him to move away from the edge of that pool in that float.

That man was dying to talk to someone.

Cole. Leave Zanab so she can find a guy who really loves her.

Cole. Why the fuck would you tell her that? I mean, you can feel that, but take her feelings into account before you say shit. Especially because she knows you were in Colleen’s top two.

He’s trying to joke cause he wants to lighten the mood but she wants to be serious.

She still seems upset.

This is the quietest I’ve ever seen Cole. This man is nervous fr fr.

OH THATS SO SAD! For someone to realize this person that has been their mother figure has been in their life longer than their mom (who I assume wasn’t abusive, but loving) and cry about it is heartbreaking.

Oh wow she went straight into a prayer.

Miscellaneous

Going into this episode, I feel like Matt & Colleen and Brennon & Alexa are the strongest couples. We’ll see if that holds true.

I feel so bad for the people whose parents aren’t supporting them. I get not agreeing with it, but you don’t have to agree or like something to respect it. And that’s what it is, respecting their decision as adults for THEIR lives.

WOOOW ITS JUST GONNA END LIKE THAT?! How rude.

I just realized I just kept typing when episode 6 came on and I never started a new post.

[an-aura-about-you]

apparently I've got more thoughts about chapter 15 of Handbook for Mortals so have an addendum:

-first off, chapter 0 spends so much time telling us stuff that doesn't matter at all to the story but doesn't go into why Zade wants to work for Spellman's show in the first place. if we wanna steal an idea from a better story, this would have been the perfect opportunity to go into an explanation like Miguel does at the beginning of Coco talking about music, how and why his family hates it, and his secret love for the music of Ernesto de la Cruz.

(spoilers, we're gonna get some of that story in an upcoming chapter. the placement of events in this story is bananas.)

now that we know from chapter 15 she only recently found out Spellman is her father, chapter 0 would have been THE place to tell us why she wanted to work for Spellman specifically and why she thought she'd have a chance to get to work with a guy who's said to be on par with David Copperfield.

-speaking of that, there's no resume to speak of and she doesn't talk about doing any kind of stage magic work before this. there is a sort of theatricality to cartomancy, but it's very different from what's expected for a Vegas performer, as Sofia rightly implies.

all of that says to me that she's either banking on her magic being impressive enough to wow him (which only works by author fiat considering all she did was a fairly mundane high dive act) or she HAS somehow found out that Spellman is her father on her own and it's pure nepotism.

but that's only telling us why Zade thought it would work when it's clear it was going to work no matter what since Spellman is Zade's father.

-thinking of that, if Spellman already knows that Zade possibly knows Real Magic, why would HE be impressed by her high dive act? there's no indication whatsoever in what little worldbuilding we have that the teleportation component of Zade's high dive is anything truly spectacular to someone in the know. it's impressive to people who don't know it's real magic, but we have no sense of scale for it when it comes to people who do know magic.

it's actually a little amazing how the more information you get about the situation the more it looks like Zade did absolutely nothing to earn her job and all of it relied on Spellman being her dad.

-so I don't want to drag a real magician by name, so I'm gonna vagueblog about a magic act I saw on one of those specials that reminds me a lot of the big final illusion that Zade and Charles put on. it was a simple disappearing/reappearing act with also one moment where it looked like the guy manipulated a book to close from a distance at the end. most of the act was just him dancing with his assistant, who was dressed to look like Marilyn Monroe. and it stuck in my head, but for all the wrong reasons. I thought it looked very nice, but the entire time I kept wondering, "why is this in a magic show when there's barely any magic?"

seriously, the only bits of magic in the trick were him making her appear out of thin air at the beginning, making her disappear at the end, and closing the book. that was his entire routine as far as magic goes.

and it's possible to do simple disappearing/reappearing acts well, but that usually works better with someone who fancies himself an escape artist like Lance Burton. his act could also be considered a simple disappearing/reappearing act, but that is VERY different when he's restrained in the backseat of a car that's about to be crushed. then I'm not thinking of it as a disappearing/reappearing act but a high stakes escape that might kill a man on live TV.

I guess what I'm saying is framing is everything in magic and Sarem does a poor job of framing pretty much anything in her story.