#checked the comments and there was darren lol

[d-criss-news]

Link

[sillyname30]

food_of_ct and longwharftheatre: 🎉GIVEAWAY TIME🎉 I’m teaming up with the @longwharftheatre to give ONE lucky winner a pair of tickets for them and a guest to go see award-winning singer @darrencriss LIVE this coming Monday, 5/13! This one-night only benefit concert will be at the Lyman Center in New Haven to help raise money and support the Long Wharf Theatre’s mission of making theatre for everyone 🎭 Ticket prices start as low as $50 and can be purchased at: https://longwharf.org/shows-events/darren-criss-concert/ I saw Darren in 2015 on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and was so lucky to catch him after the show to get his autograph on my playbill 🥹 I’m sure many of you remember watching him on Glee like I did (or if you’ve been following him from his early days, A Very Potter Musical - my inner theater kid is showing, lol!) 📣 For a bonus entry, share this post on your story! Make sure to tag me so I can see it, or if your account is private, send me a screenshot of your story! This ⚡️flash⚡️ giveaway starts now (Friday, 5/10) and will end Saturday, 5/11 at 11:59pm. Want to win? Here’s how: 1️⃣ Follow @food_of_ct and @longwharftheatre (I’ll be checking😉) 2️⃣ Like this post 3️⃣ Tag someone you would bring with you! One tag per comment, and each comment equals 1 entry! Tagging yourself or celebrity accounts is not allowed! MULTIPLE TAGS = MULTIPLE ENTRIES. Winner will be contacted via DM and announced on my story! Good luck!🍀 This giveaway is not affiliated, sponsored, or administered by Instagram.

[milkywaygg]

FOP- Lost Child Ch. 5

Gonna update the story on fanfiction in the morning. I’ve just gotten back from a football game and I’m a bit too sleepy right now to care lol. Here’s the next chapter though. While Darren finished up in the shower, Linnie had gotten around to wiping down the dinner table one last time before Cosmo had arrived, checking on the potatoes and chicken that were being cooked on the stove and oven respectively. After finishing the cleaning, he poofed out a green table cloth and set the table, putting a plate, fork, and knife at each placement, alongside a glass for everyone to have a drink.

“Julie, what would you like to drink, sweetie?” Linnie asked, smiling kindly, “Did you like the apple juice you had this morning?”

“Uhm, yes please.”, Julie said quietly, as Linnie got out a plastic cup for the kids, pouring apple juice into Julie’s, setting it down on one of the open seats. Not too much longer after, Darren had gotten out of the shower, sporting a black t-shirt and light blue jeans, headed to the fridge for a beer.

“Uhm, Darren, maybe you could hold off on the drinking tonight?”, Linnie asked, “Cosmo’s bringing the kids over and I don’t think we should be drinking around any children to keep them safe.”

“Why? It’s just a beer.”, Darren shrugged, before Linnie gave a pleading look, forcing him to roll his eyes and put it back, “God, fine.”

“It’ll only be for tonight dear, and after they’re gone, you can have one if you want….I guess. Just not around Cassia and Poof.”, Linnie lectured before hearing the door knock, “I think he’s here. Just try to be polite.”

Darren couldn’t help but feel somewhat nervous as Linnie began walking to door. Ever since his arrest 10,000 years ago, Darren wasn’t sure if there was much else he could say. I’m sorry for stealing? I’m sorry for letting our family down? On top of it all, Darren was pleading mentally to himself that Cosmo didn’t bring Wanda. He watched solemnly as Linnie finally answered the door, sighing in relief as he didn’t see a sign of pink anywhere, other than Cassia’s star headband.

“Hi sweetie, I’m glad you could make it after all.”, Linnie hugged Cosmo, “No Wanda?”

“Nope. She’s still working. I swear, one of these days I’m going to call her dad and ask her what gives, and why he can’t get one of his little goons to do the job.”, Cosmo smirked, nudging the kids and himself inside, clutching a black, paper bag in his right hand, and the Star Liquor logo written elegantly in white cursive. Upon seeing the bag, Linnie frowned disappointedly.

“Oh dear, Cosmo. I really wish you wouldn’t have brought that-”, Linnie jumped, Cosmo’s harsh tone barking suddenly.

“Hey, you didn’t say a damn thing about no alcohol and you know I get withdrawal symptoms easily, so I don’t want to hear jack shit!” Cosmo screamed suddenly, shoving himself into the house past Linnie, putting the bottle on the table and cracking it open, pouring the wine into one of the open glasses.

‘Oh..uhm…I-I’m sorry dear, I didn’t mean to..It’s just you know how I feel about alcohol and I just thought it would be nice to have an alcohol-free dinner, especially with the kids...…oh…”, Linnie muttered, Julie shaking in her seat as she watched Cosmo take his seat, while Linnie desperately tried to find a way to change the conversation. Frowning deeply, Darren took a seat on one of the ends of the table, catching Cosmo by surprise.

“Damn, someone’s in a shity mood.”, Darren commented, Linnie scolding him for his language in the background, “What’s wrong. Cat got your tongue?”

“Uh…I-I just didn’t expect you here. When did you get out, and what are you doing here? Don’t you have your own apartment to go to?”, Cosmo asked.

“About a few months ago, and no, I got evicted since I wasn’t paying my rent, not that it’s any of your business.”, Darren snarked. Cosmo rolled his eyes.

“Go figure.”, he said, looking towards his kids, “Cassia, Poof, this is your Uncle Darren, my older brother. Darren, Cassia, Poof.”

“Uh hey kids.”, Darren waved awkwardly, looking towards Julie, “Uh..this is Julie. This is the kid we found on the streets and are trying to find her parents. Think she’s about your age, Poof. 5,000?”

“Her hair’s so pretty!”, Poof cheering, catching Julie’s attention. Instead of thanking him however, she blushed shyly and smiled, Cosmo’s eyes rolling and looking at Julie.

“You know, you could say thank you. That’s what you do when someone compliments you. It’s not hard.”, Cosmo snapped, “Alongside, washing your hair.”

“Alright Cosmo, let’s not talk to her like that please.”, Linnie said gently, “She’s going through a lot right now, and I invited you and your family over to discuss the situation with her, in case we need your help with anything.”

“Uh…Dad? Meet me in the hallway real fast?”, Darren asked, surprised by Cosmo’s recent behavior. Linnie nodded and followed him, making sure the two of them were unheard, “Uh..did something happen to Cosmo or something? What the hell’s his problem?”

“Well..”, Linnie sighed sadly, trying to shake it off and lower his voice, “He’s been going through a tough time with his marriage, and recently, he’s had a miscarriage. Everything’s just been going downhill for him ever since. He’s a lot snippier than a few years back, and his patience for things has just been withering.”

“Yeah, because last time, I don’t remember having an entitled piece of shit for a brother.”, Darren snarled, ignoring Linnie’s plea to stop cussing, “I’m not wrong though! He shouldn’t have yelled at you like that and you should have told him off.”

“I know dear, but honestly, I’m a little more concerned about the Julie situation at the moment. Don’t worry, I do plan on talking to Cosmo about his behavior this evening, but we really need to figure this Julie situation out right now. In the meantime, just try to bare with me, ok?”

Without much choice, Darren nodded as the two made their way back towards the kitchen, clearing their plates and taking their glasses into the living room, Cosmo carrying the wine bottle to the coffee table, much to Linnie’s discomfort. After dinner, Poof and Cassia ran towards Cosmo, with Julie not too far behind them. 

“Daddy? Daddy, can we and Julie play after dinner?”, Poof asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement. 

“I guess so. Just don’t be too loud. The adults and I have something to discuss.”, Cosmo said, offering the bottle of wine to Darren and Linnie. Linnie shook his head while Darren helped himself, nearly pouring the wine out of the glass. The dinner was silent and awkward, with Darren and Cosmo casting silent looks at each other, while Linnie looked nervous the entire time. It wasn’t until the children were sent off to play with some of the toys Linnie had provided, that the talk started, Cosmo pouring himself and Darren more wine. 

“So, what is this about? What’s with that girl, and why was she so rude when Poof complimented her earlier?”, Cosmo demanded, “You know he’s just about the nicest boy there is, so I want to make sure he gets the respect he deserves. Seems like this Julie girl needs to be taught some manners.”

“Cosmo, I really wish you wouldn’t be so hard on her.”, Linnie sighed, “Darren found her actually. He had a job interview and found her on his way home, cold, and hungry. We don’t know where the people that left her there are, she barely has any clothes that fit or are clean, and to top if off, there’s a bunch of scars on her legs and arms.”

“And none of those are self-inflicted?”

“Cosmo, come on. She’s a little kid. I seriously doubt she’d do something like that.”, Darren commented, “She has been very skittish around her though. Just the other day, she pissed all over the carpet when she needed the bathroom.”

“Seriously?”, Cosmo snarled, “I mean, I get that she’s scared right now. I would be too, but it’s not hard to go to the bathroom.”

“Darren, we don’t need to keep bringing that up, please.”, Linnie sighed, feeling as his words were going in one ear and out the other, “Anyways, I’ve just been so worried and stressed out about her, and I don’t think she has a home that’s taking care of her right now.”

“Right, and what’s that got to do with me?” Cosmo asked, sipping the wine, “I’m not looking to adopt. I wanted my own child, and plus, I don’t need another child for Wanda to ignore and act like they don’t exist.”

“Yes no, we’re not offering her. After all, we still need to figure out where she came from.”, Linnie stuttered, “I was just wondering if maybe we could have you help out when we need it. Maybe if Darren and I aren’t home, you could watch her for a little while, and I’m sure Cassia and Poof would like another playmate.”

“Maybe. I guess I could talk to Wanda about it if she ever gets her ass home, hic.”, Cosmo hiccuped, the wine really kicking in his system, “Tell you what though, she better learn some manners before then. At the very least please and thank you.”

“We’ll work on that.”, Linnie said quietly, before hearing a phone ring, coming from Cosmo’s pants pocket.

“Hang on.”, Cosmo said, headed towards the hallway, picking up his phone, “Hello? I’m at Dad’s, Wanda. Yes, the kids are with me too. No, you didn’t communicate that with me! Why do you only ever call me or talk to me when you need shit huh? Why don’t you ever call me to check on me and the kids? You think you’re too good for a family now, huh? Fine, see you later. Don’t bother picking me up.”

“Uhm..”, Linnie said softly, “So given the circumstances, I”m guessing you need to stay the night dear?”

“Well duh. I’ve been drinking, hadn’t I? Obviously I can’t go nowhere.”, Cosmo said sarcastically, “Do you have any more spare mattresses?”

“Well…no. I-I think if you want to take one of the couches, I can take the other, and then Cassia, Julie, and Poof can all sleep on my bed in the master room and Darren just sleep in his room, and we can take you home in the morning before I head to work.”

“Can’t I just take the bed and the kids take the couch? They’re smaller.”, Cosmo complained, getting Darren angry.

“Goddamn, just do what dad says already and quit acting like such an asshat. This isn’t your fucking house!”, Darren screamed, Linnie rubbing his temples, and feeling his heart pounding from all the stress he had been experiencing.

“You know what?”, he yelled suddenly, standing up, “Darren, watch the kids for a few minutes and you two figure it out. I don’t care right now. I-I..I think I'm going on a walk.”

[lu-morningstar]

amor - Chris Evans [Social Media]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Can be read as stand-alones.

pairing: chris evans x singer!latina!reader

a/n: the first pic inspired me to write something and while I was writing illicit affairs (still a wip), I thought, wouldn't Danna Paola be amazing for a face claim? and boom, here you have it. Please enjoy and lmk your thoughts.

chrisevans

Liked by scottevans and others

chrisevans road trip pals

fan1 omg Dodger 😍

fan2 who have him the right to look this good while driving

fan3 wanna ride shotgun with him

↳ fan4 I just wanna ride him 🤭🤗

fan5 am I the only one wondering who took the pic????

↳ fan6 I was gonna comment this lol

↳ fan7 is he seeing someone???

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yourusername

Liked by scottevans and others

yourusername got red cheeks. gracias sol ☀ thank you sun

yourbff good thing you ain't driving bebé

↳ yourusername it was 1 incident and it wasn't even my fault

fan1 why is Chris Evans's brother liking her posts??

↳ fan2 omg I didn't notice that? Is she his girlfriend or something?

anitta bella bella bella

↳ yourusername you more baby

fan5 she's on a road trip at the same time chris evans is... suspicious

↳ fan3 we don't know that. They could be friends that go on trips together or be in completely different places

fan4 omg ur so pretty

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yourusername

Liked by chrisevans and others

yourusername he said "get your feet out of my dash" so I did this 🤷‍♀️

arianagrande ur mind!!!

↳ yourusername I love loopholes 😂

fan1 omg that's Chris's car!!!!

fan2 that's Chris Evans's car dash

↳ fan3 he liked the post!!!

fan4 so they are dating asdfgh!!!11!!!!

fan5 I love her heels

↳ fan6 does anyone know the brand???

↳ fan7 check ynylnscloset

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chrisevans

Liked by yourusername and others

chrisevans mi amor ❤

👤yourusername

yourusername mi amorcito ❤️ chrisevans

↳ chrisevans amorcito ❤️

yourbff careful with those hands evans!

fan5 I love themmmm

fan1 parentssss

scottevans finally!

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yourusername

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yourusername amorcito 🤍

👤chrisevans

chrisevans amorcito ❤️

↳ fan1 Chris solo sabe escribir amorcito lol

↳ fan3 he needs Spanish lessons rápido!

yourbff no credits for your photographer? ok.

fan5 they have matching bracelets

↳ fan2 omg they do!!!1!!

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fan1

Liked by fan5 and others

fan1 Chris Evans and Y/N YL/N leaving the Golden Globes after making their debut as a couple on the red carpet.

👤chrisevans yourusername

fan2 they are perfect if that ever exists

fan3 I didn't know I needed Chris Evans and Y/N YL/N dating in my life but now that we have it, it's amazing

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yourusername

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yourusername me tiene como 'pa derretirte

chrisevans cant wait for the song to come out!!!

↳ yourusername dropping soon wink wink

fan1 we are getting a new song!!!!

fan5 new music!!!

fan1 the glowwww

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chrisevans

Liked by yourusername and others

chrisevans mi chica 😍 yourusername

fan5 Chris also knows mi chica. progress.

yourusername te amo

↳ chrisevans te amo

↳ fan3 they said I love you in spanish rip me!!!!!!

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༄✧*‧₊˚✧ ･ﾟ*:･･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧˖*°࿐

Wanna be part of the taglist? Click here or comment this post!

My Masterlist

taglist: @lharrietg ✧ @chesca-791 ✧ @justamarvelfan14 ✧ @marajillana ✧  @goldenrogers ✧ @sunwardsss ✧ @kaatelyyynn ✧ @high-on-darren-criss ✧ @chamorritaluv ✧ @justreadingficsdontmindme ✧ @barneskills ✧ @bval-1 ✧ @megatron07 ✧ @madisondelstan ✧ @moonshooter ✧ @nostxlgia18 ✧ @sophiaedits ✧ @mrsevansthefirst ✧ @fanficforfun ✧ @0mrs-evans0 ✧ @jassy2101 ✧ @stephv213 ✧ @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 ✧ @gitasor​ ✧ @lovelyleanie ✧ @food8me ✧ @patzammit ✧ ​@angelmather1 ✧ @sarahdonald87 ✧ @khaleesibeach ✧ @sebastiansstanswhore ✧ @boboxiaann ✧ @stillmanicc ✧ @bageracat ✧ @mayafatmakhan ✧ @wydtrina ✧ @iconfusemyselfalot ✧ @sleutherclaw ✧ @hallecarey1 ✧ @liltimmyst ✧

[colourfulwatson]

Breeders ep 10 season 3 - My thoughts (spoilers)

Poor Ava :( I hope things turn out well for her

I don’t like Luke’s situation, also Paul’s comment ahahaha. I mean I do believe in Paul and that he doesn’t want anything more with Gabby than a friendship. It’s interesting contrasting this to when Ally kissed that guy in season 2.

“Are you two having an argument?” Ahahaha I love this scene actually.

“Fuck him!” “Oi!” “Oi!” 🤣

“Ava’s going to check on granddad” ……. Oh she’s not. I’m glad they’re talking now, Grace’s reaction was not the best when that happened, glad they made up now !!

Luke talking with both Ally and Paul and comparing that to the start of the season - 🥲❤️

Ally’s not being reasonable in my opinion. Darren are you going to save this by being with Gabby ? ?? “what you see in her” ajshajsha maybe he’s not gonna save it that fast lol

“Paul, got any intel on Gabby?” “no” I love their delivery on this, I want to see more of them I hope we get a forth season 😭✨

“I feel like it’s the optimal time to me Paul” Ally !!! Honestly if they just talked properly and Ally wasn’t making those sorts of comments I think they would not make such a big deal out of it. Like Paul saying sorry is great and then he just needs to spend more time with Ally. Cause also it’s not like he didn’t want to spend time with Ally when he was with Gabby, he literally couldn’t go to his own home or see her at all

oh Ava, what is gonna happen ????? I hope he’s not dead :((((

OH we’re back to Paul and Ally 👀 ALLY ?! Paul doesn’t deserve this actually.

Oh Darren is still there ajshajhsa that’s so funny actually

And back to Ava ………..

“of you not fully wanting to be at home” But he couldn’t ??!!! Ally I swear. Or they make up at the end of the episode (which I doubt) or I need another season asap thanks

Ally’s been doing a lot and she had a really bad time so I see why she’s saying that but she’s still being unreasonable :(

If they end the episode by breaking up i-

Also Darren 🤣 I’m very happy he was in this scene

……… I don’t think he’s gonna die right? Also no one in this family can catch a break lol poor them

I didn’t really like Darren is season one cause I found him a bit annoying, now I like him!

“I wouldn’t really want a computerized voice suddenly telling me Jim’s dead” and this scene shouldn’t be funny but it is

Luke and Jacob? wow I wasn’t expecting to see them both in a scene alone idk why. But also Jacob??? you have no business in imposing that to Luke :/ Glad they made up but still

Uh so they think it was confusion, like fair enough. I wonder if they will find out it was a bit more deliberate than that

Jim and Jackie :(

Oh he’s stable and talking! :D Does he really not remember tho? hmmm not sure not sure

OH THERE WAS A NOTE? And of course Ava was the first one to find out the truth, poor love

Where is she going …? Oh she’s gonna tell? Oh she did, well done

SO THAT IS WHAT WAS IN THE NOTE 😢

Ava well done 😭

Less than 10 mins left wtf is gonna happen

Luke and Ruby oh 👀 actually I think they are cute together, very sad Jacob has that attitude towards them and that Ruby dated him for a while cause otherwise Luke would have a possible girlfriend and a good friend

Oh Ava 😢 Really good advice that she gave her, I was thinking exactly that yes nice :D

Paul and Ally again and there’s 5 minutes left ………..

OH HES GOING????? Well actually no yeah, that’s very reasonable and it’s what he should do in this situation for his dad 100%. “It’s bad timing” fuck yeah it is 😭

“might be good timing” ALLY PLEASE. Also she said that “you’re going away again” as if he wanted to?? and the first time he also didn’t want to either, I swear she’s getting on my nerves. I understand her but STILL

Paul with Ava yes nice

The kiss and hug 🥲💔

Just thought about how I’ve hated and loved almost all of the characters from this show wow. That hasn’t happened at all with other shows

Oh so they all know ok yes I’m glad they all found out sooner rather than later

Oh they’re talking about that yes nice perfect. Yes Ava great. She has a point actually I’m glad they’ve sorted that out and everyone is ok about it yes 😭❤️

“Where am I?” “Heaven, dad” ajshajhsja

Yes Jim’s situation is very nicely fixed. Not with Jackie but I’m glad he’s gonna live with Paul now. I wonder what Jackie will do tho

Gabby’s so nice to send that message I do honestly believe they are just good friends 100% I hope Ally sees it soon as well cause I do like Gabby as ‘a friend Paul has’, she’s nice

Oh Jackie and Ally came?! Oh????!!!! Jackie I love you. And the look Jim gave her 🤧. It’s not solved at all but this is hopeful for them

So Paul goes back??????? YES

Fuck me, the text alert, Ally please. Oh so it’s Ava ajshajhsa. I stop the episode to write this down I thought it was gonna be Gabby for a full 20 seconds lol

And it ends like that ok…. I guess that’s good??? right???? It’s certainly not bad I’m happy with it

Anyways when are they going to announce season 4 BECAUSE THE SHOW CANT END LIKE THAT - I need to know if they truly make up 😭😭😭😭 And I’m sure in season 4 a ton of other stuff will happen to them but come on I need to know what happens with Paul and Ally’s relationship, they can’t end the show with an open ended ‘it’s up to the viewer’ thing - please 😢

[meltdownwillbeawesomethisweekend]

I had to laugh at the comments lol. Mia and Darren are known for always having amazing parties, and music is always a part of them. Their wedding was also a concert! If anything this fits them down to a t. Not to mention Darren has already mentioned a few times they’ll be a musical family. So. It does check out to have a band

Music is litterally part of their life. They used it yo announce the pregnancy with such parent that kid is condamned to live and breath music. And tinhats to which music is Glee, Chris and Darren ... and people Darren talks about they kust cant understand.

[dominiquethevampire]

this was inspired by @darrenshanisabitch first question of the part 2 of cdf related questions: “If you could read cdf in another characters POV, what character would it be?”

**PS. This contains a few spoilers & also forgive me if any of my info is wrong I don’t remember all the exact details lol**

I would love to read CDF but in A Song of Ice and Fire way, where it’s one story taking place across multiple points of view at the same time. If you haven’t read it, it’s a series where basically some bigger characters have frequent points of view and you see them multiple times in almost every book, and then some smaller ones might have a few in one book, or even a single chapter across the whole series.

🔹I’d pick main viewpoints for:

•Darren: for obvious reasons.

•Gannen Harst: I think it would be more interesting to observe Steve’s descent into madness from the perspective of someone close to him, and especially to read the conflicting interal dialogue of not wanting to go along with the insanity but knowing he has to. (Kind of like Davos Seaworth) Also I want to know how he feels about Vancha.

•Seba: His chapters would be the Vampire Mountain perspective. The obvious choice might be the princes, but I feel like he would offer a lot of unbiased insight into the politics and going ons of VM. Plus he basically knows about like everything that happens on Vampire Mountain.

🔹Side viewpoints (multiple chapters but overall less than the main viewpoints):

•Kurda: We’d get to see him orchestrating everything with the vampaneze and how the actual plan was put into place. I’d still keep his death from Darren’s POV though.

•Vancha: He’s obviously more relevant in later books, though I’d do a few chapters in earlier ones about what he got up to before he entered the main plot.

•Debbie: Her POV wouldn’t start until after the third book. Then it would come and go periodically, updating on her reaction to Darren leaving, her in teacher’s college, her starting teaching, etc. Also about her and Alice going off to recruit the homeless people or whatever they did. It’s been a little bit since I read the books lol

•Darius: Mainly to document his relationship with Steve, being blooded, what happens when he goes to VM, etc.

🔹Single chapters:

•Annie: I’d do a chapter documenting her relationship with Steve. Maybe a couple chapters, actually. One when their relationship is good and one about the part where he shows up in the middle of the night.

•Sam: His would be the prequel chapter to Book 2. It would cover him at home with his family, going through a normal day, and then end with him spotting the Cirque and deciding to go check it out.

•Gavner: Prequel chapter for Book 4, but it’d be the Liz story from Darren Shan’s website.

•Mika: I’d give him a prequel chapter about the time where he left the mountain & found out about the vampets. Maybe another chapter somewhere else too.

•RV: How he found the vampaneze

•Mr. Tall: There is a lot of possibilities for him. I can’t pick one. It’s hard since he knows the future not to spoil anything.

•Evanna: Maybe at the end where she’s pregnant? Idk, like Mr. Tall there’s a lot of possibilities. See comment about knowing the future above.

•Arra: I’d like a chapter about her and Larten reconnecting at the Festival of the Undead.

🔹Characters I wouldn’t give viewpoints and why:

•Steve: See Gannen above.

•Mr. Crepsley: His & Darren’s story overlaps to the point that if they both had perspectives it would feel like half a story from each of them instead of one complete story.

•Mr. Tiny: I feel like part of what makes him a great villian is the mysteriousness. Seeing what’s going on in his head would ruin that.

•Harkat/Arrow/Paris/Alice/etc.: Their stories overlap a lot with the above characters. I could probably think of a way to fit them in & I’m probably forgetting some characters but I have schoolwork & I’ve wasted enough time already:’)

I mean, just think of the possibilities. Paris’ funeral from Seba’s perspective? Steve climbing into the Coffin of Fire from Gannen’s perspective? DARIUS WATCHING STEVE SNAP SHANCUS’ NECK????

Author Darren Shan if you’re reading this I will singlehandedly fund this project

[serendipetite]

yes omg lei is def one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite character from meteor garden. he's just so soft and understanding and gentle but also so smart and funny and sarcastic. he was the first boy i fell in love with from a drama haha it's honestly hard not to love him tbh. and i agree the pacing can be a bit hard at times to be patient with but that's also something i love about dramas! i unfortunately don't know any blogs that actively post about meteor garden anymore though :(

this!!!!!!! he is so lovely and soft and gentle and understanding but he has such a sharp whit and isn’t afraid to speak up and i live for his little sarcastic comments. also daoming si’s massively huge soft spot for him. as i keep watching and see it all unfold, i really think those two are the closest and that’s why they can get at each other’s necks like they do, but then fall right back into being brothers and all being forgiven. the sharing bed scene....and how he wanted to tell lei right away about the birthday gift (and how lei just nom’ed it like that) i just love their friendship so much. and when they’re all hanging out and goofing off daoming will like catch his eye and they’ll share a smile. it’s just little things like that. but yeah whenever lei is on screen, my heart turns into the sparkle emoji. i think i’m adjusting to the pacing the more i go, and have just come to accept that any moment when everything feels good and calm is just the calm before another storm lol aww that’s a shame, i would love to keep up with what the actors are doing now. i know darren has that new show he’s starring in so i may have to check that out. 

[migleefulmoments]

Abby's running around practically screaming "they're in the same room together!!! COUPLES GOALS!!!!" and she has the audacity to ask other people how they're not mortified by their behavior? really?

Anonymous said: www(.)gettyimages(.)com/detail/news-photo/eric-podwall-and-ricky-rollins-attend-podwall-news-photo/1179378303 how have they missed this pic? You can see Darren and Chris in the bg and it looks like they're talking. So there we go, they did talk and they're not forbidden from interacting in public by evil Ryan Murphy or Ricky. They're two perfectly normal ex co stars who are friendly when they run into each other at parties but aren't BFFLs.

Anonymous said: And they wonder why D and C don't want to take pictures together? They've been tormenting them for YEARS with posts and comments and tags even without any single photo of the two of them together in the same place. If I was D or C I'd be terrified with the thought.

Anonymous said: there is no doubt in my mind that Darren and Chris had a conversation last night. they are friendly with each other. tinhats act like we think they hate each other, which is just completely untrue. they don't take photos with or mention each other professionally because some fans ruin it by saying their s/os are beards who deserve to be harassed online.

Anonymous said: And even if they did talk last night, which they most likely did at some point as they know each other and were at the same place and there's no reason to believe they would ouright ignore each other, it still wouldn't mean anything other than they talked. To go from "casual chat at a party" to "secret years' long marriage" is the definition of "get yourself checked out" lol

Anonymous said: I'm sure Darren and Chris talked to each other last night, but obviously not long enough to be caught in the background of a photo face to face ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anonymous said: “How amazing is this pic.  D talking to someone that is blocked and we can clearly see he is within speaking distance to the man he lives with!!!!!  I guess our theory is right about who is spending time with who. Shame there is nor formal pic. Bet they have a ton on their cells.” Gawd talk about desperation. abby should stop stating lies like they are truth

Anonymous said: “And more importantly, why do you care if they were talking? Does that threaten you? It should because it is sold they hate each other and guess you are as you had to send a hate message to me” lols no one thinks they hate each other but keep on lying Abby

Anonymous said: “Oh CC delivered last night!” lmaoo no they didn’t abs

Anonymous said: The bullshit abut Mia’s CDV costume is crap. People dress up as the devil but that doesn’t mean they worship satan! People dress up as bank robbers but that doesn’t mean thats what they are. Costumes are just costumes just like tv and book characters are just characters.

Anonymous said: "he ever wanted or needed to considering he primarily works from their home:)" Oh my god, that escalated quickly... so now they are a threesome or what? Where is this fanfic published because I'd love to read it lol. Their conspiracies get more ridiculous every time.

Anonymous said: Darren and Chris go to that party every year and never take a pic together, why do people think this year would be any different? It's clear that they're not comfortable with it for whatever reason. And it's not just the tinhats, people on twitter are obsessing over it too. They don't owe it to anyone to take a photo together.

Anonymous said: Hahaha tinhats are celebrating Darren and Chris being in the same room as if they just got a shot of them making out or something. They are like five feet away from one another, but hey it’s the best they can hope for at this point so I guess they will take what they can get. It’s just hilarious that they’re like “You can’t deny they were both there”. Why would we want to? No one cares that they were in the same room except the tinhats. The rest of us noticed that they went with their actual SOs

Anonymous said: "how does she stand in the same room as C/hris, an accomplished, beautiful, successful, highly intelligent, wonderful man and hold her head up? She is absolutely vile and  devoid of self respect." I would be soo embarrassed of saying that in public. I keep wanting to say "if Chris is a self insert, how on earth does she think of herself as beautiful" and even just writing it down as an anon makes me cringe and hate myself a little. What the fuck is wrong with this woman? I really am asking for?

Anonymous said: “What I would love is a photo of Chris and Mia” Abby would just spin it so that whatever expression Chris and Mia are making means that he’s “glaring” at her and she’s knowing she’s not the one Darren wants or some shit, just like they did with other pics with both of them

Anonymous said: It's funny how in Abby land that pic is amazing but if it was Mia in Chris' position standing that far away from Darren, it would be proof they're not really married because how dare they leave each other's side and talk to someone else. Also why aren't either of them smiling? I thought if you were near your real lover you had to grin as wide as possible?

Anonymous said: I'm surprised Abby hasn't complained that Will is standing in the middle center of the first costume pic on Chris' ig. I thought the most successful person had to stand at the front?

Anonymous said: Lol that "CC riot" is at Matt Morrison's party which the Glee peeps have been going to forever. Matt's manager Eric Podwall throws it every year in Matt's honor because it's also Matt's birthday. They hold it regardless of whether Matt can attend, one year he was in NYC because he was a BW musical but they still had the party in LA. Chris has been going to it every year. I think Darren may have missed some but I can't recall, in any case he goes to it if he's around. It's a celeb party.

Anonymous said: Like you said, for me Mia is clearly speaking to Chris. You can see Will and Ashley's pants, and she's talking to someone between them, where Chris was in other pics. They're clearly friendly with each other, but I'd say Chris avoids pics with them to avoid the crazies...

Anonymous said: "D talking to someone that is blocked and we can clearly see he is within speaking distance to the man he lives with!!!!!" LOL Darren is speaking to someone who isn't Chris. Chris is at the other corner next to Will, not looking at Darren, and Will standing there is blocking any sight of Darren for Chris anyway. That's the proof of proofs!

Anonymous said: Yep, Darren, Mia, Chris, Will, Ashley at a Halloween party and a picture of Darren talking to someone (the tinhatters insist is Chris) and Abby and her coven are going nuts. Abby actually says something about the possibility of 'a dalmatian (Darren) licking Elton John (Chris)' and the two of them in a dark corner making out. She truly needs help.

Anonymous said: There's a pic of Mia and Will talking at Matts party last night, WIA IS ON GUYS

Anonymous said: Darren is a Dalmatian tonight. Which will be interpreted as him “screaming the truth” to us all that he isn’t really allergic to dogs and that Mia is depriving him of pets which is totes “abuse.”

[gatticus]

a wild fic prompt: becca and gat and matching tattoos from when stupid drunk one night

YOU DID IT

also i havent forgotten abt the becca/troy kiss 1! i will do it-- also this is sooo long for a drabble lol, it ends a bit abruptly cos im tired, sorrry :(

also also  scroll 2 the end to see what they got on each other :) (johnnys one is very blurry cos i had to get it from a screenshot from tht billboard in sr3 lol)

What was my dogs name?” 

Johnny frowned. “Uh...fuck, I know this...Greg?”

They were playing a drinking game of sorts, testing how well they actually knew each other. A jug of a mix of spirits and an attempt to water it down with a soft drink sat between them, ready to be divvied out between the two of them. They were sat on the kitchen floor, crossed legs, like two teenagers at a sleepover--it was quite a step away from the fancy cars and designer clothes.

“Nope,” She smiled at his groan. “George. Drink up, loser.”

Johnny obliged, tilting the liquid down his throat. She watched his adams apple bob as he swallowed, the tattoos across his neck moving with the motion.

She needed to stop that pronto.

“Okay,” He wiped a hand across the back of his mouth. “My moms name.”

“I know this!” She demanded, finger in the air. “Jung Soo. It’s Jung Soo. I fuckin’ know it’s jung--”

“Yeah,” He laughed. “You got it.”

“My brothers name?”

“Darren,” Johnny answered instantly. “C’mon, that’s an easy one, met that scrawny fucker enough times. Uh… what time was I born?”

Becca blinked. Mainly at the audacity. “Are you being serious? What time you were born?”

“You dunno?” He replied, casually. Too casually.

“I mean, I know your birthday, but not the exact fucking millisecond, Johnny.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s not fair.”

“Guess.”

“Uh,” She racked her brains for an answer she wasn’t going to get. “You were born on the 15th April 1984, at...uh...4AM?”

Johnny winced.

“Was I close?”

“Kinda.”

She blinked. “Really? I mean that was just a guess. What time was it?”

“7PM.”

“‘Kinda’ close?” She repeated, scowling whilst she took a gulp of her drink. “You’re killing me here.”

“Tell you what,” He took a drink of his glass, unprompted. Maybe he enjoyed it. “Same game, different rule. I get this next one right, we get some new ink.”

Becca raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t really in need of anything to permanently stain across her body, she liked to have sentimental value behind those kind of things. She supposed that was a little strange, considering she had a wasp tattooed on her collarbone for the Skeeters--

--that was before Johnny informed her that the mascot was, in fact, a mosquito.

“Okay,” She supplied, a little warily. “What’re you getting?”

“Well,” He cracked his neck. He clearly hadn’t expected it to go this far. “You pick out what we’re gettin’.”

Matching tattoos? She supposed it had some meaning to it, but she had nothing in her head to pick. A dog? A dick? His mom? She couldn’t think of anything for them to actually get.

“Alright.” She was drunk. Fuck it. “What’s my full name? My birth name? And...when was I born? And what was my first tattoo?”

Johnny blinked. “You’re gonna make me earn this, huh?”

She hummed, grinning at him over the top of her glass. She took another large mouthful of it, grimacing before she swallowed. 

“A’ight,” Johnny’s eyes narrowed as he thought. “Rebecca Elizabeth Al--Hammond, was born on the 23rd of October...shit..I know this…”

Becca watched him with amusement, taking another sip of her drink. She buzzed pleasantly as she watched him concentrate, frowning behind his glasses.

“How old are you?”

“That’s cheating.”

He cursed, brows furrowing again. “1986. I got it. Rebecca Elizabeth Hammond, 23rd October 1986, and your first ink was…” 

His eyes roamed over her, checking every tattoo she had on display. His eyes lingered a little too long on the roses on her shoulder--a tattoo for Aisha, before moving on.

“Move your leg,” He instructed, sighing when he shifted it. “Nah, like--”

All of a sudden, his fingers were on her calf, pulling it out from underneath her. He ignored her yelp, examining the anchor tattoo on her skin. She didn’t dare comment about it, about how his fingers had no business feeling that good on her skin.

“There,” He pointed with his free hand. “The anchor.”

She was a little disappointed when he dropped her leg. Even more so that he managed to get them all right.

“Okay,” She pretended to sigh. “You got it. We’re getting massive matching schlongs on our forehead.”

“I think the fuck not,” It left his mouth immediatley. “Think harder.”

She chewed her lip as she thought, thinking of what suited it. She didn’t want to go too sappy, but didn’t want a dick either, or a deformed dog. She mulled it over further until a thought popped into her head.

“Get me a marker,” She demanded. “Quick.”

Johnny rolled his eyes, acting just as dramatic as usual. “What your last slave die of?”

“I shot ‘em,” She supplied. “they didn’t listen to me.”

He gave a short laugh as he wandered, or maybe staggered was the better descriptor, over to the draws. He was careless, throwing things over his shoulder and chucking things to the side before he returned, marker in hand.

“Maybe you should leave the drawin’ to the guy,” He warned, still holding the marker. “You ain’t no picasso, B.”

“Shut up and give me the damn pen.”

He only smirked when he handed it to her, sitting back in front of her. He watched expectantly as she thought more about what she was going to do.

“Arm out.” She ordered, grinning when he rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. “Good.”

She tugged his arm closer to her, uncapping the pen. She hesitated, thinking of spots to do it. The thought of it sprawled across his bicep was a interesting notion, she certainly wouldn’t mind looking at that every so often.

Instead, she settled for his forearm. She pressed the pen to his skin, signing her name down the length of it. 

“Oh,” He blinked. “Well that’s different. What you want on you then?”

“You choose.” She shrugged.

Johnny took the pen off her, pointing it in the air. He seemed to only take a moment to choose, before grabbing her arm, positioning it so her forearm was across from him. 

“You fucked up doin’ signatures,” He told her, as he scrawled his own onto her skin. “Mine is fuckin’ huge.”

“Then write it smaller.”

He didn’t reply, but the small grin on his lips was enough. It took him longer to write hers, adding a line underneath it for emphasis. 

“And…” He placed a final dot on her skin. “Done. C’mon.”

The moment he dropped the pen, he got to his feet. He didn’t wait for her either, he simply reached down to the freshly inscribed arm and yanked. 

“Fuck--!” She yelped, landing rather clumsily on her feet. “We should probably walk, there’s a rusty’s round the corner.”

“Eh,” He shrugged, starting off at a walk. “Car’ll be fine.”

-

The sun streamed through the window as Becca stirred. 

She frowned as she moved her cheek, before realising that she wasn’t on the sofa at all. In fact, this didn’t feel very floor like either. She cracked open an eye to reveal that she was in fact, lying on a chest.

She blinked, jerking back, before remembering who it was. Johnny was still sound asleep, his glasses pushed up onto his hair, face almost pressed into the sofa cushion. One of his hands was heavy on her back, the other flopped above his head.

She couldn’t remember the events that had led them there, but at least they were clothed. That suggested that they hadn’t done anything life changing-ly horrific. She slid off him, gently replacing his hand back onto his torso when she had landed on the floor.

Her arm itched. It could have been burning because she was still flustered from where, or who she woke up on. But as she glanced down and saw it wrapped, memories from the night previous flooded back.

They had crashed the car in the end, into a lampost, before staggering into Rusty’s. The tattoo artist almost told them to leave before they realised who they were dealing with.

Becca pressed her fingers to her lips to try and hide her smile as she realised her name was on him too. They would laugh it off, because of course they would, and go about their day. 

But it would always be there, all she had to do was look down.

“Hey,” She got to her feet, jostling him. “Johnny wake up.”

He groaned, trying to press his face into the cushion. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

“Johnny,” She murmured. He didn’t move. “Johnny!”

“Wass--” He shook himself awake, blinking blearily at her. “Oh. ‘Sup.”

“Morning princess,” She grinned, watching him frown. “How many aspirins do you need?”

“None,” He grunted, lips turning to a scowl. “I’m a’ight.”

“Liar.”

She rounded past him to get to the kitchen, listening to him grumble and groan to himself. They were both in dire need of a coffee and some pills, and she was nothing if not a deliverer. 

“B?” He called from the living room. “Yo, Becca, come here for a sec.”

She placed down the aspirins, knowing exactly what he had called her in for. She saw him, now sat up, staring at her signature on his arm.

“You got mine,” He was still staring at it. “Right?”

Becca took a seat across from him. His glasses were still in his hair, so she could see his eyes scanning over the ink on his skin.

“Yup.”

“That makes you a branded woman,” He raised an eyebrow, sounding way too flirty for the time it was. “All the men an’ women in Stilwater are gonna see that fucker from miles away.”

Becca rose a solitary eyebrow in return. “Not sure I like those implications.”

He had picked up on her fake disgust in an instant. His smirk grew the more he watched her, his eyes momentarily dipping down to his own name on her arm;

“Heh. Sure you don’t.”

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 6x07

I’m gonna come straight out and say that I loved this episode of Younger so damn fiercely that this week’s rambling recap will be a whole lotta gush and a whole lotta ramble because I have a LOT of feelings. Sometimes an episode of television lingers with you after you’ve watched it. It might be because something particularly memorable happened or because a plot point you’d been hoping for finally played out or the reason might be unclear, there was just something about it. This week’s ep, ‘Friends With Benefits’, was one of those episodes for me. I think it was the storytelling, the way this episode was written felt well paced, the moments of tension were somewhat contained but had room to draw us in and the emotional journeys of the characters were really palpable. Most importantly, these elements worked together to expand our understanding of the characters and I was not at all surprised to discover that Darren Star had written this episode.

Right from the get go this ep had me by my heart strings, with Diana and Lauren both pushing their press releases to announce the Millennial/Mercury news (Diana talking up only Charles, Lauren advocating for Kelsey, there was just so much about all this that was YES). Of course level-headed Liza saves the day with her wordsmithing, but I think we can all agree that Diana excitedly exclaiming ‘he’s here’ and rushing out of her office to greet Charles, much to the amusement of Liza, was the moment we didn’t know we were all waiting for. As Diana tells Charles that ‘it feels like all is right with the World again’ all I could do was internally scream 'same Diana SAME’ with a massive grin plastered across my face. Also, Charles + crew neck sweater + office = a combo I was not expecting but was also definitely not opposed to. Kudos to Darren for working the sale of Pound Ridge into the conversation, cue Diana’s characteristic lack of sensitivity as she reminds Charles that he poured his heart and soul into that place before advising that another marriage is probably best avoided by both of them (narrator voice: it won’t be). 

If anyone’s heart didn’t skip a beat when Charles greeted Liza so earnestly as she left Diana’s office then quite frankly, you should probably get that checked. FINALLY seeing these two in the office together, openly in a relationship, I tell you, I get giddy even thinking about it. Follow that with Diana flat out asking Liza if she ever feels like a wrecking ball and then blaming herself for hiring her was just SO Diana circa season 3 and honestly, it’s this kind of quality content that keeps me coming back for more. And no Diana, love is NOT blind, because anyone with eyes will tell you that as Liza enters Charles’ office and mentions that the box city may be covering the flowers someone sent, these two could not have looked more enamored with one another. There is something magical about this interaction, I know it was released as the sneak peek but it’s as though there’s a special kind of chemistry reserved purely for the office between these two and that palpability of emotion I referred to was evident as Charles was clearly moved by Liza’s gesture, not to mention her suggestion that they will go through the boxes all together. 

It feels like this whole season has been building towards getting these two characters to this place and honestly, I am a puddle because FINALLY we are seeing the sweet, loving, relationship that can just be. One of the things I loved about the storytelling in this episode was that it wove Charles’ growing resentment of the life he has been prescribed throughout, first evidenced by his reluctance to attend the Tuxedo Park Benefit. I really liked that he told Liza she’s off the hook if she wants and loved even harder her response that they can suffer together in evening wear, this woman is loved up to the eyeballs right here, even if her generous offer to sort through the boxes in her office alone included wanting to catch a sneaky peek at the manuscript she spotted earlier. Did I mention I could watch a whole episode of adorable Charles and Liza office interactions? 

Speaking of office interactions, can we talk about Zane who has apparently not only lost his ability to figure out how a coffee machine operates, but also his memory of how to behave in a workplace? Starting with his cocky assertion that he’s not going to be Kelsey’s problem (which I took to mean that Zane thinks Charles will be). I have to say, seeing Zane grow increasingly unhinged was a little amusing, particularly as Kelsey absolutely rocked it with boss mode activated this episode. Finally I saw her being a publisher, the meeting in which she outlines the need to each define their brands (lol at Diana’s 'I told her that’) was fab to watch and Zane’s impatient, 'Charlessss’ as Kelsey puts forward the idea of 'Exonerated’ being a better fit for Millennial was reminiscent of a spoiled child demanding his dad give him something he wants. He then throws an outright tantrum at the second meeting when Kelsey suggests that 'Arabian Sea’ (which looks like the actual worst btw) is not the book they should be releasing as their first title together (love Charles’ sextant joke and am so digging him in editor mode, including the awkward averting of the eyes after Zane storms out). Zane, dude, have some self respect. And respect for Kelsey and your colleagues.

Seeing Kelsey really hold her own in the meeting was great and I love that we saw her lunch time chats with Liza to give us insight into the journey she was on (again, the writing of this ep *praise hands*). Hearing Kelsey’s struggle to stand up to Charles and the respect she holds for him as her mentor was wonderful, as was Liza’s reassurance that Charles’ 'death stare’ was meaningless (not to mention smoldering) and that he respects her as publisher. I am so appreciative of the fact that we got to see the first meeting, in which Kelsey backed down, then the second meeting, in which she held her ground, to see the character growth taking place. I think it’s what made the manuscript reveal scene so freaking fantastic, I cannot even tell you how much I adore the way that all played out.  Here we have Kelsey, who has been working her way up to being confident enough to hold firm with Charles, FINALLY at a point where she is able to put her foot down. The way we are lead to think that Charles saying the manuscript Liza found is not something he wants to pursue is some kind of power play, before Kelsey firmly states that ’ as publisher, I am’, just makes the whole plot twist of Charles’s 'and as the author I most certainly am not’ one of the most satisfying/omg YESSSS moments this show has produced. I really hope the book gets revisited on the show and also, I know that we needed Liza not to know so we could have that divine final scene, but tell me Kelsey wouldn’t have immediately sent an all caps text screaming, 'I FOUND OUT WHO THE AUTHOR OF THAT MANUSCRIPT IS AND YOU GON DIE’.

You know who else was dying a little bit? Me when Diana rocked up to work in the most fab feathered hat, Liza dropped a Meghan Markle reference and we discovered that Diana was attending the christening of Enzo’s niece on Staten Island later that day (Diana’s 'it’s a low bar but I try to lead by example’ line, omg every week these lines and the delivery are too much). Can we just all agree right here and now that Enzo DeLuca is such a damn sweetheart, his 'you knocked it out of the park’ after Diana thanks him for complimenting her (p.s. she wanted to look nice for his family in case we weren’t clear on how invested D. Tout was in this relationship, I mean SWOON) was just so adoring. Diana poking Enzo’s sister in the face with the feathers kept the com part of romcom in play, as Enzo got up to fulfill his godfather duties and kissed his ex on the lips and I’m sorry but WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?

I tell you what is happening, the set up for the sister to inform Diana that Enzo pulls the pin on all relationships around the one year mark, emphasize the point that Diana Trout is NOT Amal Clooney (this whole convo was actual golden pieces) and to have the whole family out the front basically force the point that they want Enzo with Maria, including the ever OTT mother ensuring Diana is in prime position to be pushed into a bush. And why is this set up so darn glorious? Because as I mentioned earlier, we really got to experience significant junctures in various characters’ development this episode and here we see Enzo, who not that long ago was still living with his mother and very much making any decisions based on her approval, stand up for the woman he loves in the most wonderful way. The proposal was just so beautiful in its authenticity and spontaneity, in that moment Enzo realised as he said he hoped Diana would be in the family forever exactly what that meant and acted on it. Diana’s, 'is there a ring involved’ was every kind of perfect and seriously, these two are too much, I cannot wait to see the big Italian wedding with all the trimmings

While we’re on the topic of things that are garish, this week we also got to see Michelle again. But we’ll circle back to her in a minute, because before all these benefit friends start circling and being just too much, Liza and Charles enter the 'eighth  circle of hell’ having an actual conversation about work like couples do and seriously, I am simple folk and it’s these simple things, and I love the way Charles affirms that he intentionally didn’t wear a suit to the office because he was trying not to project authority and well yes, gush gush, it was all very excellent. Their whole convo was of course cut short as Bob and Julia spot them and yet another of my season 6 wish list items gets crossed off as Julia takes full credit for introducing Charles and Liza and Bob makes an unsubtle comment that that’s what they tell themselves anyway. I think my favourite part is when Bob asks Liza if she knows that Tuxedo Park is actually the home of the tuxedo and Charles has a 'I don’t think that’s right’ expression flash across his face. We all have one of those friends and the conversation goes from cringe to suffocating as all of a sudden Liza finds herself being included in plans to cruise to Singapore before the whole thing escalates when Michelle and Tom arrive. Getting these two in the same ep as Bob and Julia, I tell you, it was like the double jackpot of friends who are extra. Michelle is as subtle as a sledgehammer as she checks out Charles and Liza’s assertion that she has not been hiding him as there’s nothing to hide is re-emphasized by Charles, who reminds her that in this scenario, there really isn’t anything to hide, she can be herself, no lie about age or job or relationship is in play.

That is what makes this whole scene and the way the rest of the episode unfolds so good. Here is Liza, in a situation that she’s been yearning for, where she doesn’t have to lie and with the man she is in love with, yet instead of feeling free she feels trapped. Michelle further exacerbates things when she joins Liza at the table and once again has a dig at her relationship with Josh (Michelle really is kind of the worst. although between her truffle butter and Julia’s double balling I feel like there’s a potential friendship just waiting to blossom) and points out that Charles is a keeper. I did have a mighty chuckle at her 'oh my gosh’ when Charles took Liza’s hand though, in that moment I was also Michelle tbh.  Liza’s gnawing sense that she is once again becoming entrenched in a lifestyle she was happy to walk away from is confirmed when she arrives home to Maggie and reassured that it’s not exactly chocolate ice-cream like she had for 20 years, it’s more like chocolate choc-chip. Which Liza likes and I personally think is delicious and guava ice-cream does not sound like my wheelhouse at all, but this is not about me and I don’t know why but each time I’ve watched this ep (and it’s been a few times, I am high-key obsessed with it if you haven’t noticed), Liza taking her wine and the manuscript and sitting on the couch to read it up and gets me for some reason. I also can’t decide if that whole moment is a mood or a goal, but I think maybe it’s both at the same time.

Maggie heading out for the night with Josh and Lauren after 11pm further emphasizes the divide that is forming between the 26 year old life and the life Liza is currently leading. It is from this point that you get the sense as a viewer that Liza is actually stuck between these two versions of herself. I feel as though this episode, more than any other, showed her desire to take elements from each of these worlds to create her ideal life, but feeling overcome with a sense that it is not possible. Seeing Josh preparing his motorbike to sell, which Liza was certainly quite disappointed about (I have no doubt it was very representative of the freedom she felt with Josh and her idea of that life she lived etc), it is Josh who is moving forward and thinking of his future. I have to say, hearing Josh talking about Gemma is just too gorgeous, I am enjoying seeing this character have such purpose and focus this season. It is, of course, when Liza finds a photo of Pauline and Charles at the same benefit she just attended, that she feels she is seeing what her future with Charles looks like; reminiscent of her old life with a rinse and repeat of the life Charles led with Pauline (and we all know how that ended), and she decides to take Josh up on the offer of one last ride on his motorbike.

Sometimes I notice the music as I watch an ep and sometimes I don’t, but I absolutely noticed the 'we’re living in a fantasy’ lyric that played over the top of Liza getting onto the bike. I thought this was such an interesting way to highlight the fact that the 26 year old life that Liza knew no longer exists, other people have moved on, are at different stages in their own lives and she is, in a way, fantasizing about a lifestyle that is not necessarily a reality anymore, even if she wanted it to be. The conflict that occurred in this episode for Liza was internal and to convey that is no mean feat. During the conversation she has with Josh down by the water, her struggle is evident. As she recalls the story she read of an older woman and a younger man, Josh asking how it ends and her stating she doesn’t know, my heart actually hurt for her. While I appreciate that for some viewers this would’ve been a lovely ambiguous moment about where the Josh/Liza relationship may end up, in relation to the narrative that was unfolding I saw it very much as Liza being unsure where and how her current situation is going to play out, not indecision about her relationship or who she wants to be with. The whole scene is dripping with anguish to me, there’s the life that Liza wants and then there’s the man that she loves and the feeling that being with the man she loves traps her in a life she no longer wants.

Sutton Foster has the most incredible ability to make subtle emotion palpable, we get snippets of it in episodes every now and then, the awards dinner with Jay when she was overcome with that anguish and yearning for Charles when he was there with Pauline comes to mind, and this week as a viewer I could FEEL the journey she was on trying to reconcile these two worlds of hers. It was a wonderful example of nuanced writing and masterful acting coming together. It all really came together of course in the final scene of the episode and honestly, my heart is preemptively exploding just thinking about it. First of all, Liza looks next level incredible with the dress and hairstyle combo (yes Charles, 'wow’ is accurate). Charles’ teasing her about playing hooky so that Kelsey could read the manuscript she had found in his personal belongings was downright charming and as he explains that he is in fact the author and reveals his experience of having an affair with an older woman, you can see Liza wrapping her head around this new insight into him. When Charles expresses his understanding of what it’s like to be the young man in a relationship and also the desire and motivation of a woman in her 40’s to seek that out, Liza’s expression is one of both feeling seen and feeling exposed concurrently. As Bob calls Charles and Liza over to join the party, these two individuals’ journeys suddenly cross over and fall in sync.

Charles made the earlier comment about not wanting to go to the benefit, however Liza sees the picture of him and Pauline from years earlier and no doubt makes the assumption that no matter how much he dislikes it, he has always and will always oblige and attend such events as he has his whole life. What I love so much is that at the very top of the episode, Liza refers to Charles as having a career renaissance, which ties into the theme that has been woven throughout the season of Charles having the chance to start over and do something that is his own. In this final moment of the episode, as Liza looks utterly deflated, it becomes apparent that both Liza and Charles are feeling trapped in these past or preset lives that they actually don’t want. And suddenly they have the opportunity to break free together. As Liza asks Charles if they can promise each other not to do anything together in the future they don’t want to do, you can see her relief that Charles doesn’t want to attend the party either, however it is Charles showing her that he doesn’t want to be there that proves he really means it.

The significance in all this, I believe, is that Liza’s struggle has been that freedom and spontaneity only existed in the younger life she experienced and that most of the examples and experiences she has had of a forty-something life are devoid of that. As Charles and Liza run laughing down the street hand in hand and the episode closes it leaves us with the lingering notion that freedom isn’t something that’s attached to age, it’s a choice. It finally feels like these two characters are on the same page after so long and obvs I am utterly pumped to see what’s next.

I have said it numerous times throughout but overall, this episode was just stellar from start to finish. It felt like a pivotal point in the season that will really set the course for the rest of season 6 and there was such significant character growth and development for Kelsey, Liza, Charles, Enzo and Diana. The theme of spontaneity, with Liza seeking it out by leaving work to ride the motorcycle, Enzo proposing to Diana and Charles suggesting they run from the benefit, was so wonderful to see play out in different ways, especially as it was all the characters in their 40′s on the show who were being spontaneous.  ’Friends With Benefits’ has most definitely secured a place on my regular re-watch list. Now let’s hope we get to find out how that book of Charles’ ends…

[sht-ccshippers-say]

Darren is gone for work probably, Mia is enjoying some times with friends. Watch tinhats checking what she's doing and commenting about it for NO reason. Then they're going to whine because Mia is being shoved down their throats even though they're the ones who look for news about her lol

Exactly. The tinhats need to start practicing what they preach- if you don't like it, don’t look. Simple as that.

[hoseokmylovesworld]

Picture of Love | 04

Pairing: Photographer!Hoseok x OC x Producer!Yoongi

Genre/Warnings: Hoseok AU/Yoongi AU/Includes strong language.

Words: 3,598

Summary: Charlotte Galloway is the leader of the up and coming girl band, “She-Bang”, with a side hustle as a photographer for anyone who will hire her.  She meets a fellow professional photographer named Jung Hoseok who helps “She-Bang” realize their dreams and Charlotte to make a love connection along the way.

I walk back to my hotel room with only thoughts of J-Hope for the third time time this week, which meant I had that stupid ass grin on my face while stumbling down the halls of the sixth floor. I held the key card up to the lock on the door and walk in, in the hopes of hitting my bed headfirst. I was surprised to see my band members, Darren and Kyle sitting on the beds in Leyah's and my shared bedroom. They each stop talking and whip their heads in my direction as soon as I walk in.

"Oh. Hey...Everyone. What's up?" I say awkwardly, making my way to my bed that Carrie and Vicky are already sat on. Leyah, Darren and Kyle are perched on Leyah's bed. Vicky begins to speak.

"Uh, nothing. We were just talking about-"

"Where were you?" Darren cuts her off monotonously. "O-kay..." Vicky says to no one in particular. Carrie proceeds to rub Vicky's back in comfort.

"Why?" I question defensively, my bubbly, good mood ruined. Leyah groans as if she can already see where this is going, but doesn't comment.

"Well, you just left the group all of a sudden and we were worried." Darren looks me in the eye, raising his voice slightly. My face scrunches up in confusion and disbelief. Even if the group hadn't known where I was, Darren certainly could have told them, he saw me leave after all. I decide to leave that part out in my response.

"It wouldn't be the first time I 'left the group' Darren." I say using air quotes. "It's no big deal."

Darren's eyes go wide with accusation. "Yeah, but it's different this time because-" He stops himself. Leyah spares him a brief apologetic glance from the side. Kyle mirrors this expression.

"Because what?!" I urge, getting impatient.

"Ugh! Because you left with that strange guy!" He shouts. My shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Are you kidding me?

"Is that what this is about?" I nearly whisper, still trying to wrap my head around this situation.

"Yes--No!" Darren stumbled. His breathing picked up noticeably. "I just don't-"

"What Darren means to say is the band is a little bothered that you skipped out on us, especially when some hotshot photographer approached us and our leader wasn't there and Darren is pissed for God knows why." Leyah explained in one breath, which didn't seem to phase her.

Well, now I understand the intervention like setting, but that doesn't explain Darren's  resentment.

Back up.

"So wait. A photographer approached you?" I said, wanting to get to the bottom of this and avoid another one of Darren's outbursts.

"Yeah." Leyah continued. "Offered to make those posters and pics for our website we been wantin' so bad. Also talked a big game about getting us in touch with some 'important people'." She explains with heavy lidded eyes and air quotes.

Oh wow. This could be great. A push in the right direction without the help of Evan whatsoever. I originally took "official" photos of the group and posted them to our website, but I'm no professional and this could benefit us in a variety of ways, especially if they get us in touch with these 'important people'.

"Well. Did he sell you? Did you all like him?" I look around at my members for confirmation, avoiding eye contact with Darren.

Leyah nods. "We exchanged information. By that I mean I gave him your number." She spoke in her usual monotonous drawl. I can't tell how she feels about the situation.

I sigh. "Well, that's good. I'm glad...Um. I'm sorry I wasn't there guys. Really." I say trying to get back on their good side, but I noticed the only face that was actually bothered was Darren's.

"It's okay Char, I handled it. Plus you couldn't have known." Forgiveness actually seeping into her tone, but she glared in Darren's direction while she spoke.

Ohhhhh-kay.

"And that's why you're second in command." I replied happily. She looks away form Darren to salute me causing the girls and I to laugh lightly. "So...Are we cool?" I look at the girls with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Of course."

"Okay. Cool. I'm gonna get ready for be-" Before I could finish, Darren exasperatingly made his way out of the hotel room, slamming the door for good measure. Kyle stands from the bed instinctively, but doesn't move to follow him.

"What. The. Fuck. Is his problem?" I don't bother to control my volume, being utterly shocked by Darren's behavior.

"I don't know. I'm going to bed. Night." Leyah sighs and goes to lie down and browse on her laptop. Kyle moves closer to the door and out of her way. "Night I guess." I say.

"Oh and Char?" Leyah turns to me. "Don't let him get to you okay?" Her eyes were serious. They were sympathetic, but they sent a warning. I just nod absentmindedly, not being able to tell if she was talking about Darren or J-Hope. Or both.

Kyle hesitates in front of the door before locking eyes with me. "I'm glad you're okay Char."

"Thank you."

"Goodnight everyone." He leaves silently, unlike his furious best friend next door.

"Night guys." Says Vicky as she moves into the family room and Carrie, surprisingly, follows her. "Night." I change and take off my makeup, change into my pj's, slide into bed and check my phone before going to sleep. I saw a heap of messages and missed calls from my band mates, Darren and Kyle.

Okay now I feel a little guilty. Maybe just wandering off was a bit much. But it was kind of worth it.

I see a text from J-Hope and my face immediately lights up.

J-Hope: Hey. I know I walked you to your hotel, but I just wanted to make sure you got up to your room okay.

Me: That has to be the lamest excuse a guy has ever made up to talk to me. *laughing face emoji*

J-Hope: I know lol, but it took me 15 minutes to come up with, gimme some credit. *crying face emoji*

J-Hope: Also is it working? *winking face emoji*

I laugh out loud and try to control my volume when Leyah whips her head at me because I startled her. "Sorry." She nods and continues her browsing.

Me: OK, good job J-Hope. I'm fine and maybe. Did you get in okay?

J-Hope: Yup not to long ago. Now I can sleep soundly, knowing you're okay.

I literally have to roll my eyes, but I end up smiling like an imbecile.

Me: You're so lame...But thank you for caring.

J-Hope: No problem. Hopefully when we do this again I can do more than just see you off and text you if you're alright. *winking face emoji*

I could just hear the vibrations of his deep voice as if he were standing in front of me right now.

God the devil is tempting me again.

"Don't let him get to you."

What can I do? Do I flirt back or do I let him down easy? There is no easy, we are in too deep. But Leyah's words and the promise we made with Carrie and Vicky a year and a half ago kept echoing in my head. The promise we made never to get involved in relationships or romance.

"Love is just a distraction." I said to them with a bitter bite to my voice. We sat in a circle on the living room floor of Leyah's parent's house. Carrie and Vicky came here because it's where we would rehearse, I came here because it's where I stayed.

We had just been enjoying a romantic movie after a successful rehearsal when I began to get emotional and start crying. Memories of my previous relationship haunting me the longer I watched this couple on the screen interact.

The girls, of course, comforted me and I ended up telling them my whole life story, the parts I hadn't already shared with them.

"It distracts you from your goals and being all that you can be. It makes you weak. We are not weak." The girls look at me like I'm an anomaly they have to figure out even though they've already known me for seven months. "We will be successful...right?"  I look around to see thoughtful eyes and caring expressions. I could tell they took what I said to heart. They each started to nod one by one. Leyah reaches for my hand and mine latches around her's for strength. I can feel more tears begin to fall. "We will be successful Char. Thank you." She said, her eyes never leaving mine. I nod once.

"Let's make a promise from here on out. That we will not get mixed up in silly relationships or romance until we are where we belong. At the top."  I say strongly. You wouldn't be able to tell I had been crying if it weren't for the tears streaks on my face.

The girls think it over. "I'm down. Promise." Leyah says first, smiling me. It gave me immense comfort seeing as she doesn't do it often. "Yeah, I guess that's fine." Vicky piped up. "As long as I can still have sex, you got yourself a promise Char." She chuckles. We all turn to Carrie. "Well, I've never really been in relationship anyway so...sure. I promise."

"Don't let him get to you." I whisper to myself. He already has. But I really don't want to let my girls down or make them feel like I'm going back on my word. I could tell him I'm not looking for a relationship right now and tell him to wait for me.

This man does not wait! He's off meettin' bitches in Dubai! Men like J-Hope, with so much to offer, don't wait, they take what they want. They either settle down or move on to the next.

Are we ready for that? To be a one man woman again and try the romance thing one more time? I know I haven't laughed the way I laughed tonight in an incredibly long time and J-Hope was the reason for that. He made me feel wanted and happy and appreciated. Shit I sound like air supply again.

But the fact that all of that can be felt on one not-date is remarkable to me. It took me five months to completely warm up to my last boyfriend, the shithead, and J-Hope managed to crack the code after three days for Christ's sake. I mean if J-Hope had leaned in any closer before he played the shit out of me and walked away, I 105% would have let him kiss me. God help me.

Maybe this is a sign that I should probably try again. Maybe I don't have to be so afraid of love anymore.

I just thought that word...and didn't cringe. Progress.

I was just a shell of a girl back then. Not knowing which way was up, just that I would get there. I had my heart torn apart and shredded and wanted nothing to do with bonding with new people or creating relationships in the slightest. So I didn't let anyone in for two years, had meaningless sex to fill the void, drank myself blind and wrote depressing songs to expel the painful thoughts.

But now...what was the point? It's been two years. Do I really want to be alone for the rest of my life? Can I force my friends to make the same sacrifices I did? I should never have done that to them, it wasn't right. I just hope they can forgive me for what I'm about to get myself into.

J-Hope: No problem. Hopefully when we do this again I can do more than just see you off and text you if you're alright. *winking face emoji*

Me: What if I told you there might be a strong possibility of that happening?

J-Hope texts back immediately.

J-Hope: I'd say what are you doing this Saturday? I snicker at his reply gaining a suspicious look from Leyah.

Me: I don't know. You wanna decide for me?

J-Hope: Yes please. *smiley face emoji* How about dinner and drinks? Gary Danko?

Dinner and drinks? At Gary Danko?! That's like a five star restaurant! I should have known he had this kind of money. I do a little squeal causing Leyah to turn to me once again. "Char please. Silence is key." Silence is the enemy.

"I'm sorry." I say and reply to J-Hope.

Me: That sounds great actually.

J-Hope: Great. I look forward to it.

Me: Me too. Goodnight J-Hope.

J-Hope: Didn't we do this already? *crying laughing emoji* OH god here we go.

Me: Yeah except this time I don't look like an idiot. *flat line mouth emoji*

J-Hope: You're the cutest idiot I've ever seen. I roll my eyes and let out a giggle. Fuck you Jung Hoseok.

Me: Goodnight J-Hope.

J-Hope: Goodnight Charlotte.

Lord what did I get myself into?

++++++++

I wake up the next morning knowing I had nothing in particular to do today.

Should I even leave the bed? Yes. I get up and get ready for the day, whatever it may bring. I get dressed and lounge on my bed once again, scrolling through social media on my phone. Our fans left some nice comments on different outlets.

Should I text J-Hope? I toss the question around in my head and decide that it wouldn't be smart. I already allowed him to get an idea of how I feel about him, I don't want to text him 24/7 and seem desperate. Maybe I'll make him wait until the weekend. That'll teach him for playing me.

But I hate not having anything to do, I need to stay busy. I can't just sit here and wait for my band mates to pester me about why I wandered off last night and tease me about where I was. I respond to a few fans online, then I grab my wallet, phone and camera and head for the door not knowing where I was going.

But when I open the door I'm met with  Darren preparing to knock on the door, fist mid knock. He's almost as dumbfounded as I am when we face each other each other. "Uh, hey." He said in a low, unsure tone. His fist reaches up to the back of his neck and scratches nervously.

"Good morning." I reply strongly. "Excuse me." I say moving out of the room and trying to avoid this conversation. He moves further into my path and I glare up at him quizzically.

"Actually can we talk?" No. "Yeah, sure." I sigh. "They're sleeping, let's go somewhere." I move out and close the door behind me. "Okay. Where to?" He asks following me down the hallway to the elevator. "I don't know. You wanna get a drink?" We step into the elevator once it arrives.

"It's a bit early to be drinking Char." He drones in a judgmental but sarcastic tone.

He's not wrong, but-

"I meant like Starbucks genius."

"Oh! Sorry." Darren let's out a laugh and I follow suit. At least it's not as awkward in here with just the two of us now.

"But yeah that sounds good." Darren says looking down at me, meeting my eyes finally. I smile softly at him in turn and look away. We silently walk two blocks to a cafe near the hotel. We order separately because Darren knows my policies on letting other people pay for me. We sit with our orders and take a few sips each before Darren clears his throat.

"So I wanted to apologize." I just raise my eyebrows and nod once, gesturing for him to continue. "I'm sorry about last night. I acted out of turn and you didn't deserve that." I nodded not really knowing how to respond. Darren was behaving like a child last night and it wasn't appreciated, but he's usually a hot head and I wasn't expecting something like this.

"Um. It's okay, I guess." I left it there, not wanting to get into the actual dispute, knowing where the conversation would go.

"Good, I just-" Oh no. "Like I said, I was just worried because you walked away with that-that guy." He said the last word in disgust. Let's get this over with.

"I did apologize to the girls for that." He makes a face that suggest I might be mistaken about the topic of discussion. "I wasn't talking about-"

"Lemme finish, yeah?" Don't let him bring it up.

He pauses and nods and sits back in his seat. "I have to apologize to you as well. I'm sorry I ditched you guys at the concert last night and it won't happen again." He nods, still obviously bothered by something.

"I appreciate that, really." He says thoughtfully. "Of course." I take a sip of my coffee. Can I go now?

We sat in silence for a few moments when Darren opens his whore mouth.

"So are you dating the dude?" Fuck.

He looks at me hesitantly, like he was afraid of my answer. I would like to be, yes.

"No. Uh. He's just a friend. Why?" "Well you don't have many friends." "Well he's one of them." "Okay." We go back and forth.

He becomes flustered all of a sudden. He clears his throat and fiddles with  his napkin on the table. At this moment I can see J-Hope enter the cafe looking from side to side. Is he sure he's not stalking me?

Should I call him over to get me out of this mess? Would that make matters worse? I mean we have to deal with Darren sometime anyway. We've been skirting around this for so long now. The fact that we were obviously attracted to each other. If Darren asked me to sleep with him a week ago and any time before that I would have obliged, but I'm starting to think Darren has something more serious in mind than a one night stand because of the way he's acted these past couple of weeks. And I've decided to give J-Hope a chance so that's been put on hold.

"Uh, I was wondering, since you're single, uh, I'm single, ha..." I'm cringing please help. Send help!

"And I know you don't date, but...is there any possibility that, uh, maybe w-we-"

"Charlotte!" Thank you God.

J-Hope ended up being my savior anyway. A sign?

J-Hope bounds over to me excitedly. He rests his hand on my shoulder. "Hey Char! We just keep meeting each other like this. Oh I'm sorry, I'm J-Hope, hello." He says turning to Darren and holding  out his hand. Darren openly glares  at J-Hope, but takes his hand. The knuckles on J-Hope's hand go almost white and he winces from the intensity of the handshake.

J-Hope frees himself from Daren's grip and I send Darren daggers with my eyes.

"J-Hope, this is my friend Darren. Sorry about him, he's had a tragic day so far." I say emoting contempt in Darren's direction.

"Yeah, it's uh, nice to meet you." J-Hope muttered composing himself. "I remember you from the blues hall." J-Hope quickly pointed at Darren at his epiphany. "Likewise." Darren interrupts his glare at J-Hope to send a suggestive glance at me. I can practically hear the gears turning in J-Hope's head judging by his expression. He keeps looking back and forth between Darren and I and I can see a look of regret on his face, probably for intruding on this 'moment' between Darren and I.

No no no no no no!

"Okaaayyyy. I'm gonna go now. It was nice meeting you Darren and nice seeing you again Charlotte--Oh! We're still on for Saturday right?"

Fuck me gently with a chainsaw.

Darren's eye brows touch the ceiling and his eyes go wide. J-Hope is turned away from Darren and thankfully cannot see this. "Uh--Yes. Yes we are...yup." I say looking down at the table. "Okay. See you then. Bye guys." He walks away to get his coffee leaving me in this shit stain of a predicament. I watch him exit as Darren watches his own fiddling fingers.

"Just friends huh?" He grunts with a sick to his stomach look on his face.

Hold the fuck up! He's mad at me again?!

"Hold on! That's none of your business anyway! I don't have to prove myself to you!" I say raising my voice, blinded too much by anger to remember we were in public.

"I just don't understand-!" He shouts back. Darren's volume matches mine, but he stops himself, huffs out a huge breath I didn't know he was holding and plops his hands down on the table loudly.

"You're right Char." He says calmly. "I fucking know." I say still full of adrenaline. Darren let's out a bitter chuckle. What the fuck?

"I'm just gonna go. See ya later." He takes his coffee and leaves the shop.

Well shit. We came here together, now I have to sit here with this crowd who just witnessed my public 'domestic argument'. Plus he looks pissed and a little hurt. I have to fix this somehow before things get awkward. But I also don't feel like making even more of a scene than we already did by following him. I also just don't feel like doing this.

[lu-morningstar]

300 followers celebration!

hi, i am so happy to know that after a few months of constant writing in this acc i have reach 300 people following me! Been able to share my writings and edits and see your comments makes my days better, so THANK YOU SO MUCH <3

So in honor of this milestone & my recent bday (on the 20th) im trowing a special celebration! 

it begins on april 3th and ends on the 5th at midnight

join the celebration by clicking here and send something regarding the following:

concepts/requests

♡ make sure to check my request guidelines to see who i write for and what

♡ send all the requests you want but i can’t promise to completed em in 2 days or ever lol

moodboard requests

♡ just send a person + any aesthetic or theme

♡ been doing this for a while, its so fun :)

games/things to ask

♡ would you rather

♡ never have i ever

♡ fmk (kiss)

♡ questions about me from this post or anything you think might be great to do to celebrate

again, tysm to everyone who follows me or reads me <3 <3 <3

tagging people in my taglist: @stillmanicc ✧ @lharrietg ✧ @marajillana ✧ @franchesca-791 ✧ @justamarvelfan14 ✧ @goldenrogers ✧ @sunwardsss ✧ @kaatelyyynn ✧ @chamorritaluv ✧ @arymb​ ✧ @itstaskeen ✧ @cleverzonkwombatsludge ✧ @malfoyonfilm ✧ @high-on-darren-criss ✧ @viamiasoncrack ✧ 

[maxattack-powell]

Winter Break - Going Home (1-17c)

***This is an original fic that fits in between the Luxury Date special and Book 2/Chapter 1 (1-17c in my masterlist)***

Masterlist - go here for other chapters and related original fics

Disclaimer: The following are fics (adaptations from actual game chapters AND original works) to Choices: The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I (we) do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Nicole or any other IN GAME character. All of the ORIGINAL characters, storylines and events were developed for my adaptation of The Freshman story.

Comments: I enjoyed playing Choices The Freshman… and then I found this awesome group of people and their works - I’ve loved it all, very much so. Deciding that I wanted more interaction than the options allowed, I’ve gone through the first book, chapter by chapter (omg painfully slow) to follow the story (95-99% I’d say) and add to it as I felt would benefit. Now I am doing the same to Book 2 as well.

Basically, I wanted to include certain things that weren’t really full fic worthy, adding more substance to the story. However, I did add some full size fic moments also… some are included in cannon chapters and some are their own full chapters in between. I wanted to see MC and Chris through their freshman year… with more angst, fluff, sweetness, real life and overall detail. So, if you like that pairing then you’ll be satisfied, otherwise sorry James & Kaitlyn fans lol. I even added some parts from Chris’s POV, so that we have a chance to see what he’s thinking, knowing what she experienced.

There will be ADULT and/or NSFW moments in certain chapters - this is a warning lol. I will try my best to make it obvious as it occurs…

Paring: MC x Chris

POV: ~MC~ or ~Chris~

~MC~

The game and after parties run late, leaving Thibbs’s jet to wait until the group arrives so they can leave L.A.. They finally load up and head out early the next morning, somewhere around 1 a.m. The group of friends were still buzzing from the excitement, causing them to stay awake for quite some time. After an hour or two into the 7 hour flight, everyone finally starts to settle down. Most fall asleep and stay there for the remainder of the flight home.

Chris and MC snuggle close to each other in their reclined seats, sharing a plush blanket provided by the small crew. MC curls up against Chris, her head on his chest with his arm wrapped around her tightly, holding her close. They whisper back and forth for a while until it becomes clear they are both finally falling asleep, their words slowing and becoming very broken and incoherent. She lets out a soft giggle when he’s in the middle of a particularly pointless sentence.

Chris suddenly pauses, apparently realizing this, before speaking a final time with a sleepy grin on his face as he looks at her through narrow slits. “Yeah, I’m out… G’Night, MC.”

He pulls her close and they both fade into deep sleep. When the jet arrives in Boston, the crew gently rouses everyone so they can disembark. The group of friends walk together towards the parking lot and say their goodbyes.

Chris quickly unlocks his red Jeep Wrangler and starts it so it will warm up and MC jumps in to call her mom, while Chris stays outside talking to Darren and Logan for a minute longer. She lets her mother know that they have made it back to Massachusetts, but it will take a while for them to drive to Hartefeld, so she tells her to wait a few hours to leave the house for the reasonably short trip to pick her up.

Along the way back to their dorm, Chris and MC talk about their trips home and what they will do with most of their time away from Hartfeld. Both admit that they will be working when they can, as both they and their families could use the extra money right now. Each also plan on spending time with friends and family as much as possible. Both have missed them all greatly over the last few months.

As soon as they make it to the dorm parking lot, Chris and MC slide out of the Jeep and simultaneously open the doors to the back seat to grab their bags. However, when MC opens her side she finds her bag missing. She looks across the Jeep’s back seat and quickly locates it though. MC finds it already slung over Chris’s shoulder with his own, a huge ‘gotcha’ grin already in place.

She shakes her head and smiles before shutting the door and meeting him in front of the Jeep, lacing her fingers through his free hand as they walk to the dorm door. As they walk to and through the dorm building, everything feels so surreal. Most of the students are already gone from campus and it’s eerily quiet while also peaceful. It’s just, unnatural. Chris sets their luggage down near the kitchen table and heads into the kitchen.

Knowing that she has a least an hour or two to wait for her ride home, MC digs out her phone to check her messages and sits on the couch. Chris comes back from the kitchen with two water bottles, handing one to MC as he sits next to her on the couch. She thanks him and they share a moment of silence as they drink their water and reflect on recent events.

Both are fairly exhausted from the trip home, having only received about five to six hours of sleep on the flight, then following it up with an hour long car ride back to Hartfeld. With the time difference from L.A. to Boston, the morning was already well underway, working towards 11 a.m.

They decide to order a pizza and relax in the living room until it arrives. Chris stretches out on the couch and opens his arms to MC as she returns from her room with cash for the delivery person. She sets everything on the counter and smiles as she heads towards him.

He shifts to his side as she comes close, sitting next to him as he stretches out again before pulling her down, spooning her when she stretches out in front of him. He slides one arm under her head and the other around her waist, pulling her close and securing her spot on the couch. She sighs and shimmies into his warmth, quickly falling asleep to the sound of his even breathing. He falls right behind her in just seconds.

A loud knocking jerks them from their peaceful slumber, making MC sit straight up on the edge of the couch and look around befuddled for a moment, not yet aware of her surroundings. Chris lets out a low chuckle and sits up as well, rubbing her back for a moment before he slides around her and off the couch before heading towards the door. He pulls out his wallet and adds to the cash he grabs off the counter for their delivery.

MC stands and stretches her arms high above her head just as Chris returns to the living room, pizza box in hand. They turn on the TV and flip around until they find The Lightning Bug Holiday Special that the two of them missed during the storm a few days earlier. They both laugh and dissect the episode until they are exhausted once again. After a moment, MC turns to Chris and watches him as he types in a map app on his phone.

She leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, realizing that he’s mapping his trip home. She quickly notices the almost 6 hours drive to make it to his home in Cherryfield, Maine from Hartefeld, which is near Worchester, Massachusetts. She immediately frowns, knowing that it gets darker earlier this time of year, so the later he leaves, the worse his drive will become. She looks at her phone, noting that it was already noon, which meant it would turn dark on his way home no matter what, but the sooner he leaves, the safer the drive.

~Chris~

Chris turns his eyes from his phone to hers, noticing her deep frown. “What’s up?”

She sits back and looks at him, her worried expression growing. “You really should have left before now…” She trails off, gesturing towards his phone, concern lacing her words.

He gives her a light chuckle as he nudges her with his shoulder. “We just got back and you’re already trying to get rid of me, huh?”

She swiftly turns and looks straight into his eyes. “Wha–no! I… I’m worried. About your trip home. It’s going to get dark on your drive, even if you leave now.” She frowns and looks down at her hands, currently folded together in her lap.

He reaches over to wrap her closest hand with his, giving it a squeeze. He waits to speak until she looks up at him again. “It will be fine. I know upstate Maine like the back of my hand.” She gives him a unsure look. “Even in the dark…” He flashes her a snarky grin.

She sighs and searches his face. “When are you planning on leaving then?”

He shrugs but keeps his grin in place. “When are you?”

She scrunches up her nose and gives him a mock glare. “That’s different. My trip home takes like… an hour and a half or something.”

He notices her anxiety building over the idea of his drive home ending in the dark, so he quickly attempts to squash it. “Look MC, I will be fine.”

“But it’s a long drive, by yourself…” She begins and he nods, confirming her words. “…and you’re tired.”

He looks at her then, refuting her statement. “We slept on the plane and we just had a nap.”

She shakes her head, “That’s not enough, and you know it.”

He laughs, internally recognizing that she was right. He could feel the pizza and lack of sleep already weighing on him a little. “Okay, how about this. I take another nap, a short one, then I grab my stuff and go.” He sees her eyeing him suspiciously. “And if I start to feel tired, I get some coffee on the way home…”

She finally seems to relax a little at his new plan, making him feel relieved as well. The thing was, he didn’t want to leave though. He wanted to stay here, with her. As long as possible. It just felt… right. It was a little unusual to him how natural it felt to be here with her, without any interruptions or schedules to keep, even if it was just for one afternoon.

That’s when he felt it again, this time much stronger than before. The melancholy feeling that had been creeping in, starting the moment they touched down in Boston. He sighs as he thinks about how long it will be before he sees her again. Before he can touch her, smell her, kiss her… He almost groans when he thinks about that, his mood shifting slightly darker.

He turns and notices that she has been watching him, her eyes full of concern again. “What’s wrong?”

He forces a flashy grin. “Ah… nothing.”

MC studies him for a moment longer, clearly not believing him at first. She eventually looks away and shifts to a more comfortable position leaning back into the couch. She grabs a pillow and lays it on her lap before she tugs on his sleeve, insisting that he lays down.

Chris can’t help but grin, being more than happy to oblige. He shifts to stretch out on his back down the length of the couch, his long legs dangling over the arm a little as he lays his head in her lap, looking up into her eyes. “This. Is. Awesome.”

She shushes him and starts running her fingers through his hair as he tilts his head to face her. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh as he relaxes there, content in her arms. He struggles to stay awake and enjoy the feeling, to breathe in her scent, but he soon realizes she’s too good, and gives in to his exhaustion. He falls asleep within seconds.

~MC~

She lays there comfortably for a while, threading her fingers softly through his hair, over and over until she hears his breathing becoming more shallow, signalling that he had fallen asleep. She smiles as she continues to run her fingers through his hair, now more for herself. She takes the opportunity to study his features in detail, completely uninterrupted.

His hair was soft and thick. So thick, that she takes off her rings after only a few runs through his hair, not wanting to catch and pull any of it. She notices that his hair color shifts from a deep brown at the roots all the way to a lighter auburn highlight near the edges around the top. It’s a beautiful range of warm colors, so different from her cool platinum blonde. His eyebrows and eyelashes are a matching dark brown, making his bold masculine features pop from his face.

She softly traces a finger over his eyebrows, both a little bushy and thick, but not the kind that require a lot of maintenance on a regular basis. She laughs at that, wondering if he is the kind of guy who even worries about that type of thing. “Probably not…” She whispers to herself.

Her hand moves down his face, running along the line of his jaw. She feels some rough stubble starting to take shape as he hasn’t shaved since before they left for California. She thinks back and decides that she hasn’t really seen him with it much longer than it is now though, immediately making her wonder what color it was when it grew out. She had an idea it would be more auburn, like his highlights. The thought makes her smile wide. She always thought redheads, and red-beards, were adorable. The Weasley’s were her favorite wizarding family after all.

They stay like that for a while, her letting him relax in her hands before his long drive home for winter break. She continues to gently run her fingers through his hair, hoping he is getting some much needed rest.

After about half an hour or so, MC sighs as she realizes it’s probably time for him to get going. She hesitates just as she’s about to wake him though, not wanting the moment to end. She knows she doesn’t really want him to leave. She’s enjoying it, a lot. The break suddenly feels like it’s going to be extremely long. Usually the idea appeals to her, but this time, she isn’t so sure.

MC frowns slightly as she looks down at him, his face completely relaxed as his head rests cradled in her lap. She swears she sees a small smile on his lips, the corners tilted up just so as she runs her fingers through his hair a final time. Before breaking the spell, she gently grabs her phone from the side table and pulls up the camera. She bites her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating her plan.

She promptly gives in and takes a quick photo of him there, absolutely relaxed in her lap. Just to be sure she gets a good one, she takes a few more. Telling herself it’s just incase some are bad, before putting her phone down. Knowing it has to be done, though not wanting to do it, she sighs and leans over, kissing his forehead. His brow wrinkles slightly then fades back to his relaxed expression.

“Chris?” She says his name softly.

He doesn’t stir at first, so she tries again, this time rubbing his cheek and the rim of his ear before trailing her fingers down his neck. She says his name again, a little louder than before. “Chris.”

Chris’s brow draws together in slight irritation at the interruption to his blissful state. He grumbles and turns on his side, running one arm behind her back and burrowing his face into her lap.

She lets out a small laugh and tries again, this time lightly shaking his exposed shoulder. “Chris Powell.”

The use of his last name must have done it, as he rolls back slightly and peers up to her through heavy lidded eyes. “MC?”

She smiles at his sleepy confusion. “Hey there… naps over I’m afraid.”

He sits up, propping himself up on his arm as he pivots to look around the room, his mind focusing on the situation again. “How long was I out?” He mumbles through a gravely voice as he places his feet on the floor.

MC shifts to sit next to him, rubbing his back softly to help wake him up. “Maybe 30 minutes or so..?” She guesses.

He shakes the sleep from his head and turns to look at her, a warm smile spreading across his lips. “It felt like hours. What did you do to me?” He flashes her a playful questioning look.

She just shrugs and smirks, moving her hand to his neck and applying more pressure. His eyes roll shut and he lowers his face onto his hands, letting out a soft groan at her actions. She does it for another minute or two before standing and turning to him, offering her hand to steady him as he stands up.

MC starts to pull away, but he draws her close, wrapping his arms securely around her and burrowing his face into her neck, hiding in her hair. She feels his warm breath on her skin and shivers at the contact, running her hands around and up his back. He sighs and stands there for a moment. She understands the feeling.

She tilts her head towards his, her lips close to his ear. “Promise me something?”

He takes a deep breath, his face still hidden in her hair. “What’s that?”

She pulls him back, leaning to see his bright blue eyes. “Don’t text or anything while you’re driving. Please.”

His curious expression melts into a warm smile, his eyes closing as he leans towards her, their foreheads making gentle contact. He raises his hands to cup both sides of her face, his calloused thumbs running across her cheeks.

“I promise.” He whispers before he tilts her chin up slightly, gently covering her lips with his own.

The familiar electric feeling shoots through with the contact. It starts on her lips and creeps through her entire body, one cell at a time. Their kisses remain soft and slow, each trying to savor the moment as long as possible. He asks for more and she eagerly gives him permission, opening her lips more as she flicks her tongue out to greet his. He groans and presses his lips to hers more firmly, sweeping his tongue inside, playfully finding hers.

MC sucks on Chris’s lower lip a little as he pulls it back to look her eyes. Her actions make him pull her tight against his chest before taking her lips with his again. They eventually break contact and once again lean into each other, eyes closed as they press their temples together. Chris nuzzles her ear, causing her to shudder in his hands. He holds her tighter, just about holding her up as her knees feel weak.

MC lightly kisses the spot right below his ear, making him suck in a sharp breath. “Drive safe, okay?”

Chris leans back once more, searching her face with a cocky smile. “You got it.” He quickly kisses the top of her head before separating and walking towards his bag.

“Ah, almost forgot my guitar.” He turns and dashes towards his room, returning almost immediately with his guitar case in hand. He flings his bag over his left shoulder and reaches for her one last time, pulling her into a firm hug before he steps out of the door. “See you soon, MC.”

She forces a smile when all she wants to do is frown. “Yes, soon. Have a good break Chris.” She watches as he heads down the stairs, waving at him one last time as he disappears.

MC lets out a small disappointed sigh and heads back inside. She drags her suitcase back to her room and adds a few more items to it before setting it by the door. She doesn’t have to wait long before her mother calls her phone, letting her know she was about to arrive on campus. MC grabs her stuff and heads downstairs.

The ride home was enjoyable. MC missed her parents. She missed her old life. So it was easy to talk with her and catch up on everything she’s missed. The odd thing is, MC has a nigging feeling that she is going to miss her new life more. Even though it’s only been such a short time.

When they finally arrive back in her hometown, she grins at all the memorable spots from her highschool years as they pass by. She can’t wait to get home and hug her dad, to visit her friends and see her dog. She has missed them all greatly. For the first time since finals, she almost forgets the other pieces of her life that must now wait until she returns to Hartfeld.

Her dad comes outside when he sees them arrive, scooping MC up into a tight hug as he spins her around. He has hugged her the same way since she was a toddler, and she loves it. “So, how’s college life? Ready to get your masters?” He jokes as he removes her suitcase from the rear of her mother’s SUV.

She laughs at him as they walk towards the house. “Oh, you know it. Next I’ll be getting my doctorate and teaching before you know it.”

MC has missed this. The goofy banter that only she and her father shared. Her mother just didn’t get it. While she was sweet and caring, she was often too serious and became awkward when she tried to joke with them. It is cute though, but usually ends in failure.

When they enter the house her best friend runs to greet her, whistling and jumping up on her, dying to be acknowledged. She crouches down and hugs her border collie mix, Max. The excitement dripping off of him as he flounces around her feet.

“Hey buddy. I missed yooooou.” She pulls him into a big hug, making him actually smile through his hysterical panting.

She tells her parents she’s going to take her stuff to her room and maybe take a quick nap, the day finally catching up with her. She enters her room, followed closely by Max, and notes the time. She begins to wonder how far Chris has made it so far, hoping he was over halfway there at least.

MC barely gets her shoes off after sitting on the edge of her bed before her phone rings. She picks it up and sees that it’s a FaceTime call, from Chris. She simultaneously feels butterflies in her stomach but also frowns, knowing that he’s not even close to being home and here he was calling. Part of her begins to worry as she slides the phone to answer the call.

~Chris~

He stares at his phone, eagerly waiting for MC to pick up. When she does he can see her face and can’t help but grin. He was expecting this. This exact expression. Her face was a mixture of emotions, ranging from happy to anxious to angry.

“Hey.” He flashes her a big grin.

Her face scrunches up more. “You promised.”

Chris laughs and nods. “That I did… and I did not break it.”

He receives a look of disbelief so he turns his phone around showing her that he was parked on the side of a gas station. He even shows her his keys in his lap, not in the dash. When he spins the phone back to face him, he finds her expression much more relaxed, even smiling at him.

“Better now?” He raises his eyebrow at her and she nods.

“Yes, thank you. But what are you doing…” She trails off as she looks at him curiously.

“I started to feel tired, so I stopped for a break. I pulled in here and got some coffee…” He notices her smile grow because he kept another promise, “…and I knew you would probably be home, so I wanted to call and make sure you made it down okay.”

He clears his throat before continuing, “And… I wanted to see your face.”

Chris receives a blushing smile in response, making him feel good throughout. They chat for a while as he drinks his coffee. He happily listens as she tells him about her drive home with her mom and how goofy her dad had been when she arrived. She suddenly gets excited and spins her phone to show him Max, telling Chris that her four legged friend was the love of her life.

Chris laughs and lets out a big sigh as she turns the phone back to face her. “Well, I guess I should drop out of the race now, huh?” She instantly blushes on the other side of the call, obviously realizing what he was implying.

They chat for a few more minutes while he consumes the last of his caffeine, finally feeling it begin to surge throughout his body. She doesn’t let him stall very long though, knowing the daylight is creeping further and further away as he sits in his Jeep. He chuckles at her persistent worry about his safety, while something inside him loves knowing that she’s so concerned about him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll get going… I’ll let you know when I get home, okay?” He flashes her one last smile as she nods and they say their goodbyes.

~MC~

A few hours later, after dinner with her parents, MC finds herself back in her room, laying on her bed flipping through her phone. She sends out a few texts to her friends from Hartfeld, making sure everyone has made it home safely. She even chats through text with Zack for a while, making her miss him even more as the minutes pass. She jokes with Kaitlyn about holiday traditions in Texas, telling her that she expects pictures of anything extravagant she runs across.

MC makes Abbie and Tyler promise to take cute pictures together and send some to her, as they made last minute plans to meetup after the holidays since they live so close. She wishes James a Merry Christmas, and asks him to say hi to his parents for her. Even though they had an odd introduction, things we’re starting to calm down between James and his parents. MC wants them to know she really does care about their son. They are friends after all.

She did think about visiting with her high school friends tonight, but she is beyond tired. MC also knows what time she need to wake up in the morning if she was going to actually help her uncle at his store. That was her part time job for the break, helping her uncle keep his bookstore tidy, stocking shelves, updating inventory and checking out the occasional customer. She will never complain about this job. Not with her love of books, that and this particular uncle being her absolute favorite.

MC knows she’s not supposed to have a favorite in the family, but everyone does it - they just don’t admit it. Well, he was hers. Her uncle Mike is her mother’s younger brother. He and MC always had a connection, partially through their love of literature, but also because of their ridiculous interactions. They basically communicate with each other through pure sarcasm, and she loves it.

She scrolls absentmindedly through her Facebook feed, suddenly jerking into the presence as the screen of her phone lights up with an incoming SnapChat image of his Jeep parked in front of an adorable house. She could barely see it, the only light in the image from a soft porchlight. The caption reads ‘I’m home! Can you talk?’

MC smiles and sends him a Snap in return, showing her cute fuzzy sock covered feet with Max asleep right next to them. ‘Sure - just hanging with Max.’

A millisecond later her phone rings and she answers the call. “Hey, you.” She can’t help but smile, instantly feeling relieved to finally know he made it home safe.

“Hey, MC. Sorry I didn’t call sooner… I was attacked when I came through the door.” She can tell that he’s tired, but happy as there’s some humor in his words. Chris lets out a soft chuckle, his voice remaining low as he tells her how excited his younger brother and sister were to see him again. How he felt more excitement from seeing them than from any of his games at Hartfeld.

“I didn’t realize how badly I missed them…” His voice tapers off leaving only silence on the line.

MC sighs. “I know. Me too. It’s an odd feeling… like I’m split between two worlds now.”

“Exactly. I guess this is part of it.” He laughs quietly. “Adulting, right?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” She smiles into the phone, enjoying hearing his voice again. “I’m glad you made it home okay…”

She swears she can hear him grin. “I told you I would. You worry too much.”

“Never.” She can hear him laugh softly again, making her heart flutter.

Chris yawns into the phone. “Oh man, I’m beat. I have to get up tomorrow and help my highschool coach with some stuff. He wants someone to condition his new players over break. He seems to think I’m going to whip them into shape or something.”

“Of course you can. You’re Hartfeld’s star quarterback, Chris Powell. If anyone can, it’s you.” MC smiles into the phone.

“Ha, yeah. That’s it. Either way, it’s football and it pays. Win/win I suppose.” He yawns again. “I really want to talk to you more, but I need to get some sleep.”

She smirks. “Oh, what’s this? You’re actually tired now?”

“Yeah, yeah. You were right, okay? I’m exhausted.” She can tell he put her on speakerphone by the change in audio.

MC sees a notification pop up on her screen and puts him on speakerphone to open the text. When she does, she is pleasantly rewarded with a picture of a grinning Chris taking a selfie, his body sprawled across the bed. He’s shirtless with minimum covers across his waist. One arm folded behind his head, his expression clear proof of just how worn out he really is.

She stares at it for almost a solid minute, not saying a word as she bites her lip. His chest and abs look just as solid as she remembers. She runs her finger across the image, silently wishing she was there and able to do it in person.

“MC?” She hears his concerned question, confused from the silence.

“Uhh, sorry.” She laughs. “You distracted me.”

“Oh, really… I’ll remember that.” He lets out a soft laugh as she shifts on her bed to take her own selfie.

Curling onto her side, MC clutches a stuffed dog to her chest. She leaves her hair as it falls across her face, the blonde strands partially covering her eyes as she peeks through, looking into the camera with a cute smirk. She’s wearing only a tanktop and it fits her perfectly, the dark color contrasting dramatically against her fair skin. She studies the pic for a moment before she decides it’s acceptable, and sends it to Chris.

She only has to wait a moment to know he’s received it. “Well, damn. That’s cute.”

MC grins and climbs under the covers and turns off her light. “Goodnight, Chris.”

She swears she hears a slight groan before he replies. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

MC feels her heart jump at his words as the call ends. She smiles to herself and brings up the picture he sent back up on her phone, eager to look at it again. He really is tired, she can tell from his face in the picture. But his expression is almost…blissful, at the same time. She’s thrilled for him, happy knowing that he’s going to be able to spend time with his family over the next few weeks. She knows how much he has missed them. She smiles as she sets her alarm and rolls over to find her wonderful friend Sleep.

~Chris~

Chris turns off his bedside lamp and stretches out on his bed. His first thoughts are about how much better his bed is than the one at Hartfeld. He easily fits on this bed, the one at school, not so much. If he stretches out to his full length on his dorm bed, his feet usually go off the edge a little. He suddenly remembers the text she sent and flips his phone back over, opening the picture.

He studies the image for a while, his eyes growing heavier by the minute. Her expression is playful yet relaxed, while her hair is messy in just the right way as it covers her face. He can see most of her lips, and the smirk they are making. Chris realizes that her smirk, the one in the picture right now, is one of his favorite things in the entire world. He’s pretty sure she saves it for him too, which makes it even better.

His eyes trail lower on the image, down her arms, across her ribs, stopping to appreciate the curves of her chest partially hidden behind her stuffed dog. Her exposed hip is lower down in the picture, framed in by the top edge of her underwear, the photo stopping there. He can’t help but wish it was a wider picture.

Chris feels his lower abdomen flutter with desire as he continues to look at her picture. Knowing he needs sleep, he sighs and turns off his phone. He’s aware that he’s too tired to give in to the idea tonight, but he has a feeling he might spend some time with that picture tomorrow morning before jumping into the shower. He raises his right arm and drapes it over his eyes, willing the building desire to dissipate quickly so he can get some rest.

~MC~

MC wakes to her alarm going off next to her on the bedside table. She groans and flips over, slapping at the offensive device until it ceases its horrific noise. It’s 8 a.m., giving her two hours to get up, get ready and feed herself before she heads to her uncle’s bookstore. That’s one of the things she loves about bookstores, especially in this town. They tend open and stay open later than other stores. It’s perfect for someone like her who loves to stay up late, when it’s quiet and dark, reading into the early morning hours.

She sits up and reaches for her phone, causing the screen to light up with her movements. That’s when she sees it.

“Good Morning, beautiful.” The caption is across an image of a rising sun on the coast of Maine. She smiles as she studies the range of colors and life in the picture.

She quickly saves the SnapChat image and takes one of her window, the sun now slightly higher than it was in his. She adds a quick caption before she sends it. “You talking to me, or the sun?”

The next image she receives is of his smirking profile looking over an empty football field. She assumes it’s his high school, that he’s probably meeting his old coach to come up with some type of plan for his break. The caption reads, “Aren’t they the same?”

She quickly saves the image again, her face turning hot from his flirtatious behavior. “You’re a flirt. You know that, right?” She adds the text across a picture of her face, firmly pressed into he pillow to hide her red cheeks.

It only takes seconds to receive his response. This time it’s a short three second video of his face, and a slow growing smirk. He included a caption again, “Only with you.”

She can’t stop herself from capturing the image again, saving it for review at a later time. Feeling the butterflies in her stomach she takes a deep breath and jumps out of bed, getting ready for her day.

The hours pass quickly, her work flying by as she reconnects with her uncle while they spend time at the store. She tells him about her first quarter at Hartefeld, and he tells her about her younger cousins, his children, and all the trouble they have been upto since she left. Before she knows it, the afternoon has come and gone prompting him to tell her to go home. His part time worker usually closes the shop for him anyway since it was typically quiet as the night deepened. Having someone else there also let him spend quality time with his family in the evenings.

She waves goodbye to him, promising to visit her aunt and cousins soon. She realizes that it’s Saturday night, so the store will be closed Sunday. They decided that she would work 3 to 4 days each week to help him out, other than Christmas of course. She pulls out her phone and sends a few texts to her highschool friends, knowing everyone is in town for the holidays.

It doesn’t take long for them to formulate a plan, similar to the old days. They meet up at her friend Gina’s house, still having the biggest basement for everyone to hang out in. Just about everyone from ‘The Group’ as they called themselves, was able to come over and chill. She smiles as she catches up with everyone, noticing how some of her friends appear to have changed a lot, while others not at all. She is glad that her closest friends still feel the same, making it easy for them to fall back into familiar habits and conversations.

Gina was probably her best friend from high school. They had hit it off from the first day she arrived, the shorter girl graciously befriending the new kid that was MC. Gina is like a sister to MC, the only one she’s ever had. Her other friend Brittany is just about as close. MC calls her ‘B’ for short, a nickname of sorts that she had received from a previous boyfriend. It fit her, even when he didn’t anymore, so she kept it, letting only a select few actually address her in such a way.

There were probably 12 to 15 old friends hanging out in the familiar basement that night. All of whom MC knows well, some in a personal way. She looks across the room randomly while laughing at something B had just said, causing her eyes fall on Peter. He was one of the someones who was very familiar to her. She gives him a friendly smile and a small wave, hoping it won’t become any more awkward than it currently is.

She hasn’t seen or heard from him since the day he left for his freshman year at college, the year she was a junior as he was a year older. They dated in high school, but MC had always felt that something was missing, even back then. Sure, he was in great physical shape, his time playing football and hockey helped him accomplish that. He was nice, always there to help her when she needed it, and still be there even if she didn’t. He was smart and charismatic too, becoming the class vice president his senior year at Butler High.

None of that mattered though. She knew back then that they weren’t right for each other. MC really wanted him to be, but it never felt right. He didn’t do anything wrong, in fact he just about did everything right. But it never gave her a feeling of completion.

She knows now what that means, what that actually feels like. She didn’t realize what she was missing then… the way she feels when she’s around Chris, the way he makes her feel with his words and his touch. He not only provides the missing pieces, but also creates an entirely new feeling of support around her.

MC shakes her head, trying to escape from her deep thoughts. She inwardly scolds herself as she remembers that Chris isn’t hers to claim. They have only shared a few kisses at this point. Well, there have been more than kisses a few times, but there were no labels. There had been no discussions or spoken dreams of what could be between them.

She takes a deep breath, reminding herself that he had only come back to her just a week or so prior to today. She wants to trust him, to run blindly into his arms and know she can stay there safely forever. But there’s still a nagging feeling that won’t seem to leave her alone. She pulls out her phone and contemplates contacting Chris. She has yet to talk to him today. No communication since their morning snaps.

MC finally decides to snap him a quick pic of all of her friends across the basement floor. She adds a quick caption, “Reconnecting with friends. You?”

She tucks her phone into her back pocket and rejoins the conversation between Gina and B, laughing at their crazy stories from college.

Only about a minute passes before she feels her phone vibrate from a responding snap. When she unlocks her phone she lets out a small laugh at what she sees.

His image is very similar, except it looks like he’s at some sort of pub or restaurant, “Same. Wanna meet my brothers?”

She almost instantly receives another snap, this time with two handsome looking guys in it. She can tell they are the same age, so when he said brothers he must mean his friends, possibly old teammates as she sees their muscular arms and necks peaking out of their clothes. They both grin for the picture, one giving a thumbs up while the other flashes her a wink, “FaceTime me if you want?”  The caption reads.

She grins and steps away from her friends, getting a little bit of distance so she can hear when the call connects.

It doesn’t take long for Chris to accept the call, his appealing athletic profile filling up her screen. “Hey, MC.” He says her name warmly, happily, making her melt a little inside.

“Hey, stranger.” She can’t help but return the smile, her cheeks hurting from the pull.

“I want you to meet my brothers from another mother.” Chris turns his phone around, away from him and across the table, so the same two faces from the earlier snap come into view.

She waves at them as they grin and say hi back. She can still hear Chris as he introduces them, his slight accent sounding just a little more pronounced as his hand appears in the screen, pointing to each friend in turn.

“This guy over here, the one with the mess of black hair, this is Ryan. He was my Running Back. The other one…” His hand shifts to the right, “…this Weasley throwback over here…” She hears both Chris and Ryan laugh hard as his redheaded friend shoots him a narrow glare past the phone. “…this guy, this is Ethan. He was my Fullback, my savior.” Chris reaches over the table and ruffles his friends hair, receiving an even deeper glare.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for these two crazy assholes.” The pair flashes her big grins as they playfully shoulder check each other.

Ethan reaches over and grabs the phone from Chris, pulling MC’s perspective closer to him as Ryan leans into view. She finds a quiet room to talk in off the main basement room, gaining some privacy to properly meet Chris’s friends. The three of them chat for a few minutes, getting to know each other on a basic level, not really able to do much else in the current scenario.

Occasionally they flip the camera view back towards Chris, without his knowledge, so she can see the faces he makes as they tell her a multitude of things about him. She sees the embarrassment creep across his face a few times as they tell particularly amusing stories from their high school years. Ryan clears his throat after a few minutes of this, interrupting another story Ethan can’t resist sharing. He interrupts and pulls the phone towards himself, making MC smile with his overly exaggerated serious expression.

He quickly winks at her before Chris can see and turns the camera view on the quarterback, again without his knowledge. “You know, this guy hasn’t stopped talking about you since he got here.”

MC stares at the phone, her breath catching in her throat as she watches Chris. The muscular man on her screen shifts uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes going wide as he leans forward, silently threatening Ryan to shut his mouth. She quickly covers her own to smother a giggle while Ryan flips the camera back to himself as he bites his tongue, trying not to break character.

“I mean, seriously… can you quit stalking him? We’re trying to catch up with our friend here. I can’t believe he’s only been at college for one quarter and already has a groupie…” Ryan lays it on thick before he flips the camera view again, focusing on Chris.

MC bites her bottom lip while time slows down as she watches Chris’s reaction. His face turns dark, his blue eyes crackling as his brows slam together while he frowns deeply. She can see his hands clench into tight fists, turning his knuckles white. In a flash he lunges at the phone, or more specifically, the person behind holding his phone.

She gasps as the screen on her phone jerks around, giving her a view of the ceiling while a few elbows and other body parts come in and out of view. She can hear a lot of commotion as the phone gets knocked around on the table. She’s also pretty sure she hears Chris growl out a few ugly statements sprinkled with curse words. All of a sudden her view rights itself, giving her a much better perspective of the scuffle.

Ethan begins to speak to her then, “So, Ryan’s lucky he’s not getting his asked kicked right now…” He laughs as he turns the phone towards Chris and Ryan, now standing about ten or so feet from the table.

Chris has his hands tightly twisted into the fabric of Ryan’s unbuttoned flannel near his collarbone. His face is frozen in an even glare as Ryan’s hands grip Chris’s slightly taller shoulders with force, his mouth moving rapidly as he explains himself. MC notices that Ryan is also built nicely, but not quite as tall or thick as Chris.

She chews on her lip as she watches the tension slowly leave them both. Chris lets go of Ryan completely, turning sideways as if he was going to walk away. His dark haired friend quickly pulls him into a side hug, throwing his arm around Chris’s shoulders and leans in close, saying something that she still cannot hear. Whatever it was, it finally puts a smile from Chris’s lips as he looks down. His expression returns to a normal, sweet bashful smile.

MC lets out a sigh of relief while simultaneously hearing Ethan chuckle. “He’ll never learn…” He mumbles with a hint of humor.

Ryan pats Chris on the back and starts to walk towards their table. Chris is about to do the same when a beautiful brunette steps into view. Her long dark hair is made up of big loose curls landing midway down her back. She reaches over and places her hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop and turn to see who it is.

MC swallows hard. She knows exactly who it is by the look that crosses Chris’s face. She watches while he slowly closes his eyes as his broad shoulders slump slightly. The brunette runs her hand from his shoulder farther up his neck, her fingers wrapping around the nape of his neck.

Ethan quickly turns the camera back to his face and plasters on a quick smile. MC easily assumes he’s hoping she didn’t see much. “Heeeey, so Chris’s said you have a dog… oh what was his name, uh, Mac… no wait, Max! I love dogs, what kind is he again?”

MC forces a smile for his sake as he tries so very hard to distract her. She instantly feels closer to him, her expression thanking him for the effort although futile. “He’s a border collie mix. The best dog in the world…”

Ethan glances to his right for a second, and MC hears a familiar voice again, the volume level increasing with each word as he moves closer. “…said NO. Now leave me alone.”

Ethan and Ryan lean in briefly to give her a quick wave as the phone is immediately pulled from their hands. Chris tilts it to face him slightly as he glances down, apparently walking as he does, his face void of much expression. He gives her a small apologetic smile as he goes, reaching to grab something before she hears a door creak open. She realizes that he has grabbed his jacket and is now outside as he juggles the phone to put it on.

He finally gets it zipped up and lets out a huge sigh before he straightens the phone in front of him, his eyes locking onto hers. “Hey…” He says in a somewhat tired tone, a small smile curling the corner of his lips.

“Hey, you. Everything okay?” She asks quietly.

Chris nods as he leans against the side of the building. “Yeah, sorry about that. I know better than to let Ryan get to me. We’ve always screwed around, so I should be used to it.” He flashes her a weak smile.

“He really does care about you though. I can tell.” She gives him a reassuring smile.

He nods again and lets out a short laugh. “Oh, I know. I wasn’t joking when I said I wouldn’t be where I am now without the two of them. I’m glad they were able to get out of Cherryfield like I did.” He lets out a quick puff of air, jostling his bangs as his voice goes very low. “Would hate to see them stuck here…”

She stays silent and watches him as his face goes through a kaleidoscope of emotions for a minute. She sees just about everything cross his features, from warm happiness to anger and gloom.

~Chris~

He notices her silence and looks up into the screen, into her digital hazel eyes, seeing her concern. “I’m alright, MC. It’s just been a long 24 hours. Everything is so different… yet still familiar. Just trying to process, I guess.”

MC stays quiet as he works through his thoughts for a moment. She must have sensed his struggle as he hits a roadblock in his mind.

She finally speaks. “And Nicole..?”

His eyes flash up to hers before he shakes his head with a smirk. “Ah, saw that did you…”

It wasn’t a question. He pushes off of the side of the building and she hears his keys jingle in his hand for a moment as he takes a few steps. She waits as he unlocks and climbs in his Jeep, turning it on to start the heat as he places the phone on his console directly in front of him.

He finally looks up and into her eyes, searching as he rubs his hands together to generate warmth. “So… how did you know it was her?”

“I could just tell.” Her voice turns into a whisper. “She still loves you…”

Chris frowns and looks at her with intensity. “What? There’s no way.” He pauses and shakes his head, clenching his eyes shut. “Wait, even if she does… I don’t care.” He almost looks angry as he speaks.

He sighs and looks at her pleadingly. “Why are you saying this? Did I scare you when I grabbed Ryan? We were just messing around–” His brow pinches together tightly with concern, his expression becoming more worried by the second so she quickly interrupts.

“No… no, I just. I saw the way you looked at her when she touched you, and–” Chris quickly holds his hand up, cutting her off this time.

“Stop. Please stop.” He takes a deep breath. “Whatever you saw, is nothing like what you think it was.”

He lets out a sigh. “I can assure you that I want nothing to do with her. Not anymore. Not for a while. I didn’t even see her come in tonight, otherwise I would have left.”

He looks at MC very seriously for a second. “I need you to believe me. I need you to know that I don’t care about her like that.”

“But–” She begins.

Chris cuts her off again, his voice more stern this time. “MC.” He waits for her to close her mouth and for him to speak again. “What I said up on the roof, the night of the dance…” He watches her eyes as she recalls that moment.

“I meant it. All of it.” He waits as he looks into her eyes, instantly wishing he was able to touch her. To pull her close and hold her tight, so he could prove to her what he was saying.

He quickly looks away and snorts a small laugh. “Ah, if only I was there… or you were here. None of this would have happened this way.”

“I’m sorry, Chris.” She smiles weakly at him.

He shakes his head rapidly. “No, you have no reason to be sorry, MC. This is my fault.”

“How about we agree it’s no one’s fault and pretend it ever happened. Except for the stories part… I really enjoyed that.” Her grin grows and he feels the anxiety leave his body with each calming breath. “I would love to meet them all one day.”

He grins at her. “I would like that.”

MC’s head turns as someone knocks on the doorframe of the room. Chris curiously watches as she says hey to someone and that she will be out in a little while. He takes a deep breath as a sad smile crosses his face.

She turns back to face him and apologizes for the interruption, but he shakes his head again. “It’s okay, MC. I’ve kept you from your friends long enough. They deserve some time with you. I’ll uh… I’ll talk to you tomorrow, if you want to?” He gives her a cautious smile.

“I’m expecting that, actually. Don’t let me down here, football star.” She gives him a daring look, begging him to stand her up.

“Heh, you got it.” He gives her a genuine smile, finally feeling more at ease. “Have a good night, beautiful.”

He sees her flush at the last word, making his chest swell momentarily, excited to see her react to his new nickname for her.

“Night, handsome. Stay safe.” She tosses back, her competitive side clearly not giving in as she gives him a cocky smirk, his smirk, before she ends the connection.

Chris lets out a large breath of air as he leans his seat back and closes his eyes, his mind instantly drifting to detailed thoughts about MC.

~MC~

MC takes a long deep breath as she closes her phone and puts it into her back pocket. She glances over at the closed door, wondering why Peter had been searching for her a few minutes before. She frowns a little as she gets up off the spare bed and straightens her shirt. Once she heads back out into the main basement space, she finds Gina and B again. The two were in a deep conversation about classes, completely oblivious to the world around them.

She smiles and keeps going, making rounds to say hi to everyone she has yet to reconnect with. They each reminisce in their own ways, some telling stories, while others share pictures from the past and occasionally the present

MC feels a warm grip on her wrist as she’s laughing at one of her friends jokes. She turns to see who it is, finding the touch somewhat familiar. Her eyes look from her wrist up to a pair of deep brown eyes. “Peter?”

He smiles warmly at her. “Hey, MC. Care to walk with me outside?”

She stands there for a moment, trying to figure out what he wants, seeing how they had not spoken to each other in quite some time. “Uh, sure.”

They set their cups down on one of the many table surfaces and grab their coats before heading outside. She turns her curious gaze to him after they take a few steps from the door. “What’s up?”

He shrugs as he looks over at her, his expression soft and attentive. “I donno. I guess I just wanted to talk to you. It’s been a while, yanno?”

She lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, but I thought that was the plan. We agreed that we should break up and move on. So we did.”

Peter shakes his head softly, a small sad smile crossing his lips. “Actually, that’s what you wanted. I never wanted that. Truth is, I’ve missed you, MC.” He turns his eyes to hers, waiting for her response.

She stares at him for a moment, trying to absorb his words. They continue like this for a while, making a loop into the dark snowy woods before they head back inside. When she doesn’t respond after a while, he continues.

“Would you want to go out sometime, while we’re home during break?” The college sophomore looks at her, his expression hopeful.

“Actually… I’m kinda seeing someone.” Even as she says it, MC questions her own words. Were they seeing each other? She and Chris have been hanging out like they were, but they have yet to talk about it. No labels have been assigned.

She instantly starts to wonder if Chris is going to see anyone while he’s home during break, her thoughts drifting to Nichole again. She immediately shuts them down though, remembering Chris’s words from just a few minutes ago. She believes he was serious when he told her that he didn’t care for Nichole anymore. That he meant what he had said before, up on the roof. She feels her rampant thoughts begin to cool and she starts to relax.

“Ah. That’s probably who you were talking to a moment ago…” Peter calmly states, his face turned down to his feet as he walks quietly beside her.

“Yeah… His name is Chris.” She decides to give very limited information, hoping to reduce the awkward tension that just appeared.

Peter turns to look at her as they step closer to the house. His eyes look deep into hers, his words more than sincere as he gives her a small smile. “He’s a lucky guy then.”

She can’t help but blush and look away. “Thanks, Peter.”

He gives her a sad final smile, obviously hoping they had a different outcome from their walk as he opens and holds the door for her to walk back inside.

[racingtoaredlight]

RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 3 Extravapalooza

Immediately coming out of Week 2 the national conversation was focused mainly on the fact that my picks went a very respectable 10-5. But, after running out of superlatives to describe my handicapping skills, the discourse shifted in the direction of the absolutely brutal spate of injuries that took place. Saquon Barkley, Nick Bosa, and Courtland Sutton were all lost for the season with torn ACLs, and Christian McCaffery, Brandon Scherff, Jimmy Garoppolo, Drew Lock and a whole bunch of others went down with various tweaks and tears that will keep them out of game action for multiple weeks. That’s a lot of really good players! And Jimmy Garoppolo! 

There seemed to be a desire to chalk up a lot of the injuries to a lack of preseason game action, but I’m not smart enough to know if that theory has any merit. Hopefully, it was just a freak occurrence and we won’t see another week like that any time soon. If I can make a bold statement that I’m sure nobody has ever mentioned before: the NFL is a lot more fun when the best players are on the field.

My picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before things kickoff today.

EARLY GAMES

Los Angeles Rams at Buffalo Bills (-2)

The Bills have looked great in their first two games, no doubt about it. BUT, those two games were against the incomprehensibly shitty Jets and a Dolphins team that I don’t think anyone would call world-beaters. The Rams represent a huge step up in weight class, and I’m not sure how the Bills will handle it. I still love Josh Allen and believe in the Bills in general, but this game might be a little shock to the system for them.

Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons (-3)

I’ve read a few takes saying that a trip to Atlanta to play against a ghastly Falcons secondary is going to make Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense look much better than they are, but what this pick presupposes is that a meeting with Mitchell will make the Falcons secondary look better than they are.

Washington Football Team at Cleveland Browns (-7)

I know they gave up 30 points last week, but The Football Team’s defense has played really well through two games so far. They mauled the Eagles in a Week 1 victory that saw them sack Carson Wentz 8 times, intercept him twice and hold Philly to 57 rushing yards (3.4 yards per attempt) TOTAL. In Week 2, they held Arizona RB Kenyan Drake in check for the most part (86 total yards, 4.3 per rush) and managed to pick off Kyler Murray once while sacking him three times. Washington was done in by Calimari’s running ability, which is gonna happen to a lot of teams, I reckon. Baker Mayfield is no Kyler Murray when it comes to his wheels, so I’m taking the 7 points.

Tennessee Titans (-2.5) at Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota has looked DREADFUL so far, getting whomped by the Packers and then the Colts. I honestly don’t have a great reason for picking them, other than thinking “they can’t be THIS bad.” If this year has taught us anything, it’s that thinking things can’t get worse is pretty stupid, yet here I am. The only aspect of this game I have any confidence in prediction-wise is in saying that it’ll be the first early game to wrap up. These teams are gonna run, run, and then run some more.

Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots (-6.5)

Last week, I once again picked against the Raiders, and they once again made me look stupid by not only covering, but winning outright. So help me if Cam Newton leads New England to an absolute thrashing of this collection of assholes he will immediately become my favorite Patriot ever. 

If I wanted to give a non-spite related reason for my pick, I’d mention that Las Vegas will be without rookie WR Henry Ruggs , LB Nick Kwiatkoski and T Trent Brown, and that G Denzelle Good, T Sam Young, TE Darren Waller and RB Josh Jacobs are all Questionable as of this writing. I’m totally picking against them out of spite, though.

San Francisco 49ers (-3) at New York Giants

The Niners were absolutely wrecked by injuries last week, and now they’re playing again on the same turf that they feel took out their comrades. I can’t help but wonder if that’ll be in their heads a little bit, and if there’s anyone who knows the minds of NFL players, it’s a guy who’s never even attended a school at any level that fielded a football team. Nick Mullens is a pretty good backup QB, and it’s not like he’s replacing Russell Wilson, but still. I can’t take an injury-riddled road favorite starting a backup QB. Seats are rapidly opening up on the Daniel Jones bandwagon, but I remain resolute...for now.

Cincinnati Bengals at Philadelphia Eagles (-4)

I’m really torn here, because I am all the way in on The Joe Burrow Experience and want good things for him, but if the Eagles come out looking like an exploded diaper again it’s gonna get really awkward and depressing in Philadelphia, and I can’t handle feeling even more secondhand cringe and despair in these trying times. I’d greatly prefer a middling Eagles season that keeps their fans’ rage at no more than a simmer, and for that to be the case they’re gonna need to win decisively here. Sorry, Joe.

Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4)

After dealing with Daniel Jones in Week 1 and the Drew Lock/Jeff Driskel Combo Meal in Week 2, the Steelers defense will now have to contend with DeShaun Watson. In my expert football-knower opinion, this will be a more difficult challenge for them. Conversely, the Texans started their year with games against the Chiefs and then the Ravens, and while I do think the Steelers are pretty good, they’re a step below those two death squads. In what’s become a running theme in my picks this week, I think a bit of equilibrium is restored and the Texans have somewhat of a get-right game while Pittsburgh gets taken down a peg.

LATE GAMES

Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Chargers (-6.5)

This is a tough one. Conventional wisdom says 6.5 is a pretty big number for a rookie QB in his second start, though like everyone else I thought Justin Herbert looked more than legit in his debut. The L.A. defense has been fantastic, and they’re plenty good enough to paper over any potential rookie mistakes from their QB. 

I’m going with the Chargers less because of them and more because of how poor the Carolina offense has looked so far. Teddy Bridgewater is a great story and I’m glad he got himself a nice contract after his horrific leg injury in Minnesota, but he hasn’t looked like an NFL starter this year. New Panthers OC Joe Brady performed a miracle and gave the LSU Tigers an offense for the ages, so he clearly knows what he’s doing. Maybe the Panthers will get it together as the season goes on, but for this week I don’t see it, especially without all-world RB Christian McCaffery. 

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts (-11.5)

11.5! That’s a large number for a pro game, and it’s terrible that I didn’t have to grapple all that much with laying the points. The Jets have looked historically awful and I feel bad for everyone on their sideline except for Adam Gase and Gregg Williams. Fuck those two. I don’t have a solid read on the Colts quite yet, but I’ve been around long enough to know that a Phillip Rivers-led squad would NEVER blow a layup like this.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6) at Denver Broncos

I get that Tampa Bay is the road team here, but A) there are no fans in the stands, B) Denver has lost several key players to injury and C) they’re starting Jeff Driskel at Quarterback. The Bucs giving less than a TD seems odd to me. Maybe there’s some concern about the altitude affecting Tom Brady’s elderly lungs, or about the possibility of Rob Gronkowski buying thousands of dollars worth of edibles in Denver and mixing them in with the pregame spread. Classic Gronk move, imo.

Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals (-5.5)

I don’t see any way the Lions slow down this Cardinals offense, so their only hope is to outscore them. If stud WR Kenny Golladay were healthy I’d like Detroit’s chances a whole lot more, but he’s listed as Questionable with an injured hammy at the moment and on Friday assessed his situation as follows: “Wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent. I really wouldn’t even put a percentage on it, I just know I’m not 100 percent.” That doesn’t sound great to me, but I don’t come from an All Medical family, so I could be wrong.

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks (-5)

The formerly formidable Seattle Seahawks secondary has given up 450 passing yards to Matt Ryan, and 397 yards to Cam Newton in their two games this season, while the Cowboys were also carved up by Matty Ice (lol) in their insanely improbable Week 2 win. Both of these passing attacks are fantastic, so this feels like an absolute orgy of touchdowns in the making. This game has the week’s highest over-under at 56.5, so I’m not exactly breaking any new ground with this analysis. That’s really the main hallmark of this blog series, now that I think about it. 

SNF: Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints (-3)

This game would be a lot more fun if All-Pro WRs Michael Thomas and Davante Adams were suiting up at 100% for their respective teams, but sometimes the Football Gods are dicks. Thomas is OUT with an ankle injury, and as of this writing Adams is being called a game-time decision with a bad hamstring. I’m guessing the game is gonna be more Aaron Jones vs Alvin Kamara than the Aaron Rodgers vs Drew Brees matchup it’s being billed as. That’s still plenty good enough to get me to tune in, as those guys are great in their own right. All things being equal, I trust Aaron Rodgers more to make chicken salad out of chicken shit against the Saints D at this point in time, so I’m giving Green Bay the edge. 

Every time Sean Payton takes his 1st ballot Hall of Fame QB off the field in favor of Taysom Hill, an angel gets its oxycodone prescription refilled. 

MNF: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens (-3.5)

My feelings on this game can be summed up by one of the great orators of modern times, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair:

Last Week’s Record: 10-5

Season Record: 19-11-1