#i forgot to mention BUT this poster is so cool i do love the lay out & shading & expressions but also AHHHHHHHHHHH

[drbtinglecannon]

Oh no.

Oh god there was a timeskip look at everyone's designs, their hair. Luz, Amity, & Willow all have significantly longer hair, Hunter got a haircut, Camila has a gray streak in her hair, oh god

They've been stuck in the human realm for a while.

Oh god I'm gonna cry

[lxstbxyscave23]

Harsh Meetings ~ Billy Hargrove x f!Reader~

Currently punching the air rn, just forgot to save this draft after I finished it! It came out so good and now it deleted!! Rewriting this so I hope you all enjoy<3

Part two here<3

𝔇𝔢𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫:

Reader goes out to Starcourt Mall for self care and treatment when she is verbally and physically assaulted and bullied by the teenage jocks and nasty girls from Hawkins High, only for Billy to step in and defend her.

𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰:

Foul language, physical assault, fluff, aggressive Billy, soft Billy, words such as “Slut” and “Whore” are used and more. Mention of abuse. Brutal fighting. A bit OOC

If I missed anything for Warnings please let me know!!

Requested? No.

The sun was still high and bright. The last two weeks weren’t the best for you. Same ol’ bullying from the jocks and their girlfriends. It was now Friday and you were heading to your car, sun beaming on you. Billy was parked right next to your hot rod. His Camaro and your 1976 red and white Ford Mustang. You saw him leaning on his car waiting for his stepsister Max/Maxine.

You’ve met her before hanging with your little brother, Alex. Your whole family has gone to Hawkins high. It was now your turn and you were on your last year. Senior year. Prom was coming up, Tina voting to be Prom Queen. Chrissy as well. Tommy H, her boyfriend was voting to be prom King. You sometimes thought about being prom queen with the hottest guy in school. Billy Hargrove, who was currently staring at you with a smirk. You made it to your car and unlocked it.

“Nice ride, doll.” Cigarette in his mouth, puffing here and there. “Thanks.” You said shutting your door in his face. He chuckled to himself and let you ride off blasting Mötley Crüe. Your favorite, or at least Vince was. He was hot, his voice was gorgeous. And he had a killer bod. You may or may not have a poster of him on your ceiling, right above your bed. You’ve been to one concert of theirs and you absolutely loved it. He would look at you from time to time and wink.

Best day of your life.

You were speeding down the street right now. People staring. You reached home and ran up your stairs plopping onto your bed. Staring up at Vince..

“Today was hard Vincent..Tina and Carol..” You groaned rolling over and putting on your head phones, this time listening to Joan Jett.

“Midnight, gettin uptight. Where are you?!” You yelled as you sang her song. Getting up and dancing. “I hate myself for loving you!! Can’t break free from the things that you do!” Shaking your hips and kickings your legs while nodding your head. Whipping it every which way with a stank face. Her music is the shit!

“I think of you ever night and day!” You shouted earning a laugh. You spun around seeing your oldest brother, Lunar. Odd name yes but he was actually pretty cool. You took off your headphones with embarrassment spread across your face. “What?” You asked setting them down and staring at him confused. “Danny wants you to help us with the car.” He shook his head still laughing a little.

“Okay fine.” You nodded as he walked off and you shut your door, getting ready to change. This was gonna be messy. You shedded your clothes and threw on an old Led Zeppelin shirt and put on some baggy overalls. Leaving one strap hanging you put on some converse laying on your floor. You tied your hair up a little and jogged down the stairs and out into the front yard. Seeing Danny with the hood popped and a roller on the floor.

“What’s up?” You asked concerned about the car. It was a Mustang convertible. Your family are huge car people. All of you had your own hot rods except for Alex he rode his skateboard. Speak of the devil. Alex came riding down the street with Max and Lucas. Dustin riding his back a little behind trying to catch up. Where was Mike and Will? Whatever. “Okay well I was driving and heard something blow, the hood started smoking.” “Radiator?” You questioned. “Didn’t think about that..” He pursed his lips and laughed as he avoided eye contact knowing you were giving him a sharp glare.

You walked over as Alex’s friends came up the driveway. “What’s up Y/n.” Dustin gave a toothy smile as he raised his eyebrows in a funny way. He had a little thing for you but you never payed mind to it. “Hello, Dustin.” You smiled at him. “Your hair looks amazing today.” He complimented. “Dustin stop hitting on my sister!” You chuckled and patted Dustin on the back as you took a look under the hood. Touching a few things and taking close looks you finally figure out the problem.

“Yeah it’s the radiator.” You shrugged grabbing the rag that sat on the car and wiping your hands from the oil. “Can you fix it?” “Hell yeah I can.” You rolled your eyes and got to work. “I love a girl who can fix a car.” Dustin breathed out and fanned himself as if he was gonna faint. “Let’s go Dustin, we need to get him out of here before he decides to ask my sister out.” Everyone laughed and they ran into the basement. Mike and Will finally showed up.

“Hey, Y/n.” You waved to him with a smile still working on the car. You gave Will a generous smile in which he returned. “They’re in the basement.” You said and they thanked you before running into the house. “Wrench.” You said as Danny handed you a wrench making sure you knew what you were doing and not just messing his car up even more.

He turned on the radio as Quiet Riot started blasting for most neighbors to hear. You and Danny laughed when a neighbor came out and shouted at you guys, yeah your family wasn’t the most liked of the town. “Pliers and a screwdriver.” He handed them to you. “I heard about that Billy kid.” He said looking at you. “Yeah? What about him?” You asked really not caring just making small talk. “I heard his father abuses him.” He said with a straight face. You looked over at him with disbelief roaming your eyes. “No shit. Really?” You asked concerned. “Yeah man, Heard Max mention it to Alex when she came over one time.” Your mind was racing and your heart ached for him. “Who knew such a tough kid had that going on at home.” He said shaking his head.

“Poor Billy” You mumbled as you thought about the times whenever someone bumped into him he’d clutch his side. Man, everything’s coming together. You tested the radiator making sure it was good and started the car, giving it a few revs. Danny came around as you both grinned at each other seeing as the car looked and sounded badass. “Alright man, thanks!” He high fived you and pushed the hood back into place.

“Alright ima head out to the mall” You said as you ran inside rinsing your hands off with oil free soap. You ran downstairs and into the basement. They all looked up at you. “Anyone wanna come to the Mall with me?” Dustin was first to raise his hand smiling. “C’mon buddy.” You smiled as he stood up and grabbed his radio that they all had except Max.

“Anyone else, I have room for two more.” You asked. Max and Lucas raised their hands their hands. “C’mon.” You motioned your arm and jogged up the stairs together. “I’ll drop them back off here don’t worry guys!” You shouted from upstairs to hear them say okay. El came walking through the house looking for the basement. “Hey El.” Everyone said and she smiled and waved. “Hi guys, where’s the basement?” You pointed to the door and she opened in jogging down the steps.

“Alright kiddos.” They weren’t that younger than you but you liked seeking them as your younger siblings. They were the same age as Alex. 15.

You hopped in the driver seat as Max and Lucas got in the back. Dustin of course sitting next to you. “How was your guys day at school?” “It was okay until I saw you.” Dustin said giving a cheeky smile. You rolled your eyes and laughed. “You’re such a flirt.” You never saw Dustin that way, and never will. “Stop flirting with Y/n, Dustin.” Max said defending your honor. You chuckled and arrived at Starcourt Mall. Quickly parking you got out letting Lucas and Max out from your side.

“What store are we going in first?” Max asked low-key pumped to be here. “Well I was going to go into the beauty care store if you’d like to join? Dustin and Lucas can tag along or head to the arcade or something?” You looked towards them. “I’m down.” Max said as you guys headed to the store on the second floor. Lucas got distracted and walked off towards the food court. Dustin stuck by your side looking at everything in the store. “Whatever you’d like you can get Max, everything’s on me don’t worry.” You smiled at her in which she returned. “Thank you.” She looked around the store. “So what’re you doing after this?” Dustin asked looking at you. “Was planning on hanging out with Eddie, maybe have a “Girls night”.” He chuckled. “Can I join?” You nodded your head and continued on looking around. “Isn’t Eddie like your best friend?” You asked him as he picked up a face mask and quirked a brow at is causing you to laugh. “Yeah pretty much, we always play D&D together.” “That’s cool, he talks about you a lot y’know?” You looked at him to see he was smiling like a mad man.

“Really? What does he say?” You thought to yourself, he definitely looks up to him like an older brother. “That your his favorite in the group, he couldn’t imagine having any other friend than you.” Dustin smiled to himself looking at the ground. He was really thinking hard about your words. Did Eddie really say that about him? Eddie was like his role model, he wants to be just like him.

You nodded your head and picked up four face and lip masks. You grabbed some lip scrubs that smelled appetizing. Anything really related to skin care you grabbed. Loud footsteps heard- behind you. You turned your head to see Tina and Carol. Great. “Look who it is..Freak one and Freak two .” Tina said laughing with Carol. “Don’t talk to him like that” You defended Dustin who didn’t look phased by the words. “Look who’s finally taking action on her ugliness, honey these won’t do nothing for you.” Carol laughed out. “Leave her alone!” Dustin seethed out.

“Oh look the freak is getting mad.” Max came over and defended both of us. “Get out of here plastic bitches.” She said with an angry face. “Whatever.” They both said walking off. “Thanks Max.” You smiled at her. “Anytime, I always hated those skanks.” “You and me both” You laughed.

“You good Dustin?” You asked him concerned as you saw him look a little down. “I’m good.” He said smiling. “Okay bud.” You patted his shoulder and began getting ringed up. Max placed what she wanted on the countertop and smiled. You payed and grabbed the two bags heading off to look for Lucas. You found him at the food court sitting down eating a hot dog. He’s been quiet the who day, wonder what’s gotten into him.

“What’s up Lucas.” You said sitting down across him setting the bags down. Max and Dustin taking a seat as well. “Nun much, You guys hungry?” He asked pulling food out a bag. “I’m good thank you though.” You said with a smile and he nodded offering them food in which they took. “Do you think girls will be into me?” Dustin said. “No.” Lucas joked laughing. Max laughed a little. Dustin rolled his eyes. “Not with that thing you do.” Max joked.

“What thing?” You questioned, they all looked at you and laughed. “Lemme work my charm on you” Dustin said spreading his lips showing off his teeth. Making a sound that sounded like Chewbacca was here. “What in the what?” You laughed watching as he laughed too. “Don’t ever do that again!” Max said. “Why not? Don’t the ladies dig it?” He said smiling cheekily. “No!” Lucas and Max said at the same time. “I think it’s cute! Leave him alone.” You said rolling your eyes laughing to yourself. Dustin blushed and Max gave Lucas a look. Oh no. They probably think you like him!!

“Told you she was here!” Carol said from behind you guys. Timmy and his friends were behind you. “Such losers.” Tina said rolling her eyes. “What are you doing with these losers Lucas?” Tommy questioned. “Uh..Nothing.” He said defending himself. “Really Lucas?” Max said in disbelief. Lucas was a wanna be. Everyone knew that. “Come with us, leave these weirdos.” He said making Lucas stand up and walk over to them.

“You’re lost Lucas, you need to find yourself.” You shook your head telling him. He looked at the ground with saddened eyes. “Shut up bitch.” Carol said to me. You stood up and turned to them. “Watch what you say to me Carol!” You said to her making her roll her eyes at you. “Don’t threaten her” Tommy shoved you causing you to hit your back on the table. You just knew there was going to be a bruise. You rubbed your back a little and gritted your teeth.

Billy was sitting far behind you guys. He didn’t know what he was doing there just staring at how hot you looked. He always wanted a girl who could fix cars and you did just that, to be honest he had his eyes on you for a while now. He saw the way your voluptuous hips swayed when you walked. The way your thick thighs jiggled and looked so silky in your bathing suit when you came to the pool with your brothers.

He was dying and itching to get his hands on you. To make you his. He wanted to be able to sneak into your window at night and you two have make out sessions that got a little too heated. He wanted you. So so bad. He continued to look your way as he saw his step sister and her friends with you. You were always great with kids. His heart jumped and his blood ran cold when he saw Tommy push you backwards. He never stood up so fast in his life. It was like a fight or flight moment and he of course took fight. He always did. Dustin and Max stood up and helped her back up. Making sure she was okay.

Tina slapped you in the face causing you to immediately sock her right in the jaw. You had three older brothers, of course you knew how to fight. No little smack was gonna hurt you. “Go Y/n!!” Max and Dustin cheered for you. You could even see Dustin trying to hold back a smile. She grabbed her jaw and fell to the floor on her knees, that’s when Tommy leaned in and punched you in the stomach, it was the hardest punch you have received in a while. Not since you and your brother Danny would fight. You knew it was going to leave the biggest and purplest bruise.

No two piece bathing suits for you.

You fell backwards again and Dustin helped you stand as you bent over out of air.

Billy was furious, how dare they lay a hand on you! He lunged at Tommy and socked him right in his nose, everyone heard a loud crack and a groan from him. You were dry heaving, he had just knocked the wind out of you..Literally. Max was looking after you and she sat you down checking on you. Billy was now on top of Tommy, punching his face in. Blood was on his knuckles. Tommy’s friend grabbed Billy from behind and landed a blow to his back. That didn’t stop Billy though, he’s too tough for any of them.

You heard people shouting for security and that’s when you took it as your sign to round up all the kids and get the hell out of there. “C’mon let’s go!” You shouted to them and they started running. Lucas staying back a little and just staring at the mess. Tommy’s face was beaten to the bloody pulp. You handed Max the keys and told them to wait in the car. They ran and you went back for Billy and Lucas. Lucas ran up behind Tommy’s friend and ripped him off Billy as you ripped Billy off of Tommy. “C’mon let’s go before you spend the rest of your night in Hoppers office!” You yelled to him and grabbed his bloody hand. He finally moved back from Tommy.

“Touch her again and I’ll end you!” Billy yelled at him. You could see security rounding the corner as Robin and Steve walked out the ice cream shop to see what happened.

Holy shit Billy had just beaten the crap out of Tommy H.

You pulled his hand with you as you two bolted down the escalators pushing past people, you excused yourself and ran outside the building towards your car. Billy stopped you and turned you around to face him. His face inches from yours just ready to be kissed. “You okay, doll?” He put a hand to your face and rubbed your reddened cheek. “Yes..Thank you for what you did back there.” Lucas came running out of the building, towards you guys.

“Of course darling.” He said making you blush and look away, his finger bringing your face back up to look into his vibrant beautiful blue eyes. He leaned in, you felt yourself wanting to. But Billy wasn’t good for you, and you knew that. So you pulled away and turned on your heel. Opening your door you got in and Max handed you the keys. Dustin and Max in the back Lucas opening the door.

“You coming?” Max asked him shouting through Lucas’s open door. He shook his head with a chuckle and walked over to the car. Lucas pulled the seat back and Max scoot over. “Max sit on Lucas’s lap.” You said looking at her. She stared at you blankly. Then looked at Lucas who nodded slowly. She pushed herself up and sat on his lap. Me and Dustin made eye contact in the mirror. Giving a knowing smile.

You pulled the seat back for Billy, who jumped in and shut his door. He looked over at you and smiled. You started the car as he looked into the backseat. “Fuck no!” He said trying to turn in his seat and grab Lucas. Max yelped when he missed and pushed her back into Lucas.

You grabbed him by his wife beater and pulled him foreward so he sat right in the seat. “Don’t touch them Billy, or i’ll have to deal with you myself, trust me I have three older brothers.” You glared at him. He snarled before staring out the window. The snarl was hot but we needed to get the hell out of here. You revved your engine and skirted off, drifting down streets to get to your house. Billy gave you a smirk as he challenged you.

“Race me sometime.” He said giving you a flashy smile.

��I might just have too..” You winked at him and continued driving.

Part two, different day?? LMK if you guys would like to see this as a story continuing on in parts<3

Please enjoy, I honestly liked the first one better but it deleted and so I had to write a different version..

[cjstalkingstarwarsagain]

hi! i’ve recently decided to rewatch all the star wars movies and take notes on them and then,,, share them with you. so if you’re even mildly interested in my star wars opinions, here you go :)

i’ll divide it into a couple categories so,,,

well start with rogue one!!

shit that made me giggle

"oh look, here’s lyra back from the dead. it’s a miracle."

everything K2 says and does. i love him and he’s perfect.

i love the continuous attempts by K2 to appear imperial and how he fails every time. not a single storm trooper or officer ever believes him when he starts running his mouth.

so sorry but bohdi getting his cable caught and trying to shake it loose is such an adorably human moment. makes me giggle every time.

i honestly thought this section would be longer, this movie made me laugh a bunch. 

stuff i don’t like or doesn’t make sense

why does jyn start believing in the rebellion? there’s no indication that she cared before they found her. there’s no real turning point that we can see. she just,,, suddenly is really into this shit. which is strange because the only reason she ever joined was because she was given a non-choice (either help or get put back in prison). i guess i can kinda see how her father dying could have changed her, but we see none of that on the ship after his death. we just get to the rebel council and all of a sudden she’s the poster girl for rebellion.

saw seems really stable at the beginning of the film, so why did he go seemingly crazy and paranoid? it’s probably explained in the novelization but that’s no excuse to just have a character go crazy with really no explanation or backstory.

that being said, a lot of the character development is pretty lacking. i don’t think i’d care about these characters nearly as much if i wasn’t already a star wars fan.

video game cut scene style general tarkin

bor gullet is supposed to make you lose your mind but bohdi was pretty much fine after like,,, a day

how does the death star,,,, move?? like i know it can but has that ever been explained? is it like little thrusters? like the ones you can see in real life to stabilize things in space? there’s nothing i can visually see. i’m not mad about it i just wanna know.

why does saw insist on staying behind? why doesn’t he come and help?? it would have been so easy to just leave but he insists on staying behind and just watching as death inches closer. i think it doesn’t make sense because we know *so little* about his character. give me more on him, make me understand.

since james earl jones is getting older, vader sounds older. was there??? nothing the audio or editing department could have done about that??? not super mad about this one just because darth vader is really cool and i’ll never really complain too much about darth vader screen time.

when the fuck did jyn become a motivational speaker??

my one gripe about pretty much every star wars movie is the sheer number of times people climb through huge shafts and jump around and shit and they’re always *fine*. no way they wouldn’t fall to their deaths in any normal situations.

can someone?? check the science of the hammerhead corvette?? because there’s no gravity or weight in space right?? theoretically all you gotta do is give that star destroyer a bump and it’s spinning out, right?? i know absolutely nothing about space physics but i gotta be right. maybe i’m wrong. i dunno. i’m dumb as rocks. hear that baby girl?? it’s the spare change rattling around in my skull. i got pennies where my brain is.

absolutely no fucking shot cassian survived a blaster hit AND that fall AND climbed out. my belief simply cannot be suspended that much.

DUDE I FORGOT THAT THE DEATH STAR CAN TRAVEL THROUGH HYPERSPACE HOW DOES WORK SOMEONE TELL ME!!!!!

why doesn’t vader just,,, force grab the plans. i know he sees them. why not just force stop the guy running away with them??

final note now that the movie is over. yes, it’s got a lot of issues. the plot is ehhh at times. the trailers don’t match up with the movie shots AT ALL (i wanna know what happened behind the scenes with that). the character development is lacking in many major ways (that has not stopped me from loving these characters though, but that’s the autism talking). but like i’ll say in the "stuff i liked" section, this is such a damn cool movie. i was once talking about it with an older friend of mine and he said seeing rogue one in theaters felt like watching the original trilogy in theaters back in the 70s and 80s and honestly that’s such a compliment. i love this movie, i really do.

just cool shit,,, you know the vibe

DEATH TROOPERS

krennic is probably one of my favorite imperial officers. for some reason he just really sells it for me, the evil and manipulation that borderlines in try hard. and (i mention it more later because you see it more in the "choke on your aspirations" scene) beyond that just the fact that he’s?? a guy. just a dude. at any given moment he could be described as just hanging out. but he’s trying so hard (for whatever reason, we don’t know his evil motivations) to be this big bad evil dude. and it’s just interesting to see someone *trying* to be imperial and *trying* to be evil, as opposed to a tarkin-type character who’s just naturally an asshole.

i love the rogue one main theme. don’t even talk to me. it’s so cool.

it’s cool to see more about the birth of the death star, seeing other people learn about it. sort of realizing the fear and terror that everyone must have been experiencing. especially after being a star wars fan for so long and being like, yeah it’s the death star it’s just a staple of this universe. it reminds me that "oh god this was a planet killer and this was the first time something like that had ever even been heard of".

there’s gorgeous visuals in this movie.

i like the "i’m wanted in 12 systems" guy cameo (did you know his name is cornelius? i googled it)

when the storm trooper asks for papers?? like fuck yeah show me what life is like under imperial rule. give me that shit.

chirrut is so badass i’ll never get over it

"i’m one with the force and the force is with me" i’m eating that shit UP! salivating over the meal in front of me. i really want more exploration of the guardians and jedi worship in general. like gimme that weird funky space religion.

seeing an at-st just walk around a town. i dunno i like that shit.

K2 saying sorry for hitting cassian. i’m so soft on this robot.

"clear of hostiles,,,, ONE HOSTILE"

jyn stepping in front of K2 to protect him after she (not ten minutes ago) made the comment “i’m just afraid they’ll miss you and hit me”. jyn,,, your soft side is showing,,,,

i like the cool machine blaster that baze has. it’s awesome seeing different blaster styles when originally the only variation we really saw was chewie’s cross bow style blaster.

i really wanna see more of baze and cirruit. i wanna know what happened that made baze stop believing. i wanna know how they met. i wanna see them evolve and grow together.

i like that jyn argues that 16 is too young to be a solider (she’s 21 in the movie). i like that she’s mad that she’s young and has been put in a position to protect herself and then later save the galaxy. (for context: luke and leia were 19 in a new hope. anakin is 19 in attack of the clones, ~22 when he became darth vader, and rey is 19 in force awakens. stop putting the fate of the galaxy in the hands of people who are *barely* adults)

the testing of the death star is awesome. love seeing wicked cool space weapons. when it blocks out the sun? ominous as hell fuck yeah.

it’s interesting that baze says cassian doesn’t look like a killer, that "he has the face of a friend", when one of the first things we saw him do was kill a man. i think about that a lot. does that say more about baze’s ability to read people or does it say more about who cassian is deep down, beyond what he’s done to serve the rebellion?

cassian’s relationship with death and killing is very interesting. you could argue that cassian is just as brainwashed and deep in the rebellion as anyone imperial. i really hope it’s something that gets explored in his stand alone show. he mentions he’s lost everything and has been a rebel since he was 6. gimme cassian andor backstory.

"careful not to choke on your aspirations director" is probably some of the most dramatic-anakin-skywalker shit i’ve ever seen vader do

i like seeing rebel infighting. so often it seems there’s always general consensus about what the rebellion wants, but it’s good to see that they don’t always agree on how to rebel.

i love the consistent "found family" rebel alliance shit in these movies. it makes my dick so hard.

ARTOO AND THREEPIO CAMEO FUCK ME UP THOSE ARE MY BOYS

okay i totally get that the empire is evil, i really do, but rogue one (and lots of moments in the sequels) really reminds me how fucking cool some of their shit is. like death troopers? imperial droids like K2? the base on scarif? vader’s castle on mustafar and his bacta tank?? fuck me UP.

i loved hearing the troopers doing their dumb small talk about the T-15s on the beach.

i think ben mendelssohn is perfect for the role of krennic, no notes there. he’s just like?? a guy and he’s doing everything he can to fit into this evil role and he just wants to be like this big bad imperial boy on campus. i don’t know. i don’t have the words right now to express how fuckin awesome he is. i’ll write an essay about it later.

THE AT-AT COMING OUT OF THE MIST?? CHRIST ON A BIKE. LAY ME TO REST. LOVE IT.

fucking love me some female fighter pilots. the women of star wars are so badass. doing justice to my return of the jedi ladies.

i think a whole lot about jyn giving K2 a blaster. the way he takes it and looks at it and holds it so gently. i think that’s the first time a human has trusted him with a blaster since his reprogramming. he seems so appreciative of that trust.

i love seeing the faces of baze and the other rebels when a few of the x-wings show up and take down an at-at. i’m so very soft for the relationship between these rebels. not to be cliche, but the *hope* that they have. it’s so moving. this movie is just so full of that quintessential rebel feeling.

hey so i’m super emotional about the death of K2 okay? because in the novelizations you learn that in the last second k2 had before a full shut down, he ran a simulation where cassian lived and even though he knew it was impossible, it made him happy. FURTHERMORE K2 is very well known and his name is often listed along side jyn’s in terms of talking about the history of the rebellion.

chirrut and baze’s deaths are so important to me. we know they’re best friends, and even though we don’t know how long they’ve been together, they love each other so deeply. chirrut being the path for baze to return to the force? touching. i so wish these dumb force husbands could have had more screen time. baze calling chirrut back?? chirrut telling him to find him in the force?? baze looking to see the man he loves one more time before he dies??reminds me of the silken quote about dying in your best friends arms because it’s all you know. anywho,,, if star wars canon has any mercy then these two lovers are force ghosts together rn. don’t care how you feel or whether you "ship" them or not. love comes in so many forms and they encompass all that love.

terribly sorry but i think about those two star destroyers colliding with the rogue one main theme playing over it every day. it’s,,,,, so,,,, ( ´∀｀)

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again BEN MENDELSSOHN??? UH YEAH

krennic watching his weapon (his beautiful, successful weapon) power up and kill him,,, the poetic justice of it all,,,,

any time anyone says "may the force be with you" i dunno maybe it’s my religious trauma but i’m head over heels for that good shit

the star destroyer coming out of hyper space as the rebels are escaping and some of the ships hit the destroyer?? one of my favorite things in the new star wars movies is directors and writers saying "oh this can totally happen" and they DO IT

jyn mentioning earlier in the film that she isn’t used to people sticking around when shit hits the fan and then dying in the arms of cassian?? because he stayed?? and for the first time she has someone??

in that same vein: cassian also says earlier in the film that he lost everything too. his connection with jyn is also important to him, just as important as it is to jyn. they need each other. i can’t remember who on this hellsite said it, but someone mentioned that they hope the stand alone cassian stuff coming out doesn’t make him this swindling playboy who fucks around a bunch. i think having him as more of like?? a mandolorian type character would be really cool. like he’s a rebel assassin: make him one. make him independent and badass and cool and DONT give him a bunch of romantic or sexual interests because then that downplays the clear love he had developing for jyn. again LOVE COMES IN FORMS BEYOND BASIC SHIPS. and there’s a lot of love in star wars.

i’ve said it a million times but vader is so cool and over and over again this movie reminded me that he’s actually so scary. i saw star wars for the first time when i was 6 and i can’t remember my initial reaction to him, but i’ve definitely (like with the death star) been desensitized to the fact that if i was in star wars, darth vader would scare the shit out of me. he’s *scary* and that’s cool. i liked seeing vader effortlessly go fucking mad on these rebels. then you understand why they were so scared in that first scene of a new hope.

no i absolutely will not get over the vader scene. i won’t. his saber turning on. his force abilities. his effortless lightsaber work. the choral music over the scene with the hectic orchestra. don’t touch me i’m emotional.

i loved seeing leia. it touches me so deeply every time.

fuck i love this movie despite all its faults.

if you’ve made it this far, thank you!! i hope you enjoyed. please remember that this is totally a safe space for all star wars opinions and you can feel free to disagree with me! i’d love to hear what some of you thought :))

[artificialqueens]

If you ever wanna be in love (I'll come around), Chapter Three (Branjie) - Athena2

Previously: Brooke pretended to be Vanessa’s fake wife Now: Vanessa is Brooke’s fake girlfriend, but they end up spending more time together

A/N: Thank you all so so much for the amazing feedback! It really makes my day and I’m so grateful for you all. I really hope you like this chapter, and I’d love any comments you have! Thank you 1,000 times to Writ for being the most amazing beta!

Vanessa floats into work the week after dinner. She and Brooke really did it. Her friends agreed, and she knows the other workers–and most importantly, Paul–don’t suspect a thing.

For the first time, she actually enjoyed a work function, and she can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with Brooke’s thigh touching hers at the cramped table, or her soft voice hovering by Vanessa’s ear all night. Either way, she should be spared from work events for a while. After Brooke’s mom’s party, their work is done.

But if Brooke is with her, maybe another dinner wouldn’t be so bad.

—

“Ready for thrifting tomorrow?” Vanessa asks A’keria first thing Friday morning, waiting for her groan. A’keria and Silky didn’t enjoy thrifting like she did, usually ended up stamping their feet by the door waiting for Vanessa to hurry up, but it’s always more fun to go with them than alone, modeling ridiculous outfits and comparing each other to ugly animal figurines.

“Me and Silk have the Saturday shift tomorrow, remember?”

“Oh. I forgot.”

A’keria must know she’s upset, because her expression softens. “We’ll go next week, okay?”

“Yeah. Maybe I won’t go tomorrow. It’s more fun with a group.”

“If you wanna go with someone, you could ask Brooke,” A’keria says, nonchalant even though just the mention of Brooke’s name makes Vanessa’s heart speed up.

“You want me to ask Brooke?” Vanessa prays A’keria doesn’t notice the red creeping into her cheeks.

“That’s what I said. I just think it makes sense, since she’s your fake wife and all. I know you had a good time with her at dinner.”

Vanessa shushes her, even if it’s just them in the children’s room. Asking Brooke makes sense, Vanessa admits, but she doesn’t know what the rules are, what their situation is. Sure, they had texted about Gilmore Girls and Vanessa is posing as Brooke’s girlfriend next weekend, but does that mean shopping is on the table? Does fake dating make them automatic friends, or are they still just acquaintances who smile awkwardly at each other at Nina’s parties?

Vanessa types a text to Brooke all in one go, heart pounding, and presses send before she can chicken out. The children’s room has its own office, and Vanessa makes several excuses to run inside and check her phone all morning, but there’s no reply. Brooke is probably working, she figures, and the thought of Brooke teaching kids or inspecting fossils makes her smile.

Just after her ladybug rock-painting activity, her phone lights up with a reply.

Brooke Lynn Hytes: Thrifting sounds fun. I can drive if you want.

Vanessa scrambles to reply, and just like that, she’s spending Saturday with Brooke.

—

Vanessa climbs in the passenger seat, and Brooke meets Vanessa’s sunny smile with one of her own.

Yesterday, she had just finished a planning meeting for the T-Rex exhibit opening when she saw a text from Vanessa inviting her to go thrifting if she wasn’t busy, and Brooke’s heart nearly stopped, discussions on layout and invitations flying out of her brain.

Sure, she was going to spend Saturday working on her speech for the opening, but she has weeks for that, and Nina’s been on her to take a break and not work so hard. Brooke knows she’s right; she’s almost molded to her desk chair at this point, in her office until the sun sets some nights, before continuing on her kitchen table in between bites of salad. A day with no work couldn’t hurt, and that fluttery feeling in her chest when she thinks of seeing Vanessa again isn’t bad either.

Vanessa grins as she settles in her seat. She’s wearing a huge black tie-dye Led Zeppelin shirt, and she sure can pull it off.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Vanessa says.

“Of course.” Brooke can tell from her excitement that thrifting must be something she loves, and her heart warms at the joy bursting from Vanessa. “You really like thrifting, huh?”

Vanessa blushes. “Yeah. It’s just fun. There’s so much cool stuff in there, and you never know what you’re gonna get.” She pauses, takes a breath. “Oh! There’s an ice cream place nearby, if you want to get some after.”

“Oh, sure. I love ice cream.” Brooke says, cheeks burning. As much as she loves ice cream, there’s the uncertainty of time with Vanessa, how they should interact. Most of dinner had been answering questions, a certain order to it all. What will they talk about without that structure? She’ll probably be so boring Vanessa will regret this whole day.

“Me too! It’ll be fun.” Vanessa’s confident and calm, like she senses Brooke’s nerves and wants to soothe them without making her uncomfortable, and Brooke is grateful. She takes a breath and lets Vanessa’s voice calm her.

The thrift shop looms in front of them, and Vanessa is bouncing like a little kid, out of her seat before the car stops and practically running to the door. They walk inside and Brooke gasps at the stuff covering every surface, a treasure chest come to life.

There’s shelves packed with dishes, vases, teacups, books, candles, and random trinkets. Posters and pictures spread along the walls like vines, with clothes racks and tables of more stuff forming a maze through the store.

“Isn’t this awesome, Brooke?” Vanessa looks up at her, eyes sparkling. She suddenly realizes just how tiny Vanessa is in flat sandals instead of heels like at dinner, and her stomach lurches.

“Yeah,” Brooke agrees. She follows Vanessa as she confidently heads straight for the books. There’s such power in Vanessa’s walk, and Brooke can’t stop watching her. She likes how wide Vanessa smiles when she finds something good, how she parades over to Brooke with a hat shaped like a pizza slice perched on her head and polka dot scarf around her neck, even how she insists on buying an ugly little pig figurine because she “felt bad for it.”

It’s not until Vanessa is checking out that Brooke realizes she was so busy watching Vanessa, she never looked at anything for herself.

—

The ice cream place is a tiny box with a large ice cream cone on the roof, and Brooke stares up at it as she and Vanessa sit at an umbrella-shaded picnic table in the back. Rainbow sprinkles scatter as they eat, Brooke with a waffle cone of strawberry cheesecake swirl while Vanessa makes her way through cookies and cream. They eat in silence, Brooke trying to think of something to say. In her experience, dinosaurs are boring to almost everyone over the age of eleven, so she needs something else to talk about. But what?

“It’s so weird eating ice cream during the day,” Brooke settles on. “My mom always made us have dinner first.” She flushes sunburn red, but Vanessa nods.

“It’s one of the only good things about being an adult,” Vanessa agrees. “We have bills and shit, but we can eat ice cream whenever we want.”

Brooke snorts and crunches on her cone. “So, um, how’s the library?”

Vanessa lets out a bark of laughter. “Sorry, it’s just—summer is wild in the children’s room.” She shakes her head and smiles. “Yesterday this lady showed up and I think she was a library card dealer. You know how magicians pull the scarf out of a hat? That was her with library cards, just pulling ‘em outta nowhere. The woman had six cards, all with different names! I don’t know how she got them all.”

“Maybe she goes around collecting them,” Brooke suggests, joining Vanessa in her laughs.

“She wouldn’t be the first,” Vanessa mutters, and Brooke wonders what goes on in that library.

“How long have you worked there?”

“Seven years,” Vanessa answers. “I never planned it, it just happened. I went to college for English, and the job opened right after I graduated. I usually did some awful retail job in the summer, so I applied as another option, and I’ve been there ever since. Never really thought of doing anything else.” She shrugs. “It gets wild, but I love it. There’s some kids who came in the first time when they were four or five, and I made their first cards, and they still come in and talk to me about school and stuff. It’s just nice, y’know?”

There’s real warmth and love in her eyes as she talks, and Brooke can picture her helping kids cut out a craft, or scanning shelves to find the perfect book just for them, and those early feelings she had of wanting to be closer to Vanessa swell like a balloon, eager to learn more about her.

“Yeah,” Brooke agrees. “It sounds like you’re really happy there.”

“Yeah.” Vanessa finishes her cone and leans in, stealing Brooke’s breath. “So. Dino girl. You ever dig up fossils?”

Brooke nods enthusiastically. “I’ve been on two digs in Montana. One was for an internship in grad school and one was after I became head of the museum department here. We didn’t find anything big, but we did get some triceratops fragments and baby hadrosaur bones.”

They had been some of the best weeks of her life. Not even the blinding sun or hours of back-aching digging that sent dust up her nose were enough to crush the thrill of brushing dirt aside to see what lay underneath, her pride and excitement in doing what she had dreamed of since she was a child clutching her dinosaur toys, twisting her mouth to say their names.

“That’s really cool,” Vanessa says, and Brooke doesn’t think she’s faking it. “Wait, did you dress like Indiana Jones? Tell me you at least wore the hat!”

“Indiana Jones is an archaeologist, first of all, and my hat had a much wider brim—“

“So that’s a yes.” Vanessa’s lips turn up into an adorable smirk.

“Yes.”

Vanessa squeals. “I want pictures!”

“Later,” Brooke promises.

Vanessa smiles, and Brooke smiles back, and she doesn’t want the day to end.

—

A’keria has a date that night, so Vanessa has the couch to herself and stretches her legs out on the newfound space. Her legs barely fill two cushions, admittedly, but still. She’s mindlessly flicking through channels when her phone buzzes. It’s from Brooke, just two words: As promised.

Vanessa opens the text in confusion, only to screech at the image on her screen: Brooke standing in the dirt with mountains behind her, in hiking boots and khaki pants, sleeves of her dust-streaked white shirt rolled up to reveal hands and forearms smeared with dirt. And on her head is a light brown hat, closer to that guy from Jurassic Park than Indiana Jones.

She zooms in and sees Brooke’s smile, so wide it takes over her whole face. She looks as happy and proud as Vanessa has ever seen anyone look, and her heart floods with warmth for Brooke, doing something she loves so much.

Vanessa: Nice hat. All you need is a whip to complete the look.

Vanessa: Btw, Jurassic Park is on the sci-fi channel.

Brooke: Bold of you to assume I’m not already watching it.

Vanessa laughs out loud.

Vanessa: Nerd.

Brooke: It’s so good! The special effects still hold up.

Vanessa: Nerd.

Brooke: Bookworm.

Vanessa snorts again. Obviously Brooke must have seen how fast she snatched up a new YA romance at the thrift store.

Vanessa: Dino Girl.

Vanessa: Enjoy your movie.

Vanessa turns to the sci-fi channel, watching the characters meet those long-neck dinos–she’ll have to ask Brooke their name–for the first time. Vanessa’s brother played the VHS tape until it wore out, and she spent years when she was little thinking a dinosaur would appear in their kitchen and pull her apart with its teeth. She hasn’t watched it in a while and she settles in, relishing the feeling of watching the movie with Brooke, like they’re occupying the same space and sharing the same experience even in separate apartments.

And maybe she pretends Brooke is there with her.

—

The week goes by, and Vanessa begins to sweat over dinner with Brooke’s family. You’re not really dating, it doesn’t matter, Silky assures her, but it doesn’t work. Meeting a girlfriend’s family has always taken her smooth confidence and stomped on it, making her cower under stares and decide which parts of her to show and which to hide. She’s never able to be herself, the whole thing like a formal job interview where the smallest stumble could ruin her.

Vanessa knows all too well how judgy people can be, and though Brooke is kind, there’s no telling what her family’s like. Vanessa wonders if tiny things like Brooke’s punctuality and neatness hint at strict parents.

Vanessa wants to be as good as Brooke was, to win her Oscar for the role of fake girlfriend like Brooke did for fake wife. She wants to show Brooke’s family just how smart and funny and charming she is, show them she’s perfect for Brooke even if it’s not a real relationship. And she really, really wants to spend more time with Brooke.

They’ve been texting more and more, Vanessa unleashing triple- and sometimes quadruple-texts, which she only does with friends. They’ve talked about their pets and demanded pictures, Vanessa melting like butter at Brooke’s two cats curled up sleeping together and insisting she has to meet them someday. She leaps every time her phone buzzes, eager for these glimpses into Brooke’s life, even just pieces of her workday. But she still wants more, wants to hear Brooke’s laugh and see her smile, and she asks Brooke for coffee the day before her run as fake girlfriend.

“Should I bring anything?” Vanessa asks as soon as they sit down with their coffees.

“Just you. Seriously,” Brooke insists as Vanessa starts protesting. “My mom never wants anything, so my sister and I just get her knitting stuff and dinner gift cards. If you bring anything, she’ll ask me why I didn’t tell you not to bring anything.” She rolls her eyes and Vanessa laughs.

“No presents, got it. What should I wear?”

Brooke shrugs. “You can wear anything. It’s nothing fancy.”

“I know, and I know we’re not really dating, I just…I don’t want them to think I’m not good enough for you.”

Vanessa cringes at the memory of visiting her last girlfriend’s parents, the night woven of harsh stares and rude comments, the girl’s family looking down on Vanessa for everything from her bright floral dress to her library job. Vanessa cried on the way home and ended things a day later. She doesn’t want to assume the same of Brooke’s parents, but she also doesn’t want to spend another night hiding in the bathroom, staring at her hair, her face, her clothes, wondering what part of her wasn’t enough.

Brooke’s eyes are kind as they meet hers. “They’d never think that, I promise,” Brooke says softly. She pauses, then adds, “And neither would I.”

She’s so sincere it gives Vanessa a lump in her throat, knowing that Brooke would never think less of her.

Vanessa nods shakily. “Okay. Maybe I’ll do a sundress,” she says, trying to brush off how touched she is.

“You look good in everything,” Brooke says, staring into her coffee.

“You too,” Vanessa says, equally avoiding eye contact. Then she smirks. “Even that safari hat.”

“I should’ve never shown you that picture,” Brooke groans, smiling too much to be mad.

They finish their coffees, and Vanessa can’t wait until tomorrow.

—

Brooke’s parents live half an hour away, and Vanessa spends the morning whipping up the perfect playlist.

Playlists are special to her, back from when her brother taught her to make CD mixes of her and her friends’ favorite songs. She’s moved beyond burning CD’s, but playlists are still special, an act of love for whoever she makes it for—hunting for perfect songs, reading lyrics and seeing how they fit, making each song count. A way of saying I know you with songs instead of words.

With Brooke, it’s a challenge of sorts, one she wants to succeed at. She wants to pick perfect songs they’ll both like, filling the car with a movie-worthy soundtrack and laughs and heartfelt confessions. A playlist with songs they’ll hear in a grocery store sometime and instantly be snapped back to this day.

She spends so long on the playlist that she has to rush getting ready, brave enough to wear her bright pink dress and matching lipstick. She runs to Brooke’s car and is so distracted by the amount of soft-skinned legs Brooke’s shorts show off that it takes three tries to buckle her seatbelt.

“You look really good in pink,” Brooke says.

Vanessa turns the shade of her dress. “Thanks.”

Brooke heads down the street, reaching for the radio, but Vanessa swats her hand away. “Ah-ah-ah! I made a playlist.”

Brooke’s eyes light up as Vanessa gets the AUX cord going, and she hums approvingly as Rihanna blasts through the speakers. They ride in silence, swaying along to the beat as they leave the city and buildings are replaced with open fields.

“So, um, we don’t have to do anything special relationship-wise,” Brooke begins. “My parents won’t know we’re faking. They’re not exactly…observant. I mean, I had a crush on Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer for years and they had no idea.”

Vanessa snorts. “Yeah, you seem like a Willow girl. I always liked Buffy the best. Got a thing for blondes, I guess.” She realizes what she’s just said and almost slams her head into the window. She needs another topic to gloss it over…

“So they’re okay with you being a lesbian?” she blurts, cringing harder at her damn mouth. Maybe she should just jump out of the car. “Shit, sorry, you don’t have to–”

“It’s okay.” Brooke sighs. “Yeah, they’re okay with it. I didn’t tell them until I was 20. They always want us to be happy, but they kind of…take a while with stuff they don’t expect?” Brooke opens her mouth and closes it, like she’s trying to find the right words. “They weren’t thrilled about me playing with dinosaurs when I was little because ‘dinosaurs are for boys’. They tried to get me to play with other stuff and I cried. Then they realized how happy I was with dinosaurs and let it go. It was kind of the same when I came out. They were quiet, then my mom cried and said if I was happy, she was happy.”

Vanessa resists the urge to grab Brooke’s hand and soothe those feelings between her words, to calm tiny-Brooke’s fears that she wouldn’t get to play with her favorite toys and older-Brooke’s worries that her parents wouldn’t accept her.

“I’m glad they’re okay with it,” she says instead. “And I’m glad you’re okay,” she adds, hoping Brooke knows Vanessa means it, understands that she would’ve comforted her if she had the chance.

“Yeah.” Brooke pauses. “What about your family? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Vanessa shrugs. “It wasn’t really a big thing. I was 14, me and my mom were in the car and I kinda shouted I like girls at her. She said she knew and it didn’t change things. My dad isn’t really emotional, so he just kinda shrugged and went on with it. He’s good though. My brother too.”

“I’m happy it was okay for you,” Brooke says, soft and genuine.

The playlist transitions into Lorde, and they talk about work for the rest of the drive, pulling into a cheery yellow house before Vanessa knows it. Brooke opens her door and two screaming kids run down the driveway, tackling her legs.

“My sister’s kids,” Brooke explains before hugging them. “This is Sam,”–she nods to a tiny blond boy—“and Sophie”–she nudges the pig-tailed girl.

“You’re Aunt Brookie’s girlfriend,” Sophie says, flashing a gap-toothed grin.

It throws Vanessa, hearing it like that, even from a six-year-old. For just a second, the thrill of the word pools in her stomach, the way it always did when she was called someone’s girlfriend, and she forgets that things aren’t real, that she and Brooke aren’t really in love.

“I am,” she says, and it doesn’t feel like lying. “I’m Vanessa.”

“Let’s go inside.” Brooke sets the kids down and they tear inside.

Brooke turns to Vanessa, apology in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I haven’t brought anyone to a family thing in a while. My mom, she’s…she’s worried about me being alone since I was a kid. Everyone wants me to date again, even the kids ask. I’ve tried, but no one clicks.”

Vanessa shakes her head, daring to stroke Brooke’s arm just once, to soothe her. “My mom’s the same, don’t worry. And my brother’s kids would’ve done the same thing. Except those demons would’ve knocked you over.”

Brooke giggles, and it gives Vanessa a little rush, knowing she calmed Brooke. Brooke leads Vanessa into a cozy kitchen of people obviously trying to act natural despite their excitement.

“You must be Vanessa,” a woman she assumes is Brooke’s mom says.

“That’s me,” Vanessa answers, and she’s pulled into hugs by Brooke’s parents. It’s funny–Vanessa can’t see much of Brooke in their faces, but Brooke holds herself just like her father, has the same warm smile as her mother, tiny things that prove Brooke belongs here. Brooke’s sister and brother-in-law are next, both thrilled to meet her.

Vanessa pulls out the tulips she hid in her purse and gives them to Brooke’s mom. “Don’t blame Brooke, she said not to,” Vanessa says quickly. “But I wanted to.” Vanessa’s mother wouldn’t dream of going to someone’s house empty-handed, and it’s rubbed off on her.

Brooke’s mom happily puts them in a vase, and Vanessa knows she really likes them.

Vanessa sits with Brooke on a squishy couch, skin tingling where her knee meets Brooke’s. Brooke around her family is… different. She’s self-conscious at first, fidgeting with her shorts and glancing at Vanessa, making sure she’s okay. But Vanessa smiles at Brooke and she slowly loosens up, a rope unraveling bit by bit. She helps her mom in the kitchen, talks about work with her sister, even calms the kids when they start terrorizing the place. It’s a new side of her around her family, one Vanessa is grateful to see.

“How did you two meet?” Brooke’s mom asks.

She and Brooke glance at each other.

“Our friend Nina introduced us,” Brooke says. They’d decided to stay as close to the truth as possible. “Vanessa works with her at the library.”

“Oh, you work in a library?” Brooke’s mom asks eagerly. “Do you like it?”

Vanessa flinches, because this is how it started with her ex-girlfriend’s family. Just an innocent work question. Then it was do you even need a degree for that and soon she was in an interrogation about her education and family, sinking into her chair and burning with embarrassment. But Brooke’s mom is smiling, interested rather than judging, and Vanessa unclenches a jaw she didn’t know was clenched.

“I love it there, actually. I do crafts with the kids, and we have our summer carnival coming up…” she keeps it light, figuring Brooke’s sweet family doesn’t need to know the amount of dirty diapers patrons leave behind.

They move to dinner, and everyone is so calm and polite, it’s almost… Strange, in a way. Vanessa’s family shouts over each other and laughs loud enough to be heard outside, and she’s never wanted it any other way. Here, someone asks her about work, or what she does for fun, and everyone is quiet enough to listen. It’s her own little audience, one she doesn’t have to scream for, and Vanessa turns up the charm. She compliments Brooke’s mom on the food and has them all in tears over the non-disgusting library stories.

Vanessa is so deep in the moment, in how natural it is, that she’s distractedly planning a weekend for Brooke to meet her family when it hits her that this isn’t real. Brooke won’t meet her parents or play with her nieces and nephew or devour her mom’s chicken and rice, because this isn’t real, and everything she ate becomes a rock in her stomach.

Vanessa offers to help with the dishes, but apparently Brooke’s politeness runs in the family, because they won’t let a guest clean. Instead, she stays with the kids and finds herself in a deep conversation about Legos with Sam. It’s better than conversations she’s had with adults, if she’s honest.

There’s coffee and a damn good chocolate cake and more hugs, and then she’s back in the car with Brooke.

“Are you okay?” Brooke asks. “They can ask a lot of questions.”

Vanessa waves her off. “They’re fine, Brooke. I’ve been asked worse, believe me.”

“Well, thank you again for this. It was fun.” Brooke’s voice is honey-sweet and velvet-soft, and it sends a shiver down Vanessa’s spine.

“It was no problem. Your family’s really nice.” This is it, she realizes. The agreement is over. But she needs more time with Brooke, needs it like air. “Hey, would you want to come to the library carnival with me in August? My boss liked you a lot. There’s no rides or anything, ‘cause that’s some legal shit, but we’ll have games and food and stuff.”

“I’d love to,” Brooke says earnestly, and something settles in Vanessa’s heart. Some sort of lightness, of joy, carried on the promise of being with Brooke again.

Vanessa’s foot brushes something, and she peeks and notices her lipstick fell out of her purse. She reaches to pick it up, then stops. Because surely Brooke, polite to a fault, will make it a point to return it, and then Vanessa can see her that much sooner.

[willddheartt]

Run Away With Me | JJ Maybank |   Part One: Cant Forget About You

Summary: Though years had passed, Jessie never forgot the boy who helped her get out. How could she?

Series Warnings: Substances (Weed, drinking), a little angst, smut, mentions of abuse/toxic family.

Word Count: 1k

A/N: Flashbacks are in italics

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

It didn’t matter what time it was or where you were, sometimes it would happen in the middle of the day as you passed your time working at a small cafe, others it might happen to be 5am while you're awake way later than you really should be. No matter the time, you’d always remember slowly at first, and then all at once.  The nights spent in old motel rooms when it was raining and the nights under the stars hoping it would never end. Sometimes you’d remember it like it was yesterday and other times it would feel like a distant memory of a dream, but you could still remember him. You never forgot about him, even in your past relationships, you never forgot about the blonde boy you ran away with. 

You never told anyone about the boy who helped you get away, mainly because it didn’t matter anymore, he wasn’t with you. He didn’t hold up his end of the deal.  But his name still ran through your head, JJ Maybank. 

We laid on the soft grass of my backyard looking up at the dark sky. The sunset many hours before he showed up knocking at my window, my parents were fast asleep when I slipped out the front door making as little noise as possible. The faint misty, after the rain, scent filling each breath we took, our backs wet from the grass that had just been rained on earlier in the day.  The dark rain clouds dissipated after the afternoon showers leaving the 2AM sky crystal clear. 

It wasn’t extremely unusual for us to spend our nights laying in the grass of my backyard but each time he showed up, there were new bruises forming on and around his cheekbones, the odd black eye and split lip. I tried asking once before when he was pretty badly beaten, but every question I asked was ignored since then I left it at that. I knew better than to push.

“JJ,” I asked barely above a whisper. I was surprised to hear him hum in response, thinking he had drifted off way before. “Do you think there is some other universe out there that's like ours but everything is backwards?” I asked, there was something about looking at the stars, seeing them slowly spin around as they twinkled, which made me ponder everything.  He let a breathy laugh slip past his lips before replying, “I don’t know, probably.” He said. “If you can think of it, it's probably out there, somewhere.”  “That's strangely comforting,” I mumbled reaching my hand over to him, setting it on his chest.  The nights we spent watching the stars spin in silence, I always had my hand touching him or leg over his, just to give myself a peace of mind that he was there and real, and that I wasn’t just laying out on my lawn talking to myself. Some nights as the sleep deprivation and paranoia set in it felt like nothing was real, the only thing to ever bring me back was physical touch. It grounded me when my mind would spin. 

“Do you think there's a place for us out there?” I asked once again. He nodded, “Somewhere, we just have to find it,” 

We were consumed into silence again and the sleep I had been avoiding for the past few hours had been creeping up very quickly. Letting a yawn out I took my hand off his chest to wipe away the tear that fell down the side of my face when my eyes watered.  “You been sleeping?” The blonde next to me asked “Not much,” I sighed, putting my hand back.  “You should get some sleep,” JJ mumbled, his hand coming up to hold mine against his chest. “Your hand is freezing,” He said sitting up. I mimicked his actions, and held my cheeks in my hands, “I guess they're a little cold, but it's not much,”  “You need some sleep,” His tone was soft yet concerned, “C’mon,” The blonde mumbled, standing up and holding his hands out to me so I could pull myself up. 

Quietly JJ walked me back inside, making sure to lock the front door behind us as we tiptoed into my bedroom, shutting and locking my door as well. He sat at the head of my bed, leaning against the wall and patting the spot next to him. I laid down next to him, as his arms went around me and his hand ran through my hair. 

“What about my parents?” I whispered with my eyes closed “Don't worry about it, love, just get some sleep,” He hummed, kissing the top of my head.  I nodded, curling into his side more as I settled down, finally letting the sleep, I so desperately needed, consume me. The world faded away into nothing but blackness. 

-

Working at the cafe today had been a steady stream of people, most of whom were tourists or just avid travellers who shared stories with me of their adventures over the years as they enjoyed a coffee. There was nothing I loved more than hearing all the stories people had to share when they came in, it was one of the best things about working at the cafe. 

My coworker and I just finished bringing in the outside tables and were in the process of cleaning before heading home.  “Hey, did you get that week off in June?” Lydia asked as she cleaned off the tables I nodded, “Yeah, but I’m still on the fence about the trip,”  “Oh c’mon, it will be fun Jess,” She smiled, “What's not to love it will be you and me on an island for a week surrounded by all the hot surfer boys. “I still have time to think about it though,”  “Just let me know a day beforehand,” She smiled, I nodded. 

I hadn’t told anyone where I came from once things cooled down, and now it's been three years and they still didn’t know. I hope they don’t find out who I am and where I came from in the worst way possible.  Since the missing persons reports went out I completely changed my looks and I hardly even resembled the photo they used on the posters. I wondered if he had done the same thing if by some miracle he had gotten away and made it somewhere. 

[hibenjibye]

Apocalypse Dog

The first red flag in my relationship with God came in 2000 when Sega released Poo-Chi, a robotic toy dog.

I was 11 and had recently become obsessed with a kid's magazine called K-Zine or Kid-Zone or K-Hole or something, which was comprised of ads for toys and clearly fake interviews with teen idols.

K-Hole: You did a great job in Titanic! Thanks got sitting down with us, Leo! What's your favourite colour?

Leo: Definitely brown! I asked the director of Titanic to give my character lots of brown clothes! I think that's a cool colour!

To this day my compulsive cover-to-cover digestion of this magazine, full of people and things I cared nothing about, remains a mystery that gives me a sense of curious unease whenever I consider it. Probably because it serves as a reminder of the ultimately transient nature of personality and the fundamental unknowability of the self. When I, a phlegmatic child who enjoyed novels about family sagas and drinking coffee with the emotionally incestuous adults in my life, pinned a free poster of Nikki Webster wearing a bubblegum pink tube top and body glitter on my bedroom wall, who was I in that moment? What invisible audience was I performing for? Who did I believe I might become via this strange action?

It is for a similar reason, I suppose, that 20 years later I still think about a competition the magazine ran which offered readers the chance to win a Poo-Chi.

I had no idea what this dog did, other than represent the spirit of the new millennium with its sleek metallic body and tense stance. As the child of Jehovah's Witnesses I entered this century with the suspicion that a long-predicted apocalypse might be fulfilled at midnight, January 1st 2000, and with every day that fiery hail did not fall from the sky that year I developed an exhilarating sense that I was living in an unpromised and unpredictable cyber-future too advanced and impressive for God himself to interrupt. Maybe this was what I saw in Poo-Chi's dead red LED eyes: a sleek defiance of our Lord's bipolar love and threats.

Either way, I knew when I saw the ad for the competition that I must win the dog. I had never wanted anything so singularly in my life, suddenly. This is odd because I had never wanted a toy from any ad before -- The closest I came was shaking my mother awake one morning a year earlier when I uncharacteristically woke up at dawn and discovered a TV show where a woman was showcasing gorgeous pieces of statement jewellery that were marked down and disappearing fast. The woman rued the fact that there weren't enough topaz necklaces for her to buy one herself and I cried into my cereal when my desperation to procure one of these treasures, which I would have kept in my bottom bureau drawer and looked at every day, was unfairly dismissed.

A similar chasm opened up in me as I wrote my submission to the magazine explaining why I deserved the dog most. I tried to funnel my absolute need for it into my words, which did not seem to convey the urgency of the situation. I had a vague sense that if I received the Poo-Chi, which surely I would, it would be my best friend and possibly learn to perform tricks that a lesser child would not know to teach it. It seemed like the kind of magic robot whose arrival might catalyse the beginning of a child's adventure in a movie, and I had been waiting my whole life for my movie to begin. I'm not sure I managed to articulate any of this in the letter.

*

This memory becomes its strangest when, on a grey Sunday morning, I interrupt my mother’s vacuuming to ask if Jehovah would be insulted if I were to ask for his assistance in winning the dog. I've always prayed, at this point, and never asked for any selfish favours so it feels very likely that my good karma is ready to be cashed in. But first I want to make sure that God won't be offended and potentially even stop me from winning the dog to teach me some sort of rude lesson. I feel so close to winning by now and I don't want to let anything fuck up my plan.

My mother says there's no harm in asking but I should make it clear in my prayer that I know I don't necessarily deserve the robot dog, I'm just asking in case God is open to making my dreams come true and was waiting for the right opportunity. She reminds me of children suffering and dying in the world and I feel a stab of compulsive grief for them but I also feel that our situations are apples and oranges.

I pay an awkward amount of attention to my posture when I pray that night, not wanting to look like an entitled slob as I kneel over my bed asking for a handout. I keep my back straight and my fingers lightly laced. I confirm that I'm just asking, no worries if not, but this wish does represent everything I've ever wanted and I will be sad for a long time if I don't get it.

I do not mention the fact that the last time I requested something via prayer it was for a drunken brawl between my parents to come to a quick end but it indeed lasted all night, rattling my heart through the wall as I lay in bed. It seemed tacky to bring up this overlooked request however I felt hopeful that God would remember it and feel guilty, and this would compound my chances of getting my wish.

*

I forgot all about the competition but received a velcro wallet in the mail months later, one of three runner-up prizes. I was elated to have won something and showed it to everyone, even though it was ugly as shit with a picture of the weird dog and his robot cat friend on the front. I used it for years.

There was no doubt in my mind that the wallet was a message from God. It was both an acknowledgement of my prayer and a rebuke of my hubris in making such a lofty request. The wallet was a spiky little joke, meant to comfort and humble me. It was haloed in an odd dissonance which felt connected to my broader feelings about the unpredictable man in the sky.

In my teens when I began to pick apart all my ties to religion and to my family's unique version of reality, I didn't consider the awkward prayer about Poo-Chi to share any throughline with the uncanny path of spiritual emancipation and disconnection I ended up on. But in retrospect all of those strange feelings swam in the same pond. The wide-eyed waiting for a punctuating sound through the wall or from the sky. The rickety hope of walking out into a still-standing world every day, with its dubious promises and nonsensical lessons.

I continue to look for easy adventures and strange friendship through electronic devices. I am still mesmerised by statement jewellery and emotionally derailed by other people's conflicts.

If this story had an ending, which it doesn't because it isn't really a story, I would imagine it to be the above two sentences appearing during end credits over a freeze frame of me smiling and giving a goofy thumbs-up.

There would be a tricky post-credit scene as everyone stepped out of the theatre, of a Poo-Chi standing on a cloud in Heaven. A sandalled God walks over and leans down to pet the little friend, whose LED eyes light up red and beam out zooming rays. God shouts once as he takes the death ray right in his solar plexus and explodes into a dozen pieces. His still-sandalled foot is dragged to a quiet corner of the clouds to be chewed. The volume of a pop-rock song playing in the background returns in full. The end.

[btswishes]

Are you for real?

Kihyun  (Vampire Au)

Part1 / Next

A/N:  Thank you for reading my stuff, I appreciate it extremely. I tried to put a twist on this a bit, hope you enjoy it Anony and sorry for any mistakes made.

Requested by: Anonymous 

Request: “ Hi! I was wondering if you could do a Kihyun vampire au? It can honestly be about anything! I love your work btw!  “

Word count:   2,304

Warnings: Swear words, blood, organs mention of death.

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

  The moon slowly rose from it’s place of slumber and illuminated the world underneath in a silver light. The night birds stepped into their spotlight and began singing the songs of their kind, accompanied by the gentle rustling of the leaves and the howling winter winds.

  You mumbled something under your nose, before slamming the books shut and stretching your back a bit. After a few small cracks ,you took off your reading glasses and looked outside the window.Night had fallen and you hadn’t even noticed where all those hours went.

  Studying for today was finished and you were swirling on the chair, thinking what to do now with your free time. You could watch\read something or just lay on the bed at stare at the ceiling for sometime. Not many good ideas where popping into your head ,when a pretty silent knock stopped your movement.

“Yes?” you said loud ,as the door opened with permission  

“You done with studying?” your mom asked noticing all the closed books and your kinda empty stare at the wall. 

“Pretty much yeah.” you could see a small piece of paper in her hand fluttering from the outside wind coming in through the open window “You want me to get something?”

“Yes.I am running low on a few things.” she explained, passing over the list

“Where is dad?” usually he was the errand boy for small stuff that didn’t need a lot of thinking or choice

“Your dad decided to show your brother a move and I think he broke his back. He will ok tho, just needs some time to get back on his feet....literally” your mother was obviously trying to suppress a laugh so strong it could shake the whole house.”Can you go?” You scanned everything from number 1 to number 10 fast and decided that it wasn’t something that will take a long time to get and you had nothing else to do anyways.

“Ok. The store is pretty close anyways, a few minute walk.” you jumped off the chair and walked over to your closet putting on some pants, a warm shirt and your hair in a high bun on top of your hair. 

  Going down the stairs you saw your dad on the couch, face down and ice on his back. You wanted to laugh too but kept your cool out of respect. Popping some shoes on you fixed your coat making sure you were nice and isolated.

“I can go get the stuff you know.” you were stopped by your brother, who as always was concerned about you.

“It’s ok Hae. “ unlocking the door ,you threw the shopping bag on your shoulder

“I can come with you! Muscle power.” he was trying to flex but you were already locking the door at this point. It wasn’t anything new to you, he has always been like this since day one. 

  The night was cold and you were nuzzling yourself into the coat, trying to stay as warm as you could. Both your hands were in your pockets trying not to fall off from the freezing temperatures. Everything around was pretty quiet and peaceful.Most people were already in their homes, trying to warm up and spend time with loved ones. It was Christmas and New Years week after all.

  From time to time someone would pass by you, but you weren’t fazed much by it. Humans lived on Earth after all. Of course some people walking were a bit sketchy and all, but you weren’t that worried. There have been sightings of some strange creature lately in your city, but this isn’t some kind of horror movie you were in, so you didn’t think much of the poster that pulled your attention for a split second.

  The supermarket was  illuminating the street in front of it so well ,you could almost see the snowflakes as they crackled under your boots. Stepping in the warm space, you grabbed a basket and went around searching for the items on the small list. It didn’t take long before you had almost everything in the basket, the only thing missing was the meat.

  You walked up to the section and began telling the worker what you needed. Your mom was very specific when it came to meat in your family. After some time the lady working behind the glass section passed over everything you had asked for. You wished her a happy week and went on your marry way. 

“Ok so, I have milk, eggs, the veggies and meat and.....oh liver, liver.I almost forgot the liver.” the paper went back in your pocket as you were once more running around in search of number 10. “Aha!” you gasped when the little packet caught your eye from the distance. You were so happy that you started running in its direction. There was a small moment where you hit something and fell back. Everything happened in a matter of seconds, but what you figured out was that the boy holding onto your hand, pulled you in time before you hit the hard floor.

  He had an intense stare that wasn’t moving away from your face. His grip was pretty strong and starting to hurt. The boy felt you flinch and let go.

“Are you ok?” he asked with a serious tone in his voice.

“Ah yes. I am sorry, I shouldn’t have been running in the first place.” you said sorry for the whole incident and reached out to grab a packet of liver. 

“You really seem to like...meat.” he was looking at the bags upon bags of it in your basket 

“It’s not only for me, my family eats it too.” the boy nodded, his eyes locked on your face “I am really sorry again for the mess I made.Have a goodnight.” you bowed a bit and snaked around the aisles. 

  It was pretty late, so not many people were at the cash registers. You placed everything in the bags and payed fast. Being around so much food made you pretty hungry. Stepping out of the supermarket ,you were hit by the cold air again. You had forgotten that it was winter for a second.Looking up at the moon you were able to clearly see your breath like small clouds disintegrating into the atmosphere.

“Going home?” you heard that familiar voice   

“Yes, have a good night.” the boy was standing close to you, with his hands in his pocked and surprisingly lightly dressed for the season you were in. You were giving him short answers. The boy was very handsome, his hair was dark and his eyes an interesting almost black tint mixed in with mystery. His skin was fairly pale and in a way there was something a bit unsettling.He didn’t seem bad, but at the same time not trust wordy in a way. Unknowingly to you, he had taken a liking to your existence. He was quite close when you felt his breath on your neck. You almost jumped when he grabbed you by the waist. 

“Wait, don’t move.” in his hand he had a small insect that had fallen onto you from a tree “I didn’t want to scare you, sorry.” he was painfully close and his eyes were fixed at certain points of your body, eyes and neck. In moment of shock you had dropped the bags, so he pulled them up, his head grassing onto your skin for a split second. Grabbing them tight you said a thank you and a goodbye almost at the same time, as you started walking in the direction of your house. The boy staid in the same spot and you could feel the intense stare he was giving you.

  It didn’t take you long to calm down and soon your walking pattern became slow. You fixed the shopping bags in your palm, moving them in a more comfortable position. The night had become darker and more cold than you remembered. The streets were empty and your only company at this point were the lights trying to keep the darkness away from the town. There weren’t people in sight and even the cats and dogs were hiding somewhere warm. 

  Yet you couldn’t shake this feel of being a sitting duck at this very moment. You felt a few chills run down your spine, but shook them away thinking it was the cold. They began from the back of your head, tingling to your ears and down your spine, coaxing a twitch in your neck. You sucked air in your might through your closed teeth ,as you rubbed the skin on the back of your neck, trying to calm the sudden jolt you had.You felt uneasy as if you were being watched and or followed, but there was no one around you or behind you. Then again it was pretty dark and you never know where one could be hiding. Your house wasn’t far from here and you had only 5 more minutes or so till you reached the front door. 

  In a way it felt calming knowing that you were almost home. Stopping on the step, you started fiddling in your pocket, trying to find the key to the front door. Even if you were relaxed that chill was still present in your body, like you were still being watched. For a second it felt like something cold was close, reaching towards your neck ,when the door opened wide and your brother grabbed the bags out of your hands.

“I was about to go and find you.Took you long enough.” he pulled you in and locked the door behind you. Your brother saw how much you were freezing and helped you take off your coat. “Where did you scratch yourself?” he pointed out the small red line of the back of your neck. You touched the spot and remembered the small insect that was apparently on you.

“There was a bug on me earlier, maybe the little thing bit me.” you shrugged your shoulders before your mom pulled out some ointment. 

  Dinner was normal, nothing special. You had a nice talk with your family.Afterwards your dad and mom sat on the couch to watch something on TV, while you and your brother get ready for bed. During your shower a stinging sensation took over the small scratch on your neck. You ran your fingers over it again, but payed it no attention as it was going to heal soon anyways. Wrapping a towel around you and stepping out of the bathroom, you called your brother to inform him that you were all done.

  Your room was nice and warm thanks to the heater, so you were able to comfortably take your towel off and get dressed without feeling like you are going to freeze to death. After brushing your hair and doing your night time routine, you were ready for bed. You had this habit where when you weren’t tired yet, you would turn on your nightlight and sit in bed, looking at your phone, reading something or just thinking about random things. It was nice to just listen to the sounds of nature. You could hear the wind moving the trees and bushes around, the flutters of small nighttime birds enjoying their life and also random sounds that are a bit similar to foot steps and also the smell of winter, wait....go back a bit!

  Your body stood up and froze with your back facing the wide open window. Sounds were mixing in with each other, making it a bit hard to identify which was what. You took a deep breath and pulled yourself off the soft bedding. It took a few seconds before you turned around standing face to face with the small square leading to the outside. Your room was in the back of the house that was opened to a very big field like garden. As much as you didn’t want to, you peeked a bit outside to see what could be making the sounds. Usually a lot of small creatures would pass by and deep down you thought that if maybe you saw one of them it would calm you down and let you sleep calmly. 

  There was nothing next to the house. You should have been happy, but then again something had to be making those sounds and it wasn’t something simple. You didn’t hesitate to close the window shut and pull the curtains as far as they could go.

  The warm bed welcomed you triumphantly, as it’s hands pulled you into a warm and long awaited hug.Almost instantaneously you drifted off into sleep. Your dreams were normal with the occasional appearance of that boy from the supermarket.He looked different this time around, his almost pitch black eyes and blood-red lips were contrasting his pale skin. He looked lifeless on more than one level, yet there was a prominent existence around him. You clearly saw a small talisman dangling on a chain around his neck, almost like a necklace. For a moment during your dream you could hear his deep voice. 

  Your eyes shot open and you found yourself welcomed by the morning rays. The sun warmed up your skin and the sound of birds calmed you down. You stretched your arms and took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. Jumping out of bed ,you put on your slippers and grabbed the door handle, when your foot hit something small. Almost without a thought you looked down seeing a shining metal object.

“Hm?” your fingers quickly retrieved the material and let your eyes scan over it.It looked like a lock.As you were holding it, your mind went blank.Your body turned around slowly towards the room. 

 The curtains were pushed back.

                    The window was open.

                               The lock was in your hand.

[ringa-starr]

What You Mean to Me Ch 9

A/N: Hey all you lovely people! Ok so I have a bit of good news and bad news for you guys. The bad news is, I start my college classes again on Monday so I won’t have as much time for writing like I have been. Plus, I’ll be working at the college I go to so I’ll be pretty busy.

The good news is this is my last semester which means I will be graduating in December! Then I plan on taking the rest of the year off and going to the University of Georgia as soon as I can next year to study film so I can become a director!

I’m sorry you all had to wait a while for this chapter. At first writer’s block got to me and then, as soon as I almost finished the chapter, the cable people turned our internet off because we didn’t pay the bill.

But enough of my rambling. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait! You guys are just too too awesome and I love you for it!

Stay excellent, breathtaking, and be excellent to each other.

Love you guys!

-Deidra

In River’s car, Emily was sitting in the backseat next to her brother texting Bill:

Emily slipped her phone back in her pocket just as Murray pulled the car to a stop in front of Ted’s house.

The car barely got to a stop when Barry unbuckled his seat belt and opened the passenger side door.

“Time for me to give that little bastard a piece of my mind”, he growled, clutching the knife handle tight.

“Wait a minute you guys- “Emily started but she knew it was no use as she watched Deidra’s dad ring the doorbell.

The only hope she had left was that Ted’s father, a police officer, would step in and help her.

A few moments later, Ted’s dad came to the door.

“Hi”, he said, folding his arms across his chest. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah…yeah you can help us!” Murray snapped.

“You can tell us where your bastard of a son is- “

“Whoa, whoa, whoa”, Mr. Logan interrupted. “I think you need to watch what you say about my kids. In this house, they’re both innocent until proven guilty.”

Mr. Logan paused, thinking about his words.

“Except maybe Ted”, he considered slowly. “That boy’s almost always doing something.”

“Well, did he mention he got my teenage daughter pregnant?” Murray asked.

Mr. Logan’s eyes went wide as he turned his head to look over his shoulder.

“TED!” he called up the stairs with anger in his voice. “GET DOWN HERE!”

A minute later, the sound of Ted’s footsteps could be heard before he hurried down the stairs, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of all the angry faces in front of him.

~~

Meanwhile upstairs, Ted’s little brother Deacon was in his room, talking on the phone with one of his friends.

The little boy’s eyes went slightly wide at the sound of his dad’s angry voice, cutting into a conversation the boys were having about trading cards, but Deacon didn’t seem to care as a smirk spread across his face.

“Hold on a sec, dude”, Deacon said to his friend. “My brother’s done something again and it sounds huge this time! I’ve never heard my dad this mad before!”

Deacon held the phone to his chest as he carefully eased himself out of his bedroom and into the hallway, peeking into the living room over the stair railing.

“What’s up, Dad?” Ted asked his father, a goofy grin on his face although he was a nervous wreck on the inside.

“You know damn well what’s up!” Barry yelled angrily. “You got my twin sister pregnant!!”

The look of anger Mr. Logan had on his face remained there as he made eye contact with his oldest son.

“Ted is this true?” he asked, in a firm yet demanding voice.

Ted knew this was no time to mess with his dad’s head like he always did.

Besides, he thought, why would I lie? I feel bad enough.

“Yes”, Ted answered quietly, not making eye contact with anyone. “Yeah it’s true, dad.”

“Why you little…BASTARD!” Murray screamed out in utter rage, starting to lunge at Ted.

Murray was followed by River and Barry not too far behind but the three were held back by Emily and Mr. Logan.

Eyes wide, Deacon covered his free mouth with his hand, yelling of all kinds being heard from downstairs as the little boy quickly and quietly made his way back to his bedroom.

“Wait!” came Ted’s nervous voice from downstairs, the sound faint through Deacon’s closed bedroom door. “Don’t I get to tell my side of the story?”

“Your side of the story!?” Murray demanded. “What kind of side do you have to tell?!”

Deacon couldn’t understand much more of what was said due to the sound of different voices yelling over each other.

“Dude!” Deacon gasped into the phone. “You’re not gonna believe this!”

~~

“Whoa!” Deacon’s friend Peter gasped, eyes growing wide. “No way!”

From out in the hall, Peter’s older sister Stephanie had just come out the bathroom after a shower with only a towel wrapped around her slim body and hair, heading towards her bedroom when she heard a bit of her little brother’s conversation.

“Your brother got a girl pregnant?!” Peter repeated.

That immediately sparked Stephanie’s interest, causing her to carefully press her ear against the large Toy Story poster on her little brother’s bedroom door.

Stephanie was best friends with Tiffany, the most popular girl at San Dimas High thus making Stephanie ‘Vice President’ of the school according to her clique of friends.

This meant that anything Stephanie said was to be considered law if given approval by Tiffany.

Stephanie loved being in her best friend’s good graces and she knew this little piece of information would make her ecstatic.

Keeping that bit of information in mind, Stephanie listened to the rest of her brother’s conversation, smiling widely as soon as he hung up the phone.

Peter was sitting on his carpeted bedroom floor when Stephanie opened his bedroom door, now dressed in one of her pajama sets with a sweet smile on her face.

“Hey, Petey”, she said, her voice as sweet as honey. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Watching the Super Mario Brothers Super Show”, Peter replied, not taking his eyes off his small tv.

Stephanie nodded her head and sat down on the edge of her brother’s bed.

“Cool”, she replied, although she couldn’t care less about what her little brother was doing.

Stephanie folded one of her legs over the other, waiting for the show her brother was watching to go to commercial before saying “So Petey...who was that on the phone, sweetie?”

“Deacon”, Peter replied, turning around so he was looking at his sister.

The name perked Stephanie’s interest even more, the smile on her face getting bigger.

“Deacon?” she asked. “Deacon Logan?”

Peter nodded his head, a cute smile on his face.

“Yeah”, he answered. “Why?”

“He has an older brother named Ted, right?” Stephanie asked, feeling like a snake in the grass.

Peter’s smile faded a little, suspicion rushing over him.

“Y-Yes”, the boy said slowly.

Stephanie leaned back a little, trying to control her excitement.

“And did Deacon say Ted got a girl pregnant?” Stephanie asked, her excited smile now a normal frown.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows a little, sensing even more that something strange was going on.

“Hey”, the little boy said slowly, “why do you wanna know anyway? And besides, I don’t think Deacon would want me to tell you.”

Stephanie grinned as she slowly stood up and crossed her arms behind her back, slowly pacing her brother’s room.

She knew how to get him to talk.

“Ohhhkay”, the teenage girl said slowly, looking up at the ceiling then back at Peter’s determined look, his arms folded across his chest, and his lips formed in a cute little pout. “I guess I’ll just have to give that…big, delicious bag of red licorice I have in the kitchen to someone else.”

At the word ‘licorice’, Peter’s eyes grew wide, a big smile forming on his face.

“Licorice?” Peter asked, eyes shining as he started to drool just thinking of his favorite candy.

“Mmhmm”, Stephanie hummed, eyes narrowed. “One of those giant Halloween sized bags.”

She leaned down until she her face was near her little brother’s.

“All for you, sweetheart”, Stephanie cooed, kissing Peter’s cheek before leaning back up again.

“IF!” the teenage girl added so suddenly Peter jumped out of his skin. “You tell me the name of the girl Ted Logan got pregnant.”

Sweat started forming on Peter’s forehead as he clasped his hands together, unsure of what to do.

He loved licorice a lot, but he didn’t want to break his best friend’s trust either.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes and smirked, watching as her little brother squirmed in his seat, listening as whimpering noises came from him.

“Well, while you’re deciding”, she told him, “I’ll be right back.”

Stephanie giggled to herself as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, grabbing the extra-large bag of red licorice from the cabinet.

Opening it as she climbed the stairs again, Stephanie mischievously laughed as she took a piece of licorice out of the bag, putting an end of it in her mouth.

She had Peter right where she wanted him.

~~

Peter forgot all about the Super Mario Brothers Super Show the second he layed eyes on the big bag of licorice Stephanie had in her hands when she came back in his room.

His sister couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of how big her brother’s eyes were getting as he stuck his tongue out like an excited puppy dog.

“Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!” Peter cried excitedly as he scrambled to his feet.

“Ah-ah-ah”, Stephanie tisked as she held the bag out of Peter’s reach, her eyes narrowed again as she lowered her face to his. “The information first then the candy.”

“Oh….oohhhh!” Peter whined, looking back and forth between his sister and the bag of candy.

Finally, Peter couldn’t take it anymore.

“Her name’s Deidra Goldberg!” he exclaimed; eyes now solely focused on the candy.

A sinister smirk on her lips, Stephanie dropped the bag where she stood before picking up the phone from her brother’s floor.

“Pleasure doing business with you, squirt”, Stephanie told her little brother from the doorway of his bedroom.

“Ooh this is gonna be sweet!” she mumbled mischievously to herself as she went back to her room, punching in Tiffany’s phone number.

“Not as sweet as this licorice”, Peter said after he dumped the whole bag on his floor, scooping some of it up in his arms.

“It’s mine!” Peter cried mischievously as well, laughing to himself. “Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine!”

~~

Back at the Logan’s, Deacon was back watching the madness downstairs from the upstairs hall, gripping the stair rails in his hands as he enjoyed the sight before him.

The madness in the living room was only stopped at a halt when the knife Barry was holding slashed across Mr. Logan’s arm, the police officer preventing his son from being stabbed in the chest.

Everyone froze in their place as they watched Mr. Logan grit his teeth together to keep from screaming out in pain before grabbing Barry’s wrists and jerking them behind his back, slamming the teenager onto the floor.

“H-Hey!” Murray cried. “What do you think you’re doing to my son!?”

Everyone in the room’s eyes went as big as plates at the sight of the San Dimas police badge Mr. Logan quickly pulled out from the belt of his jeans, knowing their reign of terror on Ted was over.

It was so quiet in that house you could hear a pen drop.

Mr. Logan then pulled out a pair of shiny handcuffs from the very back of his jeans.

“You’re under arrest for the assaulting a police officer!” Mr. Logan cried as he snapped the handcuffs on Barry’s wrists, before pulling the teenager to his feet. “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law…”

Mr. Logan continued reading Barry his rights as he led him outside where his officer car sat in the driveway, everyone else following him.

“This is ridiculous!” Murray cried as he watched his son get placed in the back of the cop car. “He was only defending his sister-“

“But he also assaulted an officer of the law”, Mr. Logan pointed out to Deidra’s father quickly, trying to keep his cool.

His voice still sounding firm with a touch of anger.

“Yeah!” Ted cried happily, a wide smile on his face. “You tell him Dad!”

Mr. Logan snapped his head up at his son as quick as lightning, a look of fury on his face.

“I’ll deal with you later!” Ted’s father told him lividly. “What in the hell were you thinking, Ted?!”

Ted’s cheery smile faded into a nervous frown as he played with his hands.

“I don’t know, Dad!” he admitted. “She-“

He paused slightly.

“She told me she loved me”, Ted continued quietly, “a-and I guess it just happened.”

“Lov- “Mr. Logan cut himself off as he turned away from his son, taking a deep breath. “Son, you’re seventeen years old! You don’t know what love is!”

“Instead of teaching him what love is”, Murray retorted. “You need to teach him how to keep his thing in his pants!”

River, Adam, and Emily’s eyes went as big as plates, their mouths forming a small ‘o’ shape and eyebrows raised at Deidra’s dad’s remark.

“Well, maybe you outta keep that little whore of yours on a leash!” Mr. Logan snapped back.

“Dad!” Ted exclaimed angrily, feeling his blood boil.

Murray felt his own blood boiling, his heart pounding in his chest, teeth gritted so tight in anger he thought they would break.

Sure, he might have called Deidra a whore earlier, but he regretted it the second the word left his lips.

Now someone else was doing it?!

Murray ran towards the officer, wrapping his hands tightly around Mr. Logan’s throat, both men falling to the ground.

Mr. Logan struggled against the bigger man’s hold, struggling to retrieve something out of his belt holder.

Finally, Ted’s father found was he was looking for, using pepper spray in Murray’s eyes, causing the man to cry out in pain and release his hold.

Still crying out in pain, Murray rolled around on the grass, both hands covering his burnt eyes until he felt someone jerk his wrists behind his back one at a time before yanking him to his feet.

Mr. Goldberg barely knew what was happening his eyes were burning so bad as Mr. Logan read him his rights before shoving him in his police car beside Barry.

Mr. Logan opened the driver’s side door and started to get in, only to stop and give Ted a look.

“You and I are gonna talk when I get back”, he informed his older son before getting in the driver’s seat and heading down the driveway.

Once Mr. Logan’s patrol car had been out of sight for a few moments, Ted ran a hand through his hair and let out a loud sigh, no one knowing what to do or say.

Finally, River turned and looked at his sister. “Why don’t you take Adam home?” he suggested. “I’m going to stay for a little bit and talk to Ted.”

Emily smiled, glad to see her brother had calmed down a little and was now using his head.

River smiled back as his little sister gave him a hug before kissing his cheek and leading Adam to River’s car.

When his sister was gone, River led Ted in the house, Ted sitting on the couch with a hand to his forehead.

“Hey, you mind if I get some water or something?” River asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Go ahead, Dude”, Ted replied. “In fact, could you bring me some too…and some Advil?”

River nodded, getting two glasses out of the cabinet.

River walked back in the living room a few minutes later, handing Ted a glass of water and a couple Advil’s before sitting down in the lounge chair across from him.

Ted downed the Advil and a couple drinks of his water almost instantly.

“You ok?” River asked as he watched the teen in front of him.

“Dude, do I look okay to you?” Ted snapped, setting his glass on the table between them.

River slightly shrugged.

“I mean, I just got damn near stabbed by the brother of the girl I love, and I don’t even know why!” Ted continued

River’s eyes slowly widened, his anger boiling inside him again.

“You don’t even know why?” River repeated. “You don’t even know why?!”

“Yeah I don’t know!” Ted shot back although he knew exactly why.

River let out a loud, frustrated sigh, facepalming himself before looking back up at Ted.

“Could it be”, River slowly said, trying to control his anger, “that the reason you almost got stabbed is because Deidra told her family you got her pregnant…or the fact that you denied your own child?”

River’s voice got a little louder with each passing word and by now, Ted’s eyes were wide, his face slightly pale.

Breathing heavily, River reached for his glass over water, taking a long drink before putting it back on the table in front of him.

‘Just keep calm’, River thought to himself. ‘Remain calm.’

“Or could it possibly be”, the teen continued as he got to his feet, beginning to pace around Ted’s living room, “that maybe just maybe you rejected everything she confessed to you-“

“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” Ted cried out interrupting River, his voice defensive. “Hold on a sec, dude! How do you know what Deidra told me? She could have told me anything for all you know!”

River stopped pacing only long enough to make eye contact with Ted for a moment or two, his big brother instinct over Deidra taking over again.

“I heard Emily on the phone with Deidra earlier tonight”, River informed Ted in a low, frustrated voice. “It’s not like she called me right after she got home.”

“Well”, Ted said after taking a deep sigh, “she could have told Emily anything. I mean-“

“DUDE!” River yelled, fire in his eyes, his heart filled and pounding with fury. “SHE DIDN’T LIE! OKAY? SHE TOLD EMILY EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED!”

River took several shaking deep breaths before sitting down beside Ted on the couch to calm down a little.

“And you know that, don’t you?” River finally asked softly, his voice a bit hoarse from yelling.

Ted said nothing as he looked into River’s blue eyes before hanging his head and nodding.

River sighed again, starting to feel a bit of sympathy for Ted.

He didn’t need words to know that Ted was scared.

“The thing is, Ted”, River said softly as he sat beside the other teen on the couch, running a hand through his hair, “is that Deidra loves and cares about you…and yes, as hard as it is to say, she’s pregnant with your baby.”

Ted slowly looked up and made eye contact with River again.

“She told me she loved me”, Ted admitted in a quiet voice as he thought back to the night of Bill’s party.

He pursed his lips together before continuing.

“But I didn’t say it back.”

River could have sworn he saw tears well up in Ted’s dark brown eyes.

“So instead…we slept together. An-“ Ted quickly wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. “And when she told me she was pregnant…God she looked so scared.”

“When she told me”, he went on. “It was like all of my biggest fears in life rolled into one and just hit me like a ton of bricks.”

He let his tears fall freely now.

“And what did I do?” he cried. “Instead of taking her and holding her, comforting her, t-telling her it’ll be ok and making her feel better-“

Ted cut himself off, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

“I make her feel worse”, he finally continued through his tears. “My fear spoke for me and I-I…”

“I told her things I didn’t mean!” Ted cried out through a sob, his hand shielding his face, head slightly down, and his eyes closed. “I even told her we were nothing when I want us to be something!”

All River could do was sit beside Ted and listen, his handsome face softening with understanding.

Ted slightly jumped when River leaned over and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder.

“Go tell her, Ted”, River advised softly, gently rubbing his friend’s shoulder to comfort him. “Tell her how you really feel.”

“I can’t”, Ted said softly in a tearful voice. “She won’t listen to me.”

Ted slowly leaned his pounding head up and made eye contact with River.

As if communicating through eye contact, River slowly shook his head.

“Sorry, man”, he said. “It won’t mean near as much coming from me. You have to be the one to tell her.”

“She probably hates me”, Ted admitted, wiping his eyes with the few tissues River had given him. “She probably wants nothing to do with me.”

“She’s just really hurt right now”, River told him. “Give her time she’ll come around.”

~~

Meanwhile back at the Goldberg’s, Deidra, Beverly, and Lainey were sitting around the living room coffee table playing a game of Clue when the door opened and Adam walked in, getting the girls’ attention.

“Oh, man!” Adam cried, eyes wide and a smile on his face as he walked in the living room and sat down on the couch. “You missed it! It was insane!”

“Where’s your father and Barry?” Beverly asked.

“Is Ted okay?” Deidra asked wanted to know, her stomach feeling uneasy at the thought of something happening to him.

“Yeah, he’s fine”, Adam told her, “but that’s the awesome part! Ok, so-“

“Oh, good!” Deidra sighed, feeling her body relax as she sat back on the throw pillow she was sitting on.

“What about Barry and your dad?” Lainey spoke up.

“I was getting to that”, Adam said, still trying to catch his breath. “So-“

“Adam!” Beverly cried. “Tell us please!”

“Okay, okay!” Adam replied. “Dad and Barry got arrested for assaulting Mr. Logan!”

“What?!” Deidra, Lainey and Beverly cried before scrambling to their feet.

“What do you mean they got arrested?” Beverly asked. “What happened?”

Adam sighed and opened his mouth to explain when Deidra spoke up.

“You guys better get down to the police station”, she said.

Lainey nodded and hurried outside after giving Deidra a quick hug, Beverly doing the same before following Lainey outside, the door shutting behind them.

From inside, Deidra and Adam sat in silence as they listened to Murray’s car start up then pull away from the driveway.

Adam sighed with frustration as he got down on the floor, sitting across from his sister.

“So”, he said, “should I be Mrs. White or Cornel Mustard?”

~~

“I can’t believe Dad and Barry have to stay in jail overnight”, Adam said as he sat in the Gynecologist’s office the next morning with his mother and sister, Beverly flipping through a 5-year-old magazine.

“Well, they did attack a police officer”, Deidra spoke up. “What’d you expect?”

Adam shrugged as more silence filled the room.

Deidra looked up from her lap and saw several other people sitting in the waiting room only the women who were pregnant looked a lot older than her.

She was careful not to make eye contact with anyone as she already got enough looks when she walked in the door.

“I’m scared”, she admitted softly, gripping the armrest of her chair tightly.

Beverly closed the magazine she was reading and took her daughter’s hand, giving her a smile.

“Don’t be, Shmoopy”, she replied quietly. “We’re all here for you.”

“But Dad said he was going to throw me out if-“Deidra started but her mom cut her off.

“You leave your father to me”, Beverly told her, causing a small smile to form on Deidra’s lips. “I’ll talk to him.”

“I love you, Mama”, she told her mother softly, Beverly hugging her.

“I love you too’, Beverly softly said in her ear.

“Deidra Goldberg?” a nurse called from the doorway of the examination area.

Deidra felt her heart pounding again, knowing all eyes were on her as pulled away from her mother’s embrace and stood up.

‘I wish Ted was here’, she thought to herself as she followed the nurse to the back.

~~

Deidra laid back against the bed, the room dark with an ultrasound machine beside her bed.

She had to flinch a little at the bright light from the hallway as a doctor carrying a clipboard walked in the room.

“Hi”, the doctor who looked to be in her mid-20’s greeted Deidra with a kind, warm smile that made the teen feel a little better. “I’m Dr. Green. How are you today, Deidra?”

“Nervous”, Deidra admitted as the doctor sat down on the stool beside the bed.

“Don’t be”, Dr. Green told her softly as she took the teen’s pulse. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

She released her wrist and started going over her clipboard.

“So, it says here you took a home pregnancy test and it came up positive, is that right?” the doctor asked.

Deidra nodded.

“Yes, ma’am”, she said softly.

Dr. Green gave her another kind smile.

“Well”, she said, “let’s just take a look, shall we? Can you lift your shirt just a little please, sweetie?”

Deidra nodded and lifted her aqua blue tank top slightly to reveal her stomach.

“This might be a little cold”, Dr. Green warned before lightly squirting a mint-blue gel onto the teen’s stomach.

A moment later, the dark room was lit up by the light coming from the ultrasound screen as Dr. Green moved the ultrasound wand over Deidra’s stomach, a loud, fast-paced beating sound filling the room as well.

Dr. Green nodded to herself, her own suspicions confirmed.

“There’s your baby”, Dr. Green told Deidra softly, a small smile spreading over her face as she pointed out a little shape on the screen.

Deidra felt her heart skip at beat as she laid eyes on the little figure on the screen, tears filling her eyes.

“Wow!” she whispered.

As she continued to look at the figure on the screen beside her, Deidra started to feel something she had never felt before…she felt the need to protect this little baby inside her at any cost, her heart filling with a love she had never known before.

“I would say you are 9 weeks along”, the doctor told her as she moved the wand a little more before pressing a couple buttons on the ultrasound machine, breaking into Deidra’s thoughts. “Which would make you two months pregnant.”

At that piece of information, Deidra immediately thought back to where she was a couple months ago.

She thought of how sick she felt and how good Ted’s gentle, loving touch felt to her as well as how it felt when he kissed her after she had confessed her love to him.

He didn’t need to say he loved her back…his kiss said it all.

The thoughts after the kiss were all just blissful blurs as Deidra wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, only for another fresh set of tears to sting her eyes.

~~

It was later that night and the San Dimes Jail’s holding cells were quiet for once.

Well, almost quiet.

“Cut that out, ya moron!” Murray cried out in frustration from the jail cell he was sharing with his oldest son.

Barry opened his eyes and slowly took the harmonica he was playing away from his lips.

“Aw, come on Dad!” the teen said with a goofy smile. “I’ve always wanted to play a harmonica in a jail cell!”

And with that, he started playing again, causing his dad to sigh in frustration.

“Where’d you find that anyway?” Murray asked his son.

“Siting here on this bench”, Barry said with a shrug as if it were obvious.

A look of disgust and bewilderment came over Murray’s face before he slowly scooted away from his son, an awkward silence filling the air.

“Goldberg!” an officer called as he walked up the hallway towards their cell.

At the sound of their last name being called, Murray and Barry jumped to their feet, hurrying towards the holding cell’s bars, griping them in their hands.

“You’re both free to go”, the officer told them as he slid the key to their holding cell into the lock, turning it.

The cell door eased open like a charm, the officer gently pushing it to the right.

“Someone post your bail.”

“Yes!” Barry cried happily, slamming his fists in the air. “Let’s get out of-“

Barry’s smile slowly faded at the sight of his mother walking up the hall.

“Mom?” Barry asked in confusion.

Beverly nodded, giving her husband and son a smile.

Barry gave her a small smile back as he and his dad followed out of the jailhouse in silence.

“So, Mom”, Barry spoke up, breaking the silence. “I-Is she…”

All three of them stopped walking and Beverly looked at her oldest son.

Saying nothing, she reached in her purse and handed him a copy of the ultrasound picture.

For a moment, Barry and Murray said nothing; they just looked at the picture in awe.

“Wow!” Barry finally gasped. “That’s inside of Deidra right now?”

Beverly nodded, tears threatening to fill her eyes again as she thought back to earlier in the day when Deidra had come back out into the waiting room, her face stained with tears.

It was right then that Beverly knew the truth and as much as it broke her heart, the news warmed it all at the same time.

At the sight of a photograph her first grandchild, all of Beverly’s anger and disappointment towards her younger daughter vanished and her motherly instinct began to take an even bigger hold.

After watching Barry hand Beverly the picture back, Murray said nothing as he turned around and started walking down the long, dark hallway of the jail’s holding cell again.

“Murray!” Beverly called in confusion. “Where are you going?”

“Maybe jail’s not so bad!” Murray replied with a smirk before continuing to walk down the hall.

Taglist:

@shhh-no-ones-home @celestiaelisia @derangedcupcake @lindszeppelin @ohportgas @loganharpervo

[ask-svt-hearteu]

Vampire! Joshua

Genre/Warnings: fluff, historically incorrect probably, mentions of religion that are purely because of this supernatural au, cursing

Word Count: 2278

A/N: surprise :p i was kinda feeling inspired bc this is a superior concept sorry it’s not a request :( but i really hope you guys like this! it’s been a minute since i’ve written something, i hope i portrayed joshua correctly too - admin seri

1800s poster church boy

until he fell in love 

or so he thought 

he was strumming his guitar at choir practice 

sitting at the side while the nun yelled at the girls, a usual day at the church

and he looked up at the sound of the doors opening and saw her

immediately he’s fascinated by things he’s never cared about before 

it was like just the flutter of her lashes made him swoon

poor unsuspecting Joshua Hong, didn’t he know what compulsion was 

for a month after, people said he changed 

he quit choir and began chasing after this one girl 

as were many other men, as they were all too blinded by the compulsion to realize, him included 

but she liked him best, it was the only explanation, because why else would she

he remembers that night, dressed in a tux as her date to one of the many balls she was invited too

being pulled into one of the many secluded rooms by the tug of her nimble fingers on his tie 

feeling the soft touch of her lips 

feeling the pain of her teeth sinking into his bottom lip

she seemed to take great amusement in watching him pull back in horror 

she bit down on her own lip, hard

he watched, horrified as the blood dripped from her lips while she smirked

and she kissed him again in his frozen state

next thing he knew he was laying on his bed with a terribly sore neck 

left with only a short, vivid scene of her baring her fangs and wrapping her hands around his neck 

she was gone and so was the compulsion

he looked into the mirror, ran his hands over the puncture wounds on his neck, and hissed at the pain of a new set of teeth growing

it didn’t take long for him to realize he needed to escape town 

it also didn’t take long for him to meet another vampire

Choi Seungcheol offered him an understanding smile and handed him a ring 

from then on, he was with Seventeen 

becoming a vampire killed any belief Joshua had in god

he was even the ‘I've read the entire bible five’ type, but then again what else was there really to do

there wasn’t much he could say about the topic now, the evidence was clear 

however, his knowledge made him the absolute perfect candidate for his role in Seventeen

because where there’s a small, close-knit town, there’s a church

prominent members of the community reside in the church 

and they know all the dirty secrets

all he was to do was wiggle his way into the church slowly as the young, pleasant man offering to play the guitar during mass 

getting along with all the kids

become the major’s kid favorite 

shaking hands with the major as he grins ‘shyly’ when the major dotes on how much the kid loves him 

sly, sly Joshua 

his job, primarily, is to make sure none of the town leaders catch on to the recent rise in animal deaths 

and that no other vampires left any loose ends or some people suspicious

and especially make sure as hell there aren’t any vampire hunters

so he’s at choir practice with a guitar at his side, smiling softly at the nostalgic sight of the kids singing

til he smells a familiar scent in the air and turns to see Jun

“What are you going here?”

smiling brightly, Junhui points, “the kid my girl babysits gets to play this weekend” 

“she’s adorable” Joshua looks to the little girl standing next to the piano bouncing on the balls of her feet 

“yeah I am,” Jun’s girlfriend buts in cheekily, “thanks Josh” 

he hums nonchalantly, “no problem” 

while the three of them settle to watch the practice, Jun leans in and whispers, “so any updates?” 

“one lady, she’s on the council and is always asks me about our living situation whenever we talk. it’s obvious she’s skeptical. I overheard her talking about the deer Vernon forgot to bury last week too”

“are you going to compel her to stop?” 

he shakes his head, “no, she’s been so adamant, it’ll be too suspicious if she suddenly stops caring” 

“what are we going to do?” 

he shrugs and gives a reassuring smile, “I’ll figure it out” 

later that evening, he finds himself at a council member’s dinner party 

the amount of dinner parties Joshua has been to is astonishing, it really felt like they had nothing better to do with their lives 

so in his dress shirt and slacks, he greets everyone with a shake of the hand or a polite hug

secretly wanting to just down ten glasses of champagne because that’s how utterly unlikable the council members are

managing to escape, he finds himself in one of the many hallways of the mansion and spots a lone figure 

Joshua watches as you examine the picture frames in close detail, as if you were looking as to see what color shoes each person was wearing 

slowly, he takes light steps towards you, standing behind to take a look at the frames himself 

you feel a strange sensation, like that unexplainable feeling that you’re being watched

so you turn your head

“Jesus fuck!” 

you stumble a couple steps away from him

how could you not even hear his footsteps

despite your loud exclamation, he remains cool and only smirks 

“saying God’s name in vain?” he shakes his head mockingly 

you huff, gathering your composure, “I wouldn’t be if you weren’t being so creepy” 

seeing him simply shrug and turn back to the frames, you scowl

“who even cares about that anyways,” you mutter under your breath

“never said I did,” he smiles at you calmly

a very unmannerly snort rises from you, “geez you just keep getting creepier and creepier” 

he chuckles, “Joshua Hong, nice you meet you. you can call me Josh.”

how he hasn’t been the slightest put off by your unfriendliness, you don’t know

“Y/N L/N” 

for the first time, you take him in, finally noticing how insanely handsome he is

in fact, he seems perfect

seeing as you let a little bit of your guard down, Joshua asks, “so tell me about the pictures”

“if you really want to know, Joshua“ you tease, emphasizing the ‘ua’, “this is my family” 

he looks at your impassive expression, noticing the way your tone becomes lifeless when you talk about them 

“this is your house?” 

you smile bitterly, “yeah, it’s nice right?” 

shaking his head he exhales, “I don’t know seems kind of lonely” 

you eye him with a look of surprise and he laughs 

“I live with twelve other guys and I think that’s the only way you could fill a house like this” 

seeing you crack a smile, he grins triumphantly 

“twelve guys? that’s an odd arrangement” 

“it works” 

lifting his finger, Joshua points to one of the pictures, “where’s this at?” 

“the woods just outside of town, that’s my family and the major’s family camping, we go every year” 

finally getting to what he came here for, Joshua says, “you guys probably heard of all the animal deaths in the forest then huh” 

you sigh dramatically, “not you too, seems like the whole council is obsessed with it these days” 

“oh?” 

oh fuck

the chances of this town knowing about vampire seems very high

in a town where a couple families have been in control since forever, those families passed down the secrets

he’d have to ask Wonwoo for more history

“I can’t believe my parents are making me join the council, I don’t know what about turning twenty-one suddenly allows me to handle city politics” 

he makes a note of that and chuckles, “mmm yeah, seems more like a clubbing night instead of an inauguration”

you reach and nudge his arm naturally, “that’s what i’m saying!” 

“another thing also,” Joshua raises his brows amused and tilts his head towards the champagne glass in your hand

“what are you a saint,” you can’t help but smile, “okay holy one, take it from me” 

he almost bursts into laughter at the irony

simply just clinking your glass with his, his eyes sparkle with a playful gleam, “cheers” 

after getting your number, which you will never admit you happily gave him, you both start to talk

from daily conversations simply about each others day 

to both of you dying when the conversation leads somewhere completely random 

you honestly just think, like wow, when has your adult dating life ever been this successful 

but Joshua, when he first found out about you and your family, his only thought was how useful the information you had could be 

though he’s being honest with himself, you had him since that dinner party

not head over heels compulsion type of attraction

just your tough snarky demeanor, no doubt because of the way you were raised 

and the way it fell into a giggly mess meshed with sarcastic comebacks as if you weren’t just laughing your head off

and even if you pretend to be cold-hearted sometimes, you’re the first one to give someone directions or to pick up their fallen papers 

“clearly you like her” Jeonghan laughs, entertained by his close friend’s struggle

“I know that much” he chortles, “Y/n likes me too” 

“and you haven’t made a move because? there’s only so many coffee runs and choir practices you guys can use as an excuse” 

Joshua stares into the moon from his spot on the rooftop, realizing it must’ve past midnight by now 

“today is Y/n’s birthday, they’re going to tell her today” 

“well didn’t she invite you to her dinner party?” 

his lips twitch remembering you ranting about it to him, complaining about the formalities of it all, how you really didn’t want all the council members and their snotty kids, no matter how cute, at your twenty-first birthday

you had reached over and tapped his arm, letting your hand graze against him, “looks like it’s your job to make it worthwhile” 

arriving at your mansion, he’s dressed in his best suit and clutching a bouquet of flowers

he can smell your distinct perfume getting closer and closer to the door and smiles softly when you pause in front for a few moments

you’re feeling just as nervous as he is

“Josh” you greet, finally taken to calling him by his nickname

“you look lovely” he says warmly

he reaches for your hand, bringing it up his lips tenderly and presses a kiss

eyes never leaving his, you breathe deeply

“old-fashioned” you mumble, hoping your twenty-one year old self isn’t seriously blushing right now

“i prefer romantic but you’re the birthday girl” 

you glare at him playfully, “hey only i’m allowed to be cheeky today” 

he lets you lead him around the house, pointing out all the elaborate decorations your parents had set up

he really tries his best to pay attention, but the entire time all he can focus on is how he’s going to break the news of being a vampire to you

for a moment he even thought he could hear his heartbeat but stupid, his heart doesn’t beat

you ended up giving him a tour of the entire house with the pool as your last stop

grabbing his hand, successfully sending sparks up his arm, you lead him outside

he doesn’t let go 

“at least the weather is pretty today” you hum, purposely not talking about your hand in his

“looks like the guests are starting to come” 

you both can hear the sound of guests chattering and expensive cars beeping

“just let me be alone with someone a like for a moment” 

before he can show you any type of reaction you let out a tiny giggle, and use your intertwined hands to tug him closer to you

“do you like me too?” your eyes hold a teasing glint, already knowing the answer

“yes, i do like you” Joshua says firmly

you become serious at his sincere and determined expression 

“so what have we been waiting for?” 

Joshua sighs, unknowingly gripping your hand tighter

“I feel like I should tell you something first, and if it doesn’t work, I need you to forget it” 

“okay”

there were other ways where this could’ve gone smoother, but this information never is smooth anyways

“I’m a vampire”

he watches you cautiously, hoping he wouldn’t have to compel you to forget, because that would really mess with his heart

your serious expression falls into a blank one and he almost isn’t sure that it’s you gripping his hand tighter or the other way around

you let out a shaky laugh, “since when were you so dramatic” 

“what-” 

you cut him off, “that was a bit easier to process than i thought” 

 “than you thought?“ he questions incredulously

“Josh, I found out about vampires when I was 16. I was a pretty sneaky teen so do you know how funny it was for me to pretend this was new information this morning to my parents?” you grin mischievously, ignoring his dumbfounded expression

“so what about me?” 

“you Joshua Hong,” you tap him on the nose, “aren’t as subtle as you think, I’m just smarter than you I guess” 

recovering from his surprise he smirks, “all this time, I was worried about you feeling betrayed, but now I do” 

he pulls you closer, letting the hand not holding yours fall on your waist 

you roll your eyes and stare up at him, realizing how utterly smitten you are with him

“just kiss me already, and please no fangs” 

The Seventeen Vampire AU Series:

| Mingyu | Junhui | Seungcheol | Joshua |

MASTERLIST

[forthebetterevil]

my first exo concert!

just gonna detail my experience going to my first exo concert as a 1.5-year-old exol. this is the Singapore 190915 EXplOration concert, missing ksoo (my crown prince) and xiu (my second prince). (p.s. jun is my third prince so that’s why i bought his fan ---- my face when i realised i unknowingly stanned exo’s enlistment line after ksoo dropped the bomb on us: 😊🔫)

and still missing lay, of course (*rolls eyes at china*). it was a blast but i didn’t die too hard, probably because it’s just 6 of them haha. my throat still died from screaming so hard though.

in my rambling i shall cover details of the merch in the picture, and comments (babbling) on each member.

to my great fortune, i was seated in the middle of a middle block facing the stage. i didn’t want to attend the concert in the standing pen area because i prefer observing the group as a whole to being up and close with them but missing out on all the dance formations. i’m here forking over S$302 for a concert where i can’t see ksoo or xiu so... anyway even if they were here i would still prefer to sit and watch the full performance.

the black banner (which i still can’t read) was laid on every seat, and overleaf, exols were asked to hold this banner up during their ending ment. the community is really cute.

the eribong v.3 is pretty when lit up (more later). it came with the bottom right sticker set, and a random photocard. i managed to trade for a ksoo card in the end :-)

the 7th anniversary pink leather keychain is not part of concert merch, but it’s pretty so i threw it into the pic (only for this concert did i break it out of its box to attach it to my bag LOL)

[ksoo]

i got a ksoo ... vertical banner? thin poster? thing after the concert was over, when merchants were desperate to sell their unsold goods. of course there was a ton of baek yeol 5ehun jun and j0ngin merch, but i was surprised i didn’t see as much of dae than i did ksoo. perhaps dae’s merch already sold out?? anyway, i saw ksoo’s marie claire photo and IMMEDIATELY shuffled over to ask for the price, which wasn’t too bad ($5, which became $4 because the merchant didn’t have exact change)

[xiu]

i pasted a xiu name sticker on one side of the eribong, and ksoo on the other. doubles as a “yeah these are my first 2 princes″ and a “at least they’re still with me today in spirit” ... *bursts into tears*

for xiu’s merch, there was NOTHING except maybe a tiny photo of him bunched with other members’ photos. i kept asking “do you have xium1n?” *merchant who usually isn’t a fan is confused* “um... kim minse0k?” *?* “this one, *points to xiu in a group photo*, do you have?” *shows me a j0ngin pic* “ok nvm” this was extremely upsetting. but hey at least i got to see xiu in printed group photos. because...

[lay]

lay didn’t even make an APPEARANCE amongst the goods. rip xingmis. a fellow exol told me someone in the standing pen was waving a ZYX banner around though, so there’s still hope amongst the singaporean xingmis at least

[junmye0n]

i got a fan-produced jun fan before the concert because i didn’t know the venue was air-conditioned haha whoops.

during the concert, his second outfit (after the tempo perf) was a poofy white long-sleeved top and rather well-fitting black trousers/pants and lemme tell you.... HE’S PRINCE ERIC. HE’S SO HANDSOME AND HE’S SO NICE AND SWEET AND HIS ENGLISH WAS SO GOOD, LIKE, EVERYONE IS WHIPPED FOR KSOO’S ENGLISH BUT HONESTLY JUN REALLY TRIED TO COMMUNICATE TO US IN ENGLISH IT WAS AMAZING AND HE PUTS IN SO MUCH EFFORT AND HE SHOULD BE APPRECIATED MORE (and this is coming from a ksoo stan..). you have no idea how upset i was when everyone was screaming their heads off for the other 5 performing members during their little video interludes, but when jun came on screen, there were just screams. heads did not pop off. NO! WHAT IS THIS DISRESPECT AND UNDERAPPRECIATION???!!!! i screamed my head off for him but one person alone can’t make up for the difference... jun was so nice and kept waving and making eye contact with the audience, doing cute poses for us here and there, being his little awkward leader self (as SM boy band leaders seem to do...), and basically tanking the transitions between performances. christ. also he freakin CARRIED the backing vocals AND the main vocals (i mean dae and baek too but everyone already explicitly appreciates them so i don’t need to give them special mention for carrying). he is ALWAYS being slept on, and it’s just not doing him justice. what the hell. junmye0n deserves the world :-(

for his BEEN THROUGH 👀👀👀👀 performance, he told us he decided to change the shirt colour to red because he thought it would match Singapore well (or something along those lines). like. WOW????? THANK YOU FOR EVEN CONSIDERING MY COUNTRY IS WORTH NOTICING TO CHANGE YOUR OUTFIT???? i hope i’m not sounding sarcastic - it’s such a small action but i felt a little touched?? like wow, he noticed.

my binoculars was glued on him half the time. he’s so handsome and pretty at the same time. part of the reason why i still went was to see if everyone’s claims that “suh0’s pictures don’t do him justice” were legitimate because when i first saw jun′s pic (i forgot which exact one), i literally thought, “that’s the handsomest man i’ve ever seen”. so i suppose the claim depends on angles. because ALL of em look like their pictures - their GOOD-ANGLE pictures. MEANING, jun looks as good as his best photos (which tend to be the ones where he faces straight to the front), but now he looks good from whichever angle in motion. he is actually very fair-skinned too! his face was like a beacon of light.

also, in his first ment greeting us, he was such a cheeseball saying our country is beautiful... like us. JUNMYE0N PLEASE.

nearing the end of the concert HE TOLD US NOT TO CRY (along with j0ngin or yeol, can’t remember). THEY’RE GONNA SING THEIR LAST SONG, BUT IT’S NOT GOING TO BE THEIR LAST SONG, BECAUSE THEY’LL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS, RIGHT? HJAGKN;KLSKGKS :”””””(

so to reiterate: i have the biggest soft spot for junmye0n and i love him.

[5ehun]

OH, DURING ONE SONG, 5EHUN CAME OVER TO RUB HIS HEAD ON JUN’S CHEST, AND I WAS LIKE AAAWWWW!!!!! and died. but jun’s back was facing me so i more or less couldn’t see much. after the concert, i found out that  5EHUN TRIED TO LIFT JUN’S SHIRT TO SHOW HIS ABS DURING THE NUZZLE. so i revived and died again. there were a lot of other small interactions too. seho stans won tonight.

below are some of my friend’s standing pen privilege pics:

what i could see from my seat behind -

what i DIDN’T KNOW 5EHUN TRIED FOR A HOT SECOND:

seho stan: *dies*

anyway... i wasn’t paying close attention to 5ehun during group performances (other than when it was his solo dance break and exo-sc perfs), tho i felt like he wasn’t as “engaged” as, say, jun or yeol. but i thought that was normal because yaknow... he’s not very talkative, and i was probably getting that impression just from his naturally stern (rbf LOL) face. 

his dance break was COOL and his exo-sc performances were LIVELY. and when he actually gets to sing (... T_T) nothing went wrong so i thought everything was fine.

however, during one of his ments, 5ehun admitted to us that he felt bad coz he wasn’t up to standard today (because he’s sick?? translator was not doing a thorough job, i got this info from another friend), and he’s sorry. some of us were like “huh?? no?? GWAENCHANA!!!!” and the translator said he said, “no i’m not saying this just so yall will say that, if you continue i’m not gonna share my feelings like this anymore” so we all shut up.

i can’t remember if it was in that same ment, but during one of the ments, the whole time 5ehun was talking, jun was standing waayyyy in front of the line to turn his body to look at 5ehun. i think he was worried for him :”( 5ehunnie bb please don’t beat yourself up over this. my friend in the standing pen said yeah, he was pretty out of it today, he kept staring into space instead of making eye contact with fans. :-(

[j0ngin]

spEAKING of out of it, the same can be said for j0ngin. don’t get me wrong, his dancing was still otherworldly. i was looking through my binoculars to focus on the dance formation and/or jun, but suddenly i was like “wait, i’ve been looking at ka1 dancing this whole time”. IT’S SO FLUID AND SHARP AT THE SAME TIME. EVERY MOVE IS EXECUTED PERFECTLY. IT JUST DRAWS YOU IN.

... but that can only be said for some stages. i felt like his moves were not as sharp/confident sometimes?? i mean they were still graceful, but somehow it feels kinda tired???????? k who am i to judge, i’m not the one dancing and singing for 2 hours straight lmao he obviously needs downtime...

THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT. unfortunately, during the ments, he also wasn’t very hyper (like hE WOULD BE WITH A CERTAIN SOMEONE.............. UGH MY KADI HEART IS ACHING). he dance-bopped around and interacted with yeol a little but that’s all. i know j0ngin is actually a shy boi but he REALLY didn’t talk much. :-(  i honestly suspect the Other Project (s*perM) is tiring him tf out.

am i hallucinating? or maybe i’m being overdramatic. i don’t know. it’s not that i was constantly following his movements like i was junmye0n’s during the concert anyway.

[baek]

he didn’t SEEM as tired as j0ngin thanks to that Other Project. his diet of CDs didn’t change, and he was still the goofball during ments / soft toy fun times. also, man, the amount of screams he got. and MAN, THE UN VILLAGE ROLLING HILLS PART..................... *GURGLES*

perhaps i’m not a baek stan, so i didn’t realise, but my friend commented that while he was not in as bad a state as j0ngin, he COULD’VE been more hyper.

I HOPE BAEK AND J0NGIN ARE RESTING WELL. Slave Management Entertainment PLEASE HAVE A HEART.

[yeol]

okay DUDES this guy was the guy who warned the middle standing pen fans to stop f*cking pushing because they don’t want to get anyone hurt. “ok everyone in the back row (of the standing pen) please raise your hands. can those who raise your hands take one step back please” ... “ok yall raising your hands but you’re not moving back” ... (him/suh0) “we have to be very wary because if you get hurt then we can’t come back”  the entire stadium collectively went “oOOOHHHH” (not in a good way)... BUT THEY STILL DIDN’T MOVE BACK. (him/suh0) “okay you don’t want to move back? then we’ll retreat to the stage behind then” *walks from from the smaller stage closer to exols back to the larger stage all the way at the front*

he was legit not happy. and goodness gracious did he have the right to be. didn’t this nonsense happen with exo-sc kfans before? and at that time 5ehun was the one who got angry.

anyway not only did they leave to continue performing the second set of songs on a bad note FURTHER AWAY, i HIGHLY SUSPECT that the other punishment was to take away one performance. WHICH WAS MY MOST HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ONE - SIGN. YEAH. THEY DIDN’T PERFORM IT. SHOOT ME NOW. THAT WAS THE B-SIDE I WAS IMMEDIATELY WHIPPED FOR ONCE THE TEMPO ALBUM DROPPED. f*ck.

OKAY ALL THAT ANGST ASIDE, he’s still the main goofball of the concert. HE TRIED TO TEACH US HOW TO DAB INTO THE INSIDE OF OUR ELBOWS. HE GROPED CHEN ON STAGE. HE... he does his job of an entertainer well. OMG. HE TOOK SOMEONE’S PHONE AND TOOK PICS/VIDS OF HIM AND SEHUN????? when i finally noticed it happening i thought he literally took his own phone out during performance/fan-interaction-time to take a selfie but then i find out after the concert that NO, IT’S NOT HIS PHONE. ... that phone case must be enshrined immediately.

also he had to take over some lines for some songs, and BOI DELIVERED. he sounded really nice singing :”)

[dae]

not only did he eat CDs while looking super cute in that blue suit, he BELTED OUT LIVE HIGH NOTES AND ADLIBS AND WHATEVER YOU CALL THEM. I’VE NEVER HEARD EXO LIVE, SO, OH MY GOD. it’s like you’re either screeching or silent because they’re performing but there were parts of dae’s performance where had to stop everything, put down my binoculars and eribong, stare into the air for a second, and literally say “wow” out loud. it was surreal. it was crazy. it got to the point where he covered one of xiu’s lines (i forgot which song), and i thought “oh wow, he sounds better singing this line than xiu” and i IMMEDIATELY felt guilty (I ONLY THOUGHT THIS FOR *ONE* OF XIU’S LINES, DON’T KILL ME)

he was quiet during the ment until his turn. when he was engaged he... engaged. haha about the members’ comments that his solo perf was a “different kind of sexy” from j0ngin, where he had only one drop of sweat. HAHA. *does lunges on stage* *gets molested by yeol*

dae’s actually really low-key. he’s like... a “good” boi. will respond well and politely but only when spoken to. what else do i say. sunshine angel. his smile is cute. CAT SMILE :3

[overall]

speaking of cats... baek asked us at the beginning of the concert: why’s the dress code white?

here’s a crappy pic from my android phone one minute before the lights were dimmed:

us: POWER!!! POWER!!!

exo: oh?? baek: does it represent the light power??

us: (loud murmurs of disagreement)

exo/baek: so you’re saying that’s not it... (discusses with members in korean) is it... the white marble???

us: (louder murmurs of disagreement)

exo/baek: hm i guess we can continue guessing till the concert is over haha

im not sure if anyone in the front rows, perhaps a korean fansite, screamed “cat” in korean, but after some discussion again,

exo/baek: (korean) some exols: *SCREAMS* translator: is it cat? exol: *SCREAMS AND WAVES ERIBONGS*

and this was the only legit interaction i feel we got with exo this concert... after having a taste of it at the start, i was subsequently kinda bummed we didn’t get to do this back-and-forth talking with exo (even at a shallow level) likely because of a language barrier. it felt so cool.

also, eribong v.3 was SUPER PRETTY WITH COLOURS. IT WAS MAGICAL, I SAY, MAGICAL.

the entire spectrum could be shown on this eribong. this pic more or less covers the softer range of colours this eribong is capable of. it can also show the harsh red, blue, green, yellow, and of course, white.

a 1-pixel screenshot of my Telegram video to my friend in the standing pen:

the boys were great, the performance was overall astounding, the lights and effects were stunning and pretty, and the time we spent together was too! short! exo also mentioned it’s a shame they could only come this one day for a concert, next time they’ll do two, no, THREE days... for their next album

exols: ganrklflm;fsklflkgsrkg

... WITH “THE REST OF THE MEMBERS”

exols: NAGJSK;NLDFNLGRS *EXPLODES*

tl;dr i love EXO with my entire heart. i count myself lucky for being alive at the same time exo is active and performing live.

[lovelylapins]

au august day 13

day 13: fake dating for @auyeahaugust

you see, i thought this would be the perfect opportunity to promo my own fake dating fic with an excerpt from the first chapter :)

Marinette wakes up to the sound of constant buzzing from her phone and a headache from yesterday’s akuma attack. Slinging an arm over her head to stop the constant buzzing, it takes her a moment to realize that no, that’s not her alarm, but someone calling her. Tikki, sleeping soundly next to her, merely rolls over and hides underneath her biggest pillow, drowning out any sound for the kwami. Letting out a groan Marinette fumbles her hands around the sheets, searching in vain for her phone that she knows she, once again, didn’t charge last night.

Marinette answers on the last ring, thumb clicking “answer” and phone raised to her ear. “Hello?” she sleepily asks. “Alya, is that you?”

“Is this a bad time?” the voice on the other end asks, and it’s Marinette’s heart that wins over her mind when she recognizes it to belong to the one and only Adrien Agreste.

“Adrien? What- How- Who gave you my number?” she’s spitting out, sitting up quickly before she remembers that ow, jeez, her head fucking hurts and wow, way to sound totally cool. Leaning back into her pillows, Marinette begins to nervously pick at her large stuffed pillow, wondering why the actual love of her life is doing calling her, and what is he calling her for at seven in the goddamn morning.

“Alya did. Is that alright?”

“No, no trust me, it’s perfect! Well, I mean, it’s not perfect- but you’re totally perfect and-! I mean, it’s cool and you’re cool and everything’s cool right now! You don’t have to worry because everything is just fine! Totally fine!” Marinette rushes out, and she really wishes she was at the top of her stairs so she could kick herself down and just end it all right now. On the other end, she can hear Adrien laugh, actual pieces of sunshine breaking off and lighting up her room.

“You’re funny,” he says, and she’s literally going to throw her phone out the window and squeal for an hour after she hangs up, she swears to every single deity out there that she most certainly will and there is nothing they can do to stop her from doing so.

“Listen,” he continues, “I’m going to ask you to do something really weird and you can totally say no if you want to, but it’s just,” he hesitates, “I need to ask for your help.”

“Go for it,” Marinette says, and she’s mentally giving herself a high-five because yes, she did just say something without stuttering to Adrien, and yes, she didn’t need Alya to help her out. Nothing however, prepares her for what Adrien has to say next.

“Marinette, do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Marinette thinks if she wasn’t laying down she would’ve fainted. She’s over the moon and about to simultaneously about to call Alya and the nearest hospital because absolutely cannot believe that this is happening to her, a real-life dream come true, that all those wishes on the stars on her balcony have finally paid off, and she is honestly going to-

Wait.

“Why do I have to be your… your girlfriend… for help?” she asks, already sensing that something is up. She can already feel her heart slowly slipping, ready to leave in the hopes of protecting its host from pain. “Is there something you need me to do, or -?”

“It’ll be better if I explain in person,” he says, interrupting her. “You’re at your house, right? I’ll be over in about twenty minutes.” Without waiting for a response, Adrien hangs up, leaving Marinette with her phone clutched tightly in her hand and confusion in her mind. She’s still processing the fact that he called her, and not the other way around like her horrible fiasco the one time she attempted to be forward. Adrien Agreste called her! Her!

She’s picturing just what kind of outfits their kids will wear when it hits her.

Adrien. Here. In twenty minutes.

Bouncing up out of her bed and hurrying down the steps to the main floor, she gives a quick moment to access the damage around her. A few dozen Adrien posters, his schedule which is to her horror still open and showing off this week’s events. Her computer, ready to be unlocked and showing one of her favorite pictures of Adrien as her lock screen, not to mention the matching home screen. Marinette still has a few framed pictures but considers them safe from elimination as they contain a few other friends in them. On the other side of her room, she spots what looks like a limited edition Adrien Agreste t-shirt draped on her chair. A few minutes paired with a good montage song, and Marinette assumes it might be possible to wipe it all out in one go. Overall, it’s not too bad compared to when Adrien first came to her room, but she figures she’ll have to put in some elbow grease if she wants the room anywhere near to normal.

The twenty minutes seem to come too quickly, Marinette just changing her lock and home screens to default settings when she hears her mother call from downstairs. Tikki, now awake and alert, finds a cozy spot in Marinette’s room to rest as her holder heads down, a few snacks spread out for her to enjoy and ears alert for the sound of them approaching.

“Marinette, you didn’t tell me you had a guest!” her mother says, turning around to show a smiling Adrien at her side. He gives a small wave, then points his finger to her outfit. A small blush paints his cheeks. Looking down, Marinette is struck with the most horrified feeling she’s faced since she saw her first akuminized victim.

In the midst of all the preparations for her room, Marinette forgot the most important thing to worry and prep before Adrien showed up: herself. Instead of a clean, pristine, and stylish outfit, Marinette is in her pajamas, loose tank top and polka-dotted pants with her pigtails uneven and messy. Worst, she’s not even wearing slippers, showcasing her toes which are in dire need of a manicure. Flushing, she throws her arms over her chest.

“I’ll wait down here with your parents, while you change,” Adrien offers, and Marinette only gives a quick nod before she bolts upwards. Does she trust her mother and father to entertain and not embarrass her? No. Does she have much of a choice at the moment? No, especially not while she is flinging her clothes into her dirty hamper and slinging on the first few things she can get her hands on. Undoing her pigtails, she realizes she doesn’t have the time to redo them and runs her hand through her hair instead. Her hair down for once won’t kill anyone, Marinette reasons. Sliding some socks onto her feet, she practically slips down the steps of her ladder in her haste to grab Adrien from her parents.

“And that’s how I passed the level!” is the first thing Marinette hears one she approaches the living room. Walking in, she watches her father and Adrien seated on the same couch, talking almost over one another.

“Incredible!” Adrien is exclaiming. “I never thought to go through the woods to get the treasure! I always tried going through the castle!”

“Everyone does! But, it’s impossible to get all the defenses down through that route!” her father says, wagging a finger. “Marinette was the one who originally thought to go the other way, and I didn’t think it’d work until she took control of the remote and navigated through it herself!” At the sound of her feet approaching, both turn their heads to look at her. Adrien’s face breaks out into a grin.

“You have to show me how you passed level 23 of Fire Starters 2! Did you really go through the woods and break down the wall defenses from there?”

“Uh yeah,” she says, rubbing her neck. “It took me a few tries to get it just right, but if you do the steps right in the woods, you should be able to pass it really quickly.” She clears her throat, finding it incredibly dry suddenly. “You said you had something you wanted to talk about?” she asks, swallowing deeply.

With a burst of joy, she realizes she hasn’t stuttered. On the couch next to Adrien, her father throws a quick thumbs-up her way, enjoying the way his beloved daughter deals with her crush, however badly it might be at times.

“Oh yeah!” he exclaims. Adrien turns to Marinette’s father, lifting himself from the couch. “It was nice talking with you, sir, but I have to talk to your daughter for a little bit. Can we talk more about Fire Starters 2 later?”

Her father gives a hearty laugh, slapping a hand on Adrien’s back as he pulls him into a hug. Patting his back, he tosses Marinette a wink. “Of course, Adrien. But please, call me Tom, alright? I’m too young to be called ‘sir’ these days.” Pulling himself away from the hug, he gestures to the kitchen, where Marinette sees her mom stick her head into their line of sight and throw a wave in their direction.

“He’s all yours,” her dad says. “I’m going to help make you guys some snacks. But Marinette, make sure to give him back when you guys finish talking, alright?”

Marinette feels her neck warm up, cheeks already hot enough to pre-heat an oven. Giving a quick nod, she turns back in the direction of her room and all but bolts up, Adrien following closely behind her. When they reach her room, she closes the door tightly. Adrien sits down on her small couch, Marinette awkwardly positioning herself in her desk chair. For a moment, it’s silent, each other casting looks and glancing away quickly. When Marinette focuses her eyes around her room, she catches sight of Tikki resting under the very couch Adrien is seated on.

“So,” she says, “you had something to say?”

“Yeah. I know I sounded weird on the phone, and I asked you a pretty odd question… but there’s a good explanation for it, I promise,” Adrien says. He fumbles with his words for a bit, the most he’s ever seemed not quite like himself. Wondering just how to put his thoughts into words, Adrien decides to go with the easy route and leave it out in the open.

“My father thinks we’re dating.”

Marinette thinks she’s going to pass out. Clutching onto the desk for support, she spins her face away from Adrien and gazes at her reflection in the computer. “W-what?” she sputters out, wondering just how red she’ll look once she’s done talking. “Why?”

“That one day when we were being chased around the city… all those pictures of us at the park, and the subway… and the movies.” Adrien lets out a little laugh as he recalls that day, how Marinette was dragged around in pajamas to help him flee from the public. “My fans all said you were my girlfriend, and I guess no one ever thought to fact check when they were writing articles later, or… explaining to my dad who you were.”

“Can’t you just tell him that we’re not… like that?”

“It’s too late. He already wants me to invite you to a banquet, and it doesn’t really help that you’re so talented sewing and designing things. He said he might put you under his wing as an intern or something- “

“Wait. You’re joking right?”

“My dad doesn’t like it when I do jokes.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Anyways, all I need is for you to please pose as my girlfriend, just for a little bit. Then, he’ll let us be and we’ll only have to show up together for fashion shows or something.”

Marinette needs a minute to make sure her ears are working correctly. Not only is this truly a dream come true with Gabriel Agreste, one of Paris’ most famed designers wanting to have her at some of the city’s biggest fashion events and at his side while he creates eye-catching looks, but she’ll actually get the opportunity to date Adrien. Adrien. As in, practically the only guy she’s had her eye on for the past few months, someone who she has quite literally scaled buildings for on more than one occasion. She’d get the chance to actually call him her boyfriend, and not to mention get the upper hand on Chloé for once.

But, she reasons, it’s not like it’s really true. Adrien doesn’t like her, and she’d only be playing a role. Being his girlfriend would be less real than Ladybug actually taking Chat Noir actually being a thing. And sure, it’d be a nice time and more than rewarding opportunity, but Marinette isn’t sure if she can take it.

If her heart can.

Nevertheless, she can’t say no to him. Adrien could tear her apart with his bare hands, and Marinette would happily sew herself back together. Twisting the chair to turn her body in his line of sight, she nods hesitantly, then goes forth and says the words he traveled across town to hear.

“Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

(read the rest on ao3 here)

[peterchristensen89-blog]

A Perfect Fit - Chapter 1

Peter Parker is a high-school graduate, on his way to Empire State University.  As a potential Stark Internship candidate, Peter dreams of the day working under his idol, Tony Stark.   Unfortunately, life remains as cruel as ever.

An attack by a supernatural gang, The Demons, leaves the streets of Queens laced with a new bio-plague.  With thousands dead at the hands of "The Devil's Breath", only Peter Parker stands alive in the wake of the attack, saved by his Aunt May.  Transformed by Devil's Breath, Peter learns from Tony Stark that he's far from human anymore.  A Super-Soldier with the power of the Hulk, the control of Captain America, and the stealth of Black Widow.  And, oddly enough, he can stick to surfaces like a spider.  

As the only living human with an immunity to the plague, Peter is the last hope of the Avengers.  The only weapon they have against The Demons and their cruel leader, Mister Negative.  With his newfound powers and training from Iron Man himself, Peter races against the clock with the help of the Avengers to stop The Demons.  To stop Mister Negative's crusade of revenge, and save the life of his last living relative.

By any means necessary.

Read on A03 or Below the Read More

“May, I’m home!”

Peter stumbled inside the Parker apartment, both arms donning plastic bags. He kicked off his sneakers, popping out his earbuds, and made his way through the modest apartment. Pausing in front of his Aunt’s bedroom, he heard the sound of a shower running. That, and the sound of her off-tempo singing with the radio. Peter rolled his eyes, laughing.

Stepping into his room, Peter felt the summer breeze blowing through the open window. The bustling street of Queens, New York echoed from down below. He tripped over his box of high school memorabilia, knocking out a wrinkled cap and gown.

Peter sat at his computer desk and stared inside of a bright pink terrarium. A fuzzy tarantula scurried in her home at the sight of her owner.

“Karen, you are not going to believe my haul today.” Peter collected his pet and sat her on the top of his hand. With his other hand, he produced a red and gold metallic action-figurine from a thrift store bag. “Look at it! A limited edition 2016 Iron Man Mk 2 Comic-Con exclusive metal-plated model! 80% off! Know why?”

Karen scurried up Peter’s arm, coming to rest on the top of his shoulder, facing away from the figure.

“Oh, come on! At least pretend like you care! Ned’s gone off to MIT, and MJ’s off saving the rainforests! You’re the only one I can talk to!” Peter tugged at the figurine’s arm, which popped off with zero effort. “See that? A huge discount all because the figure’s arm falls off! As if someone couldn’t spend a few hours, a little ingenuity, and five bucks on fixing that! They act like because it’s broken, it’s not worth anything…”

Peter scoffed, staring around his room. Most of his electronics were jury-rigged or in varying states of repair. Like his figurine, most of Peter's possessions were a thrift-store price for retail value.

His eyes fell on a shelf of dozens of other Iron Man figures, each their own shape, size, and model. All, at one point, had been an imperfect copy, like the one in his hand.

“You’d think people would have a little more respect for the world’s greatest hero.” Peter sat the figure on his desk, beside a whole host of tools and parts. As he lifted his head, Peter’s eyes fell to a photograph beside his computer, beside a badge of gold and blue.

Peter picked up the frame, seeing himself as a child in the arms of an officer of the NYPD. Both were smiling. “Well… Second greatest hero…”

Scurrying across Peter, Karen came to rest beside the photograph. She crawled to the top of the frame and settled on Ben Parker’s head.

Sighing, Peter leaned backward in his chair and chuckled. “You’re going to have to give me a break on that one, Uncle Ben… I’ll always love you, but Tony Stark is my idol.” Peter looked past the picture and up at his ceiling. Every inch of it covered with posters of Iron Man, Stark Expos, The Avengers, and Tony Stark. “Mr. Stark is one of the smartest people on the planet! He's Iron Man, Uncle Ben, the coolest superhero of them all! He even turned Stark Industries into something that’s going to change the world! When everyone tried to ignore their climate change findings last month, Mr. Stark flipped off congress and told the President of the United States to suck a dick! He’s so cool, Ben! He’s the man that science and the world need right now, more than anybody!”

Peter put the frame next to the badge, sighing as he collected Karen from the photograph. “But, even then… You’ll always be my number one hero. Always.”

Closing his eyes, Peter’s shoulders fell. He sat in silence, letting out a tired sigh. “…anyway...“ Peter sat a fussy Karen back into her terrarium. Karen made herself home inside a hollowed out plastic tree.

Peter sighed, collecting the other sack, emblazoned with a crimson “ESU” graphic. “My less impressive, haul, Karen.” Peter shook his head, dumping out a pile of college textbooks. “All those AP classes and I still have to take a crap ton of useless classes, Karen! Fun tip, Karen, “Full-Ride” does not always mean “Full-Ride.” Do you know how much this semester, in books alone, is going to cost me? I’ve already burned through the entire Midtown Decathlon Scholarship!” He groaned, laying his head down atop the books, tracing his hand on the glass of Karen’s home. “To put it in a way that you would understand... Enough crickets to feed about a million of you every day for a lifetime.”

Karen poked out from her tree for a moment, her front legs buzzing at the mention of food.

Peter rolled his eyes, reaching for a second plastic container. He popped a few crickets inside the terrarium for Karen to hunt. “…I don’t even want to think about how much the materials are going to cost if I get into the Stark Internship. Do you think they pay for that, or does that come out of the check they pay you? No way it’s free, though. Nothing in life is free.”

“Wait…”

Peter gasped and rushed to his computer. He clicked through his bookmarks to the Stark Internship Application website. After logging in and slamming his mouse many times, Peter reached the "News" section of the site.

 ~

 All dissertations are currently under review.

 Due to the high volume of candidates for the 2019 selections, decisions for internships and research grants will deliver via certified mail in approximately 3 months.

 ~

Peter sunk back into his chair, groaning. He stood up, pacing back and forth in his room. “It’s been three and a half months since the cutoff, Karen! What are they waiting for?!” He stopped, staring outside the window, and to Stark Tower, far off in the distance. It glimmered in the summer sun, like a star in the night sky, so close, but still so far.

A chill overcame Peter, despite the warm sunlight all around him. “What if my dissertation didn’t even make it into the main pile they looked at? Do they even send rejection notices about those?” He folded his arms, head dropping. “What if I mailed to the wrong address? No, no… That’s impossible, I mailed it certified, and made May double checked the address.” Peter clutched his stomach, overcome with a nauseous pain. “What if that pissed someone off?” Peter’s pacing intensified. “What if I made the front desk guy at Stark Industries get up off his butt, and ruined his coffee break? What if he threw it in the trash?! What if they never saw it? Should I call? Should I make sure they even got it?” Peter groaned, slapping himself in the face. “It’s past the deadline! I should have checked BEFORE the cutoff! Now it’d be too late!”

Peter leaned against a wall, sliding down and crumpling into a heap, tucking his legs beneath his chin. “Or what if they hated it?” He turned, now tucked into a tight ball. “What if they took one look at my essay and laughed me into a burn pile?” He banged his head against the ground. “Was I stupid to talk about you and Ben in my essay? I mean… You and Ben are both a big part of my research. You guys inspired it, so I felt like you deserved mention… I thought it was personable. I thought… I should just be myself?”

As Karen munched on a cricket, Peter whined, now splayed on his back and covering his eyes. ”Why didn’t I listen to Ned? Nobody wants that!”

“Can’t you have a mental breakdown with your friends, like a normal kid?”

Peter screamed, spinning around as he spotted May in the doorway to his bedroom. Her long brown hair still damp from a shower. She smirked, hiding the faintest sign of wrinkles that had overtaken her face in recent years.

“Aunt May!” Peter gestured to Karen. “How rude can you be? This is a private conversation!”

May rolled her eyes, hands tucked behind her back as she let herself inside Peter’s room. “Oh please, you’re acting like this is the most embarrassing shit I’ve caught you talking with that thing? Like, oh… Senior year, about a month before Prom, talking to Karen about asking out that cute Junior? You know, the time you went on and on about how much you liked his butt when he wore tight jeans?”

“That never happened and you never heard any of that!” Peter’s face flushed, eyes planted on the floor.

“I know, I know-“ May chuckled, wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulder and tucking him in close for a side-hug. She smirked, prodding Peter on the nose. “I happened to overhear your crisis about the Stark Internship. Which reminded me our mailman made me sign for a certified letter while you were out.” May presented Peter with a silver envelope, embellished with an embellished "S". “Stark Industries?”

Peter hitched his breath, standing still for far too long.  He forgot to breathe as his body shook, gasping for air. He struggled to grasp onto the letter, requiring May’s help from dropping it. The sender was the Stark Internship Selection Committee.

“…it’s here. This… This is it.” Peter choked out, voice cracking mid-sentence.

“Yep,” May said, stepping backward, clapping her hands together, and waiting for Peter to act. “Well?”

Peter stared at the letter, noticing how thin it was. Roughly the same size as the junk mail they received daily. His arm dropped, the envelope dangling in his hand.

“Not going to open it?” May slid beside Peter, clasping a hand on his shoulder. She offered a sympathetic smile. “All these months of teenage angst for nothing?”

Peter turned away, hiding the red on his face. “I’m scared, May…. This is…” He bit his lip, hand clenching against the letter, crumpling the edges. “This is everything to me. If I failed, I-”

“Hey-“ May grabbed both of Peter’s shoulders, spun him back around, and brought her face within inches of his. She planted a soft kiss on his forehead. “No matter what’s in that envelope, you’re going to do great things, Peter Parker. You don’t need the approval of Tony Stark or anyone else in this world to tell you that.” Leaning back, May cocked an eyebrow. “This letter does not define your value as a person or your future. Do you understand me?”

Peter’s shoulders unglued themselves. He nodded at May, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Tearing open the envelope, Peter yanked out the letter, unfurling it. He felt the silky-smooth material of the paper, like ice on his hands.

With one final push and a slap to the back of the head from May, he opened his eyes and scanned the letter.

     ~  

 Dear Mr. Parker,

 Out of an approximate 62,600 applicants for the 2019 Stark Industries Internship Program, we are pleased to announce that you have been selected for one of our 10 open positions.

 Your dissertation ranking among the applicants was: 1

 As a result of your ranking, we assign Dr. Anthony Stark as your mentor.

 Your date of employment will begin on August 1st, 2019.

 Stark Industries is also pleased to announce that you have been selected as a candidate for a potential Research Grant due to the content of your dissertation:

      “Chemical Tensility for Law Enforcement Officers – Saving Lives with Non-Violent Webbing Deterrent & Spray-On Ballistic Weaving.”  

 Your presence is requested on July 1st, 2019 for a formal panel interview to defend your dissertation from their professional critique.

 Please bring copies of your research notes and have a presentation prepared to share the theory of your study.  You will present your theory to Stark Industries CEO Pepper Stark, Stark Industries CRO Dr. Anthony Stark, Stark Industries Head of Research and Development, Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as nine representatives of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division.

 Please call to confirm your appointment immediately with my secretary, the number is listed on the back of this letter.

 We look forward to hearing from you and finally putting a face to the most exceptional submission Stark Industries has accepted in the last ten years.

 As CEO, I am excited to see what the future holds for you, Mr. Parker.

 Sincerely,

 Pepper Stark, CEO, Stark Industries

     ~  

“Well?!” May broke the silence, trembling in place as she clasped her hands together. “Peter, you’re killing me here! I just turned 40, you can’t play with my heart like this! Do we celebrate or am I heading out to buy us some eggs to throw at that asshole’s car!?”

Peter gulped, mouth finally parting. “I got it,” He cracked.

May’s mouth dropped a mile. “You got it?”

Peter nodded, tears rolling down his face and dribbling over the letter which he handed to May. He started to laugh. “I got the internship AND an interview for a research grant! May, I got both! I got both!”

May read the letter, and after a brief stint of silence, the woman reared her head back and roared in pure joy. She grabbed Peter, lifted him like a small puppy and spun them around in a tight hug. They squealed in unison, as loud as their lungs could manage.

“I got it!”

“You got it!”

“We got it!” They both yelled together, before tripping over Peter’s textbooks. The duo tumbled to the ground in each other arms on a plush beanbag. The letter fluttered down, landing on Peter’s face.

May grabbed the letter, giggling as she scanned the letter, buzzing from head to toe. “I cannot believe it, Peter! Do you realize how many people’s asses you kicked? I am so-” She rose up from the ground, pausing as she hovered over a single sentence. “Uh, Peter-“ She pointed to a paragraph in the middle. “Sweetheart, this is a “formal” interview.”

Peter rose an eyebrow, taking May’s hand as she helped him up from the floor. “And?”

May laughed, poking at Peter’s chest. “I don’t think your usual wardrobe is going to cut it here. Not even the punny science shirts with the cats on them.”

“Uh-“ Peter turned around, staring into his closet, lined with nothing that even came close to formal. Unless he was going to comic-con, that is... He groaned, shaking his head. “Probably not.”

May set the letter aside, folding her arms. “You’ll need a suit and tie, Peter. Which, unfortunately, is not going to be in either of our budgets.” She bit her lip, eyes staring outside of Peter’s room and down the hallway.

“I’ll call down to Mr. Lee’s pizza place!” Peter ran to his cache of take-out menus, digging through them. “Stan always needs delivery boys, I can save up and find a suit somewhere cheap!”

“Peter, your interview is next week, and suits are expensive. You’d need more than one week's paycheck to afford it, and Stan can only afford part-time. Besides the fact that tips around here are the absolute worst!” May huffed, planting on a pained smile. “Besides, you need time to prepare a presentation. That, and figure out how you’re not going to pass out in front of Tony Stark the instant you meet him.”

Peter frowned, glancing down at the menu. “Then… Should I rent one?” He cringed at the idea, recalling how expensive it’d been at Prom. They’d both had to save for that expense well ahead of time as well.

Taking Peter’s hand, May guided Peter down the hallway. “I think… I’ve got a better idea.”

They stopped at the furthest end of their apartment, to a spare closet neither of them dared to open. A mausoleum of sorts, untouched for almost 8 years now. May sighed, opened it, revealing a wall of plastic totes on one side. The other filled with several well-preserved NYPD uniforms, in clear garment bags.

“May-” Peter muttered.

May pulled out boxes and rummaged through the closet’s contents. “I couldn’t bear to throw anything away after Ben passed on. Still can’t. I know it’s not healthy, but my therapist can kiss my ass. I’ll cope how I damn well please.” She sat Ben’s uniforms gently on the ground, careful not to wrinkle them. She reached the far end of the closet. “Besides, I’d always hoped… One of these days, they might come in handy for you.”

May pulled out another clear bag, this one holding a man's suit and tie. She smiled, unzipping the bag and casting its casing away, admiring the outfit. “Ben wore this to every formal event since I started dating him. He took better care of this than he did his own uniform. Said that every man needs at least one good suit.” She handed it to Peter, letting it fall against his hands. “Turns out he was right.”

Peter nodded, gulping as he slid the jacket from the hanger. He slipped into it, watching as the sleeves slid well past his wrists. Too big in the chest, the suit engulfed him, as the tails of the coat went well past his waist. At least a size and a half too big.

“A little big on you…” May sighed, trying to tuck the suit in at key places, wiping away a tear as she laughed. “I’ll do what I can to help you with the fit, and we can fake it’s a better fit than it actually is. You won’t be able to sit without a needle in your ass, but, hey, women deal with that bullshit all the time in fashion. Welcome to my world, bucko!”

Peter chuckled, letting May help him out of the jacket. “Uncle Ben had some big shoes to fill. A big suit, too, apparently.”

“You’ll grow into it.” May hung the suit back on the hanger, winking at Peter while she slid it back into the garment bag. “Now, enough of this mopey bullshit. I haven’t cried this much since the funeral, and I’ll be damned if we’re going to ruin your big day with bullshit feelings.”

May gathered her oversized purse from the closet door, the suit, and Peter himself. She dragged them both of them towards the front door. “After we chuck this at the dry cleaners, we’re heading to Mr. Lee’s for pizza and ice cream! We’ll eat like kings and pay like peasants!”

“Two for one date night coupon?” Peter smirked.

“Two for one date night coupon.” May winked.

“Hell yeah!” May and Peter said in unison, high-fiving each other as they exited their apartment.

[vardasvapors]

DRUNK LIVEBLOG OF THE AKALLABETH BC I PROMISED @rose-of-the-bright-sea​

Uh unfortunately i’m not too drunk since once again my job was to bounce everyone once the party ended but uhhh it is early morning and i’m still not asleep and i did just spend 5 hours dancing and doing shots so...

ANYWAY: first scene of the Akallabeth, remember how the edain were the only Men who fought against morgoth in the war of wrath etc, and when morgoth was defeated the Evil Men who fought for him ran away and conquered all the Stupid Men who were still living in the middle earth area and these men’s lives sucked and were constantly attacked by orcs and monsters and they were dumb and wild and stuff. this explanation is like 20 kinds of LMAO NARRATIVES but also not like, in a lying way, just in a framing way.

otoh the edain got given a giant island in the middle of the ocean as a reward for fighting against morgoth and stuff, osse and aule and yavanna did it. (valar: ‘have an island way out in the sea’ elros: ‘SOUNDS LEGIT’). meanwhile the elves of ME are long-sufferingly granted permission to come to tol eressea because their lives kinda suck. the difference in the tone of the edain’s gift and the elves’ gift is totally not noticed by the narrator but the fact that avallone was build on the eastern edge of tol eressea where it could be seen from numenor is. lol.

there’s this super gorgeous entrancing description of how earendil burned super bright so that he shone night and day and the edain followed him over the calm enchanted sea until they found the island of numenor -- andor the land of gift, elenna that is starwards. however we all know all this incredible rich storytelling stuff isn’t important compared to the tiny scrap of smugness that can be wrung out of making elros hate earendil and/or elves, bc everyone knows that no character’s narrative matters except the feanorians’.

elves of ME also brought all the edain to numenor and elves of tol eressea gave the edain a ton of tools and gifts and stuff to help build their new nation, but you know it’s fun to headcanon elros as a bitter chest-puffing supercilious self-satisfied little prick who finds these elves embarrassing and blinkered and their existence pitiful and tut-tuttingly Wrong. bc that makes sense and is woke for some reason.

the numenoreans became taller than all the sons of middle earth, not all the men of middle earth, so numenoreans are taller than elves. also they didn’t have a lot of kids, bc i guess population explosions on islands with almost no death outside of like 300 years of old age is a Bad Time.

also “and the light of their eyes was like the bright stars” hahahahahahahahaha lmao! kill me! lies down. does not get up.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS

the numenoreans are super cool and get to talk and visit with both elves of tol eressea and elves of middle earth, which seems to lead to the completely inescapable conclusion that numenor is a place where the peoples of all lands can pass messages to one another but this is never mentioned. the numenoreans could totally also have prob defeated the evil human kings of middle earth if they tried but they were totes peaceful -- at an undefined point in time. nice vague timeline blurring bruh.

instead they like, instructed the dumb middle earth men on how to grow grain and grind flour and make stuff out of wood bc uh i guess the middle earth men are too dumb to figure it out, for “the ordering of their life, such as it might be in the lands of swift death and little bliss” hahahahahaha this is the most condescending line in the entire silm it’s great.

then the numenoreans start getting dissatisfied with how they still gotta die and stuff. it’s vaguely described as being something to do with how even their long lives are still not as long as elves’ loves, but every time i read this it reminds me how pissed about mortality i’d be if my great-great-great-uncle who was totally allowed to choose to become immortal kept popping in to talk about how he got to see the cool millennia of my country’s history first hand and debate with my revered ancestral founding king. so.

however the numenoreans totally brush over these sorts of super compelling and sympathetic and valid points and instead just whine about how they’re A Bigshot Kewl Superior Race and HDU Say We Can’t Control Everything If We Wanna, 36 Presents? But Last Century I Got 37! because they’re fucking useless dumbasses.

The valar reply that Aman Will Not Make You Immortal, Yo, and also that elves being immortal and men being mortal aren’t rewards or punishments, which are reasonable points. they then go on to go ‘TBH shouldn’t WE be the ones envying YOU bc you get to peace out of this clusterfuck world, huh, huh whaddaya think about that. also btw the whole mortality thing is some Secret Plan To Fight Inflation eru came up with, and none of us will know it until you and a bajillion generations of your descendants are all dead, lol!!!!’ THANKS VALAR. THAT’S REALLY HELPFUL. GREAT JOB OF ACTUALLY ADDRESSING ANYTHING THE NUMENOREANS ARE BOTHERED ABOUT. KUDOS. i love dumb gods.

the numenoreans are super dissatisfied but instead of anything constructive the king decides to hold his breath and throw a tantrum stay king until he’s totally senile and his son is old, bc of spite, then numenor gets divided into the king’s men and the faithful. the faithful are also bleh about death but assume that the valar have some kind of good reason for what they said, because um, reasons, i guess. no one says if the reasons are more mindless dogma or more a grounding and strengthening faith, but since numenoreans sound like RL humans to a tee it’s probably both. the king’s men aren’t skeptics tho -- they just conquer and enslave and colonize and steal from middle earth, bc ‘the west was denied to them.’ some fans find this to be a ‘yes, but--’ where it’s not the best thing to do but sympathetic and better than those un-nietzschean faithful. i’m gonna assume every single person who finds this nod-worthy is as White as sour cream.

later on Ar-Gimilzor bans the Faithful’s language, sends secret police or smth to find out everyone who is Faithful and forcibly remove them from their homes, relocate them to Romenna, and corral and watch them, call them and the elves of tol eressea spies, chase them out of numenor, and force the faithful leader’s sister to marry the king. some fans still somehow think this was a morally grey and understandable thing to do because secular-culturally-christian libs are vile and have never parsed a history book in their lives.

Tar-Palantir becomes king after being secretly taught Faithful stuff by his secretly faithful mom, but nothing he does to fix things helps and he eventually dies young from depression. His daughter Tar-Miriel becomes queen but her cousin Ar-Pharazon forces her to marry him and give him the kingship instead. exactly how this happened remains unexplained! Boo! I want more details. Anyway Pharazon is a Fragile Masculinity poster boy and when sauron starts causing trouble he decides he’s just gotta go capture him and bring him to numenor to show off and stroke his ego, bc he is an Heir Of Eärendil and Respect Meehhh!! God this guy sounds SO UNPLEASANTLY FAMILIAR DOESN’T HE EH. (parenthetically i am delighted beyond words at how absolutely bang-on it is that the King’s Men, both here and earlier with the convo with the Valar, totally Do Not Mention the fact that they’re heirs of Elros, not just Earendil, bc that would be super inconvenient to their vision of themselves and their mortality grievance!! lol!!! i love it!!!! god!!!!!!!! *fingers and thumb in a circle emoji*).

anyway sauron is super smart and an awesomesauce genre-savvy villain and way too good for pharazon and he flatters him and manipulates him into making him his councilor and convinces him that the valar are lying and and to worship morgoth and slaughter the faithful by sacrificing them on.....hm....altars....as rebels and as scapegoats for all numenor’s Problems(TM)....>_>....lmao tolkien can be really fucking dumb and scattered about his mythology and religion patchworking, and yet the wokeness-masturbating section of fandom is infinitely worse in the most predictable ways.

WHITE TREE FRACTALS (this time featuring bonus BAMF and Super Awesome And Lovable 21 Year Old Isildur......have i mentioned recently how much i hate peter jackson......)

anyway when Pharazon has a mid-life crisis about getting old sauron also convinces him he can become immortal by invading aman, which he should totally do bc The Strong Do What They Will And The Weak Bear What They Must (remember this is tragically admirable if flawed, because it’s defying fate!) and a super armament is built to invade aman and ar-Pharazon’s ex-bff Amandil who’s secretly friends with the Faithful freaks and makes secret plans to sail to valinor to beg the valar to do something and has his son elendil prepare to go to middle earth to see the elves who are hunkered down there doing.....uhhhhh???? probably hiding from numenorean conquest????

but anyway when pharazon invades aman and chases the elves out of tol eressea and then tirion, he has a Uh-Oh I Think This Was A Bad Idea feeling but can’t back down now so he lands ashore and camps out around tirion and then manwe prays to eru to bail everyone out and says he will lay down rule of arda for a minute since he doesn’t know what to do, presumably a la ‘omg dad i fucked up and totally crashed your car,’ and eru solves this by getting ar-pharazon & co buried under a mountain until the end of the world (funny how so few fans ever address this thing re: tirion in valinor fanfic eh? oh yeah i forgot silm fans don’t give a shit about humans), opening up a big crack in the ocean, pulling aman and tol eressea out into space, turning the earth from flat to spherical, and letting the island of numenor get buried under the resulting tidal wave and fall down the crack to wherever. because you know overkill is great! also sauron is too busy doing an Evil Villain Laugh to realize he’s about to get drowned and he totally dies and has to make himself a new body out of Anger and he’s now ugly, which sucks for the fanartists.

anyway manwe saves elendil and his fleet (it doesn’t say manwe, but it does say ‘but the great wind took [elendil], wilder than any wind that Men had known, roaring from the west, and it swept his ships far away...’ which, duh) and they wind up washed up on middle earth, but totally grief-stricken over the destruction of numenor.

I can’t liveblog the rest any better than verbatim so I’ll just quote:

Among the Exiles many believed that the summit of the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, was not drowned for ever, but rose again above the waves, a lonely island lost in the great waters; for it had been a hallowed place, and even in the days of Sauron none had defiled it And some there were of the seed of Eärendil that afterwards sought for it, because it was said among loremasters that the far-sighted men of old could see from the Meneltarma a glimmer of the Deathless Land. For even after the ruin the hearts of the Dúnedain were still set westwards; and though they knew indeed that the world was changed, they said: 'Avallónë is vanished from the Earth and the Land of Aman is taken away, and in the world of this present darkness they cannot be found. Yet once they were, and therefore they still are, in true being and in the whole shape of the world as at first it was devised.'

For the Dúnedain held that even mortal Men, if so blessed, might look upon other times than those of their bodies' life; and they longed ever to escape from the shadows of their exile and to see in some fashion the light that dies not; for the sorrow of the thought of death had pursued them over the deeps of the sea. Thus it was that great mariners among them would still search the empty seas, hoping to come upon the Isle of Meneltarma, and there to see a vision of things that were. But they found it not. And those that sailed far came only to the new lands, and found them like to the old lands, and subject to death. And those that sailed furthest set but a girdle about the Earth and returned weary at last to the place of their beginning; and they said:

'All roads are now bent.'

Thus in after days, what by the voyages of ships, what by lore and star-craft, the kings of Men knew that the world was indeed made round, and yet the Eldar were permitted still to depart and to come to the Ancient West and to Avallónë, if they would. Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it. And they taught that, while the new world fell away, the old road and the path of the memory of the West still went on, as it were a mighty bridge invisible that passed through the air of breath and of flight (which were bent now as the world was bent), and traversed Ilmen which flesh unaided cannot endure, until it came to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, and maybe even beyond, to Valinor, where the Valar still dwell and watch the unfolding of the story of the world. And tales and rumours arose along the shores of the sea concerning mariners and men forlorn upon the water who, by some fate or grace or favour of the Valar, had entered in upon the Straight Way and seen the face of the world sink below them, and so had come to the lamplit quays of Avallónë, or verily to the last beaches on the margin of Aman, and there had looked upon the White Mountain, dreadful and beautiful, before they died.