#can anyone tell me when is she going to have a rerun

[nocturnalzhagreus]

She gave me the confidence to use braces so i love her so much and i had to draw her as an excuse for a color practice

Bonus song that i heard while making this ;

[avayarising]

DPxDC prompt: Here is the News

“You’re watching CDTV Now, and I’m Ace Atchinson with a special feature. Last week, the nation was shocked when a team of junior heroes affiliated with the Justice League apparently vandalised one of America’s most beloved national monuments.”

A short, jerky video plays, showing an explosion on a large stone face – one of four carved out of the side of a mountain. The smoke clears to reveal a large hole where the nose used to be. Several figures fly out of the stone and are caught by some sort of flying vehicle. It swoops across the mountain and away.

“With me live in the studio this afternoon are some of the members of Young Justice, here to tell us their side of the story. Superboy, Wonder Girl, Impulse – did you destroy Mount Rushmore?”

“Yeah, we did,” says the boy with black curly hair and a leather jacket over his brightly coloured hero suit. A bar appears across the bottom of the screen. Superboy, it says. Member of Young Justice. “On purpose, too.”

The girl, with stiff black hair and large square glasses, scowls in his direction. “We weren’t trying to destroy it,” she says as the camera closes in on her. The bar across the bottom of the screen now reads Wonder Girl and Member of Young Justice. “We were rescuing our friend.”

“She’s a ghost you see and the apes captured her and held her in this secret base –” The brown-haired boy in goggles stops when he is nudged by the girl beside him. The bar flickers for a moment to say Impulse before returning to Wonder Girl.

“OK, so, we need to go back, like, five steps here. There was a secret government base inside Mount Rushmore where they were conducting inhumane experiments on ghosts.”

The host laughs in a strained, nervous way. “Ghosts?” he asks.

They nod. “I’d like to introduce you to another member of our team,” says Wonder Girl. A mist forms behind her as she speaks, and swiftly coalesces into the form of a pale, slight girl, hovering behind the sofa. “Um,” she says nervously. “My name is – I mean, I go by – Secret, and… I’m a ghost.”

-––––

“Danny! Turn on CDTV now!”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it!”

–––––

“–torture and imprisonment, and she hadn’t even done anything! They’re just prejudiced against ghosts because they think they’re dangerous!”

“She is dangerous,’ says the black-haired boy proudly. The label Superboy appears on the screen again, in case anyone had forgotten. “She can shape-shift and go through walls and even possess people –”

“K– Superboy!” hisses Wonder Girl. “Not helping!”

“I’m right here,” says the ghost girl. The people who do the labels have obviously been hard at work, because she now has one too, saying Secret and Alleged ghost. “And I can do those things, but that doesn’t mean I want to hurt people or –”

There’s yelling from off camera, and a crash. A bolt of blue-white energy flies past the camera and the image whites out. There’s a scream, and a burst of static. The image returns, fuzzy and striated. Another bolt of energy. A large man wearing white rushes into view. Someone in green boots and a yellow and black cape lands on his head and knocks him down. A bang, and the image turns sideways as the camera crashes to the floor. The sound cuts out. There’s smoke, and running feet, and suddenly the side of the studio sofa, before another flash of blue-white light and the screen goes dead.

Nothing happens for almost a minute, and then the TV starts playing a rerun of the highlights of last week’s sports game.

––––––––

“Well, shit,” says Danny.

Superboy here is not in fact Kon but Match pretending to be Kon and trying to sabotage the team. Robin was hiding in the ceiling behind a lighting rig because Batman is going through one of his ‘we are cryptids’ phases and wouldn’t allow him to appear on screen. Anita hasn’t joined the team yet, which is good because her dad is one of the agents and it would have been awkward.

[tuliptired]

hi! can i request a egan x complete opposite reader? like someone so different like a model or actress of some sort

Uptown Girl

Pairings: Egon Spengler/Fem!Actress!Reader

sorry for looking at stantzler yaoi while this was sitting in my drafts

Better formatting on Ao3!

Peter could tell something was up with his friend. Something different from the norm. In the past handful of weeks, Egon’s turned into a fidgety, flighty mess. Misprinting calculations, misplacing tools- all in blue. He was wearing so much more blue. The reticent man never really had a favorite color, something Peter relearned everytime he probed him when bored, but this was just way too out of character. Egon? Color coordinating? Insanity.

He had a discarded newspaper open at his excuse for an office, spacing out while Ray messed around with Janine’s little TV, Winston holding a flashlight over it for him. She had won it when she was small, the faulty wiring spilling out the back panel a testament to its age. 

Janine sat up impatiently, folding her magazine. “It’s almost time Ray, is it working?” 

Ray dropped his pair of pliers. “It should be,” he said unconfidently, screwing the paneling back on as Winston adjusted the antenna. The machine crackled and popped, sounds and images cutting in and out as it gained and lost a signal.

The subject of Peter’s suspicions came down the stairs flinching at the noise, looking to pass and leave the firehouse but too intrigued by the feat of electrical engineering happening at Janine’s desk. “What’s this?” 

Peter’s eyes narrowed at the barely there sight of a shiny, new silver watch. Christ, were those blue diamonds? Everyone who’s regularly stepped foot into the firehouse has tried and failed at attempting to get Egon to upgrade his wristwear, the old brown thing that barely had an audible tick. Peter’s own seasonal gifts for him got fancier and fancier as the years went on, Egon turning down a Timex with an alarm at one point. He insisted that anything he could go out and buy would serve the same purpose as the beatdown leather already owned- regardless of needing to squint to see the arms.  

She opened her magazine back up again, fluttering through glossed pages until she found the right one. “You’ve heard of that one show, right?” Janine held up an advertisement for the program, promoting big guests like Madonna or Robin Williams. “I’ve been trying to catch the reruns-”

“And I’ve been trying to tell her that it ruins the integrity of the show.”

“If I wasn’t locked up in here every Saturday night, I wouldn’t have to. Don’t put down the receiver, Winston.”

Ray watched with his fist under his chin as the signal got closer and closer to whatever channel he had twisted the knob for. Janine sat up straighter, flipping to a different page. “Anyway, there’s a new actress on there, and I don’t wanna miss her.”

Winston leaned over to check if the screen was any clearer. “My sister showed me an article on her. Very fashionable.” 

“I know, her picture was on billboard on 46th,” Janine raved, “you’d like her, Peter.”

He shook his head, licking his pointer finger to get to a different section of the paper. “I’m more into musicians.”

Egon spoke up, eyebrows furrowed. “You’re mistaken, Peter. She’s an incredibly talented actress with an incredible repertoire.”

Looks were exchanged between all of them. If the elephant in the room was offended, he didn’t show it. “What?”

“Nothing,” Ray shrugged, “it’s just…she’s so..”

“Outgoing.”

“Witty.”

“Expressive.”

“And you’re you! Nothing wrong with it,” Ray patted his taller friend’s shoulder.

Egon looked at his colleagues blankly. “I can still enjoy her work, despite certain character differences.”

The TV finally got a stable connection, though not celebrated by anyone in the room as Egon’s anomaly took up all their attention. “I thought you didn’t have a television?” Winston questioned, moving the antenna again and losing the stream.

“I don’t.”

Peter raised an incredulous eyebrow to him from across the room. Something like a realization flashed behind Egon’s eyes, before he turned his eyes from their gaze and cleared his throat. “I’m going home early tonight. Call me if you need anything.”

That certainly didn’t do anything to soothe Peter’s speculation. Egon barely ever went home. If anything, the only reason he had an apartment to his name was because it was expected of him after graduating his last year of university. Even so, he was barely ever there, spending his nights slumped over in a lab- Columbia’s or otherwise. Peter would be surprised if the man was still paying rent.

Ray and Winston must’ve been carrying the same sentiment. “We’ll still be seeing you tomorrow, right Eges?”

 The man stood stiffly, as if under a spotlight. “Hopefully.” He was motionless, before grabbing Janine’s TV and scurrying out the door.

“Hey!”

Strange indeed.

Egon walked briskly under the fluorescent lighting of the hallway. It was almost 7, after all. A warm brown bag of Chinese food sat under his arm as he got closer to the rickety door. He hesitated to turn the key, hearing staticky music on the other side. When he did, there you were, surrounded by brown bags just like his and messing with the antiquated radio by his stovetop. It felt odd, and strangely smug, to have you in his tiny and bland apartment after his friends praised your stardom.

Your manicured fingers turned the volume down. “Sorry! It’s hard to entertain myself here when you don’t have a TV.” The same woman that was all over Times Square was here, in his kitchen, placing a kiss to his cheek. 

“I do now,” he juggled the boxy appliance before you took it from him gently.

“Where’d you get this? It’s adorable,” you smiled, inspecting it. He peered into the bags cluttering his limited counter space as he put down your dinner, some holding groceries and some with wrapped packages.

“A friend. What’re these?” Egon didn’t have to turn to you to see the guilty expression you had while he pulled out containers of takeout. You had a bad habit of buying him luxuries he never thought he would need.

You grabbed a few things from one of the sacks, opening his outdated fridge. “I know we agreed to you bringing dinner, but it’s just a few things for when you’re on your own.” He wrinkled his nose.

“I have food.”

Egon watched you teeter your palm back and forth, grabbing another bag and opening one of his cabinets. “What’s the point of eating-out if you never eat-in?” 

“You shouldn’t have gone through the trouble.”

He felt nice as you smiled at him, folding the discarded paper and tossing it in the bin. “You know I don’t mind.” It would’ve been a sweet moment, if there wasn’t another bag on the counter that caught his attention, which you scrambled to pull away. Before you could, he brought it to his lap, gazing down inside.

He pulled out different wrapped packages, labels from one of the most expensive department stores in the area. “Y/N.”

You put your hands up in defense, lowering yourself into the stool across from him.  “I know, I know. But, look!” You leaned over, showcasing one. “New curtains! And there’s a watch in there, somew-here.”

Egon’s eyes nearly popped out when he found a little box, forgotten at the bottom, with a price tag higher than what two ghostbusters made in a week. “You have to return this,” he decided, hardly opening it before snapping it shut.

“You don’t like it?”

“I do. I appreciate you getting it. But you can’t keep spending your money on me.”

You knelt on your hand, disappointment clearly subsiding as you used the other one to open up the food. “It doesn’t make a difference to me. I was in that area, anyway.”

He passed you a plastic fork. “How come?”

“I had an appointment with my dress guy,” you started. He’d be embarrassed to admit it, but it took him an abnormally long time to realize that you were referring to the people you regularly bought things from, rather than lightly suggesting a polyamorous relationship. “And he showed me the finished product for Friday! Isn’t it exciting?”

You produced a print from your purse, handing it to him with a bright smile. It was a dress on a mannequin- very bold, very you, and very blue. “It is.” Egon grinned sincerely, admiring the idea. “Very beautiful.”

You stabbed your fork into a vegetable, seemingly forlorn as he put the photo aside. “It’s a shame you’ll only get to see it on TV. Unless, you wanna be my date,” you perked.

Egon could feel himself frown. In any other world, he would be at your side every hour of every day- every interview, airing, or red carpet appearance. But he was still Egon, through and through. So you compromised on “waiting until the right time” to make your relationship public.

“Not this time,” he avoided looking at you. You were understanding, you always were, but he could imagine how irritating a constant no could be.

He jumped as your head hit the countertop. “You’ll let everyone know at the wedding,” you groaned. Egon moved to console you, worried about having hurt your feelings, before your head snapped back up.

“Kidding.” He let out a sigh he couldn’t recall holding in. “You wanna be there when I get ready? You could help me with the zipper,” you leaned forward, voice teasing him. He couldn’t refuse.

“Of course,” Egon smiled, before it fell. “I’m sorry. That I keep telling you no.”

You shrugged, waving him off. How undeserving he was, to be loved by someone so forgiving. “I know. You’re an interesting guy, Egon. It’ll happen when it happens.” You had his hand in yours, brushing his knuckles as you looked on at each other earnestly.

Something caught your attention, breaking eye contact, Egon shrinking at the loss of connection. You turned in your seat to the rest of the apartment. “I never told you! I noticed you started decorating!”

It was a small place, only one bedroom and older than most people Egon’s age would be proud of. When he first moved in, the only things he took the liberty of situating were: a bed, a chair, various papers and books and scientific projects. It was more a storage space, rather than one to live in. He dawned on this the first time you offered to have him over, realizing that he’d have to return the favor- after picking up a bit. It’s not much right now, save for more furniture and ambience, but there was always something new whenever you visited. “After you told me it had the feng shui of an asylum.”

“Then we both have something to work on.”

“What was this doing in the mail this morning?” Peter bounded the steps to the second tier of the firehouse. Ray and Winston were trying their best to pick up around the kitchen, while Egon was hunched over his workbench, jittery and unorganized. Whatever he was keeping from them, it did a good job at keeping him from work. This would’ve been a nice change for the doctor, if it didn’t mean Peter had to be alert for any sudden fires.

He passed the booklet to Winston, whose eyes widened like a cartoon as the centerfold unfurled into two more pages. “Holy…”

“Maybe it’s Janine’s?” Ray proposed, cheeks pink as he clumsily folded them back up.

Her voice called up from downstairs, before the front door slammed shut. “I don’t read that brand, and if I did I wouldn’t be working here.”

That left the three men, standing in tense silence. Not Peter, he was tasteful with his filth- tucked away in the hidden part of his filing cabinet. 

“Why would one of us order something like this in the mail?”

Peter gently took it from Winston. “Alright, no need to embarrass anyone. My mail is your mail is your mail is my mail.”’ He jumped to a random page, settling into the couch. “We’re all friends here.”

Ray and Winston hesitantly crowded around him, unabashedly eager to view what was inside. Egon, however, was frozen at his desk, lab coat halfway off.

“Donna Rice stuns in a poolside photo…Madonna looks nice here…” The professor was a second away from crumpling. Schadenfreude.

Ray shrugged one of his shoulders, leaning over the armrest. “Some of these aren’t so bad,” he admitted. 

Peter let out a low whistle. “Here’s the girl you like so much, Spengs. Orange dress.” Egon rose then, a bit less catatonic as he shrugged his lab coat off, back to his friends.

“She wouldn’t wear orange this season. Or any season. It doesn’t pair well with anything and it washes her out.”

Peter blinked. Not the angle he was looking for, but a good psychologist never quits when they’re ahead. “Did she tell you this?”

Egon visibly hardened, turning to face them. “No. In a 1986 interview with People, in the second paragraph of the 12th page, she said she’d never wear anything long and orange at the same time.”

Peter slowly revealed the page to him, speaking even slower. “Sorry, superfan. She was wearing green.”

The professor only stared, before clearing his throat and fixing his clothes a bit, Ray and Winston silent at Peter’s side as he rolled up the print. “I’m leaving for the night. And I’m taking the car.”

He was halfway out the room before Ray stuttered, taken aback. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you drive, Spengs.”

“And you can’t take the car.” Peter chided

Egon stilled on the staircase. “I have the keys. And there aren’t any jobs in the morning- you can do without it. Goodnight.”

Peter tapped the shiny paper against his palm a few times, turning to the men at his side. “He’s either selling drugs, or he’s trying to ditch us."

Sure, Egon wasn’t much of a driver. But he’d make the commute if he wanted to see you. Eventually, streets lined with skyscrapers and taxis melted into roads lined with starlight and trees as he carefully recalled the directions to your house just outside the city, surrounded by woodlands. He knew you'd wouldn’t be back until late in the night, so he was content busying himself with your chores until the sounds of a Mustang screeching to a halt in your driveway peeled him away from the last dish in the sink.

Egon carefully peeked out one of your windows, watching as you jumped out the backseat of the hastily parked car. “I probably just left a light on! One sec!” Your door handle jiggled with the turn of keys, before you poked your head in, voice low.

“Wanna say hi?”

He politely declined, and you were halfway out the door again, waving goodbye to your friends, before they skidded off into the night. Your home was a stark contrast to his own, decorated and personable without becoming clumsy. But, many a night you’d crooned to him over the phone about how empty it can get. So, there he was.

“You didn’t have to come all this way,” Egon felt you mummer against his back, arms wrapped around his middle while he finished wiping down the edge of the sink, light fragrance mingling with the smell of dish soap. You always smelt good, after a night out.

“I wanted to. Did you have fun?” he inquired, hearing you hum as you peeled yourself from him, lurking towards the stairs.

“As much,” Egon bent behind you to collect your discarded shoes, “as I could have.”

He caught the earrings you pinched off from your earlobes. ‘They didn’t show you a good time?”

You paused in front of your bedroom door, waiting for Egon to open it, which he did. “It was a great time- I love premieres.” You lowered yourself onto the large mattress, calling out to him as he went into the master bathroom to start a bath. “But, I think you know very well why I wanted to come home.”

“I wonder,” he mused chaffingly, sitting behind you on the bed. His favorite night time routine, whenever he was around after you successfully painted the town red. The events and invitations just got bigger and bigger, increasingly extravagant the longer he knew you. Here he was, getting farther and farther over the hill. In spite of it all, he liked taking care of you, especially when you were wearied from an evening of fun.

You leaned forward as he gently unclasped the jewelry from around your neck, careful not to bust the fastener. “I’m happy you’re here now, Egon.” he heard you coo tiredly and softly. Egon pressed a devoted kiss to the nape of your neck where the metal had lay, drawing out a delighted laugh from underneath him.

“Then I’m glad I came.”

Both of you just sat there, warmth against warmth until Egon remembered that your faucet was still running. He took to unzipping the back of your gown. “Is it safe to assume my friends are becoming suspicious of me?”

“Oh yeah? What’re they doing?” you pondered, helping him as you stepped out of the pooling fabric.

“Pictures of you. Peter got a hold of one of your spreads.” Egon mulled. He carefully collected the material, laying it out on a chair in front of your expansive closet. He really appreciated those photographers, any other time. Particularly, when you weren’t available for so long.

Another thing he enjoyed about nights like these- you in your underclothing. Oh, guilty pleasures. But the sight vanished into the bathroom almost as soon as he took it in. “Did you tell them I was your outgoing, witty and expressive girlfriend?” 

Egon couldn’t help but follow you. “They seemed to have come to that conclusion on their own.” Egon stood against your sink while you sunk into the water- he knew you were pretty clean, but a washroom floor was still a washroom floor.

“I’m sure you have them fooled.” you guessed, leaning on the edge of the tub.

“I think so. But-” he noticed the look you were giving him. “You’re being sarcastic.”

He let you laugh at his expense, handing you various soaps from the caddy above. He’d been meaning to get a similar bottle to keep at his place, if you were ever willing to spend the night. What would your people say- if you didn’t come around when they were expecting you to? “And you? What do your friends think?” Egon queried. 

“They’ve been onto me. And they tell me: ‘bring him around sometime- one night can’t hurt,’” you teased. “There’s a blue suit to go with my dress waiting for you, if you really want.”

Egon felt so defenseless as you gazed up at him, extending the same invitation you’d been extending time and time again. Reservations be damned. The greatest person he knew was letting him spend a night in their arms- and he’d be anything but himself if he let the opportunity slip away again.

“I’ll go.”

“What?”

“On Friday. I’ll go with you. If you’ll have me.”

You beamed, sitting up and leaning impossibly close to him as he let himself kneel against the porcelain. “Oh, Egon! I could kiss you!” Your wet skin dripped onto the dainty rim.

“Why not?” he teased. Before the question could leave his lips, you had the end of his tie in your hand, nearly dragging him into the bath with you.

He could barf. Absolutely lose his cool in the back of this expensive car, or in front of all your famous friends. As happy as Egon was to experience a slice of your life with you, his nerves were on fire. He must’ve seriously underestimated the turnout of this thing- reality settling in as a number of stylists flooded your house as the evening approached. He felt the embrace of your hands on his jaw, as you made him look at you.

“You don’t have to talk to anyone, if you don’t want to. Just keep holding my hand.” You were glowing. “And- you look great. But…something’s missing,” you muttered. He swallowed hard, dreading what he managed to leave behind. He was breathless as you left a quick kiss off the center of his lips, laughing as you parted. “There,” you giggled.

“Mr. Spengler? There’s a call for you.” the hostess told him, peeling him away from the table of A-listers. As he answered the phone by the kitchen, he could recognize a familiar, angry voice.

“Egon Spengler.”

“Hello, Janine.”

The floodgates opened, and he could practically hear her nails digging into the desk. “I could rip your head off. Is that where you go all day? Hanging out with gorgeous celebrities? Why didn’t you tell us? You’re sitting at dinner with Mel Gibson! You should’ve introduced me. Why didn’t you introduce me? I would’ve killed to meet her- if I had met Einstein I would’ve introduced you. What’s next- you’re having tea with Cher? You disappear for weeks at a time, and we have to watch a tiny TV screen to find out you’re at an award show with a red lipstick stain on your face? You-”

“I’m sorry to cut this so short, Janine. But my wonderful girlfriend has an accolade to accept.”

[glennquackmire]

WE NEED LORE FOR THE HUNGER GAMES AU !!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶😛😛😛😛😛😞😞😞😞

OMG OMG OK SO

This was originally really long but I'll do a better version of it ok so (hi chat I'm re reading this now cos it's not like 2am and I'm realising how bad this is I'll re explain it soon I promise ☝️☝️) (me again this is so ass I keep getting like flashbacks to how corny this is I'm rewriting it all as we speak cause this is so bad AND ooc AUGHHHHHHHHGHGGF)

-the curtis bros live in district 12 and their parents died in a mining accident

-darry (he's 18 in this) and pony are reaped ik I just said he volunteers for soda but I'm editing this rn and I'm taking that out LMAOO (I had to make it any 2 because there just isn't enough girls in the outsiders for one girl one boy 😭)

-ponyboy believes darry genuinely despises him (WRONG) and thinks that darry is going to try kill him once they get in the arena so he spends most his time in there trying to get away from him

-meanwhile darry spends all his time trying to FIND ponyboy w his fancy career ally paul (I like to pretend he's an important character) he's from district 4 or WAS lolol get it cause he's dead

-the arena is foresty but its also got this really cliffy area that overlooks this huge body of water (that's important i swear)

-so the other ppl who are reaped are:

>dally and johnny from the lumber district: their main tactic is to stay together but that's more of a support thing because johnny is convinced he doesn't have a chance and dally is super confident bro is SWINGING that axe

>tim from the textile district: he had to leave curly and Angela to fend for themselves so he's DESPERATE to get home (post traumatic eldest sibling disorder)(ily tim)

>the careers marcia and randy (District 1) cherry and bob (District 2) Paul and ik there's other socs but I forget their names (District 4): their main tactic is to travel in groups of 2 and pick off the weakest tributes at first and then come together

>scouts here she's from the technology district hi scout

>oh and also Steve and twobit are also here LITERALLY just because I think they're a funny duo they do NOT last long I fear #divadown

-dally and johnny are also super codependant in this and if johnny were to (hypothetically) get murked by a tribute (hypothetically) dally would end up like he did in the book perchance idk they make me really sad these two are doomed in every universe

-eventually after most of the ppl are dead darry amd pony rerun into eachother and that's when ponyboy starts to realise darry does not infact want him dead and their beef is as good as over too bad it doesn't last lolol

-i wanted to add a reference to tge actual book to look smart into this so instead of their being those mutant dog mutts that chase them instead it's a HUGE fire that burns the entire arena and pushes them to the top of the cliff and when it gets down to the final 2 darry willingly steps into it so ponyboy can live which ik that's kinda corny but anyway

-I have a whole storyline in my mind for each of the characters if anyone wants to hear more tell me NEOW

[jhilsara]

Tie Me to You/Chapter 15

Chapter Summary: Mika needs a break and finds Sam on the roof.

Word Count: 2.8k

<Last | Next>

Chapter Warnings: Horny levels of making out

This fanfic will explore heavier emotions and will have eventual smut. Minors DNI

Can also be found on AO3 X

Chapter 15

Put your lips close to mine

As long as they don't touch

Out of focus, eye to eye

'Til the gravity's too much

And I'll do anything you say

If you say it with your hands

Treacherous - Taylor Swift

After the events of the morning, Mika feels restless. She lounges in the living room watching some reruns of a reality show with Erik and Damien. Shooting jokes back and forth and snarky comments about the dated fashion on the runaway. It works in a way of keeping her mind busy, drifting away from her tiresome morning.  

Damien keeps shooting her sympathetic looks of worry or sharing a similar look with Erik when their eyes roam over to her. Their stares are the opposite of comforting. Mika knows that they mean well, but it feels like they think she’s more of a flight risk with how often she feels one of them look her way. Mika tries to brush it off. She didn’t want to make them more concerned than they already were. She makes it through a few episodes before her eyelids grow heavy. Begging her to sink into the comfiness of the couch. 

She was so exhausted and overwhelmed by the events from earlier, not to mention the succubus draining her the night before. She just needed to rest her eyes, for a minute or two...or maybe she thinks it would be easier to sleep than deal with reality. Mika couldn’t really pinpoint it, but the bags under her eyes were enough to prove she needed a break. She thinks she’ll just close her eyes, for a moment.  

Five minutes turns into five hours, when she finally wakes up significantly later in the day. The sun isn’t as bright in the living room as when she fell asleep. The room is quieter without the sound of a show playing in the background. Mika realizes she’s under a quilt that one of the boys must have laid on top of her. Mika sits up and stretches and isn’t surprised that Damien and Erik had both left at some point. She wonders vaguely how long they stayed there.  

Mika groans as she stands to move and checks to see if anyone is around. She’s sure it’s dinner time and wonders if maybe they’d just eat without her. She shuffles into the dining room and doesn’t see anyone nor smell any food being made.  

She makes her way upstairs, not hearing anything really. It was so quiet in the house, like when she first arrived. It sends a shiver up her back, and she panics for a moment that maybe they did leave. Maybe that succubus followed through with her threat and took them.  

Mika starts to walk faster, with a bit more purpose as she tries to calm herself. She feels her heart clench tightly, they wouldn’t have left. Not without a fight or a goodbye. Her nerves are fried enough, but the silence of the home is almost deafening to her.   

She passes her grandfather’s study with the doors wide open, James sitting idly at the desk working. She back peddles quickly to reassure herself she isn’t seeing things. She needed proof she wasn’t alone again.  

James stops typing away and looks up at her from the top of his glasses. He raises a brow at her in question.  

She feels her body untense and her shoulders drop in relief. 

“You okay Mika?” he calls out to her, closing the laptop he was using and giving her his undivided attention.  

She gives a shrug and bites the inside of her cheek, “Define okay?”  

She steps into the study and leans against the doorway looking down at the floor. Her arms come to cross over her chest tightly, like she's trying to protect herself.  

James sighs and looks up at her sympathetically, “It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry about it, we’ll handle her.” He tries to reassure Mika in a gentle voice.  

She feels herself seize up at the reassurance, “I’m so sick of everyone telling me to not worry. I’m filled with worry, about a million different things!” 

Mika takes a deep breath before the word vomit starts to spiral out of her. She feels the tight coil inside her start to unravel as her brain fires off everything that’s happened. She glares holes into the floor the whole time never looking at James.  

“I’ve been put on the backburner my whole life!” She bites out. Her body almost shrinks in as she continues.  

“Don’t worry about a job, don’t worry about a major, don’t worry about your dad, don’t worry about you’re future, don’t worry about devils, don’t worry about this impending danger that seems to follow you!” She’s pacing around the room, using her arms to emphasize her point. When she stops and she looks up at James, he’s giving her this look of pity that makes her stomach churn.  

“I’m tired of being told not to worry and treated like I don’t have a say. I’m so over it. It’s like I’m just watching someone play my life!” she says exasperatedly.  

James is quiet for a moment as he takes in her words. The silence makes Mika feel like she’s just overshared way too much and now she wants to run to her room and act like this never happened. James didn’t need to hear her whine about her life.  

James stands, reaches over to the printer and grabs something he printed earlier. He slides it into a folder and holds it out to Mika.  

“I know a few things about being told who you’re supposed to be and the expectations of others. I was blessed enough to be able to escape and figure out who I am...I’m still trying to figure out who I am if I’m not the first-born prince of the Demon Lord.” He tells her with a look of understanding. 

“These are Harold’s notes. I translated most of what I could for you, it’s almost all of his notes.” He refers to the large folder in his hands.  

Mika gently takes it from him, “Thanks, she burned the first half you made me.” She admits shamefully, even if she knows it’s not her fault.  

His face sours, “Yea I found the magical ashes on your bed… She’s threatened by you knowing that knowledge if she’s willing to burn the documents with magic.” he tells her, crossing his arms in annoyance. 

“Why would she be threatened? She made it clear she can play with me like a doll.” Mika says bitterly remembering how the enthrallment felt. It made her nauseous. 

James looks at the folder in her hands, “Harold was a powerful sorcerer. She either knows that, or knows you got these from someone powerful. His notes aren’t beginner level magic by any means.” he claims looking back up at her. 

“Maybe you could be just as powerful.” He suggests with a shrug. “That’s just a guess though.” he gives her a tiny smirk.  

She clutches the folder close to her chest, “Thank you James.” 

He just waves her off before sitting back down at the desk, “It’s no problem, honestly easy to read and translate.” he tells her dismissively.  

She rolls her eyes at how nonchalant James is being. This was a big deal to Mika because to her, this felt like maybe this was what her grandfather always wanted her to find.  

She turns to leave, and James speaks up stopping her, “Oh and would you mind checking on Sam?”  

Mika looks at him confused with a small blush tinting her cheeks. He rolls his eyes, “We sent him on a run to burn off his adrenaline earlier. I think he’s on the roof sulking.” James tells her in mild annoyance directed at his younger brother.  

“Yea, I’ll go do that...” She escapes out the door and makes her way to go check the roof.  

She rushes to her bedroom first and sets her notes on her desk, trying to push down her flushed cheeks before trying to find Sam. She turns to her balcony window and vaguely spots some movement. She opens the door and looks up to see Sam’s legs dangling above.  

She puts her hands on her hips and cock her head as she stares up, “Do you wanna come down or should I go up?” she teases.  

She sees him jump and look around before he bothers to look down and see her below. His face heats up for a second, like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

“How’d you know I was up here?” He questions a bit baffled by how easily he was caught above her room.  

She shrugs, “This is where you normally are when I can’t find you.”  

He raises a brow at her in suspicion.  

“That aaaaaaannnddd James told me.” She admits biting her lip.  

Sam rolls his eyes and shoves himself off the roof to land on the balcony. He landed perfectly like an agile cat. He stands there for a moment, looking over her and assessing her. It's the same hesitant look Erik and Damien were giving her earlier, but it was different with Sam. 

Everything was different with Sam. 

The look he gave didn’t feel like he was worried she was going to crack under the pressure, it was more so like he needed reassurance she was still there. 

He opens his mouth to try and say something, but Mika cuts him off, putting a hand up to motion him to stop. 

“If you’re going to ask me if I’m okay, don’t. Jury's still out on that.” She states going to lean on her balcony railing with a sigh.  

Sam chuckles lowly and shakes his head, “fair enough.”  

He moves to stand next to her on the railing. Their arms brush against each other as he leans turning his head to look her over. His green eyes pierce into her, scanning Mika in a way that feels so intense. Like he’s looking for something to be wrong or out of place.  

She looks up at him from the corner of her eye with a slight frown. “There’s nothing you’re going to find out by staring holes into me Sam.” She tells him with a cock of her head and a dry laugh. 

He shrugs and at least he has the decency to look caught. “Can’t hurt.” He mumbles in slight frustration. “I feel like I need to keep an eye on you now.”  

She raises a brow in amusement, “Almost like a guard dog?” she tries to bite back her laugh.  

Sam groans in frustration and hides his face in his crosses arms leaning on the railing. “Don’t you start now too...”  

She presses against his side, dropping her head to look at him, “Would it make you feel better if I said you were a very good guard dog?”  

His head lifts and he shots her a deadpan stare. 

“What? It’s kind of funny.” She says leaning her head on his shoulder.  

Sam lifts a hand to ruffle her hair before he travels down to hold her waist, pulling her closer to him.  

“Laugh it up, but I did protect you.” He tells her, trying to prove a point. He presses a kiss to her forehead.  

Mika hums contently and looks up at him, “I guess that makes you a good boy.” 

Sam groans in irritation and leans his head down to rest in the crook of Mika’s neck as she laughs. Her laughter stops abruptly as she feels Sam teeth dig into her flesh. Making her gasp and shriek.  

“Did you just bite me?!” She asks him incredulously. She gives a soft swat of her hand to his bicep.  

Sam’s the one now shaking with laughter as he looks like he just won a game.  

“I’m an aggressive bred I guess.” 

“Oh ha, ha, ha, you think you’re so funny.” Mika rolls her eyes and tries to push Sam away.  

He doesn’t budge, his grip on her waist and the railing firm. Planting him in place.  Mika looks down and sees the muscles in his arms tremble slightly, like it was taking all his energy to move.  

“Sam?” She asks softly, trying to get him to look at her.  

“Sorry, just uh, just give me a second.” He murmurs.  

Mika sees a flash of gold rim his eyes before fading quickly. She understands what’s happening.  

“Did you... did you burn off all the energy you had on your run?” She asks him quietly. 

Sam nods, looking shameful.  

“Sam, you know you can-” Mika starts to offer, before Sam cuts her off quickly. 

“No!” He jolts up looking her in the eye, clearly nervous and hesitant. “I mean,” he takes a deep breath. “I don’t want you to- fuck.” 

Mika tilts her head in confusion, a small part of her feeling hurt that Sam doesn’t want her energy. She holds it in, unsure if that’s what he even means. He wasn’t the easiest to understand when he was riled up. She didn’t want to make assumptions while his tongue twisted his own words into soup. So, she waits patiently.  

“I’m bad at this.” He finally says in defeat.  

“I would try to give feedback, but I’m lost.” She offers, her tone isn’t accusing but light and conversational.  

Sam groans and closes his eyes trying to gather his words. “I don’t want you to think I just use you for energy. You’ve offered twice now, and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”  

Mika frowns, her eyes trailing down to the ground “… do you not want my energy?” she asks softly, maybe she had been reading his signs wrong, the small insecure part of her poking its head out. 

Before she can start spiraling Sam keeps talking and fumbles over his words, “No no! I didn’t, fuckin’ shit.”  

He presses his forehead to her shoulder and takes a shaky breath. “I mean I want you to give your energy because you like me…not because you feel obligated too.”  

His shoulders relax from their tense state after he says it. There’s a beat of silence before Mika starts giggling softly. 

“Sam” she says his name fondly, like it’s her favorite thing, “I offer it because I like you dummy.” 

Sam doesn’t immediately respond; he takes in the information but he’s unsure if he heard her correctly or not. 

“Are you serious?” he finally whispers standing up fully and placing both hands on her hips, a comforting weight. His voice sounds so baffled and confused, it takes everything in Mika to not press her thumb to his forehead to straighten out the crease he’s forming. 

“Sam, I don’t know if you noticed this, but I don’t let your brothers take naps or kiss me.” Mika says almost conspiratorially.  

“I guess I should have put that together…” He says with a low laugh, it rattles Mika’s core and makes her feel mushy.  

“Or  ya know, asked me?” she suggests with a smirk. 

“Yeah, or asked you.” He murmurs and presses a kiss to her neck.  

The action sends a shiver down her spine. “Or kiss, kissing works.” She sighs airily, her arms working their way up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer. 

He chuckles, kisses under her ear and pulls away to look at her. She blushes furiously, giving him the widest grin imaginable. His face breaks out into a matching smile.  

Sam leans down, a hand moving up to cup her jaw, as he presses his mouth to hers. It’s intoxicating and slow. He takes his time, slowly moving his mouth against hers before pressing his hot tongue into her mouth.  

Mika moves her hands to caress his jaw before running her fingers up through his dark brown hair before gripping it tightly.  

It makes Sam moan into her mouth, giving her an opportunity to press her own tongue to his, trying desperately to taste the inside of his mouth.  

He growls lowly in his chest, and she smiles into the kiss. She moves her mouth away from his and trails kisses down his jaw to his neck. His hands on her hips grip tightly, bucking his hips into hers.  

“If you don’t stop that,” he hisses out with a partial laugh, “I’m going to lose my mind.” 

Mika pulls back, looking up at him through her lashes, “What? This is light work, got you worked up already?” she says in a teasing tone.  

Sam presses his forehead to hers, “No...” he growls out before biting her neck again, this time using his tongue to soothe the harsh bite.  

“Just when I take you, I don’t want it to be for your energy, but your enjoyment.” He tells her.  

It makes Mika moan and pulls him closer.  

“You better deliver on that then.” She says breathlessly. 

He moves back to press a softer kiss to her lips before letting go and smiling at her smugly, “Promise.” 

A/N: Hey everyone! So as you know this fic has been on Hiatus and it will continue to be. I wrote this chapter over the summer. When I update next I will have a couple of chapters on the back burner. I just needed a break. I was so burnt out from work and I needed some time off. (Which maybe involved watching 9 seasons of criminal minds and if you see an fics mind your business) ANYWAY I'm going to start writing again and hopefully get this story with regular updates comes the end of September. <3 Miss yall and let me know how this chapter went (Cause I don't remember most of what I even wrote tbh)

[simplifiedemotions]

Who Said That?

You see Hermione Granger in phases.

She’s the girl you learned to hate before you even set eyes on her bushy hair and too-large front teeth. Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood, you think, point, and snarl, and expose the delight of her tears to those around you. 

For a moment, this thought: didn’t mother tell you that making a girl cry wasn’t part of a proper Pureblood upbringing?

But then you shake off the feeling, think: Mudblood. She is not the same. 

Oh, you will find out how wrong you are in the years to come. 

—

Her slap in third year makes you boil with rage.

It isn’t until later, when your hands are shaking and the sting on your cheek blooms red, that you remember the hurt in her fiery brown eyes.

Did you cause that?

Not that it matters, you reassure yourself.

You ignore the twinge of something that feels stupidly like guilt, and go on to tell everyone about the savageness of Muggles.

It’s only right. 

Right?

—

Periwinkle blue. A fluttering of dress robes. How could Viktor Krum demean himself so low as to take the girl with filthy Muggle blood to the Yule Ball? Any girl could make a pretty face with the right charms and pouty lipstick. One such girl hangs off your arm at this very moment, though Pansy’s nails are sharp and you can’t help but wince.

You see Granger twirling in your periphery, her entire face lit up in a way you’ve never seen before.

When you see her crying later on the bottom steps of the Great Hall, her makeup splotched and her smile vanished, you think, maybe, that her smile was at least preferable to this look of devastation.

—

You’ve barely looked at anyone this year. 

Every time your ribs expand, there is poison being dusted across your bones.

Death Eater. The name finally makes a sort of twisted sense.

— 

You confirm her identity in order to protect Potter’s, and bile forces its way up your throat, lines its way on the walls bordering your trachea and sticks there like an old friend.

Later, when the memory of her screams rattles your bones and makes you break out in a cold sweat, your throat refuses to upend itself.

That, too, is a form of guilt.

—

The sickly sour taste remains, as you float through the first half of your eighth year. 

She is one of many who stare at you as you wander the castles like a ghost, but it’s only her stare which makes heat creep up your neck.

Unrelenting shame clouds you through most of the year, until you feel sick with it, until your bloodstream is more shame than blood.

Dirty, dirty, blood, but you’re only talking about yourself.

—

You work with her now, as part of your probation. Two years at any Ministry of Magic department willing to take on an almost murderer. 

Some twisted sort of faith brought you both here. She’s smiling through a grimace and you stare off at a wall behind her head.

“I know I wouldn’t have been your first choice—” she starts, and you surprise yourself with the bark of laughter you let out. 

She’s glaring at you when you meet her eyes. 

“I didn’t mean—”

“I’m sure,” she says primly. 

“No.” You stand firm, not wanting this to be a rerun of the first eight years you’ve known each other. “I’m just surprised you took me on.” The admission hurts, but pride is no longer a comfort you can afford.

She looks staggered, and you almost want to smile. She’s so expressive, and it’s the first time you don’t feel a pressure rising inside you at the thought that she’s rather pretty.

“Well,” she says after a moment, “shall I explain your position?”

—

It becomes routine, working with the girl who wants to save the world. You expect most of the reason Granger took you on is that no one else will work the mind-numbing hours she does.

That, and she seems to have a knack for taking on broken things.

Of course, you have no choice. You call her an evil little chit, but she only grins.

It only takes the first year: the accidental brush of hands, the way she forces you to eat when at first you only settled for tea, and a persistent Granger-shaped stubbornness, when you realise you’re already half in love with her.

—

It’s eight years of working together with her, when you finally crack. Somehow, it makes sense that you would have to atone for the eight years in which you made the wrong choices. You’re not sure if you believe in balance, or even the thought of your redemption, but you’re a selfish man, and the way Granger looks at you makes you believe in something more.

Even after probation, you stayed on. You became her second-lead for several projects around feature legislation for magical creatures. 

It’s this: the way she is clearly jealous when one of the witches at circulation asked if you wanted to go to dinner with her.

(You declined.)

It’s this: the way she snuggles into you when she makes you watch b-rated Muggle films.

(Her warmth is a foreign relief. You don’t deserve to have your arm around her, but you still can’t help but tighten your hold, wanting to make sure she isn’t just a figment of your imagination.)

It’s this: when she comes swerving into your hospital room after you were attacked in Diagon Alley, promising revenge on whoever hurt you.

(A four-year wand probation for the two men who attacked you, and two broken noses.)

“My wand slipped,” she says innocently, and even though it hurts your ribs, you can’t stop laughing. 

It’s this: a drunken kiss, started after a drunken fight, when she screamed at you at the top of her lungs about how stupid you were for assuming it was one-sided, and how dare you, how dare you, Draco Malfoy, not notice how she’s felt for so long.

“I’ve waited longer, Granger,” is all you say, as your hands curve around her face. 

She smiles. “Who said that?”

In another few years, you’ll tell her about your eight long years of wretched pining, and she’ll admit that her crush on you started back in eighth year, when you were assigned as Potion’s partners and she couldn’t stop staring at your hands. 

She always did have to come first in everything.

But, for now: finally, finally, the last scene.

She sighs into your mouth like you're air, and you recoil. You’re air mixed with noxious gas, and you don’t want to hurt her. You’ve hurt her enough. 

She opens her arms, and you, you pathetic Draco Malfoy, sink to your knees and‌ press your face into her stomach. Her touch is a balm against you. The softness of her delicate fingers as they weave into your hair.

She is the tremble that makes up your heart.

“Forgive me.”

It’s benediction. It’s you, begging, quite literally, on your knees.

It’s hope then, when she gets to her knees in front of you and gives you a smile.

Yes, you think, as she closes the distance and presses her mouth to yours, as you remember her in fourth year, with a smile lighting up her face. 

Her smile is the thing you want most.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s4 ep9: Year of Hell pt 2

I definitely haven't seen this one since it first aired, because the only things I remember from it were Janeway and Tuvok hugging, and the ship crashing. Literally everything else in this was like new to me, which was completely wild to experience after more than two decades.

Why I didn't rewatch it again in all this time, I don't know- I remember thinking 'ugh' whenever I'd see it on a rerun and flip channels, but it's actually a lot better than I gave it credit for??? Maybe as a kid all the sad, scary stuff the crew goes through just made more of a negative impression on me, and I know I would have been very worried that somebody would get killed off back then. I had a deeper attachment to Star Trek characters than any other shows I watched, so the stakes always felt a little bit higher in Star Trek, versus other shows I didn't care about as much.

But anyway, I was clearly way too young to realize how hot the whole crew was yet, because I didn't remember the part where Chakotay and Tom are aboard the Krenim timeship at all. And oh boy, watching it as an adult? with Tom in that costume with that v-neck top? Incredibly distracting. Like, excuse me sir, how dare you be that pretty?? All tall and blonde and blue eyed with your tousled hair and your unbuttoned shirt?? Illegal levels of hotness!!! go to jail for 1000 years!!!

But aside from making my fangirl brain go brrrr every time Tom appears on screen, I do think the scenes on the ship with the Krenim bad guy, Annorax, were very interesting and well done. We learn that Chakotay and Tom have been held captive there, in solitary confinement, for two months, before Annorax decides to let them out. He brings them to have dinner with him in an attempt to convince them to work with him to help him get his timeline back, and restore Voyager in the process. Tom is pissed off and skeptical, but Chakotay plays it more diplomatically, and tries to hear Annorax out. Annorax does a convincing job of presenting himself as cultured and reasonable, until he tells them that the little feast he's treating them to is actually a macabre repast made up of the last existing delicacies from civilizations he's erased from existence. He tells them how he's been manipulating the timeline with the time weapon on his ship for 200 years, existing outside of normal time, trying to get the calculations right to bring the entire Krenim empire back, like some sort of Flying Dutchman in space. Chakotay and Tom are horrified, and Tom won't hear of helping him, guessing that the only reason Annorax is asking them is because he hasn't been able to find and destroy Voyager yet. He storms out, but Chakotay stays, hoping there might be a way to use the time weapon in a less violent way to accomplish what Annorax proposed.

Meanwhile, back on Voyager, the seven remaining crew members are fighting tooth and claw to keep the ship together, hiding in a nebula to avoid the Krenim and try to repair their failing systems. Janeway, as usual, powers through it all by throwing herself into work, rarely eating or sleeping, risking her life time and again, and ignoring doctor's orders to rest when she gets sick or injured. (She has a rare moment of sentiment when she finds the watch Chakotay gave her still in his quarters, despite her order to recycle it. She doesn't know of he's alive or dead at this point, so she's too moved to be angry, and she picks it up, and puts it on her belt, like a good luck charm.) The Doctor tries to relieve her of command when he thinks she's pushing herself too far, but Janeway hits him with the reality that she can just say no- they have no security officers, they have no brig, no energy for more forcefields- he can't enforce any orders on anyone. He tells her he'll record her refusal in his log, and that she could face a court-martial for disobeying, to which she responds with a wry smile that they'd have to get home before she could ever face a court martial, and she's the one who's going to get them home, by continuing to work. Even making it out alive to face a court martial would be nice for her, compared to what they're going through. She walks off, leaving the Doctor to contemplate his abstract principles, while she, as always, is forced by necessity to do the real, hard work to hold things together and shoulder the responsibilty for the ship and crew, alone.

Back on the Krenim ship, Chakotay works with Annorax to learn how to use his time weapon, and Tom buddies up to the crew, trying to gather what info he can from them that might be useful against Annorax. He tells Chakotay the crew are unhappy in their endless mission, and that they could be convinced to mutiny against Annorax with their help. Chakotay says no, and wants to try to use the time weapon, which Tom disagrees with, and they come pretty close to having a fistfight over it, since Tom (rightly) thinks Annorax is a maniac, and that Chakotay has been swayed over to Annorax's side. Whether Chakotay actually has been swayed or not is kind of open to interpretation- Annorax certainly was giving him a lot of seductive speeches about what an art form the manipulation of time can be, and Chakotay seems to earnestly believe he can find a way to use it for good. And if he was actually just playing a long game, and trying to earn Annorax's trust so they can get the better of him, he absolutely should have told that to Tom, rather than letting him think he's sympathizing with the enemy, and thus giving him a good reason to not follow his orders. At any rate, Chakotay seems to finally realize that Annorax is a madman who can't be reasoned with once he learns that his centuries of meddling with the timeline stem from accidentally erasing his own family in one of his attacks, and that everything he's been doing has been a desperate attempt to get them back. They watch in horror as he uses the time weapon to erase an entire planet, and Tom finally convinces Chakotay to go with his plan. Tom gets his Krenim friend to let him send a message to Voyager, and to help them shut down the time weapon so Voyager can attack.

By the time Voyager receives Tom's message, Janeway has assembled a small fleet of allies to stand against the Krenim- Voyager is nearly crippled, so she sends the rest of the crew to the alien ships, and stays behind on Voyager to coordinate the attack that now has a fighting chance, thanks to Tom's help. This is the scene I always remember, of Tuvok attempting to convince Janeway not to stay on a compromised Voyager to die. But Janeway waxes poetic about how a captain always goes down with the ship, and how Voyager is more than just a ship, it's their home, a part of their family that she can't abandon. Tuvok knows her too well to argue, so he gives her a Vulcan salute, and accepts a hug from her in return. Her face as he returns her embrace for one rare and probably final time, when she almost breaks down as she says goodbye to him, only to snap herself back to composure, to send him away in order to do what she has to do, is an absolutely devastating moment, and an incredibly subtle piece of acting from Kate Mulgrew.

Even standing alone on her wrecked ship, battered and filthy, with Chakotay's watch tucked into her belt, Janeway still exudes the air of a Captain, and leads the charge to the Krenim ship. (Which looks so much like Babylon 5! I honestly have to wonder whether it was intentional- I can't imagine anyone working on Star Trek wouldn't have been aware of that show, or what their space station looked like. Though whether it was a nod to them or a dig at them, I don't know.)

As soon as Annorax sees Voyager, he wants to destroy it, but his second in command holds fire long enough for Tom to take the time weapon offline. Even with regular weapons, Voyager is too damaged to fight back, so Janeway decides if she's going down, she'll take them with her. Only Kate Mulgrew could sell that incredibly cheesy 'time's up' line with so much conviction that I buy it completely. I get why her whole crew would die for her- I would die for her too. If you watch this show and still say you wouldn't die for her, you're lying. Janeway supremacy forever <3

Somehow, Janeway figures that taking out the timeship might reset the timeline, so she has her ships disengage their temporal shielding and rams Voyager into the Krenim ship, destoying them both.

And the timeline resets!! How? I have no idea! How did she know that would happen? I also have no idea! Would it have been nice if that theory were introduced into the script earlier, and played with a bit more so it didn't seem like a crazy last minute add-on that was too convenient to be true? Yeah! Am I mad enough about it that I'm gonna complain about it too much? No! Do I just enjoy the badass ferocity of Janeway ramming her ship into a bad guy's ship to save millions of lives, even if she has to risk her own to do it? HELL YEAH!!!

So we end up back on Voyager before the Year of Hell began- everything is pristine and lovely, and the crew is looking forward to their little opening celebration for the new astrometrics lab. A Krenim hails them, gives them a friendly warning that their territory is in dispute, and recommends going around their space for safety. Janeway thanks him, and sets a course to avoid their space. They go on their merry way, never knowing the year they endured in another timeline.

And the last scene is of Annorax, back at home, with his wife, going over his time manipulation research, and ignoring her until she insists the research can wait, and that he should have breakfast with her. He agrees, but his research is still there, and it's a chilling thought that without knowing the 200 years he spent trying to fix his mistake, he might make it all over again one day. (But seriously, in 200 years, he didn't figure out that blowing his ship up would reset the timeline and bring his wife back?! Like that's literally all he had to do?! But Janeway guessed that correctly in one split second hunch?! Not the best writing in the world, but hell, I'll give it a pass because Janeway badassery! I love you, my captain!!! No thoughts, just Janeway!!!)

Tl;dr: The ending wasn't as strong as the beginning, but it was an exciting ride, with some really fine moments. I won't be waiting another 20 some years to rewatch this again, I can tell you that!

[shieldofiron]

I have a cute one!!

Billy gets adopted by Joyce and Hop, and they take him shopping for the first time!

Billy never really had someone willing to buy him things that aren’t really absolutely necessary, and he gets all flustered, trying to say some shit like “no I don’t need another shirt! I already have one :)” and Hop is like “that’s literally a crop top”.

Billy gets all nervous again and shyly asks if she thinks Steve will like what he picked out ❤️

Note: I wrote this in bits and pieces throughout a busy work week and only realized afterwards that it is not only in the same universe as Vecnavision 3D and arguably spoils some details of the epilogue. Just FYI if you’re a spoiler free person and you’ve been reading that.

Joyce normally never had to ask Billy twice for anything. Jonathan, Will, Max, even Jane would forget sometimes, or just wait to do whatever it was she asked until she had to ask again.

But Billy was consistent. He would often begin to do whatever it was before she even stopped asking.

So the first time seemed like he just couldn’t have heard her.

“Billy, will you come with us tomorrow to pick out some new clothes?”

He didn’t answer, just sort of froze there, eyes glued to a rerun of Green Acres.

“Billy?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to come with us to pick out some new clothes tomorrow?”

He shook his head no, “I’m all good, Ms B. Or Mrs H.”

She smiled a little, but eyed his worn blue shirt. He’s arrived with hardly anything at all, just a few pairs of pants and a couple of shirts. After a while the number had dwindled even further. She knew he was wearing socks with holes in them, but he was secretive, sneaking his laundry in when he could.

Max said that Billy would get new clothes at the start of the school year. So even though he was graduated, Joyce waited until the appropriate time when the other kids were going and asked again. He declined, brushing it off with a comment about his shirt being practically new. He was working now too, and she could tell it was wearing on the few things he had.

“Looking a little scruffy,” Hopper had said one night at dinner, eyeing the frayed collar on Billy’s shirt.

Billy glanced at Jonathan, then back at his plate, “Yes.”

Hopper waited, looking at Joyce for help but she couldn’t blurt out the whole thing in front of the kids, and humiliate Billy more.

“I’m going out to get some new shirts tomorrow,” Hopper cut into his meatloaf, “Round 10. That work for you?”

He doesn’t ask precisely and maybe this is why Billy says yes. Joyce can see Jonathan smile encouragingly at the other boy.

“Can I go too?” Will scoots a little closer to the table, “My belt broke.”

“Sure,” Hopper nods, “We’ll make a day of it.”

“You want me to come?” She asks Billy, not even bothering with anyone else.

He doesn’t answer, but she decides it’s better if she does. It’s not that Billy doesn’t get along with Hopper, but he watches him more carefully, seems odd about Hopper being around the younger kids, especially Max. Jonathan used to be the same, but Joyce expects Billy will take more time, need more coaxing.

—-

“Hop give him some time,” She says gently.

“We’ve been to two stores,” Hopper throws up his hands, “I could have a whole wardrobe by now.”

“He’s trying, you can see that right?” Joyce reaches out and takes his hand in hers, “He’s trying.”

And he is. Billy shows them everything carefully, but then he seems to deflate when they ask what he likes. He hems and haws then says what he has is better, he doesn’t need it…

“I know,” Hop says quietly, “That’s why it’s so hard.”

Will makes a little noise and then sinks down in the plastic chair outside the dressing rooms.

“Honey? Is something wrong? You need to go to the bathroom?” She asks.

Will looks at his lap, “I… I was evesdropping again. Last night.”

“Will,” Hop’s shoulders sink, “We talked about this.”

“I didn’t know Billy was using the phone. I was going to call Mike,” Will shuffles down in his seat, looking more like Jonathan than anything else, “Billy was talking to Robin and he said… he said you’re going to make fun of him… call him…. You know that thing. So he’s trying to find something you like and then he’s just going to get that.” Will glances at Joyce guiltily.

“Something I like?” She asks quietly.

“N-No… Hop,” Will tips his chin down.

“I don’t care what he wears for Christ’s-“

“Shut it,” Joyce hisses, “He’ll hear you.”

Hop just sighs, “I’m inclined to just say I like the next thing he comes out in just to get it over with.”

“Don’t do that,” Joyce rolls her eyes, “He’ll get something he hates and never wear it.”

“He liked that black shirt,” Will says softly, “I think. The one over there. He was looking at it for a long time but he wouldn’t pick it out.”

“Go get it,” Joyce elbows Hop, “Size medium. No, small.”

When Billy comes out in a navy polo shirt that looks like it came out of Steve Harrington’s closet, Hop just shakes his head and hands Billy the black shirt.

“T-thanks,” Billy says softly.

“Looks like what you normally wear. I like it,” Hop says gruffly, fingering the collar of his own Hawaiian shirt.

Billy doesn’t say anything, but Joyce can see his fingers tangle in the soft material of the black button down. It’s a simple thing, just a black shirt with pearl snap buttons, but it looks like Billy when he comes out.

“Looks Good,” Hop nods, nudging Joyce, “Looks good right?”

She nods, her throat a little too tight to speak when she sees Billy play with the snaps, undoing one or two and looking at himself in the mirror, touching briefly to the brutal scar on his chest.

“It will look nice with your work vest too,” Will piped up, “Better than your red shirt.”

“Yeah,” Billy smirks, “Harrington says I look like Christmas.”

His eyes flash to Hop in the mirror, but Hopper just chuckles, “You kinda do. Family video has been looking awfully festive lately.”

Billy’s shoulders relax a little, “T-think he’ll like this one? Steve?”

Hopper nods, “Probably. But we can see if they have it in red too, so you can keep up the Christmas spirit.”

Billy’s jaw works and then he smiles, “Well, I do like red.”

It’s not that much easier after that. Joyce still has to ask, and ask again if Billy will get new jeans, but they finally get him a few new things.

Billy even picks out a Hawaiian shirt, faded burgundy with white and blue flowers. This time when Hop says he likes it, they both smile.

-*-*-*-

@hickory-smoked-ass tysm for this ask it was my light in the tunnel of a super hard work week.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Tarlos @flufftober day 3 (yes, finally)

"Wait, you love me?" "Always have."

Push (AO3)

Some missing moments from Push (S03E04) between TK waking up in the hospital to him coming home to the loft with Carlos.

(after every --- it's a new day)

------

“Hey.” TK said softly to a sleeping Carlos next to his bed. He gave his hand a squeeze. “Carlos.”

Carlos’ eyes flew open and he looked panicked for a moment before finding TK and a sleepy smile spread over his face.

“Hey.” TK said again.

“Hey yourself.” Carlos replied and moved his chair a little closer to the bed, pressing a kiss to TK’s knuckles when he settled down again. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Kind of cold. Still.”

It had been a rough 24 hours. From TK almost dying and Carlos trying to get himself to say goodbye, to him miraculously waking up and getting stronger by the hour.

They were back together but they both knew there were still some difficult conversations to be had. Later. For now though Carlos just sat by TK’s bed and held his hand, fingers lingering on his pulse point, just to remind himself he was there, he was ok, and most importantly, he was his again.

“The doctor said that’s to be expected. It’ll take your body some time to recover from everything.”

TK gave him an amused look.

“What?”

“Have you been talking to my doctor about me?”

“No, no, no. She came to talk to your dad earlier. He was here. And I just… heard it too. I wasn’t digging or anything.”

“Babe, relax, it’s ok. I don’t mind.” TK assured him and Carlos seemed to relax a little at that.

“Do you want me to go find a nurse and ask for another blanket? Or maybe a hot water bottle? I don’t know if they have that but I can ask.”

“No, I’m ok. I just want you.”

Carlos smiled.

“You have me.”

---

“Aren’t you uncomfortable in that chair?” TK asked. He’d woken up from a nap and Carlos was right there in the chair next to his bed. Right where he’d been the past 48 hours, only leaving the room when the medical staff forced him to, or for quick bathroom breaks.

“I’m fine.” Carlos insisted. He sat up a little straighter and cracked his neck and rolled the stiffness from his shoulders. “Your dad went to get some food and call your mom. I think she’s planning on flying out as soon as the storm lets up.”

“Is it still going?” TK glanced at the window but the blinds were closed.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been outside in two days.” Carlos admitted reluctantly. “My mom dropped off a change of clothes for me and some food while you were asleep.” He explained.

TK nodded and they sat in silence for a while. He hated how awkward things still were between them. He’d never had a problem talking to Carlos, not even when he was still in denial he was falling in love with him.

“Don’t you have a shift?” he asked after a while.

Carlos shook his head.

“I had some time off scheduled. To… work on the loft... They made me take the days.”

“Oh…”

“I only got called in because of the storm. And because Marj was back at it again. I didn’t want anyone else picking her up.”

“Wait you arrested Marjan?” TK asked, carefully steering the conversation away from painful topics.

“Yeah. A few times actually. Didn’t she tell you?”

“I haven’t seen much of her lately. Fire got moved to other houses in the city and with the three of us working for Paragon… We just don’t really get to hang like we used to.”

Carlos nodded.

“Do you still hate working for Paragon?”

“So much.” TK groaned. “They only care about money and profits. If I take too long helping someone, I get called into the office to explain myself. But… it’s the only way I can keep working with Cap and Nancy, so I don’t have a choice.”

“Well… I’m here if you want to vent.”

---

“Hey, I found an episode of grand designs. It's probably a rerun though, so you’ve probably already seen it.” TK told Carlos when he came back into the room after a shower.

The nurses had started to take pity on him and his back, and had worked their magic to get a second bed put into TK's room as well as given him a towel and some soap so he could freshen up.

It had been four days since TK had all but come back from the dead and Carlos was slowly starting to accept he wasn't going to disappear or die on him if he left the room for more than five minutes.

“I haven't watched much TV lately. I picked up a lot of extra shifts. I uh… didn't want to be in the loft on my own. I mostly just went to bed the minute I got back after work.” Carlos told him and sat down in the chair next to TK's bed again.

“Let's watch it together then. I think it's just started.” TK scooted over and patted the mattress. Plenty of room for both of us.

“No, no, I don't want to hurt you.”

“You won't. Come on, I want to cuddle with my boyfriend.”

Carlos hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and giving in.

“You play dirty.” He said as he carefully got on the bed next to TK, wrapping his arms around him.

“Maybe. But it works.” TK replied, slipping an arm around Carlos' waist and getting comfortable in his embrace.

They watched the show without really paying attention to it, just happy to be close to each other again.

---

“And then Paul got stuck inside the ice house with the girl, but we got them out. And her dad was so happy, he wanted to buy us a Ferrari.” Mateo excitedly told them.

Mateo, Judd, Paul, and Marjan had stopped by to see how he was doing and catch him up on everything that had happened the past few days.

“Uh no, he offered to buy me anything I wanted, you two just tried to talk him into buying you expensive cars.” Paul cut in.

“Hey, I’m a new dad, I deserve to celebrate.” Judd replied.

“Celebrate by having someone buy you a sports car?” TK asked laughingly. “Anyway, show me a picture of my goddaughter.”

“Who says you get to be her godfather?” Marjan asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Almost dying does not automatically give you godparent rights.”

“Oh and being a social media star does?”

“No but being a kickass firefighter might.”

“So that makes me her godfather.” Paul said, daring the others to disagree. “Since you are no longer a firefighter.” He pointed at TK. “And out of the two of us, I’m the one who saved the girl.”

“Technically you didn’t save anyone. The rest of the crew saved you both.” Marjan pointed out.

“Alright quit your fighting. We haven’t decided on godparents yet. But my brothers and Grace’s sisters are higher on the list than y’all.” Judd told them. “But you’re all more than welcome to babysit.”

“Sure. I’ll be happy to.” Marjan said, a little too loudly. “Auntie Marjan will teach her how to deal with all the stupid boys in her life.”

TK laughed.

“She’s only a few days old, Marj.”

“So we’ll start early so when she gets to an age where boys become annoying, she’ll know how to deal with them.” Marjan replied. “Like when they’re obviously still in love with the guy they broke up with and won’t tell you why but just mope around for months.”

“Well you won’t have to deal with that anymore.” TK told her and looked at Carlos who was sitting next to him on the bed, quietly observing and letting the madness wash over him. “Right babe?”

Carlos just smiled and met him halfway when he leaned in for a kiss.

---

“TK will you please tell your mother I am not lying or trying to placate her when I say you’re doing better?” Owen said, exasperated, walking into TK’s hospital room, holding his phone away from his ear.

TK had been moved out of the ICU and onto a regular ward that morning, but thankfully still had a room to himself.

He took the phone from his dad.

“Hey mom, dad is not lying. This time.” He joked and laughed at Owen’s reaction. “I’m ok.”

“What does your doctor say about that?” Gwyn asked. “I know what you and your dad are like.”

“Mom, I really am ok. The doctors actually think I can go home soon.” TK lied. He was desperate to get out of hospital but none of the doctors had said anything about discharging him yet.

“As soon as the weather improves and Jonah’s ear infection clears up, we’re on the next flight out.” Gwyn promised. “I hate the thought of you on your own in that hospital because your dad has to single handedly save Austin from a blizzard.”

“I'm not on my own. Carlos is here.” TK said, ignoring his mom’s dig at his father and reaching out for Carlos’ hand.

“Oh Carlos is huh, does that mean the romance is back on?”

TK laughed.

“Don’t pretend dad hasn’t told you.”

“He might have mentioned him being at the hospital a lot.” Gwyn admitted. “But you know what your father is like, he never tells me anything important and leaves out all of the details.”

“There are no details. Carlos is here, we talked, I love him, he loves me… and we’re back together. We know what not to do now. We want to make it work. We are going to make it work.” TK said determined and looked at Carlos who squeezed his hand in confirmation.

Suddenly he heard a loud wailing in the background and Gwyn sighed.

“Jonah just woke up. I have to go honey, I’ll see you soon. Give Carlos my love.”

“I will. Give Jonah a kiss from me. Bye mom.” TK replied and ended the call.

“Wait, you love me?” Carlos asked, mischievous smile tugging at his lips.

TK had missed that smile.

He put a hand on Carlos’ cheek and leaned in.

“Always have.” He murmured right before kissing him to show him exactly how much.

Next to them Owen said something about giving them some privacy but neither of them noticed.

---

“Hello TK, good to see you again.” Andrea Reyes walked into TK’s hospital room, making both him and Carlos sit up straighter.

“Mama, what are you doing here?” Carlos asked her.

“Coming to see how TK is doing of course.” She said matter-of-factly. “I ran into Owen yesterday and he mentioned how the two of you have been camping out here, so I thought I’d come visit and check on you both.”

“I’m sorry for not keeping you updated. I was going to come over but things have been a little hectic here, especially the first few days and - ”

“It’s ok.” Andrea interrupted and looked at the two men for a moment and smiled. “Carlos, will you go get me a coffee from the restaurant downstairs?”

“There is a machine down the hall… The coffee isn’t great but it’s drinkable, or I could try getting you something from the nurse’s lounge. They won’t mind. They know me by now.” Carlos rambled.

“Carlitos.” Andrea started. “Por favor.” She just said and waited.

Carlos sighed and got up.

“Si mama.”

She waited until Carlos had left the room and then sat down next to TK’s bed.

“If you’re coming to give me the shovel talk and tell me not to hurt Carlos again, you won’t have to. I love him and I won’t ever hurt him again, I promise.”

Andrea smiled.

“That’s good to know sweetheart.”

“I’m really sorry I hurt him.”

“I know. He does too.”

TK nodded.

“I know I’ll have to earn your trust again after everything, but I promise I will do anything to convince you I’m serious about Carlos. I love him and I want to be with him. Forever. If that’s how long he’ll have me. And that’s probably not what you want to hear but…” TK trailed off, not really knowing what it was he wanted to say.

“Carlos is a big boy, he can make his own decisions about his love life.” Andrea told him. “If he’s happy, I’m happy. And if you boys want to be together again, then I’m the first to welcome you back into the Reyes family.”

“Really?”

“Of course. All I’ve ever wanted is for my kids to be happy. And you make Carlos happy, anyone can see that.”

“He makes me happy too.”

“That’s all that matters.” Andrea patted his hand. “Now when you get out of here, you boys should come over for dinner sometime. Gabriel would love to see you again too and I’ll make ropa vieja the way Carlos’ grandmother makes it. It’s his favourite.”

---

“I’m going stir crazy in here.” TK complained. “I haven’t been outside in almost two weeks.”

“The last time you were outside you nearly died.” Carlos reminded him.

“Yeah but I didn’t. And now I feel like I might die of boredom.”

“Oh I’m boring you am I? I’ve been in this hospital just as long as you, sleeping in these uncomfortable chairs, and this is the thanks I get?” Carlos said, trying to sound serious and angry but the smile on his face gave him away. “Give me five minutes.” He got up and quickly kissed TK before leaving the room.

“Where are you going?”

“Five minutes!”

“Carlos!”

“I’ll be right back!”

True to his word, Carlos did come back within five minutes, but TK wasn’t thrilled with what he’d brought with him.

“What’s that?”

“Someone who has spent as much time in hospitals as you have should know what this is.”

TK rolled his eyes.

“I’m not getting in that thing.”

“Why not? It’s the perfect solution to your boredom problem.”

“I can walk.”

“You’ve barely walked more than 10 steps the past two weeks. Come on, get in.”

“Why do I have to get in a wheelchair? How is this a solution?”

“Because..” Carlos started, grabbing a blanket from the bed and draping it over the chair. “We’re going out.”

“Out? Out where? I can’t just leave this place. My mom will fly over here and drag me back herself.”

Carlos chuckled, knowing Gwyn would probably at least try to do exactly that.

“Just downstairs. To the hospital garden. The weather is nice.”

“How do you know, you’ve been stuck in here with me the whole time.”

“One of the nurses just told me.” Carlos said laughingly. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air and maybe some ice cream.”

“Are you seriously bribing me with ice cream?”

“That depends… is it working?”

After a few minutes of back and forth, TK reluctantly got in the wheelchair and let Carlos wheel him to the hospital garden where they sat down on a bench.

“This is nice.” TK admitted, closing him eyes and tilting his face up to the sun.

“You mean I was right? This was a good idea.” Carlos teased.

“Shut up.” TK shot back, happily accepting the kiss Carlos pressed to his temple.

They stayed on the bench for a while, sitting close together to keep warm because TK refused to cover up with the blanket and choosing to wrap himself in Carlos’ jacket instead.

“I can’t wait to get out of here. I feel fine and I’m just taking up a bed when there’s someone out there who might really need it.”

“I’m sure they won’t keep you here longer than necessary.”

“I know…” TK sighed. “I’m just bored. And I miss my own bed.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, is that so strange? It’s a hospital, not a hotel. The beds aren’t that comfortable. And I’m fed up with the blood tests and the IVs and the wires they keep attaching to me.”

“I know. I get that. I just… there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Ok… Sounds serious…”

“No. Yes. I mean. Yes it’s serious. But nothing bad, I promise.”

“That does nothing to reassure me.”

Carlos shook his head. The conversation was not going the way he’d planned.

“I was hoping... That when you can get out of here... You would want to come back to the loft. With me. Permanently.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you? Again?” TK asked, a smile spreading over his face.

“Yes. Again. I don’t want you to go back to your dad’s house, I want you to come home with me. The loft was always supposed to be ours… but I understand if you think it’s too soon or you’re not ready or something but -”

TK shut him up with a kiss.

“There’s nothing I want more.” He vowed. “But you’re helping me tell my dad.”

[crguang]

did you see the 2.5 banner leaks? I am actually crying, they came out like a week ago, but I’m not sure if you pay a ton of attention. apparently 2.5 first half is supposed to be Feixiao, Robin, Kafka, and Black Swan. I haven’t finished playing the other quests (idk what they’re called), the genius society one, the belebog one, and the new Luofu one so I don’t really have an opinion on any of the characters, Feixiao is pretty cool, and I like her design, but that’s abt it. I should also get a Jiaoqiu for my Acheron, but I have 75 pulls exactly and I need Kafka so bad, I’m actually going to cry if I lose my 50/50. I would do anything for her.

Even tho I should get a black swan, for my Acheron bc they deserve to be together, but…I’m not in love w her, like I can acknowledge that she is hot, like extremely hot like I will stop to admire her, her voice is so sexy, but I’m not giggling and kicking my feet. Actually that’s the cause for most women what’s a man…but we don’t need to get into my sexuality crisis rn.

I also should probably get a Robin, but I should’ve pulled for ruan mei, and I used my guaranteed on firefly, who I didn’t rlly need, since I have Acheron. Hggsbsbbd all my worries will be resolved whenever I get Kafka. Or smth, idk at least I can brute force my way thru Genshin, but now I actually have to think. I MISS HER PLS COME BACK KAFKA

-🌠

sorry… haha, sorry. um. why would there be four 5 star characters in one half of the banner…? i saw the leaks when they came out i just assumed that feixiao would be running with one of the three on that list (i’m expecting black swan because she was rumoured to rerun with jiaoqiu and it ended up being sparkle instead). why would they put 4 characters, two who are necessary for the DoT team and two necessary for a FuA team, TOGETHER? the robin-topaz-ruan mei-firefly banner run was nightmarish enough like i’m not believing anything until we get it confirmed because i’ll actually lose my mind. i pulled for jiaoqiu cause i was guaranteed and he’s a great unit for both DoT and acheron, and planned to pull swan + lc afterwards so do not tell me that pink bitch is coming back at the same time i will TWEAK.

the good thing about acheron is that you don’t really neeeeeed 5* supports because she’s a tank on her own but it definitely helps and jiaoqiu + swan are her best supports (ignoring you saying you’re not in love wth her bc i will not accept blasphemy🙅🏾‍♂️) if you have firefly then yeah ruan mei works better with her and since u don’t have her, robin is diverse enough to be worth pulling if you need a good support even if she works better in FuA teams. i would say to focus on the kind of team you want, since you’re getting kafka and will play DoT, swan is like the best unit for her rn (AND she works with acheron, see how great my wife is) but there’s always f2p options like guinaifen and sampo.

team composition is exhausting im really hoping those leaks are false i’ll take literally anyone over kafswan in the same patch because i have 30 pulls and a dream rn and if i dont get them both i will end my life

[the-parentheticals]

clothes food shelter - love and miss you

Warnings: Sierra being Sierra, I guess?

Summary: He'll want her. Please, please let him want her.

(or, sierra figures out the concept of love. she does it all wrong.)

Notes: Two new fandoms? We love to see it. Okay, first, any Milgram fans associate her with Mahiru? No? Just me? Am I the only one who is actually into Milgram here? Because, I mean, it's great, you totally should, but also that kind of toxic love...mwah. Title's from Mahiru's second trial song, I Love You.

Second of all, I love Sierra, I love superfans, I love her views on love, and I do really wish we had some more depth to her character other than Cody. So, here we go! I...tried. Got lazy at the end, but it'll do.

Third, this is for neglect / abandonment for @badthingshappenbingo.

read on ao3

Sierra Martin only remembers one thing about her father.

She'll hear the story later, between late-night margaritas her mother pours out of a pitcher kept on top of the fridge, but she wants to find things for herself. She has to. It's the only way she's actually gonna know. So she has to start with herself.

She's four years old, and she's curled up on the armchair that's more patches than not. Her mom's asleep, probably. Her dad's not, definitely.

"Sierra-berra?"

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you in bed?"

"Couldn't sleep," she mumbles. "Daddy...?"

"Your mom's asleep, too. Finally." He smiles like it's their little secret.

"But you're married! You have to do everything together!"

"No, we don't. Sometimes, Daddy doesn't want to."

Sierra stares at him and thinks about what this means. She decides she doesn't know and that her mom also probably doesn't know.

"You...don't?"

"No. Now, come on, back to bed."

Her dad's tall. Not as tall as her mom, but still tall to a little kid. He doesn't hug her. He doesn't pick her up and tuck her back into bed. He just fills her plastic cup that has the face of someone she gets to know very well over the next few years.

Sierra drinks the whole cup in one go. She's still not tired. She goes to bed anyway because it's her dad and he's looking at her.

That must have been the last time he was there. According to her mother, anyway.

The rest of elementary is a blur, okay grades and no one to sit with and reruns of old movies starring Chris McLean. She listens to her mom a lot. She takes up the family skills to occupy herself while her mom is on the phone with their landlord.

She meets a new girl. She likes the new girl. The new girl does not like Sierra. The new girl invites Sierra to her birthday party. She does not tell Sierra the address. Sierra follows her home anyway.

She sits in the attic for three hours, looks through every box, and she knows a lot more about the new girl than anyone wants to.  Her mom is asleep on the couch when she comes in from the window. Sierra closes the curtains and eats reheated rice.

There's a breakthrough.

Things get easier. She finds people. People who won't see her, or her mom. People who won't mind.

They don't know she's there, of course. But she finds them out, and from there gets little bits of things to make life easier. She games on the library computers and makes excuses to avoid talking in voice chat. Falls asleep on the chairs and gets kicked out at closing time. It's better, but she's still missing something.

She's sixteen, and she's asleep on their excuse of a bed or a sofa or heap of fabric. Her mom's smiling, for once.

"Sierra!"

"Yep?"

"Chris has a new show!"

And somehow, that's the only thing that breaks through her tired greyness.

She looks things up and learns to type quickly enough that people stare over her shoulder. The show's called Total Drama. And she has to know everything.

She auditions in front of a bedsheet taped to the doorway over the absolute disaster that is their apartment and says "Chris" way too many times to be normal. They don't accept her. That's okay.

She gets her hands on all the promos she can, and for once she doesn't feel like she has to hide it from her mother. She memorizes every name, every background detail of the bios, every single moment she can get her hands on, and then she goes home and watches the premiere. She does not spoil it for her mom. She especially does not spill the leaks.

If she knows everything about the people on there, aren't they her friends?

Cody's her favourite, really. She's always had a soft spot for nerds. For the underdog. It hurts, to see him being mauled by a bear. But he gets better, and she keeps watching anyway.

Things start to get better. Just a little. And it feels plasticky and fake when her mom sits down next to her and tries to give her hugs. It doesn't feel like Sierra's mom anymore, doesn't feel like the person Sierra goes to when things are hard. She misses having that.

Someone who can really and sincerely love her. That's all she wants.

Why wouldn't Cody be the one to do it? He wants a girl. Perhaps not any girl, but that's a small detail.

She dyes her hair purple with a five-dollar box in a Tim Hortons bathroom. She auditions again. She'll be with him. And he'll want her. Please, please let him want her.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023--Day 1: A Christmas Miracle (1/3)

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 1868

Other chapters: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Note:  This story was originally written in 2013, at the very end of the Neverland arc.  It fits within my “A Wish Your Heart Makes” universe, so when there’s talk about “the second curse” or Camelot, it’s referring to that, not canon events.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A Christmas Miracle–Ch. 1

“No offense, Mary Margaret,” Emma said skeptically, “but that sounds like a terrible idea.” She walked quickly beside her mother, her head down and her gloved hands in her pockets. It was cold!

“Oh come on, Emma,” Mary Margaret coaxed, “It’ll be fun! And it’s Christmas; families should be together.”

“Yeah,” Emma answered with a sidelong glance, “normal families should be together, but what we have…well we should be the poster family for ‘dysfunctional’.”

They continued walking through Storybrook’s main street. Emma looked up into the sky. It looked like snow. Great, just what she needed!

“Now Emma,” Mary Margaret said, “you know that’s not really true. Look how well we’ve all worked together lately. First Neverland and then the new curse. I think we’re all starting to meld together.”

Emma sighed. “Let me get this straight. You want to have a party on Christmas Eve with the whole family…me, you and David, Henry, Neal, Regina, Gold and Belle?”

“Yeah!” Mary Margaret said looking eagerly into her daughter’s face. “I’ve thought it all out! We’ll rent out Granny’s. We can decorate a tree and have a white elephant gift exchange and sing carols and just…you know…follow all the Christmas traditions!”

“There better be a lot of eggnog at that party,” Emma muttered, “because we’re gonna need it.”

The two women turned the corner and headed toward Granny’s. Emma sighed again. It had been a week since they had broken the Camelot curse and everyone had come home to Storybrook. A festive atmosphere pervaded the whole town. Christmas was only a few days away, and it seemed Storybrook’s residents planned to celebrate with a vengeance this year. They had put up the largest Christmas tree Emma had ever seen in the town square. Everyone had contributed their own unique ornaments, and Regina and Mr. Gold had used their magic to deck the upper branches, too high for anyone to reach…even with a ladder.

Emma should be happier, she knew she should, but she couldn’t help the feeling of dread that covered her like a blanket. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. She didn’t trust the calm and the peace. Between the original curse, she and her mother being transported to the Enchanted Forest, Henry being taken to Neverland, and the new curse…well, it seemed that every time they had a chance to take a breath something else terrible happened.

“What on earth is that all about?” Mary Margaret asked laughing as she pointed a gloved finger toward Granny’s. Emma peered in the direction her mother was pointing and couldn’t help the laugh that burst forth from her. There stood Grumpy dressed in a Christmas elf costume, complete with hat and pointy boots. He sang “Jingle bells” at the top of his lungs while somehow simultaneously scowling with all his might.

“Grumpy,” Mary Margaret said through her laughter, “what are you doing? I’ve never known you to be overflowing with Christmas spirit.”

“Let me tell you sister,” Grumpy said frowning in their direction, “if Happy ever offers to make a bet with you. Run. As fast as you can. In the opposite direction.”

Emma laughed as she opened the door to Granny’s and gestured Mary Margaret in. Mary Margaret headed to their favorite booth and Emma followed. She glanced quickly through the diner as she slid into her place opposite her mother. She refused to admit, even to herself, that she was looking for him, but she couldn’t deny the wave of disappointment she felt when she found the diner completely lacking a certain leather-clad pirate. They had worked so closely together over the past few weeks, first in New York, then in the Enchanted Forest, and finally in Camelot. He had become such a normal part of her life that it felt weird if a day went by when she didn’t see him. Surely that was the cause of her disappointment at not seeing him; surely there was nothing more.

But the fact was, she had wondered those last few days in Camelot whether…something…was starting to develop between them. He had been so, she didn’t know, devoted to her. Sometimes she would look up and see him gazing at her…and his gaze was as tender as a caress.

He had as much as told her he loved her in Echo Cave on Neverland, but then they’d gotten back to Storybrook, and he’d been so distant. It was almost like he was pushing Neal on her. She just didn’t get it. How was she supposed to figure him out? If she couldn’t even figure him out, how the hell was she supposed to figure out how she felt about him?

“So,” Emma said, idly picking up a menu from the rack near the window, “is David meeting us here?”

“Yeah,” Mary Margaret said glancing at her own menu, “He said he’s running a little late, but he should be here soon.”

The radio blared “Santa Baby” as several more people rushed into the diner, each clearly in a hurry to get out of the cold winter wind.

“Emma,” Mary Margaret said hesitantly, “you don’t really mind, do you? I mean about the family Christmas party.”

Emma dropped her eyes. “No, I guess not,” she answered, “Just don’t get your hopes up, ok? You get this group of people together, there’s bound to be fireworks.”

“Well,” Mary Margaret said with a smile, “that’ll just be more decoration for Christmas!”

“You are such an eternal optimist!” Emma said shaking her head. She couldn’t stop the small smile that draped her lips.

“Eternal optimist,” David said as he slid into the booth next to Mary Margaret and gave her a quick kiss, “you must be talking about my wife.”

“The very one,” Emma said unwrapping the straw Ruby had just brought with her iced tea.

“Henry not coming today?” David asked after giving Emma a hug.

“Nope,” Emma answered, “he’s with Neal today.”

Her parents exchanged a quick concerned glance.

“How’s everything going,” David asked, “you know, between you and Neal?”

Emma looked down. She supposed she might as well tell them. They’d been subtly…and not so subtly pushing her toward Neal for the past week. Why did they insist she be with him?

“There is nothing between me and Neal,” she said looking straight into her father’s eyes. “We had a talk the day after we all got back. I’m sure there’s a part of me that will always love him, but I’ve moved on. We’re both different people now. We had our moment, and now it’s gone.”

“Are you sure, honey?” Mary Margaret asked, reaching over and taking Emma’s hand. Emma smiled at her mother. After a lifetime of being on her own, it was nice to have someone care about her…worry about her happiness.

“Yeah, mom,” Emma said. The joy on Mary Margaret’s face at her use of that one little word was well worth it. “I’m sure. I’ve seen true love. I see how you and Dad are together, and, well, that’s not how it was with me and Neal.”

“But..” her mom tried again. Why was she so insistent?

“Mom,” Emma cut in, “If we’re going to have a Christmas party the day after tomorrow, we better start planning.”

Mary Margaret looked up at her for another moment and then slowly nodded. They talked and laughed throughout their meal. It was wonderful to just have a nice normal dinner with her parents. No curses, no lost boys, now evil shadows, no life-or-death catastrophes, no imminent danger.

“So then Archie slipped on the icy sidewalk,” David said, “he managed to stay upright, but he dropped his grocery bag, and it spilled all over the road. Before he had a chance to pick anything up Pongo shot past him, grabbed his deli meat and had a nice little feast!”

“Hm,” Emma said sipping the last of her iced tea, “I guess I better get on city management to put down some salt on the sidewalks.”

“Yeah,” David said glancing out the window, “looks like it’s starting to snow.”

“Ugh!” Emma groaned following the direction her father was looking. “I hate snow.”

“Oh, come now love,” came a silky voice from her right. Emma’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice, “surely not.”

Emma looked up into Hook’s blue eyes and smiled in spite of herself. She scooted to her left and patted the seat next to her. He smiled and took the seat she indicated.

“Yep,” she answered him, “detest it. Snow means traffic accidents, icy sidewalks, and general headaches for the sheriff’s department.”

Hook turned toward her and smiled. His hook brushed her hand, and a jolt of electricity shot from the spot throughout her whole body. What was wrong with her? “No, love,” he said, “snow means snowmen and sleigh rides and snowball fights.”

“I don’t have time for any of that,” Emma said, looking up at the handsome pirate.

“Perhaps you should make time,” he said. Was it just her imagination or had he put a little emphasis on that last word?

David cleared his throat, and Emma started. Had she really just been looking deeply into Hook’s eyes? In front of her parents? What was wrong with her? She needed to get a grip!

“Hook,” David said with a nod in the pirate’s direction.

“Charming,” Hook answered with an identical nod of the head.

“At any rate,” Hook said to the table at large picking up the conversation where it had left off, “with Christmas only a few days off, it is only right we should get some snow.”

Emma glanced up at him and saw a small wistful expression on his face. Did he have anyone to spend Christmas with or would he have to spend a lonely day by himself? The thought hurt her somehow.

“Speaking of Christmas,” Emma said before she could think better of it, “we’re having a little family celebration the day after tomorrow. Would you like to come?”

Now where had that come from? Wasn’t the party going to be awkward enough as it was without adding Hook to the mix? Did she really want him there? Yes, said the small, honest voice in her head. The fact was, it seemed he belonged with them. With me the voice insisted. She gave her head a tiny shake as if to clear it. What was wrong with her?

He smiled down at her, but shook his head. “I don’t wish to impose on a family celebration.”

“Oh come on,” Emma cajoled smiling up at him, “after all you’ve done for us, both in getting Henry back and in helping to break the new curse, you practically are family”

“We really would be happy to have you,” Mary Margaret said, reaching out to pat Hook’s arm.

His smile grew. “I wouldn’t miss it for all the rum in the Caribbean.”

NEXT CHAPTER-->

[ctrlsznwrites]

to wakanda

summary. after not hearing from her older brother for months, she has a few visitors at her doorstep. pairing. erik 'killmonger' stevens x aniya stevens [sibling!oc] author's note. i'm redoing this series to update it, so show me some love and hopefully i can get some new material out soon. word count. 1.23k

masterlist

Aniya was sitting in her apartment on a hot summer night in Oakland, watching the first reruns of Chicago Med. Her mind hadn’t been at rest since the last time she heard form her brother after he killed Claw before making his way to Wakanda. Letting out a deep sigh she continued to focus on the tv show while eating her ice cream. When the drink she had on her coffee stable started to shake, sitting up from her previous position. Reaching for the remote, she muted the television trying to pay close attention to the sounds from outside her apartment.

Moving quietly, she set her ice cream down on the coffee table, when there was a knock at her door. Cursing under her breathe she quickly got the gun she keeps taped under her coffee table, making her way to the door. Aniya cocked the gun taking  a deep breathe before opening the door to only be met with the Dora Milaje.

Much to her dismay, she fixed her glasses on her face before pulling her lower lips to show her mark before letting the women in. Soon enough the Black Panther followed behind them, Aniya watched as the five people made their way into her home judging her surroundings. She quickly checked the hall one last time before closing the door and locking it.

“Just give me on moment, I’m gonna put this away and we can talk about why you’re here and how you even know I exist.” Walking away before anyone could answer.

Aniya’s mind was racing as she packed away her gun, how they found her. Was it because of Erik? Was he okay? And why after all this time are they just now coming to see her? What could have happened to warrant this surprise and completely unwelcome visit.

Making her way form her coat closet in the hallway of her unit, she made her way back into the living room to see the Dora standing around her cousin who was sitting on her couch. An unpleased scuff left her mouth as she took in the whole scene in front of her.

“Excuse me your highness, I don’t know how they raised you where your from. But you speak before you take a seat in someone’s home here.” She spoke abruptly sitting across from him.

T’Challa’s face morphed into one of shock standing quickly not wanting to make this difficult trip any worse. This caused Aniya to chuckle before extending her hand for him to sit again.

“Now, what do I owe this pleasure to? Came to make nice with the traitors other love child?” T’Challa could not only hear the sarcasm that dripped from her voice but also the hurt.

“N’Jadka has requested you presence in Wakanda, he only recently made us aware of you.”

Aniya let out a chuckle of disbelief before looking him up and down. “So, let me just make this make sense for me, just bear with me please. After not hearing from the only living relative I have left, for five almost six months. He all of a sudden wants me to just drop everything I have going for myself to join him in the country to which killed me father? He can kiss my ass, and I mean that.”

Sitting back on her seat for a moment, she bit her lip trying to keep the tears at bay realizing there has to be a reason as to why it took him so long to reach out to her. And there is a reason he wants her to be with him.

Rubbing her hands up and down her face to dry her tears before trying to make sense of everything. “Alright, I’ll go but first tell me why after five months reached out for me now. And not when he got there? What happened?”

T’Challa watched as he saw the resolve of his little cousin break, seeing that she felt as if she was abandoned by her family, especially the only family she knew personally. His heart hurt for everything she went through the last few months, knowing what her brother did and the reason why she feels the way she does.

“Well for starters his entrance into Wakanda…” T’Challa went on to tell Aniya about what happened once her older brother made his way into Wakanda. As he told her about Erik dying and being revived  she fell into complete hysterics knowing that once he woke up he didn’t have family with him.

Along with the fact that he could’ve been dead forever and she wouldn’t have known, not being able to put his body to rest. Learning about everything he went through and that he was willing to leave her by herself just didn’t sit right with her. It honestly broke her spirit in a way she didn’t even expect.

Aniya let out a sigh as she moved her hands up and down her face. “So, did you know about me after he was hospitalized, or did he tell you after he woke up?”

“We found out about you after he was hospitalized, but before we could reach out to you he woke up and wanted for you to be there when he was ready.”

Aniya nodded clasping her hands open and closed in anger that her brother didn’t want her to be there for him. “Give me an hour and I’ll be ready.” Getting up she took her almost now melted ice cream, putting it in the freezer.

As she walked to her room grabbed her suitcase, while picking out clothes she saw her reflection in her mirror. Her hand went to her necklace, it was the only thing she had of her mother. It was a necklace her father gave her before he died, and her mother gave her the necklace before she died 15 years ago. 

Sniffling she looked away and continued to pack trying not to think about the fact that Erik was willing to leave her alone in this world knowing he was the only real family she had. They had gone through everything together and she didn’t even know the real reason he went to Wakanda.

“I swear to god when I see that nigga it’s on sight.” She mumbled to herself as she finished zipping up her bag.

Slipping on a pair of vans, she grabbed a few more things before making her way to the front where her three unexpected guests were. Nodding, she signaled she was ready to go. They continued their way to the roof after she had locked up her apartment.

They all boarded the aircraft where there was a beyond awkward silence. Looking around she saw how advanced everything was and now she understood why her father betrayed his country. They got to live in a utopia without worrying while her people were dying for just existing. She scuffed feeling this bubble of anger sit in her chest that she had to deal with her best friend being shot in front of her while her cousins didn’t have to worry about living to see the next day.

“Is something wrong?” A Dora asked looking over her shoulder.

Aniya shook her head no, deciding she didn’t trust herself not to snap at the older woman. Closing her eyes, she leaned into her seat trying to relax, she was finally going to Wakanda.

[perilegs]

i was supposed to continue ati's rerun earlier today but i ended up booting dao. and then getting distracted for several hours. but i'm so back now! does anyone want to read about 5 pages of notes i've made about her as i've been playing? idc about the answer, here they are <33

Origin:

Killed one of the humans as an example. She can be very distrustful of them near her clan.

Cocky, Brash, A bit rude, very sure of herself, kinda rude and a menace, loves her mom (Ashalle). 

Is protective of the clan but like, physically, not verbally. As in, she will eliminate physical threats or ruffle a kid’s hair for doing a good job or put in extra effort to ask someone how they’re doing and sitting with someone if they seem like they need it or whatever. She does care. But she’s not going to say how much she cares out loud. She prefers to show it in other ways. Ati would find herself flustered if she actually had to tell someone how much love she has. That’s embarrassing. She can eventually sometimes be a bit less emotionally stunted around those she trusts.

“When mommy elf and a daddy elf love each other very much…” upon asked how the dalish came to be

Cannot bear the thought that maybe there was something that she could have done to stop Tamlen’s fate. “Why are you looking at me like that. It’s not my fault.” Very defensive about it.

Don’t cast me away, please

“I don’t want to lose you too.” Did the keeper have to say that. Ati already felt guilty about Tamlen. It would be later when Ati realized the keeper was right, it wouldn’t benefit anyone if she just decided to die in her clan. The keeper seems to hold the Grey Wardens in high regard.

Dragged out of the clan, kicking and screaming. Not really, she gave some very teary “I don’t wanna go, please this is all i’ve ever known” goodbyes. It was highly uncharacteristic of the overconfident Atish’an. She was always very sure of herself and raring to go and explore the world, and so very inquisitive, loving to ask questions about anything and everything from the clanmates who did trading with human villages.

Ostagar:

The trip to Ostagar made Ati a bit numb bc she realized there’s really no fighting her fate. More worn out than angry by Ostagar. Clearly unhappy. Still hostile to most, since i guess hostility and overconfidence are the only two acceptable emotions to show to the outside world.

I am no friend of yours, human lord

Finds Alistair alright, maybe a bit annoying (she does not realize they’re both Like That)

Alistair is a major history buff, knows everything about blights, grey wardens, and old gods

Definitely respected Morrigan at first meeting, she could see she was not like most humans, she felt closer to chasind than other humans. Morrigan is a random woman living in the woods and we were the ones who stumbled upon her area. Her mother seems alright albeit a bit. strange…

Tower of Ishal: confused as to tfs going on, she was dragged out of her clan to hold a torch so obviously she’s pissed but something’s not right.. The action is a nice change of pace and helps Ati forget other things. 

Seeing something like the darkspawn orge is enough to change a woman. If the blight isn’t stopped and darkspawn roam Ferelden. What if one of those showed up to her clan? Atish’an doesn’t even dare to think about it. 

Hearing Morrigan tell her the battle was lost, Ati’s stomach dropped. She felt helpless, but she wouldn’t give up on her clan this easily. It would have been humiliating to return now, all of her crying and anger in vain. She can’t yet again be the reason even more of her clanmates lives are lost.

Definitely respects Flemeth for reasons unknown. Ati thinks she has a strange, powerful vibe to her.

Seeing Morrigan’s mother cast her away in such a manner made Atish’an feel a pang in her heart. Morrigan was like her, yearning to experience what it was like outside her home, but not wanting to leave when it came to it. Ati admired Morrigan’s strength in how she handled the matter. Ati decided she’d stick close to Morrigan. Never thought a human could be so similar to herself. 

Lothering:

“yea might as well” type of attitude towards helping people. ati finds it strangely rewarding

“Blood isn’t all that important” @ Bodahn :’)

Ati decided she might as well get to know her companions a bit at camp since she’s going to have to stick with them for a looong time if they want to get help in stopping the blight. And she doesn’t want to feel any lonelier than she already does.

Morrigan dare i ask of your own mother - “I love her. What else do you want to know?” Why did she say that. She might as well have just opened her chest to bare her heart to a complete stranger.

Alistair is helping Ati have her silly moments. She sympathises with Alistair a bit, and is showing him compassion.

Atish’an appreciates the conversations she has with Morrigan. Morrigan seems nice in her own way, and she often says things that force Ati to stop and think. In the long run, it’s helping Ati mature a bit and Morrigan break down her walls.

Redcliffe:

The silly pathetic endearing human she’s been travelling with, who is her senior warden yet leaves all the important decisions to Ati, is technically the heir to the throne. She finds this hilarious

Down bad for the bann. (Ati has licked her fair share of lampposts and then some).

Circle:

Jumping at any chance to defend the mages

Oh? Wynne’s here? She’s kind of annoying but DAMN what a healer. Atish’an is thinking that she would be useful to have around to fight the darkspawn. Baby’s first rational work thought :’)

Loghain sent a fucking assassin after them? Atish’an is terrified but god if being powerful enough to have an assassin sent after you is ego boosting. For some reason beyond her, she doesn’t think Zevran is lying about what he’s saying. It could be because he looks like home. It’s been a while since she’s seen other elves around, and his tattoos remind her of vallaslin. Not that they’re the vallaslin she would regognize.

bislut4bislut but like. completely different brands of it. ati does it for fun whereas zevran is trained to be like that

The way Zevran talks so openly about his past is throwing Ati off. How can he just reveal these things to her? (Does Ati notice how Zevran is undermining his own experiences trying to tell what the crows did was practical and that there were benefits? Does she notice how he feels when Ati tells him what he went through was awful? I am going to cry about Zevran’t approval changes right this second.) 

Hearing Zevran be so very homesick and talking of his home he cannot return to broke Ati’s heart. At least she could eventually go back home. But the chances of Zevran surviving Antiva are slim. It makes Ati sad. She finds Zevran finding comfort in the smell of leather endearing. (I have far more thoughts on Zevran but this is what Ati thinks ok)

Brecilian forest:

Ati can't help but feel relieved after being among her own people after spending so much time with human affairs

Seeing the members of her sister clan in pain pains her too, she's stopped a demon possessing a child, an entire onslaught of undead, and she managed to save a circle tower from abominations beyond what she could have imagined. Ati feels unstoppable. Everything she has done, has worked out so far. It does not help with her cockiness. "I am good at non-trivial tasks."

Seeing the hunters like this… It takes some effort for Ati to not let it show how much of an effect it has on her. She could almost cry

Ati is getting used to Wynne. Ati's missing her mommy disease makes it so that Wynne's presence can be a bit comforting. And she appreciates Wynne's snark.

Wynne with elves who are mistrustful of humans, especially humans in authority seems to be a theme.

Seeing Danyla was painful. Atish'an knows she must be killed to end her suffering. It doesn't make it any easier. It's something that won't leave Ati. She's seen her fair share of death and suffering but this was something she couldn’t have prepared for.

Sided with the elves and the werewolves. Ati thinks Zathrian's actions were originally justified, but the clan is suffering and. Well. The current werewolves, though they are humans, they aren't the evil heartless creatures that originally assaulted Zathrian's children. They were just people who happened to be born to those people.

Leliana gets on Ati's nerves a bit every so often. "They are serfs. There is no slavery in Orlais." But. Leliana actually listens to Atish'an when she challenges her beliefs. It's refreshing.

Oh… Leliana also has a dead bio mom who had a friend Leliana considers a mother figure.

Denerim:

Ati got Sten at 100% approval after questioning him about qunari children. Her inquisitive nature and snark are a hit.

Ati approves after Alistair defended her to Goldanna. She was about to go off but Alistair's firm response was enough to not make her lose her marbles.

Denerim market district is a lot to take in. Ati has never seen a city this big so full of life everywhere. It's a bit overwhelming

Ati heard there was some Howe leading a purge in the alienage. She would show him no mercy would they ever cross paths

Haven:

"Kadan" Atish'an does not know what the word means, but she can feel its weight. Kadan. She thinks she feels the same way about Sten. Sten said he trusted her with his life… Also Ati appreciates someone who will challenge her. 

Ash wraiths look insane. Ati WILL have nightmares of them for years to come.

Okay so. There's a cult leader who wants to defile a relic holy to andrastians. Atish'an will not do that, but Father Kolgrim and his disciples seem like tough opponents. It would be smart to agree to do what he asked of her, and betray him, but Ati doesn't believe this guy could beat her. She's slayed several drakes in the past few hours, what's one guy?

The guardian mentions Tamlen and Atish'an's stomach drops. How does he know? Ati wants to leave. She doesn't want to be here any longer. She could say that her answer is her own, but a yes slips from her mouth. I could have searched harder. Atish'an knows Tamlen is dead, but, she never saw the body. The thought of the possibility of him being in the cave all alone looking for help has never left her mind. What if she did something when he touched the mirror? Why did she answer? Zevran commented on Ati's "self-flagellation," maybe he had a point, but Ati would not think about what he said for a while longer. No one had any fun here. Everyone paused for a couple of moments before moving on into the next room

This place fucking sucks. They really had to bring the Tamlen from Ati's heart here, and make him talk to her in front of everyone. She's heartbroken. Tamlen too told her she should stop blaming herself. But Ati knows Tamlen would do the same in her shoes. Who is anyone to tell her how to grieve? This was cruel.

Okay. Having to kill herself has been the least miserable part of the journey so far

Having to take all your clothes off in front of everyone was a bit weird in this context. 

Normally, Ati would think that she shouldn't be the one touching a relic so sacred to others, but she's too done to care about anything right now. She just wants out.

Yeah sure tell pilgrims to come here, whatever.

Finally, back at camp. Atish'an had a horrible dream about the archdemon. As soon as she woke up from it, the camp was ambushed. Tamlen? It. It can't be. He has been lost to the taint. Ati is frozen, she doesn't know what to do. She knows this isn't the Tamlen she knows, but, there's still some of it inside of him

"I don't want to talk about it." Alistair was the only one who saw what happened up close. Further away in the camp, the rest of Ati's companions are joking about the darkspawn attack. No one knows what exactly she just witnessed. Good.

-> inevitable what changes about you after the Joining. Alistair's humor does make Ati feel a bit more grounded after all this, but it's a good thing that this time, Alistair answered the question without further prodding.

"That's when a warden knows his time has come." Oh.

What happened to Tamlen, will eventually happen to her too. This is what the taint does to a person

30 years… It sounds like a lot of time, but. The inevitability of death looms over.

Returning ash & Denerim sidequests:

Leliana tells Ati she feels herself slipping, there is a part of her that loves the hunting and killing. I personally rlly dont want to harden Leliana, but, Ati sees nothing wrong with this, she tells Leliana to not punish herself for doing something she enjoys. Bc obviously Ati wouldn't know what saying that does to Leliana.

I almost thought I should've picked that Leliana is a good person, because Atish'an and Leliana a 100% have always agreed on basic human rights. Like not letting Sten starve even though he's a murderer, and letting Jowan go. But it wouldn't have fit Ati. Bc as much as she believes in not torturing people and letting people who regret their actions redeem themselves, she does enjoy putting a stop to someone who has time and time again wronged others (=not showing any regret or willingness to change or showing active want in wanting to continue inhumane treatment of others), like Howe. Who she will murder in cold blood once she visits the Alienage. But, not starving murderers and letting mages go free is not a sign of a good person to Atish'an, it's a given. Self evident. It's the obvious choice. It's not something she even thinks about. Letting people be free is built into her. Anyone who actively stops people from having their basic needs (hunger, thirst, freedom, safety) will receive the same mercy they show to others.

Which is to say, Atish'an definitely has a strong sense of justice. But the other side of that blade is that she will just straight up murder someone. the rest of this point is something i wrote way earlier and i’m not a 1000% sure what i meant by it (is there a typo?) but it’s probably too important to delete -> Btw her protectiveness doesn't get in the way of her justice. You might be thinking "Didn't Ati kill one of the humans as an example?" Which, correct. But she did it to protect her clan and she didn't deny food or water or enprison or torture them in any other way. She just murdered someone because she thought it was a just action. Idk how to explain this in a way everyone will understand what i mean and not reduce my dear Atish'an to a very one dimensional character.

Flemeth is dead, Morrigan is free and happy. It's refreshing to see her worries lifted

Orzammar:

Atish'an has never seen anything quite like this. Being underground is, well, unnerving to say the least. But the structures are grand. Ati had always wondered what Orzammar would look like, but she never in a million years could have guessed she'd actually end up visiting.

Dagna's enthusiastic interest in the world outside of her reach seems familiar

Atish'an thinks everyone is entitled to their own religion and not one is better than another. But she will absolutely not help anyone "spread the chant."

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Sinju Bokusube 4* Card Story

with another rerun coming up I figured its about time I post this story, it is a spicy meatball 🔥

note: (In the show, Rindou, Shinju and Maica all play the same role, Rindou is the man’s human heart, Shinju is the wolf’s and Maica is the soul that binds them together. This was Shinju’s first show as a standard member.)

chapter 1 -rehearsal room-

shinju: “♪Tatoe subete wo ushinatte mo—”

shinju: ... Something’s off, I'll try it once more. 

-dances around-

shinju: Mann~ It still doesn't feel right, this is no good!

saki: Shinju-san is everything alright?

shinju: Sighh... it's no use. I'm gonna end my practice here, sorry, even though you stuck around with me. It doesn't seem like I'm gonna improve anymore today so I’ll give up for now.

-time pass, street at night-

shinju: Uwah, it’s gotten so late! I’m sorry for making you watch me practice. 

saki: It's ok, I don't mind. I'm not sure how much help I am though.

shinju: With you there I can give it my best, plus being watched by someone lifts my spirits. Ah man~ Even though I'm finally a standard member I still can’t properly grasp my role. Isn’t one man having the heart of both a human and a wolf too complex? What would it even feel like to have the heart of a wolf in the first place? Either way I know I'm not portraying it correctly yet. 

'The wolf side wants to eat the girl'. That's what Rindou said to me. But I mean, this guy still eats meals as a human, would he even get hungry enough to go that far? 

saki: Maybe it's more of a figurative sense of desire than a literal hunger.

shinju: Figurative desire? Not just an empty stomach? Starving for her he... eats a person? What do you mean? So my thinking of him wanting to eat her just cause he’s hungry was off the mark then.

'The wolf side wants to eat her'...So it means that only she will sate his hunger then?

-shinju moves in super close to saki-

saki: (So close...!)

shinju: Ah, sorry, I thought that if I were to eat you I'd have to get this close and moved without thinking. You also you smelt nice. (he quickly backs away) Ah what am I saying! Sorry again, really!

saki: It would be inconvenient if I got eaten. 

shinju: Ahaha yeah it would. Don't worry I won't suddenly gulp you down. But y'know, I realised something. That maybe it can't just be anyone for me as well. I had wanted you to watch me practice, if I didn't care who it was I could've just asked one of my team members. But, you were who I thought would be best, I wonder why. (smirks) Hey, do you know why?

saki: Huh? Uh, I wonder as well...

shinju: Thanks a bunch for today. I feel like I've understood something now thanks to you. From here on I gotta think about it some more myself. When I become a wolf under the moonlight, what would it be that I desire? I can't explain it well but, I feel like I’ll figure it out. Will you wish me luck in finding the answer? 

saki: Of course. I'll be looking forward to what you come up with.

shinju: Thanks. When you have expectations for me like that, I love it.

-shinju looks shocked before backing away blushing-

shinju: I'm gonna head back to the rehearsal room. Sorry I couldn't escort you all the way to the station.

saki: Huh? You're going back there when it’s this late?

shinju: See you tomorrow! Take care Saki-chan! 

-he runs off-

-

chapter 2 - starless hallway-

shinju: I'm here Saki-chan. You were looking for me right? 

saki: Yes, how did you know?

shinju: The sound of your footsteps gave me that impression. I know, weird isn't it.

saki: Shinju-san...?

shinju: There seems to be a lot of people in the audience. 

saki: Oh, did you go and take a peek?

shinju: Nah, I can tell from here that there's a lot of people chatting out there. I figured that all the guests must be arriving. Ever since last night I've felt kinda odd.

Being a standard member is tough, this is the kind of atmosphere that they've been experiencing. Now that I’ve tasted it, I don't want to step down anymore. I don't want to give this spot up to anyone else. The sound of the stage, the atmosphere, the lights... all of it. I want to make it all my own. I realised that my thoughts were this selfish but it feels so good. I wanna get on the stage already and give it all I’ve got. 

saki: (I wonder why, something about Shinju-san’s vibe is different tonight.)

shinju: Hey, make sure you cheer for me tonight. Not for Maica or Rindou or anyone else, just me. You don’t need to say anything to that though.

saki: What? Why...?

shinju: I don't need a response. 

-kabedon-

saki: Eh? Um...?

shinju: I'm a wolf that will feast if he wants to. I won't be able to hear the response of someone that's been eaten up, right? Watch me, Saki-chan. I'll show you, I’ll become a wolf on this stage. A wolf that will devour the person they desire, their eyes, their mouth, hands, legs, their entirety. Without leaving a trace.

-he backs away and smiles innocently-

shinju: I gotta head to the stage now. Watch me from your seat, ok? I'm sure I'll spot you!

-shinju leaves-

saki: Wow that was surprising….

—end

[harryleatherfit]

Upper East Side: AU: Frankie Morales

Chapter 6: The Box

word count: 6600

warning: MATURE, dni if not 18+, smut, fingering, oral f! receiving, over stimulation, sex club, heavy petting 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 probably more so let me know if anything is missing

this is not revised or looked over (sorry) and kinda my first time writing smut… so… but i tried 🫶

🪩Main Master List🪩 Series Master List🪩

-----

Frankie POV

The professors decided to stay late for the last day of auditions, finalizing the cast list that would be put up the next day.

It was difficult for them to pick the roles, so many talented students and to only give 15 characters. They all had to weigh the highs and lows. They couldn’t give the role to the obvious person, they had to think of who would take it seriously for a college broadway production.

The 2 Macbeths would be the face of Broadway, and they would have to be able to keep up with the early stardom. These 2 would have to keep up with their studies but put the production as their number one priority. They couldn’t think of seniority but pure talent before their eyes.

Papers were spread over conference tables, coffee was brought on the dot every hour, videotaped monologues were rerun a thousand times. Balls of paper were thrown all over the floor.

“Ok team, it’s nearing midnight what are we thinking about the Macbeths?” Ms. Roylance asks.

There were a few groans from around the room, everyone has been casted except for the duo.

“Starting with Macbeth,” She writes on a board.

“I feel Davis had emotion in his stance, his reactions to what Lady M would say were on the dot, but I feel like something was missing.” Benny says.

“Yeah he’s a great choice, but I feel like he wouldn't be Broadway ready, I mean every magazine will write about this play, so we do have to pick the best we have.” Fish chimes in.

“Ok Davis, ⅔ points.” Ms. Roylance writes on the board.

“What about Mattias, that boy is a star.” Ironhead says. “He has the passion, he has the pretty boy look, he can act.”

“And he’s got the body, he's a good dancer!” Cheot adds.

“I mean Roylance, he’s our Macbeth. He can work with anyone, he’s calm and controlled and his monologue hits every spot we’re looking for. All you have to do is say yes.” Ironhead twirls his fingers together in excitement.

“Ok fine, Mattias is our star.” She puts his name in red on the board, it’s final. “And for our lovely ladies, Lady Mac, there's quite a handful. There's McKayla, Kelsey, Sarah, Emma, our North Carolina transfer, Nina-”

Fish heard Pope bring up you and he immediately felt engaged in the conversation again.

“About Nina, ma’am.” Pope interrupts. “I didn’t think to say anything about it now since it was before her audition, but I was walking up to the theater doors to go to the bathroom and I overheard Nina talking to our new student… and it wasn’t the most humane conversation.” He sank into his chair.

Fish felt the heat in his face rise, the room felt insufferable. He wanted to claw away from his chair and find you, but he couldn’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me immediately?” Ms. Roylance asks.

“I didn’t think of it much because this is always how Nina has been since her freshman year, her dad paying her way through this school and scaring away fresh talent because, honestly we let her but this time she crossed a line. She was calling her names, saying she needed plastic surgery, and that she would get her kicked out if she got the part over Nina.”

That’s funny, that bitch genuinely looks like a catfish with all that plastic in her face, worse than a kardashian- Frankie thought to himself.

“But the worst part was she didn’t even respond, she just stood there in front of Nina taking everything in. She looked petrified and I’m glad I intervened when I did. Personally I think she shouldn’t even be offered another role again for the rest of her senior year, but I understand with her father, the legality of that would be extremely tough.”

She didn’t speak up to Nina? Why not?

Fish felt his heart drop. Nina had the audacity to belittle you? Nina thinks she can use her dad and his power to hurt you, replace you?

He would do anything in his power, in his position and with his connections to get that girl kicked the fuck out. He didn’t care, he would use his power in this damned school and city to make sure she suffered for what she did to you.

“Pope why didn’t you say anything, man?” Benny says.

“I really didn’t think anything of it and I remembered, I’m sorry but to what I heard I think it’s serious. What does everyone else think?”

Fish rattles up his hoarse voice, “We kick the girl out for all I care, I can deal with her dad. We should’ve kicked her out since day one and taken our chances.”

Roylance and Cheot give him a look, they both know they couldn’t have done that.

“I say we give the roll to our new girl.” Redfly speaks up. “Listen, we wouldn’t have to kick Nina out because we know the hellhole her dad would put NYU through, but I mean that scream c’mon, the tears, her performance. The message she gave to us. She’s a talented performer and we all know this from last spring. We saw a new Hollywood star on some random stage. So we give it to her solely because she has proved herself that she has what it takes.” He goes on. “Roylance we know Mattias will work well with her, they already have stage chemistry, this will work.”

“And Nina couldn’t even cry, she was shaking violently like a little dog. Do we collectively want to give this role to that?” Ironhead asks.

“I agree with you, we are giving her the role, but how do we ease the cast list? What is our game plan for Nina’s dad? How will we protect our new Hollywood? We’re aware of what Nina can do and what her father can hide.”

“You can make sure Nina will never talk to her in your classes, for sure as hell I will make sure in my voice class Nina will not lay her eyes on her.” Benny states.

“And for sure as hell I’ll tell her friend Laylah, who is our Head of Makeup, to keep an eye on her and be with her 24/7.” Redfly puts. “And Cheot can ask Laylah how she is in her dance classes.”

I know for damn fucking sure that evil little bitch will not go near my girl.

Roylance moves her head side to side thinking, “Okay with our work as human beings, and as teachers..” She circles your name on the board next to Mattias’s,”We have the house of Macbeth then!”

The teachers get up from their seats and claps are heard all around the room.

--------------

“Wake up!” Laylah is shaking you awake. “Wake up! The cast list is out. It’s on the school bulletin board, we need to hurry!’

“Oh jesus.” Laylah, Rose and Hannah all get their shoes on and you don’t even bother, grabbing the nearest pair of slides.

Laylah is near hauling you across the campus, you need fucking coffee.

In the distance you see a horde of people crowded around the arts bulletin board. It's a cold Saturday morning and it's too early to even care what you look like.

As you get closer your heart starts to race again, but with excitement. No matter what you’ll be happy with the results.

You can see all the arts professors standing in a line not far from the crowd but just observing. Most likely there to condole people or to answer questions about rehearsals.

He wasn’t there.

Everyone around the paper is now starting to open an entrance, just staring at you. What for?

You read the tiny little script, Mattias is Macbeth and you look one level down…

“OH MY GOD, YOU FUCKING GOD LADY MAC I KNEW YOU WOULD.” Laylah screams.

Hannah, Rose and Laylah all bombard you with a group hug and you don’t even know what to say. You give your thank yous, and everyone around you congratulates you.

“I don’t even believe it, I can’t believe I have a lead here.” You exclaim.

Your heart fills with a swarm of liquid joy, even in the cold you feel like the sun. You immediately feel every worry go away in your body, you’re happy. You can pocket this moment forever.

You immediately think of the rehearsals, the makeup and costumes. Getting to perform on broadway. Your face on a New York CIty billboard. Every moment in your life has built up for this, and you stop to really think about everything you have done to get you here.

You think of Frankie and how he even helped you with your monologue. He taught you to not hold back for anything.

And instantaneously, you feel hands shove you to the side. It’s Nina.

The group of people move behind her as she looks at the bulletin board. She didn’t even make it. Not as an ensemble member, a small featured character. Nothing.

She shrieks and stomps and immediately turns to you. Behind her, you see a guy behind her trying to console her, probably her rich boyfriend that couldn’t give a shit less if she got in or not. He’s probably with her for her father.

“I will fucking end-” She starts to yell in front of everyone.

“Sorry to interrupt but can I steal her for a second?” Ms. Roylance asks.

Thank god. You could not have another episode of Nina telling you how horrible you are. You couldn’t take it.

“No problem, Ms. Roylance take your sweet time, I’m gonna wait here with my boyfriend over there after you talk with her, if I may talk to you afterward?” She asks in a sweet slithering tone. She’s a fucking snake.

“Actually Nina, if we could, can we talk in class on Monday? I have a lot of planning to do this weekend for the rest of this semester. It'll be a lengthy meeting with all the arts teachers, as I hope you will understand the time constraint we are all under.” Roylance responds.

“Of course ma’am have a great weekend.” She walks away haltered and distraught. You felt like at that moment Nina would have done anything in her power to hurt you. You couldn’t have been more grateful for the teachers being there.

You walk with Ms. Roylance and to the professor circle near the arts hallway and they all congratulate you.

“How do you feel?” Mr. Miller asks.

“Shocked I guess? I can’t describe this feeling. I have absolutely no words.” You put your hands over your heart, “This is truly the best welcoming present I could’ve asked for.” Now you feel like you can fully express your win on getting Lady Macbeth.

“I genuinely don’t understand how this is even possible, and Mattias getting Macbeth feels perfect, but I can’t thank you enough, I don’t know how you can see me being on broadway in just some short months but-”

“No buts.” Mr Garcia smiles, “You are Lady Macbeth because you’re spectacular. You captured us in your audition, and we all know you have what it takes to be Lady Macbeth.”

“Picking Lady Macbeth was obvious, from the moment you stepped on that stage, we knew it would be you. You’re meticulous about your acting, and this is what the world needs to see. You’re a perfectionist and you won’t take anything less as an answer. You are the definition of Broadway ready.” Mr. Davis says.

You felt sick with the praises, you couldn’t stop smiling and putting your hands to your face. You could hear your friends in the distance giggling as they’re waiting for you- agreeing with the teachers.

“It wasn’t obvious it must have been so hard with all this talent here, I’m nervous for everything, I’m scared I won’t be as good as you all put me out to be.” You shy away from their eye contact.

“We know you’re good, trust me.” Ms.Cheot pipes up, “Even though you don’t dance, I saw some stuff of yours, and I only know the spring musical is waiting to have your name all over it.”

“But he really should've been here to tell you himself, but Mr. Morales really dug out for you. He said he saw you practice your monologue before your audition and said you improved when you didn’t have to. He kept going on about how he hasn’t seen your kind of talent in years. So purely we all agree you are one of a kind and you deserve this. Soak it in for today.” Mr. Miller 2.0 says.

And once again, he did something for you. You had chills on your arms just from that sentence alone. He has full control over you.

You laugh, “I promise I will soak it all in. If I may ask, when do rehearsals start?”

“Unfortunately we need to do a table read tomorrow at 10am, I’ll post the rehearsal calendar tonight for everyone. We’ll all be there to help work with everyone along with stage chemistry, but it won’t be too hard.”

Would you get to see Frankie?

“Thank you, I’ll see you all tomorrow. ” You start to walk off back to your friends, and Ms. Roylance grabs your shoulder, “I played Lady Macbeth when I was younger and I see you in me. You have this thing, I can’t explain it now but someday I will. Go home and sleep and come tomorrow with a fresh mind. And don’t pay any attention to that Nina girl, I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you for the rest of this year.”

You smile at her and thank her all over again, appreciative of her actions with Nina.

You meet up with your friends again and they bombard you with questions as you walk back to your dorm.

------

“Ok so in celebration of our win tonight what do you think we should do tonight?” Rose asks.

“We could go to a nice restaurant, maybe a club?” Hannah replies.

“We could do a library and some coffee and come back here to watch movies, if anyone wants a mellow night.” Rose says.

“I don’t want a mellow night, I want a night to remember.” You unconsciously say, you did have your first rehearsal tomorrow, but nothing you can’t sober enough for. You’ve got your natural remedy for a mad hangover, it’s what a college student does.

“Oh my god, we have to check out The Box then!” Hannah rejoices.

“What's the box?” You and Laylah both ask.

“Calm your tits for this one, you're in for a wild ride,” Hannah gets up, “It's this super exclusive club, you can go there with a reservation or in the hope that they’ll just let you in but here’s the catch, it’s sex burlesque club. It’s fucking crazy and really damn expensive.”

“If it’s expensive, then we shouldn’t go.” You say.

“No, I’ll just use the credit card my dad gave me for college, I never use it so tonight we will treat ourselves.” Hannah insists. Oh yeah just your sweet daddies credit card for a sex club okay. “But be prepared, there's sometimes like orgies on stage.”

“Orgys on stage?” Laylah questions.

“I know it may sound weird but it’s a once in a lifetime experience. It’s an all exclusive club and so many celebrities go their for a night away and theres crazy fucking shit that happens there. People pee on eachother, people fuck eachother, you see people doing coke, people take acid, you see attendees strip, you sing and dance your face off, you go to the bathroom and fuck someone you see really hot. I once went in my freshman year here with a fake ID and on the stage these girls were like, making eachother squirt. It was the craziest fucking thing I saw with my eyes. I promise it’ll be a night we all will never forget.”

“I mean it’s the box guys, everyone has to go at least once before they leave New York, and we’ll get you home before you need to go to your rehearsal.” Rose prods at you.

This was your chance to take the night off, to be free. Fuck it.

“Oh fuck yeah we’re going.” You plead. You’re night, so make it yours.

“YES THAT’S MY GIRL.” Hannah hugs you, “ A warning though we all need to dress really nice but semi-slutty. The bouncers let you in on your vibe and your party size, luckily they let in parties of 4 often and we have the money and real ID’s to show. Plus we’re all pretty fucking hot.”

The perfect dress you own for this night, a sheer shimmer slip on dress that only covers your nipples and a slit of fabric to cover your pussy. For a burlesque show you’re going match that fucking vibe. Underneath you put on a set of lingerie that would keep any odors from lingering but was still covered in crystals and made your whole body shine.

You felt like a performer yourself, who fucking knows. Maybe you would be on that damn stage tonight. You needed to feel something after Frankie.

You hadn’t thought about him all day. You were going to see him tomorrow, but things would be awkward again, and when were you going to be alone again with him. In the off chance to ask him what that almost kiss was? Not to gain anything for yourself, but to just have an explanation.

Tonight would be your fill in from him.

“Hey you want to smoke before? Just to heighten the experience? You don’t have to though.” Laylah asks.

You turn to her, “Fuck you look amazing Lay, I mean breathtaking.” She was wearing a mesh golden short dress, and she had the same idea of you wearing lingerie underneath, showing off all your tattoos. “Pack the fucking bowl at this point, it’ll send me somewhere else this night that I want to relive forever.”

--------------

You get to the front of the line before the club with you, and notice how funny the bouncer looks. He’s trying to look scary to the common public, but to you he looks like a little fluffy unicorn.

He takes one look at you and your friends asks for ID and to look at a credit card. Hannah pulls it out and you drum roll in your head.

“Alright I suppose.” He says.

You kiss the big baldy unicorn and wish him the best night. You walk through the entrance and feel this storm of a new identity tacking onto you.

This is my night.

A hostess finds you and seats you in a private corner on the top floor near the stage, the ceilings are so high and the intimate room is illuminated in such a warm tone, you feel like you could pass out you're so happy.

“I have to hand you guys these stickers for your phone camera. We don’t allow any photography. If a staff member sees you taking a picture or taking off your sticker, we have to escort you out.” The hostess explains.

“So this is the nightclub where the celebs unleash their inner dirty?” What you asked felt so childish but it was a funny question, and you could barely think you were so high.

The hostess laughs and just walks away with your credit card.

“Girls were in for a long night.” Laylah roars out.

The music was already loud, a plate of dick shaped chocolate strawberries were ordered, and rounds of shots were taken. You didn’t take any, being crossed was not the night you wanted before your first rehearsal. A ginger ale would do just fine.

The middle of the bottom floor becomes a place for people to mosh as the music plays and you immediately feel drawn. Dancing is what your body craves. You head down the stairs and Laylah follows you.

A singer comes out onto the stage along with dancers, they are all barely dressed but their makeup is flawless. They are all spitting images of Roman gods. You couldn’t look away.

“Hi everyone I’m Eartheater and tonight we have a special song for you tonight.” She herself looked like Bella Hadid but on steroids. Her body was carved with the hands of the sun. “This is a shiny crowd tonight I see.” She says looking down at you and your friends. You cheer her on.

Every corner of the club was full. Everywhere you looked someone was moaning, people were touching each other, kissing. You weren’t bothered, people were giving affection to one another and it made you happy. If you were sober maybe it would’ve grossed you out but you looked up and saw 4 naked bodies, 2 hanging on the railing for dear life, oragasming the night away. You laughed so loud people smiled at you. The whole room felt like it was slow motion.

-----play Solid Liquid Gas, by Eartheater

“This song I actually thought of in this very room, and listening to it high makes my body tingle, so I hope you share that same experience with me tonight.”

She starts singing and immediately you’re taken away. This song alone could make you orgasm. It was sparkles speaking in your head and the base was felt in the core of your body. You were moving around in the crowd along Laylah, feeling the sweat accumulate all over you.

Your smile couldnt go away and your body rolled with the beat drops. Music high, makes your body go to outer space.

The dancers were all over and the room was so dimly lit, Eartheater dropped into the crowd and pulled you two up, “Give the crowd a show, pretty girls.” She smiled.

So you both continued to dance together, with the singer and the dancers. Never stopping, embracing the sensuality of the room, realizing this is a once in a lifetime experience. You could hear Rose and Hannah cheering for you both so loud.

Nobody knew you in this room, there were no phones. The disconnect turns you on, but you scan the crowd and see a group of men in the back, one that looks familiar to your heart.

It’s fucking Frankie.

He’s looking at you, taking a sip of his beer. He’s never seen you like this. He was with his friends that were also your teachers, but you didn't care. You couldn’t give less of a fuck if they all saw you at this club right now. Tomorrow you would most likey hate yourself for your fuck it mindset, but you could deny that was you on the stage.

Frankie was practically fucking you with his eyes, and you almost lost it. Right then and there if he walked up to the stage and fucked the life out of you, you wouldn’t have cared. No matter how high or not, you wanted him, you desired his touch. You would give this whole room a show if that meant you could be with him.

Your nipples hardened as he swept down your body. His expression turned into that downturned smile of his. He knew he was fucking with you. Laylah kept dancing around you, spraying a bottle of wine all over the stage and dancers. The room was moving at two frames per second but you told Laylah you were going to go to the bathroom.

“You’re sure I don’t need to come?”

“I’m sure, I just really need to piss.” You yell over the music.

You walk off the stage and keep your eyes on him, you just smile and look down. You wanted him to follow you, but would he take the ruse? Would he take that risk for you?

You get inside the bathroom and it's a bigger single stall and every wall is a mirror. You were surprised it was clean for a sex club. You check yourself in the mirror, all your makeup was off and your lingerie was still intact with your sheer dress. You felt lucky your makeup was sweat off and not smudged.

The door opens. You don’t look to the side of the mirror, and he’s standing in the doorway.

“That door opening is music to my ears.” You turn to him, “What are you doing at a sex club?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He’s wearing all leather and his usual trucker hat, his strong arms showing in his jacket. That itself makes your knees go weak.

His hair is ruffled as always and his scruff makes him look so hot. His presence made the tension rise. His rich husky scent was going to send you over board.

“I thought I was so high I was imagining you.” You laugh.

“You’re high?” He moves closer to you.

He’s so much taller than you, you feel so small compared to him.

“Sorta, I wanted to take my mind off of everything.” You admit turning back around. He was the reason.

“You can tell me to leave, if you want.” He stops mid room, in his husky tone.

“Stay, please. I want you with me.”

You wanted him with you all the time, and this was the first time you were going to be honest.

He gets closer to you and you analyze his face, his wrinkles, his dimples, his nose. Everything about him turned you on. You were both different people tonight.

You brought your hand to hold his face and you smiled.

He leans his forehead on yours, and you both breathe heavily looking at each other, his nose touching yours. He brought his hands to your face and you closed your eyes. You felt so safe right now.

His expression softened due to your touch.

“You always have this stagnant expression on your face for everyone, but when I’m with you, you immediately change-”

He closed the gap between you both so fast, you thought his lips on yours were fake. Everything was so heighted right now. His lips were so soft on yours and. It felt like an orange sunset. You both melded against each other. You couldn’t breathe, he was all over you. You braced your hands on the sink.

He gasps for air, “You’re so fucking beautiful pretty girl, I’ve wanted to kiss you since day one.”

That makes you whine. “And if you make that sound again it’s gonna make me do things I want to save for when we're actually alone.”

“So then fucking do them, use me. I don’t care.”

He slides his tongue across his teeth and shakes his head, “I could never use you, sweetheart. I don’t fuck the first night, let alone the first date which I havent been given the privledge to ask for.” He pauses to kiss you again, “In due time my needy pretty girl.” He puts a piece of hair behind your ear.

You were his pretty girl. If you weren’t already melting into his body, your brain felt like mashed potatoes, you couldn't think of one thing to say.

“Wrap your legs around me.” He orders. As you do he hoists you on the bathroom sink, standing in between your legs. He runs his hands up and down your overlay dress, moving closer and closer to your nipples, making you lean against the mirror. Whimpering when he finally touches the lightly covered skin. The weight of his fingers makes you shudder.

“When I saw you walking into the club, I almost lost my shit. I wanted to walk up to you, but I saw your friends and didn’t know what to do. And then I look up at the stage 10 minutes later and there's this beautiful girl lady dancing with a bunch of naked people and I couldn’t control myself following her into the bathroom.” He pinches the fabric over your nipple and you wince with a smile.

“You dirty perv, I could scream right now.” You warn.

“The only screaming you make right won’t be quite from that.” And he immediately dips down and latches onto your throat.

He groans into you, and you bring your hands to his unruly hair. You close your eyes and moan as he hits the spot. All your dreams are coming true right now.

“Are you giving me hickies Mr. Morales?” You ask.

He looks up to you and takes your lips again. His tongue on your felt like the world was right. No matter how wrong this could have looked to the common public, you felt like the world's happiest person right now, “Maybe.”

“I bet you liked that. Me calling you Mr. and I bet you loved Sir, huh?

“Don’t be a tease, you’ll fucking kill me.”

“Then give me more.” You taunt.

He was a rabid beast, his hands were moving lower and lower down your back, and your legs were moving wider and wider, inviting him in. You were wiggling against him, trying to feel any sense of relief. If he took one swipe to your clit, you’d explode.

“Do you want to be touched tonight, pretty girl?” He asks.

You’re so drunk on him you can barely answer, “Give me your words or I’ll just keep kissing you and keep my hands off.”

“Give me a second to conjure up a sentence around you, fuck.” You slur out. Being high and him being between your legs almost made you ascend right there. “Let me touch you first, please.” You plead trying to get off the counter.

“Oh no no, sweetheart. Tonight is about you, we can explore more another night.” He places his hand over your pussy and your jaw drops open. The weight of his hand alone was too much. He pushes harder, “Now use those words of yours and tell me what to do to you.”

“Frankie please make me cum, please. I’ll be so good, I’ll do anything to earn it.” You plead.

“You’re being a good girl by using your words, that’s all I needed to know.” He immediately pushes your mesh dress up to your hips on the sink, and places his hands back to the fabric of your silver underwear. Slowly pulling the fabric to the side.

Normally you would be scared for this to happen, you were so self conscious about what men would think about what you looked like down there, how you womenscaped and you hadn’t shaved in a few weeks. But nonetheless, your body was care-free.

He took in his breath, “Look at this beautiful pussy, how wet you are for me. Were you this wet for me when you saw me up on that stage the first time.” He asks in a low baritone. His voice drop gave you a hint he liked what he saw.

“I’m always wet when I see you, you should know that by now.” You were, he constantly turned you on.

“I do know now, you’re a fucking mess for me. You’re dripping all over the sink.” He fingers crowd at your entrance, collecting the liquid. The air of the bathroom meeting center made you shiver. He looks down at where his hand meets your cunt and brings his fingers to his mouth.

Time feels so slow you don’t even know what to think, this is the most erotic thing that has ever happened to you.

He licks his fingers clean of your juices and all you could do is stare at him in shock. Your consciousness kicks in and you’re scared he might think you taste gross.

He finishes and places his fingers against your opening again, rubbing your clit softly. Slightly opening his mouth to yours in a soft gaze, “Your pussy- is dangerously sweet. If we were not in public, I’d be eating you out for hours. So we need to be careful. ” He kisses you again, rubbing circles on your clit, changing direction and speed, he knew he was driving you bat shit. “I can feel your clit fluttering, that perfect little bud begging for relief, huh?”

You shake your head.

“Good, now faster.” He frantically pushes his fingers inside you. You’re moaning louder than you thought you could ever sing. His thick fingers feel like heaven.

“Fuck, Frankie.. You’re gonna make me cum, fuck fuckfufufuck.” He’s moving at a prompt speed, stretching you out, not pausing once. You hold your back up against the mirror and move your hands to his hand that is holding his weight on your stomach.

“Yeah that’s it. Hold onto me, hold me as I finger fuck you. You’re doing so good, sweet girl.” His words make your walls tighten around his fingers. The squelching of your pussy and your moans fill his head. He was looking at you the entire time, your face contorting because you couldn’t handle the pleasure.

You look into his eyes and he meets yours, his pupils almost fully dilated. He’s so focused on moving his fingers inside you, you can’t help but screech when your orgasm builds up.

“Oh my god, frankie.” You catch your breath, “It feels so good, I’m so close.”

He makes you release your hold on him and he moves his other hand to your clit and traces his thumb over your pussy, The stimulation giving you a final send off. He grunts and pushes his fingers inside you faster.

“Cmon now sweetheart, make that perfect pussy cum all over my fingers, give me more to suck off. Soak me.” He commands.

The bubble inside you pops and his fingers continuously hit the perfect spot inside your pussy, “Shit shit shit, Frankie, I’m cumming, Im cumming.” You scream for the whole club to hear. Your legs start to close together, you need the pressure to withstand that much force goring through your body.

“Look at you, you’re so pretty when you cum. So fucking perfect.”

Both of you catch your breath and feel the aftershocks of your orgasm when his fingers slide out of you.

He drops to his knees, his head right in front of your sopping cunt.

“You’re gonna learn that I always get my fill. As long as I’m on my knees, these legs will stay fucking open for me.” He utters.

After your little recovery he dips his head to your cunt and latches on, sucking the life out of your pussy. Moving his tongue from your clit, diving into your hole.

“That’s it, taking it so well for me, who’s my beautiful girl? ” He gasps up, “I would die for this pussy. So warm and tight.” He zips down again and his new pace makes your eyes cross.

You looked ahead in the mirror and looked at Frankies figure, in full leather, you were barely wearing anything, and his head bopping to fulfill the pleasure of your pussy made you whimper like a maniac. His hands against your inner thighs felt too natural. His skin against yours was so radiant, you couldn’t wait to have your time with him.

He takes one of his hands off your thigh and shifts it to your chest, going up your dress and through your bra. He manages to squeeze your tit. His large hand holding your body made your hands latch into his hair and push his head closer to your pussy. His large nose going into your dripping hole was killing you.

“Frankie I’ve never come like that before, that was life changing.” You admit, arching your back.

He looks up, “Then watch this.” He takes his hand on your chest and shoves it back into your sopping cunt. He’s sucking your clit and fucking you with his digits. He already knew your body so well, you couldn't comprehend how he knew how to undo you completely.

His fingers were reaching your g-spot a million miles an hour, finding the curve of your vagina so naturally. His lips felt like a magnet to your clit.

No person has ever done this to you before, so passionately and so vulgarly. It was all so overpowering, your stomach started to convulse, “Frankie, I can’t do it, I can’t. It’s too much. I'm gonna come again.” You mewl.

“Please baby, come for me. I need you to come for me, I know it’s a lot but you can do it.”

And that, you see pure white. Your mouth stays open and you feel his eyes on you again but you couldn’t bother looking at him. It felt like your two souls were being bound together. Something was tying you to him as you finished.You saw what he did to your body. You had just met him only weeks ago, and he was with you here. Now.

Your heart was breaking and repairing all over again. The orgasms were fucking with your head and body, and you thought you saw the universe. Being high and having an orgasm was another check off of the list.

He was your sun right now, he was all you needed.

You ran your hand over your heart to calm yourself.

“Baby, come back to me.” He pulls you out.

He’s whipping you down with a watered paper towel, cleaning your underwear as best he can and putting your dress back in place. You are in awe at how beautiful he is. You couldn't believe he was doing this for you.

“Guess what.” He asks.

“What?” You laugh. Of course he would ask a question after you took the life out of you.

“Well good and bad news. Good, ’m addicted to you, have been since day one. You’re beautiful inside and out. Bad, I will never get enough of you.” He states unapologetically.

That makes your heart drop.

“No man has ever said that to me.” You look down.

“I don’t know how. You’re perfect and I’ll say it a million times over for you to believe it. I would have fucking sit on my face for hours, just so I can inhale you and make cum over and over again.” He grabs your ass, “Those sounds you make, are my music and I would listen to that for the rest of my life.” He helps you off the sink, “ And I could imagine the sounds you’d make once we finally fuck.”

That made you groan.

He whispers in your ear, “We have a lot to do together angel. And I hope you know part of that will involve your pussy squirting.”

That made your stomach drop to your feet. All he does is keep fucking with your heart. You bring your fingers to your lips reminiscing the feeling of his lips on yours. Already missing him and his touch.

“Cmon baby, let’s walk out together and dance. We can just blend in the crowd and live through the night together. Then you can go back to your friends and we can see each other again tomorrow, yeah?”

You nod, and leave the bathroom with him. Part of you is still there. Wishing for your privacy again, but still excited for the awaited future together.

—-

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Authors Note: writing Santiago dialogue is so much fun. I can imagine oscar isaac just being the sweetest and calming to the reader LIKE CMON. but uh, yeah kinda first time writing smut SO PLEASEEE don’t be mean. But if this was good also lmk. I planned more of the story!! I want like 20-30ish chapters.

comment your thoughts ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

this is the song at the club and it’s fucking amazing.