#i do think the whole story is gonna turn out WAY better because of it tho

[mortallycoiled]

Who's sanctuary?? 👀👀👀

ok sanctuary is a character that i made back when i was working out how both the cycle works and how sundogs/mooncats work, but since ive changed a LOT of stuff since then i need to change their character a lot too.

back when i had way less developed, i had the main difference between sundogs and mooncats (other than their alignment) be that sundogs just kind of started out like that, while mooncats acted more like saithood, where someone who died doing or being involved in something significant would be resurrected as a Mooncat with a relevant aspect.

So then Sanctuary was going to start out as a mortal (with a different, less obvious name). Sanctuary and Brutus would both be raised in the same temple/orphanage/refuge and be pretty close friends. There would be some natural disaster where the building ultimately collapses, Sanctuary and Brutus both being mortally wounded (Sanctuary having been attempting to clear as many people out of the building as possible, and being in the building at the moment it completely collapsed specifically because Brutus was still stuck inside.)

As Brutus begins to die, that's when Novice shows up, and is like. Hey i can't make you alive again but i can make you Not Dead so you can try to keep your friend from dying. And Brutus agrees and becomes a demon. Brutus tries to go over to rescue Sanctuary, but is IMMEDIATELY stopped by Judge who is like. yo wtf why are you not dead. because apparently sanctuary dying while unsuccessfully trying to save Brutus qualified them as a Mooncat. And because of Judge's interference Brutus doesnt manage to stop this from happening and now Sanctuary is a mooncat and Brutus is a demon and everything is fucked up forever

but now that ive changed up how spirits and souls and the cycle work I need to fiddle with that for a while. I still like the idea of Sanctuary being an old friend of Brutus who has her own responsibilities and power now, so i thiiiiink i might make it less cut and dry "mooncats are resurrected people" and more like. in order for mooncats OR suncats are created, it takes some of the soulstuff out of the cycle to make a New Guy, which tends to happen more easily around destruction (hence why sundogs popped up in masse after the whole Noxa Krav thing). in this particular case the universe just kind of grabbed whatever spirit junk was the closest and cobbled together someone new, and TECHNICALLY brutus was also supposed to be lumped into post-Mooncat Sanctuary.

instead of being like "oh shit i gotta save my friend" brutus is just like. EXTREMELY desperately trying to just Not Be Dead, which anchors his soul for long enough that Novice notices and is like. ok i can make you not dead.

so now its more like... brutus escaping the cycle in a way they werent supposed to. like their spirit was going to break out of the recycling loop but the way brutus did it is Breaking The Rules, hence drawing the ire of Judge, instead of it being accidentally interfering with Sanctuary becoming a saint. In this case, there's no risk to the actual formation of sanctuary; if brutus's friend had survived, the universe wouldve just. grabbed a different soul to lump in there. its an act of defiance that means nothing to the universe but EVERYTHING to brutus and judge is still fucking pissed about it just because it's technically not supposed to happen

[darnell-la]

Just a little request okay so picture this, logans hitting it from thr back right, with wade in front of on the bed with his legs spread. she's sucking his cock, but logan, all mean with it, gets impatient and shoves her head down all the way on wades dick, and keeps it there as he fucks her. wade is obviously turned on, a little shocked, and asks if she's okay. logan says "yeah she's fine, i trained her throat for this"

note: oh, we gettin’ nasty… we genuinely feel like Logan would share y/n with Wade for his pleasure…

———

How do you guys feel about a x men story with reader? Logan being rude Logan at first, then slowly shows small affection towards the reader. Jealousy and things of that sort. They soon hit it off, and after Logan starts acting rude again, because he’s scared of the love he grew for her. It’ll be a long story, but something to read at night. ALL ON WATTPAD! Comment below, please!

———

“You’re such a tease, y/n. Fuck!” Wade stressed as y/n slowly stroked his cock, watching pre cum leak from the tip. “C’mon, Bub — Don’t keep the man waiting. You know he’s been waitin’ a while for this,” Logan said, but that was why she took her time.

“Be patient boys,” y/n said before leaning down to suck on the man's balls, causing her back to arch. Wade had a great view of the woman. Logan as well, but he was getting irritated with his girl.

Logan had tried fucking her a bit harder, telling her to suck the man off like he demanded a few minutes ago, but she continued to take her time.

“Don’t make me tell you again, princess,” Logan said, hands gripping the girl's ass cheek to intimidate her, but all that did was make her moan, sending vibrations through Wade’s balls.

“F-Fuckin’ hell, peanuts. Please, just- just fuckin’ put it in,” the man stuttered, feeling an orgasm near and she hadn’t even sucked his cock.

“Alright, I’ve had enough,” Logan said as he bent over and grabbed a full hand off Y/n’s hair. The man pulled the young lady up before pushing her down on Wade’s cock, forcing Wade’s length to push through her mouth.

“Holy shit!” The man groaned as he gripped the sheets, finally feeling whole. Y/n cried out to Logan, but they were muffled.

“Shit, man, I-I think that’s too much for her,” Wade said as he looked at the view of y/n gagging on his cock. He loved the way she looked, falling in love with her glossy eyes, but he wanted to make sure she was fine.

“You good, peanut?” Wade struggled to ask. “Yeah, she’s done. I trained her for this,” Logan admitted, still pounding into his girl from the back. He never slowed down, he only sped up, making sure she knew she was in trouble for misbehaving for company.

“Fuck — Are you sure?” Wade asked as Logan forced the poor girl to bob her head, repeatedly taking in Wade’s long and thick length with no breaks.

“Yep, and she better be glad we have company. That shit she tried pullin’ doesn’t work when we’re alone. I’ll remind her about that later,”

Y/n whined, making sure Logan knew she was sorry, but that only made Wade buck his hips and throw his head back.

“S-Shit, I’m close,” Wade said, making Logan smirk down at the girl. Even though she couldn’t see her boyfriend, she could feel the look he was giving her.

“You hear that, Bub? Wade’s gonna cum. You gonna take it like I thought you too?” He asked as y/n’s hands rested on Wade’s abs, trying to keep herself up and slightly stop Logan from his rough acts.

“Mhm hm!” Y/n answered, slightly scratching the man’s stomach beneath her. “Good girl,” Logan said as he roughly brought a hand down on her ass.

That was the last vibration Wade could take before he shot in the girl's mouth. Logan pushed y/n’s head down, forcing Wade’s seed to spill down their throat and she fought for air.

“Fuuuuck,” Wade fully laid down on the bed, taking in how good she felt around him when he came. “You hear that, baby? He likes it. You make him feel so good,” Logan got off at the way Wade, another man felt from the effect of his girlfriend.

“So fuckin’ good for me, baby. Always quick to let me try new things out — Gotta do this more often — Gonna cum faster than usual,”

And he didn’t lie. A few pumps and he was spilling inside of y/n, filling her with a loud groan he wouldn’t dare keep back.

[ennabear]

hi ennabearrrr...im back at it again...poppin in your inbox with a request for more loser!abby fluff if u want! 💙 i need her to be all blushy and squishy and i literally want to just EAT HER WHOLEKELFKTO love your writing soso much, it brightens up my day every time!

ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ HIIII SWEET PLUTOBEAR!!!!! i love having you in my inbox don’t worry 🫶 i’ll build you a comfortable little nest so you can enjoy your stay and come back sometime... HEHE ANYWAYS making fun of this fucking loser again but she’s actually just me in another universe… nsfw at the end but i swear it’s cute!!! 18+

can’t stop thinking specifically about loser!abby falling asleep in front of you for the first time when she comes back from patrol completely wiped out. the trudge back to her room feels like it’s never ending, her whole body is sore and aching but she’d rather pass out in bed than on these concrete stairs. you’re sitting in her bed waiting for her— sheets freshly washed and pillows fluffed— when she clambers through the door. she doesn’t see you at first, yelping and almost falling backward when she realizes there’s another person in her bed.

“abby, it’s me.” you laugh, staring at her panting and hunched over form.

“jesus fuck, never do that again.” she sighs, holding her face in her hands.

you beckon her closer, opening your arms to make room for her. she flops right down on top of you, completely crushing you as her muscles relax. “how was patrol?” you prompt.

“mmmh, it wasn’t great.” she groans. “we almost lost a guy because he got shot in the leg. he was losing so much blood, saying shit like ‘tell my family i love them’ and it kinda freaked me out, you know how i am.”

“he’s gonna be okay though?”

“yeah. at least i think so. i just pray that never happens to me.”

“it won’t.” you assure her. “i love you too much to let it happen. plus, i wanna see what you look like with gray hair and wrinkles.”

she giggles softly into your neck, wrapping an arm around you and settling down. before long, her gentle breath turns into soft snores, and her soft snores turn into her sounding like a fucking chainsaw with a puddle of drool dripping down your neck.

you laugh again at your loser of a girlfriend, letting her exhausted cacophony of snores lull you to sleep like some sort of evil white noise. this was the first time in a while you fell asleep with such a smile on your face.

or… loser!abby oversharing to you while she’s drunk. you’ve never questioned why she was so sentimental about certain things, like how she could remember how and when she got every coin in her collection, but would never let you touch them. as soon as she got some alcohol in her system, she felt like it was impossible to shut up. (although she frequently felt that way, sober or not.)

it didn’t really cross your mind that she’d lost someone so close to her. sure, you’d lost your own family and friends a few times. the world is cruel but we adjust, we learn to grow around the grief, changing into bigger and better versions of ourselves. that’s what abby was good at.

she was so sweet, so confident, sometimes even a little bit of a badass although she’s a true dork at heart. so when you hear the story of her fathers passing, the brutality of it absolutely wrecks your heart. the fact that she was in the building when it happened, letting the mysterious murderer escape right under her nose, leaving her with a giant hole in her heart that could never be filled.

“i’m sorry…” she giggles through her waterfall of tears. “we were supposed to have fun tonight and i killed the mood. again.” you frown at your girlfriend, pulling her in for a tight hug and letting her sniffle into your shoulder. yeah, it’s true, she did technically ruin the mood. but how could you be mad at your baby? at least you know her better now, and she’d probably find another way to ruin the mood if not this one.

on a happier note, walking in on loser!abby masturbating... she’s actually had a great day today, and she wants nothing more than to be pleasured by her girlfriend to end it. she just doesn’t know how to ask for it. after giving you a quick parting kiss in the cafeteria, she showered and returned to bed, deciding to finally do something about the ache in between her legs. should she go get you? what if she just rubs one out really quick and then forgets about it? should she wait until you get back?

fuck it, she decides, and she’s instantly shoving two fingers into her weeping hole. the stretch is easy, she’s used to it by now. she whimpers as her fingertips graze her g-spot, reaching up to tug at one of her nipples. “abby?”

“oh, jesus!” she gasps, clamping her hand over her mouth as her cheeks redden. “you have got to stop doing that!”

“having fun?” you tease, watching as her blush spreads from her cheeks to her ears. “yeah… well, no actually.” she sputters. giggling, you climb on top of her and tug your shirt off, then lean forward to place a sweet kiss on her nose bump. “would you like some help?”

as soon as you get her approval, your lips are suckling onto her clit with two of your own fingers pumping in and out of her. she’s breathing incoherent praises like “gah, fuck! oh- it- i’m !!!” as you slide in and out of her, pausing repeatedly to lick up some of the slick that’s dripping down your hand.

once she tips over the edge, you rub her thighs in encouragement, mouth too occupied sucking up all of her cum to praise her verbally. when you pull away, she’s staring up at you with doe eyes. her lips, cheeks, nose— fuck, her whole face— looking more kissable than ever.

“i’m sorry.” she sighs once you have her wrapped up in a warm blanket, guiding her head to rest on your chest.

“for what?”

she ponders this for a second. she’s so used to apologizing for embarrassing herself that she forgot you’ll love her no matter what, even if it’s as awkward as walking in on her with her hands down her pants. “uhh, actually, i dunno anymore.” she smiles. “i love you though.”

you crane your neck down to kiss each of her eyelids as they flutter shut for the night. “i love you too, silly.”

[fanonical]

look people who've been around here for a while know exactly how i feel about the early doctor who serial edge of destruction but i rewatched it recently and i have feelings

so edge of destruction is the third ever serial of doctor who, right? it's an unearthly child, the daleks, then edge of destruction. and it's also kind of a bottle episode. edge of destruction is a two-parter, and is set entirely on the tardis featuring only the main cast

the plot is weird. everyone wakes up in the tardis with confusion and memory loss, not knowing what's going on. the tardis isn't safe, and strange things are happening. the ship seems to be malfunctioning, but there's nothing notably wrong with it. everyone's freaking out and accusing each other of sabotaging the tardis or hurting each other

now, as i said, this is early doctor who. companions barbara and ian had been kidnapped by the doctor and susan so they don't tell anyone that time travel is real, and at this point they don't trust the doctor and the doctor doesn't trust them. the doctor immediately starts accusing barbara and ian of sabotaging the ship to force him to take them home, which they angrily refute. they've spent the last two stories saving the doctor and susan from whatever's trying to kill them

barbara has a speech here which is brilliant and i can quote verbatim. 'do you realise, you stupid old man, that you'd have died in the cave of skulls if ian hadn't made fire for you? and what about what we went through against the daleks? not just for us, but for you and susan too. and all because you tricked us into going down to the city. accuse us? you ought to go down on your hands and knees and thank us! but gratitude's the last thing you'll ever have, or any sort of common sense either'

and the doctor spends the whole two episodes either accusing ian and barbara of being evil or being wholly unhelpful. (he straight up drugs everyone with a sedative at one point!) yeah, turns out the tardis is trying to tell them what's wrong via cryptic clues, and barbara's putting the pieces together. and the doctor still doesn't listen to her! she's so close to figuring it out and saving them all - they're all gonna die in about ten minutes and the doctor's basically given up, but barbara's trying to solve the problem

and in the end, they have the eureka moment and get out of trouble, but barbara's still understandably pissed. that is, until the doctor takes the time to apologise to her and tell her that yeah, she was right and he's sorry he didn't listen to her and he's going to do better to respect her opinions in future. they go into the next serial as friends, a first for the series to that point

so why do i love this weird little two-parter so much? because it is the moral centre of modern doctor who. this is the start of the characterisation of the doctor that we know and love. before this, the doctor is ruthless! he tries to kill a guy with a rock! he sabotages the tardis to satisfy his curiosity and lands everyone in danger from the daleks! he drugs them just because he doesn't trust them! he thinks he's smarter, better, and more important than the people he travels with

but then barbara stands up to him. she tells him that, no, she and ian are important too. and no, they're worth listening to. and yes, they can help and are worth something. and that's important, because barbara and ian are way more compassionate than the doctor is at this point. they want to help people they come across even if it means putting their own lives in danger.

sound familiar? yeah, the doctor's whole thing of helping everyone they come across and compassion towards everyone starts here. this is one of the most enduring things about the doctor and it would never have happened without barbara telling the doctor he's full of shit

and it's all because he listened to an ordinary woman

[papercorgiworld]

Pansy’s potion

Draco, Blaise, Mattheo, Enzo and Theo

When Pansy gives you something to relax at a party all innocence leaves you and you get a little naughty. The slytherin boys try to keep you from doing anything stupid, but you’re making it quite hard.

Warning: very suggestive! And if your shady friends offers you a shady drink say no

A/N: Look dear followers I feel the need to apologise, because I’m less active. I still write and post, but I read less and I’m just less active. So if I miss out on your stories, moodboards, tags, comments or reblogs I’m sorry. Just know that my heart is with you 💛

While I was working on requests I also wrote this little side project of my own. The next request is gonna be very angsty so before the trauma I’m sending you some fun. Since I wrote this in between other works, you'll notice that it's a bit rushed, apologies. Also, It's kinda short, but still Happy readings!

Read part two here: Pansy's Prediction

“You are always so stressed. Here, have this. It will help take the edge off, so you can have some fun tonight.” You take the small glass Pansy offers you and study it for a moment. “What is it?” Pansy smirks. “Nothing too bad.” 

Understatement. It was bad. 

The next moment you’re dancing with Draco. You wrap your arms around his neck as you seduce him with your eyes, all while your body moves perfectly in Draco’s hands. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” He whispers against your ear and you brush your lips over his cheek as your mouth moves to his ear to answer. “I just wanna have a little fun. You don’t mind, do you?” Draco swallows hard and he feels his whole body heat up, next you turn around, pressing your back against Draco’s chest and slowly grinding against him. 

Draco was seriously confused, you were always the first to blush and now you were confident and flirty making him blush. Blaise frowns as he approaches you and Draco. “What’s going on here?” He asks, smiling awkwardly. Your teasing eyes land on his, before moving away from Draco. You sling your arms around Blaise’s neck and Draco clenches his jaw at the sight. Blaise only laughs and looks at you. “How much did you drink?” You move closer to him pressing your chest against his. “Not enough. I’m still thirsty.” You whisper and Blaise’s eyes go wide at the way that last word comes out. He stops moving and his hands move to your hips, holding you still. “Are you okay?” You bite your lip, while your eyes focus on his lips. You go stand on your tiptoes and Blaise quickly pushes your head in the crook of his neck to keep you from kissing him. You're disappointed with the hug, since you really wanted that kiss. “Okay, let’s not do anything silly.” Blaise shushes and strokes your hair gently. It demands every piece of self control to not just let you devour his lips as he could see you wanted to, but he knew better than to take advantage of you.

Blaise lets go of you for one moment to ask Draco for an explanation, but the next moment you’re gone and both guys panic. They quickly spread the word to Theodore, Lorenzo and Mattheo and the lot of them decide to search for you before you do anything stupid. 

“You’re not just the chosen one, you’re also my chosen one.” You say licking your lips as Harry gawks at you, but before you get the chance to move closer Mattheo’s strong arms snake around you. “Don’t even think about it Potter.” Mattheo growls at Harry. You turn around in Mattheo’s arms, so you’re now facing him. “Matty!” You sing, before moving your lips to his ear. “Glad you decided to join the party, I was getting kinda bored.” Mattheo smiled nervously, now discovering first hand what Draco and Blaise were talking about. “Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you out of here.” You lean into Mattheo. “Taking me to your room? I knew you were the man I could count on.” Mattheo stares at you with wide eyes and feels his member twitch in his pants as your hand moves over his chest and down until he grabs your wrist. A nervous chuckle leaving his lips as he watches your eyes filled with mischief. He needed to get you out of here and keep you from doing anything stupid, but he also needed to keep himself in check. How can someone so innocent suddenly be such a tease?

“Thank Merlin. You found her.” Enzo said as he joined you and Mattheo in the hallway. “Yeah, but she’s-” You don’t let Mattheo finish his warning and tug on Enzo’s shirt, pulling him into you, so you’re now sandwiched between Enzo and Mattheo. Enzo parts his lips to say something, but you don’t let him and seize the opportunity to kiss him. Mattheo immediately pulls you away from a shocked Lorenzo. “Did she just kiss me?” Mattheo groans. “Be careful around her, Berkshire. She’s wild, she almost unzipped my pants in the middle of the crowd.” You roll your eyes. “Well, maybe Enzo isn’t such a prude like you, Matty.” You pout at Mattheo who still firmly holds on to your wrists. “Let’s get her to the common room.” Enzo says with an urgent voice and Mattheo nods.

Enzo holds both your hands as he moves you to the couch, while Mattheo writes a note that flies off to find Theodore. “Theodore will know what to do. The right potion will get her back to normal.” Mattheo breathes and looks around to find Enzo struggling as you try to make him fall onto the couch with you. “No, (y/n).” Mattheo says with a stern voice and you stop to look at him innocently, but there’s obvious teasing in your eyes. “Yes, daddy.” Your seductive voice has both guys sigh. “She’s drugged right?” Enzo looks over to Mattheo who takes a seat next to you. “What do you think, Berkshire?” Mattheo snaps. 

You move your hand over Mattheo’s thigh. “No need to be so be so stressed, Matty.” You whisper with hungry eyes. Enzo tries to intervene by tugging your other hand, but you look at him with those same intense eyes. “I have to hands so no need to get jealous, Enz.” You grab Enzo’s shirt and bring him closer to your lips. Just then Theo enters and he instantly frowns as he sees you. “Well, they say three’s a party, but four...” You spread your legs as a clear suggestion to Theodore. Enzo gulps at your action, while Mattheo throws his head back. Theodore raises his eyebrows as he realizes how bad this is. “Okay let’s just tie her hands up for every one’s safety.” Theodore suggests and you smile. “Kinky.” Mattheo’s eyes roll to the back of his head at your teasing voice.

After some reading Theodore finds an easy antidote and cooks it up in a few minutes. When Theodore offers you a glass filled with the gooey potion you shake your head. “I’ll only do body shots.” You say moving your tongue over your lips. The three guys seriously feel their self control is being tested. “No, just drink it love.” Mattheo urges and you bite your lip staring at his brown eyes. “If you drink this you can do whatever you want… to us.” Enzo tries to convince you and you sensually lean over to Enzo. “So I can-s” Mattheo interrupts you before you say something unholy again. “Yes, just please drink it, please.” The guys are pleased when you nod, since they were worried they would get even hornier than you if this continued for long. You drink it and immediately fall asleep.

“Okay, she’s asleep, so you guys watch, I need a moment.” Enzo says already moving in the direction of their dorm. “Yeah, Theo, you watch her. I need a moment as well.” Mattheo adds and Theodore rolls his eyes. “Guys, I’m at my limits as well.” Just then Draco, Blaise and Pansy enter the common room. “You guys watch (y/n). I’ve got business.” Theodore says and the three arrivals look confused for a moment. 

“Maybe, I overdosed a bit.” Pansy admits watching your sleeping figure, making everyone look at her. “You did this?” Draco snares and Pansy shrugs. “I just gave her something to take the edge off.” Mattheo’s eyes fill with anger. “Take the edge off? Take the edge off?! She was ready to take everyone’s clothes off, including her own!” Pansy rolls her eyes. “How was I supposed to know that beneath all that innocence was a desperately horny girl. Maybe one of you should volunteer to help the poor girl out? Help her relax, give her what she needs but doesn’t dare ask for?” At Pansy’s suggestion the slytherin common room went quiet as the guys felt their hormones peak. Give you what you need, but don’t dare ask for… 

***

“I am never leaving my room.” You say with a pillow over your head and Pansy rolls her eyes at your dramatics. “It wasn’t that bad.” Hermione judges Pansy. “She almost jumped Malfoy, Zabini, Riddle, Berkshire and Nott. In that exact order!” Pansy frowns. “Don’t slut shame, Granger. If a girl wants dick, there’s no shame in that.” Hermione narrows her eyes at Pansy. “One dick fine, but-“ Hermione is interrupted when you throw a pillow at her. “I’ve made up my mind I’m transfer to another school.” Pansy huffs. “And why would you do that? I mean you have several handsome fellas lining up for you… especially now that they know what’s behind all that prudish and innocent facade of yours.” You groan. 

This is a nightmare! But… are they really lining up for me?

Word count: 1484

Did you spot a weird phrase? A typo? Let me know! Feedback is always welcome.

[watermelonlovershigh]

Day on the Yacht Turns Baby Making on the Yacht

AN: i've had this idea ever since these photos came out and knew i had to write it. and lots of you guys did too because you ate up this concept. so here yall go. hope you enjoy.

This story contains: mentions of sea sickness, trying for a baby, having sex on a yacht, slight choking (kinda), slight biting (during the sex)

{ husband!harry - softrry - current harry era }

word count: 1,962

When you're fertility tracker goes off on the yacht to let you know that now is a good time to try for a baby, you make the excuse you feel seasick and have Harry come to the bathroom with you where he fucks you good against the counter top.

You and Harry decided one way to celebrate Love On Tour ending was to rent a yacht for the day and take it on the water with a couple of his friends and family. The day you chose to sail on the waters was beautiful. The sky was nice and blue and the Italian heat was hot but not too hot. The sight of your gorgeous husband was also making the view ten times better, but that's just your opinion.

Everyone on the yacht was having a great time. Some were laying out to tan. Others were sitting around with wine coolers, chatting to one another. Harry, being the man who brought everyone together today, was going around and trying to spread his attention.

First having a laugh with his long time Italian friends who are actually a gay married couple which you both attended their wedding three years ago. Then sitting beside his sister Gemma and her long time boyfriend, Michal. Of course Harry pays attention to you as well, asking if you're alright and bringing you another drink when you mention being parched.

About two hours into your yacht ride your phone buzzes in your hands. You didn't really have cell service in the ocean so you thought that was weird. But when you checked to see who texted you, you realized it wasn't a text. It was a notification from your fertility tracking app that tells you when you're most fertile and need to try for a baby.

See, for a few months now you and Harry have been trying to get pregnant. You knew his tour was ending in July and thought it would be the perfect time for you to settle down for a while and have a baby.

At first you just had sex willy nilly to get pregnant, but after several negative pregnancy tests, decided to download an app to help tell you when you're most fertile. Though not every time you have sex is with the sole mission of a baby. Sometimes you just have sex for simply the intimacy aspect.

Fuck, you internally curse. How the hell are you gonna fuck your husband while you're on a yacht surrounded by his friends and family. Thinking for a minute you come up with a plan. You can fake being seasick so he has an excuse to go down to the bathrooms with you and do some quick baby making without anyone batting an eye.

Knowing it's now or never, you fake grown and cry out, "Harry..."

He looks over at you from where he's sitting beside his sister and asks, "Yeah, love? What's the matter?"

Not exactly wanting the whole boat to know you're seasick, you wave him over to you. Harry gets up imidiantly and stalks over towards where you're sat on the side edge of the yacht. When he's close enough, you whine, "Just feeling a bit seasick. Can you take me to the toilets on the bottom level, please?"

"Yeah, of course, baby." Harry is quick to agree. The genuine worry on his face makes you feel bad for lying. But you know you won't feel bad in a few minutes when his cock is deep inside of you.

He takes ahold of your hand and very quickly steps over to Gemma to inform someone, "Hey, Y/N is feelin' a bit ill. M'gonna take her to the toilets. Hopefully we won't be gone long."

Gemma frowns and replies sweetly, "Awe, that's fine. Hope you feel better soon, Y/N." You mouth a "thank you" and tug Harry's arm in the direction of the stairs that lead to the bottom floor of the yacht.

While on your journey to the bathroom, Harry kindly asks, "When did you start to feel sick? You could have told me sooner and I would have seen if I could've borrowed a motion sickness pill off someone for you." How did you get so lucky to have married such a pure and sweet man.

Before you answer, you barge in the one toilet bathroom and Harry is fully ready to hold your hair back while you vomit. But instead, is taken back when you turn around and kiss his lips hard with need. "Baby....... what, thought you were gonna be sick?" he mutters confusedly against your mouth.

You pull away, breathing heavy and respond, "I lied. I needed an excuse to have you come down here with me and fuck me. Got the notification on my fertility app saying my fertile window is open and now is the best time to try and conceive. I need you to fuck me and come inside me. Right now."

Harry tosses his head back and says, "Fuck!" rather loudly. Though he is a bit uneasy about potentially getting caught having sex on this yacht, he could never pass up the opportunity to fuck his sexy wife and give her a baby. "Well, okay then. Do you need, like, warming up first or..." He's fully ready to eat you out or finger you for a minute to get you fully aroused if you needed that.

Harry's too kind sometimes. Always thinking of your wellbeing and needs. You laugh and grab his hand to lower it to the front of your swimsuit. "No, babe. Seeing you in these tight, green swim trunks has had me wet for hours, see." His fingers come in contact with your clothed wet pussy and that has him hardening right up.

"Alright, turn around and lean over the sink f'me." Harry instructs and you do as told. This yacht's bathroom is rather small but you'll make it work. You've had sex in much smaller spaces before but those are stories for another time. Harry drops to his knees and as he goes to slide your bikini bottoms down your legs, he kisses over your ass cheeks and the back of your thighs.

"Harry, we don't have time for that, just put a baby in me. Hurry." you grumble. You're far too impatient for him to tease you right now. You just need him to fuck you.

As he stands back up and drops his green swim trunks to his ankles, Harry retorts, "Alright, stop being bratty. I'll give you what you want. Know I always do, m'love." He takes ahold of his now very hard cock and gives it a few strokes to make sure its fully erect for you. When it is, he helps spread your legs how he thinks would work best for this position and leans over your back, carefully nudging his dick in your soaked hole with the guidance of his right hand.

"Ohh, Harry!" you can't help but moan while he's pushing all the way in and that causes him to slap his left hand over your mouth to silence you.

"Love," he says from behind you're body, "gotta stay quiet. Can't risk anyone hearing us." You nod your head in understanding and bite your lip to silence yourself when you feel him bottom out. Then without warning, Harry pulls his hips back, leaving just the tip inside your cunt, before slamming forward.

The hand Harry had over your mouth has moved down to your neck. Not with the intentions to necessarily choke you, though he is applying slight pressure, but more so to help you stay upright and look at yourself in the mirror. The scene of Harry fucking you from behind has got you even more turned on than before. The way his tan skin is glistening with sweat. The way his curly hair has fallen over his forehead. The way Harry is looking right into your eyes from over your shoulders in the mirror. It's all so intense.

After a couple of minutes, Harry can feel the knot in his stomach tighten and he knows he's about to come. Your tight pussy just feels so good hugging his cock. Wanting to see if you were up there with him, he questions in heavy pants, "Are you close? M'bout to come. Just feels so - fuckin' - good, Y/N!"

You nod and squeak out, "Yeah, I'm close too, H." Knowing you may need a little bit of extra help, he takes his right hand that he had stationed on your hip for stability and reaches in front of you until he finds your clit. When he does, he begins rubbing the nerve in tight circles and that's exactly what pushes you over the edge. That and his cock rubbing against your g-spot from this angle. You nearly fall forward because as you come your legs give out and if Harry wasn't pressed up behind you, you're sure you would have collapsed onto the boats floor.

"Ah, God!!!" you gasp while waves of pleasure roll through your body. Your orgasm triggers Harry's and he shoots his load as deep as he can inside of you. His hips falter their movements and he has to bite down on your shoulder to quiet himself from the moans he's dying to let out.

Slowly, everything comes to a stop and you're both left sweaty and panting for air in this small yacht bathroom. Harry carefully removes his hand from your throat and you slowly start to lean forward over the counter top again. The movement causes you to accidently pulse around his softening cock and he curses in slight pain. "Fuckin' hell."

"Sorry, sorry." you repeat out of breath and Harry shushes you by gently responding, "It's alright. Gonna pull out now and then I'll help you up on the counter so my cum doesn't drip on the floor." You nod and Harry carefully pulls his dick out your pussy and turns you around to lift you up on the small countertop beside the sink.

Now face to face, Harry can't help but to lean forward and plant a kiss to your lips. The kiss stays soft and airy. But knowing people above is bound to become concerned with how long you've been down here, you whisper, "Love you. Thank you for coming down here with me and I hope we made a little baby. Can't wait for our family to grow."

Harry nearly cries and gets hard again at the same time with all this baby talk. "Y/N, no need to thank me. Love you so much and would do anything to give us a baby. Even if that means break away from my friends and family to fuck my wife in a yacht's bathroom in the Italian ocean."

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

Harry helped you get cleaned up and properly dressed again as well as redress himself. Then you both walk hand in hand back up to the top deck again where everyone looks at you with concern. Gemma's the first to come up to you and asks, "Feeling better, love? You can have a sickness pill if you need one? I always bring extra."

Feeling bad for everyone's genuine concern on your sea sickness but also happy you weren't actually sea sick, you decline, "Oh, no thank you. I'm feeling much better now. Your brother is a great doctor."

Everyone continues to have a great time. Laughing and enjoying the summer sun. Until Brad, Harry's friend and personal trainer comes up behind you and gasps, "Y/N, why is there a bite mark on your shoulder? Are you alright?" Your eyes go wide and Harry who heard the entire interaction goes pale in front of you. To the point he looks as though he may actually get sea sick.

"Um, um.." you stutter. Well fuck, how do you explain they're your husbands teeth marks from where he bit your shoulder to conceal his moans while coming inside of you to give you a baby.

(PLEASE REBLOG BECAUSE WRITING IS NOT EASY AND IT'S FREE SO JUST DO IT)

(no more tags are allowed because i've hit my number limit. sorry : ( )

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______________

My Masterlist Masterpost

[mangosrar]

call it what you want part9

matt sturniolo x fem reader.

MY TAGLIST STILL ISNT WORKING 🫠🫠🫠

6 days. it has been 6 days since you had spoken to matt. he had turned up at your house on monday morning to take you to school. but you had decided on sunday night you weren’t going. you couldn’t face him. you didn’t want to.

he showed up again tuesday. and when you didn’t even tell him to leave, he knocked on your door to be met with nothing. he stood out there for a whole 17 minutes before accepting defeat and leaving.

wednesday, the same story. he showed up, you didn’t come out. he knocked. no answer. he left.

thursday he even went as far as knocking, getting no answer and then sitting outside, repeatedly pressing the horn for almost 4 minutes straight, and then eventually giving up.

but when friday rolled around, matt sent an alliance to your door.

“y/n. it’s me open up” you heard him say. his voice was muffled from the thick wooden barrier between you both.

you stood staring at the door, contemplating wether to open it or not, like you had every day this week. you knew matt would turn up but this wasn’t his fault. he didn’t deserve to be shut out because of his piece of shit brother.

you sighed before reluctantly opening the door, coming face to face with the one person who knows you best. chris sturniolo.

“oh y/n” he breathed, frowning at your state as he stepped inside.

your hair was a mess, and dark circles donned your eyes. your face was pale, like you were sick.

“how you feeling?” he questioned looking down at you. it was a really stupid question. he could tell you were doing terribly just by looking at you, but he would never admit that out loud.

you just shrugged and looked down at your feet. chewing on your lip. there was no way to even put into words how you’ve been feeling. so for a lack of a better term, fucking horrible.

“i don’t know exactly what happened… but matts doing terrible too” he stated.

“i bet he is chris” you replied sarcastically. rolling your eyes.

“he’s been asking about you every day, he even tried talking to caden at school. he’s a mess y/n” chris sighed. looking at you with pleading eyes.

“you can go back to hating him, but i think you should just talk to eachother, it would be a waste for things to end like this” he told you.

there was an internal battle going on inside your head. part of you was a little warm inside over the fact he was worried and asking after you, the other part was enraged over the fact he had the audacity to be upset over his own actions. he deserved to dwell in your absence. why should you forgive him. he had hurt you and he had to live with that.

chris stood there, watching the cogs turn in your head. he knew you were stubborn, but he also knew his brother was 10 times more stubborn, so the fact that he was willing to admit he was wrong and do everything in his power to get you to listen, was shocking.

“is he outside?” pointless question. you knew he was.

chris nodded, standing infront of you with his arms by his sides.

you took in a breath before muttering.

“give me 15 minutes”.

-

the whole car ride was uncomfortable. chris had forced you into the passenger seat and it made you want to grab the wheel and run the car off the road, but you decided against it.

luckily for you, matt had used his common sense. he look one look at you and kept his mouth shut, just offering a small smile to witch you did not return.

he didn’t deserve it. he did not deserve the satisfaction of thinking there was any chance you were ever going to forgive him. because as far as you were aware, you weren’t going to.

up until 2 weeks ago you and matt couldn’t stand the sight of each other, so after 14 days of slightly less hatred, going back to your old ways wouldn’t harm anyone.

“i’m gonna give you two time to talk” chris muttered, opening the car door and stepping out.

you hadn’t even realised you had arrived at school. the whole way there you had been aimlessly gorming out the window, trying to stop yourself from screaming.

you wanted to get out of the car and sprint in the opposite direction. there was no way matt could justify himself, but you at least wanted to hear whatever sorry excuse he would come up with, so you stayed put.

there was an abundant pause, the both of you just sitting there. you couldn’t even look at him out of fear you might just slap him across the face there and then, but you could feel matts eyes burning into the side of your head as you stared out of the front window with your arms crossed.

matt turned his body towards you, opening his mouth to speak, but the words got caught in his throat, he didn’t even know what he would say. he sighed before dropping his head.

“i’m sorry” he mumbled.

his eyes wandered back up to your face, and when you didn’t even flinch, he continued.

“there’s no excuse for what i said. it was so fucked up. and i don’t think what i said is true y/n. i don’t think you’re damaged and i don’t think you’re weak. i was just something i said out of anger, but that isn’t an excuse. angry or not i shouldn’t have said it” he stated softly. like the distinct tone of his voice would determine how this was going to go.

“i showed up every day this week trying to get you out of the house y/n, does that not show you how sorry i am?” he added.

“oh so you showing up, and banging on my door for 15 minutes every morning makes it okay?” you spat at him. still not looking at his face.

“no, no of course not but… i’m trying y/n, i’m really trying” he sighed.

you just shook your head, keeping your eyes trained forward.

matt swallowed, eyes darting across the side of your face, frantically trying to read your mind.

“if i could go back in time and change what i said i promise i would” he whispered, leaning over the centre console slightly.

he didn’t know why he was beating himself up so much. he’s said stuff like this before with out even batting an eyelid, so why now?

his heartbeat quickened when you slowly craned your neck to face him.

there was a blank look spread across your features that he couldn’t place.

you took in a breath, and blinked at him, pursing your lips before speaking.

“go fuck your self” and with that you were shoving the car door open and getting out.

you could hear him calling after you but you didn’t care. you continued marching across the parking lot towards the school doors. leaving him there once again to wallow in the knowledge that he had hurt you to an extent that was fucking unforgivable.

-

“nope. not happening” chris said.

“why chris? this is a good way for me to stay calm” you whined.

“turning to drugs and getting high is a bad way to deal with your emotions y/n” he tutted.

“you do it. so what you’re saying is that you are bad at dealing with your emotions?” you quirked. coming to a stop when chris got to his locker.

“deflecting is not gonna get you what you want” he spoke, looking at you briefly with a flat expression before turning back to his locker.

“ughhh, look, i’m dealing with my emotions. i’m sad and i’m angry at your brother. i know how i feel. i just wanna smoke so i can take the edge off” you said shrugging.

he shook his head slowly, pressing his lips into a thin line, standing his ground.

“come on chris” you whispered, looking up at him with big round eyes.

he sighed before closing his locker and turning to you.

“i’ll let you smoke under one condition” he stated.

you nodded your head excitedly and grinned waiting for him to continue.

“you have to come to that party on sunset” he smiled sarcastically.

you hated parties and chris knew that, so if he asked you to go, he knew you would refuse, and that would be his get out of jail free card as to not let you get high.

he blinked at you with a smirk on his face, because in his head neither of you were gonna get what you wanted.

“okay” you shrugged.

“‘okay’?” he exclaimed, “you’ll go?”

“yeah why not, maybe i’ll find another dark tattood, handsome man to sweep me off my feet” you wiggled your eyebrows at him.

“so what you’re saying is that you think matt is handsome and he swept you off your feet?” he giggled, wiggling his eyebrows back.

your face dropped and you swatted his arm, trying to hide your smile, he just dodged you, carrying on laughing as he walked down the hall with you trailing behind.

-

“ok but if i wear the black one the shoes won’t match” you ranted holding the shirt up to your chest in the mirror.

this had been going on for about an hour. nick ans chris had been sat on your bed, waiting for you to get ready.

at first you were all listening to music, talking and laughing, but by the time you had re applied your makeup for the second time, and re curled your hair for the third time, chris had gotten bored and fallen asleep, and nick had just simply lost interest and started staring at the wall.

“i don’t wanna wear these shoes”

“the white shirt is so cute though”

“but the sleeves are weird”

“i’m not going”

“y/n!” nick yelled, snapping you out of your frenzy and waking chris up.

you turned to him with wide eyes at his sudden outburst.

“we were supposed to leave an hour ago, wear the black shirt with the white shoes” he breathed, closing his eyes, briefly before opening them and looking at you with a hard stare.

“fine” you replied, rolling your eyes and stomping over to your bathroom to change.

“what if matts there?” you yelled through the door, pulling your shirt over your head.

“he won’t be” chris yelled back.

you didn’t say anything else as you straightened the top out and fixed your hair. there was a small tiny microscopic piece of you that wished he would be there. not so you could talk or anything. just so he could see you enjoying yourself, but the way this night was going. you highly doubted you would.

-

the strong smell of alcohol and weed wafted through the air as you made your way through the house, chris close on your tail.

there were people everywhere some of wich you recognised, some you didn’t, all sandwiched together, and it only made you question why people enjoyed parties more.

you had been here for almost an hour now and you hadn’t left chris’s side once. he had been catching up with some old friends who moved town when they were younger, but you just stood quietly scoping the area.

so far you we’re safe. no matt. no elijah. and you hoped it would stay that way, partially.

“hey i’m gonna go grab a drink” you said, pulling on chris’s arm to get his attention.

he nodded, and started saying his goodbyes to his friends, telling them he would see them later, indicating he was coming with you.

there was a large table in the middle of the kitchen, full of alcoholic drinks and right now, to you, it looked like it was glowing.

“you’re drinking?” chris questioned with his eyebrows pinched together.

“yeah why not?” you shrugged, reaching for the vodka bottle and a red solo cup.

“whatever just….don’t get too drunk” chris laughed, but his voice carried a warning tone.

you just rolled your eyes before pouring both you and Chris a shot, and handing him the cup.

“here’s to, handsome dark tattooed men, aka matt” Chris laughed before bringing the cup up to his mouth.

you just shook your head, smiling before also taking the shot.

your face scrunched up at the taste in your mouth, it was horrible. but the feel of it burning in your chest was thrilling.

you never really drank. sure you’d had alcohol before, but always in an environment where you were comfortable, like you’re own house while your parents were asleep, or nicks room while his parents were away for the weekend, never in the heat of a raging house party.

“hey, i’m gonna use the bathroom i’ll be right back” chris said, raising his voice slightly over the music.

you just hummed a reply before watching him walk away, and then turning back to the table of drinks.

fireball.

you poured the shot and downed it instantly. better than vodka, still gross.

one more couldn’t hurt.

you poured the shot again, bringing it to your lips, and just as the hot liquid entered your mouth. a voice appeared behind you.

“thirsty?”

fuck.

you ignored him completely, bringing the cup back down and placing it on the table.

“didn’t think i’d see you here, this isn’t really your scene” he told you, coming around to the side of you and leaning on the table.

you ignored him again, pouring yet another shot.

“then again, matt sturniolo isn’t really your scene, somehow you’re all over him” he muttered in a low voice, and from the corner of your eye, you saw him looking around.

he was just as paranoid as you were.

“who i’m all over is none of your business anymore elijah” you sighed, turning to him and smiling sarcastically. but someone else caught your eye.

a dark, tattooed, handsome man who could easily sweep you off your feet.

he was watching you. his gaze strong and jaw clenched. and suddenly elijahs voice became a ringing in your ears.

you could have crumbled there and then, he looked good. his tattoos on full display, slight stubble growing, that you had noticed this morning but you were too fucking angry to register it.

his eyes stayed locked on yours, daring you to look away, and when you didn’t, he pushed off the wall he was leaning on, and sauntered over to you.

“….and as far as i’m awar-“

“hey baby” matt cooed, cutting elijah off and wrapping an arm around your waist.

you wanted to pull away. you were still angry at him, but for the sake of the act, you stayed put.

elijah scoffed, looking matt up and down like he was scum of the earth.

your eyes darted between the two, waiting in expectancy for one of them to talk.

“you gotta tell me how you do it sturniolo, you’re always there, you know? waiting to pounce every time i talk to her. maybe i should be concerned. are you stalking me?” elijah questioned. he was trying to get under matts skin, and the way he squeezed your waist slightly, told you it was working.

matt laughed slightly, looking off to the side before bringing his eyes back to elijah.

“well if you wasn’t always bothering my girlfriend, i wouldn’t have to be there every time you talk to her” he shrugged, smiling sarcastically at your ex.

matt turned to you, pulling his eyebrows together.

“is he bothering you sweetheart?” he asked.

you just looked at him with wide eyes. silently begging him not to do anything.

yes you and matt hated each other, but you knew him well enough to know he would use any excuse to punch someone. and elijahs face had been served to him on a silver platter.

“i think you’re bothering her Whitlock” he stated, removing his arm from your waist and stepping in front of you.

“matt” you mumbled. he ignored you.

elijah laughed and dropped his head, standing up fully, like he was trying to intimidate matt but the odds were even. there was no turning back now.

when elijah brought his eyes back up, they landed on yours, his gaze was cold and unsettling, but the words that came out of his mouth, didn’t mean half as much to you as they did matt.

“considering she’s such a slut, i don’t think she minds who bothers her”.

oh shit.

——————————————————————————

taglist: @christinarowie332 @biimpanicking @biplrbtch @ukyos @eyelessdemon00 @iheart2021chris @hearts4chris @leah-loves-lilies @whicked-hazlatwhore @1201pm-blog @yourmom-123456789 @mattnchrisworld @leoloveeeee @jazab3lla @martyniukpl @ilovemattstromboli @obsessedwithyou @breeloveschris @skyteller143 @innocentfsin @thatcrazybitch-69 @ihateeveryone357474 @shmophsturniolo @sturns-posts @mattsturnzzz09 @sturnisposts @jenna0rtegaswife @jeffbuckleylvr27 @sara2233445 @sturniolos4lifee @kasiaslayuje @cosmicmistake42069 @24kmar @ikeryn @sleepdeprivedandinsane @lvr444life @travelintheworld @aubreyswift13 @sturniololol @starziick @nickmillersn1gf @beautyb1ade @tommysaxes @sstvrnioloo

[brailsthesmolgurl]

LOSE YOU TO LOVE YOU

Preview: You had to lose your lover to protect them against harm but what happens when someday, fate connects the two of you again? Warnings: Angsty but yes to fluff too, slightly-slightly suggestive towards the end! this is gonna be a bit of a lengthy read as always

P.S: This is an extremely detailed request by one of you guys, its a bit challenging for me to write it hence I decided to take it upon my own twist for the story. Or else, I might actually get so demotivated to write this piece and I do not wish for that. Overall plot would still be half-preserved but I had decided not to use any names just for the overall inclusivity for other readers. Great ideas should be shared and I think my readers would like to be included too in this wonderful plot :)

"What...what have you put into this y/n?" Rafayel stumbled, the mug slipped out of his hand when his legs started buckling beneath him. He was in disbelief as he watched the mug broke upon impact against the hard tiled floor. It was like time had slowed down for him and he could only blame the orange juice he had drank. "Y/N!" He calls out to you again, hands now clasping onto his slender neck when he slowly crumpled to the ground. Yet, his calls for you fell upon deaf ears, four walls on each side of the room watched him suffer.

You peeked over the heavy door leading to his room and your eyes watered at the sight of your fiance lying motionless on the ground. Knocking him out is the only way you can think of the moment you were threatened by an elite group of assassins. They are the reason behind his bounty value--that had exceeded by two million-- and they presented the only option for you to 'save him' is by leaving him.

They cornered you on one of the days when you were out dealing with Wanderers. Although you are fairly combative, one woman against a dozen of elite assassins would not grant you a survival route. Hence, you were practically forced to listen to their proposal. Not much details were disclosed to you about why they were willing to retract the bounty for your fiance but you figured if he could live a better and safer life without a bounty hung on his head then why not? Even if you were to be at their disposal.

"Leave him and he shall walk like a free man he once was." You remembered the grim voice of a man as he relayed the terms and conditions to you. "We do not seek a confrontation here as you are with child."

Flashing back to the present, you lightly rubbed your belly, still wondering how they know of your pregnancy when it was not even announced to Rafayel. This further tells that those assassins are not to be messed with. "I am sorry." You knelt down beside your lover, studying his peaceful features as he was snoozing. "I am sorry I have to do this to you. I promise you that I will be back for you when the time is right." Pushing yourself off of the floor, you left without turning your head back. Each step taken ripped your heart out of your chest even more.

Years had gone by, with you disappearing off of the grid and went into hiding. During then, you had been living under a pseudonym, revamping your whole image and identity to go full on undercover. You did this because you did not want Rafayel, nor anyone from your past to track you down. However, peacefulness does not last long when news of Rafayel’s bounty is on the rise again and it got you wondered what he could have done to piss them off. You did some digging yourself. With the help of your new identity, you can slip in and out of the clubs without a worry. Eavesdropping just enough to get the information you need to propagate further in tracking down the same man who once threatened you to leave Rafayel.

The trail has led you back to Linkon City and you stood at the balcony of the unit you had rented, overlooking the scenic view of the concrete jungle below. The city has changed a lot since the last you had been here and that is probably years ago. “Mummy.” A child-like voice snapped you out of your reminisce and you looked down, watching the toddler walking up to you. A perfect photocopy of your ex-lover; with dark purple locks smooth to one’s touch and eyes the same as his hair. He is like a doughy-faced version of Rafayel. The child that you bear while you left Rafayel now stood in front of you, eyes full of hope before another similar face joins him. Yes, you gave birth to twins. The other is yet another photocopied version of Rafayel, but adorns the eyes as deep as the blue sea. That is how you manage to tell them apart from one another.

“Mummy you okay?” The blue-eyed toddler followed up with the question. Although only been in this world for three years, the both of them had grown so much, not only in terms of height but also knowledge and other aspects that would commonly be found within a toddler’s growing age. They inherited Rafayel’s artistic talent; always doting on painting to pass time whenever you are home with them. Whereas from you, they certainly are highly adaptable and smart. “We go for walk mummy?”

“Yes, let’s go for a walk.” You stood upon and went over to the front door to grab your coat, handing the twins their coats as well. “Put them on alright, the night is going to be chilly and I do not want you guys to be sick.” Out of habit, you slotted your baseball cap right over your head. It is a good strategy to not stand out from the crowd when you get to shield parts of your face at certain angles. You grabbed your wallet and phone and proceeded to walk out with the twins.

Nights in cities are never boring; with bustling traffic and chatters hailing from crowds. This was what you had missed out on for the past years. Staying by the countryside does have its perks but still, you missed the noises of a city that is alive. Dank pathways were sprawled out at the park as you walked with your toddlers by your side. The rain had just subsided and it smelled of dew and silt. But, something seemed off. There were hints of metallic smell in the air, a smell closely resembled to fresh blood. You stopped in your steps and started scanning the area, your ears perked up to maximise picking up even the slightest of gales. “I’m scared mummy.” Your toddler had seemed to pick up on the shift of aura as well.

A twig snapped and you too, snapped yourself towards the source of the sound, shielding your kids by pushing them behind you and hands dug deep into your coat, ready to draw out your weapon if danger ensues. Your eyes were narrowed into slits, relying on dimly lit street lamps to highlight the bushes in front of you. “You know what you should do right?” You looked down, watching your toddlers nod towards you. They were already trained from young to flee should there be any situation that requires them to. Both of them have a watch equipped with a navigation system that will lead them directly to the nearest police station or anywhere that is a confirmed safe house for them. With that, you ushered them and watched as your kids held hands with one another and started to tread lightly out of the park, the watch illuminating their way.

You pulled out your gun the moment an amorphous figure emerged from the bushes and before it could reach you, it burst into flames, screams of agony like a banshee on a killing spree tore through the empty park. Luckily, your children had already fled and a beep on your watch notified you that your kids are safe, and they are currently back to the unit that you had rented. You lowered your gun and stared at the tallowing figure in front of you, the blazoning red tinge of flames looked familiar, it was as if you had seen it—“Y/n?” You blinked, looking up to find another figure emerging from the same path taken by the man who had now disintegrated into ashes and blended into the night skies. “Is that you?”

“Rafayel?” Your jaw dropped, watching him emerged from the bushes. It must be because you missed him so dearly that your mind decided to deploy a mirage of him amidst danger right? It’s like those final wish scenes and you could not help but feel goosebumps slowly drawn to the surface of your arms. “You’re not real.”

The man in black clomped over and you stumbled backwards, gasps fleeting out of your lips as you thought you just saw a ghost. “Careful.” The grip on your arm gravitated you back to reality. You are now staring right into the eyes of your ex-lover, the same guy you thought was killed because there were no news of him anymore. The same man that you were forced to leave in order to protect his safety. The love of your life, the father to your twins. “You are back.” He enveloped you into his arms, his breath disheveled, his tone of voice ebullient. You were expecting a frustrated Rafayel, not forgiving you for leaving him, not acknowledging your existence because you had left him so suddenly without a reason.

Yet, you could not seem to fathom his current state as he held you tightly in his arms. Rafayel had been nothing but the bearer of a deft husk of a ‘widow’. Ever since he woke up to an empty home, he became relentless. Thomas too, was greatly affected by his melange of emotions. Everyone else who worked around him were forced to be more obsequious than ever, showcasing utmost sycophancy in fear of getting panned by the artist. For he had went through a change of heart, thirsting only for revenge upon the group of people that took away his lover. Succour was indeed offered by Thomas, to seek out information regarding your whereabouts. Rafayel agreed and thanked him, providing him all of the money needed to seek you out but deep inside, he knew that finding you would not be a simple matter and his worry haunted him further.

The walk back to your place was awkward, one-sidedly perhaps. Rafayel had not stopped talking, telling you about his journeys of tracking down every single one of the members of the elite group and threatening them to spill their guts about your whereabouts. Given that you left him on your own will, none of the men knew where you had migrated to and that literally got their guts spilled afterwards. He then went on, telling you about how he had handled the truth of you leaving him, that, when it came to a certain point in his life, he was the one that caused you the suffering instead. His words did travelled into your ears, but it was not being processed properly as you were too occupied on thinking about how does one tell their long time lover that they had became a father without their knowing?

The both of you stood at the front of your door now, you praying quietly to yourself, hoping Rafayel would not freak out if he were to meet both of your twins upon stepping into the entrance. You imprinted your thumbprint on the scanner and the door unlocked with a crisp click. Two sets of footsteps were heard clomping towards where you stood and you looked over to Rafayel immediately to analyse his reactions towards your twins. “Mummy— who’s this?” The both of your twins immediately froze, being only a couple of steps away and their eyebrows were strewn together in confusion. The father of the twins stood frozen too, eyes darting in between the two toddlers, noticing the familiar and yet uncanny features of theirs.

When Rafayel got to the leader of the elite group, he was foretold that you were pregnant when you left but he supposed that he was unable to take a grasp of time after you had left. Both of the boys are a bit taller than kids of their age, both rocking the same purple locks as his, pallid and flabby cheeks that Rafayel was certain to own when he was younger back in the days and not to mention, the both of them got your lips. Every lip motion is a total reflection of you. “You were pregnant with them when you left me right?” You took the note that Rafayel does probably know of the existence of you having a child but maybe, he is still in shock, not expecting twins at all. You nodded in response to his question.

Rafayel got onto his knees and smiled, tears started jerking around in his eye sockets, tainting his purplish-pink eyes a glassy tint. “I am your father.” He opened his arms to the twins but your kids cautiously looked over to you, awaiting for the confirmation as they had never seen their father before. Upon noticing your nod and smile, the twins squealed in surprise and hurtled themselves into his arms. Just like that, a family reunion happened.

“You already got them to bed?” Couple of hours later, Rafayel had placed the two reluctant twins of his to bed. Given both of the kids had been longing to have a father figure in their life, a few hours of interaction with Rafayel are definitely not enough for them. However, bed time at 9pm came to be an obstacle for the twins. Yawns started replacing laughs and Rafayel knew it was time to call off play time and switch to story time. You would usually read them to bed and Rafayel thought it is a great idea to put the kids at ease by telling his story, portraying himself to be the main protagonist set out on a journey to save a princess and to rescue her minions as well. The princess being you and yes the minions are the twins.

“Yeah, they could barely listen to my story for five minutes.” Rafayel plopped down next to you on the couch and extended his arm across your back, an invitation for you to lean against his shoulder and you did just that. “I might have went a little hard on them for the tag game.” That explains the heavy stomps and patters of footsteps coming from the room and hallways just now as you were taking a rest. You settled your longing gaze on your fiancé, realising that years had done no harm to him. The same hairstyle that he wears without much styling, the same siren like eyes that only holds you as the apple of his eyes, the same moles that were dotted across his face and the same warm smile he could ever emblazoned onto his features when it comes to being around you. He never changed.

As your insecurity started to settle upon you, particularly towards your own looks. Where time and stress has taken a toll on you, imprinting its effects with fine lines and wrinkles on your face, painting dark circles under your eyes and causing you to constantly wear a fatigued smile. “Do I look different to you even after all of those years Rafayel?” You peered up to him.

“My love.” Rafayel’s warm hand came up to caress your pinched cheeks, you had indeed became much more thinner than he last seen you, before you left him. He knew you must have not suffered any lesser when you had to constantly be on the run while having to bring up both of the kids by yourself as well. But, part of him was grateful that you no longer had to run, for he had eliminated every single member of the damned association. “You still look the same as how you always were.” His eyes wandered, down your cheeks and to your lips and back up again, lust wriggling its way through his gaze. “I missed you dearly my wife. I promise you that no matter what happens ever again, I will not let anyone convince you to leave me anymore. For I, will take full responsibility for the safety of our family.”

Your eyes reflected like glass under the dim lighting, words of affirmation coming from your lover after such a long time seized all of the rumination in your head. You did not notice the streaks of tears till you felt the pads of his thumbs swiped across both sides of your cheeks, his hand now fully cupping your small face. “Now, may I take the responsibility to care for my wife and to make love to you all night to prove my love to you?” The words he spoke were laced heavily with romance and lust that he had held back for years and little did you know, he is going to give you another child and make up for all of the lost times with you and his children.

A request from @cherriejoyponce, fulfilled with my own twist. Hope you like it!

[ironunderstands]

2.1 was so good holy shit (spoilers, obviously)

GOD THEY ATE AND IM SPECIFICALLY GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW WELL THEY WROTE RATIO IN THIS BECAUSE IM FOAMING AT THE GODDAMN MOUTH IT CHANGES HOW YOU VIEW EVERYTHING BUT IN A GOOD WAY.

so, let’s start from the beginning in 2.0 I want to walk you through my experience of it

ratio mean to aventurine, everyone gets mad. I feel weird about it, pre-2.1 I come to the conclusion that he got used as a plot device in that scene, since being racist contradicts his core motivations and the dialogue is awkward and has no real reason behind it, I chalk it up to bad writing but ultimately forgive it because 2.1 seems centered around Aventurine so they need setup for that

2.1 drops, my bsf plays the update throughout the night and we are losing our shit. He gets to the part where Ratio “betrays” Aventurine. I fucking lose it, I try to reconcile this with my preconceived notions of ratio, they don’t match up at all, his behavior that whole time doesn’t in the slightest. I am confused, I wonder if I have been wrong about him this whole time, if his whole speech on the Space Station and his character quests were some kind of fluke. I mean it could be in character? Knowledge of how a stellaron works could save millions if not billions of lives, invaluable information which Ratio would have trouble turning down because of its value. It still feels deeply wrong, Ratio isnt a backstabber, and he wouldn’t so easily bargain with Sunday over information he has no confirmation of (and could likely obtain in some other way).

The story continues, me and Haseeb (aforementioned best friend) are still pissed, I’m losing it because my favorite character just did something so unforgivable and out of character and I feel like a complete and utter idiot for interpreting a character to be a good person when they so clearly weren’t. Well, I (luckily) was so so so so so so so wrong about that, as it was all a setup, a plan devised by Aventurine to distract Sunday and forward their goals. I’ve never been happier, and suddenly every weird behavior, every “this doesn’t make sense” goes from “bad writing” to perhaps one of my favorite retroactive twists in fiction.

Ratio belittling Aventurine for his background doesn’t make any sense, I mean we literally saw the guy give a whole ass speech about how he believes all people deserve access to knowledge and that everyone is capable of being creative and having intellect, but that they just have to try for it, and if they are incapable of it, he DOCTOR Ratio is there to lend a helping hand. To cure the galaxy of stupidity, something which he views as not the lack of knowledge but rather the misuse and misinterpretation of it, how he depises the Genius Society because they mostly do not try and use their intellect from the betterment of other, and actively guide/encourage other scientists (and in Hertas case the researchers at the space station) to view knowledge as some sort of prize or commodity rather than tool. This notion is what causes Screwellum to acknowledge that Ratio is more like a medical doctor than a scholar. And this notion is something Sunday Isn’t Aware Of.

Sunday doesn’t know who Ratio really is, he may have heard of his various exploits, but Ratio has a reputation for arrogance, bluntness and insensitivity, something which Ratio plays up to the nines. The 2.0 scene with Aventurine goes from seemingly massively OOC for Ratio to him actively playing up his negative reputation to play into Sundays perceptions of the pair for their plan. Ratio->

a) makes it seem like Aventurine fucked up and he’s mad at him for losing the cornerstones, something which Sunday would see and go “hmm they don’t like each other

b) this “oh I can drive a wedge between them” notion gets worse (although in their case better) when Ratio brings up Aventurine’s (not entirely accurate) background. Sunday now thinks he has leverage over Aventurine and even more of a chance of getting Ratio to betray him. Ratio also makes it seem like he just learned this information by stating he “did his homework” and this supposed unfamiliarity with one another would give Sunday more confidence to try and drive a wedge between them

c) this makes it seem like the IPC are unaware of the Families constant surveillance, as it looks like they are having an important conversation in a private room, which would make Sunday think they are unaware of his eyes and ears everywhere

Now let me qualify this notion with more evidence because you could still try and argue that the deal Ratio and Aventurine struck was post 2.0 argument

Topaz (my glorious Queen). At the end of the 1.4 (or was it 1.5?) Belabog quest she has a conversation with Aventurine in which he requests for her help in Penacony, and we do not get a confirmation on if she said yes or not. Until 2.1, in which the the Topaz (and Jade) stone in in Aventurines possession, meaning she took him up on that offer prior to 2.0 because how else would he bring multiple cornerstones there, which we know there are many because Ratio says he lost the cornerstones, not just his own. Topaz would not give this item up easily or on a whim in between 2.0 and 2.1, meaning she would have to be let in on his plan prior, meaning the plan was formed prior. Since Ratio was also assigned to this mission keeping him in the dark would make negative sense and actively undermine their collaboration, something which he brings up in their fake argument

2. The Final Victory Lightcone. I originally thought this scene to be after their argument for complicated reasons, the most important of which being the minor snippet of conversation we see between Ratio and Aventurine during the first time we meet Acheron. Aventurine mentions 3 chips, Ratio doubts him, and the lightcone description starts with Aventurine questioning his doubt and firing three shots, a perfect correlation that made me place the order of events in that way. However, we get to see the snippet of conversation between Aventurine and Ratio in game, right before they meet Sunday, not prior to the lightcone events. However, they are still clearly connected for aforementioned reasons, just in a different manner, let me explain. Now we know the three chips reference not bullets but the three cornerstones, and Ratio openly expresses his doubt because the family is always watching (something which I will get into) and because a part of him does doubt this plan will go well. However, Aventurine prior reminds him of the events of the lightcone with the three chips. My interpretation is that Aventurine took that gamble in the lightcone to convince Ratio to go along with his crazy plan since if he can win a game of Russian Roulette with an unwavering smile on his face he an insane gamble means nothing to him (ratio doesn’t buy it because it’s ratio but the sheer audacity or you could say the “charming audacity” makes him go along with it). In my opinion this scene only makes sense pre-penacony, due to the timeline of events, which is why I believe it the reason for the events in it has to be Aventurine trying to convince Ratio to join in.

3) The family is always watching. During the 2.1 story quest it gets brought up several times in many different ways that it seems like the family has eyes on everything and everyone. Sunday’s fuckass bird is everywhere, and the man himself (minus being a goddamn biblically accurate angel) is covered in eye shaped shit and possesses close ties with the Harmony, which lends itself well to a character that knows things considering the Aeon itself is a conglomeration of many different perspectives. He fucking perception checks Aventurine, when the crew goes to look for info on firefly they learn the dream pools monitor people’s vitals and everything, even producing a dialogue option where the trailblazer states they feel like their every move is being watched. Topaz gets stalked by bloodhound members upon arrival, I could go on. TLDR Sunday knows almost everything that’s going on in Penacony, this is what leads him to believe the traitor is within the family, and his access to knowledge is something the IPC 100% knows about. I mean they have been presumably attempting to try and get it back for a while, and they would reasonably extensively try and learn everything about it. The Family notoriously hates negotiating with them so the IPC either learning and/or coming to the conclusion that the Family is watching their every move isn’t a ridiculous notion. If this conversation was genuine, if Ratio truly wanted to discuss this matter with Aventurine, why would he do it in a likely wiretapped, not very soundproof room where any passerby could hear Ratio loudly exclaim that Aventurine lost the very important cornerstones and that he is also one of the most despised groups in the galaxy because that would really do numbers for both their reputations. If you think about it, this not being staged is an incredibly stupid blunder on Ratio’s end (minus the deliberate OOCness) because of all the places Ratio could set up a very important meeting he does it in one of the worst places ever.

4) The dialogue in the scene. It’s awkward, it’s so awkward and the whole “also my family died I didn’t get an education” seemed so tacked on the first time I watched it. Knowing now, it seemed so tacked on because it was, Aventurine had to shove the info in there somewhere and their incredible conversational skills decided that was the best part in there. Ratio fucking leaving before Aventurine is even done talking goes from a “huh weird” to a “wow he is really playing up this arrogant scholar role”. And if Ratio is playing the arrogant scholar, Aventurine is playing the dumb, helpless, blonde to a T. Losing the cornerstones and acting nonchalant about it, letting Ratio insult him so callously and letting the insults slide, talking absolute nonsense at the end about random things that don’t matter, sadly lamenting into the distance that he’s alone again. Bro is playing it up and I live for it. They also and play up these personas in their little adventure prior to meeting Sunday, Aventurine asks stupid questions like wondering about the species of the bird that make up the statues and talking about how he wants to play in the sandpit and even insulting Sunday a bit, behavior that would make Sunday think him unprepared and unserious rather than cold and calculating. If Aventurine does that well, Ratio plays up his arrogant, uncaring scholar persona to the nines. He insults any and every decision or thing Aventurine does, loudly sighing of how happy he is to finally have some peace and quiet when Aventurine leaves his sight for 0.00008 milleseconds, pointing out his sarcasm, beefing with a random Pepeshi bodyguard no reason, pointing out his sarcasm, just the exaggerated way he talks in general, and suggesting he admit Aventurine into the Genius Society (even Ratio wouldn’t stoop so low as to suggest Aventurine was worthy of that).

Moreover, this is really, really tragic because I do think there are several moments of genuine banter and fun the two share “Ratio, you’re huge!” was not added to the script to enhance the plot guys. And obviously Aventurine knows most of Ratios behavior is acting, however he has such severe trust issues, and Ratio is so damn straightforward and blunt that he worries the man was serious about some of it which just breaks my heart. Soft Ratio please add it give me one conversation, the note at the end of 2.1 doesn’t count it’s too short.

Ultimately, knowing what I know now I can’t help but view the 2.0 conversation with Aventurine as being anything but staged, it simply makes no sense otherwise, and it happily obsolescent Ratio of his sins. This was a bit incoherent I honestly just wanted to rant (if you couldn’t tell haha) but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. I need sincere Ratio more then I need oxygen and I’m not afraid to say it.

[wilwheaton]

One very simple question :)

(Tv/comics)

Marvel. Or DC?

I have liked them both and disliked them both, at different points in my life, for a variety of reasons. At the moment, I'm not paying attention to them at all.

When I was a kid, I was all about Xmen and Fantastic Four from Marvel and, Batman and Justice League (Marv Wolfman's run in the late 80s) from DC. Never really cared for Superman. The 1967 Spider-Man was awesome as a cartoon, but I rarely read the comic book.

In the 70s, I was only allowed one comic per week, usually picked out from whatever was left on that spinning rack at the drugstore. So more often than not, I ended up with something like House of Secrets or House of Mystery or one of those horror anthologies that didn't need me to read the issues before or after, like the serialized superhero comics did. I got a lot of replay value from those books.

In the 80s, I had my own money and the ability to drive myself to comic conventions, and that's when I fell in love with Sandman, Watchmen, pretty much the entire Prestige Format that became Vertigo. I recall feeling like Marvel was for kids, then, and DC was serious. I was only 16, so take that for what it's worth.

But speaking of being 16, I'm gonna focus on Batman for a sec. I loved Batman 89, and I think all the efforts to make a Batman movie ever since have fallen short in ways I couldn't predict back then. It's gotten better with age and by comparison, for me. Michael Keaton is my favorite Batman, the way Christian Bale is my favorite modern Bruce Wayne (they both pale next to Pure. West. if anyone asks me).

The OG Batman series is maybe my favorite series of all time not called Star Trek or The Prisoner, and the 1966 movie is my favorite of all the Batman movies. Of course I love the animated series, and I get to be Blue Beetle in Brave and the Bold, so that's pretty awesome and its whole own thing.

Turning to the current moment, with rare exception, all the MCU and DCU movies do nothing for me. I thought I must have been missing something, so tried really hard to give them a chance to knock me out. I watched as many of the MCU movies as I could stand, and I just felt exhausted and bored by all of it, by the time I got to ... I can't even remember. Something with maybe Thanos and Ant-Man? I felt like it was a big, complicated mess of fan service and meetings that could have been e-mails, resulting in in a stew full of interesting ingredients that have all blended together into a flavorless paste. I do enjoy all the James Gunn movies, though, even if Chris Pratt is the worst Chris, because James always centers the characters and their conflicts, then uses the action and stunts to support the story.

I feel like a lot of this sounds harsh, but even Star Wars, my favorite movie when I was a kid, has grown into something I don't recognize or care about. I'm old. I know what I like and what I don't like. I'm not patient like I once was, and it's clear I'm not the person those studios want in the theatre, anyway. I could make that joke about how it's the children who are wrong, but I accept that I am not in the demo, and I am genuinely happy for everyone who loves the spectacle and the experience of seeing those films with an enthusiastic audience. I just won't be there with you, but you can find me in the parking lot, yelling at a cloud.

...wow that's a very big answer to a very simple question.

[v0idm4ster]

Lets be real

I'm not even gonna lie bro, since the day I found out about void and researched about it, I got insanely lazy and started Procrastinating even more (even tho I am a lazy person but the boundaries have been crossed atp) I realised I've been completely depending on the void state, like, completely, from Little things to big things all I think about is oh well I'll fix it from void state, and tbh negl this is a very bad way of thinking, like I don't even wanna do a simple task anymore, before I would actually plan, write my goals down, and Try my best to keep up/stay consistent, but now it's just... Absolutely nothing. Like I don't even want to START. This much I've put this state on pedestal. I actually think that maybe if I had not found out about it, would it be any better? Tbh I don't think so. I would still be in the same spot BUT ATLEAST I WOULD BE TRYING. like actually TRYING to change and get better, and now I've genuinely lost all the productivity, passion, everything. I don't even focus on my life much anymore. The days just keep on going by me saying "oh well I'll start tomorrow" but do I start? No I don't. It was a miracle when I entered void and got out of it in a second (please don't come at me for calling it a miracle lmao) but I again put it on pedestal.

I literally don't even care about anything at this point, like my career, hobbies, ANYTHING. and it's concerning. It's like I've put my whole life on pause or that I'm stuck in a loop. All I want to do is enter void.

Everytime I go around and look at all these success stories and be like "whens my turn" knowing damn well maybe even if I just started focusing on my life and put the void off the pedestal I could do it or at the very least stayed consistent and persisted. Ofcourse I know I can. But the only thing that is stopping me is Procrastination. And the fear of failure. Oh maybe the reason I don't even start is because im afraid I will fail?

But yeah I've had enough of this. I need to start focusing on my life again. I have to stop with this bs and fcking lock in and get my life back on track. Ofcourse one of my goal will be to have lucid dreams/enter void state (or induce), but this will just be a GOAL Not anything more than that. I will stop completely depending on this bro. Imma stop fucking around fr and be serious once again and I feel like many people MIGHT relate with me?

So this is it. I AM DONE LIKE FR.

Have a good day!! Love y'all <333

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Summer Games BLgin.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. Those Greeks did have that reputation for naked dudes rolling around together so I'm declaring it...

BL OLYMPICS!

I'll be passing out metals in various sporting events, as part of the weekly updates through mid August, just for funzies.

July 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - I guess mass murder is nothing next to having to raise funds for your basketball club. There were a lot of water sports in these eps (no not that kind). I’m not complaining. The street BB playoffs were fun. Frank is GOOD. I didn’t know he played. They aren’t using doubles for this. Meanwhile, it’s a bummer this one can’t be a poly romance. 

Winner!

Gold in Handball

for that shower scene in ep 9 (also... ya know, DUNK TANKS)

Balls in hands of all types.

Briefly must chat about that intro/outro music. It's like Thai autotuned Stray Kids. Which means I kinda adore it.

Century of Love (Weds Gaga) eps 5-6 of 10 - I guess he’s had a long time to learn how to fight really really well. This is a fun show. It does occasionally feel like a bunch of gay boys playing dress up. I LIKE P’Third a lot. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be an actual baddie. I’m finding the music a little intrusive in these episodes. I love the deconstructed suits look, and the velvet blazer. Very 90s. The confessions scene was very cute. It’s a good thing Vee is so easy-going, because the last few months of his life have been truly insane. And now he’s queen of the castle? Still working his convenience store job?

I honestly thought we'd just get kisses halfway through not a full on sex scene. But it was very sweet and tender. Appreciated, boys, thanks. However it’s never a good sign when the sex scene is it at the halfway point, it just means there’s gonna be a lot of trauma to come.

(I gotta say every time Daou smiles he actually looks his age.) 

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I like them now. I mean as a pair of characters. I wasn’t really sold on the main couple until this episode, and now I’m interested (yes I am shallow). The boy with the glasses is definitely sus. I’m quite drunk, thus I have to say Sailub is the hottest thing on my screen right now. Metas's taste in interior design sucks. OK, that physical therapy session was sexy. I wasn’t sold at first, but now I love this side couple too.

Argh. SailubPon kiss so well. Also COUNTER LIFT!!!! 

Silver in Weightlifting

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - I’m the one who always says this stuff, but this pair might be the best at relationship heat. Let me try to explain. They are good at putting on screen the kind of NRE, want to bone, just really into each other physically and also connected and loving. It’s the way their bodies always arch towards each other. They’re very comfortable in each other’s space in a way that’s really rare to see out of Any BL country but Taiwan. I think they might be my favorite couple currently active. I don’t know how to put it except that

it looks like they want each other,

it looks like they like each other,

it looks like they’re into each other,

and it looks like they GET each other.

It’s nice to see on screen. The plots/stories/narratives that they're given aren’t doing them any favors, but man they’re a good pair. Meanwhile, was I screaming the whole time don’t rip the sample of the custom piece? Yes I was. But it was still sexy.

Sam getting discovered was fun! Yo is gonna burn his arse good.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - Okay! Officially boyfriends. I almost like the friendship btw Atom and Mudmee better than the romances. But they all so cute. 

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 4 of 12 - I hate the gf intern so much. I think she is past redemption now - time for death. What is it they say about ADs? they do all the work, for none of the credit but all of the blame.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I guess Peak’s dad really is that awful. Jane is the beard? Got it. The show got suddenly quite sweet and complex. Where did that come from? Meanwhile ,Almond + Latte + sex education is awesome. Great trope we rarely get in BL. 

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - Look, what’s really annoying me is that I am neither upset nor pleased with the show. I like to be driven one way or the other by Meme. Trash watch here. (delayed this week, I can't face it)

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 1-2 of 12 - Out the gate I don’t like it. I don’t really like the teasing thing and the acting is poor. That said, neck kisses in the very first episode do make me happy. So I’m gonna keep watching. As for ep 2, I like the sides, and we have gay brothers trope activated. I also like the paranormal element, it adds some much-needed tension, but it is still a little slow (typical of a pulp).

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I like our poor lost puppy slowly figuring out what’s going on. It’s so elegantly done. Also, the the boy begs his quiet seme to SAY something, you know he’s gonna DO something instead. 

I could have done wihtout the pan around the head kiss. We over that, 8 years ago.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Why don’t I like this show? I had to think about it quite a bit. It’s the power differential. I never enjoy it when the character with less power is the one doing the pursuing, it comes off as too desperate or something. In this case he is: from the country, poor, and younger, It just makes Takara’s dismissive attitude and snobbery unpleasant to watch. Also, you know me, =/= obsessive stalker behavior. 

It's airing but...

Bad Guy (Korea YT) - yeah, erm, no thank you.

4 Minutes (Thai Netflix/Grey) ep... - Great, a rich boy studying business at uni, suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future. I try to catch up next week.

I have a source, but I simply didn’t have time to watch it. So sorry. Too much traveling too much BL to keep up with. A perfect conflation of conflicting priorities.

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - it's your funeral (or, more likely, one of the main characters'). You can argue but... statistics. You know my feelings on this matter. MY BLOG, remember?

64.media.tumblr.com

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!!

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Up Next!

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return, and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: the premise? Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

8/4 Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - OMG a uni student who looks too young and a... COP. GAH. The subversion and kink of it all. Please Gaga pick this one up? They made it for US.

8/7 Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Weds ????) 8 eps - office romance around the makeup counter featuring a younger seme and sex by blackmail. I am intrigued. DFTUJ (don't fuck this up, Japan).

8/8 Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs WeTV ) 12 eps - I am so DAMN excited to see Big finally lead a BL. I can't even with this, one of my most anticipated of this year. He's a great kisser ya'll, he's kissed a lot of boys as second lead. I can't WAIT.

8/12 First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) 12 eps - About a singer with stage fright and his timid fan stars Charles (H4 the puppy one) and Michael Chang (the youngster in My Tooth Your Love), plus side couple featuring a Thai actor Jame (Koh in Gen Y) and Liu Min Ting (of Guardian fame). What a damn tean. I can't wait. With thier powers combined!

8/16 The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) ? eps - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something.

8/22 The Paradise of Thorns (Thai movie) theater release - Jeff Satur is back but this does not look like a BL (the gay lover's death is the inciting event). More in Goodbye Mother vein. Looks dark and dramatic. He opposite and extremely well known actor Toey Pongsakorn who has never done gay before.

Addicted Heroin (Thailand adaptation) is also supposed to release this month. GIVE IT TOO MEEEEEE. I don't care about anything else but August back on my screen. It's been almost a decade since he did BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This week's adventures in caption "out of" and "off" are not the same thing. This is an uncomfortable thought.

I'm so tired I'm seeing double. This is all you get.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

Sports in Play (the jokes write themselves) )

Boxing

Breaking

(That's Not) Cricket

Diving (yes, for that)

Fencing (yes, with those)

Handball (exactly what it says, no, read the word.. again)

Rhythmic Gymnastics (obvs)

Squash (snicker)

Surfing

Swimming

Trampoline

Weightlifting

Wrestling

[kosmicdream]

Hello. After drawing webcomics for 10 years and making about 10,000 pages of comics, here are some things i have learned/observed in that experience..

1) making comics does not get easier.. Not really

Making comics is a tedious and slow process and with so many different facets of the experience to learn - you’ll never run out of stuff to learn or weaknesses to work on. I’m not saying this to discourage but to just give the frank reality that it really takes a lifetime to understand. Be patient with yourself and try to set healthy expectations. 

2) Read your own comics after making them.

I don’t know if this is as important to other people as it is to me, but I do think that sometimes its easy to not re-read your own work and just go from your own memory of it, or maybe you’re tired of looking at it because of all the flaws. I don’t personally get sucked into the “rewrite/remake” cycle that I know is common with comics, as I sort of just accept things as they are, but re-reading my work does help me see where I have come from and where I need to go to next. I personally don’t like to lose sight of that, and I think re-reading helps ground me in the planning process of my work and gives me a better perspective on all aspects.

3) A lot of comic advice should be taken with a grain of salt, because its the person talking to themselves. (including this)

I see a lot of advice that never would have worked for me, or just simply wasn’t something I was ever going to follow. “Dont start with your big epic long stories”! Is a common one. I don’t think that’s bad advice exactly, but how many young artists are going to listen, especially if they’ve never told a story in the first place? Yes, the advice to start small and build yourself up with experience sounds great, I’m sure people do it, but if you’re an artist you’re probably not gonna be that responsible. And for me, when i tried to do this with eggshells, my house burnt down and i kinda gave up comics for a while because i lost a lot of work. 

Writing short stories is still something I struggle with, its just not easy for me. I have gotten better at it but i don’t think that makes me less of a comic artist because I haven’t gotten good at that particular format, or that I jump around on my projects. Is it more impressive to have more completed work under your belt, sure. But I also think that.. Idk.. what is the advice actually saying, because with that one it sort of feels (often times) as a warning that you’re setting yourself up for failure/embarrassment by attempting a comic like that. I don’t know how to tell you this, but comics are gonna be embarrassing no matter what you do and there’s no guarantee you’ll be more successful/not experience failure by avoiding your passions. Something to think about anyway. 

4) Don’t draw every leaf. Unless you really want to.

I’m the kind of comic artist that kind of doesn’t care about the art as much as the whole package of the comic. When i see a very impressively drawn panel/page, with laborious detail that is well drawn and maybe even colored ect.. That usually is kind of, I guess, a turn off for me as part of the reading experience. The thing is, when i encounter that, it usually signals to me that someone has poor planning skills for comics. It says to me that comic is probably not going to see its end or that artist is overworking themselves in an unnecessary way, that ends up concerning me about how they’re doing. Because i know how hard it is to draw comics. When an artist phones things in a bit, or has a limit on how much they work on a page, its a relief for me to see! because I understand they have healthier boundaries and expectations, and the art itself usually is less stiff too. This is all an overgeneralization, but I think with a lot of webcomic artists we are usually drawing a comic for the first time ever, so it makes sense we want to do our best and try as hard as possible - that just usually isn’t the smartest plan to put all the stock in the visual department. This also kinda frustrates me to see because most comics (professional or not) will also (generally) not reel the art in ever or make a more simple style. Generally I see it always trying to outdo itself, which leads to burn out. I personally only work about 1hr on each page i draw, that hasn’t changed in the 10 years I have been drawing comics, but i used to spend hundreds of hours drawing detailed lineart for eggshells and it didn’t even read well and i’d be disappointed with the results, feeling more lost with my goals than ever. PLEASe.. Just draw worse, its usually better looking in the end too. (because you wont have the experience to judge visual clarity until you’ve been drawing comics for a while imo..)

5) Don’t draw ahead, draw those inbetweenies.

“Inbetweenies” are the pages for the “boring” ones. They are also usually the most common KIND of page. Its the pages that are necessary, but “inbetween” the action. The impact moments in a scene, ect. You gotta draw them. They’re always gonna be there. They’re the pages where maybe, the character is walking somewhere, thinking, ect. The after impact from an action.. There’s a million examples, but hopefully you’ll understand what I mean when I say they’re both necessary pages/panels, sometimes so mundane/redundant, but also required for telling the story.. As a comic is a sequence of images. This is why, the previous advice is also important IMO- because if you really want to “draw every leaf” - maybe you should save that energy and effort for those impact moments that you want to impress the reader with.. And not for the inbetweenies, which are the foundational support, but also not the most important moments. If you conserve your energy a bit, the contrast OF that effort will also pop more. I personally find it funny when I put more effort into a page and end up tricking my readers into thinking I got better at drawing, when really i just have been able to draw better and only save it for moments like this instead of always.

Also, when I say don’t draw ahead.. I mean I draw each page at a time before going to the next one. I have no idea if this is an unusual practice or not, and I know a lot of people will draw their chapters/episodes/whatever in sections like sketch/ink/color/ect.. But I personally draw and finish page by page, unless its the thumb/sketch stage. Even then, i don’t go ahead much. I think that you can control flow/pacing better by doing chapters all at once of course, I see that as a benefit. But i also think that makes things very overwhelming and can also result in a lack of flexibility if something isn’t working. No matter HOW much planning you do- comics are always going to have an aspect of IMPROVISATION with the result you get in the end. There are way too many factors in play to be in complete control of all of them and always know the result of the reading experience. SO for me, this technique is easier and has been something that continues to get me to working effectively. Plus, rumiko takahashi said that’s what she does. And i think she has some of the best visual flow/compositions in comics. So that’s what I do.

I could write more personal advice or rules that i follow..but I think those are the ones I find are the most important to me anyway. Of course, comics are a strange medium and not everything that works for me will work for you. That’s all for now.. Bye bye…! 

Oh by the way, my comics are here: feastforaking.com nastyreddogs.com https://kosmic.itch.io/ Support me on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/kosmic

[bixels]

your tags about mercy being one of the most complex characters- YES!!! theres a log in one of ana's gun inspection modes where it mentions how mercy DESPISED her healing magic/science being used for evil on the battlefield, and there's an ingame line of her saying "power boost working as envisioned!" and it just reminds me how she was lied to, forced unto the battlefield when in reality she just wanted to help people with her inventions and thats the only way they said she could do it. AGH. Hippocratic oath!!

Which is why I never seriously bought into Moicy (I get the hatefucking though) as a serious ship because realistically, Mercy would absolutely abhor Moira with every fiber of her being.

This is gonna be a really hot take for gay Overwatch-knowers, but. I preferred when Moira didn't exist as a character in the story and her whole selfish philosophy of 'progress at any cost' existed as Mercy's darker side. I was really interested in Mercy's 'holier than thou' demeanor (her battle uniform is an angel costume, for god's sake). I found it so interesting that Mercy was the one who turned Gabriel into Reaper (it was assumed canon until retconned by Moira). Or that Mercy "saved" Genji by installing ninja stars into his knuckles and turning his body into a killing machine (which is why, imo, I don't think Mercy would ever be in love with Genji. He'd be a constant reminder of the power she holds yet tries to ignore, the ways she's unbelievably fucked her patients up in the past. A reminder that she's not as good a person as others believe her to be). I'm personally really into the idea that Mercy has two sides in her: the side who truly cares about healing people and the side who's so full of hate and anger for the perceived enemy that she unconsciously fuels her rage into the people who rely on her. Turning people into living weapons to "fix" them and fight her battles. Reminder that she watched her parents walk out on her as a child to volunteer medical work for the Omnic Crisis, only for them to die and leave her orphaned and alone. Is she doing this to take care of people, or is she doing this to avenge her parents (the official site says it's only the former, but I think that's boring as fuck)? I think it can be both at the same time, but sometimes she prioritizes one motive over the other. I think the "angelic, cheery healer" is a persona she instinctively uses to veil her selfish motivations, to everyone and to herself. Reminder that she was also lauded as a savant, a prodigy, a teenage genius who literally revolutionized medical science before she could legally vote. You cannot expect me to believe that she's truly altruistic, that everything she does is for the betterment of humanity and out of the goodness of her heart.

I don't think she's a malicious person at all, just someone who doesn't want to admit she has ulterior motives.

Anyways, she's not actually this interesting in the game or the story.

[elsa-fogen]

Oh, thinking more

What if the hunter that shot Alastor was Vox?

Like, I doubt it, but we "know" they had dogs, so I was thinking about who if any has anything resembling dogs? And the only one I can think of is Vox, like he had two sharks in the show plus some dog-shark creature in the insta stories

So, what if he was pretty young, loved radio and any new technology, so he was a fan of Alastor's. In addition, he had just started to learn how to hunt and wanting to impress his parents went out late to practice, took the dogs so that he could just say he went out with them if anyone asked

Then out in the woods, the dogs start to bark and he readies his gun, mostly just to better his aim, not intending to shoot. Then he sees the figure rise, he can't fully comprehend it before he takes the shot. He can hear a thud. He got it? He got it! He shot a deer!

Oh.

That's gonna be hard to hide.

Should he tell dad that he was able to shoot a deer? Like, yay, he did it! But also, no, he went out with dads gun without permission.

He approaches the deer, trying to figure out what to do with it, only to freeze when he gazes upon it.

It's not a deer.

It's a-

He-

This is bad.

That was the last time he went hunting. He can't get the image out of his head. He'll never forget that face.

The worst part was, he knew who it was. He had figured it out when he saw a missing poster of his favorite radio host.

He still liked technology, and to drown out the past that's where all his focus went. He wanted to be a big part of TV just like Alastor had been a big part of Radio. It was his way of honouring Alastor.

Still, sometimes it was hard to listen to the radio, that's why his focus was on the TV. They where practically the same, just some extra visuals, distractions, it was practically an upgrade. He just knew Alastor would agree, that man was always on the forefront of what was new in radio.

Surely, if he was alive, then he would have obviously pivoted towards TV after realizing the benefits of the medium

___

Imagen then how Vox would reach when seeing Alastor for the first time in hell. Like he doesn't know if Alastor is aware that it was Vox, but if he does maybe he won't recognize Vox? He has a TV for a head now, not really a human feature. Still though, he can't help but want to spend time with Alastor, tell of all that has happened in the world and share with him how Amazing the TV had become

DAMN BAEWSBNFSDYGUFKDGHFS

ANONS ARE FEEDING ME GOOD TODAY WTF?

✨✨✨THE TRAUMA✨✨✨

THIS IS INSANE remember the "sad and complicated" IT KINDA FITS LOL AHAHA-- THIS EXPLAINS WHY VOX IS SO OBSESSED WITH ALASTOR

IMAGINE JUST IMAGINE, NEXT SEASON THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIGHT AND VOX SAYS SOMETHING LIKE, I KILLED YOU ONCE, I'LL KILL YOU AGAIN AND ALASTOR'S JUST WHAT AND EVERYTHING STOPS WHILE BOTH REALISE WHAT WAS JUST SAID

That would be such a cool turn, like. Vox clinging to Alastor in pathetic attempt to apologise for killing him and make up for it, and get waht they could have in life if he haven't killed him. And Alastor just doesn't understand Vox's behavior nor the reasons for it

AND WHEN VOX SAYS THAT HE KILLED HIM IN LIFE EVERYTHING BECOMES CLEAR AND ALASTOR JUST LAUGHS LIKE, HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE, HE'S NOT EVEN ANGRY, BECAUSE VOX JUST BECOME EVEN MORE PATHETIC IN HIS EYES. HE KILLED HIM AND THEN WAS IN SHOCK HIS WHOLE LIFE WHILE ALASTOR KILLED MUCH MORE AND NEVER FELT REMORSE FOR A SINGLE ONE

[fangirl-writes]

The Fall

JJ Maybank x Reader; Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warning(s): swearing, drugs, mentions of child abuse, assault.

12K Words.

Request can be found here.

Summary: When JJ takes the fall for you, you're determined to break even, even if that includes sacrificing yourself to the kooks. But there's more to it than that. This is the story of a deal, a debt, and more complicated feelings than you can handle.

Notes: Babes this is a behemoth. I think it’s the longest fic I’ve ever written (which is why I’ve been dead for months lmao) but I wanted to tell the story the request was asking for in a proper way and I think I did. Here we are.

In hindsight, you could’ve handled it better.

But if there was anything to know about you, it was that you're reckless and that nobody messes with your friends.

Especially not Pope.

It was just karma, right?

Just karma when Topper’s 2020 Malibu luxury boat sank like a brick to the bottom of the dock.

But no, as JJ would say, this was war.

You didn’t think they’d find out. Didn’t think charges would be pressed. And you definitely didn’t think they’d blame Pope for it.

“Hey, Pope,” Heyward said, coming into the shop where the group of you (minus John B. because where the heck was he anyway?) were packing groceries. “There’s someone here to see you.”

Pope straightened immediately upon seeing Shoupe enter behind his dad.

“Evening officer.”

“I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property,” Shoupe said.

Pope looked back at you and JJ with horror in his eyes.

“Keep your hands on the counter where I can see them.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” you protested.

“Shoupe what’d he do?”

Shoupe pulled Pope’s hands behind his back, “take a look at the warrant, Heyward.”

Your heartbeat sped up as you took in the situation, Kiara, JJ, and Heyward protesting over each other, Pope’s expression more scared by the second as they hauled him out towards the squad car.

And you made a decision.

Hang the consequences; hang your college career and whatever else you had to deal with. This was your fault.

You opened your mouth to admit it, to tell Shoupe the truth of the matter, but before you could get a word out, JJ’s hand covered your mouth, pulling you back and gesturing for you to stay quiet.

You shook your head slightly, searching his face for a reason.

He gave you a sad, tight lipped smile, and turned away.

“It wasn’t him!”

Your heart sank as you realized what JJ was about to do.

“It was me.”

Tears welled up in your eyes. “JJ, please-“

“No, Y/N, it’s okay,” he replied. “They tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he’d just been beaten up. And I was so fed up with those assholes from Figure 8 that I just lost my shit.”

It was the whole story. Word for word the truth…except that it was you and not him.

Pope looked at you and then at JJ.

“I can’t let you take the blame for something I did.”

JJ looked back at you and then Pope. “You’ve just got too much to lose.”

“JJ, what are you doing?” Pope asked.

“I’m telling the truth,” he replied. “For once in my goddamn life, I’m gonna tell the truth.”

You looked at Kiara, then at Pope, then at JJ.

Why? Why was he doing this?

“I took his old man’s boat, too.”

“What the hell?” Heyward said.

“JJ, come on-“ you said, taking a step forward.

“Just shut up, Y/N!” JJ said, voice so loud it made you curl away. “Just shut up.”

The tears began to fall.

“He’s a good kid,” JJ said to Shoupe. “You know where I’m from.”

Shoupe eyed him before replying, “yeah.”

“It’s just all me.”

You couldn’t let JJ do this, but if you came forward now everything would unravel and Pope would surely be hauled in regardless.

So, it was over.

You let JJ take the fall for you, watching him be carted away like the criminal that he wasn’t.

“I’m gonna kill him for this,” you said.

You’d know JJ for almost as long as you’d known Pope.

The two of you crossing over with JJ and John B. in fourth grade and the rest was history. You were mirrors in a way; John B. and Pope the more level-headed, less impulsive two, while you and JJ were more reckless, more stupid.

Pope always told you it was going to get you in trouble one day.

Your family thought the same.

You had a foul mouth, delinquent friends, a weed habit that was consistently enabled, and anger issues that probably needed put in check.

Hence the revenge plot.

But then there was JJ. The other side of your coin, your enabler, your partner in crime. It always worked out and he always assured you it would. And you always believed him.

But not this time.

When JJ showed up to Midsummers, where you were helping out Pope and Heyward, you went after him.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Woah, hey, Y/N. No, ‘thanks for saving my ass, JJ, you’re so hot for that’?”

“Don’t. Not now.”

He chuckled uncomfortably as you took his face in your hands.

A busted lip he’d already had, though the blood was fresh, but the bruises littering his face and upper body were all new.

“Did Luke do this to you?” You hissed. “Did that asshole rough you up for a thing you didn’t do?”

“I’m fine! Look, he was just pissed about the money-“ JJ said, a waver in his voice.

“What money?”

“Restitution. I’ve gotta pay for what I broke. 30k.”

“30k?!” You squeaked.

“Shh!” JJ said, hands on your shoulders. “Look I’m on a mission here and you’re gonna blow my cover.”

“What? JJ, we’ve gotta talk about this. I’ve been worried sick-“

“Sick? You don’t look sick.”

“Stop! JJ, god! I should never have let you do that, I should’ve spoke up-“

“Y/N!” Your face in his hands, JJ scared you silent for the second time that day. “Shut up, okay? Trust me. Trust. Me.”

Pope was there next, hugging JJ and blabbering just as you had been, but JJ shut him down.

“John B. and I got it all sorted out,” he said. “We’re gonna be filthy rich. We’re back in the G-game, baby.”

“What?” You hissed quietly. “We’re still on the gold thing?”

“I thought we lost the G-game,” Pope said.

“Yeah, well, we’re in overtime now.”

Your head was spinning. Between the restitution and the gold and JJ’s bruised face, you wanted to go back in time. Change the outcome and maybe you’d be the one who took the fall for once.

Maybe for once you could’ve protected JJ.

“Be right back,” he said. “I’ll explain later.”

You watched him go, confused and worried.

“What the hell is he talking about?”

Ignoring Pope, you followed JJ, watching him pass off a note to Sarah before getting intercepted by Rafe and Kelce.

"I'm wonderin' if you could get me a mai tai, my friend?"

"Yeah, pogue, how about you make that two?"

"Well, I'm on the clock right now. You guys look spiffy," JJ replied. "You know, uh, I got a couple of orders ahead of you, so why don't you guys go ahead and wait by the bar?"

No. No, no, no, no, no. You wouldn’t let this happen again.

"Until then, help yourself to some hors d’oeuvres."

"Oh yeah?" Rafe said, motioning to a few more kooks. "Hey guys, JJ's gonna serve us some hors d’oeuvres."

JJ began to backpedal, running out of the situation and you hurriedly followed.

It was quite a scene, JJ running through the Island Club, the kook guys chasing him, and you chasing them.

“Hey, man, what’re you doing in the locker room, huh?”

JJ immediately turned around and tried to head the way he came, but he was surrounded.

“Wow, that’s a cute outfit,” JJ said, stumbling into Rafe.

“Shut up,” Rafe replied, shoving him into Kelce.

“Hold him still. What do you think? A four iron, right?” Rafe said, adjusting his hands like he was holding a golf club. “Keep his head still, I’m gonna line this up.”

“Very Rafe of you, Rafe,” JJ spat, struggling to breathe. “Five on one?”

"Now, would you please stop talking?" Rafe replied with a smirk. “It’s very disrespectful when I’m trying to hit a ball. Learn your etiquette my friend.”

"Rafe!"

A surprised pause washed over the locker room as you slid into view.

"Oh, another pogue to the rescue," Rafe said. "You gotta have girls save you now, JJ? Tut, tut."

"Rafe." You repeated sternly. "Let him go."

"Oh, no shot, milkmaid," he replied, leaning down at JJ. "Your face looks really bad. Starting to look like your dad a lot more.”

JJ spit in his face.

Rafe laughed, wiping it away with ease, looking almost impressed. “Oh, shit! See, now I'm even less inclined to let him go."

"Rafe!" you swallowed. "You let him go...and you can have me."

"What?" Rafe asked.

"What?!" JJ protested, struggling harder against Kelce.

Rafe stalked towards you. "Now, why would I want you?"

"Cause you always have," you said. "And" - you leaned closer to him, voice a whisper - "if you don't, I'll tell your dad exactly where all his money has been going."

You'd found Rafe's stash of dope multiple times back when you worked for the Camerons as a maid alongside your mom.

You never ratted, never had a reason to, until now.

"You know he'll believe me."

Rafe's eyes narrowed.

"Now let him go."

A beat, a standoff.

And Rafe snapped his fingers.

Kelce dropped JJ, who coughed and stumbled towards you.

"Okay, Y/N, we're even now, you saved me, let's go."

You smiled at him. "We're not even yet."

Before he could ask what you meant, the lights started flickering and you let out a sigh of relief as security entered the room.

“Gentlemen,” he said. “Is there a problem here, guys?”

“Oh! Pardon me, officer. No there’s not an issue, I just-” JJ said before starting over. “Actually, yes. No, there is an issue.”

You watched JJ get to work. He could talk himself out of a situation better than anyone you knew.

“Uh, we got a criminal trespass in progress here. Beep! Call it in, right? Blatant disrespect for private property,” JJ said.

The kooks looked like they wanted to react, but they wouldn’t so they wouldn’t get in trouble with their daddies.

"As you can see, I’m in violation of all kinds of shit, sir. But these young gentleman...”

JJ straightened Kelce’s collar.

“...uh, caught me, sir, and they’re about to take me away. And that’s what you should do, escort me outta here. All right.”

Security, not caring enough to refute JJ’s bullshit of a story, did as requested and led him out of the room.

“Fix that tie, son,” JJ said, one last quip. “You’re lookin’ spiffy, too. You Powerpuff Girls have fun. Y/N, come on.”

But you didn't move. Rafe's hands falling on your arms, his head hovering too close to your face. "I'll take good care of her, JJ, don't you worry. She's pretty hot for a pogue!"

“JJ, don’t!” You said but he’d already ripped himself away and went back to fight.

Thankfully, the security guard was there to separate them all again.

"Y/N!"

You felt your stomach dip as he called for you but you didn't move.

"Let's go guys," Rafe demanded, motioning for all his buddies to exit the room. Then he whispered in your ear. "I knew you'd come crawling to me eventually."

It sent a shiver up your spine.

Truth was, back in the day, you didn't think Rafe was so bad.

Maybe it was because it was always within earshot of his dad, but he'd always been nice to you when you worked for his family. Especially after you ran across his stash.

Course, it wasn't long after that that your family got the boot as apparently the Camerons decided having a maid was too bougie for them.

You always suspected he was the reason, but you don't have any proof of that.

And now, well, how does a poor person get 30k?

Maybe the lottery, maybe life insurance.

Or maybe they steal it.

It was just karma right? For all the years that the kooks had been giving pogues a hard time.

And the Camerons probably wouldn't even notice a little 30k was gone.

Right?

--

JJ was pacing at Rixon's cove.

The group had gone over the plan, where the gold was, the fight about Sarah.

"Just shut up, Kiara!" JJ shouted.

They all looked at him with wide eyes.

"Look, if we can meet with Sarah, maybe she can tell me if- maybe she can tell me where-"

"JJ, you're scaring us, bro, what is it?"

"It's Y/N."

"What?"

"JJ, where's Y/N?" Pope said.

"She gave herself up for me man!" JJ cried. "It was some eye for an eye bullshit, I told her we were even but she wouldn't listen! Now she's probably being Rafe's chew toy or something."

"Okay, gross."

"I'm serious! You didn't see the way he was looking at her, man. Like she was a piece of meat. I gotta go, I gotta save her-"

"Woah, JJ," John B. intercepted his friend. "You're gonna go running back into the lion's den? The only thing this is going to do is get Y/N and you into more trouble. We'll save, Y/N, I promise. And if she's at the Camerons' then Sarah there too and she won't let anything happen to Y/N."

He was distraught. "JB, you don't understand-"

"JJ," John B. said. "She's gonna be okay."

--

"You're better off without her man, trust me, I live with the bitch," Rafe said, arm thrown around you in Topper's car.

"Rafe, don't call your sister a bitch, man, come on," Topper replied.

"Yo, I'll call her whatever I want man. All right?"

You couldn't figure Topper out.

One minute he was nearly drowning John B. and the next he was defending Sarah's honor.

Seriously, what was his deal? Friend or fo?

"Come on, bro. Drink up, all right?" Kelce encouraged from the passenger.

"You really think you should be drinking and driving?" You asked, trying to grab the beer from Topper's hold but Rafe pulled you back.

"Ah, ah, ah, little pogie," he said. "Only speak when spoken to."

You glared at him.

"I gotta see her, man," Topper said. "We're not...we're not good right now."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up. Shut up, dude. Bad idea, muchacho," Rafe said.

"Just stick with the bevo, all right?" Kelce said.

You felt like a guppy surrounded by sharks.

"If you go there now, there is a high likelihood you go fetal," Rafe continued.

"Exactly."

"I'm not- I'm not going fetal," Topper argued.

"All right. It's your funeral." Rafe said. "It's your funeral."

Topper pulled up to the Camerons’ and got out, heading for the house.

"While we have the time," Rafe said. "How about we hammer out the details of our little deal here?"

"What deal?" You snapped.

"The deal where I lay off JJ and you stay here, with me."

"Oh-kay, I'm getting out," Kelce said, popping open the passenger door and bailing from the car.

"There is no deal, Rafe," you said. "You let JJ go and I'm here. That's all there is to it."

"No, no, no," Rafe replied, tightening his hold on you. "You said I could have you. That means you're mine now."

You sucked in a breath. "You're drunk. And probably high."

"I wouldn't blow at a party full of socialites all right? I'm not crazy."

Debatable.

"You on the other hand, I would love to see blow," he said, tugging on your chin.

Your face contorted with disgust as you pushed his hand off you.

He chuckled. "All right, we'll lead up to that. I'm sure you'll want it eventually."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're here right now, aren't you?" he said. "If you detested me as much as you act like you do, you wouldn't have gotten in this car."

Okay. True.

But he didn't know what you were really there for. In fact, he couldn't know. If he knew, you'd probably be arrested or worse.

And you needed to get that money.

"Fine. I'm yours," you said. "For now."

He smiled. "I could get used to hearing that. Come on, I'm not waiting on Topper."

He popped open the door and the two of you jumped out. He slung his arm back around your shoulders. "Bye, Kelce."

"Don't have too much fun, you two," he said back.

Rafe flipped him off as you guys entered the house.

"Rafe!" Ward came around the corner. His eyebrows going up at the sight of you. "And Ms. Y/N. I haven't seen you in a while, how are you? How's your mom?"

"We're both doing good, thanks," you replied, giving him an awkward smile.

He glanced between you. "So. Are you two-"

"Night, dad." Rafe said, pulling you along behind him and up the stairs.

"Hey, Rafe, no funny business! I'm serious, young man!" Ward called after you.

You couldn't help but laugh a little, despite the situation.

Rafe looked back at you and smirked.

He opened the door to his room.

It looked exactly as you remembered it, albeit messier.

"Sorry, didn't have time to clean up," he said, milling about the room as you took it in. "I'm sure you're dying for a hit."

You looked over to find him offering you a joint.

"Don't worry, it's just weed, I promise."

Though you weren't exactly inclined to believe him, you weren't in much of a situation to argue, so you took it.

Pulling a lighter out of your pocket, you lit the joint and took a drag.

It was almost muscle memory, having done the exact motion with JJ a number of times before.

Your stomach lurched.

JJ. What was he thinking right now? Was he okay?

You looked up and choked on the blunt smoke.

Rafe had taken off his shirt and was digging through his dresser for something.

You coughed into your hand, waving away the smoke and avoiding looking at him again. Shit. Had he always been attractive? Was that wrong to think?

"You, uh, want some clothes to change into, or?"

You looked at him again; he'd put a shirt on and at some point had changed into plaid pants.

"Uh, no, thanks I'm- I'm good," you replied, passing him the joint back.

He took a drag of it before stabbing it out in an ashtray near by, blowing the smoke through his nose.

He sat down on the bed next to you, sighing. He swayed a little, the alcohol and weed making its way through his system and relaxing him.

"If I tell you something," he started. "You promise you won't tell anyone else?"

JJ always said you had this way about you. A way that made people trust you, to believe you'd keep their secrets. Still, Rafe's sudden need to confide in you took you by surprise.

"I never told your dad about the drugs..."

"You can't use this against me," he said, looking you in the eyes. "You have to promise."

He was scaring you a little but, the intesity in his eyes a kind of seriousness you'd never seen before.

Cockiness, confidence, anger, even fear, but this was something new.

"I promise."

There was silence for a few moments as he hesitated, eyebrows knit together like he was thinking hard about what to say.

You were about to say something, ask him what it was, when-

"I'm scared."

You blinked. Of all the things he could have said, you were probably expecting that the least.

"Of what?" you asked.

"Of- Of-" he laughed breathily. "Of everything. That I've disappointed my dad. That I've ruined my life. That I'm spiraling out of control."

He put his head between his knees, running his fingers through his hair.

You weren't sure what to say. You didn't know him enough to reassure him none of it was true. To try to ease his fears. And, truth be told, you didn't like him enough to lie to him about it.

"I'm just...I don't know what to do."

A swell of pity trembled through you. Pity for the boy who's had a silver spoon in his mouth his whole life.

Who beat Pope with a golf club just because he was a pogue.

The pity morphed into anger.

You wanted to scream at him, tell him just what you thought about him and his fears.

But, then again, you were a pogue. If he beat up Pope for just walking by, what would he do to you if you did?

Swallowing the anger, you reached out and rubbed his back, soothingly.

If you could just pretend for a night that he was your friend, that he wasn't a total asshole, then you could get what you came here for. And, hopefully, never have to be alone with him again.

Rafe reached up, taking one of your hands in his. "Thank you," he said, squeezing it.

He sniffed, shifting his body so that he was facing you.

"I'm sorry. For dumping all that on you, you don't need that. You probably hate my guts anyway," he said.

You didn't reply.

"Then again," he said. "You're not running away screaming. Why is that?"

You licked your lips nervously, silent.

"Just this morning you would've spat in my face but you were willing to come here with me just to save your friend. And your still here. Why?"

"I'm a woman of my word," you said. "I said you could have me, remember?"

Rafe hummed. "And now?" his hand came up to brush along your cheek. "Can I have you now?"

The action fizzled out the anger from before and you felt your cheeks heat up.

What could you say?

Well, "no" probably would've been sufficient. Still, there was a lingering curiosity that ate at you as he leaned closer, eyes trained on your lips.

It was wrong, wasn't it? To wonder what it was like?

"I'm gonna need an answer here," Rafe said before repeating. "Can I have you now?"

The word left your lips before you could think about it. "Yes."

Then his lips were on yours. Softly, more gently than you ever would've imagined it, like he was savoring the moment, like he wasn't thinking at all.

He tasted like weed and beer, as you should've expected, but it strangely wasn't unpleasant.

It reminded you of JJ, who you kissed once before, drunkely at a beach blowout.

Neither of you talked about it afterwardds, but something in your dynamic had shifted after that.

Was thinking about JJ while kissing Rafe weird? Surely a girl shouldn't be thinking about someone else while kissing a guy.

I mean, surely Sarah wasn't thinking about someone else while kissing Topper-

Oh.

Oh.

You pulled away, resting your hands on Rafe's chest.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"No, no," Rafe said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay, I gave you permission-"

"You're just in my room and I-"

You both took a pause and a breath.

You sighed. "I just- uh- I don't know if I'm into you like that."

"Oh."

He seemed disappointed.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." he said, in a tone that told you it wasn't. "It's late. I can take you home if you want, or you can stay here. We've got a bunch of guest rooms-"

"Can I," you interrupted. "Just sleep on the floor? In here?"

Something about sleeping in one of the Cameron's fancy bedrooms when you were planning on stealing from them seemed extra wrong.

"Uh, sure," Rafe said. "Whatever you want."

There are only three types of relationships in the animal kingdom.

The first is commensalism. Fish finding hiding spots in coral reefs, but life for the coral doesn't change.

It was your family moving to Outer Banks. It was the winding trees at the chateu that you climbed often.

Then, there's mutualism, a relationship where both animals benefit from each other.

It was your friendship with the pogues. It was what JJ's sacrifice was going to be when you got the money.

And third, the parasitic.

"This is your room," Sarah said as John B. walked into it, eyes a little wide.

"Woah," he said, then tossed his hat on the bed and set down his bag full of everything he owned. Which was, admittedly, not much.

"Not too shabby, huh?" Sarah said.

"Yeah. Not too shabby at all."

"John B!" You came flying down the hall and into his new room, practically jumping into his arms.

"Y/N! AH- bruises, wrist, please-" he said.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry," you replied, backing away. "You okay?"

"Yeah. No, I'm good. I'm good."

You'd woken up that morning on Rafe's floor to about a thousand texts and calls on your now fully-charged phone telling you what happened at the hawk's nest.

Rafe had been the one to let you know, begrudgingly, that John B. would be staying at Tannyhill.

"Sarah Elizabeth Cameron," Ward said, coming around the corner. "And Ms. Y/N."

You gave him a respectful nod.

"You've already broken the first rule. What is the first rule?" Ward asked. "Stay out of each other's rooms."

You smiled.

"Seriously, this is like a minefield," he said, gesturing to the line at the doorframe. "Y/N, I can count on you to keep them in line?"

You mock saluted. "Yes, sir."

"Good," he said, pausing a moment. "Ladies, can you give me and the new inmate a quick minute here?"

"Oh, sure."

"Please be nice," Sarah asked.

"I'll be nice," Ward replied as the two of you left, walking down the hallway together.

The tension thickened immediately.

"So," Sarah started. "You and my brother, huh? What's that about?"y

Honestly, you weren't even sure yourself, but you gave her your most convicing smile. "I guess I kinda like him."

She didn't seem to be buying it. "I'm just saying, if you're doing this to prove a point or to get back at some pogue who hurt you. Stop."

You scowled. "And what about you and John B., huh? Last I heard you were dating Topper. He get too boring for you? Have you even broken up with him because last night-"

"Why don't you just stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours? Deal?" she snapped.

You rolled your eyes but nodded and she turned her cold shoulder into her room, leaving you alone in the hall.

You heard Ward leave John B.'s room so you swung back around and into it.

He looked up from the map in his lap and folded it over immedaitely.

"Okay, what the hell," he said. "Seriously, Y/N, you and Rafe?"

"Look, I'm not doing this because I want to, okay?" you said, voice barely above a whisper. "JJ took a fall for me and I need to pay him back."

"By stealing from the Camerons?" John B. asked, tensly. "Do you realize how insane that sounds?"

"Well, unless you have a less crazy way to get 30k in my hands, this is it," you replied.

"The gold, Y/N, we're going to get the gold."

"You and I both know the gold is a longshot!"

"And this isn't?"

"Let me try this, JB, and if you find the gold before I find some money, let me know," You said, turning to leave before pausing in the doorway. "And, please, don't tell JJ what I'm doing. We both know what he'd do."

John B. knew JJ best. And you were right.

"My lips are sealed," he promised, reluctantly.

—

"I'm sorry. You're staying where?" Kiara asked, later at The Wreck.

"Tannyhill," John B. replied, matter-of-factly.

"So you're living with Sarah Cameron."

John B. rolled his eyes. "Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go.”

"Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope asked, ignoring Kiara's expression.

"I don't know, Pope."

"What about those golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?" JJ asked.

"Does it come with a sweatervest, or do you have to buy one on your own?"

"Look, you promised," Kiara said. "You said you weren't with her."

"Bro, just own it," JJ said. "She got you."

"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine," Kiara said in a tone that indicated it was, in fact, not fine. "But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."

"Do you guys see her here?" John B. asked.

"Don't see Y/N either," JJ said, pouting. "God, I can't believe she's still with Rafe. It's making my blood boil."

"She's fine, JJ," John B. said. "A little focus would be fantastic."

And while the pogues went on their treasure hunt, you went on yours.

Sarah was downstairs and Rafe had split before you woke up, leaving you a note that said where he'd gone.

It was kinda sweet.

And it made you feel kinda guilty when you snooped around his room.

You found the usual apparel; porn magazines, old drug paraphernalia, socks you didn't even think about touching. But you didn't find any money.

You groaned, falling back onto his bed. Shit. Okay.

You poked your head out the door, looking around to make sure no one was there, then you crept from Rafe's room to a few other rooms.

The ones that weren't locked, you came up empty. But the last door seemed promising.

It was Ward's office, that much was clear, judging by the big desk and bigger painting.

Your eyebrows raised.

Well, where in all the movies did the rich people hide their safes? Behind paintings.

You crept inside casually, in case anyone was in there. You could fake needing to ask Ward or Rose a question if you had to, and you could play off Wheezie easily.

But, the room was empty.

You closed the door quietly behind you, locking it in hopes that if anyone tried to come in, you'd be able to escape or find a hiding spot before they could get in.

You beelined for the painting, wanting this to be as quick and quiet as possible.

Just as you suspected, the painting was on hinges and, when you pulled it open, there was the safe.

Okay. Step one, done. Now step two.

If you were Ward Cameron, what would your safe code be? A kid’s birthday surely, but which kid?

You dug through Ward's desk, trying to find a notebook with passwords, a scrap of paper with it written down, a calendar with birthdays in it, anything, but nada.

So, you had to venture down the stairs and hope there was something down there that would help you.

Peaking over the banister, you didn't see anyone, so you crept silently down. Praying no one would hear you.

It would be uber weird to ask Sarah what her birthday was if you ran into her and it's not like she was your biggest fan anyway.

"Hey."

You froze, hearing Topper's voice from somewhere to your right.

"Hey, how's John B? Is he- is he doin' all right?"

"Like you give a shit."

You let out a breath, realizing he was talking to Sarah.

Making sure to avoid that room, you crept on.

"You realize I did not push him. He lost his balance and fell."

"Don't lie."

You slid open drawers, digging through as quietly as possible for a key, a code, even a little cash.

"He fell against the rail. Not my fault."

"That is messed up."

You peaked in another office, finding Rose's checkbook on the desk. And damn it, a check would not work. They'd know.

And you couldn't forge the signature of somebody who's signature you'd never seen.

"You forget about us, like- midsummers was supposed to be our- our coming-out party. That was supposed to be something special, right?"

"What does it matter, Topper? We're in high school, it's not like we're getting married."

You didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the conversation was getting heated. And, since Topper already pushed John B. off a tower, you wanted to be able to step in if you thought he was going to do anything to her.

However cold she felt about you.

So, you hid in an adjacent room and listened.

"I don't care anymore, Topper. I can't be with you, not after last night."

"Oh, after last night? You wanna talk about last night?" Topper said. "Did you forget the part where you cheated on me? Huh? Did you forget about that? You're a slut! You know that? You're a slut!"

"Watch your mouth when you talk about my daughter!" You heard Ward shout, the words nearly shaking the wall between them and you.

"Your daughter's banging a Pogue-"

Your breath caught as Topper's sentence was cut off by choking noises. Was- was Ward choking Topper?

You held your breath as he forced Topper out, the sound of him starting his car and taking off breaking through the silence.

You were shaking, trying your best not to panic as you heard Sarah cry and Ward comfort her.

That wasn't just overprotectiveness. That was a pure kind of rage. Ward was a man who would kill to get what he wanted and do it without blinking an eye.

And Rafe-

Fuck. What had you gotten yourself into.

—

John B. was wondering the same thing after Kiara stormed out.

"It'll be cool, right?" Sarah said icily. "I'm gonna leave."

"Sarah, don't-"

"Let y'all chat."

"Hey, hey, Sarah," JJ said, catching up to her before she split. "Is um- have you seen Y/N? Is she okay, or?"

Sarah scoffed. "I don't know why your pogue friend has been fucking my brother, but feel free to tell her to stop," she bit and JJ backed off.

You- you were fucking Rafe?

—

Well, no, you weren't. Actually you were scrolling through your phone, trying to forget what happened earlier, when Rafe came back.

"Hey, stranger, why didn't you-" you stopped, noticing the look on his face as he leaned against the door. "Are you okay?"

He had a scared look on his face, a burn on his arm. The look in his eyes resembled the way JJ always looked after-

You remembered Ward from before. The image of his hands around Topper's neck.

You got up from the bed, walking over to him and putting your hands on his shoulders, making him look you in the eyes. It was a gesture you'd done with the pogue boys for forever. When something was bothering them, it got them to spill their guts.

Rafe, it seemed, was no different.

He told you everything. The money he owed, the watch he was going pawn, the look on his dad's face when he was caught.

They were going to get Barry the money tonight. And then it would be over.

But the way he looked told you he knew it wouldn't be over. That something was different this time.

You hugged him.

You hugged the classist asshole.

Fuck. Truly, what had you gotten yourself into.

Rafe sent you home long before him and Ward went to settle the debt.

But he made sure to text you afterwards and let you know what had happened. "Don't come home" were the words that rang in his ears.

And made your heart ache.

"I can't let you stay with me, I'm sorry," you said over the phone.

"That's fine, I got friends. I'll figure it out."

"Good to hear," you said, closing the door of your car and heading for the chateau.

An urgent text from John B. got to you this morning that said: WE DID IT. COME TO CHATEAU ASAP.

"Hey, I gotta go, talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied and you hung up.

"HEY YOU GUYS!" you shouted, quoting The Electric Company to draw your friends out of the woodwork.

They came out in surprising pairs. Sarah and Kiara jumped out of the Twinkie and Pope and John B. turned away from a machine they were wrenching on.

"Y/N!"

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Long time no see, sister."

"Hey guys," you said with a laugh, accepting the hugs given and the pogue handshake from Pope. "Where's-"

"Nice of you to finally join us," JJ called from the porch. "Having too much fun with your new fuck buddy to see your friends?"

"Oh-kay, I think we should leave you two alone," John B. said, grabbing Pope by the shoulders, whistling and jerking his head towards the house to get the girls to follow.

JJ set down what was in his hands and headed towards you.

"Look, JJ-"

"No, you don't get to go first," he said. "I saved your ass. You saved mine. We were supposed to be even, squared out. But you just, what? Decided that Rafe Cameron was more interesting than us? He got a big dick or something, please enlighten me on why you've been gone all this time."

"JJ, I told you at midusmmers that we weren't square, okay? You have a price hanging over you-"

"So, you decided to ditch? We were looking for a way to settle that and you're galavanting at Tannyhill doing whoknowswhat or, well I guess we do know who you're doing-"

You slapped him. Clean across the face and loud.

Had you been within earshot, you would've heard the other pogues (who were spying on you through the front windows) gasp and let out a few "oh shit"s.

"You don't get to slutshame me for shit I didn't even do, all right?" You retorted. "Nothing happened between me and Rafe. Nothing."

"Yeah, well, somehow I don't believe that."

"Well, fuck you, JJ. I was doing this for you. I was going to steal from the Camerons to pay off your debt and if they found out-" you paused, a look flashing in your eyes. "But yeah, fine, I guess you already found the gold. And you're gonna pawn it right? Here in OBX? Like that isn't the stupidest thing you can do."

"What's the alternative? Wait for Rafe to kill his dad for you so you can get the inheritence? Hate to break it to you, Y/N, but your pussy probably isn't that good."

It was stupid. The whole argument was stupid but JJ was hurt and the idea of you with Rafe Cameron made his skin crawl.

"You know what, I don't need this. Have a nice life JJ and good luck with your restitution."

Regret flooded over him. "Y/N, wait-"

"No, JJ, sorry, you don't get to be forgiven that quick," You said, heading back to your car. "And for the record, Rafe Cameron has been nicer to me today than you have. And that's really fucking sad."

You slammed your door closed and started your car, taking off.

JJ watched you go. He knew he deserved it. He deserved every word you could've thrown his way, but watching you leave was worse than anything you could've said.

And what killed him even more was that he knew that he had driven you right into Rafe's arms.

He was at a country club with Topper and Kelce, Topper was licking his wounds and the boys were joking when you pulled up.

"Y/N, nice to see you again," Kelce said as you walked up.

"Yeah, nice to see you, too," you replied as Rafe walked up to you.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

You pecked him on the lips, catching him off-guard.

"Just- wanted to see you, I guess."

He smiled. "Good enough for me. And now we got even numbers for bags, you know how to play?"

You laughed. "Do I know how to play? I'm a pogue, remember? Pretty sure we invented this game."

Rafe looked like he was about to lean in and kiss you, but something over your shoulder caught his attention instead.

"Rafe Cameron!"

You followed his gaze. "Is that-"

"Stay here." Rafe said, walking over to where Barry was talking with a member of the staff, Topper and Kelce following.

"Like hell," you replied, chasing after them.

"Why's your whole family think I'm some bitch that they can shit on, man?" Barry asked. "First your dad kneecaps me in my house."

"You got your money," Rafe insisted.

"That ain't the point," Barry continued. "I'm asking you, what am I? Am I just some little bitch? Is that what your family looks at me like?"

"No. No." Rafe said.

"No, no," Barry mocked. "Okay, so then why is your little sister and her little surf rat friends running around stealing 25K out of my house Can you tell me that?"

"They did what?" You asked, coming closer to the conversation.

"Y/N, stay back," Rafe said. "My little sister robbed you?"

"Yeah, Sarah robbed me. That's why I'm here."

"She won't pick a dollar up off the street. What are you talking about?" Rafe said.

"Do I look dumb? You think I don't understand what's goin' on here?" Barry said. "'Cause I'm telling you right now, you better sort this out with your sister, or else I am. 'Cause I want my money."

Worry was building in your chest. You leave for one afternoon and suddenly the pogues had gotten themselves into a heap of trouble.

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about," Rafe said. "Enlighten me."

"Enlighten you?" Barry said. "So, the pogues are all around Outer Banks stealin' shit out of everybody's house and you got no idea what I'm talking about? Your sister's involved in it."

"Sarah Cameron, home invader," Rafe said, disbelief evident in his voice. "You know how stupid-"

Barry threw Rafe off him, yelling angrily in his face. "That's 25K!"

Topper got in the middle, but just because he could take John B. doesn't mean he could take Barry.

"Sort this shit out with your sister," Barry demanded. "Imma get my money."

"Yes, of course," Rafe said.

"If it's not from you, it's from her. Remember that. I'll see you boys around."

Barry left, leaving you and Topper to hash things out with Rafe.

"What are you gonna do?" Topper asked.

"Nothing, it's not my problem," Rafe said.

"Rafe, that's your sister. Those are my friends!" you said.

"What are you gonna do?" Topper asked again.

Rafe spared a glance at you before making a decision. "All right, come on."

They got on their bikes and you got on behind Rafe. He handed you a spare helmet.

"You just keep this on hand?"

"Well, maybe I was hoping a certain someone would come riding with me soon," he replied.

You bit your lip and pulled the helmet on, then held his waist as he sped off in search of the pogues.

Worry and anger ate at you. They just had the gold and now they'd gotten themselves in trouble with a drug dealer? Where had it gone south? What stupid thing had they done?

This had JJ written all over it.

The thought left a bitter taste in your mouth but it was true.

He always did something wreckless after a fight with one of his friends.

After your first fight, he went cliff diving during a thunderstorm and the pogues had to rescue him from nearly drowning.

Nothing with more consequences than his own safety, but the pogues had gotten mixed up in something bigger than themselves this time. And a sinking pit in your stomach told you it might just get somebody killed for real.

John B. and Sarah were just cruising in the twinkie when you found them, Rafe recklessly cutting them off and causing John B. to hit the breaks before they hit him and you on the bike.

"Shit. No, no, no, no. John B.," Sarah said before her boyfriend could get the door open. "Let me handle him."

John B. watched as you took off your helmet, the look on your face more pissed than he'd ever seen you.

"And I'll hand her," he muttered.

You stormed up to the van. "Where's JJ? Is he in there?"

"He's not here, Y/N."

"What did he do? Were you there? Do you know he robbed a drug dealer?"

Another bike sped up towards you and John B. got out of the van to meet him.

"Don't ignore me, John B.!" You shouted.

"Come to try to kill me again, Top?" He asked, ignoring you.

You were fuming. Caught between arguments and not in any them. You wanted to shout, scream, punch, cry, but no one was giving you the opportunity.

"One day, I'm gonna be running the show, Sarah, and you're gonna wish that you were nicer to me then," Rafe said.

"Why don't you give me a save-the-date on that?" Sarah retorted. "You psycho."

Sarah shoulder checked you as she passed. "Nice to see you went crawling back to him, Y/N."

You glared. "Yeah, well, you guys didn't exactly give me much of a choice, huh?"

"Let's go, Y/N," Rafe said, tossing you your helmet and then putting on his own.

You looked back, giving John B. one last angry look before sitting behind Rafe and letting him take off.

"Well, that went well," John B. said, watching you go.

You'd been hanging around Rafe pretty much all after that. Dipping out of the pogues story for a while. Maybe forever. You weren't sure how you felt right now, besides betrayed and hurt.

Right now, Rafe was the only thing holding you together.

That and weed.

"Rafe!" Wheezie called out, causing you to choke on the hit you were taking. "And Y/N. Great."

"Wheeze, you don't need to be around this-"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone," she said, dropping her bag down.

"Uh, you want some or-"

"Rafe!" you protested.

"What?"

"She's thirteen!"

He gestured wildly like 'I don't know!'

"This crib is sweet," Wheezie said. "How'd you get the Gleason's to let you crash here?"

"Uh- I didn't tell them is how," he replied.

"Pogue trick," you joked, flashing her a peace sign.

"Keep a lid on it, please," Rafe asked.

"Only if you let me crash here whenever I want," Wheezie replied.

"They try and kick you out, too?"

"Worse," she replied. "I'm officially the least favorite daughter. Sarah and dad are going to the Bahamas and did they invite me? Nope."

"Bullshit," you said with a shake of your head.

It seemed like regular rich people shit to you, but it seeemed to catch Rafe's attention. "Wait, they're going to the Bahama house? In summer?"

"Yeah."

"You guys don't do that often?" you asked.

"Nah, usually only when it gets cold," Wheezie said. "But according to Rose 'it's business'."

You raised an eyebrow at Rafe's change in behavior.

"I mean, they're all up in some new development, and for some super-secret reason, they're going to the Bahamas," Wheezie said.

Rafe leaned forward. "You know, I- I know about, like… a billion times more about the business than she does. What- what is this?"

He stood up, hands running through his hair.

"We're the black sheep. Get used to it, Rafe," Wheezie said. "Baa."

"Shut up, okay?" Rafe said, becoming increasingly unravelled.

"Baa."

"Hey, shut up!" Rafe moves forward, grabbing his sister by the wrist. "Wheezie, I told you to shut up, okay?"

You moved then, standing between the two. "Rafe. You're high. Back off."

Wheezie moved around you and tossed a pile off cash at him "My life savings."

He dropped down to scoop it up.

You frowned. "Did he ask you for money?"

Wheezie shruggged.

"I'll pay her back," he said. "I know this looks really bad right now and everything, but like, I'm gonna- I'm gonna my shit together, okay?"

You wanted to believe him, but something about just now...

"I'm gonna get it tight, like, you know..." Rafe said, banging his fist on the table a few times. "Like, real tight. You'll see."

"Yeah..." you replied, turning to Wheezie. "Why don't you go look around? The Gleason's have some pretty cool shit."

Wheezie shurgged again, but took your suggestion and went inside.

"Okay, what the hell is going on with you?" you asked.

"She's taking my place!" Rafe shouted. "Perfect princess Sarah. I screw up one time and- and all that I've worked for! That's supposed to be mine!"

He threw everything on the table off of it, glass shattering around you.

"He can't do this! He kicks me out just to- just to give everything to her! She always gets everything!"

He paused, a crazed look in his eye. "But not this time."

He started backing up, heading towards the stairs. "Not this time!"

"Rafe!" You called after him, chasing him down the stairs. "Rafe wait!"

You ran up, grabbing his arm before he could get on his bike and he flung back and hit you.

You tumbled to the ground, hand on your face.

He stopped. "Oh my god, I didn’t mean- Y/N, you know I didn't mean to-"

He reached down to help you but you pushed him off.

"Don't touch me! Don't-" there were tears in your eyes and blood coming from your nose. "I thought you weren't but you're just like your dad, aren't you?"

He didn't respond, just stared at you.

"Aren't you?!" you yelled.

He took a few steps back and grabbed his bike. "Yeah. Yeah I am."

Then he was gone. Speeding off on that damn bike.

Call it anger, call it intuition, but you jumped in your car and followed him. All the way to the airstrip until your car couldn't follow any more. Then you stopped and bailed from your car, running after him at a much slower pace.

When you finally caught up-

Was that John B.? And Peterkin? Why was she on the ground-?

It registered quickly: the gun in Rafe's hand, Sarah's sobbing, the pressure John B. was putting on Peterkin's chest.

"Oh my god," you said before running out there. "John B.!"

He looked up. "Y/N! Call 911!"

Rafe immediately turned the gun towards you, making you freeze.

"Don't!" Ward stepped between the gun and you. "Rafe, I've got the radio, nobody else needs to get hurt, put the gun down."

He looked at you. "I can count on you not to do anything reckless here, right Y/N?"

You shakily put your phone back in your pocket.

"Good girl."

John B. stood up, making eye contact with you before backing towards the twinkie.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?" Rafe shouted as Ward held him back.

And John B. took off in a dead sprint towards the grass, you followed around the other way while the Camerons collided with each other.

Gunshots went off and you screamed, booking it towards John B. as fast as your legs would carry you. Through the trees and brush and dirt until John B. made it to the road-

And got hit by a car.

"Shit!" You shouted, slowing down enough to help him up and, much to the confusion of the driver, kept running.

"Where are we going?" You asked.

"Find the pogues," he replied.

By the time you did, well, you let John B. be the one to step out first.

"Dude! Dude, you good?" JJ said.

"Oh, my God! John B!" Kiara said.

They took him in, not seeing you at first.

"Is this yours?"

"Whose blood is that?"

"Y/N?" JJ said.

Sirens whirled behind you and you all ducked into the shed the pogues had been squatting in.

So. Turns out you missed a lot.

First off, Ward killed John B.'s father. John B. went on a tirade. Sarah didn't believe John B. The Camerons have the gold. Pope split from his interview.

And you were a traitor.

You'd left them because you were pissed and you actually thought Rafe Cameron had a heart.

And now, after Peterkin was dead, you're realizing you should've known all along.

"Hey, is that- do you have a bruise around your eye?" JJ asked later, when John B. had gone into the police station to tell them what had happened.

"Oh," you said, reaching up to feel it and wincing. "Yeah, I guess I do. Can thank good old Rafe Cameron for that one."

"He hit you?" JJ said. "No. Fuck that. I'll find his punk ass-"

"JJ," you said, grabbing his wrist. "Not now. Please."

He relented and sat down.

"I think I owe you guys an aplogy. I was so dumb for thinking Rafe was a good guy and I was just so mad. I missed out on this whole adventure..." you said.

"Don't worry, Y/N," Pope said. "Hasn't been all that great, to be honest."

You laughed lightly. "Thanks, Pope, appreciate that... Kie?"

Kiara sighed from the front seat. "I think I'm done holding grudges. Especially now." She turned in her seat to look at you. "And especially not to you."

You smiled at her.

"Kie, start the car!"

You all snapped to look at John B. running out of the station.

"Start the car!"

Chaos broke loose as Kie flooored it forward, two cops chasing after you, everyone shouting over each other until-

Silence.

The cops dropped off and John B. was breathing heavily.

"They think I did it," he said. "They think I killed Peterkin."

—

There was no going home for anyone and you couldn't exactly go to the chateau, the first place they'd look, or anywhere familiar.

So, you hid.

Laying low in Kie's car with no other options, the radio turned to a news station in a vein hope that they might say something helpful.

Pope was nessled in the front seat, Kie in the drivers, which left you in the back, sandwiched between JJ and John B. Head on JB's shoulder and leg over JJ's leg.

The sound of JJ's lighter flicking open and closed was only interrupted by the occasional police sirens that, thankfully, wizzed right by. As for the radio-

"Still no arrest in the shooting death of Sheriff Susan Peterkin. The state police have issued a statement regarding a local person of interest, a juvenile from-"

Kiara switched it off.

"Let's game this out," JJ said. "Maybe you guys can help, being the smart ones and all, but-" he let out a breath - "who are the cops going to believe? Ward Cameron or us?"

It didn't need to be said. You wouldn't be hiding right now if there was any hope the cops were on your side, but JJ, being JJ, felt the need to say what everyone was thinking.

"So, the accuser is a big shot developer, kind of lord of the island, got the governor on speed dial kind of person. And the accused...is John B...who is pretty much a homeless 16-year-old boy at the moment..."

You sighed against John B's shoulder and kicked JJ's leg with your foot.

"What? I'm not wrong."

"Thanks," John B. replied, sarcastically.

"Shit." Pope said from the front.

"Look, man, Yucatan, all right?" JJ said, talking to John B. over your head. "I'm saying that's the only option. What other option do you have?"

"Enough with the Mexico bullshit, all right?" John B. retorted. "Sarah's gonna bail me out."

"I mean she did witness the whole thing," Kiara said.

"Thank you," John B. said.

"And she's gonna snitch on her brother?" Pope asked.

As if the mere mention of Rafe, not even by name, set him off, JJ puffed his joint and continued on his tirade. "Not happening, bro, okay? We need to get you off the island."

"The ferry," Pope said. "It's the only way."

"Yeah, exit stage left while you still can, before the entire island is on lockdown."

As if on cue, more sirens approached.

The five of you ducked down again, slinking as far into your seats as you could go.

You half wished yours would just swallow you whole, put you out of your misery.

"Sarah's not a pogue, John B.," Pope said.

"Yeah. You can't stay here, man," JJ said.

John B. seemed less inclined to speak, so you snuggled further into him and he squeezed your arm.

The two of you were closer to other pogues, but after this, you might just start leaning on each other a little more.

Hell, if John B. was leaving the island, you wanted to go with him. JJ would probably tag along, too, lord knows he needs an excuse to get outta dodge.

It would be just the three of you, hitch hiking until you found somewhere to be. A beach in Florida maybe, Puerto Rico, even. Change your names, get jobs, settle down. It wouldn't be so bad.

Just had to get on the ferry.

"Okay, so, ferry's closed."

Or not.

"And there's this," Pope said, handing a piece of paper to Kiara through the window.

A wanted poster.

It was a fucking wanted poster.

You didn't even know they made those anymore.

"Okay, so the whole island's looking for John B. right now," Pope said.

"That's a lot of money," Kiara said.

"Congrats, John B., you're famous," you said, bitterly, as you passed him the poster.

"We got to get to the HMS," Kiara said. "It's small, no running lights-"

"Its at the chateau, Kie," John B. replied.

"And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out, let me think," JJ said. "Oh, yeah, no they definitely have that place locked down."

"Yeah, copy that."

"Let me think, just give me a second," Pope said, hands on the steering wheel, eyes closed as he scrambled through his thoughts. "JJ."

"What?"

Pope turned around in his seat. "Does your dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, The Phantom? The one he used to race."

"Maybe..."

"You could get right up the coast, no problem," Pope said.

And, as is common for the pogues, when a solution presents itself, it all goes to shit.

Chaos broke out, Pope unintentionally getting the attention of everyone around the ferry. And, of course, the car was stalling out.

John B. was hiding his face and the rest of you were yelling frantically at Pope as he turned the ignition. And once it went, he hit a car. And alerted the cops.

Great.

Who let Pope drive, again?

He slammed on the breaks and you nearly went tumbling into the front with him and Kie.

"Shit, Pope,"

"John B., get out."

"He's right," JJ said. "We'll draw the cops, you run."

"Where's he supposed to go?"

"What's the alternative, Y/N?"

You bit your lip. "Okay, go John B., run."

He popped the door and hefted himself out as JJ said, "I'll get the rig and meet you in the dump tomorrow. Three o'clock, okay?"

John B. bailed, slamming the door behind him and Pope floored it, driving the cops away from John B. as quick as was reasonble.

Meanwhile, Rafe was rummaging through John B.'s stuff.

"What're you doing?" Wheezie asked.

"Getting rid of this crap," Rafe replied, too calmly for someone who'd committed murder hardly hours before.

"That's John B.'s," Wheezie said.

"Yeah, well, I don't think he's gonna be by anytime soon to pick it up, so..."

"Why?"

"Did you say why?"

Wheezie nodded, innocently.

The image of you running off with John B. flashed through his head. The horror in your eyes when he pointed the gun at you. Why had he done that?

"They didn't tell you?"

"Nobody tells me anything."

"Um...so John B.," Rafe considered it for a moment. The lie bitter on his tongue...but he said it anyway. "Killed Sheriff Peterkin."

But Wheezie wasn't dumb. The disbelief was evident in her voice when she said, "What?"

"Are you smiling right now?" Rafe asked. "I'm not joking, like this isn't a game. I dont" - he smacked the post of the bed - "I don't know why you're smiling, okay? Look at me."

He leaned down close to Wheezie. "I saw it with my own two eyes, all right?"

Lie.

"He shot her. And then do you know what he did?"

He was spiraling.

"He tried to shoot dad, but I stepped in, and I stopped him, right?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. "I saved his life."

"Why would John B. wanna kill dad?"

Rafe shrugged his shoulders before saying the only honest thing he had this whole conversation. "He thinks dad killed his father."

The cogs turned in Wheezie's head. "He wants vengence."

Rafe shouldered John B.'s bag. "Yeah, he's...he's a maniac. And Sarah's been hanging out with him."

He turned to go when Wheezie said, "But what about Y/N?"

That got him to stop in his tracks. "What?"

"Y/N hangs out with John B. She wouldn't if he was a maniac...right?"

Rafe licked his lips. "Well, uh...sometimes you think you know people. And you don't."

—

"Pope you clocked that car, man, it was so bad!" JJ said, laughing.

You had your feet danging over the back seat, the light outside beginning to turn blue, bathing everything in a twilight haze.

"Pull over!" Kiara demanded.

Pope, smartly, did as he was told, albeit a little more wrecklessly that he would have had he not been high.

"JJ's it's not funny," Kiara said. "He shouldn't be driving."

She slammed the door closed and JJ made eye contact with you.

You grinned. "It's a little funny."

He smiled back, handing you his blunt, and it was almost as if nothing had changed.

"Where're we going?" he asked.

"The last place they're gonna look," Kiara replied.

—

"Last place they're gonna look because of how stupid it is." JJ said as Kie and Pope scaled the Camerons' wall.

"I second that," you said, slinking down in your seat.

"You guys just stay here, okay?" Kie said before dropping out of sight.

Then, it was silent.

The tension between you and JJ grew thick.

"How's your eye?" JJ asked.

"Huh? Oh..." you reached up to feel the bruise. "To be honest, I forgot about it."

Another beat of silence.

"I think I owe you an apology," you said. "I shouldn't have gone back to Rafe. I knew who he was, but I still held on to some naive belief. And now this."

You put your head in your hands, wondering if you could have changed this somehow.

"Hey," JJ said, lifting your head up. "You just see the best in people, all right? You always have. Even in me. I said some pretty awful things to you, and I'm sorry for that. I guess I was just jealous."

You looked at him. "Jealous?"

He wouldn't meet your eye. "Yeah. The idea of you being with Rafe... it bothered me, all right? And not just cause he's him...cause you're you."

You smiled softly. "Well, I was telling you the truth when I said we didn't sleep together...but we did kiss...once."

"Oh."

You chewed on your lip, thinking over your next words. "But I was, uh...I was thinking about you when it happened."

This seemed to get JJ's attention. "You were?"

You chuckled. "Yeah. It felt so weird and I wasn't sure at the time why but," - you looked at him - "I think it's because I really like you JJ. And not in the friend kind of way."

JJ split into a grin that could've lit the highway. "Really?"

"Really."

You both leaned forward, a kiss inevitable, but then the doors opened and you were interupted by Kie and Pope piling back into the car.

"Where's Sarah?" you asked.

Kie just shook her head. "Plan failed."

"Okay, so what's plan B?"

Plan B, it turned out, was sleeping at the wreck.

Kiara curled up on a bench and Pope resting his head against some napkins. You and JJ opted for the floor, staring up at the ceiling and just playing with each others' hands until one of you fell asleep.

Which, must've been you because before you knew it, the sun was up and JJ was flicking his lighter open and closed anxiously.

"He's pinched fore sure," he said.

"No," Pope replied. "They wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him."

"Let's hope."

"You know, we were in that car, they're porbably looking for us, too," Kie said.

You knicked the lighter from JJ's hand, flicking it open and closed. "Yeah, the Camerons are probably tearing their hair out that they can't keep me locked down like Sarah."

JJ reached for his lighter and you held it out of his reach behind your back, he chased it and you dodged. A silly game in the middle of everything.

"Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B.," Pope said.

JJ got hold of the lighter finally, pushing you lightly. "So, find him before they do?"

Pope grabbed the keys to the dirtbike.

"Pope?"

"I'm gonna get gas for the boat," he said.

"Hey, you be careful," Kiara said. "Okay?"

"Meet me at the dock at three," Pope said to JJ, ignoring Kie. "Don't be late."

JJ and you exchanged a look as Kiara took off after him.

The tension between you and JJ seemed to have morphed into tension between Pope and Kie.

"You know what that's about?" you asked JJ.

He shrugged. "Whatever it is, it's not helping."

--

When Kiara pulled up to the Maybank residence, it was like all the joy got sucked out of the air.

You'd been there before, a few times, helping out JJ with whatever, usually sneaking in through his window if his dad was around.

You got caught once and...well, let's just say you haven't been back since.

"Home sweet home." JJ said, bitterly.

"Hey," you leaned up from the back seat. "Do you want me to come? You know I will."

"Same here," Kiara said.

JJ shook his head. "No. This'll only take a second."

He jumped out and gave one last look to the two of you before heading inside.

"So..." Kiara started. "You and JJ, now?"

"I guess so," you replied. "Is it weird?"

She shrugged. "I mean...a little, but I think we were all waiting for it to happen."

"Really?"

"Yeah...you should've seen the way he was spiraling out without you. Plus his dad..."

You pulled your knees up to your chest, eyes trained on the house. "I never should've left. I never should've let him take the fall for me."

"Well, you know JJ. If he had to do it again, he wouldn't change a thing."

The screen door threw open and he came through it, distress evident on his face.

Kiara started the car.

"How'd it go?" She asked, tentatively.

JJ held up the keys, tangled in a silver chain around his fingers.

Mission accomplished.

At what cost?

Kiara drove off and you reached out, taking JJ's hand and squeezing it.

He squeezed back, but said nothing.

It was a frantic sort of day. One misstep and the whole plan unwravels and John B. gets hauled in for something he didn't do. Something none of you could save him from if it happened.

"It'll be fine," JJ said, more to himself than to you or Kiara. "It'll be fine with the Phantom. She'll get out of here quick."

A few police cars went rushing by, you and JJ ducked your heads but Kiara kept driving calmly.

"They're still looking," she said. "That's a good sign."

She kept driving, theoretically away from the danger.

Until you caught Rafe's eye through the window.

Shit.

He was with Barry, who was still out for blood, no doubt. And Rafe's head was no where near on tight.

"Shit, shit, shit, Kie!"

The dirtbike engines revved.

"Kie you gotta go faster!"

"What? Why?"

"Because Rafe and Barry are on our asses, all right?"

"What?"

Her and JJ both turned around to look, the red bikes easy to spot.

"Fucking Rafe Cameron man," JJ said, smacking the dashboard as Kiara sped up. "Always showing up at the worst times."

Kiara sped up as fast as she reasonably could and they faded back.

"God, please, don't follow us..." you muttered, wishing on wishing.

JJ reached back, squeezing your forearm. "Just focus on the mission, baby, okay? We got this."

Baby? That was new...but not unwanted.

It distracted you long enough for you to reach the warehouse where the Phantom was.

JJ pushed open the door and salivated immediately. "There she be."

You and Kiara surveyed the boat and exchanged a look. Oh boy.

"A 1983 Formula 402 SR1," JJ said. "The Phantom."

He looked back at you guys and Kiara shrugged.

"The first boay to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, Kie," JJ said, running his hand along the boat. "Forty years old! Forty...and still the fastest thing that Kildaire's ever seen."

"It's kind of a junker," Kiara replied.

JJ looked almost offended. "Really? She's right there, Kie. She can hear you."

"I'm starting to wonder which of us you're really into," you joked.

"Let's just put it this way," JJ said. "You would not be smoking weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

"I just hope it runs," you replied as JJ snaked an arm around your waist.

"Oh, she'll run all right. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got."

The screeching of tires got your attention and Kiara jumped over the hitch. "Pope! Finally..."

"Hey, there."

Your stomach sank and your eyes went wide, seperating from JJ immediately.

Rafe's eyes bore holes in your skill. "What's going on, JJ?"

Kiara back tracked as Rafe climbed onto the Phantom. "How byou guys doin'?"

Barry whistled, coming around the other side of JJ, who stepped in front of you protectively.

"Well, well," he said.

Rafe jumped back down and the three of you were truly surrounded as Barry pulled a pistol on JJ.

"See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road," Barry said. "See, I'm here because I want my motherfucking money!"

Barry rushed him, smacking JJ in the face and you screamed for him, but Rafe's arm wrapped around your middle, pulling you back.

Kiara went to help, but got a pistol smacked against her face for her troubles.

"Kie!" You shouted. "Rafe let me go! Let me fucking go!"

He tossed you down. "I think it's time you and I had another chat."

Kiara pushed herself between you. "Don't even think about touching her again."

Rafe huffed through his nose. "It's not you we want, Kie. Just her. Her and John B. Where is he, Y/N? I saw you run off with him, where is he?"

He tried to move towards you but Kiara slapped him in the face.

"I really wish you didn't do that," Rafe said.

"Stay down, boy," Barry said, kicking at JJ with his foot.

"JJ!" you shouted, trying to go for him but Rafe intercepted you again.

"We know what you did!" Kiara said.

This got him to pause, dropping you. "Oh yeah? What did I do?"

You crawled across the floor to JJ.

"You murdered Peterkin!"

"Nah, nah, stay back, girl," Barry said, pulling you up by your hair.

"Y/N!" JJ said, strangled but he got up and started going towards Barry, who tossed you aside and starting beating on JJ again.

You hit the floor hard.

"You're gonna wish you didn't say that," Rafe said.

You caught sight of them, Kiara's neck in Rafe's hand.

The terrible image of Ward flashed in your mind again and you were frozen, terrified.

"Where's John B.?" Rafe shouted in Kie's face, tightening his hold every time she said she didn't know.

THWACK.

Pope laid into Rafe with a tire iron, smacking him across the back and arm. "Don't touch her!"

It didn't last long. Rafe was fighting back almost immediately, but Pope had gained confidence and anger and punched back without hesitation.

"Rafe!" Barry said, moving off JJ to help Rafe.

JJ took this opportunity to trip him and the pistol went tumbling out of Barry's hand.

"Y/N! Kick it!" JJ said.

You did as instructed, kicking the small gun as far and as hard as you could.

JJ intercepted Barry as you stumbled back towards Kie.

"Are you okay?" you asked her.

She was rubbing her neck but nodded. "Pope!"

Barry was down but Pope was still wailing on Rafe.

"Pope, he's had enough, man!" JJ tried, but something inside Pope had snapped.

"Pope, stop!" you shouted as Pope wrapped a hose around Rafe's neck.

"Pope that's too much!"

"Stop, dude!"

JJ wrapped his arms around Pope's shoulders. "Dude, come on, stop, dude, stop!"

"Pope get off of him!"

There was blood all across Rafe's face, but his eyes stayed trained on you as you stood there helplessly.

You should've hated him. Should've thought this was what he deserved. But the fear that gripped your insides at the thought of him dying, of him being killed by one of your best friends.

It was too much.

"Look at me!" Kiara shouted.

And Pope let go.

Rafe went tumbling to the ground and you instinctively went after him.

Rafe coughed and checked him, asking if he was okay. He didn't reply, trying to catch his breath without choking on blood.

"We gotta go." Kie said. "We gotta go."

She headed towards the car, JJ following reluctantly.

Pope was fuming. "Stay off the cut."

You'd never been scared of Pope before, but in that moment, the rage in his eyes was one of the scariest things you'd ever seen.

You looked back at Rafe as Pope followed the other two.

He was breathing heavily, the blood glittering against his face.

"Y/N, come on!"

You moved to get up but Rafe's hand grabbed your arm, making you look back at him.

"Please-" he choked out.

You shook your head. "Deal's done. You were supposed to lay off."

With that you pulled out of his grip and jogged to the car, shoving yourself in the back seat with JJ.

You curled in on yourself again, knees to your chest.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," JJ said, leaning against the window.

"Is it, though?" you said.

It was just karma, right? It was all...karma.

JJ reached for your hand and you let him take it, but neither of you faced each other.

This night was far from over. There was too much left.

But the deal was off. Pope got his revenge. And you and JJ had each other again.

This chapter...was over.