#i was 10 when doctor who started airing so it feels like i was the exact audience for these shows

[skatingthinandice]

top 5 nostalgic faves!

oh this is a brilliant one, thank you!

it's gotta be that peak decade of british fantasy sci-fi adventure shows:

doctor who

robin hood

primeval

merlin

atlantis

ask me my top five anything

[dammn-dean]

Unexpected Pt. 2

Pairing: Simon Riley x Female Reader

Words: 2700+

Warnings: Pregnancy, vague birth talk, mild panic attack, if I missed anything sorry

(Honestly I have given birth in a hospital, but it was complicated so I didn't get to experience a normal after birth situation. So if this is incorrect, sorry!)

Here is part two🖤 Hope you all enjoy it! It's a bit short, and sweet. I do plan on doing some blurbs/continue eventually. Thank you all for reading!

Part One

Beautiful art/rendering from @ave661

The next few moments are a blur to you both, for different reasons. Simon parks the car in front of the emergency entry, barely allowing for the car to come to a complete stop before he’s out of the car. You barely register as he slides on a black surgical mask when he comes around the car to open your door. Next thing you know he’s leading you inside, talking to a woman at the front desk and getting you into a wheelchair. You are filling out some paperwork as you are wheeled through the hospital, in between contractions that are consistently spaced apart now. 

Simon keeps murmuring small words of encouragement to you, but he’s scared shitless. Pretending to be brave in this moment for you, yet he feels anything but brave. 

There are a lot of questions that you give answers to as best you can. Simon can barely keep up… there is so much moving around and plans being spoken between nurses. The next thing he knows you are in a hospital bed, donning a gown, being told your doctor should be here within 5 to 10 minutes. 

“I’m going to check your dilation now, okay?” A young and sweet woman that is apparently your nurse for now speaks up. 

You just nod your head, watching as she gets the stirrups ready for your feet to go in. Once ready she guides your feet to the correct sport before reaching for a pair of gloves. 

You glance up to Simon, who is as quiet and still as a ghost. Standing to the left of your bed, fists clenched so tight you wonder if his fingers are going to lose feeling soon. 

“Si?” You question. 

That breaks his stone resolve. It was like a switch flipped in him, as he forced his mind to catch up with what was happening. 

He finally tore his eyes away from the nurse as her hand began to disappear under your gown. When his eyes fell to you and your outstretched hand he immediately grabbed your smaller hand into both of his large ones. Kissing the back of your hand through the material of the mask. 

“You ‘kay love?” Simon was gentle, from his touch to his tone. 

“Yes… just a little uncomfortable,” you said just above a whisper. 

“I bet so sweetheart.” He brought a hand to brush some hair back from your face. “You are doing great,” he encourages you. 

“Looks like you are about 5 centimeters dilated! Great news mom and dad.” The nurse tore off her gloves and put them in the trash before typing away on the computer in the room to update your chart. 

Simon felt all of the air rush out of his lungs. Dad?? How did he not think before that he was about to be a dad. Sure… he understood what was happening, but there was something about hearing this nurse call him dad that struck a chord with him. His ears filled with static and he stiffened all over again. 

You watched as his pupils shrunk, he pulled his hands from you and stood straight as a board beside you. 

“Simon?” You softly called to him. Nothing. 

His eyes were trained on the wall behind the nurse who was innocently typing away on the computer. 

You called for him two more times, watching his chest speed up with more and more rapid breaths. You said his name one more time quite loudly, which got the nurses attention. She looked up at him, staring past her and noticed the signs of a panic attack blooming in him. 

Simon wasn’t in the room with you now, his mind lost on his past. 

“Sir?” The nurse gently started working her way to him. 

Before she could fully make it to him, a contraction started up for you again. You wailed out in pain, and as quick as Simon zoned out and started panicking he stopped. Hearing your pain pulled him from his dark mind. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, truly embarrassed. 

“It’s okay sir,” the nurse spoke softly. “Would you like to sit down for a moment?”

“I’m fine, just make sure she’s okay.” He left no room for argument. 

Resuming his spot at your side, ignoring whatever that was just happening to him. He gently kissed your hairline through the mask again while speaking to you sweetly until the pain subsided. Once your breath had started evening out your tired eyes fell onto Simon. The nurse nodded at him before finishing typing what she needed and mentioned the next steps that would be happening before excusing herself from your room for a moment. Her words went in one of your ears and out the other for you.

“You okay?” You asked, squeezing his hand this time to comfort him.

“Don’t you worry about me, love,” Simon said apologetically. 

You gave him a nod, but internally you were freaking out about his reaction. Your mind rolled back a few moments before he started panicking, trying to figure out what happened. 

Simon has had a few moments in your time together where certain things trigger him, which is beyond understandable. The memory of the nurse calling you mom and dad moments before finally registering with you. That small thought had your heart instantly feel heavy, and not in the best way. 

You felt your eyes get glossy, this same feeling of shame bursting through your chest. Your mind reminding you how unfair this all is to him, he never got the choice about IF he wanted to be a father… hell you didn’t even give him a notice that he was going to be a dad. Your brain was all muddled, but the only thing standing out to you is that you can’t remember why you never told him. It all seemed so silly now, who cares if you had an argument. Who cares that he was working. It was your responsibility to tell him that you were pregnant, to let him know that he was going to be a dad, and especially to give him the option to be involved or not. 

You gently removed your hand from his, allowing it to fall into your lap with your other hand. Eyes falling to your lap, unable to stop the tears from falling and trying your best to shield them from Simon. Even though you knew he would notice, how could he not?

“Are you hurting? Want me to call for the nurse?” Simon got the words out quickly, reaching for the button to call the nurse.

“No.. I’m okay,” you whispered with a shrug.

His brows frown down at you, clearly you aren’t okay. Your small sniffles provide proof of that. Simon’s spine straightened, eyes taking you in as his mind moved a mile a minute trying to come up with a solution. 

“Do you remember at the apartment, the promise you made me?” Simon asked softly.

You sniffled out a small “Yeah..”

“That if you have something you need to tell me, you will do it. Yeah?” 

You nod your head softly before meeting his eyes briefly.

“What is it baby?” He asked, hand reaching into your lap and interlocking your fingers together.

“I’m just so sorry,” you respond quietly. “And I know you told me to stop saying sorry but I truly am.”

“Love,” Simon began, but you cut him off. “I didn’t give you the opportunity to come to terms with all of this. I just sprung it all on you, and-”

Simon knelt beside you, making him eye level with you. 

“Do I wish I would have known before? Sure love… but mainly because I hate you have done all of this alone. It eats me alive. I am supposed to be the one taking care of you, but I was selfish. Never made sure you knew what you were to me. I will never let that happen again, okay?”

“Then what just happened to you?” You whisper. His hazel eyes squint a little, but they never leave yours. 

Simon was silent for a while which heightened your anxiety. That’s when the beginnings of another contraction started. Your hand squeezing Simon as you rode through the pain. You barely register his voice, soft and sweet, talking you through the pain.

“Don’t you worry about that sweetheart, but after this. And we have our baby… I will be sure to explain everything to you okay? All you need to know is I am here, and I can’t wait to be a father to our child.” Simon knew he owed an explanation, but now wasn’t the time.

Simon tugged his mask down enough so he could press a kiss to your hairline while using his free hand to wipe away the last few tears from your wet cheeks.

“Good evening,” your doctor enters the room and announces himself. 

Simon gently clears his throat as he straightens the mask on his face before standing up to take his proper place beside you.

You didn’t feel 100% better, but knowing he would explain more. You fixed your mental state as much as you could, you knew this way was about to be the toughest thing you have been through. 

There was some small chat between your doctor, Simon and you. Talking about the birth plan, checking your dilation, planning the next steps as well as you could. Before you know it you are pushing, and pushing. Simon is next to you the entire time, feeding you ice chips and doting on you constantly. “You are doing so good, lovie.” - “There you go, my strong girl, you got this.” - “You are so perfect, sweetheart.” - “Almost there love, you are doing great.”

Somewhere between the tears, the pain, the constant pressure and with help from nurses and doctors. You hear cries. Your body feels instant relief, and the joy that bursts across your chest is unlike anything you have ever felt. Your eyes fall to Simon, he’s standing stiff as a board. Eyes never leaving the newborn as the nurse gently cleans the baby’s body as the doctor finishes up with you. Before you know it they are gently laying your baby onto your chest.

“Congratulations mom… a beautiful healthy baby girl!” The nurse whispers excitedly to you as she pulls your hands back, ensuring you have the baby. 

You can’t hold back the few tears that fall, “She’s a girl.” 

Your nose taking in her smell, your lips gently brushing her head. A perfect baby girl. After a few moments of silence, you look for Simon. His hands shoved in his pockets, standing to your side, eyes on your baby girl. 

“We have a baby girl, Si.” You can’t help the smile on your lips. 

Simon’s chest rose and fell rapidly, taking everything in. He was a father to a baby girl. 

“She’s so small,” Simon comments softly. 

“She sure is,” you praised. “And perfect.” Your finger found her hand, letting it wrap around your finger. You looked at the small amount of hair on her head, her eyelashes, her cheeks, her fingers, just taking her all in. After about 5 minutes of silence, a nurse speaks.

“Congratulations you two, would dad like a turn holding her?” She asked politely as she reached for your daughter.

“Here Si,” you encouraged. Gently handing the baby to the nurse. Watching her carefully as she took the baby from you, walked around the bed to Simon and she patiently stood in front of him. 

Simon of course wanted to hold her, but she was tiny. He had only really ever been around one baby before, his nephew and he couldn’t for the life of him remember him being this small. His blurred eyes took in her features, she was beautiful. 

“I uh-” he cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I can. She’s so small and I’m so-” he gestured to himself. Clearly uncomfortable with the idea of his hulking frame, meant for killing to hold this sweet innocent baby. His sweet innocent baby girl. 

“You can hold her, just trust me, you can do it” you encouraged. “Look at me Simon.”

He almost had to force his eyes from your daughter so he could look at you. Your sweet face, eyes tired but shining happily, encouraging him. You almost took his breath away, beautiful as ever. If you believe in him, maybe he should believe in himself.

“I love you, you can hold her. Look at her Si, our daughter, she wants her daddy.” You swallowed hard, not entirely sure if that is what he needed to hear or not.

Barely a moment went past before he held his hands out towards the nurse. She showed him exactly what to do, she never let go of the baby until she was certain that he was ready. Before you knew it there he was, as still as he had ever been, barely even breathing as he held her. 

You couldn’t believe it, seeing her tiny body being held by such a mass, that is Simon. A singular hand of his is almost the size of her whole body. You felt warmth bloom across your chest watching him with her. The way his stiff shoulders eventually relaxed more. How he leaned into her, smelling her tiny head, followed by whispers you couldn’t hear. 

“I can’t believe I have a daughter,” Simon chuckles out with a wet laugh. “I am so proud of you baby.” He then turns to you, “You did amazing.” 

Brown eyes filled with unshed tears hold onto yours that are allowing tears to fall freely. “We did amazing, Si…” you said truthfully. “Just look at her, she’s as much me as she is you.” 

Simon pulled his eyes back to the sweet baby in his arms. “Yeah I guess so, huh?” He could even see that the tiny wisps of hair on her head were definitely the exact shade of his. 

It was then the nurse popped back up, “And what are we naming her mom and dad?” She asked innocently. 

How have you both forgotten you need a name for the baby? 

“Uh- well we haven’t quite decided yet,” Simon answered quickly. 

“That’s perfectly okay! No rush,” she responded politely. “Let’s finish getting her and mom all cleaned up. Then I’ll get you to your room. How does that sound?” 

Simon looked at you, you nodded at him with a grin. 

“Sounds great, thank you.” He responded politely. 

The nurse went back to him to grab your daughter, hands out waiting. Only Simon didn’t budge. His eyes were solely focused on the baby in his arms. 

“Sir?” She questioned gently. 

Simon almost startled before looking at her, then down at the baby again, and back to the nurse. 

“I just need her for a little bit, then you can have her back. How does that sound?” 

Simon actually grumbles, no words, just grumbles. 

Fuck, you love him. “Simon,” you almost laugh. “Let the nurse have her baby.” 

He doesn’t give in immediately, a minute or so passes before he huffs and gently hands her over to the nurse. 

“Thank you…” the nurse smiles at him. “The doctor will be right back to assist you with another nurse. I’ll meet you both in your room.” She turns to you. “Okay?”

“Okay,” you say to her, eyes not leaving the baby. 

A moment goes by and you turn your head to Simon to find his eyes already on you. Nothing but pure adoration for you. 

“You’re going to be the best daddy ever,” you whisper to him truthfully. 

“I can only promise you that I will give it my all,” Simon says honestly. Hand nervously touching the back of his neck. “I only wish to give you both the best life possible.” 

Both of your eyes are unwavering, holding each other trying to convey emotions you can’t quite say out loud. You aren’t naïve, you know this will be hard, of course raising a human together won’t be easy. If there was anyone in the world you would be willing to go through this with, it was Simon. 

“I know this was all… unexpected, but I don’t think I have ever felt happier than I feel at this moment. Right now.” 

“Ditto, love.” You can hear his smile. “Ditto.” 

Tags: @daemondoll @mileyraes @axoleos @arminarlertssword @wawuwe @cxltblood @mrflyingbanana03 @itsmytimetoodream @arminarlertssword @mrssabinecallas @babygirl-riley @gplol @yuly

Thank you for reading! If you have an idea or request for where they go from here, feel free to send 🖤

[sleekista]

death is a funny thing

alexia putellas x fem!reader

prompt: alexia angst on 10/10 out of angst scale - for madres bday

A/N: happy birthday madre @greynatomy ! 🥳🥳 you are now stuck at the restaurant

i cried while making this. i dont cry while writing or reading fanfic.

TW: Death, hurt/no comfort, the thought of me not making a part 2 for this

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

2 weeks. That's what the doctor said. 2 weeks until you're dead and you soul is gone from the earth. How does one hold that infomation? How are they supposed to take it? It's not like anyone's alive to really tell you how to cope or react.

So, you sit in silence. Being taken back to the memories of playing football as a child, being in your national team for the first time. Playing for your senior team for the first time. That first kiss with Alexia which was unlike any you'd had before. The first time you'd told her you loved her, and how she immediately said it back.

All of it would come to an end.

You knew you should've been here weeks ago when you first started feeling off, but you weren't one to go a doctor when something felt bad. Just hoped it would go away unless you knew it was an injury that'd affect your career. The only reason you were in the room was because Alexia dragged you there.

What would have happened if she hadn't?

You stare at the wall in front of you, mind without thoughts. Just the shell of someone who used to be there. You feel bad for Alexia, how would she cope? You knew she had plans of proposing, you just didn't know when. That will all be a dream in only a fortnight.

How much will change by then? Will she push you out like she does with most others? Or will she hold you close, thinking that if she did you wouldn't leave her when you both know that won't happen.

When you do look at her, there's tears streaming down her face. Staining her shirt and falling onto the floor. The doctor leads you both out giving a form of all legal action needed before you die. Who to give your money to, how you want to be buried or cremated.

You wonder how they can say such news then proceed to hand papers while being devoid of any emotion. Maybe they've done it too many times to really feel.

- - - - -

Alexia drives home, eyes still leaking with tears. You're not quite sure how she's driving but you both make it home. You watch her mundane and robotic movements, until she's in the living room. That's her breaking point.

You immediately go to her, wrapping your arms around her without saying a word. This makes her sob harder.

"I can't live without you. Please no." Is all you hear over the sound of her breaking down.

"Alexia." You say, but she shakes her head.

"Alexia look at me." Again, it's no use.

"Ale please." She finally listens, looking up shaking as her lip wobbles.

"When I am gone, you will be sad yes but I trust you'll get over me. I trust you will be even better than you are now. You are the greatest woman I've ever met and you are the strongest. I will be with you here until the end and even when I'm not here physically..." You pause and touch her heart with your hand. "I'll always be with you here, remember that. And if heaven or the afterlife is real, I'll watch over you. I promise." You whisper resting your forehead against her own.

She whails into the evening, you cry along with her. Reality and the fear of death finally sinking deep into your bones. You will die. You can't be here forever.

- - - - -

The next day when training is supposed to be on is when you tell everyone at the club, sadness lingers in the air as you hug your friends. The ones who had become a new family for you. The young players like Salma and Vicky whom you'd baiscally 'adopted' when they joined the senior team. You consoled them along with Caroline (your best friend) the most. Those apart from Alexia being the ones you were always with.

It was decided a farewell dinner would be hosted. The last memories and last time to be with you.

- - - - -

Alexia wouldn't leave your side, you didn't want to leave hers either. The weight she'd carry on herself after this is too much for your own failing heart. You wanted to be with her for the rest of your life, and by that you meant grow old. Not die at 27.

The dinner was as much as anyone would expect it to be. Teary eyes and frowns painted on everyones face. The mourning had started before you left, and somehow that was even more painful.

Your will was mainly going to the football club, with no family left to give it to. Part of it went to investment in womens sports and some went to Alexia. You'd asked to be cremated, 1/3 of your ashes in the new Camp Nou, 1/3 of your ashes to be washed away by the heavy winds at the beach you loved so much, and a third to be with Alexia to do as she pleases. Whether to keep or give to people you held so close.

The end is near, it's relieving in a sense. That all this anxiety toward the date will just go. Everything for you will stop. But, you hate being the reason people are upset. All you'll leave is pain and anguish until one by one your friends heal. Alexia heals.

- - - - -

Today was the day, you're not sure how you know but you do. You wait with Alexia, remembering all good times. No words are said, she's trying to remember every detail in your face. Fearing the she'll forget you.

"Alexia." She takes a deep breath, nodding at you to continue.

"I love you, I love you in everyway possible. I love you in every universe. I love you to the moon and saturn. Never forget me, as I'll never forget you." You whisper, breath shaky as you feel yourself drifting away.

"I could never, forget you amor. You're safer wherever you are next. I love you. More than words could ever convey." Her voice breaks.

You don't want to leave her, why did it have to be like this?

She places her lips against yours one last time. Your eyes close, one last time.

—————————————————————————

well... no part 2. reader will not come back from the dead like melanie martinez

but last night i dreamt i kissed taylor swift so theres that

[matamisin]

I am absolutely living for the Stardew art. I love that game so much and have over 600 hours of playtime in it. I did have a little bit of a request but feel free to ignore! Could you rate all of the potential spouses based on your personal interpretations?

Hiii!! Yes yes yes thank you for this ask- I planned to do quick portraits anyways! <3 <3

But let's start!!

[PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, reblogs welcome! >:3c)

Harvey: 10/10

Handsome yes yes

Very sweet and loyal like bro LETS GO that's all I need

Doctor?? AKA he fixes up love interest who regularly gets into trouble? Endless possibilities BRO this is my favorite trope to write/draw about

HOWEVER HARVEY DOESN'T ACCEPT ANY INSURANCE HE JUST CHARGES OUR ASSES bro I'm trying to have a tender moment of almost dying and him worrying and then BOOM hands me my bill like "see you at home honey ily"

Overall he would treat us right yes

Animals LOVE his ass but he's awkward with them LOL

He's often a tired man due the clinic but he'll pull through to do things with the farmer when they're dating (like outings)

In the beginning when farmer is frequently getting hurt in the mines and being brought in hurt, he buys them a walkie-talkie. He's said multiple times that he doesn't recommend going in those dangerous places but learns that farmer's determined to keep going so he'll do what he can to make sure they can relay when they need help

He'll chime in on the walkie when he sees farmer going towards the mines and has them check things off a mental list (hi, this is Harvery- going to the mines? Do you have your weapon? How about food? You have your first-aid kit on you too right?)

This man will be TENSE the whole day when he knows farmer is in the mines. He'll only ease up once he knows they're not in there anymore

Disclaimer: from here on most of what I write will be 100% from my head because I haven't married anyone else yet LMFAO

Sam: 10/10

I interpret him as the golden retriever type- very hyper and friendly

That just makes him 1000% more loveable

HE'D TREAT US RIGHT

Very good with kids cause of Vincent which is like YES

A little blunt sometimes but that's wassup

Doesn't eat the best (AKA I give him two pizzas every week. Hmm. So maybe that means I'M the problem lol)

Also doesn't really know a lot of cooking, but when he moves in farmer finds new-looking cookbooks tucked away in his spaces

I feel like he'd be the type to have a switch in attitude- he's v friendly UNTIL he has reason to distrust/not like someone and then he'll flip from bright to cold (especially if the person has bad intentions about somebody he cares about)

Doesn't realize farmer and him are dating he just thinks they’re hanging out a lot and just kissing as really good friends

When he does realize they’re dating he gets all flustered and red

Would let you win at Mario-Kart

Despite his goofiness, he knows how to be a gentleman. He's always keeping an eye on farmer and making sure they're okay. If they're out together, the moment the sun goes down his jacket is on farmer's shoulders. When it's raining and he wakes up late and sees that farmer has gone out of the house for the day, he'll get up quick and run around with an umbrella and a thermos of hot coffee until he finds farmer. He'll follow farmer around with the umbrella covering mostly farmer, so he gets pretty drenched.

Very vocal about his love

Shane: 10/10

Ah the chicken man himself

ALSO GREAT WITH KIDS but in a different light- he's way more protective about them whereas Sam is more the laid-back and playful parent-figure (he throws his children into the air)

Recovering from his alcoholism and the habits that came with it (messiness and cluttery) but he's trying his best aww

Will rub his stubble on your face when he comes in for a hug ouchie

Even though he is not a dad- he just comes with dad stuff (dad outfits, dad jokes, EVERYTHING)

His chickens are protective of him so you must prove yourself worthy

(In my headcanons, Joja is kinda twisted) Will start to distance himself from Joja after farmer tells him of how they're trying to hurt the Junimos. He may eventually quit to work elsewhere, even though he doesn’t really know what Junimos are but something about farmer telling him about them seems sincere

He's very cuddly after getting to know him and dating. His love language happens to be physical touch and every touch makes him fall harder

This also means he gets a little sad when it's summer and too hot to cuddle that farmer turns around in their sleep. He gets pouty in the morning after until he gets a kiss LMAO

He'll frequently realize how messy he leaves his spaces, and will clean up. He tries to upkeep the cleanliness and manages it for a few days before it starts to get messy again. Sometimes it lasts a while, but sometimes it just slips his mind due to bad habits

Farmer pops into mind every time he has an urge to drink, and he'll shake it off and go do something else for them. He's DETERMINED to be the best person he can be for farmer

Alex: 10/10

A little rough at first lol- his attitude is very icky in the beginning BUT he's cute 

Once you get through that exterior he practically does a 180- HE'S SO SWEET AND CARING and no longer uhhh icky

He would tackle things for you (can he help farmer out of the mines when they pass out in the game? If he does I'd like to think he just picks them up and BOOKS it for the exit knocking anything in his path down LMFAO)

Becomes pouty when he gets a little jealous

Again he's very sweet- he kisses Evelyn and George on the cheeks every morning before he leaves the house, he often thinks about his late mom and visits her grave with flowers from Pierre's and has a small picnic there

I feel he would be prone to dreams about his mom, waking up in a cold sweat and tears. After the 8-heart event he gets up and does something sweet like making a whole breakfast for Evelyn & George or giving Dusty some quality time with walks, playing, and a good treat

Will be extremely protective over farmer. Farmer gives him a heart attack every time they go to the mines or the skull cavern or even in the sewer like baby what are you doing WHY ARE YOU GOING INTO THE MANHOLE

The caves he can't follow farmer with because he knows he isn't trained to fight monsters like farmer is and might hold them back instead, but he'll wait outside or tell Harvey that farmer's in the mines instead

Doesn't come out with it but he needs a lot of reassurance due to abandonment issues. He gets a little clingy and touchy but a little shy. (reaching for farmer’s hand/just pinching onto a part of the farmer’s clothes and holding on)

Sebastian: 10/10

This one might be rough cause I've never really felt much for him IM SORRY

Once farmer asks him out he's very unsure how to proceed. He'll call them things like dude and bro *with love*

It's literally like pulling teeth for him to call farmer honey just cause he's never been the affectionate type till now hehehe he'll try to say it and then drop to his knees like OTL and curl up (He'll get it eventually tho- this is just like the first few months LMFAO)

He has frogs right? He'll show you his frogs 

Your void chickens will love this emo boy they just vibe y'know?

He shows his love through acts of service and gifts, finding out the things you love and bringing them to you

As awkward as he is, his true intentions are very evident when he starts to really try to reconnect with Robin and asking her for advice on most anything he hasn't much a clue about.

He wants to be able to properly feel like part of his family, because farmer tells him that he deserves to feel loved there too. He’ll have a difficult heart-to-heart with Robin, Demetrius, and Maru and over time the family dynamic starts to heal. Sebastian is eternally grateful for farmer and tells them about the relationship and they’re all overjoyed to have farmer as part of the family too

He WILL stop smoking if farmer ever raises concern for his well-being

He starts to come out of his shell more (in general) as he and farmer progress their relationship. He tries his best to be a great partner, and everyone can sense that his demeanor is a little bit brighter than before. He starts to not be as shy about PDA too

He has many hoodies for farmer to steal HOWEVER they're all the exact same pair HAHAHA

Elliott: 10/10

I may also struggle with Elliott for similar reasons

Handsome right off the bat bro

But you'll never be able to be the one with the great hair in the relationship cause man he dominates in that

I see him as a gentle lover- very old-school romantic

He writes farmer love poems and songs often HE WILL SERENADE FARMER EVEN THOUGH HE'S ALREADY MOVED IN

Has pictures of farmer EVERYWHERE like his desk, in his books and notebooks, and has one of those accordion picture holders in his wallet of farmer and himself (and their child(ren) when time comes) He shows them off to the other villagers at the Saloon even tho they literally know farmer LMAOO

Has a very comforting vibe to him- he knows how to coddle farmer after they take a visit to the clinic

He'd let farmer use his favorite pen, trusting that it would return to him

Romantic gestures are EVERYWHERE. Songs, poems, so many pretty flowers in farmer's hair. 

I think he'd be the best cook out of everyone. Farmer wants to go out on a fancy date out of the village?? S'NOT GOOD ENOUGH- Elliott will change the whole decor of the kitchen and spend hours cooking and preparing for farmer to come home and then he plays all the roles (waiter, bus person, lover, etc) through the entire meal. But if farmer really actually wants to go out he'll go with it

Bachelorettes will be done in part 2 soon!

[its-the-pilot]

Waves | 9 | Rooster x Reader

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Waves Masterlist | Masterlist |

Sorry this took so long, first time writing smut in over 10 years! Please forgive ❤ and enjoy!

Summary: You get some unexpected news and share an unexpected night with Bradley. (Mav's niece!reader)

Warnings: smut! 18+ only minors DNI (oral (f receiving), unprotected sex) swearing, adult banter

Length: 3.8k words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Message or comment to join the taglist!

Chapter Nine

“Get your boots off my desk, Seresin,” you said, walking into your office with your nose buried in a file. 

Jake was wearing his flight suit, his steel-toed boots propped up on the wooden surface, balancing the chair he was sitting in on its back legs. He leaned his head back to track you as you rounded the desk to sit in your chair, a smirk on his lips. “There you are, Doc. Been waiting for you for a bit.”

You put the file down and cocked an eyebrow at him. “The locked door should have made it clear that I wasn’t here.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t feel like waiting out in the hall, so I picked it,” he countered, his fingers laced together behind his head, his feet still on your desk. “Were you and Bradshaw gettin’ busy?”

“You have issues,” you replied, leaning forward to push his boots to the floor. 

He chuckled, the heavy boots making a loud thump. “Have you been talking to my therapist?” 

You couldn’t help but smile, even as you rolled your eyes. “Don’t you have to be in the air today?”

“In a while,” Jake answered, shrugging his shoulders. “Had some time to kill, so I thought I’d come chat with you.”

In the few weeks since the current TOP GUN class started, the initial annoyance you had upon meeting Jake had blossomed into a strong friendship. Most days, when you both had time, he found himself in your office, hanging out and chatting. Technically, you were his therapist, but even outside of your weekly sessions, you found yourself sharing things with each other that you hadn’t shared with anyone else.

He had told you about his family, the reasons he wanted to leave his small town in Texas to join the Navy, and why he felt like he wasn’t worthy of a committed relationship. In turn, you had told him about your boyfriend from college who used you for the trust your parents had set up, only to leave you for someone else when the money ran out, something you weren’t even ready to tell Bradley yet. 

You were in the middle of a conversation about plans for the upcoming weekend when a sharp knock came on the doorframe, your door left open from when you had entered earlier. Looking over his shoulder, Jake scrambled to his feet when he saw Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson, saluting him.

“Good morning, Admiral,” you greeted, standing from your chair behind your desk and working to suppress the smile that threatened to cross your lips at Jake’s reaction. 

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Cyclone grunted, turning his attention to you when Jake did as he was told. “I need to speak with you, Doctor Mitchell. Will 11:30 work for you?”

You took a quick peek at your schedule on your computer and nodded. “It will, Admiral. Your office?”

He gave a simple nod and turned on his heel before walking out of your office, leaving you and Jake alone again. 

“Wonder what that’s all about?” he asked, turning back to face you.

“No idea,” you said quietly, sitting back down at your desk, racking your brain for reasons why the Vice Admiral would want to see you. Finally, after a moment of quiet, you shook your head, offering Jake a smile. “I have an appointment in a few minutes. Fly safe, okay?”

Hangman nodded, giving you a wink as he headed for the door. “Will do, Doc. Talk to you later.

 -------------------------

You weren’t sure what Admiral Simpson wanted to talk to you about, and as you waited outside his office for him, you found yourself getting more anxious about it. Had he found out about your relationship with Bradley? Was he going to kick him out of TOP GUN or fire you?

“Doctor Mitchell?” The voice of the Admiral’s secretary pulled you from your thoughts and you turned to look at her. “He’s ready for you.”

“Thanks,” you smiled, standing to enter the office. Once inside, you stepped toward the large desk and nodded in greeting, clasping your hands in front of you. “Good morning again, Admiral.”

He looked up from his desk and nodded, motioning to the chair beside you. “Good morning. Please, sit.”

You did as you were told, sitting in the chair across from him with your hands in your lap, trying to hide your anxiety. “Sir, if this is about Lieutenant Bradshaw and I…”

Simpson cocked an eyebrow, shaking his head. “What you do in your free time is your business, Doctor. I have no interest in your private life so long as it doesn’t interfere with the Navy,” he reassured you. “So, no, this is about something else.”

He slid a file across his desk toward you, nodding for you to pick it up. “I have TDY orders for you. They need someone at Oceana for a week or so. There was a crash, and two aviators died.”

Picking up the file, you flipped through it as you listened to him explain how during a demonstration two of the jets crashed, immediately killing both pilots. The base had two psychologists of their own, but all of the squadrons had been watching and every member needed an evaluation before returning to duty. There were simply too many to get done in a timely manner.

“Sounds like an awful accident,” you frowned, closing the file and setting it on your lap. “Of course, I’m happy to help if they need me.”

“Excellent,” he replied, pushing another folder across his desk to you. “Here is your flight and accommodation information. I’ve taken the liberty of having your appointments rescheduled for the first week of September, you should be back by then.”

You looked over the information you were given, noting that your flight was early the next morning. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Take the rest of the afternoon,” he suggested. “Your flight is early, if I recall.”

“It is. I will see you next week, Admiral,” you said with a nod, standing to exit his office with the files he gave you.

 Once you were in the hallway outside of his office, you leaned against the wall and sighed. You and Bradley were just starting to get comfortable, falling into a routine and forming a strong relationship that you hoped would be able to withstand being on opposite coasts for a while. Now you were being forced to test it out.

Pulling out your phone, you sent a quick text to Bradley, letting him know that you were going home and that you would see him later, before heading to the locker room to change into your workout clothes and going home to pack.

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

Bradley had gotten used to seeing you all the time, effectively moving out of the Navy Lodge where the TOP GUN recruits had been staying and into your bungalow. You had been focused on spending as much time together as possible, knowing that in two months you would have a whole country separating you.

That’s why he was surprised when you didn’t meet him for lunch in the mess like you normally did. Instead, much to his chagrin, Hangman sat down across from him, a smirk on his lips. 

“No Doctor Sexy today?” He asked, taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. 

Bradley rolled his eyes and pointed his fork at Jake. “I swear to God, if she hears you call her that I will kill you,” he promised, stabbing at the salad on his plate before taking a bite. “But no, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her.” In fact, he hadn’t heard from you at all since he drove you both to the base that morning.

Jake nodded, continuing to eat his lunch. “Cyclone stopped in and asked her for a meeting earlier, maybe it ran over?”

“Yeah, it could have,” he mused, curious what you were meeting about. The thought was fleeting though, quickly replaced with a slight irritation at Hangman and his unexpected friendship with you. “Wait. You talked with her today?”

“Almost every day,” he replied, shrugging casually. “I swing by her office sometimes between flights to chat.” Jake paused, his smirk spreading across his lips again as realization dawned. “You’re still jealous? Damn, Rooster, she thinks you’re over it.”

Bradley turned his attention back to his lunch, ignoring the redness he felt rising up his neck in hopes that Jake would do the same. “I’m not jealous. She wants to be friends with you, that’s her business.”

“She’s gonna be pissed if she finds out,” he laughed, unable to stop himself despite the scowl on the brunette’s face. Jake sobered after a moment, leaning forward a bit as he lowered his voice. “I know what you think about me, Bradshaw. But I’m not out to steal your girl, I don’t do that shit. She’s yours, that was clear from the first night at the Hard Deck.”

His words took a minute to sink in before Bradley nodded. “Sorry,” he apologized, hoping his sincerity showed through as he looked the blonde in the eye. 

Jake shrugged it off. “She’s a good woman, you’re lucky. Don’t fuck it up,” he warned with a slight grin playing on his lips.

“I don’t intend to,” Bradley countered, finishing his salad and piling his trash on the tray, preparing to leave.

“People usually don’t intend to hurt others, Rooster. It just happens.” Hangman watched as the other man stood, taking his tray with him. “Just take care of her like she deserves.”

Bradley nodded with a grunt of affirmation. “See you around, Hangman,” he replied, dropping his tray off on his way out the door of the mess. Checking his phone, he read the text message from you, confused as to why you were going home in the middle of the day, but not wanting to press you. He sent back a quick ‘OK’ with a heart emoji and sighed, heading to the ready room to get ready for his next flight.

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

After taking a long run to clear your head, you went home and showered, dressing in a pair of shorts and one of Bradley’s Navy t-shirts before you set to packing for your trip. Once your bag was packed and placed near the front door, you settled on the couch with a blanket and decided to take a nap while you waited for Bradley to come home. 

The sound of the Bronco pulling into your driveway woke you a few hours later, and you managed to sit up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes just as he walked inside dressed in his khaki uniform, smiling when he saw you on the couch. “Hey, baby,” he greeted, kicking off his boots near the door. He was about to drop his duffle in the same spot he normally did when he noticed your suitcase was there instead. His brow furrowed in confusion as he looked over at you. “Everything okay?”

You nodded, patting the spot next to you, an invitation for him to come sit. “I have to leave tomorrow morning,” you explained, offering him the file once he joined you. “There was a crash at Oceana, and they need another psychologist to help with the debriefs.”

Bradley read over the file you handed him, shaking his head. The men who died weren’t from his squadron, but he had seen them around base and knew they were well liked. He didn’t know what to say, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he set the file on the coffee table. 

Shifting closer to him, you ran a hand over his back, leaning in to kiss his shoulder. “I should only be gone for a week. You can stay here, if you want.”

He turned his head to look at you over his shoulder. “Are you sure?” he asked, smiling when you nodded in affirmation. “This will be good practice for when I go back to Virginia.”

“I was thinking the same thing, even though I don’t want to be apart,” you frowned, letting him pull you against his side when he sat back against the couch cushions. 

“We still have tonight,” he assured you, smoothing his hand over your back. “And like you said, you’ll only be gone a week.”

You leaned up to kiss him, your fingers gripping the collar of his khaki shirt as you spoke against his lips. “Good, because I want to make tonight memorable.”

He released a quiet groan as his fingers gripped your waist, pulling you gently onto his lap. Your hands fell onto his chest, feeling his toned muscles under your palms as his large hand wrapped around your neck, pulling you closer to deepen the kiss. You reached up to gently stroke his jaw as his hands slid down to find your thighs, thumbs circling the soft skin that was pressing against his hips. He was only willing to go at your pace, which you appreciated.

Biting your lip, you looked down between your bodies and rocked your hips against his length, earning a grunt from him. His calloused fingers pressed into your thighs, threatening to leave bruises. “Careful,” he warned, his voice low.

A devilish smirk pulled at your lips as you repeated the movement, knowing it was a bluff. He made no move to stop you from grinding against him, and so you continued, enjoying the way he kept showing you how good it made him feel. The thin fabric of your shorts did little to create a barrier between his erection and the growing wetness between your thighs, forming a wet spot on the front of his uniform pants.

“I want you, B,” you whispered, unbuttoning his khaki shirt slowly, pushing it off of his shoulders and moving to rid him of his undershirt. He allowed you to undress him without a word, his eyes never leaving yours. “I’m ready.” 

“Are you sure?” he asked, feeling your nails scratch their way down his chest gently, settling on his belt buckle. 

You nodded, noting a subtle shift in his breathing when you leaned back to take off his Navy shirt, leaving you topless. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ve never been more sure about something.”

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, running his hands up your sides, exploring your freshly bared skin.

You felt the heat rising in your cheeks, and before you could reply, Bradley was rolling you over, your head falling back onto the couch cushion as he hovered above you. He resumed kissing you, alternating between deep, tongue-filled kisses and soft pecks, your hands roaming each other’s bodies the whole time.

After some time, your lips were swollen and you were flushed, your hair a tangled mess covering the couch beneath you. But you couldn’t bring yourself to care, your hands grasping at his dog tags as they hung between you, silently pleading for him to come closer. 

One of Bradley’s hands began to wander lower, his fingers grazing the skin just above your shorts, causing your body to rise, chasing his touch. 

He smirked at that -- the smug asshole.

His lips returned to yours before moving down to your neck and sucking softly, leaving red marks on your tender skin. He finally pulled back after a few moments, smiling down at the blissed out look on your face. Without warning, he pushed himself off the couch and lifted you into his arms, carrying you into your bedroom where he dropped you on the bed unceremoniously, his hands moving to unbuckle his belt and shed his khakis, leaving him in his black boxer briefs. 

You propped yourself up on your elbows, licking your lips at the sight of him standing at the end of your bed. He moved forward slowly, his hands sliding up your thighs until he reached the waistband of your shorts, tucking his thumbs into them. He slowly dropped to his knees as he slipped your shorts and the accompanying panties down your legs, tossing them aimlessly behind him as he focused on his prize, spreading your thighs gently. 

“Is this okay?” Bradley asked, meeting your eyes. You were sure that he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear your consent. “C’mon, baby, you can say it.”

His voice had deepened further, a seductive purr that sent a wave of pleasure straight to your core. “Please, B,” you managed, a whimper escaping the back of your throat.

You gasped as he leaned in and licked a stripe up your folds, the sudden stimulation making your body shudder a bit. His tongue gently traced circles onto your clit, and you tugged on his hair, drawing a moan from him as he repeated the movement, craving more of you and your reaction. 

He buried his face between your legs, the freshly groomed hair on his upper lip tickling your sensitive clit. “Oh, wow.” 

His lips twitched, and the way his smirk felt against your throbbing clit was something that you wouldn't soon forget. He moaned happily against your sensitive flesh as you ground yourself onto his mouth, his heavy hands holding your hips. 

It didn’t take long, only minutes of his deep sounds, his big hands and his talented tongue. “I’m gonna come, B,” you whined, pulling on his hair as your whole body tensed. It was easily the most intense orgasm you had ever experienced, leaving you panting when you finally relaxed, releasing his hair as he kissed his way back up your body. 

His chin and mustache were wet with your juices as he smiled down at you before leaning in for a kiss, letting you taste yourself. “That was so fucking hot, Dimples,” he said breathlessly, his hard length pressing against your thigh as he hovered over you. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” You let your fingers drag through the sparse dark hair on his chest as you moved lower, teasing at the waistband of his boxer briefs. Meeting his eyes, you slid your hand even lower to palm at his bulge, a quiet moan escaping your lips. 

Bradley’s head dropped to your shoulder with a matching moan as your hand rubbed against him. “Jesus, baby… do you have condoms?”

You shook your head, squeezing his length gently through the fabric. “I’m clean, and I’m on the pill,” you whispered in his ear. “Please, Bradley… remind me what else I’ve been missing.”

With a growl he leaned up and pushed his shorts down, kicking them off the bed before settling between your spread thighs once again. He could feel the heat radiating from your core and he grabbed his cock in his hand, guiding it to your entrance to tease your clit with the head. 

“Ready, baby?” he asked. When you moaned, begging him to continue, he pressed into you slowly, inch by inch until his hips were flush to yours, making you both moan at the feeling of finally being reunited in that way. 

Your walls felt tight against him and he didn’t move right away, giving you time to adjust. When you finally bucked your hips to meet him, he pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back in, causing your head to fall back with a whimper and your hands to grab his muscled arms for support.

The grip of his own hands tightened on your hips as he started thrusting into you at a slow but steady pace, letting you feel every inch of him while he enjoyed every inch of you. Under him, you were a squirming mess of moans and whimpers, your hands roaming all over his back, nails digging into his skin as the pleasure was too much and not enough simultaneously. 

Your eyes were closed and your neck on full display as you begged for him between moans. “Bradley… so big… please, faster…”

Bradley didn’t hesitate to oblige, increasing his pace as your back arched against him. He kissed down your neck to your breasts, teasing your nipple gently with his tongue before taking the stiff peak into his mouth and sucking on it, giving a sharp thrust at the sound you made.

“You like that, Dimples?” he panted, repeating the motion on your other breast and groaning as you clenched tightly around him. “You feel so good, baby, so wet for me.”

You couldn’t respond, too lost in the pleasure he was providing you. It was all you could do to moan his name and respond to his thrusts by digging your heels into his ass, pulling him deeper inside you. For the second time that night, you felt yourself getting close to the edge, and you knew Bradley could feel it too as he sped up, hitting your sweet spot with every thrust. 

“Bradley!”

He growled against your throat, feeling his balls tighten at how hot you sounded crying out his name, at the way you were clenching around him with your tight, wet heat. “What is it, baby? Tell me what you need.” His voice was deep and hoarse, his thrusts becoming more erratic as he struggled to hold out, wanting you to come first.

“I… please, B… I need to come. Please!” you whined, feeling yourself rushing toward your climax.

A few more thrusts and your thighs were shaking against his hips, which continued to move back and forth tortuously. Bradley brought a hand to where you were joined and pressed his thumb to your swollen clit, circling it. Before you knew it, you were coming, screaming his name and your walls squeezing him so tight he couldn’t hold back any longer, spilling himself inside you.

With a hoarse moan of your name, he emptied himself and let his body fall over your trembling one. 

You were still coming down from your high when he pulled out gently and laid beside you, gently pushing your hair away from your forehead before kissing you. “Let me clean you up,” he whispered, moving from the bed to the bathroom and returning a moment later with a warm washcloth.

He gently ran the cloth between your legs, kissing your hip when you hissed at the contact against your sensitive folds. When he was done he tossed it away and pulled you into his arms, your head resting on his chest. “That was…” you sighed contentedly, tracing the defined lines of his abdomen. “Did you…?”

Bradley chuckled, tipping your chin up to kiss you. “I did. You are amazing.” He rubbed his hand over your back as you both relaxed, then glanced at the clock before speaking. “Have you eaten since breakfast?”

You shook your head, only just realizing that you hadn’t. With the way your day had gone, there just hadn’t been time. “We can get some takeout?”

“Sounds great,” he grinned. “And we still have the rest of the night together.”

Chapter Ten

[thetaoofzoe]

‘It Was Fun to Be Wanted by Someone Like Elvis Presley’: An Interview With Darlene Love

The gifted singer reflects on Elvis’s collaborative presence and his relationship to gospel music

by MICHAEL MUSTO August 7, 2018

The swaggering real-life Jeff Koons statue named Elvis Presley is hot again. Eugene Jarecki’s June-released documentary The King involves a road trip taken in Elvis’s old Rolls to survey his impact on the culture and determine that the American dream the singer represented is officially dead. (But oh, when it lasted!) Even darker is the film’s exploration of Presley’s appropriation of African-American culture, covering songs like “Hound Dog” — originally a non-hit for the brilliant Big Mama Thornton — and making them rock and sell. For singers like Thornton, the American dream never existed.

Enter powerhouse singer Darlene Love, who is represented on another new project, Where No One Stands Alone, a fourteen-track compilation of Elvis’s gospel work due out August 10 on RCA/Legacy. The L.A.-born minister’s daughter started singing in the church choir at ten, on the road to being scooped up by producer Phil Spector to belt hits like “He’s a Rebel,” “Today I Met The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” and “Christmas (Baby,Please Come Home).” The lead voice of such groups as the Blossoms and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, Love ended up working as a maid in the Eighties, but when she heard one of her old hits on the radio while she was scrubbing, it inspired her to get back into performing full-time. Her appearance in the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom was memorable, especially when it addressed the way Spector promised her a solo career, but gave other singers credit for her work.

I recently talked to Darlene about her backup singing for Elvis, and how she feels about the King’s relationship to the music he both co-opted and celebrated.

Hi, Darlene. What is some of the gospel work you did with Elvis?

There is “Let Us Pray,” the one from the movie we did with Elvis, Change of Habit. That was his last film.

It was in 1969, with Elvis as a doctor and Mary Tyler Moore as a nun.

We, the Blossoms, are in the first scene. And we were in his 1968 comeback special [Singer Presents … ELVIS].

His new gospel compilation album should be quite interesting.

They [recently] had me do some fill-ins, what we call ad libs, throughout the album to make it sound more gospel. I haven’t heard it yet. Hopefully it’s a wonderful thing.

Elvis went to church and listened to gospel singers to soak up what they did, right? 

Even today, it’s more mixed than it was in the Fifties and Sixties. Whites and blacks didn’t go to church together back then. What Elvis told me he would do — we had night service on Sunday night when we did what we called “praise songs.” A lot of them were songs he loved, what we called “hymn songs.”

We didn’t have air conditioners. We had pushup windows, with a little rope. Elvis said he would stand outside the church rather than going in, because they didn’t think black and white should be in the same churches together. He said he would listen through the windows. It gave him such a thrill. It’s a big difference between the way blacks sang gospel and the way whites sang gospel.

Do you feel he was dedicated to the music or he was just taking it for himself? 

I found out years later, when we were doing the comeback special, that his mother’s favorite music was gospel. He would always sing gospel around her. I think if he could have had a big career in gospel music, that’s where he would have been. But you can always make more money off secular hits. Elvis had 10 or 15,000 people come to his shows to see him. Today, they have mega churches that hold 25,000, but back then, you were doing great if you had 500 people.

I bet they have air conditioning now.

Oh, lord, yes. [Laughs] I lived in Texas for five years as a young kid with my father, and it was so hot we couldn’t even breathe. There was no air conditioning in church or the house. What a difference it makes to have a cool ensemble. You still sweat because of the energy, but back then, we were soaking wet, when we sang in church.

I love gospel music. If I had a calling — meaning from the Lord — just to sing gospel, I would have, but the secular music got to more people. I bet a lot of secular singers like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin felt the same way. They never paid us no money. “Do it unto the Lord.” “OK.” [Laughs] We would drive to the gigs and they’d give you an offering — gas money. They were hardly giving us a whole lot of money. But it was worth it, every penny of it. It was a wonderful experience singing gospel.

But was Elvis appropriating the music, or that’s just the way it was?

That’s just the way it was. A lot of people think a white person is copying the black person. He just loved the music and he was singing it the way he felt. He sang “Hound Dog” completely different than Mama Thornton. [Elvis’s version was rock, whereas Thornton’s was blues.] Even today, they take secular music and put it in gospel, and vice versa. You know, Elvis won three Grammys, and they were all for gospel records. 

What were your experiences like with Elvis?

One time, Elvis decided we’d all go to the movies. He bought this theater out that night.

What did you watch — Change of Habit?

Don’t even ask me. I don’t remember. [Laughs] We had a lot of free time when we were recording and when we were making the movie. That’s when the Blossoms and myself got a chance to know the gospel side of Elvis. He’d want to know the songs we knew. He’d get his guitar and say, “You know this song?” “Yes, we grew up on it.” He’d say, “Let’s do it.”

Was he funny or serious?

He was funny and he was serious sometimes. If he didn’t think he was doing great, he’d say, “Hey, girls, how’m I doing?” He was very, very funny. I call it that “country funny.” He would do his moves in the studio the way he was gonna do them onstage. It made it easy to be around him, but sometimes it was not easy because his bodyguards were keeping people from him. He wanted to be with the Blossoms, where he could pull out his guitar. We’d say, “We think you’d better go. You’re gonna get us in trouble.” We’d never forget, because he’d be giving us his personal time.

You’d just be hanging out and singing?

Yes! Whatever song he knew — “Amazing Grace” or “River of Jordan” or “Heaven Is a Wonderful Place” or “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” We called them hymns of the church. There was another one called “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.” The Blossoms were known for their harmony. We’d harmonize with him. There’s something we had with Elvis that others didn’t have. It was fun to be wanted by someone like Elvis Presley.

He had tremendous respect for you.

Yes, he did. That was great. I always say he left us way too soon. He is where I plan to go one day, so I’ll see him again.

You were all rather young and great-looking. Was there any sexual tension in the air? 

There was. It could have been. But I was too scared to do anything.

You fool! [Laughs] Kidding. You wanted to keep it professional.

And I definitely did. Something about dating someone you’re working for, it takes away from that. “I know he’s never gonna look at me the same after this.” [Laughs] He’d start playing with me. He’d tap you on the shoulder or do a hip shake, and me and Elvis knew what that meant.

Flirting?

Yeah, I think so, and I think it showed his human side. I wasn’t bad-looking — and I was thin, too. [Laughs] He wanted to take out time and be around us. The reason we sang on his ’68 comeback special is he was the one that insisted that the Blossoms sing in the music section of the show.

So Elvis treated you better than Phil Spector did?

Oh my God, I’d say so.

That’s an easy one.

That’s a real easy one. Phil took advantage of me and my talent. With Elvis, he wanted us to work, and we got paid well. It wasn’t like Phil Spector cracking the whip and us running around!

[callsignmarz]

‼️MDNI‼️ - Ghost x Y/N | Fem :“A Night With A Player.”

Being single certainly had its days.

There were countless nights you spent, swiping on dating apps, in search for someone relatively close to Prince Charming. However, over time, each new face seemed to blend in with the next, leaving you in disillusionment.

Whenever you got a match, it seemed there was lack of any genuine connection.

The small talks fizzled into abrupt silence.

Every conversation started to sound the same.

Slowly becoming immune to the repetitive compliments.

What a fucking bore...

You want something different yet, so familiar. Something that could easily light up just a little bit of excitement in your dull and very sexless life.

As you were brushing your teeth, the soft glow of your phone illuminates from your bathroom counter accompanied by the sharp ping of a text, suddenly seizing your attention. Your eyes peek at the aesthetically appealing home screen, taking a glance at the time instead.

10:46 pm

1 new text message

Any text this late at night was always presumed unimportant. So, shrugging it off and go about your nighttime routine.

Moments later another text chimes through the air.

"Who the fuck is texting me?" You say in an exasperated huff, fluttering your eyelids with exhaustive annoyance.

Why was it so hard for someone to simply find the patience to wait?

Snatching up your phone, you expect someone reasonable so you so don't act on one of your very many creative ideas. Suspicion arouses in your chest when you see the text messages that came in were from an unknown number. For a minute or so, you re-read the cryptic words on the screen.

Miss me, Love?

Hope you're not ignorin' me, y/n...

Raising a brow, your thumbs taps your screen, typing up your response, feeling intrigued as you piece together who this person is. All the serious ex-boyfriends are currently blocked—unless one of them got a new phone number. Then again, could it be that one fine ass doctor who flaked out when you were supposed to meet up for coffee, what was his name? Leon? Leroy?

The thought of playing 20 questions felt childish, and yet, you couldn't resist a good game of cat and mouse.

Do I have a reason to?

It was a simple question.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Satisfied with your response, you confidently press the send button and swiftly make your way to the bedroom, ready to crawl into the comfort of your safe haven. As you were settling down, it wasn't long before you got another text. Your lips fought back the devious smirk that toyed at the corners. Then the habitual urge to wait a few minutes before you responded, kicked into play. Counting the minutes down to a T, you went through the motions until you allowed yourself to eagerly grab ahold of your phone.

I'm goin' to take that as you don't remember me then...Shame, really.

You pause, staring at the mysterious text with your thumbs hovering over your keyboard in hesitation.

Despite the warning bells ringing through your head, you were drawn in, almost obligated to keep it the conversation flirtatious and flowing, your stomach whirls in temptation and your veins pumped with adrenaline. "Y/N... you're literally just asking for it at this point." You depressingly tell yourself, while you await the unknown.

Shame? So, why don't you remind me then?

In a matter of seconds and with amped up urgency ricocheting in the air, your phone chimes 3 times.

You never cease to amaze me, y/n.

It's Simon.

I'm only in town for a few days.

Ahh..That explains a lot...

Tipping your head back and like a film to a movie, the past emotions you had suppressed a long time ago begins to resurface. You knew all too well that Simon was the kind of person who just wanted to get his dick wet, and yet, here you are...

And I should care why..?

A wry smirk tugged on Simon's cheeks, you were the same y/n as he remembered.

In his eyes, you reminded him of a coconut.

A fruitful woman who sought out love with a tough, hardened exterior, protecting the delicate and delicious center. Given just the right amount of pressure, the shell would crack, exposing the soft interior.

And Simon knew exactly how to break through.

Don't act like you don't have flashbacks of how I made your legs shake with just two of my fingers.

A bit cocky today, aren't you?

Willin' to find out?

Rekindling anything with Simon would be a waste of time and energy. It was going to lead you down a path that held nothing but short-lived highs and hallow, empty promises.

Even with the nostalgic scenes from the past manifesting, the mere act of conversing with Simon reignites an extinguished flame that quickly spreads throughout your body.

You could also use the good fucking.

Maybe.

And there it was.

It was a crumb, but to Simon, it was an entry ticket. He was quite impressed with himself that he didn't even have to do much convincing this time around.

Absolutely fuckin' beautiful...

Still live on Downer?

How cute, you remembered.

Of course, I remembered. Why wouldn't I?

There were plenty of fucking reasons.

Not only did Simon lead you on, believing there was a chance to a sustainable future with him, you had also caught him in several lies.

Like the one time you went through his phone and saw 3 different women, actively pursuing a relationship and none of them aware about one other. At least you had the heart to send them the screenshots, right? But once again, the impulsive nature to be a total bitch trended on the horizon.

Honestly? I thought you would've forgotten.

It's been a while.

Simon hums with satisfaction stroking his ego.

He had you right where he wanted you.

Just a little bit more...

How can I forgot about the one that got away?

Out of all the shit we went through, I still admire you. I crave a woman that is independent and strong willed. Besides, we had a lot of fun together.

Like a siren's song, you found yourself unable to resist him.

All the blood in your body rushed to your most sensitive areas, shivering with agonizing need. Taking the edge off, your left hand glides down the gap of your tits, passing your navel and resting between the heat of your thighs, massaging your throbbing clit through your shorts, greedily rocking your hips into your fingers.

So, when did you want to come over?

Fuck, what am I doing..?

This was a bad idea, but the longing feel for connection overshadowed the rational voice in your head.

The intoxicating chemistry between you and Simon was undeniable, your fingers swirl circles, your breathing shallowing with more dirty thoughts from the past come flooding back. The soft glow from your phone captures your attention, stunting you from reaching your climax.

Reading the last of his words, your heart flutters and you do as Simon says.

Quit touching yourself.

I'll be over in 15.

[arteastica]

early in the morning, especially when it rains, and a little before noon. (17)

erwin x fem!reader

chapters: (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) | (11) | (12) | (13) | (14) | (15) | (16) | (18) | (19) | (20) | (21) | (22) | (23) | (24) | (25) | (26) | (27)

summary: I basically took Isayama’s work, forced it into a romance story, and made Erwin the love interest. Commander meets cadet and they fall in love (not instantly though)

notes: very berry canonverse (but some events were modified to fit my narrative), wasn’t intended to be this long, but it all is in the details right?

content warnings: smut where it fits (or where I make it fit. Also, reader is NOT underage, so likewise, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, please.) slow burn (I really mean it. I’m not olympic diving into any form of smut for the first chapters.) no angst. I dislike angst. I would never. I could never. (Although angst can be somewhat subjective so take it with a grain of salt?)

wc: 4.1k

“Let me see.” You took the notebook from him, your head resting on his shoulder as your eyes scanned the paper. “Oh! Very impressive. I can understand almost everything.”

“Well, if you want to get better at something all you have to do is practice.” He held the paper away from his face and tilted it slightly, as if trying to get a new perspective. “Practice and practice every time you get the chance to. And, sitting on this bed all day, I can confidently say that I have had way too many of those.”

You stared at him as he rolled his wrist and went back to writing. You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for being so strict about the things he was or wasn’t allowed to do. However, this thought process was already all too familiar to your brain, and you had learned how to deal with it over course of the last few weeks: All you had to do was remind yourself that everything was for his own good, and the guilt would automatically start to fade.

You were taking care of him exactly like the doctor had advised, and if the satisfied nods he gave to himself whenever he came to check up on the Commander were anything to go by, you were happy to report it all seemed to be working. The horrible fevers were finally gone, and so was the discharge from his wound. And, not only that, but every time he held your hand, you could tell his grip was getting firmer and stronger.

Life seemed to be slowly going back to normal, not just for him, but for everyone at the headquarters. Well, at least as normal as things could get after everything that had happened. The incident with Reiner and Bertolt had taken a toll on every member of the 104th Training Corps, especially on Eren and Connie, who were the closest to them, even though they wouldn’t admit to it. And, although you hadn’t seen Krista since the Summer, when she had been sent to Squad Leader Miche’s base, you could only imagine how affected she had to be by Ymir’s absence.

And, speaking of Squad Leader Miche, you couldn’t believe he was gone. And not only that, but the circumstances of his passing were downright traumatizing. You had struggled to fall asleep for several nights after filing his death report. The testimonies of those who witnessed th-

“What do you think of this one?” The Commander’s voice pulled you out of the disturbing headspace you had slowly started to sink into.

“I think it’s not fair that your handwriting is prettier than mine when that isn’t even your dominant hand.”

He had been practicing how to write with his left hand for weeks now. That, along with daily walks along the forest path, which by the way had started as a way for him to get some fresh air, but that now had turned into his excuse to wander around the castle supervising everything and everyone, were the only things he was allowed to do under your strict care. But now that the risk of his wound reopening was minimal, you couldn’t wait for him to go back to his routine. You knew that would help him recover faster.

He also received regular visits from Captain Levi and Captain Hange, and they would plot things for hours behind closed doors. Fortunately, you didn’t have to worry about the Commander overexerting himself, because Captain Levi was as much, if not much more, inflexible than you were about what the Commander was or wasn’t allowed to do. You knew he wouldn’t hesitate cutting the meetings short if needed.

As for you and what your days looked like lately, well, you had practically moved to the office. If your mother knew, she would probably say you were married to your job. In fact, there were only two places someone looking for you would need to go in order to find you: your desk or his bed.

During the day, your hand never stopped gliding over papers and seemingly endless reports, and you only got up from your chair if you needed his signature or something from another department. And, during the night, well, you spent most of them with him.

You had stopped sleeping in your room; choosing to stay and keep him company instead. Although his body was recovering well, you were still concerned about his mental health. He was strong and resilient. You knew that. In his time as the 13th Commander, and throughout his whole life really, he had probably overcome numerous tragic situations like these, but the thing is…never without a limb. This was a first. And his dominant hand at that, the one that he needed for virtually everything. So, all things considered, you had decided to accompany him, to stand by him, as he learned to go about his day using his left hand instead.

But, as inappropriate as these thoughts were in nature, and as ashamed as you felt for having them in these moments when everyone, on a personal level and the Scouts as a whole, was going through tough times, you had to admit it was hard to spend most nights in his room, on his bed, breathing his scent, all while not being able to climb on top and have him make love to you.

There were nights when you felt as if you were fighting some sort of addiction, and, at the risk of sounding dramatic, you were pretty confident this was some type of withdrawal experience you were having. The half of the winter holidays you hadn’t spent tormenting yourself over his ex-lover, you had spent fingering yourself to the melodic sound of his voice whispering your name, rubbing your clit to the indecent wet noises he had made when sliding in and out of you that night.

Some nights, especially the coldest ones, when you would snug closer to him and bury your face in the crook of his neck, you had to confess it had taken everything in you not to kiss his inviting skin, not to trace that tempting vein with your tongue. And, needless to say, it had taken everything in you not to reach inside his pants and let your hand tell him how much you had missed him.

And, for some reason you couldn’t explain, you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his thick, remarkable eyebrows locked in a frown of concentration, as his impossibly blue eyes stared at you from between your thighs, and his tongue told your clit all sorts of secrets.

Sadly, however, all you could do was imagine what that would feel like. Because the doctor had been very clear: Refrain from any violent movement or strenuous activity that could hurt his wound. And although, you didn’t ask, you were certain that sex, especially the type you craved and needed, fell under one or both of those categories.

“Well, like I said, practice can only make you better.” He said suddenly, and you honestly had forgotten what he was even replying to. He looked so innocent, eyes glued on his notebook, his inexperienced left hand trying its best to hold the pen, and the remnants of a smile still present on his lips. You knew you shouldn’t, but maybe you could get away with blaming his cotton shirt and the way it clung to the muscles of his broad, sculpted chest; or his tongue and that innocent lick it gave his lips every so often… It all reminded you of a question you wanted to ask that night, when he first made love to you.

“Is that why you are so good in bed?” The moment those words left your mouth, and even before that really, you scolded yourself. You knew you shouldn’t, but you also didn’t know better. Both, your pussy and you, were practically starving, and in such critical condition, decisions are not necessarily rational.

You looked up at him, chin resting on his shoulder, your eyes widening out of hunger more than curiosity. “Did you get a lot of practice over the years?”

He turned to look at you, the way his eyes started devouring your lips instantly getting things tingling in all the right places, especially the very specific bundle of nerves between your legs. It was honestly ridiculous how ready you were for him all the time.

“I hope you’re aware of how unfair that is.” He said, his lips looking more inviting than ever. “Saying that when we both know you are not going to let me touch you.”

You had to admit it was unfair. You were not clueless, you had indeed noticed the way his longing fingers would invite themselves under your nightgown in the late hours, or the way they would linger on your thigh for dangerous periods of time when you were cuddling. And you were also aware of how much self-restraint had been required in order to decline the invitation he was so readily extending. It would have been so easy for you to act on it, you knew he would have welcomed your tongue or your hand gladly.

You sighed and climbed on top of him, choosing to take responsibility for your actions. “I know, and I’m sorry. This one is totally on me.” You couldn’t hide the smile that took over your lips, and in all honesty, you didn’t even try. You locked your hands behind his neck, and lost your gaze into those eyes you would never get tired of seeing. Those deep blue eyes that were to your skin what raindrops to the cobblestones on the hottest day of the summer. And you wondered what harm could a short, sweet kiss do?

“Just a kiss. Okay?” You warned, not even waiting for him to nod before closing the distance between you.

It was not like your lips hadn’t touched at all in the last few weeks. Since you had been staying in his room, of course you wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to kiss him good morning and good night. But it wasn’t the same. Because there was something about finally getting to sit on his lap again, something about the firm grip of his hand on the back of your neck, something about the way he was able to change and control your breathing with a single movement of his tongue. It was like going home after spending an entire life away.

And for a moment, somewhere between his hand pushing your face even closer to his, your mouth opening wider and his tongue reaching deeper, just as the first moan escaped your lips, you felt like you were in your little bubble again. Closed off from the rest of the world, from the loss, the tragedy, the mourning, your insecurities, and the weight of his responsibilities as commander.

And you wondered if it would be possible for the bubble to burst from the inside out. Because your chest was now so full. So full that nothing, not even air, could fit anymore. And maybe that was the reason behind your erratic, shallow breathing; and why you felt as if you were drowning in air.

In his lips.

Your brain was desperately asking you to breathe, but any plea would be effectively hushed by the obscene sounds now leaving your mouth. The rest of your body couldn’t hear the orders, and that would explain why you were completely unable to stop kissing him. And, judging by the way his kiss had turned messy, his lips now devouring the corners of your mouth and your jaw indiscriminately, you could tell he was also finding it hard to stop himself.

His fingers, now completely entangled with your hair, made you think of how different this all felt. So different from the gentle, sweet lovemaking he had showed you the first night you were together. This time, there was something in the air, a raw intensity in the moment, something that was now making his lips abuse a particular spot on your neck, and your fingers, grasp his soft, golden strands.

“Goodness, I miss you so much.” You said, a whisper, the only thing that was able to come out of your breathless lungs. Your mouth opened in a silent moan, as you desperately gasped for air.

And maybe it was the way he started undoing the top buttons of your shirt, or the fact that his face was now buried in the space between your breasts, but you started to feel possessive very quickly. And a very specific person came to mind. She didn’t have a face, because you had never met her. But your insecurities knew her personally.

You looked down and contemplated the way his mouth ravaged your cleavage, his eyes closed and brow furrowed as his lips sucked on the soft, plump skin of your breasts. There was something about seeing his face next to the laces of your bra, and your fingers laced into the base of his soft, blond hair. It hit you: It was your chest his face was buried into. It was the lacework of your underwear the one providing the frame to his gorgeous face. It was your breasts the ones making his brow furrow like that. It was your scent the one making him press his nose so desperately against your skin. It was your body the one he was going feral over.

This was your man. Yours only.

“Commander, I hate the thought of you thinking about a-anyone else.” You said in between moans, moans that his tongue needed to take full responsibility for. “I- I hate to think about your hand sliding under- ah” Speaking of his hand, the way it suddenly squeezed your breast made it increasingly impossible for you to speak. “Under her skirt, or your lips giving her anything other than a quick, a-and very uninterested smile.” You managed to confess, and you wouldn’t blame him if he started to wonder where the fuck had all this come from. After all, he had no way of knowing about the mental breakdowns you had over the possibility of him still loving someone else. “I want your eyes on me. And me only.”

“Well, those are not thoughts you need to concern yourself with.” He stopped ravaging your breasts, and you found yourself hoping it was only momentarily, choosing to lock eyes with you instead. Goodness, you swore there were times that blue could burn so hot. “Because, as far as skirts go…” His fingers trailed along the curve of your ass, until they reached your thigh. “There’s only one my fingers want to slide under.” You took a sudden, violent breath. “It was light blue, silky, tight and so sinfully tempting…”

“I wore it just for you.” You reminded him, hands letting go of his hair and resting on his chest for support as you leaned forward to whisper into his ear. “And I can wear it for you again, anytime you want.” Or I can wear nothing at all, you were tempted to add.

“You know, when I saw you in that little dress,” his lips curved into a subtle smirk, while his hand drew dangerous patterns on your leg, “I had so many thoughts. And each one was more indecent than the other.”

“Like what?” Your eyes bored into his, eagerly waiting for an answer they already had a pretty good guess about.

“I wondered if you would mind my fingers sneaking in through that slit.” You gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly, as if you were about to fall and it was the only thing available to hold on to. “The one in your dress.” He said as his fingertips caressed the tight fabric of your jeans. “And despite how perfect it looked on you, I couldn’t stop thinking that it would look even better on the floor, discarded and forgotten,” he leaned in to whisper, soft and slow against your lips, “along with your panties, in case you were wearing any.”

An obscene whimper escaped your lips as soon as those words left his, and vivid images of him pulling your soaked underwear down and immediately burying his face in between your legs made you clench around nothing. He had talent. You had to admit. So much talent to get into the deepest, most intimate and sensitive parts of yourself with such immaculate smoothness.

“I was, but very little.” You confessed, holding his gaze, as his hand squeezed your thigh tightly. You knew it was just waiting for you to grant him entrance.

So you did.

“Just like the one I’m wearing now.”

Immediately after those words, you felt his hand on you, cupping your pussy; the sudden contact making you groan loudly. His lips, now grazing against your ear, barely touching as they whispered:

“You don’t know how much I want to make love to you right now.” But you knew, the yearning touch of his hand between your legs, fondling you, gave it away. His hot breath in your ear was disarming, and you had no choice but to lean in, to melt into the sweet nothings he had begun to whisper with that smoky voice of his. “I wish you’d let me…” He took your earlobe in between his teeth, pulling it softly. “Because I can’t stop thinking about how good you feel…” You writhed and squirmed against his hand “…And about all the things I would do to you.”

His voice was deeper than the forest, and his words felt like velvet in your ears.

“What things?” You took shallow, loud breaths; eyes closed, basking in all the sensations offered by his hot breath against the sensitive skin of your ear. “What things would you do to me, Commander?” You asked, and you could hear a very faint voice inside your head scolding you for feeding into this. And you tried to remind yourself of the doctor instructions, you really did, but your mouth wasn’t cooperating. It chose to let out another desperate sound instead, one that came directly from between your legs, where your soaked panties were proof of how much you anticipated his answer. You never knew you could need someone’s cock this badly.

“Anything to make you feel good, like you deserve.” His hand, still between your legs all this time, gave you a not-so-gentle squeeze. “Princess.”

You moaned loudly, unable to stop your hips from rolling on his lap. You had to admit that last word sounded exceptionally melodic on his lips.

“Just tell me what you want me to do to you and I will.”

And the honest answer left your mouth before you could stop it.

“I want you to taste me, Commander.” You said, and not in a shy way, as you opened your eyes to look straight into his. You took notice of his pretty lips, now slightly parted, and couldn’t help but imagine how soft they would feel between your legs instead. “I want you to make me come.” You slid your hand down his strong, solid chest, as you leaned forward to confess your fantasy. “With your tongue only.” You could feel him harden under your words, his excitement deliciously poking at your inner thigh, making you repeat your wish. “Please make me come, Commander.”

He studied your face, as your heart restlessly awaited for his response. And, although you couldn’t tell what he was thinking, you could tell, thanks to the desperate squirming of your hips against his erection, that you needed him between your legs immediately, and that any part of his body would be welcomed.

“Is that so? And where would that be?” He asked after a while, his velvety voice sliding into your ear, and reaching every inch of your body. And although, you were certain he had perfectly understood what you meant, who were you to deny him the explicit answer to that question?

“Against your lips, Commander.” You confessed, stealing a glance at those very lips you wished to be devoured by. “In your tongue. All over your face.”

“So sweet.” His hand finally slipped inside your pants, not even bothering to unbutton your jeans. “I bet you taste so sweet.”

You shivered under the icy blue of his eyes, or maybe it was because of the cold fingertips now touching the wet fabric of your panties, delicately playing with your clit.

“So warm.” He complimented you.

“So pretty.” His fingers traced your slit gently, from bottom to top. “Just as those sounds you make.”

You smiled, closing your eyes, before throwing your head back, granting his lips full access to your neck. And just as they went back to sucking on that same spot from earlier, his fingers pushed your panties to the side and boldly slid inside your wet folds.

You jerked your hips on instinct, moaning at the exquisite intrusion. You wanted his tongue to make you come, but goodness, you loved being fingered by him. You loved to have his middle and ring finger inside, sliding in and out with such dexterity, controlling your breath as well as the sounds that came out of you.

“Fuck, I love to have your fingers inside me.” You lowered your head and moaned against his shoulder, trying not to be too loud in the middle of the day, when there were people walking the corridors just some feet away. But it was hard, the sitting position you were in allowed you to move in a way you could get his fingers as deep and fast as you needed. “Deeper, Commander. Please.”

As his fingers pushed further inside your hole, you realized you could be here all day. “You feel so good right there, Commander. Yes, just like that ah-” Or maybe not. Because the pleasant warmth that started to build up in your lower belly when he curled a finger inside, and his thumb started circling your clit, told you that you wouldn’t last long.

“Fuck, Commander, you’re going to make me come. I-I’m so close.” Your forehead was resting against his shoulder, and all you could hear was the wet sounds escaping from between your legs.

Until, all of a sudden, his fingers stopped moving. And, before you could react, you felt his lips against your ear.

“Lie down and spread your legs for me, princess.”

You would have been frustrated by the disrespectful way in which he pulled his fingers out of you, just mere seconds before your orgasm. You would have, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t be mad when his tongue was about to make all your dreams come true. So you leaned back, propping yourself up on your elbows. And, doing as you were told, you spread your legs wide open for him, as your fingers impatiently reached for the button of your pants. But, just as you were about to undo them, he placed his hand over yours.

You looked up to find out what was wrong, and when you locked eyes and he silently, and rather commandingly, shook his head, you understood. He would take care of it all, and everything left for you to do was sit back and enjoy.

As you closed your eyes and let your head fall back, a mix of pleasure and anticipation made your lips curve delightedly.

“Erwin.” You shut your eyes wide open, completely freezing on the spot when you heard something you weren’t expecting.

Captain Levi’s unmistakable voice.

The knock on the door seemed to be the sign your muscles needed in order to start functioning again, because then, you jumped off the bed. Your hands, completely at a loss, didn’t know if they should button up your shirt or fix your hair first.

“Come in.” The Commander said seconds before Captain Levi’s face appeared at the door.

He eyed you suspiciously before turning to the Commander and doing the same. You then saw his lips separate and his tongue move around his mouth as if trying to choose which words to say.

“Who’s in charge of running this place if you both are busy doing whatever it is that you were doing?”

“Sir, I apologize, sir. I- I was on lunch break, sir. I will go back to the office right now.” You nodded to both the Commander and Captain Levi before retreating back to your desk, actually surprised you could walk, given the throbbing dissatisfaction you were now carrying between your legs.

-

next chapter

taglist: @elnyrae @angelaevangelion @depitaangeline @ynackerman9499 @afatalheat @pumpkin-toffee @velouria17 @gassytritis @goddessinsweats @nube55 @jeanboyjean @crazychaoticizzy @braunsbabe @mchlist

[thenextdawn-temporarilyclosed]

One of Your Kind (Ch. 10)

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10

Word count: 4.4K

Warnings: blood, serious injuries

Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Reader

———

“Jen, there was a terrible huge car accident, a few victims, some are in really bad condition. I need to get to the hospital and help in the ER. I’ll see you at home.” These were the words her mother told her before Jenna was left alone at the premiere, with her friends and crew, who will take her home later that night.

disbelief and fear filled your mind as you laid on your back, sandwiched between the cold, soft dirt and the hot, slick metal of the car. The weight of the car pressed down on your full body with monster force. It did not hurt, your body was numb. All you could feel was the car hood's mass stamping your body further and further into the ground. Your lungs felt pinched shut and air would neither enter nor escape them. Your mind was buzzing. What had just happened? In the distance, on that cursed road, you saw cars driving by completely unaware of what happened, how you felt. You tried to yell but your voice was unheard. All you could do was wait. Wait for someone to help you or wait to die.

Meanwhile, Natalie had been called on the scene instead of the ER, she didn’t know why but when nurses and doctors were called on the scene it meant that it was really, really bad. And it definitely was. A truck had ran a red light, just out of town, pushing another car down the hill. The car rolled and rolled, until it came to a stop when it hit a tree. Another car was involved too, smashing against a wall, everyone inside of it was dead. As soon as. Natalie arrived and saw the scene, she wished she never did see that. The people in the car smashed against the wall were reduced to blood and crashed bones, she never saw something so bad. Then she walked over to the firemen, who were going down the hill with a rope to the car that had rolled down. “What do we have here?” Natalie asked. “Female, 20 to 25 years old. She’s unconscious and unresponsive, her body’s stuck between pieces of the car and we can’t get her out. The driver’s dead, but we have hope for the girl. We’ll tie a rope around you and help you down so you can take her vitals”

Natalie nodded and looked down at the car for the first time. It was a black, car with dark tinted windows… she knew that kind of car. It was one of those cars for famous people, and tonight the only car like that that left the awards sooner was your car. Natalie started going down the hill thinking, ‘please let it not be her, please’ she silently prayed, she hated the thought of you being in this conditions. As soon as she took a look in the car she saw that it was you. Covered in blood and bruises, but it was you. Her heartbeat faltered for a moment at the thought of you getting seriously hurt or even dying. However she couldn’t reach you from outside the car, so she had to slide inside through the car window. “(Y/N)? Honey can you hear me?” Natalie said, reaching her hand onto your neck looking for a pulse. You were bleeding from your head continuously, your whole face covered in it. “I’ve got a pulse! Let’s get her out of this car!” Natalie yelled, trying to get the firemen’s attentions.

“(Y/N) I need you to answer to me sweetheart” Natalie tried, managing to move a hand to your face as she opened your eye, moving a flashlight in front of your eyes. “Her Pupils are dilated, you need to move now!” Natalie insisted, watching as you slowly became paler. “You can’t leave us honey. We need you, you have a bright future ahead of you” she basically begged, talking to you, still unconscious and bleeding. She tried to get a look at your lower body, but it was basically crushed from the chest down and she couldn’t see it. She just has to wait till they get you out, which was a couple hours later. She kept checking on your pulse which was getting fainter with each minute that passed but soon enough you were out of the car and laying on a stretcher. You had a broken vertebra, a few broken ribs and your pelvis was almost completely shattered. When your heartbeat had been stabilized you were immediately being rushed to the hospital, Natalie in the ambulance with you as she decided it was finally time to text her daughter a ‘honey, please get to the hospital. It’s urgent’

It wasn’t long before the brunette was driving from the awards to the hospital, where she paced nervously around the waiting room. It was almost three in the morning so the room was empty. “Darling?” Her mother finally called and Jenna walked over, holding her dress up as not to trip. “Mom what’s wrong? Is everyone okay? Is everyone safe Home?” Jenna asked precipitously, her mother placing her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Yes darling, everyone’s safe at home. They’re all probably sleeping right now” Natalie replied with a small sad smile “then why did I have to come here urgently?” Natalie sighed and looked down. “I can’t put it into words, You have to see it yourself…” she replied and Jenna gulped, she felt her heart speed up “you’re making me worried” Jenna said and followed her mother into the corridor of the ICU, it was extremely quiet, the only noise being the beeping monitors and the breathing machines, and the occasional chatters of the doctors.

Eventually they reached a room, the window was covered by the drapes to have some privacy, and some slow beeping could be heard coming from inside. “Wait, before we get inside” Natalie said, stopping Jenna before she could open the door. “You’re not going to like what you’ll see… she’s stable for now, but until she wakes up we won’t know if she has brain damage-“ Natalie was about to continue, but Jenna interrupted her. “Who’s she?” Jenna asked, visibly confused. Natalie sighed and opened the door to your room. You laid there unconscious, a neck collar around you and multiple machines attached to you. You had multiple cuts on your face, multiple bandages on your body from the surgeries you had to endure. Jenna was at loss for words, she had seen multiple scenarios like this one, but seeing you in these conditions was doing her no good. “W-what happened?” She said walking in the room, next to your bed as she took a look at you. The distressed look on your face was something that will definitely haunt her dreams, she just wished it was a horrible nightmare and that she’d wake up and you’d be fine.

“Remember when I told you that I got called in for a car crash? I went to the scene, she’s the only survivor. She was stuck under the car, her head was bleeding, she has a broken vertebra, a few broken ribs… her pelvis was almost completely shattered. The surgeons don’t know if she’ll ever be able to walk again…” Jenna shook her head, tears began flooding her eyes “no that can’t be true, there has to be some sort of m-mistake” she said, trying not to give in to the tears. She leaned over to you, moving some hair out of your face as she gently caressed your cheeks. She was barely touching you, afraid she’ll hurt you. “(Y/N) you ha-have to wake up” she said and looked at you, she just wanted to see her reflection in your eyes “wake up!” She insisted and gave in to the tears, trying to get to to wake up. Natalie was about to cry too, but she went to hug her daughter to give her the comfort she needed “I c-can’t lose her m-mom” she sobbed out, hiding her face in her mother’s chest. “I know baby I know” she said, hugging her sobbing daughter.

She had seen her distressed before, but never like this, which confirmed her that even after pushing you away, Jenna still cared deeply about you, she still loved you. “I promise you we’ll do whatever we can to make sure she’ll recover perfectly.” Jenna nodded quickly, still hiding her face in her mom’s chest. “It’ll be a long way before she fully recovers and she’ll need us. She’ll need you and even if she’ll try pushing you away you have to stay for her” Jenna nodded again and soon enough she was back to looking at you, sitting down on the chair next to your bed. She was still in her dress from the award, but she didn’t want to leave knowing you were in so much pain. Jenna didn’t plan on leaving and as a matter of fact she stayed there at the hospital the whole night, just watching over you and waiting for you to be alright.

The next morning you seemed to have stabilized a bit, your heartbeat was steady and even if you were attached to a monitor, Jenna kept checking on your pulse the whole night, she didn’t even sleep. when her mother came to check in on you she brought Jenna some food which she gladly took, without taking her eyes off of you. “We have to do something you might not like” Natalie started, making Jenna look up at her. “We need to lower her morphine down until she wakes up. She’ll be in a lot of pain, but we need to check if there’s any brain damage… is this okay with you?” Natalie asked, which made Jenna look at her in confusion. “I thought you knew. (Y/N) has you as her emergency contact and you’re listed to be the one to take decisions for her in case she can’t… like now” Jenna sighed, she felt this huge responsibility on her right now, but she couldn’t stand down. She needed you to be alright. “Will it help you and the doctors get her better?” She asked and Natalie nodded. Then Jenna gave consent and doctors started lowering your morphine.

Jenna was watching you intently, waiting for any reaction from you. Natalie was standing next to you, with her flashlight ready to examine you the moment you woke up. When you did you immediately felt incredible pain on your whole body, your eyes shot open and you felt like you couldn’t breathe if it wasn’t for the tube in your mouth, that was so bothering and hurting you so much. “(Y/N), honey you need to calm down” her voice was like an echo, you felt dizzy and disoriented, your eyes were looking around frenetically in search for someone that you recognized, until you saw Natalie and you started taking deep breaths. “Do you know where you are?” You nodded slightly at her question, tears leaving your eyes from the immense pain. “Do you know who I am?” You nodded again. She then proceeded to have you follow her finger and look at the light. She sighed of relief when she saw you were alright and you didn’t have any brain damages “I’m gonna put you back to sleep right now-“ she said but you interrupted her, grasping her shirt, looking at her with fear. You were scared and you didn’t want to be alone.

You were completely unaware of the fact that Jenna was there too, as she had left the room the moment she heard you whimper in pain. It was too bad of a sight for her. Natalie took ahold of your hand and squeezed it reassuringly “you’ll be okay sweetheart. I’m here, you’re not alone okay?” You slightly nodded, still whimpering from the pain. You wanted to ask if Jenna was there, but you couldn’t ask that with only your eyes available. “I’m going to set the morphine level high again okay?” She got up and moved to where the morphine was, but you stopped her with a louder whimper and only looked at her, hoping she’d understand what you wanted only looking at you in the eyes. You looked at the door, hoping she’d understand. Fortunately for you she did. “Jenna’s here. Don’t worry darling she’s here and she won’t leave your side.” You nodded again and finally she raised the morphine level until you were asleep again.

Natalie left the room and saw her daughter sitting down on the floor against the wall. When she saw her mother she stood up. “Are you finished? Is she alright?” Jenna asked, wiping her tears. “No brain damage fortunately. We’re going to wait a couple days for her conditions to improve and then we’ll take her off the morphine” Jenna nodded and sighed of relief “mom?” Jenna asked when she saw her mother starting to leave “is any of this my fault? Is it my fault that she’s…-“ she was about to start crying again, luckily her mother noticed and hugged her tightly. “No baby it is not your fault. I promise you” she said and kissed her daughter’s forehead, trying to reassure her. “If I never hurt her, she wouldn’t have been so traumatized whenever she saw me, she wouldn’t have left the premiere early because of me, she wouldn’t be in that fucking bed” she pointed out and sobbed, once again sniffling in her mother’s chest.

“I know you and her have been talking before the awards. I knew she had been at our place because I could smell her scent in the living room, I knew that I had hurt her yet I never apologized. I never tried winning her beck, I just let her suffer. I knew she was suffering and I did nothing about it. I knew she was depressed because of me and I did nothing about it. Now she’s in that bed and partly it’s because of me and it hurts so bad mom, it hurts so bad” Natalie only tightened the hug and kissed her daughter’s head “the least you can do now is be by her side until she recovers. She needs us and she needs you particularly so don’t let go of her”

‘Famous actress (Y/N)(L/N) was involved in a terrible car crash. She was the only survivor but we don’t know anything about her conditions yet.’ This how the most recent article begun, you were all over the news. It was almost everyday that paparazzi wanted to get into the hospital to snap a picture of you, but Natalie always told them off and made sure you were left alone, or alone with Jenna, even if you weren’t awake yet. Fortunately, you did wake up after a week, your body was still weak, but you had recovered some energies and could breathe on your own. When you woke up there was no one in your room. The tube in your Mouth almost suffocating you as you coughed. You pressed the medical assistance button on the side of your bed and within seconds Natalie was there and took your tubes out, allowing you to breathe on your own. She passed you some water and you drank a little because your throat was dry, and then Natalie sat down on your bed and caressed your cheeks.

“You gave us a big scare honey” she started, sighing of relief as you leaned in to the familiar touch. “I’m sorry” you said, voice hoarse and you looked at her. “W-what happened to me? I mean- what did I break?” You asked, you didn’t want to talk about the accident. You just wanted to know what bones you have broken. “You have a broken vertebra and a few broken ribs… those healed already but you still need to wear a collar” you nodded at her words and then watched her take a deep breath. “Honey, your lower half was completely under the car. Your pelvis was almost completely shattered. The surgeons fixed it but your nerves and tendons were severely damaged. There’s a high chance you might never… you might never walk again” you felt your heart skip a beat at that. You wanted to cry, you wanted to scream but you knew you had to stay calm. “But there’s- there must be some kind of therapy right??” The feeling of not being able to walk again Made you sick to your stomach, if you never recovered your career would be over.

“Yes there are some therapies. We will definitely put you on the list but if your nerves are completely damaged it’ll be useless, you get that right?” You were about to reply, but the door opened that same moment. “Mom is she alright? I was told someone requested medical assistance here…” she was to continue, but then saw you were awake. Jenna thought about this moment for the past week, but now that you were awake she didn’t know how to act, what to tell you. “I’ll leave you girls alone” Natalie said and stood up, leaving the room as you were left alone with Jenna. Both of you didn’t know what to say, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. “(Y/N) I’m sorry-“ you were quickly to interrupt her. “Don’t…” you looked at her briefly, before looking away. “Just… hug me?” You pleaded, she wasn’t expecting this. “Are you sure?” She asked and looked at you, with tears in her eyes. “Yes, please just give me a hug” Jenna didn’t want to be told twice, so she leaned in and wrapped her arms around your torso, careful not to hurt you but you were the one to tighten the hug, sobbing into her shoulder. You had been wanting her hug for a lot now, and you couldn’t help but break down when you were finally in her arms again.

A couple tears left Jenna’s eyes as well, she rubbed your back and tried to comfort you while apologizing multiple times. There wasn’t an excuse for how she treated you, but she knew she wanted to make it up to you. “I was so s-scared” you sobbed out, in this moment you didn’t care if she hurt you a lot, you needed her, you needed her presence, you needed her comfort and luckily she was there to give it to you. “You’re okay now… you’ll be okay” she said and only hugged you tighter. “Please don’t leave again” you begged and gripped her shirt, keeping her close to you “I don’t want to be alone” you said and sniffled, then you felt Jenna caress the back of your head. “I won’t leave you again… I promise” she whispered and kissed your cheek before pulling back from the hug and sitting down on the bed’s edge, looking at you with a small smile “It’s good seeing you awake… we were really worried for you” she said and looked at you with a small, sad smile.

“(Y/N), I’m really sorry for how I treated you-“ you sighed and shook your head “Jen I don’t want to hear it-“ she interrupted you “no, I need to say this, please” you were hesitant, but you ended up nodding at her words and listening to her “I never meant a word of what I said. I become irrational and I don’t think before speaking, but really I never meant any of that” she said, talking about the day you broke up because she told you she didn’t need you anymore. “Why did you never apologize then?” You asked her and saw how she went silent. “If you never meant that, why did you never apologize to me?” She looked down “I didn’t feel worthy of that. I felt like you deserved someone better then me” you shook your head, at least she was being honest with you. “Jen… no one will ever be as good as you. You’re what’s best for me…” you said. “But…” she continued “but you betrayed my trust. You didn’t support me, you never asked me how I was doing. Not once did you let me talk about myself, I felt shut out. I wasn’t able to talk about what made me happy because you didn’t want to hear it, you were always focused on work and you made me feel like my presence was useless. And when you told me that you were happy without me, I felt my heart break. You confirmed my thoughts, that my presence was useless”

“I’m so sorry for making you feel that way, please, please forgive me” Jenna begged, taking a hold of your hand and squeezing it “I want you in my life, that’s for sure” you said and looked at her. “But it’ll take me a lot if time to trust you again, and I don’t know if we will ever be a couple again” you said and she nodded “let’s just give it time” you said, trying to reassure her as you pulled her in for another hug. You were too good of a person to push her away completely, but for Jenna this was good too. She’d do anything to be with you in any kind of way. Weeks passed, you were still at the hospital and Jenna was coming to visit you every day. She had deleted all of her meetings that needed her outside of town, because she needed to be close to you. She even postponed filming up until she knew you would be out of the hospital.

Eventually it was time for you to try and walk. You were scared, really scared, because if you couldn’t walk, then yes, your career as an actress will definitely be over. Doctors helped put you on a wheelchair and took you to the hospital’s small gym, Jenna and Natalie were there too as you were really anxious and needed calming down. The doctors helped you stand up, one of the doctors standing in front of you to hold you in case you ever fell as you held yourself up on the bars, too scared to even take one step. your legs were shaking and you were in so much pain, but you didn’t know if it was psychological. “I c- I can’t” you shook your head, tears in your eyes as you sat back down on the wheelchair, to scared to walk. “Yes you can” Jenna started, making her way over to you as she cupped your face. “You’re doing great (Y/N)” she said and caressed your cheeks with her thumbs “you managed to stand up and that alone is great. If you manage to take a few steps then you won’t have to walk anymore today. Just… do it for yourself, for your career and for the people that love you”

You were still scared as hell, but you knew you couldn’t give up. “I’ll hold your hand if you want me to” Jenna said and you nodded, standing up slowly you took her hand in your own, squeezing it tightly as you took a few steps. Your pelvis and legs hurt a lot, you took about 10 steps before you couldn’t handle the pain anymore and asked to be brought to your room. You saw doctors talk about your conditions and suggest treatments and surgeries to make you feel less pain, you’ll eventually have to choose within them. Days passed and as you kept on trying to walk and constantly failing, you told Jenna that she didn’t have to come watch you trying to walk, as she didn’t deserve to see you in pain. Truth is, you wanted to surprise her eventually. You were close with her again, sure you weren’t a couple but you acted the same you used to before you got together the first time. Today you were sitting up on your hospital bed, scrolling on instagram when Jenna arrived “hey! How are you today?” She asked you and sat down on your bed. You put your phone away and looked at her.

“I’m a bit better. Still can’t really walk but, you know” you shrugged, lying. She didn’t know that you were actually getting better and you could almost walk on your own, you were just waiting for the perfect time to surprise her. “I have the Scream VI premiere in new york next week, I wanted you to come with me but if you can’t walk, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable” here it is, this is the perfect occasion. You’d buy tickets for new york and surprise her at the premiere “I’ll be watching from here” you said and smiled at her, but mostly at yourself for the idea you just had. Of course you told everything to Natalie as well, and she talked with the doctors who allowed you to leave the hospital to go attend the premiere. It would be your first time in public after the accident and you were really nervous only at the idea of having to take a car to get to the airport.

You nearly had a panic attack when in the car, but you calmed down once you reached the airport. Luckily there weren’t any paparazzi so you were pretty sure that no one would spoil Jenna the surprise and it was great. Once in new york you had your stylists and make up artists helped you choose a look for the night that was to come and you went for something simple, as you had to use crutches while walking you couldn’t wear something that could make you trip and fall, so you wore a short dress with a jacket, and headed to the premiere, once again panicking when in the car. When your car pulled up, basically everyone was confused, all the actors had arrived so no one knew who had just arrived. That was until you got out of the car. Jenna was busy in an interview so she didn’t see you but the other actors did. You already knew them and they were glad to see you were doing great after the accident, and paparazzi were snapping pictures of you as you explained the actors what you were doing there.

When Jenna was finished with the interviews and she went to the other actors she saw you, standing there. “(Y/N)? Oh my god you’re walking!?” She walked over and hugged you tightly. “You lied to me!” She giggled and gently nudged your side “I wanted to surprise you. I still have to use the crutches but I can walk on my own” you said and she only tightened the hug. You moved your weigh on one leg and hugged her back. “You’re such an idiot” she said and pulled back, taking a hold of your hand

“yeah but I’m your favorite idiot”

A/N: wrote this chapter while sick with a temperature over 100 so this is not the best but I hope you still like it!

Tags: @idkjustliving2 @tundra1029 @engenelxver @rainbow-love4ever @gimaximoff @wol-fica @lum13 @eviekensington @i984 @otherstainedrose @rockwyn @thekid4466 @myfturn

[poomphuripan]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally To Love, Take Care and Cuddle With Every Night

@bunnakit awww thank you for the tag 🫶 as an asexual i can't say i spent much time thinking about fucking anyone (so coming up with this list was really hard ;_;) but if any of these characters propositioned... i would NOT say no 😉

10. Phob (Something In My Room)

if there is an award for cutest ghost of all time in a BL series, i think Phob will take home easily. Phob deserves better sex. my meow meow friendly ghost Phob, i will tuck you in bed my ghost sweetie 🥺🫶

9. Shao Fei (History 3: Trapped)

my righteous cop with a strong sense of justice, i really love Shao Fei so much. Shao Fei doesn't beat around the bush and is really straightforward with his wants, I LOVE HE!

8. Khuafah (Sky In Your Heart)

Khuafah, the HOT CHARMING doctor that you are. i would volunteer to get sick every day just to visit him 🫠

7. Gene (Lovely Writer)

if Gene ever needs to write a straight romance novel, i'm happy to make out with him for research purposes 😉

6. Pisaeng (Be My Favorite)

most patient boyfriend who tries super hard to get you plushies? yea i would bang Pisaeng in a heartbeat, no doubt. in fact, i believe Pisaeng would be considerate and wait for me to be ready (Pisaeng babe i'm always ready for you 😉)

5. Tennoji Haru (Trillion Game)

while Trillion Game is DEFINITELY not BL, but Meguro Ren was in Kieta Hatsukoi so my boy should get a PASS 😤 Haru is confident yet humble, self-proclaimed selfish yet always selfless. god i love competent men *swoons* Trillion Game is out on Netflix, please check out my boy Haru and his boy(friend) Gaku and their start-up adventure together 🥺👉👈.

4. Charn (Laws of Attraction)

while i can't guarantee that i can give Charn a good time, i believe that as a fellow lawyer i can assist Charn with any case work he got. Like i said, i am a sucker for competent men 😮‍💨.

3. Tangmo (Great Men Academy)

you don't understand how obsessed i am with the og golden retriever, nation's boyfriend, Tangmo. it's been 4? years... i have not let him go... gentle soft boi but great at judo too? i think Tangmo and i should have our wrestling sessions ending up as makeout sessions.

2. Joe (My Stand In)

this is kind of a cheat but i've read the original novel for My Stand In (Professional Body Double by Shui Qian Cheng) and i can confirm Joe/Zhou Xiang is the sweetest soul, most precious, unluckiest gay ever (Ming, you are on sight, watch it sir or imma steal Joe away). i'm super excited for My Stand In because i hope i get to fall in love with Joe once again the way i fell super hard, head over heels for him when i finished this danmei novel within less than 24 hours. (was this shameless PR for Poom Phuripan's new BL series next year? yes, yes it absolutely was 🤗)

1. Khun Yai and Jom (I Feel You Linger In The Air)

if i don't have a gentle lover like Khun Yai Kritsada Palathip or a soft boyfriend like Jom Ravit Pittayanan then what's the POINT. i want both of them so BAD. also isn't it such a crime that Yai lives his entire life the rest of his live in celibacy, having fucked only ONE person (the love of his life) in his lifetime. LET ME IN. i will love both of you equally.

+ bonus: Chef Guy (Bake Me Please)

did you REALLY think i was gonna end my list without current loml, our resident sad boi, considerate and caring Chef Guy? 😅 Guy deserves a spot on here because well i'm absolutely feral for this man. Guy is just the nicest guy and i will literally do anything for him. Guy had me at hello but my heart truly broke when he comforted Peach saying he doesn't want to see Peach who's given him so much positivity, cry 😭.

oooooh that was soooo hard ;_; i love all these characters, maybe one day i need to start listing the female characters i'd totally hypothetically bang too because WOMEN ARE HOT 🔥.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Drunken Shenanigans

May 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - this is Thai BL living its best life. Wait, who is Kong? Another ex? Ah just a Boy from the Past. (HI BIG, I love you, when you gunna lead a BL?) Chot & Pat’s friendship is giving me LIFE! It is the best thing in BL right now. Also this show is defining slow burn. Jeng & Pat both primping for their date? Come on! I am so glad I get to start my week with these boys. Also I would like to see the BL (within this BL) staring Up & Rice. They are VERY pretty together.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - I end my week with this one and it’s almost as good as starting with Step. The brothers relationship is pitch perfect younger to middle. P’Pat is serving up yacht rock visuals. (I’m not mad about it. Reminds me of Tay in DBK.) I do like them as a couple I just mistrust Pat’s constancy and motives. Although I am beginning to wonder if his motivation might feel suss because it’s pure lust (and we see that so rarely in a BL we innately mistrust it). Meanwhile, I like that Tai has a younger guy interested in him and with whom he has chemistry too. And it’s the one his brother likes. This is messy gay in a good way. 

Our Skyy 2 (Boss & Babe) eps 11-12 - I was drunk for this one, so I thought it was mostly just foolish. While Book seemed to be having a bumper of a time with his role as Lord of Misrule I fast forwarded through a lot of it. It did make me laugh with some of the wordplay, but the fact that they involved an entire office (non-consenting) in their kink rollplay was a bit weird for me. 6/10 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - The subs are truly bonkers (including a few captions that seem the be the subbers notes to themselves). There are 2 lead couples: 1 is an LTR with an overworked doctor & his recently fired husband and the other is an E2L jock+nerd with high school students (way more my thing). It’s actually pretty good for a pulp, the acting is decent and the pacing on point. I’m not mad at it especially now Dome has shown up. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 1 of 10? - I’m doing a trash watch! I was drunk, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, but the first 1/4 of a JittiRain BL never is. 

Past-senger (Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - thank fuck that ended but also: WTF is with that ending? Guess that’s a massive prospective age gap relationship. I’m… unsettled. (And age gap doesn’t bother me.) Anygay, anydaddy that’s the lingering flavor from this BL: unsettling. You know I tend to judge on endings... full review below. 

The Promise (Weds YT & WeTV) ep 10fin - did’t air to YT this week

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - I love this show. I know everything that’s gonna happen and I’m still riveted. Sweetly awkward confession. 

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI & Gaga) ep 3-4 of 8 - I’m enjoying the complexity of this one. It’s like a combo of Shoulder and 8th but somehow easier-going than either. Not totally my cup of tea, in a way because of that complexity, but also I faintly mistrust its BL-ness. Also: That was one of the most painful confession scenes ever. Ouch. (Meanwhile, have I mentioned recently I hate icky’s interface? Well I do. Also iQIYI is now officially icky henceforth!)  

Love Mate (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 7-8fin - The asshole ex was perfectly cast but I felt a touch let down by this ending - it didn’t have the strength of its convictions. Full review below. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - I like the Taiwanese boss, he knows what’s up. Cool dude. Arranged a sleepover and everything. Also... we win when there is experimental kissing but odds are Japan is faking us out. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) - is it me or did this not drop? If it did I missed it. 

It’s Airing But ...

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) 10 eps - I bounced at ep 4. Someone will tell me if I should bother with the rest after it ends.

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

The Day I Loved You (Pinoy YouTube) eps 6-7 of 10 - Terminal illness for the sunshine. I bounced at ep 6. DNF. Ends next week, someone tell me if it’s as bad as I thought it was gonna be. 

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) ep 1 of ? - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*) also I’m really not inclined to hunt. 

Ended this week

Past-senger - Marc (My Gear & Your Gown) & Copper (My Engineer) star in a time slip story of a 90s kid who travels to 2022. The central premise was solid and the actors gave it their best but the show was bloated with unnecessary awkward side couples and the ending went from confusing to unsettling to plain old (and I do mean OLD) not good. 4/10 NOT RECOMMENDED, FATALLY FLAWED

Love Mate - Launched very much openly gay older uke with commitment issues and a romantic if arrogant younger seme with no respect for boundaries. Workplace harassment much? That’s BL for ya. (Also a nonBL Kdrama specialty.) So yeah it’s questionable, but so is my taste. The ultimate premise that someone badly hurt shuts themself off to romance is very similar to Happy Merry Ending or 8th Sense but this version was more about fear than abuse or trauma. For me, this made Love Mate more relatable since fear of love makes it about the couple rather than one person’s self-acceptance journey. However, because the denouement in Love Mate was driven by a late in the run faen fatal and not the central relationship, the conclusion felt forced. I can, however, see myself rewatching this one, so if falls into the general rank of 2023′s KBL AKA solid high standard and eminently watchable. 8/10 RECOMMENDED 

In Case You Missed It

Both the Egoist (Japanese movie) and Tie The Knot (Pinoy series) got picked up for international release. Tie is coming to Prime. Not yet sure who bagged Egoist but at least it has distribution. These both seem more “messy arse gay” than BL but I have been waiting for them. About Us but Not About Us (2022 Pinoy movie) is also coming to Prime. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: 

6/2 Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - Andre, a film maker from the Philippines, works in LA. He finds a Korean-American roommate, Joshua,  who helps him navigate the challenges and uncertainties of living in America. The two develop a bond, but then it’s time for Andre to go home. It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I won’t watch this. 

6/3 Let’s Eat Together AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai (Japan movie) - Japanese cinema release means no inter distribution. Looks cozy: daily lives of college students and roommates who enjoy meals together, and a v codependent, adaptation of yaoi Let’s Eat Together Aki and Haru. I’ll keep an eye open for it but assume we can’t get it for now. 

June 2023 Line Up

6/7 Love Tractor (Korea iQIYI) 8 eps - announced in 2022 from WATCHA (Semantic Error) I've been WAITING for this one. About a stressed-out law student who family obligations force into the countryside where a series of strange encounters and misunderstandings with his hunky young farmer neighbour. Will this be an extended version of Strongberry’s Some More? Or Korea’s take on Restart After Come Back Home? I'm chuffed. Country boy meets city boy is a very underused romance trope in BL.

6/9 Boys Love Omegaverse AKA The Boys Love sequel no one asked for (Japan movie) - everyone jockeyed to release the first ABO but it looks like Japan will take it. They do like to do all things BL FIRST. This seems to just be borrowing the branding of Boys Love, showing little resemblance to either original, since it's about 4 men in an idol group. (But could go very dark with that title. Boys Love is technically the first and one of the darkest BLs ever made.) Movie+Japan = no inter distribution. 

6/15 Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan ????) 8 eps - Based on a yaoi, this is a reunion romance that takes place in an office. Japan does Our Dating Sim? Cool. Of course no idea where to watch it. Oh Japan, must you? 

6/22 About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy movie from 2022 on Prime) - A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student.

6/24 Why You (Khmer BL ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it will air... nothing except that it exists.

6/24 Tie The Knot AKA Under the Same Sky (Pinoy movie on Prime) Trailer - I guess Prime is coming for our Pinoy BL? From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), announced for 2022 based on a true story, Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never had a chance to fall in love until he meets Shao, a groom to be.

6/25 Dinosaur Love (Thai ????) Trailer 5 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a cute uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rk's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I will not watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? Never again with them.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This bit made me bark laugh. The more Thai BL I watch the more I get the word play jokes the funnier they are. Language is so cool. 

Dear Boss & Babe your ForceBook is showing. 

Yes! One of my favorite dishes too! Nam Khao! Try it some time, you will not regret it. (Step by Step) 

These too are gonna break us. (Star Struck) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? P1Harmoney’s Peacemaker  

[leonardcohenofficial]

here’s the NYtimes interview with alan alda reflecting on the fiftieth anniversary of M*A*S*H (text below the cut)!!

By Saul Austerlitz Published Sept. 16, 2022 Updated Sept. 17, 2022, 1:10 p.m. ET

When we think of the default mode of much of contemporary television — mingling the tragic and the offhand, broad comedy and pinpoint sentiment — we are thinking of a precise mixture of styles, emotions and textures first alchemized by “M*A*S*H.”

Created by Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, “M*A*S*H” aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983. (It is currently available to stream on Hulu.) Over the course of its 11-year run, it featured alcohol-fueled high jinks and other shenanigans alongside graphic surgical sequences and portrayals of grief, blending comedy and drama in a fashion rarely seen before on television. Set among the doctors and nurses of a Korean War mobile surgical unit, “M*A*S*H” made use of the mockumentary episode decades before “The Office” ever tried it, featured blood-drenched story lines long before “The Sopranos” and killed off beloved characters without warning well before “Game of Thrones.”

The “M*A*S*H” series finale, titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” remains the most-watched non-Super Bowl program ever broadcast on American TV. The heart of the series was Alan Alda, who played the acerbic and devoted surgeon Hawkeye Pierce throughout the show’s more than 250 episodes and also wrote and directed dozens of them.

The actor revisited “M*A*S*H” in a video interview ahead of the show’s 50th anniversary, on Sept. 17. Alda, 86, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015, discussed famous scenes, the series’s battles with CBS (“They didn’t even want us to show blood at the beginning”) and why he thinks the audience connected so deeply with “M*A*S*H.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How have you been feeling?

Good, thank you. You mean with regard to Parkinson’s or the Covid or what?

All of the above, I suppose.

Parkinson’s I’m on top of. And I haven’t come down with Covid yet.

What does it mean to you to know that people are still interested in “M*A*S*H” 50 years later?

I got the script submitted to me when I was making a movie in the Utah State Prison. And it was the best script I had seen since I’d been in prison. I called my wife and I said: “This is a terrific script, but I don’t see how I can do it. Because we live in New Jersey, and it has to be shot in L.A. And who knows? It could run a whole year.” To go from that to 50 years later, it’s still getting, not only attention but it’s still getting an audience, is a surprise.

What kinds of conversations did you have with Larry Gelbart before the show began?

With “All in the Family,” I think the door was open to doing stories about things that really mattered. So when I got out of prison and went down to L.A. to talk to them, the night before we started rehearsing the pilot, I wanted us all to agree that we wouldn’t just have high jinks at the front. That it would take seriously what these people were going through. The wounded, the dead. You can’t just say it’s all a party. And we talked until about 1 in the morning at a coffee shop in Beverly Hills.

Do you feel there was a shift over the first season away from the booze-fueled humor of the early episodes?

Yeah, there was. Partly because people who were submitting story lines thought that that’s what was wanted. Larry Gelbart rewrote most of the shows the first season. Midway through the first season, there was a show called “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet,” and that was a real turning point. Because in that show, a friend of Hawkeye’s shows up among the wounded, and he dies on the operating table. That’s the moment where McLean Stevenson [as Lt. Col. Henry Blake] says: “There’s two rules in war: Young men die, and then Rule 2 is there’s nothing you can do about it.” Something like that. [The exact quote: “There are certain rules about a war. And rule No. 1 is young men die. And rule No. 2 is, doctors can’t change rule No. 1.”]

The network was furious about this. Some guy in charge of programming said, “What is this, a situation tragedy?” Soon after that, we were getting more popular. And the more popular you get, the less they complain.

Was CBS also concerned about the language used to tell these stories?

The most striking example to me was early in the series. Radar [Gary Burghoff] is explaining to somebody that he’s unfamiliar with something. And he said, “I’m a virgin at that, sir.” With no sexual context. It was just that he’d never done something before. And the CBS censor said: “You can’t say the word ‘virgin.’ That’s forbidden.” So the next week, Gelbart wrote a little scene that had nothing to do with anything. A patient is being carried through on a stretcher. And I say, “Where you from, son?” And he says, “The Virgin Islands, sir.”

Early in the show’s run, Gelbart and Reynolds went to South Korea and recorded 22 hours of interviews with doctors, nurses, pilots and orderlies there. How did those interviews make their way into story lines for the show?

We had reams of transcripts of those conversations. I would go through them looking for ideas for stories. And I could see that the other writers were doing the same thing, because there’d be circles around sentences and words. Sometimes one little phrase would spark the imagination of one of us, and that phrase could turn into a story.

Larry and Gene went to Korea at the end of the second season, and they got a lot of material for stories. But they had also found that we had, by paying attention to the lives that they lived, we had made up stories that were very similar to things that had actually happened.

People may not remember that you directed 32 episodes of “M*A*S*H” and wrote 19 episodes. How did you start getting interested in writing and directing?

At the end of the first season, I wrote a show called “The Longjohn Flap.” I borrowed the idea of “La Ronde,” but made it long johns instead because it was reflective of what their lives were like in the cold. I had been trying to learn writing since I was 8 years old. I wanted to be a writer before I wanted to be an actor.

Were there story lines that you thought “M*A*S*H” hadn’t quite tackled yet that you wanted to bring into the world of the show as a writer and director?

When I wrote, I tried to find out a little bit more about each of the characters. Who is Klinger [Jamie Farr] really? What was underneath — I almost said, what was underneath the dresses. [Laughs.] What was underneath the wearing of the dresses? Who was Margaret [Loretta Swit]?

I see on the internet that people assumed that because I was politically active, trying to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed, that in my writing I was trying to make political points, too. And I wasn’t. I really don’t like writing that passes as entertainment when it’s really propaganda. I want to hear a human story.

The unexpected death of Colonel Blake (McLean Stevenson) in the Season 3 finale, “Abyssinia, Henry,” remains one of the biggest surprises in television history. What was it like to shoot that sequence?

Gelbart showed me the scene. I think [it was] the morning of the shoot. I knew, but nobody else knew. He wanted to get everybody’s first-time reactions. And it really affected Gary Burghoff on camera. I think everybody was grateful for the shock.

It shocked the audience, too. I had a letter from a man who complained that he had to console his 10-year-old son who was sobbing. But it was one of the ways for the adults in the audience to realize that another aspect of war is that things happen that you don’t expect.

Was there ever a point when you got tired of fighting the Korean War on TV? The old joke is the show lasted almost four times as long as the actual war.

Around a year before we finally ended it, I felt we were getting toward the end of our ability to be fresh every week. I started suggesting that we do a final movie-length episode that really could end it. First of all, we were getting too old to play these people. And after you tell stories about a group of people 250 times, it’s hard not to repeat yourself or say things that sound like they’re supposed to be funny but aren’t really.

What did it mean to you to have Hawkeye leave Korea scarred by the death of a child in the final episode?

You just described exactly what I wanted to do with all the characters on the show. I was looking for stories, each in a different way, that showed how everybody left the war with a wound of some kind. Everybody had something taken from them. And Hawkeye was just one of them.

Earlier in your career, you had been on another great military comedy, “The Phil Silvers Show,” also known as “Sergeant Bilko.” What did you learn about acting from your pre-“M*A*S*H” TV work?

The first thing I learned on the “Bilko” show was you have to know your lines before you go in for the day’s work. I had come from the stage, where I would learn my lines during rehearsal. And the first thing they did is say, “OK, you’re up for your phone conversation,” where it’s a page of dialogue. It was an eye-opening experience. [Laughs.] I staggered through that.

Why do you think the audience connected so deeply with “M*A*S*H”?

Aside from really good writing and good acting and good directing, the element that really sinks in with an audience is that, as frivolous as some of the stories are, underneath it is an awareness that real people lived through these experiences, and that we tried to respect what they went through. I think that seeps into the unconscious of the audience.

They didn’t even want us to show blood at the beginning. In the pilot, the operating room was lit by a red light, so you couldn’t tell what was blood and what wasn’t. Which, once we got picked up, was ditched.

And giving us a feel for the circumstances that the real people had to go through, so that you could see that the crazy behavior wasn’t just to be funny. It was a way of separating yourself for a moment from the nastiness.

You can’t get as harsh as it really was.

Correction: Sept. 16, 2022 An earlier version of this article described in error the viewership statistics for the series finale of “M*A*S*H.” It was the most-watched non-Super Bowl program ever broadcast on American television, in terms of total audience, not the highest-rated non-Super Bowl program. A rating refers to the percentage of TV households that watch a program. The “M*A*S*H” finale remains the highest-rated program, of any kind, ever broadcast on American television.

[daryandricky]

SWEAR

Chapter 6 AUDACITY

Summary: Shane tells reader that Rick didn't make it after the hospital was overrun, causing reader to travel with her former military brother to find somewhere safe.

Summary of chapter: Shane tells Rick some news. Reader finds a store with supplies.

Warnings: Swearing, torture, sa, pregnancy, basic walking dead shit.

I had some serious writers block with this one.

masterlist

Rick's POV

He's beautiful. He stands tall and proud. His breaths are even and thunderous throughout his chest. His antlers are unique, going in which ever direction they pleased. His gaze is piercing. He's beautiful.

All three of us watch the deer in starstruck. We feel at piece as we watch another being who isn't trying to tear into our bodies and devour us. I don't think Carl's ever seen a deer in real life. Neither his father nor me were big on the hunting game, so this was a rare thing for all of us to witness. A gunshot rings through the air, cutting the serene moment with a sharp knife. My ears ring for a moment, leaving me disoriented as I watch Carl's young body fall to the ground.

Shane puts pressure on his son's wound, not giving the shooter a chance to explain himself before rightfully demanding help from the man. The man, Otis, sends him to his farm, saying a doctor lives there. That was all Shane needed to hear before he was off, running as Carl's life depended on it. I stayed back with Otis, making him walk with me.

I'm met with Shane sitting on the steps, hands and face covered in his son's blood. I tear my shirt and start to wipe his face the best I can. I don't want him to see himself like this. I'm sure I know how he feels, the same feeling I got when I walked out of that hospital, that same feeling when I found my house empty of life, my wife and unborn child gone. I don't say anything, knowing it might make the situation worse, like when Shane would talk with me it would lead to disagreements and arguments. So, I stay silent, wiping the gore from my friend's face, trying to stay strong myself.

"They kicked me out." He says, whispering. "Yeah, was probably too crowded in there."

His eyes grow wide as he looks at his bloody hands. "I need to tell Lori." He stutters out before sighing frustratedly. "She's gonna be so pissed man."

"This wasn't your fault Shane, there was no way we could have prevented this from happening." He scrunches up his face and shakes his head. "Nah, we never should have gotten that close to it." Shane stands up abruptly. "I need to get Lori."

I place my hand on his chest, stopping him. "No Shane you need to stay here with Carl, I'll go. Okay?"

"I can go find her." I hear an unfamiliar voice say. I look up to see the farmer's daughter, leaning against the door frame. "You don't even know where they are and it's dangerous out there."

"I'm a big girl." She says as she pushes herself off of the door frame. "And I know this land like the back of my hand, give me a direction and I'll find them."

"Are you sure, I mean I could go with you?" I ask not knowing if I can trust her. She cocks her head in Shane's direction before speaking, "He needs you here."

I nod my head a little hesitant. "They're about 10 miles east of mile marker 58."

-----

That was yesterday and now, Shane and I are sitting on the porch swing, not saying much. It's peaceful to just listen to the birds chirping and the occasional squeak of the swing. Shane takes a deep breath, seeming anxious. "Carl's gonna be fine man. He's strong like his dad." I say smiling, nudging his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"That's not what this is about." He whispers as he plays with his wedding band. My smile falters as I look at him, trying to read his expression. "Did you and Lori have a fight?" I ask, not really sure what's going on.

He looks up at me with uneasy eyes. "Y-Ya can't get mad at me man. Promise me you won't get mad." I watch him with uncertainty before nodding my head. "Shane what's going on?"

He rushes out a "Lori and I think she might be pregnant." In a whisper. My eyebrows furrow, "I didn't catch any of that man." Shane lets out a huff before repeating himself clearly. "Lori and I think she might be pregnant."

The air feels like it was knocked out of my lungs, my heart is heavy, and my mouth is suddenly dry as I watch Shane, trying to figure out if this is just some cruel joke. "Are you serious?" I ask shocked.

He runs his hands through his hair avoiding my gaze before letting out a soft "Yeah." I stand up from the swing and lean against the railing of the porch. I look out to the field, speechless. "Rick, man, you gotta say something." Shane says as he gets up and stands at my side. "Don't got nothin to say." I purse my lips and look at my hands.

Shane throws his head back in frustration. "That's not fair man. It's not like we planned for this to happen, it just did. It was supposed to be a one and done deal with Carl. I would never want to have a baby in this!" He spits out angrily. I nod my head and let out a shaky breath. Shane's face contorts to regret. "I-I didn't mean it like that Rick."

"Yeah, well you said it." I say bitterly before making my way down the steps, ignoring his pleas.

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

"Score!" You say as you walk past a shelf that still has a few cans of vegetables. You greedily stuff them into your bag and make your way to the medicine aisle. Unsurprisingly, its mostly wiped clean, except for a few spare bandages and a tube of ointment. You sigh in annoyance before swiping them off of the shelf. They'll help a little.

You hear a bang on the other side of the store. Drawing your knife, you quietly follow the noise. You're met with a padlocked door and something continuously bumping against it. You don't want to open it, but there might be some medicine that Dylan could use inside. You look around trying to find something heavy. A piece of wood, previously boarding the windows, lays a few feet away.

You start to hit the padlock and after many, many tries, it breaks open, sending a walker straight into your face. You swing the wood into the side of its head, effectively lodging it inside. Taking a step over its body, you enter the storage room. There's a first aid kit sitting on the top shelf. You excitedly reach for it, but before your fingertips even graze the kit, the floor creaks below you and breaks.

As you fall, your head hits a pipe, knocking you out prior to you hitting the ground.

-----

Rick was supposed to meet you at this new restaurant a few minutes from your apartment, but he hasn't arrived yet. After waiting for him for about an hour and calling him numerous times, you decided to leave.

Tears brim your eyes as you angrily slam the car door. You thought things were going well with Rick, as you have now been dating for almost a year and a half. But he had been acting, well, weird these last few weeks. His responses were short and quick, he wasn't as affectionate as he used to be and worst of all, it seemed like he was avoiding you like you were the god damn plague. You just chalked it up to him being busy with work, but deep down you felt like it was something else.

Your hands grip the steering wheel tight as you drive home. You didn't want to believe your thoughts. There's no way he would. He'd never cheat. Would he? The thought fills your stomach with nerves and gives you a headache. Your phone starts to vibrate, and you fish it out of your purse and see Rick's name. You take a deep breath trying to steady and compose yourself before answering.

"Hey." You whisper into the phone.

"Baby, I'm so sorry there was a drug bust 30 minutes before my shift was supposed to end and they made me process the guy and you know how long that can take." He rushes out, eager to explain himself.

"It's okay Rick." You say rolling your eyes, you haven't really believed anything that came out of the man's mouth lately.

"No y/n, it's not." He pauses, "I'll make it up to you ok. I'll come over to your place and we can make dinner together and watch one of your romcoms." He tries.

"Yeah, sounds good." You say unexcitedly, not really in the mood to see his face. But you know this will be a good opportunity to bring up the things that has been bothering you.

"Okay, I'll see ya in about 25, okay?"

"Okay." You hang up the phone. You look around and realize you have arrived at your apartment. The call must have made you zone out. The thought makes you cringe as you think of what could have happened by you not paying attention.

You unlock the door to your apartment and shed off your jacket and shoes before plopping on the couch.

Before you know it, Rick is knocking on the door. You open it with a frown covering your lips and Rick's expression quickly changes from excitement to sorrow. You turn around not saying anything to him and sit back down on the couch, crossing your arms. Rick watches you confused before following you and sits down as well.

"Baby?"

You stare straight ahead, not sure how to start this conversation. "Baby, I said I was sorry, there was nothing I could have done. You know we aren't allowed to keep our phones with us while were on shift and how-" You cut him off, whispering "Are you cheating on me?" You ask, sitting rigid.

Rick gasps and thinks he misheard you. "Y/n I would never, ever cheat on you or do anything to mistreat you." He says grabbing your hand as you avoid looking at him. You're already crying, and tears are starting to form in his eyes. "Why would you ever think such a thing?"

You whip your head in his direction, giving him a 'are you fucking kidding me?' look. "Jeez Rick, I don't know, maybe it's because you've been constantly avoiding me, you've been "working" really long hours, you barely touch me let alone kiss me and you won't fucking talk to me!" You finish angrily.

He bites his cheek and shakes his head. "Like I fucking told you a million times, we're short on staff so I need to work those extra hours every god damn day." He says annoyed.

"No, you aren't."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, y/n?" He asks frustrated.

You pick at your nails while you speak, "I called Lori, she said Shane's been home at his usual time every day." You whisper.

"Well, she's fucking lying." Rick yells out as he stands and starts to pace. You give him a begging look. "Please just tell me the truth, Rick."

He stops with his back to you and runs his hands through his hair. "I can't tell you." He says looking down at his feet.

"Then I can't do this anymore." His head snaps over his shoulder in your direction, looking at you with wide eyes. "I-I can't be in a relationship that is filled with lies and deceit. I can't fucking do it Rick."

"Thats not what this is!" He says pointing his finger at you.

"Then what the fuck is this, Rick? You're acting like everything is fine and nifty when really, we need to get our heads out of our fucking assess and figure out what the fuck is wrong with our relationship!"

He places his hands on his hips. "I was planning my proposal."

You look at him shocked. "Sorry?" You ask gulping. He sighs and digs a box out of his pocket before coming to sit at your side. He opens it and shows you the ring. "I went ring shopping today, was the last thing I needed to do before proposing to you on Saturday." Tears prickle your eyes as you delicately pick up the ring. "It was supposed to be fast, I already picked it out online a few days ago but something was wrong with my account and the bank froze it. By the time I tried to call them to fix it, they were already closed. Had to borrow the money from Shane." He says sheepishly.

You look up at him frowning, with tears streaking down your face. "I'm sorry I ruined it." You say as you place the ring back in the box. "You can still do it on Saturday if you want." You say meekly. Rick chuckles and scoops you into his arms, placing you on his lap. Your knees are on either side of his hips as you look down at him, weaving your fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck.

"Oh, I'm still planning on doing it, took me nearly three weeks to plan it out." He says as he rubs his hands up and down your back.

You sigh and lay your head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I never should have accused or blamed you for anything."

He cups your cheek and looks down at you. "I'm sorry for making you think I would ever cheat or do anything to jeopardize our relationship. Y/n I promised when we started dating that I was never going to hurt you and I plan to stick to that." You nod your head and kiss his jaw before sitting up.

"I know you would never do that, but, I mean c'mon baby you were acting so suspicious and weird." You whine. He laughs and cups your cheeks, staring into your eyes. "Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret from you? I don't know how but you know anything about everything. I knew if I was around you for longer than an hour you would have chiseled away on me like you were fucking DaVinci or some shit, and you just fucking did." You let out a giggle as you stare down at him. Rick brings your face down to his, placing kiss on your lips. You pull away and grin at him. "You gonna tell me this plan of yours?"

He chortles at your question. "Not a chance in hell."

You click you tongue and shake your head. "Yeah, didn't think so."

-----

You hear whispering above you, but your eyelids are too heavy to open. It seems far away, like they're conversing on the other side of the room.

"We can't just fucking leave her!"

"Why not?"

"She's hurt and fucking pregnant James!"

"Well, we don't know when or if she's gonna wake up."

You see a light shine above you through your eyelids, making your face scrunch up in discomfort.

"Shh! Guys she's waking up."

[starcrossed591]

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

[storytelling-timelord]

Delusional

Summary: When you follow River off a building, you meet a new, old friend.

Paring: River Song x Reader, 11th Doctor x River Song (mentioned), 11th Doctor x Reader x River Song (possible)

WC: 700

A/N: Do you ever just get an idea and you have to write it? No matter if it’s 1 am and it’s not the soundest idea but it’s an idea and it’s something and you haven’t posted in months and you aren’t sure if anyone is actually going to read this or not but you finally wrote something? That was me, then this was born. Enjoy.

P.S.: I’m not tagging anyone on this bc I’m working on a new tag system/update blog so if you’re wanting to know when I post, be on the look out for that :)

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“You’re delusional.”

“That’s why you love me.”

She has a point. And damn was that a good point.

“Trust me Sweetie, stay with me for too long and you’ll find out just how delusional I am.” River winks at you. Her smile decorates her face beautifully as she takes your hand. With only mere seconds before the door to roof bursts open with most likely a lot of very large, angry men on power trips, she leaps off the building, gripping your hand tightly as you leap alongside her. River’s laugh carries through the air as you hold your breath, feeling her grip tighten as you close your eyes.

“Do you trust me?”

What a dumb question. “Of course I do.”

“Then we need to jump.”

“Jump? Off the building?”

“Right off, in about 10 seconds.”

You’d trust River with your life, you do trust her with your life. The only problem was the closer and closer the ground got, the more you wish you had her explain this delusional plan to you.

Then the next minute you were safe.

“You can open your eyes now, sweetie.” River’s words take a few moments to register in your brain before you allow one of your eyes to peak open, soon followed by another when you realize you’re fully laying on top of River who is laying on solid ground. At least, you thought it was ground.

With a quick look around your surroundings as you finally get off of the woman and stretch your hand out to help her, you realize you’re in a spaceship.

“Someone call for a pickup?” Your eyes scan for whoever just spoke and you almost come up empty until a bouncy bow tie wearing man pops out from behind whatever that big thing in the middle of the room is. His smile was wide as he looks between you and River.

River takes a deep breath and sighs happily when she’s finally on her feet. “Right,” she grins and walks over the room centerpiece, which are suspecting are the controls with the way River starts pulling and turning all the levers and the spaceship starts moving. “Y/N, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Y/N.”

The Doctor was barely able to spare you another glance before he starts trying to shoo River away from the controls. “We’ve met.” He says simply and offers you a quick smile.

You furrow your brows. Surely, you’d remember someone like him and someplace like this. “No, we haven’t.”

The Doctor pauses, looks at you and smiles. “Oh right. Well, never mind then!” You didn’t know what to make of his comments but the name did bring some familiarity.

“The Doctor?” River and The Doctor both hum a yes as you lean against the door behind you, crossing your arms. “So, you’re the Timelord then?” Again, both hum a yes. “So, you’re my girlfriend’s husband?”

There was only one hum this time from River as she kept herself from laughing. The Doctor stood up straighter, his arms falling to his sides and you could see he didn’t really know what to say exactly. You were trying to keep from laughing yourself at his expression before River slaps him on the arm.

“You told her that?” The Doctor whispers but it was pointless as he was quite the loud whisperer.

“I tell her everything.” River shrugs, looking up at you through her lashes with a smirk. “Besides, she’s read my book.”

The Doctor didn’t really know what to say to that. In the time he’s known you, he didn’t know exactly what you knew before you met him.

“Relax Doctor, I’ve been with River long enough to know this is just another part of the adventure.” You smile at River, watching her at the controls as she practically spins around the Doctor. The Doctor hasn’t looked away from you. He was shifting his jaw, his lips lightly lifting up fondly in the corners as he lets River steer you three wherever it was she wanted to go. And he would follow the two of you anywhere.

.

.

.

.

[over-particular]

minimalist self-care habits

One of the biggest misconceptions about taking care of yourself is the systematic and erroneous association of self-care with extreme consumerism. This idea conveys the image of self-care as something reserved to those who can afford it. The truth is, and many already know this, there are countless ways to be good to yourself without spending more than necessary.

☐ Get enough sleep. A child would need 10 to 12 hours of sleep per night. The average is between 7 and 9 hours for an adult. I can never say it enough, but sleep is an important part of our lives. Value it highly. It's an elementary need: not getting enough sleep puts us at risk of developing numerous chronic diseases: such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, coronary heart disease and some types of cancer. You are also more likely to suffer a stroke.

☐ Turn the volume down. Since I'm riding the wave of how we 21st century people are neglecting our health, I also want to stress the importance of auditory health. If, like me, you love to spend hours with headphones on, consider turning down the volume. I know it's much more enjoyable to experience it fully, but having gone through the terrible experience of tinnitus, I bitterly regret it. There is a simple way to track your auditory health: please check your smartphone's headphone safety features.

☐ Don't neglect your medical appointments. I have always been very anxious about it. Not to the point of pulling my hair out, but I used to postpone my appointment so much that I sometimes forgot why I even wanted to go. There are countless of reasons why we may not like to go to the doctor, but the truth is that health issues simply cannot wait. It is equally important to go see your doctor even if you think you are in perfect condition.

☐ Be physically active. Always keep in mind that your body, like your mind, needs to be stimulated. Besides allowing you to manage your weight more effectively, sport improve your brain health, reduces health risks and strengthens both your muscles and your bones.

☐ Watch your language. It's more personal, but it introduces a sense of discipline into your mind. The turns of phrase, the informal language, the way we speak, the choice of words, the syntax… Speaking is the perfect expression of the mind. This does not mean abolishing the use of crude words, but rather regaining control, becoming master of your language again. Your words should never exceed your thoughts. In my opinion, a rich language reflects the attention the speaker pays to it. When was the last time you learned a new word?

☐ Clean your space. The cleanliness of your living space has a big impact on your productivity. A messy space can lead to a messy mind. Home is, for many of us, the place we feel most comfortable: keeping your living space clean and organized naturally improves the quality of your life, your sleep and your health. Clean regularly, let the sun shine in and air out daily.

☐ Avoid ads. Easier said than done. But try not to have your mind parasitized by the multitude of advertisements we are flooded with. I don't watch television. I do have access to a music platform so I don't have to deal with the constant stream of ads on YouTube.

☐ Go for a walk. Pretending to discover your city or town anew can do wonders for a mind in need of a little distraction. Check out some of the free events that may be happening near you. Visit a park you've never been to before.

☐ Give yourself a reason to wait. Try to establish a ritual of patience. In other words… You stop binge watching every new show you start and you take your time to appreciate it.

☐ Stimulate your mind. The internet has given us more ways than ever to keep our minds busy. For those who know me a little, I am a big fan of reading. And if physical books can indeed be expensive, you can find some really good ones for free in .pdf format. In fact, some kind souls have even gone so far as to share entire drives of them on Tumblr... Going further in my reflection, I think that the scourge of our century is the intellectual lethargy: everything is at our fingertips, why bother reading a whole book when I have access to a detailed summary of only a few pages? Beyond the spiritual enrichment, it is also a proof of patience to seize a book and give it three hours of your time. I sincerely believe that as human beings, we owe it to ourselves to keep our senses and our minds alert. Reading is a great way to exercise our brain as it helps stimulate our cognitive abilities. It allows us to develop our capacity for memorization, reflection, analysis and imagination. Try coloring for adults (yes, it's a thing: ■ ■). There are also many games for adults online with the aim of stimulating memory and improving concentration (■, ■.). Try solving online puzzles, fake criminal investigations, math problems? Learn how to code (with Codecademy for example, which offers many courses for free). Take language courses. Many general knowledge quizzes are also available to anyone who is interested (■) . The web is a real goldmine in terms of resources and many are available for free.

☐ Finally, this list would be meaningless without me asking you to learn to relax. Give yourself a day off if you need to. It is essential to take it easy, to get your nose out of your planning, to look up from your screen and breathe in some fresh air through the window. I advise all those who try to relax to start a digital detox: we must learn to relax independently, without a screen and regain control over the objects of our stimulation.

My lists are intended to be personal. If you find them useful, that's great. Feel free to rewrite them! Don't hesitate to ask questions or send me your comments and ideas for next articles.