#but yeah this is the top of my list of things set up this season without serious payoff that I'm like aww

[jq37]

I've largely been thrilled with the amount of sister content for Adaine and Aelwyn in Junior Year considering that Aelwyn's main arc was more or less completed last season and she could have easily been benched like so many other NPCs were this season. The only thing I was hoping would come into play but didn't was the Nemesis Ward. Even if it never comes up though, I still love it so much as a point of characterization for her. That action says so much about who she is as a person. That she would take a piece of magic specifically intended for evil and make it good in the same way that her protective magic which should have been good was twisted to be used for evil the first 18 years of her life? Mwah. Chef's kiss.

[wileys-russo]

a date to remember p2 II m.earps x reader

writing this had me giggling and kicking my feet, down so bad for mearps i want her as my fiance rn pls n thanks. this is genuinly one of my fave things i've written so far.

(( read part one here ))

a date to remember p2 II m.earps x reader 5.7K words

"-then we have the cake tastings, we have the finalise the menu, get all the RSVP's in so we can finish the seating charts, narrow down which florist is doing the flowers, look into DJ's, follow up with the photographer for a quote and-" you paused as you glanced to the side, seeing your fiances eyes closed and her head slumped back on the sofa, mouth slightly ajar.

"mary!" you huffed smacking at her shoulder as she suddenly sat upright in shock. "i'm awake!" the blonde exhaled deeply, rubbing at her eyes as your face softened. "sorry love, i know you're tired from training but we have to get this stuff sorted out!" you pressed a tender kiss to her lips in apology, running your hands fondly through her hair.

"we have the mid season break soon and i'll have a couple of weeks with more time freed up to help you get things done, i promise." marys hands squeezed at your hips as you nodded, pecking her lips a few times and turning to look back down at your list, your finances arms snaking around your waist, chin resting on your shoulder.

"christ the list is longer than i thought." the keeper whistled before burying her face in your neck with a slight groan as you nodded. "yeah why did we set the date before the end of the year again?" you sighed tiredly and shook your head. "because we're head over heels for one another and can't wait to be married, obviously." mary teased with a smile as you playfully rolled your eyes.

"baby lets just divide and conquer, go through things one by one and make individual lists of what we're each going to do, as well as what we have to do together." mary suggested as you hummed in agreement, shuffling back into her more and tucking your legs up to your chest, balancing your notebook on your knees.

"i wasn't lying though love, i can't wait to marry you." "feeling is forever mutual baby. just promise me something?" "for you? anything." "no tiktoks at the wedding."

"oh come on, i was actually planning to dance my way down the aisle. here look babe i'll give you a demonstration!" your fiance was quick to her feet as you leaned back into the sofa and watched on in amusement as she readied herself.

"i was thinking I'd start off slow, like a mad swaggy walk-" you put a hand over your mouth as the taller woman goofily walked back and forth across the carpet. "-then as i get near the aisle i'll bust it out into one of these-" you couldn't help but throw your head back in laughter as she began to dance like an absolute idiot, popping her chest in and out and flailing her limbs about.

"-then the grand finale, shakira!" your fiance sung out and you wolf whistled with a clap of approval as she turned around and started shaking her bum in your direction.

you shook your head with a grin as she stepped up onto the coffee table with a dead serious look, pointing to you and making a heart with her fingers before counting herself in and swiveling her hips, exactly like she had at the press conference.

"get down before you break something you dick!" you laughed as she jumped down, swiping your notebook from your hands and placing it on the floor, flopping herself down on top of you. "made you smile though, my favorite smile." mary cooed, poking at your cheeks as you lazily swatted away her hands.

"is it too late to cancel the engagement? i've not signed anything legally binding yet have i?" you teased with a smirk, your fiance rolling her eyes before grabbing your wrists and pinning them above your head. "far too late, few more months and you're stuck with me forever and ever and ever!" mary laughed evilly as you rolled your eyes at her childish antics.

"shut up and kiss me you muppet."

~

"love? i'm home! i have the folders from the caterers to look through with you." mary called out, kicking off her trainers and frowning as you didn't respond, calling out your name a few more times. 

it was as she poked her head into the kitchen that she finally found you, glancing out the window to see you and her mum sat together in the garden, the sight bringing a soft smile to her face.

"well good afternoon!" you looked up as your fiance walked out the back door with a grin, hair damp from her shower having just finished her final training session for the week before her match against villa on saturday night.

"hi darling." julie smiled, standing to wrap her daughter in a hug as the taller woman lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace causing her mum to laugh.

"hi beautiful." mary smiled down at you as you craned your head back and puckered your lips expectantly, your fiance bending down to kiss you sweetly as her mum sat back down beside you. 

"oh would you look at you two." the woman cooed with a happy sigh, sipping on her tea as mary rolled her eyes, hands sitting on your shoulders as your own came to rest atop them, the taller woman gently massaging a particularly tense knot she could feel forming.

"to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit then mother?" mary asked her mum, the woman explaining how the two of you had gone out to lunch and seen a film together today, then having gone to speak with a few florists in between. "without me?!" your fiances face shifted into an offended frown as she gasped. 

"yes, mother and daughter in laws only." julie teased as mary huffed and you tugged on her top and tapped at your lips, your fiance rolling her eyes but rewarding you with a smooch none the less. "i'm going to call your mum and take her out to lunch tomorrow then, without you." mary threatened, playfully shoving your head to the side as you grinned.

"you should really call my dad, we both know he loves you more than me anyway." you teased, the statement not entirely untrue as from the moment you'd brought her home even just as your best friend your dad had adored mary.

the man able to talk her ear off about football and cars and have her be actually interested, unlike the rest of his daughters who only entertained the topics for his benefit, he'd taken an instant liking to her and hadn't even let mary finish the question before giving her his blessing to marry you when she'd asked for it.

"oh i could take him to the united mens game tomorrow night! less has some tickets spare since her brothers aren't coming anymore." mary perked up, excusing herself to hurry inside and call your dad as you shook your head, watching her go with a soft amused smile.

~

you sighed as you wriggled yourself into the sixth dress of the day, the other five all having been met with some sort of picky negative comment or shake of the head from your bridal party who'd accompanied you today, and it was starting to wear on you that maybe you wouldn't find the right dress.

but pushing that thought down with a shake of your head you shimmied the thin silk number upwards, fixing how it sat on your neckline and doing a turn before stepping out of the change room. "i don't think its very...you." your eldest sister alex immediately commented with narrowed eyes, your mum humming in agreement as your best friends, including alessia and ella, all began to tear apart why it wasn't the right one.

with a quick nod you turned around and charged back into the change room, feeling tears of stress well up in your eyes you stripped off the dress as quickly as you could, sitting down on the stool in the corner and burying your face in your hands.

"darling? may i come in?" you heard the soft voice of your mum knock at the door and you took a shaky breath before confirming, the older woman stepping into the change rooms and looking down at you as the tears began to fall.

"oh come here." she sighed and opened her arms as you hugged her tightly, appreciating the comfort for a moment before pulling away and wiping the tears from your eyes with shaky hands, gratefully accepting the tissue offered your way.

"why are you crying silly girl? this is supposed to be a happy day!" she smiled sympathetically as you laughed, wiping at your eyes again with a sigh. 

"i am happy but it feels like theres so much left to do and nowhere near enough time to get it done and this is rapidly just becoming something else i have to get done. mary and i are both so run off our feet trying to get organised that we've hardly seen one another, the bills are piling up which is fine we're on budget but its still all just so...so stressful!" you vented, sitting back down on the stool and leaning your head back against the wall, closing your eyes for a second and taking a deep breath.

"then lean on the people you love and let us help you both! your sisters and i can help out, your friends can help out, your dads absolutely useless but he'll be there for a hug whenever you need one. you don't need to do this all by yourself darling." your mum pulled you into another hug as you nodded.

"okay i'm going to have to ask you to leave now because hugging my mum and crying in my underwear is a little humiliating." you mumbled, cheeks flushing red as your mum rolled her eyes with a smile, encouraging you to take your time before stepping out of the change room.

sitting back down and glancing toward the wall of dresses you were yet to try on you sighed, pulling out your phone and clicking dial on your fiances contact, knowing she was on the other side of town doing the exact same thing with her own bridal party, just needing to hear her voice.

"well well well if it isn't the future mrs earps!" you tried not to let your disappointment show as it was leah who instead answered, herself millie and rachel part of mary's bridal party, murmuring a hello in return. 

but the english captain could already tell it wasn't her that you needed right now and in a much softer tone requested you wait two seconds while she went and found your fiance.

"hi love, you alright?" your body physically relaxed as marys voice now filled your ears. "i miss you." was all you could respond, unable to see the soft smile which spread across your fiances face at your words. "i miss you too. i feel like i've not seen you in weeks!" the keeper sighed and you hummed in agreement, the two of you chatting for a moment about how your dress appointments were going, mary teasingly refusing to answer if she'd found something or not.

"baby i have to go but how about tonight we just have a date night? no wedding talk, no phone calls, nothing. we order a takeaway and just watch a bunch of those soppy romance films you love, just the two of us." mary offered sincerely and you nodded, forgetting she couldn't see you as she echoed the question and you hurried to confirm, both of you saying your goodbyes before hanging up.

filled with a new sense of motivation your eyes scanned the remaining dresses, taking them off the racks one by one to look them over, holding them up to your body until you got to the last one, and with the feelings that rushed through you, you had a feeling this could be the one.

hurrying to step into it you grinned as you looked over in yourself in the mirror, feeling the most confident you had all day as you carefully made your way out of the change room, making sure not to trip over as for the first time all day you were met with silence.

"oh darling, it's perfect." your mum gushed, tears welling up in her eyes as alex pulled her into a hug, all of your friends quickly hurrying to their feet, touching and poking at you and gushing about how this was the one.

you smiled and finally let yourself relax as ella handed you a glass of champagne, your younger sister molly launching into an excited speech as you rolled your eyes.

one more thing ticked off the list.

~

"-i'm just saying! if you'd have just shown up to my house with a boom box and a lawnmower and confessed your love to me we could have been already married." you teased your fiance as the end credits for say anything rolled.

"yeah and avoided the awkward as fuck moment that it was instead." mary groaned and hid her face in your chest, cheeks burning red as the memories of her confessions of her love for you all those years ago came rushing back.

"pretty woman, 27 dresses or dirty dancing?" you asked your best friend, holding up the DVD's in your hand as mary groaned, collapsing back into the bed with a dramatic sigh. "none of them?" the girl answered with a raised eyebrow and you scowled, throwing a fuzzy slipper at her head.

"you said if i let you pick what we had for dinner i could choose the film, so choose one maz!" you ordered firmly, holding up the DVD's again as mary sighed in defeat and pointed to 27 dresses, annoyed facade melting as you squealed happily and turned around to load it in.

"turn the frown upside down earps you get the pleasure of my company all weekend this should be cause for celebration, a parade even!" you jumped on top of her as she grunted in surprise, grinning down at your best friend who playfully rolled her eyes. 

"oh i've got the parade organised for once you leave, the real cause of celebration!" mary teased as you grabbed a pillow, smacking her in the face and yelping as she flipped your positions, the two of you rolling around on her bed and pinching and tickling and smacking at one another, the play fighting nothing unusual between you.

"okay okay, truce!" mary finally wheezed, the two of you collapsing beside one another as your chests heaved and your laughter filled her bedroom, both trying to catch your breath.

as mary turned her head to the side and looked at you, she felt her stomach jump into her throat. the dimples that formed in the corners of your mouth as you smiled, the tiny moon and star studs in the top corner of your left ear, the way the tip of your tongue poked out a tiny gap in your teeth when you grinned, the way you were at every single one of her matches and always cheering for her the loudest and proudest. 

you were perfect and she found her body wracked with guilt that she was thinking about and longing for something more than just being your best friend.

even more so she found herself swooning as you lay beside her in her bed wearing her clothes, again nothing unusual for the two of you but thinking about this very situation happening again if the two of you were something more than just friends. 

"hey...can i ask you something?" your smile dropped seeing the unusually serious look cross marys face, the two of you sitting up and facing one another cross legged on the bed. "do you ever maybe, well i know i do but i don't want to make you uncomfortable, so i guess do you-" mary struggled to get her words out as your frown deepened.

"maz, its just me." you assured her with a soft smile, placing your hands on her knees with a gentle squeeze. "thats just the problem, its just you." the older girl smiled sadly and you looked to her with confusion. "i don't understand?"

"do you ever maybe, or would you want to maybe, shit how do i word this?" she finally spoke, the blank look you gave her in return causing her heart rate to accelerate. "would you want to go for dinner and a drink sometime?" the keeper asked quickly, face palming at her own words. "we just had dinner?" you repeated slowly, starting to catch on to what your best friend was trying to ask.

"sorry no that was weird, don't worry about it." mary shook her head and went to stand up and put the movie on but you grabbed at her shirt, pulling her back down. "mary alexandra earps, are you trying to ask me on a date?" you asked quietly, a smile hinting at your lips as the taller girl hesitated before nodding.

"if thats not really weird, i love you more than anything and-" she started, catching her own words as her face lit up bright red. "not i love you like that! i mean i do love you and maybe eventually could love you like that or maybe i already do? but im just trying to-" you rolled your eyes and cut off her ramblings, pressing your lips to hers.

she tensed at first caught off guard by the sudden kiss but soon relaxed into it, her hands coming to rest on your waist before you pulled away.

"mary. i've known you since we were teenagers, maybe even loved you since then. i never wanted to act on anything because i'd rather have you as a best friend than not at all, you're my favorite person, in any way i can have you." you confessed sincerely, cupping her face in her hands as mary practically melted into a puddle at your words.

"but i think we're a little past the awkward first date going for dinner and drinks phase, i know you like the back of my own hand." you grinned, trying to ease her obvious nerves as she seemed to settle, leaning back in to kiss you again.

"oh but you were so sweet and nervous and awkward, i sort of miss that mary. the quiet and shy one who blushed every time i held her hand or kissed her cheek!" you teased, your fiances confidence having grown in leaps and bounds during the time you'd been together.

"now i just have this loud, arrogant, messy woman who hogs the blankets, snores, can't carry a tune to save her life, uses all the hot water when she showers, shoves her sweaty smelly gloves in my face-" you began to list off on your fingers as your fiance sat up properly, glaring down at you and folding her arms over her chest.

"are you done?" "no i actually have some more things i could say like-"

your words were cut short as the keeper rolled her eyes and smashed her mouth against yours, her hand moving to gently grip your neck as her tongue slipped into your mouth, ripping a quiet moan from you as you shifted underneath her.

a needy whine dropped from your lips as she pressed her knee inbetween your legs, smirking as she pulled away momentarily to let you catch your breath, burying her face in your neck as your fiance began to devour you, nipping and biting at the sensitive skin she knew all too well, her tongue tracing a sloppy line from love bite to love bite.

"that little shy awkward mary couldn't make you feel like this though, could she love?"

~

"last night of freedom and as a y/l/n baby sister!" your older sister alex cheered drunkenly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as the two of you danced like idiots, your eratic moves fueled by a bachelorette party full of tequila shots, champagne and red wine.

the wedding was tomorrow and you could finally let loose knowing the only thing you needed to do was to show up and marry the love of your life, the insane stress of the last few months melting away much like the sweat which dripped down the back of your neck in the tightly packed out club you were in.

you danced the night away with your sisters and best friends, all of whom repeatedly warned you to stop screaming every song you knew at the top of your lungs, teasingly reminding you needed to have a voice to say i do tomorrow.

"another one?" you nodded as alessia kissed your cheek and disappeared to the bar, your sisters having already called it a night and headed back to the hotel, doing their best to convince you to go with them but with no luck it left yourself, ella, alessia and your two childhood best friends to your own devices.

your body tensed as someone suddenly pressed in behind you, hands gripping your hips tightly and warm breath tickling the back of your neck. though before you could throw them off or turn around and promptly punch them in the face a familiar voice sounded in your ear.

"well fancy seeing you here beautiful."

"mary!" you cheered drunkenly, spinning around and practically throwing yourself at your fiance who grinned, catching you and twirling you around before placing you back on your feet. "mary! you didn't tell us she'd be here." leah, millie and rachel appeared behind the girl, tugging her away as you whined and alessia reappeared by your side, slipping a drink into your hand.

"its bad luck to see one another the night before the wedding!" leah reminded sternly at your pouty face, both you and your fiance protesting the statement as millie rolled her eyes and agreed the two of you could have a few songs together before you all needed to leave, reminding of the time.

"oh its your song!" you beamed, grabbing your fiances hand and dragging her away from the small huddle of women as voulez vous blasted through the speakers, the two of you grinding and groping at one another as your friends watched on with small smiles and amused shakes of their heads.

"you know i do feel the need to warn you, i have a fiance." you teased with a slight slur as mary let out a loud laugh, your favourite sound. "s'okay, she doesn't need to know." the taller girl grinned, connecting your lips as your hands roamed one anothers bodies.

"if we go now we can definitely make it to the bathroom before any of them notice we're gone?" mary breathed out needily, pulling away as both of your heads spun, positively infatuated with one another.

"we promised each other no sex until after the wedding!" you laughed, thumbs fondly stroking her jaw as she pouted. "which means we can change our minds?" the blonde asked hopefully and you only laughed harder, shaking your head. "we've gone three whole weeks, we can last one more night. then tomorrow you can do whatever you want to me!" you grinned cheekily, feeling your fiances hand smack harshly at your bum.

"alright love birds thats quite enough! home time." millie clapped and before you knew it both of your bridal parties had intervened, the large group of drunk women all banding together to keep you and mary away from one another as you all walked back to the hotel where everyone was staying.

"tooney come on! just let me give her one goodnight kiss?" you begged, the younger girl having a firm grip on you to stop you running off as millie and rach did the same for mary who was a few feet ahead. "oh go on then." the girl rolled her eyes and let you go, watching as you sprinted after your fiance, jumping on her back as she stumbled and almost fell over.

"goodnight fiance." you sung out as the two of you now stood by the doors of the hotel lobby, your friends tiredly waiting in a huddle across the room, giving the two of you a brief moment of peace. "goodnight fiance." mary echoed back, the two of you giggling and exchanging soft drunken kisses among sweet words.

"can't wait till i can start saying wife." you beamed, running your hands up her sides, practically bouncing on your feet with excitement. "one more sleep and you're offically mrs earps." mary grinned, the two of you having one more kiss goodbye before being hustled off to your individual rooms by your friends.

~

you blinked tiredly hearing knocks on your hotel room door, pulling your head out of bed with a wince thinking you were hearing things as alex slept soundly beside you, ella passed on the other bed with alessia sprawled beside her, none of them even stirring as the knocks sounded again.

pulling yourself out of bed with a tired sigh you rubbed your eyes and opened the door, met with the cheery face of your fiance whose smile only grew at your disheveled state.

"good morning beautiful, fancy a walk? bit of calm before the storm." mary asked quietly, holding up a coffee clearly intended for you as you nodded, any signs of grumpiness melting away at the prospect of her company.

quickly slipping out of your dress from the night before you tugged on an oversized top and wiggled into a pair of bike shorts, smiling at your fiance who was patiently awaiting in the door frame. "how have none of them even stirred? are they dead?" mary asked in shock at the three girls still passed out in the room as you pushed her out of the room with a quiet laugh, door closing behind you.

gratefully accepting the coffee and thanking your fiance with a kiss the two of you walked hand in hand into the elevator, wrapped up in a bubble of comfortable silence as you exited the hotel, wandering across the road toward the beach where you were to be wed in just a few short hours.

it still being quite early the sun had only just begun to rise, the sky a symphony of pale pinks and oranges as mary sat down on the sand and you settled inbetween her legs, your back leaning against her front as she pressed a tender kiss to the side of your head.

the two of you didn't need to say anything as you sipped at your coffees, just the feeling of your bodies tucked into one another all you needed as you soaked in the sunrise and the peace and quiet of your impending wedding day.

though of course, it eventually had to end.

"there you two are! for fuck sakes we thought you'd got cold feet and done a runner!" alex yelled as she ran across the road, followed closely by a few of yours and marys friends. 

"and here comes the storm." mary whispered in your ear as you grinned, the two of you quickly pulled up and tugged away from one another, your respective bridal parties rattling off the list of things which still needed to be done before the ceremony.

"see you at the aisle my love!" you called out to your fiance over your sisters shoulder as she dragged you away. "not if i see you first, i'll be the one in white trying not to cry!" mary winked before being whisked away in the opposite direction.

~

"now it's my understanding that the brides have prepared their own vows, is this accurate?" your celebrant asked with a smile as you and mary nodded, both reaching around to grab your pieces of paper from your respective maids of honour, the celebrant gesturing for you to start.

"oh god okay i'm going to try to get through this without crying." you joked as your guests laughed and mary smiled, giving you an encouraging nod as you cleared your throat. 

"mary alexandra earps you've been a constant in my life for what feels like forever. i remember you as that awkward teenager getting your first professional football contract, right up till now as a gloriously confident champion of europe, but you were always full of nothing but kindness, love and support both as a friend, a life partner and now a wife." you started, refusing to look up knowing if you did you would break.

"the reality is all marriages have cycles of peaks and valleys and its nice to communicate your intent to get through those valleys together, and i promise that from today forward i will always be by your side for all of it, there to hold you at your lowest and celebrate with you at your highest. i remember seeing you for the first time and feeling in my gut you were someone i needed to know. there you were in the kitchen of the party i was dragged to and thank god i was, you were sitting on the floor with that goofy smile just waiting to shake up my life and to light up my whole world." you laughed at the memories of how the two of you had met before continuing.

"mary. i am truly blessed to be a part of your life which as of today becomes our life together. i promise as your wife to encourage your dreams and be by your side to help you achieve them in anyway i can. i promise to celebrate the joy of spending every day with you. i promise to stand by your side through life's most joyous moments and its challenging ones like we always have, together. i promise to be kind, patient, and forgiving. i promise to always honor your passions and your ambitions, and to love you forever." you finished as you slid the ring onto marys finger and your fiance let out a sob and millie rubbed her back with a smile, the taller girl clearing her throat and making a joke about how she didn't know how she was going to follow that.

"y/f/n. you came into my life at exactly the right time; when I wasn't ready and yet when i needed your love the most. we've experienced great triumphs and literal disasters together, and these trials have pushed the boundaries of what we thought we could endure, and in the end i feel more strongly connected with you to get up and try again anytime i feel close to failure. i am forever grateful for all the nights you spent cradling me as i cried, feeling nothing but the hopelessness of a career which was over before it had even begun, but each time you would assure me i was wrong and instill in me the confidence i lacked in myself. i love you dearly for all that you are. i am amazed by your inquisitive mind and tickled by your sense of humor. i may not want to admit it, but i even love your god awful singing voice and poorly timed dad jokes!" mary paused to look at you with a grin as you hid a sob in your hand, feeling your younger sister comfortingly squeeze your shoulder.

"you have stuck by me through the best and worst and loved all that i am, and you help me to be the finest version of me that I can be. as your wife I promise to you with the same determination and confidence you've given me that i vow to support you through everything and anything that life throws at us both good and bad. i pledge to commit myself to our marriage and to you and to the good I know will grow from it. i promise this all to you until I am no more, i love you with every fibre of my being, now and forever." mary finished, eyes welled up with tears as she slid your ring onto your finger and the celebrant asked the two of you to join hands.

"mary, do you take y/n to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?" "i do."

"y/n, do you take mary to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?" "i do."

"then by the power vested in me, i now pronounce you wife and wife, you may each kiss the bride!" the crowd around you exploded into cheers as both you and mary eagerly leant in, connecting your lips as your hands cupped her face and hers gripped the back of your neck, both pulling away and pressing your foreheads together.

"my wife." you breathed out in shock, biting down on your lip to contain the shit eating grin which threatened to spread across your face. "my wife." mary echoed back, not even trying to hide her excited grin which spread ear to ear.

"i love you, mrs earps." "not as much as i love you, mrs earps."

[uncpanda]

The Ties that Bind: Family Tree

AN: I'm baccckkkk Please enjoy this update. It takes place in season six

Master List

Warnings: None I think

“Hello Hotchners!” 

“Hi mommy!” 

“Hi angel.” They both smile at you from the table. You drop a kiss on the top of Jack’s head and he smiles up at you. 

Things had been significantly better since the farmer’s market incident. In the three weeks since, you and Aaron had gone to several sessions with Jack. His therapist was helping the three of you  come together as a blended family. Your own therapist and Aaron’s had also been brought in and caught up by Jack’s. 

You peck Aaron’s cheek and he catches your arm, and squints at you. “Proper kiss, please.” You barely resist smirking; instead, you roll your eyes and peck his lips. “That wasn’t a proper kiss.” 

“Jack is right there.” 

This time it’s Aaron who rolls his eyes. He wraps his arm around Jack’s head, so that his hand settles over the boy’s eyes. Jack giggles and you swoop down and kiss your boyfriend properly. 

“Happy?” 

He releases Jack, “With you? Always.” 

You slip your shoes off and notice what’s on the table, “What’s with all the pictures?” 

“I have to do a family tree. Here’s daddy and mama and grandpa and grandma and aunt Jess. I still need pictures of you and Uncle Spencer.” 

“I’m in the family tree?” 

Jack nods. 

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll get my photo boxes out.” Once Jack is focused on the pictures, you jerk your head towards the bedroom. Aaron follows after telling Jack he’ll be right back. 

He cracks the door to your bedroom. You turn on him, “How the hell are they still doing family trees? Families are complicated and . . . is Jack okay with this?”  

Aaron smiles, “Yes. He was very excited about the project, and Jess is bringing over more pictures of her brother and sister.  He wants to include you and Spencer.”

You let out a breath, “I swear he is the sweetest kid I’ve ever met.” 

Aaron smiles, “I’m pretty happy with him.” 

You start shirking out of your clothes and you can feel Aaron’s eyes on you. You shoot him a wink as you change out of your work clothes and into lounge pants and a t-shirt. You head to the closet next and pull out one of your picture boxes. It’s really just a decorated shoe box. One of three. It holds a lot of your loose pictures; the ones not in albums. 

You carry it out to the kitchen table and set it down in front of Jack and his eyes light up. You roll your eyes when he just dumps it out on the table. You start shifting through the pictures. 

“Who’s this?” 

“That is Bryan. My high school boyfriend who was extremely delusional.” 

Jack’s brow furrows in an uncanny imitation of Aaron, “Delusional?” 

“He wanted to get married right after high school. I moved to California instead.” 

Jack giggles, and Aaron asks, “What?” 

You clarify, “He wanted to get married right after highschool, his parents wanted to finish raising Spencer, and they wanted me to start popping out grandbabies.” 

“It sounds like the start of one of my cases.” 

Jack holds up a new photo and you wince, “Who’s this?” 

Aaron scowls, “That’s the bastard.” 

“Aaron! Language.” 

“We only use that word in relation to this one man. He hurt mommy’s feelings.” 

Jack’s face grows serious, “I don’t like him.” 

You pluck the picture out of Jack’s hands and stare at you and Joel. You look at both of your boys and rip it in half. You throw the part that has you back in the box and rip the part with Joel in half. 

“Happy?” 

Aaron lets out a huff, “Only if I get a punch in one day.” It’s muttered, and you nudge him. 

“Look at all of these of you and uncle Spencer.” 

“Yeah, it was mostly just the two of us.” 

“Here’s one of you and uncle Sean, daddy!” 

Your eyes go wide, “You have a brother?” 

This is the first time you’re hearing about a brother. Aaron hesitates, and then tells Jack, “Why don’t you take a break, buddy?” 

“Okay.” And just like that he’s gone to go play. 

There’s a moment of silence, “You have a brother?” 

He nods, “Sean. He’s thirteen years younger than me. We’re not close.” 

You nudge him with your shoulder, “I figured. Why did you never mention him?” 

He takes a breath, “I was ashamed. You and Spencer are so close. You gave up everything to raise him, and I . . . I pretty much abandoned Sean.” 

You poke your tongue against the inside of your cheek, “Aaron. You know more about my resentment towards my parents, and about my childhood than anyone. Even Spencer.” 

Aaron hesitates, “You know more than anyone else too. Even Haley didn’t know the extent of my dad. She just thought he yelled. Sean was not the subject of his anger, and apparently when I left for boarding school it mostly became verbal. But I still left him there.” 

“Your dad sent you away, Aaron. You didn’t have a choice.” 

He bites the inside of his cheek, “Still, I should have. . .” 

“It’s not the same.” Aaron pauses and you continue, “I’m not saying Sean was safe. Not with your father around, but he was okay. He had food. And Heat. And AC. And from what you say, everything he could wish for. That doesn’t excuse the mental turmoil he or you or your mom went through, but there was nothing you could have done. They wouldn’t have let you take him to college or anything like that. They certainly weren’t going to give you a say in raising him. Every situation is different.” 

He rubs his hands together, “I still feel guilty.” 

Quietly, you admit, “I still feel mad at my parents. Our parents screwed us, Aaron. We make the best of it. And when it comes to our own kids, we make it right. We stop what they did. We’re already doing it with Jack. He doesn’t have to worry about anything. He’s not scared of you or Haley or me.” You cover his hands with yours and squeeze, “We’re doing great if I do say so.” 

He smiles and tugs you towards him. You leave your chair for his lap and you kiss him. 

“Ewwww.” 

You and Aaron smile and turn to find Jack making a face. The two of you share a look and then you’re chasing after him. You catch him first, and then Aaron catches the two of you. Together the three of you gently fall onto the bed. Your happy little family.  

[nolita-fairytale]

still into you | carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!reader | bonus smut scene

summary: the bathtub smut scene i robbed us of. a continuation of chapter one.

warnings: 18+ chapter -- minors dni, smut, unprotected sex in long term relationship, p in v, fingering, oral sex (m receiving), spanking (just twice, lol) she/her pronouns & fem anatomy mentioned

word count: 2.2k

listen to: holy - king princess (playlist here)

a/n: can we talk about this iconic and incredible banner that @allthefandomstogether made for this story?! thank you so freaking much. it is pure perfection. anyways in honor of the bear season 2 teaser being released, i need a cold shower after writing this send help.

read: chapter one

*

“Let’s put it on the list… for when we’re ready to move to a new place,” he suggests, quietly. 

“Somewhere with a big tub?” you ask, only sort of surprised by his request. 

“Yeah.”

You turn your head to look at him, as Carmy presses a searing kiss to your lips. You feel his hand snake between your legs and you begin to understand exactly why he’s enjoying this whole bath thing. 

“As much as I’m enjoying this…” he whispers against your lips. “Think you maybe want to get out of this tub…”

Another kiss.

“… dry off…”

You slide your tongue against his as his fingertips move higher up your inner thigh, earning a hiss of pleasure from you. 

“…not put our clothes back on?”

And then he’s swallowing your moans in his mouth, as he continues his exploration. Your head is spinning, and it’s not just the hot water that makes you feel as if your soul was set aflame.

“Yes,” you whimper as he fingers begin their exploration. He slides them through your folds and you throw your head back, grateful that his shoulder catches you. 

You relax into Carmy, hissing as he dips his index finger inside of you. Your breathing begins to become heavier as he continues touching you, alternating between sliding his index finger inside of you, then dragging his rough, calloused fingertips up and down your core. His mouth pressed against the shell of your ear, his tongue leaving patterns in their wake. Carmy nips at your earlobe before murmuring a few words, his voice heavy with lust:

“You trust me?”

“Always.”

He waits a beat before saying:

“Good. I wanna make you cum on my fingers first, pretty girl.” 

You feel his words shoot straight to your core as you clench around the combination of his index and middle finger he’s now slipped inside of you. 

“If that’s okay with you.” 

Even after all these years, you love how eager to please he still is.

“Yes, baby,” you say, a smile in your voice. “Very okay.” 

Carmy smirks contently. 

The fingers he has inside of you journey up through your folds, expertly finding your clit as he begins to rub gentle and deliberate circles. You sigh his name, letting the man you love make you feel absolutely incredible. He buries his face in the crevice of your neck, gently biting then soothing the little marks he leaves with his lips and tongue. 

“Carmen,” you pant, suddenly remembering that you’ll be in front of people tomorrow. “Not right there.” 

“Hm?” he hums, only half-focusing on what you’ve just said. 

His mouth moves further down the top of your shoulders, as he begins to speed up his ministrations, earning another cry from you.

“Don’t want everyone to see what I do to you? How I make you feel?”

You cry out in response as he bites your shoulder, a little harder this time. 

“Somewhere I can hide under my chef whites please,” you practically beg him as he begins to speed up the pace of his fingers. 

“Think I can do that,” he murmurs into your skin. 

Carmy lifts his head off of your shoulder, leaning back against the tall walls of the deep bathtub. His other hand moves around your waist, pressing your back against him, and you feel how absolutely hard he’s become. As his hand comes up to play with your nipples, he stops any movement with his fingers, sliding them back down to your entrance. 

You buck your hips up into his hand, impatiently.

“This what you want, pretty girl?” he asks, his voice husky. 

His fingertips circle your entrance, but he’s still not where you want him. You let out an impatient groan, whimpering out his name. He knows he’s teasing you and there’s a part of him that loves hearing you beg. 

Loves hearing how much you need him.

“Yes, baby,” you pant. “Please. I just want you inside of me.”

And he loves the way it sounds when you say it. 

He slides his fingers back inside of you, in and then out of you at a dangerously slow pace, earning a sob from you. 

“Just wanna make you feel good, sweetheart.” 

And just like that, his hand on your breast begins squeezing, pushing you against his chest, desperate to have you closer to him. He continues fucking you with his fingers with the hand between your legs, as you let go, enjoying this too much to have a care in the world about anything else.

“You are,” you breathe out. “So good, Bear. You make me feel so good.” 

Carmy lets out soft moans into your skin as he mouth returns to your shoulder. He’s bucking his hips against you as his fingers find that spongy spot inside of you. You let out a loud moan the minute he hits it, his lips curling into a smile against your skin. 

“Right there?”

“Yes.” 

Carmy curls his fingers, making a ‘come hither’ motion with them, and you can no longer contain your moans. He knows you’re on the verge and he has no intention of stopping you. The sound of your moans, the way you pant his name, how desperate you are to cum – it’s like crack to him.  It all goes straight to his cock, hard and weeping, yearning to be inside of you. 

But he’s not ready for that. 

Not until he makes you cum first. 

He’s a man on a mission with only one goal in mind. 

“You gonna cum, baby?”

“Carmen,” you whimper. 

“Yes, god. Please let me cum.”

He takes you higher. 

And higher.

You feel it like a wave reaching its peak. There’s a tension building, so close to snapping, and as it does, you feel the waves of pleasure crash within you as you let out a loud moan. You’re writhing against your boyfriend as he presses your back to his chest, and you’re gripping the edge of the tub with your hand closest to it. Carmy’s not letting you go anywhere. He wants you exactly where he has you, his hand between your legs, completely at his mercy. 

As you begin to come down, your mouth feels dry from all the panting and gasping you’ve been doing. You swallow, and Carmy begins to release you, his grip loosening around your waist. 

“What was that… about getting out of this tub? Drying off?” you ask, unsure of how you’ve managed to get words out after that. 

“Not putting our clothes back on?” Carmy completes your sentence. 

“Uh huh.”

In an instant, you’re standing up in the tub, letting the hot bath water fall down your naked body. Your nipples stand erect against the round, full shape of your breasts as Carmy follows suit, making his way to a standing position. You can’t help but notice his extreme erect dick just begging to be inside of you and the thought alone sends chills down your spine. You’re both quick to towel off, only half way drying your bodies off before Carmy is walking you back to the messy hotel bed from your nap earlier that day. 

And he’s very much looking forward to messing up this bed in another way with you. 

You fall into position like it’s second nature: Carmy on top of you, your legs wrapped around his waist as he grinds against your wet heat. He reaches down, ready to guide his hard, leaking cock inside of you. 

“Wait,” you say.

Carmy stops, his eyes wide. 

“I want something else,” you say again. 

He nods as you sit up, shifting him onto his back. As you climb on top of your boyfriend, your knees straddling his hips, you crash your lips into his. You’re sucking on his top lip, then sliding your tongue against his, then dragging his bottom lip between your teeth as you begin to make your way down his gorgeously sculpted chest. 

“Baby, what’re you-?” he begins, trail off as you begin to kiss down his chest. You take your time, allowing your mouth to leave little love bites across his chest, down his torso, then snaking your tongue across his hip bones. 

He hisses in anticipation, as you reach down, grabbing his length in one hand. You pause, looking up at him, his eyes catching yours. With a wicked grin on your face, you lick just the tip of him, causing his eyes to close as he sighs on in pleasure. 

“Ffffuck,” he groans, as you begin to take him into your mouth. 

You slide your mouth from the head, all the way down his shaft, earning another heavy sigh from Carmy. Your mouth meets your hand, then you’re pulling back up, allowing your hand to follow, getting his dick ready to be inside of you. You use your hand and your mouth in tandem, and Carmy’s trying his best not to buck his hips into your mouth too hard. His head is thrown back, and he reminds himself to open his eyes, wanting to memorize the way you look while going down on him. 

He gathers your hair to one side so that he can see you as you alternate through movements, knowing just what he likes. 

Suck, lick, sliding your mouth down his length to meet your hand again. The gentlest squeeze… 

And then you’re sitting up, making your back up his body and guiding his achingly hard length into you. Carmy’s hands go to your hips as you sink down onto him, muttering something inaudible as he makes you feel so incredibly full. Your hands go to his chest, propping yourself up as you begin to move your hips, his eyes rolling back. 

“Fuck, baby,” he groans as you ride him. “What did I do to deserve this?” 

He knows he’s been an ass all week and he thinks you’re making him feel better than he deserves. 

You shake your head, moving your hips forward and back at an even pace. 

“Just wanna help you relax.” 

He moves a hand from your hips to your ass, raising up before coming back down with a loud smack. 

It’s just an encouragement, an ask for more. 

“Yeah?” he asks, feeling the fire in his belly grow stronger and stronger. 

You nod, beginning to ride him faster as he spanks you again causing you to throw your head back. You can feel his hips bucking up into you with a sense of urgency, as you meet each one with your own. Your hands go to your hair, just searching for something to hold onto because the way he makes you feel should be illegal. Carmy’s bouncing you on top of his hard length, and he’s hitting that spot so deep inside of you that you have to shut your eyes so tightly you’re seeing stars. 

Carmy doesn’t realize how wound tight he’s been all week – not until he’s watching you move on top of him, all feelings of worry and stress out of sight and out of mind. 

And then he’s pulling you down to him, keeping the fierce pace he’s set for the two of you. You roll your hips against his as he crashes his lips against yours again.

“Please just let me fuck you,” he murmurs in between kisses. 

You’re nodding with a, “Yes,” before he’s flipping you over onto your back, still inside of you. 

Carmy sits up, pulling your legs around his waist, slowing the pace of his movements down. He thinks the sight of himself disappearing inside of you will drive him absolutely insane, and he can’t tear his eyes away. 

In. Out. In. Out. 

Then he’s folding his body on top of yours, hiking one of your legs up higher on his hip so that he can hit that spot so deep inside of you that drives you wild.  

“Fuck, Carmy!” you cry. 

With the way you’re squeezing around him, he can tell you’re close. And so is he. He’s driving into you, one hand tangled in your hair as he buries his face into your neck. His other hand meets yours, interlacing his fingers between yours, pinning you down to the bed. His thrusts are deep and hard and you’re gasping – holding onto his shoulders, his biceps, and part of him that you can hold onto – as he moves on top of you. 

“Are you gonna cum?” you ask, barely able to get the words out. 

“Fuck,” Carmy howls as he lifts his head up. 

“Yes.”

His lips are back on yours for the messiest, wettest, hungriest kiss before he buries his face in your neck once again. His dick hits all of the right places, and you’re crying out his name, clamping down around him as he brings you to your climax. Carmy fucks you through it, his thrusts becoming more chaotic as he chases his high too. 

You’re practically hanging onto his arms for dear life as he gets closer. He’s driving into you, and you're losing your mind as his hand squeezes yours. Carmy lets out a few grunts as he cums, finally slowing down the pace of hips, before coming to a halt.

“Holy shit,” you say, shaking your head. 

You’re both flustered, sweaty messes, running your tongue over your kiss-swollen lips. 

He chuckles, lifting his head up to look at you. 

“Hi," he says.

“Hi,” you say back with a smile. 

Carmy moves up your body, leaning his forehead against yours, before leaving a small kiss on your nose. 

“I needed that.”

You giggle, “Me fucking too.”

He gives you a half smile in return. 

“C’mon. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

read: chapter two

taglist: @allthefandomstogether @gaysludge @sobshoney @harrysmatcha @starbritestarlite @tpwkkmila @cool-girl-is-hot @nunya7394 @carmensberzattos

[lucidlivi]

I Can See You (I)

Series Masterlist/Warnings

Tag List: @jc-winchester @mrsjenniferwinchester @perpetualabsurdity @antisocialcorrupt @heavenlyackles @anixiiee @jackles010378 @suckitands33 @deans-spinster-witch @k-slla @alternativeprincess @spnbaby-67 @cevansbaby-dove @cutedisneygrl (if you would like tagged in this, please send me a message or an ask with the title so I can make sure to keep my tags straight!)

story takes place during filming of season two of supernatural so the ages will make more sense!

switching points of view indicated with italics

a little mini series for you, I hope you like!

All my life, the only thing I ever wanted was to be noticed.

I wanted my parents to notice when I had done well on a test that was hard for me.

I wanted my friends to notice when I was quiet or felt out of the loop.

I desperately wanted that cute guy in my biology class to notice that I had spent the entire semester taking detailed notes just so I could help him study.

I just wanted someone, anyone to notice me.

It was never me though.

It was always my older brother Jared.

It was like he always had to one up me.

Nothing was ever mine.

For example, whenever I would ace a test, Jared would somehow be offered some prestigious award for academics.

He hung out with all the popular guys, and the girls practically threw themselves at him.

It was like he didn’t even have to try.

It's only gotten worse since he'd landed a starring role on the new hit show Supernatural.

Jared didn't know if they would even make it past the first season, but the show was an instant success. It catapulted him to stardom. Girls from all over the world were crazed about my brother.

It kind of grossed me out.

I had to admit, I was getting a lot of recognition now too, but it was always (y/n) Padalecki, sister of Jared, and never just (y/n).

I mean I love my brother to death, he's the best, but sometimes it would feel nice not to be so, so invisible.

I stretched my muscles with a sigh.

I had finally landed in Canada.

I was going to be visiting Jared for awhile, while they filmed season two of supernatural. I missed him like crazy.

I was also taking a much needed break from fashion school in New York.

"Moose!" I squealed, spotting the top of my brother's head.

I could hear Jared groan from across the airport. I chuckled as he hated being called Moose.

I pushed through the crowd of people, finally seeing my brothers dorky face.

He rolled his eyes before pulling me in to a bone crushing hug.

"I missed you moose." I said as I squeezed him.

"I missed you too brat." Jared laughs.

He lets me go, setting me back on my feet.

"come on, Jensen's waiting for us back at our house." Jared said grabbing my bag.

"wait you and Jensen are living together?" I asked, my cheeks tinting with a blush.

"yeah, we decided to just rent a place together this season, it'll be easier, is that okay?"

"mmhmm." I nodded not trusting my voice to formulate an actual answer.

Jensen Ackles.

my brother's crazy hot co-star.

and according to him, best friend, besides me of course.

I met Jensen before they started filming season one.

Jared and Jensen went on "bonding" trips together, I guess to make playing brother's more believable. I had been invited on a few. Of course I was always pushed to wayside, but I didn't mind.

It gave me the opportunity to gawk at the eye candy that is Jensen Ackles.

He wasn't just hot though.

He was more complex then that.

He was kind, he was funny, he was easy to get along with.

and I was completely crushing on him.

It didn’t matter though.

It wasn't like he noticed me.

I was completely off his radar.

"how's design school?" Jared asked breaking the silence.

"I just needed a break I guess. It's a cutthroat industry, and I don't know if I'm cut out for it." I admitted.

"what of course you are, you're insanely talented! I mean why do think I always call you before award shows? I trust you to make sure I don't look like a dork!" Jared laughed.

"well I hate to break it to you moose, but you always look like a dork, the clothes aren't going to help you." I smirked, earning a punch to the arm.

"ugh thanks to you the entire supernatural cast calls me moose now!" Jared groans.

"well if the shoe fits." I shrugged earning another punch to the arm.

"I could always call you gigantor, if you like that better." I added pushing my brother's buttons.

"I think we'll stick with moose."

Jared pulls in to a condominium.

It's beautiful, fit for celebrities I guess.

"wow, living the high life I see." I said as my eyes traveled around the luxurious condo.

"It's definitely crazy."

I gazed at my brother, seeing his shoulders slumped over.

I can't imagine how he was feeling.

I mean his life basically changed overnight. He can't go out now without girls flocking him. He has no privacy.

I know he won’t let it show, but I could tell the pressure that comes along with his new found fame gets to him sometimes.

I walked over to my brother wrapping my arms around his tall frame, squeezing him again.

"I'm really glad you're here brat, it's kind of nice to have some sense of normalcy." Jared said running a hand through my hair.

"hate you." I whispered with a smile.

"hate you too." Jared smirked.

I stepped away from Jared, just as the door flung open revealing Jensen.

"is that baby moose I hear out here? "

I swallowed harshly as he came over wrapping his arms around me in a hug. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and I hugged him back, nonchalantly taking in his sweet scent.

"Hi J." I said quietly.

Jensen stepped back, letting his eyes rake over me. I couldn't help but shrink under his gaze.

It was intimidating.

I took this time to stare at him too.

He's different.

His muscles were more defined now, signifying he'd been working out for the role.

His hair was still short but messy.

He had a very light stubble on his face that made his jawline more defined.

He looked good.

Better than good.

He looked sexy.

I heard Jared clear his throat loudly, making me tear my eyes away from Jensen. A heat spread throughout my body.

I wondered what Jensen was thinking.

"Jensen and I have a meeting with the director, I'll uh help you take your things in and then you can get settled while we're gone." Jared said.

I nodded my head as Jared grabbed my bag from the trunk, taking it inside.

"it's nice to see you baby moose." Jensen said offering me a cheeky smile before getting in the car.

I bit my lip, hiding the blush that spread to my cheeks. I followed Jared in to the house, which was even more extravagant on the inside.

"I guess it pays to be famous." I said spinning around to get a complete view.

"I'm not famous, just lucky." Jared laughed.

"yeah that's why a fangirl followed me around in the grocery store the other day, asking me a million questions about you."

"wait that actually happens?" Jared laughed.

"more times than I would care to admit." I said joining in Jared's laughter.

our laughter died down, a comfortable silence settling in between us.

"uh your room is upstairs, the third door on the right, next to Jensen's, you sure you're going to be okay here?" Jared asked handing me my duffle bag.

"I think I'll manage."

"I'll be back soon."

Jared placed a kiss on my forehead, before going out to join Jensen in the car. I watched them drive away before going to find my room.

Jensen

Jared got in the car giving me a stern look.

"what?" I asked innocently.

"don't what me, dude that's my sister." Jared growled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I smirked.

"just keep your eyes away from my sister."

"I wasn't even looking." I laughed as I pulled out of the drive way heading over to the studio.

I was looking though.

She was different.

She looked different.

Her hair was longer.

She definitely grew in to her body.

She was no longer the lanky girl I had come to know.

I would be lying if I said my eyes didn't linger on her now defined chest.

She looked good.

Better than good.

She looked beautiful.

Fuck.

I shouldn't be thinking like this.

I mean this was my best friend's sister.

I know Jared would kill me if he knew I was thinking this way.

I better stop.

I didn’t want to though.

"hello, earth to Jensen." Jared said waving a hand in front of my face.

"sorry man, what did you say?"

"I asked if you were coming."

I looked up seeing we were in the parking lot of the studio.

I wasn't sure when we arrived, or how we arrived in one piece considering I wasn't paying attention.

"uh yeah sorry, just thinking about this meeting." I lied smoothly.

I just hope I can focus enough so I don't lose my job.

Reader

I finally settled in, unpacking my things and familiarizing myself with the layout of the house. It's been over two hours and the boys still aren't home.

I heard my stomach rumble.

I was starving.

I walked down to the kitchen, opening the fridge. I saw some ham and cheese.

Oh gosh a sandwich sounds good right now. I looked around in the cabinets, looking for the bread.

I finally found it, high up on a shelf.

Moose.

He needs to learn that not everyone is as freakishly tall as he is.

I stood on my tiptoes reaching for it, but alas I didn't get the height genes that Jared had. I huffed blowing a piece of hair from my face. I stood on my tiptoes trying again.

I heard a chuckle from behind me, causing me to snap my head back.

"need some help there baby moose?"

I blushed a deep red as Jensen came up behind me, reaching the bread with ease.

I could feel the heat radiating from his body just from the proximity.

I wondered what it would be like to be this close to him in a heated moment.

I let my imagination run wild for a moment before realizing he still lingered behind me.

He cleared his throat before stepping away.

I let out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding.

"thanks." I whispered shyly.

"you know for a baby moose, you aren't all that tall." Jensen smirked.

"yeah, no Jar stole all those genes." I said causing him to chuckle.

"well baby moose I will gladly reach the bread for you anytime." Jensen said making me blush harder.

I'm sure I looked like an idiot from how bad I was blushing over his words.

"uh is Jared back?" I managed to choke out.

"uh not yet, they needed him to shoot a promo for the new season, he asked me to come check on you." Jensen said sitting down at the kitchen island.

I rolled my eyes at his protectiveness.

I was twenty two now.

I didn't need a babysitter.

"Jared still thinks I need a babysitter." I spoke as I took out two pieces of bread starting to make a sandwich.

"he's just worried about you."

"I can handle myself."

"I have no doubt about that." Jensen said.

I snuck a glance at him, accidentally meeting his eyes. He wore a smirk on his plump lips that got my heart racing.

"I have to, I mean now that you two are like major celebrities." I laughed.

"okay, hang on I was major celebrity before supernatural." Jensen joked.

I rolled my eyes throwing my cheese wrapper at him.

He dodged it with ease laughing at my antics.

"of course how I could I forget your starring role on Dawson's Creek."

"I don't know because I definitely made season six of that show." Jensen laughed.

“I never watched it.” I shrugged.

Okay that wasn’t exactly the truth.

I did watch it.

I watched it for him.

“well we’ll definitely have to change that.” Jensen said getting up from the island.

I let my eyes linger on his form as it retreated up the stairs.

I was hopeless.

I was completely hooked on someone I would never have.

I sighed sitting down and digging in to my sandwich. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.

I heard the door open, seeing Jared walk in.

He sat down beside me taking the other half of my sandwich.

“I made that for me you ass!” I whined hitting his chest.

“yeah out of my fridge!”

I rolled my eyes.

He had a point.

“how was your meeting?” I asked as we ate.

“really good, we’re all excited for filming to start.”

I wondered what it would be like to be on camera. I definitely didn’t have a face or body for film.

“actually there’s this party tomorrow, for the cast, kind of like a kick off to the new season, do you want to come with me?” Jared asked.

I was never a big fan of parties.

Jared always tried to get me to go to high school parties but it was never my thing.

“I guess, but just for you.” I said booping his nose.

I finished my sandwich, making sure to clean up after myself.

“I’m uh going to head to bed early, I’m exhausted from the flight.” I said giving Jared a hug.

I jogged up the steps towards my room. I felt the heat radiating from the bathroom as I passed it.

I could see the door was slightly cracked.

I peaked in seeing Jensen in only a towel.

He was wiping the condensation off the mirror.

I couldn’t stop my eyes from traveling over his toned chest and back.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stared.

I would give anything to be able to run my hands down his body.

I bit my lip, forcing my body to move away from the door before I was caught staring.

I crashed on to the bed, letting my thoughts linger on the gorgeous man.

I wondered what his lips tasted like.

I wondered how it would feel to have his hands caressing my body as we kissed.

I wondered how his body would feel on top of mine.

I choked back a moan as I thought about him in such an intimate way.

A loud knock on my door tore me away from my thoughts.

I quickly sat up, I could feel just how flushed I was.

“uh come in.” I squeaked.

I was surprised when Jensen came in setting a laptop on my bed. I gave him a confused look as he typed away.

“Dawson’s Creek season six.” He smiled turning the laptop towards me.

I laughed as I brought the laptop to my lap.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Jensen said walking towards the door.

“aren’t you going to watch it with me?” I asked slightly disappointed.

“oh no, I never watch myself on tv, but make sure you pay attention cause I’m going to quiz you tomorrow.” He said.

I rolled my eyes at his antics.

“Goodnight Jensen.”

“Goodnight baby moose.”

I hit play, even though I had already seen every episode he was in.

I watched anyways.

I watched until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I watched until I fell into a deep slumber, plagued by dreams of a man I know I would never have.

I woke up to a light pounding on my door. It was bright out, but still appeared to be early morning.

Jared strode in wearing running gear.

It was nice to see he still took his morning runs.

It was something that always made him feel at peace, helped with his anxiety.

“ugh what time is it?” I groaned throwing a pillow over my head to block out the sun.

“five am, come on a run with me.” Jared beamed.

“Jared normal people don’t go for runs at five in the morning.”

“good thing you’re far from normal.” Jared joked pulling the pillow away from my face.

“I don’t want to go for a run, I want to sleep.” I pouted.

“pretty please, for me?”

I glanced up at Jared to see him giving me the puppy dog eyes.

Damn.

He knows I can’t say no to his puppy dog eyes.

“you better get me an extra large cup of coffee after this.” I groaned throwing my legs over the side of the bed.

I threw on some workout clothes, making my way downstairs. I was surprised to see Jensen standing in the kitchen in workout gear.

Fuck.

I was uncoordinated, and the last thing I wanted to do was run in front of Jensen.

“you managed to get baby moose to come, impressive.” Jensen smirked.

I rolled my eyes grabbing a bottle of water.

“I uh hope you didn’t stay awake too long watching your new favorite show.” Jensen said laughing.

“It was alright, Pacey is definitely my favorite character.” I shot back walking past him towards the door where Jared was waiting.

“and what about CJ?”

“I mean he was alright in the beginning I guess, turned in to kind of a dick.”

“oh yeah how so?”

“I mean he did sleep with Audrey even though he knew Jen was in to him, kind of a dick move.” I shrugged.

Jensen huffed rolling his eyes.

“I didn’t write the script.” Jensen shrugged.

“It might’ve been better if you did.” I said, giving him one last glance before starting to jog.

I jogged at a steady pace, close behind Jared and Jensen.

I was smaller then both of them, so I took smaller strides.

I have to admit I did feel at peace.

I enjoyed the gentle morning canadian breeze nipping at my cheeks.

I was taking in all the beautiful sights around me.

I liked it here.

It seemed like we weren’t jogging for long before we were stopping at a little coffee shop.

“I believe I owe you an extra large cup of coffee.” Jared said glancing at me.

“I believe you are correct.”

“I’ll be right back, you want anything J?” Jared asked turning towards Jensen.

“nah man I’m alright.”

Jared nodded at us before disappearing inside the coffee shop.

It was silent as I stared at the quiet street, the town not quite awake yet.

“did you really hate CJ?” Jensen spoke making me glance at him.

“I think hate is a strong word, more thoroughly disliked him.” I laughed.

Jensen furrowed his eyebrows as I chuckled.

Was this bothering him?

“I like the guy who plays him better.” I spoke, not thinking about how it sounded.

I felt my cheeks heat up as I realized what I just said.

“oh well good.” Jensen responded, rubbing his neck nervously.

I was about to respond when Jensen grabbed my arm pulling me to his chest.

“Careful!” he shrieked as the coffee shop door flung open, almost smacking me in the face.

I swallowed nervously as he stared down at me, our bodies pressed together.

It felt even better than I had imagined.

“thanks for that.” I whispered tearing my eyes away from his.

I felt as if my heart would jump out of my chest at any moment from how fast it was beating.

I could feel his eyes lingering on me.

Jensen carefully tucked a piece of hair behind my ear that had fallen from my ponytail.

I shivered at his touch, feeling as if my body was suddenly engulfed in flames.

It felt good to be touched by him.

It felt heavenly.

I quickly jumped away from him, hearing Jared’s voice reappearing.

“what’s going on?” Jared asked looking between me and Jensen.

“uh baby moose is as clumsy as you say.” Jensen smirked, causing Jared to laugh.

I rolled my eyes taking my coffee from Jared.

I walked back to the condo as Jensen and Jared jogged ahead.

I was taking time to sip my coffee.

I was taking time to control my racing heart.

what in the world happened back there?

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Ouch.

Okay that hurt.

and I’m not dreaming.

I bit my lip trying to fight the smile that made it’s way to my face.

I have no idea what that was.

but I liked it.

I liked it a lot.

I made it back to the condo, being informed that the boys had to go to the studio to shoot more promos for the new season, and that they’d be back to get me for the party tonight. I gave them a wave, crashing on to the couch from exhaustion.

I remember now why I don’t run at five in the morning.

I grabbed a blanket off the couch, curling up to catch a few more hours of sleep.

I woke up around noon, sleeping later than I would’ve liked.

I got up making myself some breakfast.

I passed the time watching more Dawson’s Creek.

It wasn’t like I had anything else to do.

It was starting to get later, I needed to get ready for this party.

I grabbed a simple mini dress throwing it on.

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror.

I didn’t completely hate what I saw.

I didn’t love it either.

I wasn’t anything exceptional.

It was no wonder I was so invisible.

I heard the boys come back home, stomping up the stairs like a herd of elephants.

I put a light coat of makeup on, before brushing through my hair.

I heard my door opening, making me glance over.

Jared stood there in a button up and some jeans.

“you look beautiful.” Jared smiled.

“thanks moose, you look, well very moose like.” I laughed as Jared gave me an annoyed look.

“come on brat, it’s time to go.” Jared said rolling his eyes.

I grabbed my purse, following him down the stairs. Jensen stood there waiting, wearing an outfit similar to Jared’s.

He looked handsome.

He looked flawless.

I could feel his eyes linger on me as I descended the staircase.

“ready to go?” Jensen asked looking at me and Jared.

I nodded my head nervously.

I didn’t like parties.

I would suffer through this one for Jared.

and maybe a little bit to be with Jensen.

I played with the hem of my dress as Jensen drove. It was a silent car ride, nobody bothering to make conversation.

I sighed as Jensen pulled up to the studio.

I hesitantly got out, already overwhelmed with the number of cars in the parking lot.

I could feel the nerves taking over my body making it shake slightly.

I felt a hand on my shoulder making me relax a little.

“it’s going to be okay, just stick with me.” Jared said offering a smile.

I gave him a forced one, following him and Jensen inside.

Jensen disappeared immediately when we got in, going to hug various cast and crew members.

I have to admit I got a little jealous watching him hug multiple women.

It wasn’t like I had a right to be.

Jensen looked right through me.

I just had to accept that.

“I want you to meet Jim.” Jared said grabbing my hand and pulling me to an older gentleman.

I made sure to act super polite as I met various cast and crew members that I hadn’t met the first season.

I felt like Jared’s shadow as he made his way around the room. I didn’t know anyone really except for Jensen and Jeffery Dean Morgan.

I had already talked to Jeff for a little so now I had nothing else to do except following Jared around like a lost puppy dog.

It was exhausting listening to conversations I didn’t really care about.

I needed some air.

I quietly slipped out the door, not that anyone would notice I was gone.

Jared was too busy basking in the limelight.

I was happy for him, don’t get me wrong, it’s just hard to be in his shadow sometimes.

I sighed looking around the studio parking lot. A bunch of trailers sat on the lot, with names of cast members etched on the doors. I found the one that said Jared Padalecki, and took a seat on the steps.

It was a beautiful night out.

It was quiet.

I took a deep breath blowing it out of my nose in a huff.

“you know the parties inside right?”

I jumped as Jensen’s voice took me by surprise.

“geez Jensen I never noticed how observant you were.” I joked rolling my eyes at him.

“not a fan of parties huh?”

“uh not really, they were always sort of Jared’s thing.” I answered with a shrug.

“yeah they’re not so much my thing either, too many people.” Jensen said.

I nodded my head, an awkward silence falling between us.

“uh do you want to see my trailer?” Jensen asked.

I felt the all too familiar heat creep up my spine.

“uh okay.” I whispered, flushed.

Jensen extended his hand pulling me to my feet.

It turns out his trailer was right beside Jared’s. He opened the door allowing me to step in.

It had his wardrobe for Dean in it, a small couch, a mini fridge, and a bathroom. I let my fingers graze over his costumes, observing a few articles closely.

“It’s nice.” I smiled plopping on the couch.

It was rather comfy for a small sofa.

“perks of being like a major celebrity.” Jensen smirked, quoting me from yesterday.

Jensen sat down beside me, our bodies just inches from each other due to the small size of the sofa.

“I’m uh glad you’re here baby moose, Jared’s a lot happier when you are.” Jensen said giving me a smile.

“I’m glad I’m here too.”

It was quiet, another awkward silence falling between us.

“we should probably head back inside, people are going to wonder where we are.” Jensen said standing up.

I stood up too.

“wondering where you are maybe, in case you haven’t noticed I’m pretty good at being invisible.” I said with a slight frown.

“well I can see you.”

Author Note:

I hope you enjoyed part one of this mini series! Please give a heart, reblog, comment or follow if you want more! I appreciate it!

Part (II)

[raainy-daze]

Could you do a Rise!Donnie x Male!Reader where the reader struggles with feeling like they’re an annoyance and that the turtles don’t actually want him around-but Donnie does his best to try and show or say that he is wanted (and probably struggles to show that because well… he’s Donnie). Thanks!! (Btw I love your writing so much 🥺)

Operation Feel-Welcome

rise!donnie x male!reader

summary: donnie found out about your insecurities in a very not privacy-invading-way at all, and now he’s decided to do something about it.

word count: 2431

a/n: why is this thing so damn long by my standards? GOOD QUESTION.

I HAVE NO CLUE.

yeah i wrote my outline and suddenly it was just. much longer than i usually write?? oh well. sorry for posts being somewhat slowed down recently, i’ve been busy with the holiday season and school! thanks for requesting, i hope you like this!

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

He found out when he was reading your diary.

That sounds bad. It’s not as bad as it sounds, really. You were over for help with homework, and when you went to get something to eat, he picked up what he thought was your notes to get a grasp of the material. Who keeps their diary in a regular old notebook, anyways?

He hadn’t meant to read it, truly. It was just that the entry he’d opened to quite clearly had his name on it, and hey, how is he supposed to not read that?

That entry just so happened to detail all your insecurities about your social life. He was kind of shocked, really. He didn’t examine anyone’s emotions too closely, of course, he could hardly understand them sometimes. He didn’t know why you would feel this way. He loved being around you, even if he could only show it in his typical Donnie way (which is to say, not very well).

So, after briefly panicking when he heard you walking back as he still held your diary in his hands, he scrambled to put it back just the way you’d left it and spent the rest of the day more focused on how to remedy this than on algebra equations. (Granted, you didn’t notice. That guy could do most of these in his sleep.)

As soon as you left, Donnie had already built about a billion schemes in his head. Of course, in pure Donnie fashion, most of them were more than a little over the top and involved some level of explosives… okay, maybe that one was just an excuse to set something on fire, but there were some good ideas in there! Emphasis on idea. Not every idea turns out so great in practice, as Donnie ought to know by now.

•°. *࿐

Operation #1: Hang-Out.

Donnie decided to go with the simplest on his list first: instead of waiting for you to come to the lair, he’d come to you. Logically, if someone wasn’t wanted, they’d be the one initiating everything, right? And if he initiated it instead, that would certainly make you feel more welcome, wouldn’t it?

As always, Donnie’s ‘disguise’ was ridiculously simple. You were never quite sure how he didn’t get caught, but hey, this is New York City - people have seen weirder things, and have other stuff to worry about. So, walking down the street in his purple hoodie (albeit sticking to the emptier streets and the shadows), he went pretty much unnoticed.

Still glowing on his phone screen was your text conversation from about an hour ago.

Hello, (Y/N). What time do you get off school?

three, just like always

how come?

Would you mind if I met you after you get out?

sure??

everything good??

He hadn’t responded to the last text. He’d gotten too caught up in avoiding nosy kids asking about his skin to type anything.

At your school, Donnie found you sitting on the stairs leading up to the building, scrolling on your phone. He dodged around your classmates, apparently trying to go unnoticed. (He did not go unnoticed. You saw each of them give him a look.)

“Psst! (Y/N)! It’s me, Donatello!”

You blinked up at him. “Yeah, I gathered.” You grabbed your backpack and stood up. “Everything okay? Did Leo break an arm or something?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” You both began making your way down the sidewalk, going towards neither-of-you-really-knew-where. “I simply thought that…”

Donnie stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t gotten this far in his planning, as evidenced by walking towards he-didn’t-really-know-where. He had gotten to ‘meet up with (Y/N) on the surface’, but he hadn’t gotten to anything after that.

“…What kinds of things do you do for fun up here? We could, uh, do whatever that is?” He racked his brain. “You like that fast food place down the street, right? I’ll pay.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you need from the hardware store?”

“What?”

“When your being really nice to me like this, you’re usually buttering me up to get you something from the hardware store. What is it?”

“No, no, you just haven’t come down to the lair in a while, and-“

“I was at the lair yesterday.”

Crap, were you? He’d been holed up in the lab all day, designing updates for the turtle tank. No one had told him you were there.

“And I saw you the day before.”

Okay, that part he recalled. Bad excuse.

“Well-“

Your phone began ringing. You looked down at the screen, and back up at Donnie. “Crap, sorry, I’ve gotta go. Mom probably wants me back home. Just text me whatever it is you need and I’ll bring it around tomorrow, okay?”

And without even waiting for an answer, you turned on your heel and answered your phone, walking away from him.

Operation Hang-Out: Failed.

•°. *࿐

Operation #2: Arts-N-Crafts.

Donnie wasn’t exactly the best at social interactions, everyone knew that. Yesterday, he’d made the fatal mistake of not planning ahead. He assumed something would come to him, and it didn’t.

So, maybe it would go better with someone who did know how to interact with people.

It was time for Mikey to enter the endeavour.

“Oh, dearest little brother of mine, I have a dilemma of which I need your help to solve!” Donnie found Mikey in the middle of one of his art projects, painting on a bedroom walls again. “How would you like to assist me?”

Mikey looked up from his painting. He had several splotches of paint across his arms, even a bit on his face (was he trying to eat the paint? How did he do that?). “Are you trying to use me as a test subject again?”

“Pft, no, why would I do that?” Donnie laughed a very suspicious laugh. “No, really, this time it’s about (Y/N).”

“What about (Y/N)? Is he okay?” Mikey set his paintbrush down, now curious.

“I read his diary.”

For just a moment of silence, the brothers stared at each other.

“… Wha-“

“IN MY DEFENSE, IT WAS LITERALLY JUST A REGULAR SPIRAL NOTEBOOK, HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?”

Donnie explained the whole thing to Mikey, from the diary entry to yesterday’s failed attempt #1. Mikey agreed to help, and within the hour, attempt #2 was in progress.

This one was all up to Mikey. (Y/N) would be here any time now, and Mikey would insist that he needed your help with an art project. It wasn’t much, but the point was to make you feel included. Donnie smiled to himself when he saw you enter the lair and get dragged away by Mikey. There was no conceivable way this could possibly go wrong.

It went very wrong.

It went very wrong in less than thirty minutes.

To make a long story short, it turns out art supplies in the wider space of the lair combined with Leo trying to perfect a skateboarding move do not mix. Like, at all. Paint was everywhere, including on both you and Mikey. You had to leave and walk home covered in an uncomfortable amount of paint.

Operation Arts-N-Crafts: Failed.

•°. *࿐

Operation #6: Game-Night.

One after another, Donnie’s plans failed, as did the couple that Mikey offered. Eventually, they came to #6 on the list: risky, but promising.

You had never seemed to participate very heavily in game night before. You always seemed to appoint yourself as the score taker, opting to spectate instead. With the added context, Donnie couldn’t help but wonder if you did that to stay ‘out of the way’.

So, he’d test it by preemptively appointing Leo as score taker.

“But why?” Leo whined upon hearing the news that the majority had voted to back up Donnie’s decision.

“Because you spilled all my expensive paint!” Mikey narrowed his eyes at Leo as he carried a concerningly tall stack of board games into the living room.

“But I already cleaned that up!”

“Come on, Leo, it’s not that bad!” Raph pat Leo on the shoulder. “It’s, uh… good for math practice?”

Leo didn’t look very convinced.

Everyone gathered on the floor in front of Splinter’s old chair, making a circle around the board games. Donnie sat down next to you, and April was on your opposite side. You couldn’t help but notice how April was carefully examining the selection today - Donnie and Leo may be the most outwardly competitive, but you’d witnessed enough of these to know April was the real master at most of these games.

You followed her example. One of the first things you noticed was that this month, Uno was missing. You weren’t particularly surprised. Last month, Mikey had threatened to use an Uno card as a knife if anyone else gave him another +2.

It started off just fine. You started with Cards Against Humanity. It was fun. No death threats were made. Clue and Catan went much the same way.

It was Monopoly where it all went to shit.

“WELL, I WANTED TO BE THE STUPID THIMBLE, BUT I LET YOU HAVE IT. AND WHAT DO I GET FOR IT?!”

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU LANDED ON MY SPACE!”

Mikey and Donnie were yelling, Donnie’s stack of money growing steadily smaller. Raph was stuck in jail, and April was quietly scheming. You were about 75% sure Leo, who was now the banker since there were no scores to be taken, was messing with transactions somehow. Honestly, that impressed you more than anything else. Pettiness levels were through the roof.

You pushed yourself backwards a bit as the argument began to escalate. “WELL MAYBE IF YOU DIDN’T TAKE THE THIMBLE EVERY STUPID TIME!”

“SINCE WHEN DO I TAKE IT EVERY TIME?”

“Okay, well, sometimes Leo takes it, but still-“

“Hey, don’t drag me into this!”

“I won’t drag you into this when you give me what I’m actually owed, Leo!”

Leo reached over for an unused piece. He threw it…

And it hit you right in the eye.

“OW-!” Your hand jumped up to where it hit you.

“LEO!”

“CRAP, I’M SORRY, I WAS AIMING FOR DONNIE-“

April was trying to get you to take your hand off your eye so she could check it, but taking the pressure off just hurt more. Thankfully, when she did get to see it, it didn’t look serious. It did certainly put a damper on the rest of the night, though.

Operation Game-Night: Failed.

•°. *࿐

Operation #21: Help-In-The-Lab.

It had been a month and a half since he read the diary entry. Nothing seemed to work. Nothing that he noticed, anyways.

Not all of his plans ended in total disaster, but none ever seemed particularly successful, either. You never seemed particularly happier than usual. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts and his projects that he didn’t even notice you come into the lab. He didn’t notice until you were sitting right next to him. “Hey, Donnie.”

“JEEZ-“ Donnie dropped his screwdriver.

You picked it right back up and handed it back to him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, you just scared me.”

“No, I mean in general.” You drummed your fingers on the desk. “You’ve been acting weird lately.”

Crap. You’d caught on.

Donnie let out that laugh that very clearly meant he was hiding something. “Oh, no, I’m fine! Weird? What do you mean weird?”

“I mean weird. Like the weird you’ve been since that time after school? You never texted me what it was you wanted, by the way.”

There was a silence as Donnie debated what to say.

“… Working on Sheldon?”

Donnie looked back down at the robot lair across the desk. “Oh, yeah. He ran into a wall a few hours ago, and now I’ve gotta fix him. Robots, amirite?”

You half smiled, but it didn’t look like your heart was in it.

“… Hey, mind passing me those screws?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” You grabbed the nail box he was pointing at on the opposite end of the desk and set them down beside him. “What is it you’re doing, exactly?”

“Oh, well, I’m mostly just fixing some dents. There wasn’t too much internal damage, luckily, I just had to change out a few wires.”

“That’s good.”

It was quiet for a while. The silence was just on that line where Donnie couldn’t decide if it was a comfortable silence, or… well, an uncomfortable one.

“Hey, (Y/N)?” Why was he talking?

“Yeah?”

“Would you be mad if I maybe, oh I don’t know… accidentally read a really personal entry in your diary because I didn’t realize it was your diary?”

“… What?”

Donnie hadn’t planned on owning up to it, but at this rate, he was getting nowhere. Screw it. “Well, you were here for homework, and I just wanted to check your notes, but they weren’t your notes, and I saw my name and I couldn’t stop myself-“

“Wait, what? When did this happen?” You looked more totally confused than anything else. “Which one did you read?”

He sighed. “It was talking about how you felt like we didn’t want you around. And that’s not true! It really isn’t. So I’ve been trying to make you feel more welcome. But… yeah, you remember the Monopoly incident.”

“Oh.” You paused. “So that’s what’s been happening.”

“Yeah.” Both of you were quiet. If it wasn’t awkward before, it definitely was now.

“You really aren’t annoying, though.” Donnie broke the silence. “I mean, you’re my favorite person.”

“Your favorite person? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means I like hanging out with you. You’re… im-por-tant to me.” He said it like he’d never even thought of liking people. “And you’re my favorite person.”

He looked up at you again, expecting to have just made things worse. He was surprised to see a smile on your face. Not one that you didn’t seem to mean, like earlier. It looked like you really were happy.

“You’re my favorite person, too. And… thanks for trying.”

“… Did this one work?”

“Excuse me?”

“Did this attempt to make you feel welcome work?”

“I… guess so?”

“OPERATION HELP-IN-THE-LAB: SUCCESSFUL!” Donnie pumped a fist as he cheered. He checked ‘double-success’ in his mind when you laughed.

“Donnie, I literally handed you a few tools.”

“And it led to the success of my project!”

“Making me welcome was a project?”

“(Y/N), everything is a project.”

“Of course it is.”

[olivia091108]

How to be a jackass:part 1

Summary:meeting bam and Ryan in westchester

Word count:3306

So far filming for season two of jackass has probably been the best time I’ve ever had even though I’m getting injured or pranked every day.

All the guys are great and at first I thought it’s gonna be awkward not only being the new person but being the only girl.Thank god I was wrong for once I don’t think any of them actually cared as long as I actually did gnarly stunts.

The only people I haven’t met are the boys from westchester but Jeff says that we’re gonna film a group stunt with all of us soon.

I’ve done some mediocre stunts like pouting glitter in my eye which didn’t come out for a week and licking a mouse trap Owch. I also did one with wee man where he dressed as a baby and put in a pram and when people would ask to see ‘my baby’ they would be kinda disturbed.

Today I walk on to set and check the stunt list. Today I’m gonna get a pregnant belly strapped to me and walk around town drinking some beer.

——————————————————

Time skip

After getting a mean old lady shouting at me for ‘destroying my baby’ Jeff called all of us over and told us that at 5:30am to meet here because we’re driving to westchester tomorrow.Jeff actually banned us from going out after like we usually would do we finished for the day and I got the bus back to mine and my sisters apartment

Don’t get me wrong I’m excited but really 5:30 I’m sure there’s no harm in waking up later. I walk into the apartment and go to my room to pack since we will be staying there for 5 days.

I walk into my room and start packing stuff but I can’t find one of my favourite tops so I walk into Ella’s room to see if she’s taken it and I barge in without knocking to see her and Oliver mud sex scrambling to cover themselves with the sheet.

“Get out!”

“In a sec do you have my blue top the one with the buttons”

“Are you serio-“ I sigh and lean against the wall and she knows I won’t leave until she gives it to me. “It’s in my closet” I walk over and grab it off the hanger and scrunch it up in my hands

“Oh yeah by the way I’m gonna be gone for a few day”

“Leave!” She throws a pillow at me but I dick out the room before it can hit me

An hour later ella and Oliver knock on my door and wait for me to reply before walking in with very serious looks on both their faces.

Y/n we need to talk to you about something. You can’t just walk in without knocking we don’t have any privacy with you.

Alright I’ll knock next time

“It’s not just the knocking you always come home late and wreck the houses remember you broke olis computer at like 5:30 you never clean up after yourself and we just think that you should move back with mum and dad because we can’t keep living with you.”

“What your kicking me out I pay rent here”

“You don’t even pay a quarter y/n your’e basically living here for free.I rang dad he said it was fine you moving back soon”

“You know I can’t do that el”

“You could always get your’e own place I could help you have the money know”

“Fuck you. you know what I’ll leave right now.” I grab all my clothes in my wardrobe and try to shove it into my small suitcase and mange to mostly zip it and I grab a few personal thing and hold my piggy bank under my arm before leaving

It might’ve been a irrational idea because now I have nowhere to stay for the night and I can’t go to my parents not how I left there

It’s 1am I might as well go to set and wait till morning but with busses not running I have to walk 5 miles uptown.

Once I get there I only have to wait 2 and a half hours so I set my suitcase down and use it as a seat I dig around in my pocket for the taser I took from Johnny just in case.

I feel a hand grab me and by instinct Tase whoever it was. By the time my eyes have adjusted I realise I must’ve fallen asleep and everyone’s here to go to westchester.

While Jeff is complaining the taser Dave asks if I’ve been here all night. Nah I just thought I should get here early yknow only been here half hour.

We separate into 3 cars to get there and I’m in with Johnny Dave and wee man. I’m in the back with Dave and decide to use the 6 hour car drive as an opportunity for some sleep since I got 2 hours max last night.

—————————————————-

I wake up not being able to breathe and feeling plastic on my face I try and pry one of my friends hands off of me but it’s no use and I have to rip the plastic bag now being able to breathe properly

I hear Knoxville’s laugh and a Camrea is pointed in my face all that adrenaline woke me up quick but I’m still not wide awake and I just flip him off while sitting up and stretching being confined in a car really isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.

“Cmon y/n we’re here grab your bags.” I take my almost bursting suitcase and walk it into the large house we will be staying at. I hear taking and follow it to the living room seeing Johnny talking to the two boys I recognise from episodes but still haven’t met.

Jeff introduces them the one with the dark hair and blue eyes is bam and the blonde one with a beard is called Ryan. We all introduce ourselves and start chatting and getting to know eatch other. Another girl is here called Jenn she’s bams girlfriend she seems nice but I haven’t spoken to her much

I excuse myself to the bathroom and i see a blonde lady in the kitchen and ask her if she needs a hand. If you don’t mind that would be great

“I’m April bams mum it’s so nice to have you all hear but I am a bit worried honestly”

“Im y/n thanks for letting us stay and I promise I will try to protect you and your house.”

Me and April talk about all kinds of things and I soon meet her husband Phil who is such a sweetheart and it makes me feel even worse for him seeing how bam treats him.

I’m sorry your supposed to be getting to know eatchother and I’ve stolen you away thanks for your help with the dinner.

“Oh it’s no worries you seem wayy more interesting than them boys.”

Speaking of Chris has snuck up behind me and lifted me up and body slammed me onto one of the sofas it wouldn’t of hurt that bad if people weren’t sitting on it.

I sit up and move off of whoever I fell on and jsut laugh it off and I start talking to Ryan about some of his stunts and his life and what not. While telling me about cky videos and high school with his friends bam started to join in adding to the story.

After an hour of talking to the two of them we got along really well and had quite a few things in common with them. We got called for dinner and while I was eating I could feel myself drifting off even though I slept in the car for 6 hours.

I ended up face planting into the food which made everyone laugh and while I used the bottom of my shirt to wipe it off the topic of rooms came up.

Some people were gonna have to share because there’s not enough rooms Steve o and pontius are sharing as well as Dave and ehren. Johnny is with me and wee man and Preston are together.

We all go to our rooms and get unpacked and settled. “Yknow we’re only here for 5 days don’t you”.

“Can’t a girl have options” i didn’t want to tell Johnny about getting kicked out I just wanted to have fun here. While I get changed into my pjamas I get into bed and shut my eyes trying to fall asleep but either from the excitement of tomorrow or because I napped today I couldn’t.

I looked at the clock and it was 12:34 Knoxville was asleep by now I could tell by his heavy breathing. I decided to go downstairs and have some water so I snuck out of my room and when I got downstairs I see Jenn down their about to leave

“How come you aren’t staying?”

“Bams just being a bit of a dick right now but I’ll see you in a couple days bye”

I sit in the kitchen having some water and once I’ve finished I still don’t feel like sleeping so I decide to look around. As best as you can in the dark. I quietly open the front door and step into the garden it had a skate ramp and a swimming pool in it. I went to go back inside but the door is locked I’m not gonna ring the doorbell or id wake everyone up.

I walk round the back and I see a window open so I jump from the ramp to the roof and pull myself up I walk along to reach the window but I see something move next to me. It’s a squirrel. Shit I’m fucking terrified of them they’re Satan reincarnated.

“Oh my god oh my god stop”I try to move as quick as I can to the window and quickly climb in to the room and close the window quietly while repeating those words.

“Jenn I told you to go away”bam room shit. I don’t answer and attempt to just get out of the room but I step on something and it slips out from under me and I fall onto the bed.

“Shit sorry.” Bam leans over and turns his bedside lamp on and rub his eyes. “What are you doing”

“I got locked out of the house then I had to climb threw your’e window to get away from the squirrel like I said sorry and night.”

“Are you on something” bam asks not believing me. I pull a confused face not knowing why he would be confused. “ why were you running from a squirrel?”

“Cos they’re fucking scary haven’t you seen Charlie and the chocolate factory?” At my distress yknow way he does. Laugh.I soon join in and we’re just sat they’re laughing together in His room.

Once the laughing stops he breaks the silence. “How did you even get up here?”bam asks thinking back on my story “I jumped off your ramp.you any good at skating”

“Yeah pretty good you?”

“Stepped foot on one once and fell onto someone’s bed. It seems pretty cool other than that though”

“I could teach you sometime.”

“I’ll hold you to that bam” me and bam speak about anything and everything with me now sitting above his covers on his bed and we switched the lamp off.

He tells me all about his family and when he asks about mine something in the room shifts it’s awkward.

Well I actually left home when I was 16 because me and my mum never got along she always preferred my sister i always hung out with my dad but I didn’t have many friends but these girls invited me to hangout with them and I snuck out an we went to some abandoned school and we would go there smoke some weed and whatever and once we were spray painting and the police turned up my friends ran and a policeman got me and I kicked him in the balls and they took me to jail and when my mum got that call she went crazy she said she was so disappointed in what I’ve become and that she won’t bail me out because she didn’t actually want me to come home. My dad eventually came in and took me home but I got there and my room was all boxed up and she kicked me out and said she didn’t want to see me again so I moved in with my sister.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t know”

“Yeah well how could you I don’t tell anybody so I’m could u try not to mention that”

“Pinky promise”we interlock pinkies and I kiss my hand and he copies.the conversation moves on and soon enough we’re shushing the other to stop Laughing until I notice the clock and see that it’s 2:12 and I can tell bams tired and I am as well.

“Wait y/n it was cool talking to you and if you need to talk I’m always here.” I grab a pillow an throw it at hand face. Don’t get all sappy now bam I thought you were supposed to be a cool skater boy.

I leave and head back to my room and wriggle into bed having to shove Johnny over a bit and for a second I lay there thinking about bam and how much I trusted him I wonder what tomorrow will be like before I know it I’m out like a light.

This one was acc really long

Omg guys I’m so pissed I wrote this like a week ago but I didn’t press save and I LOST RVEYTHUNG the first one was way better

Requests always open

-liv

[w1ldthoughts]

Wilted Flowers and a Lightsaber

A/n: Anon Requested

Tonight was going to be absolutely perfect. You and Justin had been planning this six month anniversary dinner for a while and because of the chaos of the season, you had to schedule this quality time early. Two bowls of pasta were set out, the wine was poured and all you had to do was wait for him to arrive. You pulled out your phone to text him a gentle reminder, not that he was forgetful by any means but he did have a lot on his plate and with the way the season had been going, he’d spent more time at the facility than anywhere else these days. But having you did bring him back to himself in realizing that there was sometimes more to life than just football.

Justin was nothing if not punctual. It was a rarity for him to not be early and even more unheard of for him to be late. You’d be lying if it didn’t worry you a bit but you didn’t want to let your mind automatically assume the worst. Maybe he was just picking up some dessert? Ice cream did always make him feel like he was on top of the world and his appreciation for sweets was one of your favorite things about him. Yeah that was definitely it, he’s just picking up an anniversary cake or something and the line must be long, you tried to tell yourself.

After waiting an hour, you called him. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hey, it's me. Um…just wondering if you’re on your way. The food is kind of cold but I can warm it up for us and we can just hang out and watch a movie or something. Anyway, just let me know you’re alive. Bye.”

45 minutes after you left him a voicemail, you went back to your room to change out of your dress and take your makeup off. It took every ounce of strength in you not to cry but somehow you managed to get it done. Just in time to hear your door being opened. You walked back into the living room and started cleaning up, ignoring the man in front of you.

“Y/n, I’m so sorry. I stayed after practice to throw with some of the receivers and we lost track of time.” He was met with silence, so he continued, helping you clean up. “I didn’t even see your texts or calls until I got back to the locker room and I just showered and headed straight here. I feel terrible for having you wait here for me but you know it’s—”

“Important?” You spit out, pouring the last of the wine into the sink. “I know it is. I know this is your life and the NFL is what you’ve always dreamed of, I get that. And I get it you’re one of the captains, you’re the quarterback and their leader and all that and it’s great. I love that you get to live your dreams and play the game you love everyday. That's not the problem.”

He stands up straight, crossing his arms over his chest, towering over you even more. “Well then what is the problem?”

“Are—are you serious?”

“Yes y/n, please enlighten me. Because last time I checked, I told you this is my job. This is the most important thing in my life and you told me you understood that. I already apologized and I’m here now, so let’s just enjoy the time we have. Unless you have something else to say?”

There were so many things about him to love. He is kind and smart and genuinely doesn’t understand how beautiful of a person he is inside and out. But he also had the tendency to have tunnel vision when it comes to certain things, especially during the season. And that was not fun to deal with. “Justin, you stood me up with no communication. I thought you got hurt at practice or were in an accident. It’s not about you staying late at the facility, it's about me constantly being put on the backburner. I have things to do too. I have a job and friends and family to see, but I still make all of that work because I want to be with you. And it just feels like I’m the very last thing on your list and that really fucking sucks.”

Here come the tears that you’d tried so hard to keep at bay. You wiped your eyes with your sleeve, a sleeve that you now realized was attached to a shirt that belonged to him and it made you even more sad. “I think about you when I do things, I made dinner for us to celebrate the best six months of my life and I feel like I’m the only one who’s trying here.”

“That’s not fair,” he sighs, “I told you that football season is long and intense and you know the amount of stress I’ve been under. I mean the team is not performing the way we should be and I know that the only opinions that matter are the ones inside the building but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hear it and it doesn't affect me. You know it does. So yes sometimes I’m gonna have to stay late and have team meetings and miss a date or two here and there but babe…you signed up for this.”

You signed up for this. “You’re right.” You sniffle. “I can’t imagine the stress you’re under right now and I’m sorry. I thought I could just get your mind off things for a bit. That this…this relationship would be enough. Maybe I’ve been a little selfish, you’re being pulled in all these different directions already and here I am asking for a piece of you like everyone else.”

He shook his head once, stepping forward a bit to reach out to you. “No—that’s not what I meant.”

“Justin, I'm not with you because you’re an incredible quarterback. I love you because I think you’re the greatest person I’ve ever known. But I—I can’t just be another thing on your list. I can’t be another chore and that’s how I feel right now.” Your eyes turn down to the floor, tears continuing to wet your cheeks. “I think you should go.”

“Did you just say you love me?” You look up to meet his now glistening eyes. “Because I love you too and I don’t think we should call it a night just yet. We can—we can just talk and figure something out. I need to fix my work/life balance and I’ll make us more of a priority, I will.” He tries to reason, attempting to mask the hurt in his voice.

The words never come so you just shake your head sadly, holding his hand to walk him out the door.

Two weeks later, the apology flowers that you’d received from him were still sitting on the table, very much on their last leg. Upstairs, you were looking in your closet for a jacket when you stumbled upon your Padme costume. Of course. You and Justin were supposed to go to Keenan and his wife’s Halloween party tonight but instead you’d be on the couch wearing fuzzy socks, ordering takeout and watching Halloweentown on your own. Your phone interrupted Aggie meeting the hooded demon in the theater, much to your disappointment.

“Before you say no to coming to the party, please hear me out.” Of course Ally would call. Ever since her husband Eric had signed with the Chargers this past offseason you both had bonded immediately. She’d been a football wife for a while, so she took you under her wing while also letting you do things your way.

“You have two minutes to convince me not to dig into this tub of ice cream and not leave my house for the next 3-5 business days. Go.”

She laughs on the other end of the line. “There’s karaoke. And drinks. And people who love you and would really like to see you. Please don’t make me beg because I’m already two drinks in, our nanny is staying at our house overnight and I have nothing to lose. So just say you’re coming.”

The movie that was paused in front of you was appealing, but you couldn’t hide forever. Not when these people have become so important to you. And yeah maybe some part of you did want to see him, even if it was just for a little bit. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

“See you in 60 minutes, I’ve set a timer.” Ally laughs.

Keenan and Ciandra definitely knew how to throw a party. You weaved through the different crowds until you spotted Ally, dressed in her finest 70s wear talking to other players' wives.

“Y/n! You’re here. It’s so good to see you baby.” Ciandra called out, pulling you in for a hug. “Your hand is empty, there needs to be a drink in it. I’ll be right back, you should mingle.”

As you caught up with the girls, you tried to sneak glances around the room, not having any luck. “He’s in the back room with some of the guys.” Ally whispers to you. “I don’t think anyone’s told him you’re here yet. You two should talk.”

“I wasn’t—I’m not looking for him. There’s nothing for us to talk about. We broke up and…that’s it.”

She gives you the look. “Yeah sure. Tell that to your face.”

The next hour was spent doing anything humanly possible to address the elephant in the room. There were drinks to be had, people to talk to and somehow you’d avoided Justin at every turn.

“Oh shoot, my phone is dead and I need to check in on Knight and see how he’s doing. I’m gonna go find Eric and use his phone but I have a portable charger in my jacket pocket upstairs in the coat room, will you grab it for me please?”

You nodded immediately, slightly thankful to step away from the music for a bit. “Of course, I’ll be right back Al.”

The trek upstairs wasn’t as easy in your white combat boots after three poison apple cocktails but you made it. Ally’s jacket was right where she’d described and you were just about to walk back downstairs when he walked in. The two of you almost ran into each other.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry. Wait…y/n? What—what are you doing here?”

The beard had grown even more since the last time you’d seen him. It worked, in a weird way. “Ally forced me to come. I didn’t have time to get another costume, I really wasn’t going to come at first but—”

“No, I like the costume. It looks good on you.” He whispers, thankful that his robe was covering up his slightly shaky hands. The door suddenly closed behind him and they both heard it lock. Justin immediately walks over it, shaking it open without any results.

“You two are going to stay in there until you talk. I’m not taking no for an answer so you better fix it. We have all night and I have four kids so I’m very patient.” Ciandra yells from the other side of the door.

“She is! It’s probably for the best if y’all just listen and do what she says.” Keenan utters. “Good luck.”

The long haired man turned around to meet your eyes. “Did they just?”

“Lock us in this room like we’re children being put in timeout? Yeah.” You sighed, sitting on the bed.

He leaned against the wall, huffing out a breath. For a few minutes the only sound that could be heard was the faint bass of the music from the party.

“I’m sorry.” You both said at the same time, laughing at the irony.

Communication got you in this mess and now here you were using the exact same words. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one that ruined this for us. CiMo keeps telling people I messed things up with her partner in crime. I didn’t even know you two were criminals.”

“Well if eating a basket full of chicken tenders every game is a crime, then we are definitely guilty. And if there’s ever a tender shortage, you know who to blame.” You laugh softly, still looking at the floor.

“As much as I would love to keep talking about your obsession with breaded chicken, I need to be honest.”

“What is it?” You could tell he was nervous, subtly running his fingers along his chin so he wouldn’t pick at the skin on his face.

“I don’t know how to do this” he whispers, almost at a loss for words or what to say next without making the situation worse. “My entire life I’ve prided myself on working hard and being competitive in the classroom and on the field, no matter what field it is. And now? My entire life revolves around football and the team and the guys.”

“I want to be prepared for things. I watch film, I practice, I throw after practice. There’s tools out there for everything but this? I don’t—I can’t prepare. There’s no playbook to follow, plays to learn. I just feel…and that’s really fucking scary to me. I was overwhelmingly unprepared to feel this way about you so I tried to bury it and it was stupid and I hurt you. Y/n I’m so sorry for making you feel like another thing on the list. You are not a chore, you are the best thing in my life and I was too proud and caught up in my own shit to tell you that. And I’m not very good at expressing my feelings with words but—”

Your laugh interrupts him, “here I thought you were an open book.”

He chuckles lowly, shaking his head. “I’m definitely a book. I don’t know if it’s open but there’s a lot of pages and tiny writing that most people can’t see.”

With a sigh, you stand up and face him, grabbing ahold of his hand. “Good thing I like to read. Especially the chapters that you have hidden.”

One of your hands found their way into his hair, faces inches apart. “I love you. So much.” He whispers, holding you close. The kiss was slow at first, silent apologies and words of forgiveness all wrapped into one lengthy, desperate embrace. His entire body curved into yours, there was no way you could be any closer to him if you tried. You never wanted to forget this feeling, as long as you lived.

“I love you too, Justin.”

He leaned in again, asking “so we’re good?” In between pecks. You simply nodded, running your hands over his robe.

“Good.” He whispers, intertwining your fingers together with his right hand and pulling his phone out of his pocket with his left, telling Keenan thank you. The door was opened immediately after.

“Did you know they were going to do this?”

His cheeks turn a subtle tint of pink as he nods, “Who do you think begged Ally to get you to come to this party in the first place? Desperate times call for desperate measures. I didn’t want to risk you leaving without me apologizing.”

“Oh you’re doing anything I want for all of eternity for making me think we were stuck in this room. Starting with an anniversary redo?”

He smiles and nods slowly, making you melt. “You are in my very soul, tormenting me. I would do anything you ask.”

“My dear Anakin Skywalker…you are so lucky you’re cute.”

[lunar-years]

roy and jamie and keeley are so hot together and i wonder what you think the public perception of them is like? jamie and keeley were into pda (at the gala, in the locker room, jamie’s pics of keeley lmao) but keeley implied that jamie would hate the tabloids invading their privacy. do we know how long jamiekeeley were even together for?? and then there’s roy who’s super protective about keeley, hates talking to the media, and threatens the paparazzi taking pics of them in s1. idk where i’m going with this but I’m just thinking about that throwaway line in s3, where jack assumes keeley’s talking about jamie when she refers to her “famous footballer ex”. in my head i think keeley likes the grand gestures in the public eye with jamie, but she also loves the private sacred moments no one else gets to see. it’s just really interesting to imagine what they’d be like when they all get together!

Ugh they really ARE so hot together aren’t they!!

Anyway this is such a fun thing to discuss. First off, I don’t think we know for sure how long Jamie and Keeley were together :( But the entire locker room seems pretty familiar with her in episode one, and as a couple, the two of them seem fairly established to me. Not as in like, a serious way necessarily, but in a way where it’s clear they’ve got a lot of trust between them and do know one another. Also, it’s been both long enough for Jamie to have fallen in love with her and for Keeley to have had the deep impact on him that sets into motion all the growth we see in him from that point on. So in my mind, I think they were together for like, a year and a bit. Pretty much as long as Keeley and Roy were together, honestly.

I think the two of them definitely enjoy being public-facing enough to like, have online fan clubs and a big Twitter Stan presence LOL and also they’d be totally pumped to make it onto like, top power couples and best dressed lists. And they both really care about ~their brand~, reputation and image in a way Roy just doesn’t. So I do think they like attending events together and showing out on red carpets and posting pics together on their socials!!

I LOVED that line in season one about Jamie hating the tabloids getting in their business. I think it shows that he respects Keeley, that in his own way, that relationship was special and sacred to him even when it was happening, and that he does have a line between his public and personal life. And then I think we see throughout the series that Jamie is (maybe surprisingly?) actually a fairly private person. Yeah he’s got this whole very loud online presence, but that’s very different than like, him.

So yeah, I think he and Keeley enjoy being public, but only when they can curate what they’re putting out there and have it be under their control. And Jamie would’ve fully supported and endorsed Roy’s smashing that pap’s camera on his first date with Keeley, lol. All three of them I think cherish the moments the world isn’t privy to the most :)

My headcanon is that they don’t go public as a throuple until after Jamie retires, and I think they wouldn’t couple off (as in, publicize that just roykeeley or jamiekeeley are together) when it means leaving someone out, even if that person is Roy who hates the publicity anyway. It would just rub them all the wrong and they all agree they don’t need to kiss one another in public that bad. So I think they keep the romantic/relationship side of things pretty private amongst their families and close friends, BUT I also think they wouldn’t hide being close to one another. The fans definitely know how close they all are, and they don’t try to totally avoid being seen publicly hanging out, in pairs and all three. Also the online rpf shipping community is definitely rampant lmao.

And I think there’s also an element of like, they want to be available to publicly support one another. Being totally private isn��t worth it if they can’t show up for one another when it matters. Obviously, Keeley wants to be there for all their games, and Jamie and Roy want to be at her work functions and events that matter to her just as much, and at a certain point, if people are gonna talk they’re gonna talk! I think Jamie kind of helps Roy come around to this way of thinking as well. Enough to where they can be a little more open with caring about one another, and hug on the pitch maybe a bit longer than they hug anyone else, and even joke about one another in interviews (okay, that one’s mostly Jamie), and not give a shit. So everyone is aware on some level they’ve got a deep bond, but they just don’t know the exact nature of that bond and rjk aren’t forthcoming lol.

[justwearthegoddamncardigan]

hi! can i request a beth harmon x fem reader please? just this sort of sweet moment between them where all the stress from the tournaments and everything that’s been happening melts away and everything is okay because they’re together.

i can never find any good fics of her and i love all the stuff you’ve written so i got really excited when i saw her on your list!

thank you so much!! ❤️

Thank you for requesting beth ❤🥺

My girl

Beth Harmon x fem!reader, reader is an author

Set before Russia, just a slice of life type fic

Warnings: some swearing

You drop your keys on the counter, taking your time to slowly toe your shoes off, watching Beth walk into the living room and settle in an armchair.

She'd been a little... distant at dinner, not fully tuned in, in a way you know she'd never be on purpose. The tournament stress is clearly sinking into her.

You turn on the Christmas lights you'd kept up, for months after the holiday season, opting to turn off the ceiling lights and let the fairy light glow filter through the room.

"Beth?"

She turns her head to you as you bend down beside the couch, perching your chin on the sofa arm to look up at her.

"What are you thinking about?" you ask softly.

Beth lets out a breath, shifting and stretching her legs out behind her. "Paris, Borgov, ...losing, and losing like that." She plays idly with your hands as she speaks. "Jolene's money, your money. Benny hating me."

She shakes her head. "I should've just said yes to those Christian funders."

You squeeze her hands. "Beth, it's okay. First of all, Jolene gave you that money out of her own free will. She wants you to go to Russia. And me? I just sold two stories to that publishing agency, remember? The money will come back. And... true friends always come back. So Benny'll be back, just give him time to cool off."

You move up to the armchair, Beth's soft giggle ringing as you huff and squish yourself into the clearly-meant-for-one-person armchair beside her.

"We're going to Russia," you tell her. "And," you drop a kiss on the tip of her nose. "You're gonna rip the board right out from under Borgov's sad little king."

Beth laughs, shaking her head. "I've gotta get through all the other Russians first."

"Fuck 'em. You're gonna take home the whole damn tournament."

She cups your cheek in one hand, tilting your head up to press a kiss to your lips. "Yeah, fuck 'em."

You slide out of her arms, grinning at the pout she gives as you stand up from the armchair. It's your favourite thing, being able to see all the cute little expressions and actions she doesn't show outside.

"I'm coming back," you promise. "I'm making tea."

"You're amazing," she says, smiling at you over the top of the chair.

You smirk. "I know. Music?" The radio crackles to life as you turn it on, recognising an song you know Beth loves, and you grin to yourself as she slowly rises from the armchair.

You sway slightly along with the song beat as you fill the kettle and search for your teabags, watching Beth dance her way towards you, holding up her closed fist as a microphone.

"What- can- make- me- feel this way," she punctuates each word with a dramatic movement.

You grin, knowing what's next.

"My girl..." Beth points her arm straight out at you, singing each harmony. She makes her way into the kitchen, looping an arm over your shoulder and kissing your cheek. "Talkin' 'bout my girl."

"Oh my god, this is boiling water, Beth."

"My girl!"

You shake your head, grinning. She's undeterred. You pour milk in with the tea, and toss in a little spoon of sugar.

Beth reaches out as you pass the cup to her. "Thank you," she says softly, smile crinkling her eyes.

You take a sip from your cup. "Anything for my girl."

You move back into the living room, Beth disappearing off somewhere.

"Y/n!"

You turn and see her holding up your book, which you'd just gotten properly printed.

"Can you read it to me?"

You take the book from her. "Haven't you already read most of it?"

Every chapter you'd write, she'd read. Beth was the first person to see the plot unfolding in your head, storylines stretching out and forming together. You'd sit there, clicking sounds ringing as you typed, and Beth would play chess games against herself as she waited for you to finish the next page.

You pull the paper out of the typewriter, the fresh ink allowed to rest on the table for just a second, before it's snatched up by Beth, eager to read after a new revelation on the previous page.

"Holy shit, Y/n."

"What?"

"That's genius."

You smile. "You think?"

"Yeah..." she trails off, eyes flicking across and down the page as she reads.

"Wait... fuck." She blinks up at you, evidently having finished the page. "What happens after?"

"You know it's gonna take like at least an hour for the next page right?"

Beth huffs. "Can't you just tell me? I know you already planned it out."

"Nope," you say, snorting as she groans into the couch.

Beth flops into the sofa beside you. "I mean, I know the story but I haven't read it all together and finished. Please, Y/n?"

She turns her sweetest expression on you, and you fold immediately.

"Fine, fine, sure," you say, setting down your tea. You settle into the couch, pulling your legs up beside you, then you open the book.

Beth nudges your foot, and you look up. "Thank you," she says. "I love you."

You smile. "Love you too."

I'm writing the requests a little out of order just getting any of the older ones out first. Short fic today but loved writing the fluff :))))

[babytarttdoodoo]

Omg I’m obsessed with your fics! Your writing is so good! Can I request some hurt\comfort Roy / Jamie where Jamie just needs some cuddles?

And now for something completely different! Back to the regularly scheduled short and sweet prompts, I jumped at the chance to do some fluff after my brief descent into madness.

(It wasn’t that brief and I doubt that it’s over.)

Roy/Jamie, set maybe two years after canon.

Song rec: Better Together

(Prompt Fill Masterpost)

—

Giving Jamie a key to his house had been an easy decision for Roy, regardless of how short the length of their ‘official’ relationship had technically been. Despite working together on a daily basis, their schedules could be vastly different and demanding.

Jamie had professional commitments outside of Richmond, split between brand partnerships and public appearances, on top of the time he religiously kept aside to spend with the team or on trips to Manchester. Roy was increasingly (frustratingly) involved in the day-to-day running of the club and spent at least two of the nights in a week that he wasn’t trapped in his office with Phoebe running circles around him after school.

Basically, dedicated ‘alone time’ was hard to come by and it was actually really fucking nice to come home some nights and find Jamie already sorting dinner in the kitchen, or to be surprised by an unplanned visit whenever he found himself at a loose end.

It was nice that Jamie clearly felt at home enough in his space to use it.

That said, this evening he was confronted with a lot more slamming of doors and aggressive muttering than he had typically come to expect when Jamie let himself in.

“In here.” Roy answered from his space on the couch when Jamie did eventually call out and confirm he wasn’t a bad-tempered burglar. He paused the film he’d been half-watching and scowled at his boyfriend when he poked his head into the living room. “What the fuck did my front door do to you?”

Jamie winced slightly and shrugged before all but collapsing over the back of the settee, 170 pounds of muscle immediately reduced to a floppy ragdoll. Roy made appropriately irritated sounds at being jostled, while simultaneously holding his arms agreeably up out of the way so Jamie could squirm around into a comfortable position. His head found its way to Roy’s lap and he tucked his legs up to avoid dangling off the arm.

“Sorry.” he said, smiling sheepishly once he was settled. “Long fucking day.”

“Yeah?” Roy’s hands automatically sought out more contact, one resting on Jamie’s chest, the other beginning to card through his hair.

He had let his natural colour grow back in this season. At this length, it had started forming a mop of soft curls on top of his head that Roy found unbearably attractive. Even with whatever overpriced products it had been saturated in for the day, it only took a few runs through of Roy’s fingers to set the strands loose again.

He suppressed a laugh at the way Jamie pressed into the touch with a contented sound, acting for all the world like an affection-starved cat.

“Yeah,” he sighed, eyes drifting shut. “The bloke running the shoot was a right dickhead. Whole thing dragged on way longer than it had to.”

Roy frowned. Jamie had been looking forward to working with this company - some fashion line Keeley had secured a contract for. It would be a fucking shame if the whole thing was a miserable cock up.

“Need me to knock some skulls together?”

Jamie huffed a laugh, lips twitching up, but the pinch in his brow didn’t smooth over like Roy had hoped it would. He was clearly upset by whatever happened.

“Nah. Not sure they’ll invite me back, to be honest. Keeley’s gonna go through me tomorrow.”

That was a straight up alarming concept. The list of things that would push Keeley to be genuinely angry at Jamie was incredibly short. “What happened?”

“Told him where to stick it, didn’t I?” Jamie groused, turning his face to nuzzle into Roy’s stomach. “Got sick of him yelling at me for just doing what he said. Prick.”

“Hey.” Roy waited until he saw Jamie’s eyes open and peer up at him. “He shouted at you?”

“A bit.”

“Where does he live?”

Jamie snorted and lightly smacked Roy’s arm. “Shut up.”

“No, seriously, Jamie.” The hand that had been petting his hair moved to cup his cheek instead. “Keeley is not going to be mad at you for telling off some idiot giving you a hard time. You don’t need to put up with that shit.”

Jamie hummed, not looking entirely convinced, but the tightness in his shoulders did ease up a little.

“It were a big deal, this shoot.” he said quietly. “Supposed to do a couple more with ‘em next month. They won’t if they decide I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’ve done more modelling in the last two years than I did in my entire fucking playing career.” Roy pointed out. “If it went wrong, I doubt it was because of something you did.”

A thoughtful look overtook Jamie’s expression and, with a small grunt of effort as the only warning, he surged up to capture Roy’s lips in a sweet, warm kiss. He used the hand not propping himself up to grasp the back of Roy’s neck, pulling him in as close as he could at the awkward angle.

Roy was definitely not complaining but couldn’t help his surprise, blinking in confusion when they broke apart. “What was that for?”

“It’s sexy when you make sense.” Jamie told him, a welcome flicker of amusement in his expression. “And when you try to get me out me head. Sorry I’m being a grumpy bastard.”

“Oh, yeah, you’ve never had to put up with that from me.” Roy deadpanned, eyebrows raised. Jamie rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the grin taking over his face. Fair play. “Tell me why you’re so upset over this. You know Keeley won’t give two shits about one bad day.”

Jamie’s face screwed up for a moment then he huffed and shifted around to sit properly beside Roy, still pressed up to his side but occupying his hands with spinning one of the few rings he had on that day.

Roy didn’t rush him, knowing he'd find the words in his own time.

“I don’t like being called ‘stupid’.” Jamie finally admitted, like letting that bother him was something to be fucking ashamed of.

The hot spike of anger that shot through Roy’s gut seized up his joints in a vice of coiled tension. Ten years ago, he’d let loose that energy by charging at the source and whoever else happened to be in his path. Now, with only Jamie there to take it out on, he forced himself to relax at least a fraction before trusting his voice wouldn’t come out sharply.

“What the fuck did he say to you?”

Jamie nudged him gently, no doubt reading the protective fury in every line of his body and appreciating the effort to rein it in.

“Dunno, exactly. I’m hardly fluent in Spanish but I’ve seen enough of Dani’s Twitter replies to know when I’m being insulted.” He shrugged. “After the third or fourth ‘móngolo’ and ‘apestar’ I told him to go fuck himself and stormed off.”

Jamie groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face, ears going pink like they did when he was embarrassed or stressed.

“In my defence, he were pissing off everyone on the shoot. The photographer found me later to say he were five minutes away from doing the same. And he kept getting on at the makeup girl ‘cause me abs weren’t ‘defined enough’.” He put air quotes around the words and Roy gritted his teeth so hard he thought he heard one of the back ones crack.

“Right.” he ground out and took another deep breath when even he could hear the homicidal rage in his tone. “First off, that’s the most moronic fucking thing I’ve ever heard. You’re in the best shape of your bloody life and your torso looks like you’ve airbrushed it on every morning.”

Jamie snorted, clearly appreciating the compliment, despite everything else. 

“He’s just a prick they paid way too much money to fly in from Barcelona.” he said, leaning his head on Roy’s shoulder and sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as anything. “Keeley already told them that if they were gonna insist on doing the shoot during the season, there’s no way I would be getting dehydrated before it.”

Roy sharing his opinions on that fun part of modelling, whether on season or off, was not going to help matters. He made the magnanimous decision to let it go and was very proud of himself.

“Second.” He continued instead, putting an arm around Jamie to tug him in and press a kiss to his temple. “You are not fucking stupid. Or whatever else he said. Like to see that bastard fend for himself in the kind of tactical nightmares you find a way around.”

“Footie genius.” Jamie agreed lightly, nodding like he was humouring Roy.

“Fucking brilliant, on or off the pitch.” Roy corrected and squeezed Jamie to emphasise the point. “I’ve never seen anyone read people the way you do. Or remember so much shit. You knew what that fucker was saying about you because you pay attention to everything. I don’t know how you do it.”

Jamie buried his face into Roy’s shoulder, ears definitely pink now.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Freaky when you give me this many compliments, you old weirdo.”

Roy chuckled and kissed Jamie’s hair again. “You know I mean it?”

“Yeah.” Jamie sniffed and Roy couldn’t tell if he was just clearing the air or something else. “You’re a shit liar.”

“Glad to hear it. Did you eat yet?”

“Meant to order in on the way back. Forgot.”

“Fuck that. I’ve got a pot of spag bol that Phoebe and me barely made a dent in. Let’s get you fed.”

Jamie propped his chin up on Roy’s shoulder, eyes big and soft with a smile playing around his mouth. He leaned in again and kissed Roy some more, unbearably gentle and intense about it all at the same time.

“Alright. Let’s see what damage I can do to these abs, then.”

[accio-victuuri]

MY RECENT READS ( April - August 2023 ) 📚

a mix of manhua/manhwa/danmei novels. i’ve also been on an omegaverse binge so you’ll see a couple of those on here. this is my way of documenting what i’ve read and sharing it to anyone who is probably looking for their next read.

I have linked the actual source of where i read them so you can look up the summary & reviews and see if it’s something you like. Please mind the tags and warnings too. ^^

===============

MANHWA/MANHUA

===============

Limited Run ( Seasons 1 & 2 ) - sometimes i’m just in the mood for some toxic relationship with good smut and this hits the spot. tho the MC (Yeon-Oh) is really put in an ugly situation, and really just wants to have a better life and escape. It’s not his fault. The power imbalance is definitely there and like 99.9% of people reading it is there for the smut.

Love Shuttle ( Seasons 1-3 ) - I am very late to this story cause when I started reading this was always at the top of people’s rec lists — especially for omegaverse and now i know why. I love a younger alpha x older omega dynamic so I’m happy with that then add in the enemies to lovers trope. The characters are likable and the story progresses well. Usually for omegaverse, there’s always some angst going on but this felt enjoyable to me. Totally a good read.

Omega Complex ( Completed ) - I AM ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS STORY. I have read it multiple times and it’s marked as completed, but the extras are not. If I were to pick my ideal omegaverse story and art it would be this. Again. Older Omega x Younger Alpha. This one is they started as childhood friends who became estranged because of “circumstances” and met up again in college. The school setting itself and supporting characters are well done too. Most stories have fleshed out supporting characters only if they will be a second couple or something, but this does not use that ploy.

There are misunderstandings but i’m okay with that. I know people are stupid and bad at communication in real life so i don’t really get readers who complain about it. Maybe if it’s too much or doesn’t serve a purpose. It’s necessary in this one tho.

THE SMUT IS GORGEOUS. No. Really. How can you describe smut as gorgeous? Well. Read it and you will find out. 👀

BUT THE BEST THING IS I AM INVESTED WITH THE PAIRING. I love them so much. 😭😭😭 from childhood friends to going to school together and all + grown ups.

Their aesthetic also kinda reminds me of the GG & WYB. so yeah.

Cheeky Habits of my Rabbits - what happens when you combine absolute cuteness and smut? This. I love it. It shouldn’t work, the premise is weird, but it’s a great read! hilarious too. Neungso is the most precious bunny!!!!

The Pizza Delivery Man & the Golden Palace ( on Hiatus ) - How do I even begin to describe this without foaming in the mouth. I wish the hiatus will be over and we will know more and see how the story progresses. It looks like a simple premise, MC is a pizza delivery guy who is struggling and he forms a relationship with a rich regular from the “golden palace”. BUT NOOOO. The writing is special. The way the ML’s struggle with his anxiety/trauma and how MC’s simple kindness helped him is so romantic.

Especially the scene when they first met in the rain and the MC offered his umbrella. You never know what people are going through, so it’s best to be kind. It was such a small gesture but it changed both of their lives.

It’s a story of how love can heal. 😌

Plus the MC — Woo Won is one of my favorite leads ever. He is so gentle and kind even if the world is treating him badly, he still makes a conscious decision to be good. He deserves all the love and success! ML ( Seo-An) better spoil him well! 😤

Their problems don’t magically disappear, it’s just easier to exist because you have someone standing beside you. 🤍🤍🤍

The New Recruit ( completed ) - a solid office romance. if you’re into that then pick this up! there’s no toxic power imbalance going on or abuse. I like how MC is someone who started his career a bit late, so he is older than his peers and still a newbie. A perfect read over the weekend.

Mr. Y & Mr. J - I can’t find the link to the completed version I read so sorry for that. Anyway, this one is with theme of “regression” is I think the right time. Where the MC dies and lives again years prior. So they get a second chance at life. The setting is also entertainment industry which i personally enjoy so there was no way i won’t like it.

Salad Days ( Season 1 ) - Something I AM VERY LATE to. I think everyone and their mom have read this so I won’t go into details. I loved the first season and will definitely go back to finish the rest. The pairing is so OTP material 💟

The side characters in the MC’s life, his friends, are so precious too!

Dawn of the Dragon ( Season 1 ) - Fantasy / Smut. That’s all I can remember. What I really wanna know tho is the backstory of the Dragon and who was his mate from the past. I have a feeling the MC is some sort of reincarnation of that person.

Raising Beta (completed) - A very short read. It’s fucked up. LOL. Basically the MC is a beta and the ML who is obsessed with him turns him into an Omega. not only that, he did a lot of other things all in the name of “love” and as a reader you are there to watch it and you can’t do anything to help the MC. It’s definitely an experience to read this. It reminds me of something Kai Bi Qiu might write so maybe that’s why I enjoyed it more than i should. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Hyacinth (completed) - Awwww this one is sweet and makes me all somft. I have re-read this too cause it’s pretty short and the art is beautiful. The MC’s focus on how many meals he has shared with ML was a nice addition and added to the romance.

Plus their little family of three is so cute! XIAO YI IS THE BEST KID. 🥹🥹🥹

How to snag an Alpha ( Completed ) - All I can say is that it’s super funny and the MC is definitely a character. I got so much secondhand embarrassment from the shit he pulls but he ended up getting the Alpha so i think it’s worth it! 😂

Sweet not Sugar ( Season 1 ) - I found this when searching for “green flag” alphas and well this satisfied that. I love the MC here so i’m happy that he gets to be with someone who doesn’t treat him like trash. The MC is at a point in his life where he thinks everyone is out to abuse him in some way so meeting ML unsettles him.

LEE DAN! You deserve to be loved! No matter what happened to you in the past 🥹🥹🥹

December ( Season 1 ) - This is one that I actively check to see if it’s updated cause I’m so invested with the pairing. It should be the usual omegaverse trope but add in the backstory, somehow makes it special. They both meet years ago and MC who is an omega “awakened” the ML into being an Alpha. ML then looks for this mystery person and when he finds him, he will do everything to keep him.

I’m doing a very bad summary i know, i promise it’s not boring. There are other issues discussed in the story, like how horrible omegas are treated. I looooove it when the Alpha goes feral and violent in certain moments too but when it comes to his Omega he is somft.

Their library dates too!!!! 😍😍😍😍

Who’s baby is it? ( Ongoing 200 + chapters ) - My comfort read! I swear. The plot was initially straightforward then it went in a bizarre direction but i still like it. It’s still not finished even with all the chapters and I imagine they can still stretch it to last forever 😂😂😂

My fave would definitely be the children! Rourou!!!! I initially picked this up cause I wanted a story with a cute kid. and i got what i wanted.

+ Entertainment industry setting <3

My Delicious Dream Boy ( Completed ) - The kind of supernatural read that still manages to be fun and light. The MC here is funny without even trying. He only wants to have friends and experience “college life” after years of having to stay at home because of his sickness. The plot could have easily gone dark but it focused more on relationships and the pairing’s growth as individuals — which was so much better for me. Definitely a favorite and reread material.

Affectionately ( Completed ) - This could have been more fleshed out cause there is more story to tell but what can i do.. It is what it is…

It features cute animals cause the MC is supposedly gifted in interacting with them and the ML is the complete opposite. They also work at a cafe together. I chose to read this cause I wanted fluff and it did not disappoint.

My favorite glasses holder ( Completed ) - the MC and his love for men with glasses 😂😂😂 ML is a grumpy kitty and works so well with MC’s bright personality. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as i do. After this, I have craved for more modern setting stories.

===============

DANMEI NOVELS

===============

Deer Fei Fei - an adorable story of the MC who is in the entertainment industry and his “senior” who he idolizes. if you are into a fanboy getting his idol trope they give it a try. It’s also really short with 32 chapters only 💕

Transmigrated and forced to do Business - my guilty pleasure is when the MC transmigrates in the book where they are supposed to be the villain but they don’t want that. So they do everything the can to be on the good side of the book’s protagonist and well… we all know what happens after.

Have you ever met such a cold author? - Fanboy reader who writes fanfics meets his favorite author. That’s it. I was sold with the premise and it did deliver. ☺️

Bu Wang - I started the Manhua and wanted more so I MTL-d it over at gonzicp so I don’t have the proper english translation. I was just craving for a merman type of story and this popped up. It was nice! How the ML became so devoted to him and chased MC when he left AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Stars run to him - I have to take Knoxt ( website ) for this cause i swear i was only browsing completed novels and I randomly clicked on this. It’s what i love about Knoxt, there are translated works there that are not as popular. Absolute gems that deserve more audience.

This is a perfect example. 💕

DON’T LET THE SUMMARY FOOL YOU. I enjoy myself some fake dating for sure, but this is so much more than that. Especially that clue in there : “Gu Zhongyi has loved him for many years…” I don’t think I’ve ever read something like this and that’s why it stuck with me. It would have been so confusing but it was written very well and seeing it all unfold is a treat. Definitely a classic.

It seems there is light - Such a pure story. I swear. A great story about first love and two people who care for each other. It may be boring to some, depending on the headspace you’re in, but please give it a try.

-END.

[grapenehifics]

Countdown to Chapter One!

My fellow Obikins: I am very, VERY excited to share my next fic with you. Some of you may remember a fic of mine called An Uncivil War, the first chapter of which I posted on AO3 almost exactly a year ago, in May of 2023, and wrapped up that July. At the time, I mentioned to a number of people in the comments that I was already partway through the sequel (An Uncivil War is listed as part one of a three-part series, Can't Stop the Suns), and that I hoped to have Part II ready to go by end of 2023.

Well, that obviously didn't happen. I started looking at February 2024. That didn't happen either. I pushed it to April. April has come and gone. May, though! May I am going to make happen! May 27th, 2024, to be exact. Chapter one of Pick Up the Pieces, a.k.a. part 2 of Can't Stop the Suns, a.k.a. the sequel to An Uncivil War, a.k.a. the thing I have been writing on and off for more than three years now, is going up on AO3. (Excerpt and way more ramblings below the cut.)

A) I wanted to make this announcement in advance because I'm just really excited to share this fic. Parts of it I've posted on Tumblr as WIP Wednesdays, but most of it I've tried to keep under wraps until it's ready and, frankly, I really want to talk about it!

B) @palfriendpatine66 specifically asked for a heads-up before I started posting, but I figured I'd share publicly in case anyone else has the same desire to read (or re-read) part one before starting part two. May 27th is the day!

I do want to say, though - prior knowledge of An Uncivil War is NOT required to understand or enjoy this fic. If you haven't read An Uncivil War, I would really love it if you did! I'm enormously proud of it and love, love, love talking about it. But I also don't want anyone to not give Pick Up the Pieces a try, assuming they were otherwise interested, because they're worried they won't understand what's going on. If you want to jump in, make sure you read the tags and the summary, and by the time you get to chapter three you should have a pretty good grounding in what happened previously. Obviously there are some little details here and there you'll miss but for the most part you should be okay. I did try to make it as accessible as possible.

C) Thirdly - mostly as a reward for reading this far - I thought it would be fun, over the next three Wednesdays, to give a sneak peek of one of the later chapters, because I've really missed doing regular WIP Wednesdays for this fic (for the aforementioned secrecy reasons).

The main part of the fic is set during what would have been the final year of the Clone Wars, except we take a departure from canon during the season 5 episode The Wrong Jedi and diverge off-course from there. Mixed in with that, though, are flashback chapters, covering some portion of Anakin's years as Obi-Wan's Padawan, which have just been a blast to write. They go in roughly chronological order, and this one in particular is set when Anakin is 17. I'll post a little bit today, the next part a week from today, the final section the week after that, and then you'll get the rest of it when chapter ten goes up in the actual fic :)

Chapter Ten preview starts below:

“Uh…” Anakin looked down at his cards and bit his lip. “Hit me?” he asked tentatively. The three other players around the table blinked slowly back at him. He reached out and flipped the top card of the table deck over, letting the rest of the players see it. “Damnit,” he hissed through his teeth.

“Tough luck, boy,” boomed the Besalisk on Anakin’s right, the one he was most worried about getting a peek at his cards. “That makes twenty-two.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Anakin snapped, frustrated. He tossed his cards face-down in front of him. “Don’t remind me.”

Anakin was losing, and quite badly at that. He really needed to slow down and stop the bleeding or Obi-Wan was going to catch him not only gambling, but totally out of credits, too, and he would not be happy about it.

“I’m going to take a break,” Anakin said suddenly, standing up so quickly his chair squeaked. “I’ll sit out this round. Be right back.” He scooped the (very meager) pile of credits he had left to his name into his hand and pocketed them before walking away. What he really wanted to do was take a quick minute to check the chronometer strapped to his wrist without any of them seeing him do it, but needing to take a walk was as good an excuse as any.

He didn’t leave the Castle (Takodana was a little too humid for Anakin’s liking), just took a slow lap around the edges of it, checking out the other gambling tables, the billiards games, the tourists, the regulars, the spacers, the spice runners, the spice addicts, the smugglers. The people who, if he hadn’t become a Jedi, probably would have been his friends and his enemies, his rivals, his contemporaries. His lovers, maybe.

The lower levels of Takodana Castle had once been an ancient Jedi temple, a fact Obi-Wan had mentioned rather a few more times than strictly necessary on their trip over from Coruscant. It had been built on the site of an even more ancient battleground, where Jedi and Sith had fought one another centuries – maybe a millennia – ago. The Jedi had won, that time, and built the original Takodana Temple as a kind of memorial. Anakin let the tips of his fingers trail over the wet, warm stone walls as he walked, feeling to see if he could catch any whispers of the old voices. Old hurts, old betrayals, old war wounds…

He had started doing this thing, about a year or so back. He had discovered, largely by accident (not that Jedi were supposed to believe in accidents, just The Will of the Force, and all that), that he could, rather paradoxically, up the ante on his meditation skills by upping the ante on his distractions. He’d been filling in for Obi-Wan, who was supposed to have been taking a turn sitting in with a group of the youngest Younglings but had been called away at the last minute (or so he had said, at least; Anakin still wasn’t totally sure he believed him). Anakin had tried to keep to the Younglings’ schedule, which included a quarter of an hour of daily mandated meditation time. Younglings not being particularly good at meditation (they were worse at it than Anakin was, which was really saying something), they’d lasted only about half that time before starting to get fidgety. It had started small – a few coughs here and there, a couple of giggles, wiggling on their mats – and then had progressed from there to full-blown chaos. Anakin was supposed to be setting an example, though, and was determined to sit still, keep his eyes closed, and ignore everything that wasn’t an outright cry for medical attention until the allotted time was up.

What he had found, though, was that it was actually one of his better meditation sessions. The noisier the room got, the more relaxed Anakin got. He’d eventually opened his eyes to find one Youngling on his lap, another chewing on his Padawan braid, and a third hanging from the ceiling rafters, but had felt…calm and at peace and a little floaty, but also grounded, connected to the Force, the air, even the children. He’d asked Obi-Wan about it later that night over dinner. Obi-Wan had suggested they meditate over it, which made Anakin roll his eyes because he already had meditated today, that was the whole thing he wanted to talk to Obi-Wan about, and how much meditation did a person need every day, really? But after they ate he’d dutifully sat down across from Obi-Wan and closed his eyes anyway. Obi-Wan had reached out and taken Anakin’s hands in his, which almost made up for the double meditation session. (Almost.)

And then, just as Anakin was starting to settle into something resembling regulating his breathing, something hard and poky had slammed into the side of his head.

“Ow!” he’d said, reflexively, and opened his eyes. Obi-Wan’s datapad was lying on the floor beside him. Obi-Wan himself was still sitting serenely, holding Anakin’s hands.

“What the kriff did you do that for?” Anakin demanded.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan had said, without opening his eyes, “I thought you said you liked having distractions while you meditated.”

“Not painful ones!” Anakin shot back.

“Apologies.” The holopad, from the floor, flicked on and started replaying whatever the last thing either of them had watched on it, which happened to be a nature documentary about tee-muss. “Is that better?”

Anakin grumbled about it, but he had, sort of, asked for this, and admitting defeat now would be both embarrassing and would necessitate him letting go of Obi-Wan’s hands, so he closed his eyes and tried again.

Of course, the first thing he had to do was release the pain in his head into the Force, but once he’d done that, he found that, once again, sifting through his distractions was easier when he actually had distractions to sift through. He let the migratory patterns of wild tee-muss go, and felt Obi-Wan squeeze his hands. “Good, Anakin,” he murmured softly, so quietly Anakin almost couldn’t hear him over the documentary narrator. “That’s very good.” (Anakin had replayed the moment in his head, putting that voice of Obi-Wan’s into different and much more…naked contexts, so many times since then that he could get hard just thinking about it, now.)

So Anakin had started to experiment, on and off. He turned the holoprojector on in their rooms while he was meditating. He sat in the corner of the refectory and meditated during mealtimes. Once, he tried meditating during galactic history class, but his teacher had ratted him out to Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan had told him not to do that anymore. And, now, he wanted to see if he could do it while inside Takodana Castle on a bustling summer afternoon.

To be continued next Wednesday!

[chirpingfromthebox]

PWHL 2024 Draft Prospects Sarah Fillier & Cayla Barnes Speak to the Media

You can watch the video here! Give them a like, a nice comment, a view. It helps support them making this kind of material available for us all.

Transcription is under the break.

[Introductions]

CAYLA BARNES: Hi, I’m Cayla Barnes.

I just finished up my 5th year season at Ohio State. Had a great year there. I’ve played internationally for Team USA for a number of years now. Just really looking forward to this draft. This is something we all dream of and now that we have the opportunity to be in this position, I think we’re all really grateful and just looking forward to the opportunity. So super excited to be here.

[For the record, when she says "for a number of years" it's probably because she rightfully lost count. She's been playing for Team USA in World Championship games consistently since her first U18 one 2015. She was also notably part of the 2018 USA Olympic team that took home the gold.]

SARAH FILLIER: Hi, everyone. I’m Sarah Fillier.

I just finished up my extended Princeton career a couple weeks ago. Super excited for the upcoming draft. I’ve player internationally at four World Championships now and the 2022 Olympics. And having the opportunity to come out of college at the perfect time and transition into this draft is super special and kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But thanks for everyone who set up this call and thanks to everyone for being here. Covering women’s hockey is a huge part of its success and its buzz this year, so I’m excited to the next 20 minutes.

[In case you weren't already aware, Canada won Gold at the 2022 Olympics. So both these women are Olympic gold medalists. And they aren't the only ones in the draft pool this year either! Something to think about when you hear people talking about how much talent is fighting to get into the league this year.]

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FOR SARAH: WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE TRANSITION WILL BE LIKE FROM THE COLLEGIATE GAME AND THE INTERNATIONAL GAME TO THE PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE?

FILLIER: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think it will take a little bit of a- It will be a little bit of a learning curve. I kinda have a little bit of experience from going from international and Olympic game play back to college. So I feel like I have a bit of experience in changing levels. But this will definitely be an uncharted territory for sure. But I think the biggest thing I’m going to have to adapt to is the physicality of the league. I think if you’ve watched any games this year that’s one thing that’s kinda of ramped up and I don’t think it’s going away. So that will be one thing to definitely look for.

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FOR SARAH: YOU’RE WIDELY REGARDED AS THE TOP PICK IN THIS DRAFT – HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RECOGNIZED AND HAVE THAT DISTINCTION?

FILLIER: Yeah, I mean, it’s what you dream of. It’s an honor to even be in recognition of the first 6 picks and alongside names like Cayla here and people with really storied careers so far. It’s an honor to be even named in those short lists. But to go first overall would be a complete dream come true. I grew up watching NHL drafts and watching those moments for those guys has always been so special for them and their families. No matter where I go I’m sure it’ll be a moment I’ll remember forever and something really special to share with my family.

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FOR CAYLA: DO YOU THINK THE PHYSICALITY WILL TRICKLE DOWN INTO THE COLLEGIATE GAME IN ORDER TO PREPARE PLAYERS FOR COMPETITION OF THAT NATURE?

BARNES: I think that’s a really good question. You know, I’ve talked about it with my coaches a little bit and I hope to see it trickle down a bit. I think it would be a missed opportunity to not start incorporating that into college so players can start acclimating to that and become more prepared to enter the league. If your first time interacting with physical play like that is when you get into the league I think that’s something that’s gonna be a big adjustment for players, like Sarah said. So I think hopefully as the years go on and the physicality continues in the PWHL that it does trickle down to the NCAA to help prepare players.

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FOR CAYLA: BOTH YOU AND HANNAH BILKA HAD A GREAT CAREER AT BOSTON COLLEGE AND THEN MOVED TO OHIO STATE AND WON A NATIONAL TITLE. DO YOU THINK THAT BOLSTERED YOUR DRAFT STOCK?

BARNES: Yeah, I think it was a great move for me Bilka both. I think we came here with a certain vision in mind and we got a lot better in the process. I think definitely being able to play big minutes and just get better each and every day, that was something that we both grew a lot this year. And I know myself I grew a lot this year and had one of my better seasons that I’ve had in college. So I think I definitely had a good year and it’s helped me leading up to the draft here.

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FOR SARAH: IT’S UNLIKELY YOU WILL BE DRAFTED 5TH OR 6TH AND GET TO PLAY WITH MARIE-PHILIP POULIN, NATALIE SPOONER, SARAH NURSE. WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE TO FACE THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS?

[For anyone who is still getting familiar with all the big names, those are all top Canadian players that Fillier has played with before at the 2022 Olympics and during World Championship games.]

FILLIER: Yeah, that’s a great question. They’re all tremendous players and people who I’ve tried to follow in the footsteps of a little bit in my national team experience with Hockey Canada. I think it will be, for sure, motivating. I mean we’re great friends, you know, outside of hockey. And I’d love to come to the league and really prove myself as being a player in that sort of category as well and kind of find my identity as a pro hockey player and hopefully a very successful one. But I think playing against household names like that is motivating and I think when you watch people play against them this year you definitely saw that motivation in people.

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FOR CAYLA: YOU’VE PLAYED FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM FOR A LONG TIME AND SAW WHAT PLAYERS WENT THROUGH TO FORM THIS LEAGUE. HOW DOES THAT EXPERIENCE GIVE YOU PERSPECTIVE ON JOINING THE PWHL?

BARNES: You know, I think one word comes to mind, is just Grateful, for this opportunity, for the work that people have put in to create stability in this league, and to give younger players like me and Sarah this opportunity. You know, I’ve seen a lot that’s gone on in the past—you know, leagues folding or things not going as planned—and those players you play with on National teams not getting those opportunities. Just getting an opportunity like this, where you know there’s stability, where players have put in the work, and staff has put in the work to create an environment like this, it’s just exciting.

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WHO ARE THE PLAYERS YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING AGAINST IN THE PWHL? (OR MAYBE LEAST LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING AGAINST?)

FILLIER: I think I have two people. First I would say Maggie Connors [Toronto #22]. She’s one of my best friends from Princeton and we love playing together and we’ve played together in Summer leagues and stuff. So it’d be really cool to be on a pro stage as like best friends being able to face off against each other in different jerseys for the first time in a long time.

I think my first answer for sure would be Marie-Philip Poulin [Montréal #29]. She’s obviously been a huge role model in my hockey career and I’ve had the chance to play with her in past World’s and see how she operates and how she’s always trying to be the best player in the world, even though I think a lot of us would agree that she’s already there. It would just be cool to be in a professional league playing someone who I’ve kind of idolized growing up. I think it would be a surreal moment to realize I kind of made it as a pro athlete. Yeah. It’d be very cool to play against her.

BARNES: I think one person that comes to mind is Alex Carpenter, she’s on New York [#25]. She’s a BC alum, I’ve looked up to her for so many years. I’ve gotten the opportunity to know her through training and being on National teams. She’s one of the hardest players to defend. She’s strong, she’s fast, she’s so talented and smart. At USA camps it’s always fun, but hard to play against her, so looking forward to playing against her in a pro stage and seeing what that’s like.

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AND FOR CAYLA: WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT FROM A PLAYER LIKE HANNAH BILKA?

BARNES: Bilka is, kinda like, shot out of a cannon. She’s very- She’s quick, she’s fast, she’s sporadic. Super creative. You’ll get a lot of creativity out of her. And she can put the puck in the net. So she’s a super special player. She works really hard and any team would be super lucky to have her.

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SEEING PLAYERS FORM NON-TRADITIONAL MARKETS AND ALSO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, WHAT DOES THIS TELL YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WOMEN’S GAME?

BARNES: I think it just shows how women’s hockey is trending. It’s trending upward and players are getting better and players are coming from everywhere nowadays. So, you see it at Women’s Worlds, teams are getting better, games are close. It’s amazing to see.

When I was growing up there wasn’t a lot of women’s hockey where I grew up. Same with Hannah. Texas? Not a hockey state. But now we can look back and being older now there’s more hockey, it’s growing, more girls want to play. And now being able to see the PWHL I think it’s skyrocketing even more. It’s great to see people coming from everywhere in the U.S., everywhere in Canada, Europeans coming over. I think it makes the game that much stronger.

I think it means everything. It’s a huge honor and privilege to be here. Like I said, it doesn’t go unnoticed the amount of work people before us have put in. And it’s important to give credit where credit is due. You know, I’m here because of what they did. And I have this opportunity because of those founders. I’m just super grateful for that. Now girls have a dream to look to and actually see, physically, whereas when we were younger that was just a shot in the dark, a hope, for one day. So that’s just really exciting for the younger generations.

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FOR SARAH: YOU SPENT SOME TIME THIS SEASON PLAYING WING, BUT DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AT CENTER OR ON THE WING IN THE PWHL?

FILLIER: I think I’m a natural center. I’ve played center my entire life. And the last four months of my season were my first time playing wing, especially left wing.

Yeah, I mean, I’m willing to play wherever the team that I go to needs me to play. I feel like I can play different styles. At center I feel I play a full 200ft game and can contribute both offensively and defensively. And then playing wing it kind of opens me up a bit in the offensive zone and I can kind of fly the zone a bit more and get a bit more threatening offensive chances off the rush.

But I think it’s made me better at both positions, especially breaking out and understanding where people are going to be and where the best place to put the puck for people is. But, yeah, I’m not set on a position for next year. It’s probably just going to be in talks and conversations with GMs or coaches of wherever I end up.

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FOR BOTH: WHAT ARE YOUR EMOTIONS AROUND DRAFT DAY, DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO HAVE FAMILY THERE AND CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO?

BARNES: Yeah, just super excited, I think. You know, a lot of us have played against each other or have teammates that are going to be there, ex-teammates that are going to be there. So I think just excited to see some familiar faces and then just obviously wanting to spend time with my family.

It’s a really special day and something that we’ve been dreaming of for so long. So just, without my family I wouldn’t be here, so just spending that day with them and ultimately just being able to take it all in. That’s kinda my plan for draft day. But super excited. Not nervous. Just gonna take what comes. You know, whatever happens I’m gonna be excited for myself and the other draftees as well. Like I said it’s just a really cool experience all around. So just more excited for the day.

FILLIER: Yeah, I would echo everything that Cayla said.

Definitely some nerves surrounding it for sure. I’ve had my life pretty planned out and kind of knew what I was going to do these past 6 years. There was never really any uncertainty over where I was going to end up or have to live. So coming out of college and just not really knowing what's going to happen in the next 72 hours is- I feel like it’s normal to have a bit of nerves and be a bit of a stressful situation, but it’s exciting.

My parents are going to be here and be beside me the whole draft, so that will be cool. And again, all the work that they’ve put in behind the scenes to get me here is super special. And this moment’s not just gonna be about me, but about my family, my parents, and I hope they soak everything in. It’s been really fun picking out their draft outfits and getting our nails done and everything and getting ready. So it’s been a really cool experience.

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FOR BOTH: SINCE THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR OF THE LEAGUE, YOU WILL HAVE TO EARN A SPOT – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE COMPETITION AND WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO TO ELEVATE YOUR GAMES?

FILLIER: Yeah, that’s a great point, but I think it’s exactly what we want in a professional league. If you look at any other professional league, whether men's or women's, the level of play is incredibly high and we want to put out the best product we can for the fans and build a really successful market. I think it’s great for the game that it’s gonna be so tight and you really have to prove yourself and find your way onto a roster.

It’s taking the Summer and finding ways to elevate your game. I think for me it’s about adapting to that physicality right away. Like, a specific skill that’s probably gonna come in handy is working on puck protection. Especially playing international team players every night. They’re gonna be strong and physical. To be able to make plays that I expect myself to make I’m gonna have to find some time and I think it all starts with puck protection.

BARNES: I think it’s- You know it’s never easy to take someone’s job. But like Sarah said, that’s why we’re here: we want that competitiveness. We want to put that product out. Put the best product out. I think it’s good for the league and it’s good for us. It’s gonna push us to elevate our game. You know, we have to look for ways this summer to look back at PWHL games this season and find trends and work on those. Like the physicality, might not exist in the college game thus far. So just to be prepared for camps and stuff like that. But super excited that it’s competitive. Like she said, that's what we want, we want it to be competitive and put the best players out there on the ice and the best product. So just working on those things throughout the summer to be prepared for camps in November.

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End of Interviews

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[v-thinks-on]

Phoenix watches with growing curiosity as Miles scrambles an egg and sautes some meat and vegetables with soy sauce and sake. Phoenix is sitting at the tall counter that separates Miles’s kitchen from his dining room in his excessively fancy apartment. He’s still a little surprised Miles invited him over at all, forget the impossible domesticity of Miles at the stove with an apron on, his sleeves rolled up to avoid any splatter, keeping a careful eye on the pan.

The seasonings are pretty simple, but the cooking meat smells delicious with the starchy undercurrent of rice. When Miles deems the meat and vegetables done, he takes them off the heat and delicately slides them all onto a cutting board to cut it all up into little pieces.

“... Are you making rice balls?” Phoenix finally asks.

“I assumed it’s the sort of thing you’d have for lunch.” Miles doesn’t look up from his determined chopping.

“Oh, yeah,” Phoenix says, adding another impossibility to the list. A smile slowly spreads across his face as his surprise at Miles’s thoughtfulness turns into warmth.

Finally, the rice finishes cooking, and Miles sets about seasoning and shaping. It’s then that the flaw in Miles’s plan becomes all too apparent.

“How is this so difficult?” Miles demands, staring at rice-covered hands. “I used to do this all the time before…”

It hadn’t even crossed Phoenix’s mind that such a simple lunch food might have some extra significance for Miles. “I remember that.”

Miles glances up like he’d forgotten about Phoenix. “You were there…”

“Yeah, I came over a lot after that class trial, since my parents weren’t around much…” Phoenix hastily changes the subject to something a little lighter, “Do you want me to show you how to do it? I still make them for lunch.”

While Miles goes to wash the rice off of his hands, Phoenix crosses the kitchen to the neat row of bowls that Miles was glaring at. The rice looks a little like a warzone, while the toppings are still untouched.

“First, we need a bowl of water to keep the rice from sticking to our hands.”

“How could I forget?” Miles says bitterly.

Miles gets a little bowl, fills it with water, and they both dip their hands in so they’re dripping.

“Now take some rice, like this.” Phoenix says, grabbing some from the bowl and Miles follows suit. “That looks about right.”

“This feels ridiculous.” Miles has a handful of rice awkwardly cupped in his hands that he’s trying, without much luck, to try to squish together.

On an impulse, Phoenix puts aside his wad of rice, which he’s already shaped into a little sphere. “Here, let me show you.” He closes the distance between them and wraps his hands around Miles’s with some thought of nudging them into place.

Miles startles at the contact, but he doesn’t pull away, just stares intently down at their hands. “G-go on.”

Phoenix gingerly enfolds Miles’s long, narrow hands in his own broader ones. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised that Miles’s muscles, from his fingers into his palm, are all taut with tension that probably never goes away.

Phoenix isn’t really sure what he’s doing; he tries to mime the familiar motion, pressing gently on Miles’s hands, guiding them one way and then the other, but he can only barely tell what’s going on with the rice underneath. He’s mostly just aware of how Miles’s hands start to feel warm and smooth in his own as the water drips away.

“Make sure it’s tight,” Phoenix says belatedly, because he doesn’t know how much he’s actually getting across, and how much Miles is just humoring his unorthodox teaching method.

When Phoenix finally pulls away, Miles’s hands part to reveal a rough ball of rice.

“You should stick to law,” Miles says, but he delicately puts the somewhat haphazard rice ball on the serving plate anyway.

“Hey, I’ll have you know I make perfectly good rice balls!”

To prove his point, Phoenix dips his hands in the water again and picks back up his little ball of rice. He shapes it into a sort of rough bowl, puts in a bit of the meat mixture, covers it up with some more rice, and presses it into a triangle in automatic, familiar motions.

“See!” Phoenix presents the completed rice ball to Miles.

Only then is he aware of how intently Miles has been watching him the whole time. Miles stares at the rice ball for a moment before gingerly accepting it, as though he’s afraid to break it, and adding it to the plate.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I have weirdly posted very little on Tumblr about the current Taskmaster season, despite being absolutely obsessed with it. I’ve been enjoying it hugely, but every time I go to write a post about it, I get in my head about whether I’m enjoying it wrong. I need to stop reading the internet.

So I’m liveblogging this episode, like I used to do. Because it’s fun. Thoughts on Taskmaster s17e06, written as I watch it:

- That intro was the funniest one they’ve had in a while. The aunt relay story was like the Platonic ideal of Taskmaster intro Alex banter. Great start.

- John Robins is, as I expected and specifically called (you have to call it so you can have the bragging rights if you’re right and never bring it up again if you’re wrong), absolutely killing it, points-wise, throughout this season of Taskmaster. But his prize tasks aren’t what I was expecting, especially since good prize tasks are usually correlated strongly to a contestant who cares a lot about winning, as the others just fill in the list without much thought. John started really strong with the diaries, and since then has just brought in things that float around the internet four separate times. I would like to see the rest of his Taskmaster meme collection thought.

- And Nick brought in an ice cube, so maybe John’s still in the game. Quite funny how he sold that though, his entire face swearing that this is definitely a reasonable thing to do.

Look, I’m trying to stop drinking, and I am definitely over the mentality I had in my twenties, about how you have to drink things “properly”, where “properly” means never diluting the alcohol content because, to quote Lord Gregory Davies, “I’m not a pussy”. My days of believing that sort of thing are long over, I swear. Or I thought they were, until I saw this. Don’t put ice in wine, guys. Obviously. Don’t put ice in wine.

- Ohhh, this is that episode Joanne was talking about on the podcast, where they refer to the prizes as “presents for Greg”. Good stuff, that was funny.

- The contestants who turn up on Taskmaster having obviously never seen it before are the ones where I’m least likely to seek out their other work, because I just cannot believe I would find anything relatable in anything written by a person who could go on a show like that without doing any research beforehand. However, those contestants are often funny in the moment. And Sophie not knowing what prize tasks are by episode six is pretty funny.

- Of the first three prizes, Sophie’s is the first one I’d actually want. I’ve always thought going around in those giant inflatable balls looks like enormous fun, but I’ve never done it. Can’t see Greg enjoying it, though. What a terrible gift.

- Alex’s petulant “They’re not presents!” was also very funny. Strong first six minutes of the episode for Alex Horne.

- I would also like Joanne’s present. And unlike with Sophie’s, I don’t see why Greg wouldn’t. I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t. I shouldn’t want this because she’s one of the two people with a shot at catching up to John, but five points to Joanne. That’s got to be the best present.

- Oh, this is the episode when Steve pulls out that cryptic crossword message that people found back in the fall, when this was filmed. Yeah, okay, I hate to say it but that’s got to be five points to Steve on effort alone. They’re a good thing to get into, too. And it should be four to Joanne; I’ve got bragging rights riding on John but top marks in this one should go to the two people mostly likely to catch him. I’m extremely impressed by anyone who can do a cryptic crossword, much less set one.

- Further to my argument that competitiveness is not just entertaining for its own sake, but it is also funny when done on this comedy show: the look on John Robins’ face after Steve reveals the cryptic crossword and John realizes he’s fucked this one by comparison. You can’t tell me that’s not funny. That is a funny realization to watch come over a person’s face. Also, this is the most I’ve liked Steve in the show so far. That is some proper effort.

- Yep, I hate to say it because of my bragging rights that are on the line, but I think Greg scored that prize task exactly correctly. You’re going to need to pick it up in the studio tasks, John. And maybe stop bringing in shit you found on the internet. I’m fine and invested in the competitive side of this a normal amount.

- I frequently like the tasks in which they have to reference each other in some way (like the season 12 prize task where they brought gifts for the person sitting next to them is one of my favourite prize tasks ever), but I’m not sure how well it’ll work in a season where aside from Nick and Steve, none of them seem to know each other (at least before filming this). In addition to two people not knowing what show they’re on. Joanne’s probably got a bit of an advantage here because everyone knows some stuff about Steve Pemberton.

- No victory criteria specified on the task, so this will be a two-parter. Which means actually, the points may not even be based on how good the hamper is, so maybe that’s no advantage at all. The points will probably be based on what they do with their hampers once they get them.

- Just to be pedantic for a moment: the information is on the task, and the task itself never actually says their hamper has to match the wheel.

- Joanne bringing in that thing I mentioned, that she’ll be able to come up with something for Steve because everyone knows at least a bit about him: holding up a disembodied head, “This ‘cause I know he likes weird shit.” Yep. I haven’t actually seen any of the League of Gentlemen shows, but that’s the one thing I know about Steve Pemberton from outside Taskmaster. If I had to represent what I’m pretty sure his work is like, I think there are probably disembodied heads and other weird shit.

- Steve Pemberton quoting the wrong song back at Alex after “1, 2, 3, 4” was also pretty funny. He’s slightly growing on me this episode.

- Joanne’s first thought of what makes things exciting: tequila. Very on-brand.

- I like the idea of this task, fairly open-ended and leaves room for creativity. It’s not far off from the “create tension” task, or the many similar “make [thing] the most exciting” in previous seasons, but those often tend to be good. And this season has a few people who seem to shine in the ones where they’re allowed to do a whole sketch. Nick, so far in this season, has squandered several opportunities to show off his actual memorization/magic trick-related skills, but has squandered no opportunities to show off his theatrical side.

- Joanne going in a split second from giggling about Irish stereotypes to accusing Greg of racism: also funny.

- And one scene later, we have Nick’s theatrical side. I knew he’d go big on this. Constructed a set and organized lighting and music. Good stuff.

- Sophie might be okay here, point-wise, if she comes up with a narrative to justify the dancing when selling it. But I bet she won’t.

- Having seen her in the studio – and she didn’t. Why did Alex have a pigeon on his head? You need a narrative, Sophie. Greg likes a narrative.

- “And that, Greg, was a thumble brag.” – Alex

Thumble brag, it’s thumble brag, thumble brag of the week!

- Everyone’s very on brand in this task so far. Nick goes theatrical. Sophie does a confused abstract dance-y thing. John goes sporty.

- I wrote that before seeing Joanne in a moustache, doing an unnecessarily complicated game. That’s less on-brand but I like it.

- My reaction while watching John’s set-up: That’s funny, he took the opportunity to turn the tables on Alex, making him read out and do a task. Aw, got the Queen song titles in there, well done. I wonder if they’ll… hang on, are you allowed to just light shit on fire in the grass on the Taskmaster grounds? What the fuck? He says he had a two-hour health and safety meeting to clear driving that car with an egg, but no one stopped him from lighting a fire in the grass?

- I have no idea what the hell is going on in Joanne’s attempt but it’s definitely not a thumb war. What did Joanne think the task was?

- Whatever John and Alex were doing was also not a thumb war, though maybe slightly more because they did hit each other with pretend thumbs. Also, I don’t care whether it adhered to the remit, because that was enormous fun to watch. I would genuinely watch that like an actual sport. I would pay good money for the uncut footage of that whole game. Why don’t more people on Taskmaster hit each other with sticks?

- Okay, lots of things in this episode have been funny so far, but the first one to make me actually laugh out loud was John freaking out about naming the wrong Queen album when asked what a particular song was on. It’s the split-second transition between the confidence with which he delivered his first answer and the panic when he realized it was wrong. That transition is never not funny. The cheeky look on Alex’s face was pretty good too.

- Ugh, they saved Steve for last because he’s going to go really big, isn’t he? He’s been good in all the theatrical tasks so far. I’m not saying “ugh” because I’m not impressed, I just don’t want him to narrow John’s lead in the overall scores.

- Okay that was fucking funny. He went even bigger than I expected, how did he put all that together in that amount of time? Yeah, fuck it, well done, Steve. You made a movie. But you didn’t hit Alex Horne with a stick, did you?

- I’m enjoying Alex in the studio being briefly unable to read the autocue because he’s giggling too hard at Steve’s theatrical production.

- I think I’d have put Joanne on the same level as Nick and John – I’d personally probably have put John one point higher, and that’s not because I have bragging rights staked on him winning the series, it’s because I like watching sport-type-things and people hitting each other with sticks – but if I take out my subjective bias, I think the three of them were probably about the same. Other than that I agree with the scoring though.

- I enjoyed the high five between Nick and Sophie over both being at the bottom of the scoring. It’s always fun when the two lowest-scoring contestants bond over that. John’s only one point up though, rough episode for him. But he’s got a cushion of a few points on his lead overall, it’s all right. Steve was always going to win that theatrical one. Also, Alex just said the word “darts” when introducing the next task, which makes me think John’s about to claw some points back. That’s his thing.

- Oh yes, those are darts in the initial shots. Let’s go, Johnny JR. Here’s where you make up the points.

- Oh it’s a team task. Okay this might go less well. Means he can’t pull ahead of Joanne here. But he can at least catch up to Steve. I bet Steve Pemberton can’t throw darts.

- John doesn’t even get into the dome before informing the team that he was on the college darts team. I’m impressed that he managed to hold back from mentioning that he was the captain. I’m actually looking forward to this, aside from its value as a Taskmaster task. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to John Robins brag about his darts skills, and it sounds like he can back that up, as other comedians who’ve seen him play say he’s good, and presumably Oxford doesn’t make you captain of their teams if you can’t do it. I’m pleased that I’ll (presumably) get to see if he can do it. Or see him fail at what’s supposed to be “his thing”, which will also be funny.

- You know, there is a bit of a pattern of Alex putting things in this season that seem like little things related to John Robins, mainly just little Easter Egg things for Alex's friend. Pickled onions in that glove task, when John is always going on about how much he likes picked onions. The task on the first episode where they had to rank each other by who’s won the Perrier Award (that of course applies to Steve too, but I assume Steve has enough other accomplishments in his career so he doesn’t define himself by it so much). Reading in Welsh. Darts. I would have counted rum being in the gloves task as one of those little nods to John Robins things, though doing that on purpose would be pretty fucked up right after he quit drinking, so I’m assuming it was just a really weird oversight. A really weird oversight. I would like them to include less fake alcohol for the alcoholic, and more tasks based around activities he’s really good at (I’m sorry, I can’t refer to darts as a sport, but it’s a very impressive skill). Mainly because I have bragging rights riding on him doing well. And because I want to see how good he actually is at darts.

- And Alex gets in a mention of John being captain of the darts team, after John refrained from saying so himself. Alex does do this while calling John out for stripping off on camera, though, so it doesn’t come off as that much of a compliment.

- Well we won’t find out if Steve’s any good at throwing darts, but Nick Mohammed doesn’t seem to be. And Steve Pemberton is definitely not much of a gymnast. I wonder if that would have gone better if they’d traded places? Nick’s probably more flexible, but being short seems like a disadvantage, not being able to reach as far. I’d have also expected Nick to be better at the bottle thing, given that he does party tricks for a living.

- I wrote the above point before hearing them have that exact discussion in the studio. I think Nick’s wrong, they had it the right away around. I also think all of Sophie and Nick’s interactions are quite funny. But all be honest, at this point I’m mainly focused on getting to the next part so I can see John Robins throw darts.

- Sophie declaring that she’s actually pretty good at bottle flipping and then immediately tossing it on the ground was perfectly timed. Or well edited.

- I've been avoiding filling the post up with screenshots the way I have in previous Taskmaster liveblogs (mainly because it takes too long), but John and Joanne's facial expressions immediately after Sophie throws the bottle on the ground are pretty funny:

Those are two people who have confirmed they are definitely going to need to rely on darts skills and flexibility.

- I was doing well with avoiding screenshots until I got to the part of the episode where they keep having reactions to Sophie’s incompetence. I'm quite enjoying John watching with dismay as Sophie drops it on the ground again, then as soon as her back is turned, he glances at Alex like, "What am I expected to do with this?"

It was a great idea to set up this task so Sophie Willan can perform some straight-up slapstick comedy in the background the whole time. It's like the time they put Guz Khan on a chair and made him eat chocolates in an amusing way while the other two got on with the task.

- God damn, John. Yep, the man can play darts. It turns out he can, in fact, play darts. That’s pretty cool to watch. It’s not a sport but it’s cool to watch.

- Have to give some credit here to Joanne’s contortionist abilities too. That’s pretty good. They definitely got it the right way around.

- Holy shit, that’s really impressive. I’m enjoying the montage of John smugly repeating “bullseye” but I wish we had more shots of him actually throwing. What we did see was cool.

- Second proper, significant laugh out loud of the episode comes from Alex telling them they have to do it again in different roles, and then admitting he’s joking. Good joke, Alex.

- Holy shit, was Joanne really clambering around in there for an hour? I can believe that, if they had 43 moves. An hour of that would be just over a minute per move. That is impressive on her part, for the stamina as much as the flexibility. That’s fucking cool. I would like the uncut footage of that task as well, please, Taskmaster.

- Oh I like that interior task location. How have they not used that until the second half of the season?

- Ah, that’s where they were going with the hamper. We haven’t had a good “create a portrait” task yet this season, and this a fun deviation from making ones of Greg. I guess there are only so many portraits of Greg the contestants can be forced to make.

So actually, if they were being strategic in the hamper task, they should have put basically nothing in there, to stop their opponents from being able to make anything good. But they couldn’t have known that and it could have backfired if they’d tried. Also I guess they’re technically on a comedy show.

- Joanne’s running monologue throughout this task is horrifying.

- Oh shit, Steve’s isn’t bad. Solid use of banana. Actually looks like a person. Unnecessary detail, as there has been in most of Steve’s tasks throughout this season. I’m a big fan of unnecessary detail. I’d probably quite like Steve if I’d never heard him on the podcast admitting to breaking that egg on purpose. But he did so I still want him to get beat. I doubt he will on this task, though.

- Written after seeing the next picture: definitely not by Joanne, he won’t.

- This has nothing to do with the episode or anything but I like Joanne’s t-shirt. The one she’s wearing. Not anything about the picture she made. The picture she made is almost as horrifying as her monologue while making it.

- Oh, John’s is surprisingly not bad either! It looks like an actual person. An orange person, which is not the colour Nick Mohammed is, but still. To be fair John did have flour, which is an advantage over the others, you can make a proper picture with that.

- And Nick’s is terrible, but his attempt to sell it in the studio is pretty funny.

- Oh and Sophie’s is properly good! Though she also had easier materials. That’s got to be the five-pointer.

- What? Nick over John? I don’t think so. Come on, Greg. That’s the first score I’ve really strongly disagreed with all episode.

- Sophie and Steve celebrating the five points together is funny, though.

- Okay, John’s not fallen that far behind. Only three points behind the top score, going into the live task. That’s less than his overall lead. If this is going to be his weak episode it’s not that bad, depending how the final task goes.

- Oh, I like a team studio task.

- Well they’ve definitely got it the right way around this time, having Nick get covered in rings. The other team might have had it wrong, as Sophie’s slightly shorter than Joanne, but more importantly, Joanne would probably be better at throwing than Sophie. This is one that’s a big advantage to the team of three since there are two throwers, but that’s only an advantage if Sophie can throw.

- That got exciting at the end. I stopped pausing it to write stuff down once they actually started the studio task, because I did end up getting into it like a sport. Maybe too much like a sport, the words “Come on John” came out of my mouth a couple of times before I remembered it’s not really a sport. It’s fine, guys. It’s fine. It’s not really a sport. Credit to Steve, though, the man can throw. And Nick can move. Some good catching from Joanne, too.

While watching this, I’ve thought of another way that competitiveness is definitely funny. It’s just a parody, isn’t it? Parody is funny. You take something that really exists outside comedy, remove its contents but keep its structure, and fill the structure up with silly contents. In this case, a task like this is a parody of sport. The tension, the competitiveness, the physical effort, the strategy, the skills on display, the commentary, the drama – the structure of a sport is all there. But you fill it up with something silly. Parodies are funny, and they get funnier the more seriously they’re taken.

- Oh shit! It’s a Wilkinson situation! I mean, without the drama of the Wilkinson situation, because Steve Pemberton is doing fine overall and doesn’t really need this. But still, I do like it when Greg actually sticks to the rules and disqualifies people when they deserve it. Fine margins, Steve! Fine margins!

John winning team tasks is a double-edged sword, obviously, because it bolsters Joanne's points too, and at the moment she's in second place. But it's not like it would be better if they lost, and I think it's still more important to extend his lead over Steve than over Joanne. Even though she's ahead of them, I feel like Steve is more likely to catch up to John than Joanne is. Partly because of something Nick said on the podcast a while ago, mentioning that the competition in their season was usually between John and Steve. If Joanne ends up winning the whole thing, you'd think he'd have included her in that.

- Oh, and just after I wrote the above point, I played the video again and they showed the overall season scores so I didn’t have to be keeping track in my head. John’s still got his lead comfortably. Getting to the point where Steve almost can’t catch him in the time they have left, though I don’t want to say that yet. Having a task like this that goes 5-0 for John over Steve was big for that.

Joanne could definitely catch him, which makes me glad they’re on a team, so she can’t get ahead of him via team tasks. It’s a good position after six episodes.

- And Joanne gets on the board with episode wins. That’s good, she definitely should be there. And I definitely remember that this is just a parody and not an actual sport. It's fine. Good episode. I am a normal amount of invested in it.