#its not that long until ross's birthday either

[swinterr]

fic rec vi ♡

hi!

this is a another new set of fic rec and i’ll probably do a compilation of genre (?) just like the first ones.

made some changes like tidying up a bit and adding summary, for those that doesn’t have any summary i’ll try my best to add my own summary (it will probably be shit tho, i ain’t making a smut summary guys, i’m not confident in my describing a fic ability but i’ll try my best. if its in italic it means i made the summary hehez )  if the summary is shit, i made it okay.

read and support the fic and authors here: the fic rec ♡

a for angst

f for fluff

s for smut

// for series or list

nct 

jeno

no title by @tyongf-nct | s

- smut blurb.

body guards and boyfriend by @pastelsicheng | f

-  sometimes the only way you can really get some alone time with your boyfriend is by making his job hard.

lipstick smears by @kopikokun | f

-  jeno never thought trying to get his makeup artist’s attention would be this hard.

jaehyun

[10:30] by @moonttaeil | 

- a lockdown moment.

[2:40] by @nct-jungjaehyun | f a

- cute quality fluff time with bf!jae with a dash of angst.

[11:41] by @jeongvision | f 

- family time with apples.

just like magic by @starryhyuck | f s

-  jung jaehyun’s body count is almost as high as yours. however, after yuta spreads a nasty rumor, you learn that jaehyun’s always imagined those girls to be you instead.

love to hate me by @moonctzeny | s a 

-  you and jaehyun meet as sm trainees, developing a friendship until he debuts and you decided to leave the company and pursue a solo career. when you reunite again in a music show and he acts like he barely knows you, you stubbornly begin a series of hate-brimmed sex rendez-vous. your touch-and-go relationship continues on, until a song collaboration will force you both to deal with all your repressed feelings for each other.

moving on by @ddeonghwaa | f a

- reader has been chasing jae for some time but when she moved on jae suddenly enter the picture.

sun&moon by @ppangjae | f a

-  asking jeong jaehyun to accompany you to your family’s 1-week christmas vacation as your boyfriend has its consequences. one can surely get through 1 week of pretending to be in love with an enemy, right?

snack run with a snack by @kopikokun | f 

-  on your usual movie night with the members, they assign you sudden snack collecting duty. you’re a little peeved, but at least jaehyun offers to tag along. Unfortunately for you, things really aren’t going in your favour tonight.

lover boy by @neoct-zen | f s

- bunch fics of lover boy jae and reader.

jungwoo

one more time, please by @haequarius | f s

-  you don’t know what you and Jungwoo are, but you are certainly weak for him.

jealous by @whiplashsan | s 

-  jungwoo is all smiles and sunshine until he gets jealous, and he just so happens to get jealous over the smallest things when it comes to you.

doyoung

sugar, spice and everything not nice by @alreadyblondenow | s

-  doyoung getting your ring size wrong, unprotected sex, kitchen sex, slight fingering, wedding tragedies.

no title by @ncteaxhoe | s

- dom!doyoung, rough? i need holy water.

the little one by @ethaeriyeol | f 

-  a gift of life; female reader x husband!Doyoung; fluff, light angst, married au

lucas

exquisite taste by @weishenkonbini | s f

- smut but with a fluffy ending.

for you always by @labyrinthsofyou | f

-  in which you surprise yukhei when he forgets about your date.

6:19 by @cozykpopblurbs | f

- a cute fluff ft kun and winwin.

10:18 pm by @nctsoftarchives | f

- reader supports lucas at his superm debut stage. 

16:47 by @sichengssmile | f s 

- a fluffy smut. lucas a big boi.

missed you by @tokyobts | a f

-  after you and yukhei broke up, yukhei still has feelings for you. he reaches out to you at school and tries to get you back. at first you avoid him but later his actions manage to make your heart flutter. you’ve come to a sudden conclusion that you maybe still want him in your life.

johnny

34 + 35 by @domjaehyun | s 

- you and your husband johnny decide to take your marriage to the next step.

i couldn’t wait a little longer by @alreadyblondenow | s f a

-  you two were never together longer than two days, but the feelings, oh the feelings that you have for each other is clear as the day. it was a never-ending try of making the relationship official. johnny tried, you tried but it never happens.

what happens in korea, not stays in korea by @alreadyblondenow | f s 

-  a week vacation in korea for your sister’s wedding became even more exciting when a famous dj had a crush on you. johnny was sure that it’s love at first sight. not putting both of your careers on the line, you two had no regrets when the time comes and you finally leave.

laundry day by @immabiteyou | s

- a domestic fluffy smut.

make a wish by @sluttyten | s f a

-  you’re jungwoo’s sister, and he’s made it clear he wants you and Johnny to have nothing to do with each other. so you and johnny start fake dating to piss him off.

want it all by @sluttyten | f s 

-  you are entirely innocent to the point of being naive. johnny is not innocent, but he loves that you are because it means he can teach you everything you don’t know.

sungchan

wish i was her by @softsungchan | f a 

-  you wished you were her, laying in Sungchan’s arms and feeling his warm breath on your neck, giggling about sweet nothings whispered into the starry night. You wished for it to be you, the girl he liked.

2:21 am by @the32ndbeat | f 

- sungchan being whipped, thru a text message.

haechan

14:52 by @ukiyoexo | f

- a cute haechan and reader ft the reader’s baby sister moment.

prince’s order by @nsheetee | f

-  prince haechan nurses you after you faint, and orders you to stay with him until you feel better.

sweet treat by @markresonates | s

-  haechan takes you for ice cream but all you can think about is sex with him.  when you act like a brat, eventually you end up in the bathroom. with no panties. 

clingy by @love-mi | f 

-  I’m not clingy! I just love your company and constantly want to be around you and have your full attention at all times

mark

hyuck is always right by @luvrenjun00 | f 

- ceo!mark x reader ft baby donghyuck. a tooth-rotting fluff.

taeyong

snow storm by @whereisten | f s 

- a fluffy smut whilst a snow storm.

1:59 by @smoll-tangerine | f

- reader and taeyong ft my favorite game (where i always die first) among us!

bts

taehyung

is this allowed 1 2 by @seokiie  | f s

- how were you supposed to know bts would be filming at your coffee shop today? how were you supposed to know a certain curly-haired boy would take a liking  to you?

cabin pressure | f by @jiminrings | f 

-  pilot!y/n who accidentally became famous bc of a viral post about her, best friend!jimin!, taehyung having a shy lil crush on you aND ot7 being meanies for a tad bit :((

art major!tae and biochem major!yn | f by @jiminrings | f

-  tae’s cold and probably needs a friend more than he needs a model, y/n feels this nEED to take care of him, a term of enderment then a dash of emotional constipation and a sprinkle of jealousy :D

gank mid lane by @kimtaehyunq | f s 

- gank / verb: (in a video game) use underhand means to defeat or kill (a less experienced opponent)

birthday surprise by @ephemeralkookie |

-  like every year, you prepare a little surprise for your boyfriend’s birthday, one that you’ve been preparing for days. and after a very tiring day, taehyung only wants to spend the night in your loving arms.

jungkook

cookies & cream | s by @1kook | f s 

-  jungkook will watch a thousand cheesy christmas movies if it meant making you happy. (and maybe having his dick sucked.)

unholy night | s by @ephemeralkookie | f s

-  after a christmas day passed with the Jeon’s family, Jungkook decides to transform the holy night into an unholy one.

‘a short’ abstinence | s a by @seokiie | s a

-  maybe blue-balling you boyfriend (who has an insanely high sexual drive) wasn’t the best.

in which she’s done with him by @minstrivia | a

-  jungkook angst/fluff where he always pushes oc away (who confesses her feelings but was cruelly rejected) and insults her but she always comes back to take care of him when he’s drunk or picks him up from his one night stands and she finally decides to leave him alone.

bad influence by @noteguk | s 

-  in which you know jungkook is a bad influence on you, but you can’t avoid falling for him every time.

jock!jk and shy art major!yn by @jiminrings | f

-  established relationship ft. jock!jk and shy art major!y/n, y/n gets an unexpected pep talk and jungkook doubts himself, and either so much tears or so much dUST according to kook

special affair by @1oserjk | f

-  sugar daddy au except it’s just jk spoiling u thru animal crossing

fairy of shampoo by @ironicarmy | f s

-  sundays are for relaxation, house cleaning, and happiness.

abstract ft bob ross by @mimithings97 | f

-  paintbrush in one hand, joint in the other and you sitting on his dick is what jeongguk wants. and what jeongguk wants, jeongguk gets.

badboy!jungkook by @jungshookz | f 

- badboy!jungkook falls for good girl reader ft the boys and the reader’s apple. 

growing by @lesgetittkookie | f

- dad!jungkook teacher his daughter how to walk. super super cute family/domestic fluff.

quiet, baby by @bratkook | s 

- i don’t how to write a summary on smuts so imma just put this. reader and jungkook doing something in the subway.

still want that by @whatifyoulivelikethat | s

-  fucking min yoongi ex-girlfriend? a terrible idea. being hopelessly in love with her at the same time? an even worse idea. knowing he was being used and still doing it anyway? ah, Jeon Jungkook, what are you doing? part 2 of savage love.

desiderium by @jeonggukingdom | f s 

-  “we’ve been at it like rabbits, how are you still so horny?”. a newlyweds!au smut.

chapstick by @softyoongiionly | f s

- based on the time Jungkook said he needed someone to scold him so he’d remember to put lip balm on. or jungkook’s had a really long day and the only that can make it better, is seeing you. 

lover boy by @jingukk | f 

-  jungkook likes you. a lot.

unexpected confession by @sunkissedjk | f

-  you gathered up the courage to confess your feelings, but it seems everyone in school knows about it before you could even find him.

string attached by @ephemeralkookie | s

-  jungkook is what we can call your sexfriend. No strings attached, just you and him having fun and releasing the huge pressure and stress of being idols. But after spending an entire day together, you realize that maybe he’s not just your sexfriend.

no title by @himbojk | f s 

- dilf jk.

astro

eunwoo

ceo!eunwoo by @m0onbean

no title by @yutopiada | f

- a cute idol!reader and eunwoo moment at a music show.

disney by @bangchan-sonyeondan | f

- a cute date with eunwoo at disney. reader likes vintage things hence using a disposable camera.

baby, it’s cold outside by @fresh-outta-jams | f 

- a cute cold christmas fluff with eunwoo ft. the boys. reader went to the boys’ place for a sweater and cocoa gift exchange.

got7

yugyeom

cruel brothers by @imsarabum | f

-  jackson and jaebum have always acted as if they were your big, overprotective brothers. so when they both walk in on you and yugyeom in a very intimate position, things get a little tense!

txt

soobin

a special night by @gyuluster | f

-  an intimate insight on the first night of choi soobin’s wedding, consisting of kitchen floors, witches and an eternity of love.

boughs & branches by @jeogiyall | f 

-  decorating the tree with boyfriend! choi soobin from txt! fluffity fluff fluff with a lot of cute fluff thrown in and a dash of christmastime fluff. 

sleepy binnie by @immabiteyou | s

-  “i’ll let you do anything if you just touch me now. “ a sleepy soobin smut.

cake by @immabiteyou | s

- reading waiting for mc soobin with the guys. a cute fluffy smut moment.

kpop oc/s

seri by @ggukkiedae

anyway, thank you again for the writers please take care and be safe!

please free to recommend your favorite fic that i haven’t feature yet.

if the links won’t work and i labelled some fics wrong please let me know and i’ll try to fix it as soon as possible!

support the fic and the writers!

[queenofspades20]

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to my favorite fictional boyfriend. Just some fluff in honor of Bucky’s birthday.

Word count: 2k

Warnings: this is just fluff, maybe a few curse words. Enjoy!!

_____________________________________________________

Bucky and Y/n were sitting on the couch watching Hot Tub Time Machine.

“I’m telling you, Buck. The douchey ski patrol guy looks just like you!” Y/n insisted. Every time the actor popped up on the screen, Bucky just shook his head.

“I don’t see it, Doll.”

“Then you need glasses, old man!”

“Old man?” Bucky’s head snapped in Y/n’s direction. He had an incredulous look on his face. “You weren’t calling me old man last night.”

“Not my fault you’re going blind, Babe. Sebastian Stan is clearly your doppelganger. Your younger doppelganger,” Y/n said with a smirk, putting emphasis on younger. She knew she was picking a battle with Bucky but she wanted to see how far he would let her go before putting an end to it.

Bucky knew what she was up to. He loved seeing her smile, even if it was at his expense, but he was only going to let her go so far.

“I see how it is.” He leaned over and pushed her to lay down, climbing on top of her. Bucky grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with his metal hand, his flesh hand moving down her sides, tickling her.

“Bucky, NO!” Y/n yelled out. “I was just teasing. With your birthday tomorrow, I gotta get my shots in while I can! You know I can’t help myself.” She squirmed her body, trying to move away.

Bucky shifted so his legs were on either side of Y/n’s, effectively trapping her. He started tickling her sides.

“NO! BUCKY!!” Y/n tried to pull her body away, but he was too heavy on top of her.

“I’ll show you old man.” While tickling her, he started kissing her face and neck. They were laughing, Y/n trying to desperately get away from Bucky’s hand, when Bucky felt cold water hitting his back.

“HEY!” Bucky yelled, turning around. He saw Sam and Steve standing there, laughing.

“I had to cool you off,” Sam said. He held up an empty glass and shook it. “No sex on the couch.”

Bucky let go of Y/n and got up to run after Sam. “Get over here, Birdbrain.”

Sam took off running to his room with Bucky close behind him.

Y/n looked at Steve. “He was tickling me because I called him old man. But he refuses to acknowledge he looks like the actor in Hot Tub Time Machine!”

The movie was at a scene with Blaine, the character Y/n was referring to. She pointed to the screen and Steve looked.

“I don’t see it.” Steve shrugged and walked off.

“Argh! Thor save me from old men who need glasses!”

 The next morning, Y/n got up before Bucky to cook him breakfast. She had a day planned of doing activities Bucky loved. She made pancakes, bacon, and eggs with some coffee and loaded up a tray with the food. She made her way back to their shared room. Bucky was not in bed, but she could hear him in the bathroom.

“Doll?” Bucky called out.

“I have breakfast. I was hoping you’d still be in bed, or did I not tire you out?” Y/n cheekily answered.

Bucky stuck his head through the doorway. “I thought I had tired you out.”

Y/n just rolled her eyes. “Get out here, birthday boy, so I can give you your first present.”

Bucky quickly made his way over to the bed. “Breakfast with you is a good present.”

He settled onto the bed and Y/n placed the tray over his lap. “A hearty breakfast to get through the morning, because we’re going on a little trip.”

Bucky looked intrigued. “Are you going to tell me where?”

“Nope. I did think we could take your bike, since it’s a gorgeous day out.”

“You know how to drive a motorcycle? And who said I would be okay with you driving my bike?”

“One, rude. Two, I got lessons from Steve. I can get us to where we are going no problem. I even did a test drive with Steve a few days ago.”

Bucky looked impressed. “I still don’t know.”

Y/n looked at Bucky with a pout. “Please, Baby? I promise I know what I’m doing and I really want this to be a surprise.”

Bucky hesitated. He had a hard time saying no to her but he also loved his bike. “Fine, but if you seem hesitant at all, we pull over and switch.”

“Deal!” Y/n smiled widely. “Now dig in, Baby.”

They ate their breakfast and then got dressed for the day. As they made their way to the garage, Y/n held up a blindfold.

“You’re not wearing that while driving,” Bucky joked.

Y/n gave him an unimpressed look. “You’re wearing it first. I want this to be a surprise. I’ll wear it later if you’re a good boy, though. Let you do whatever you want.”

Bucky felt his pants get tighter. “Careful, Doll. Keep talking like that and we won’t make it out of the compound. But I’m going to hold you to that later,” he said as he took the blindfold.

They settled on the motorcycle and Bucky put the blindfold on. “Can you see anything, Bucky?”

“Nope.”

“Okay then. Hold on.” Y/n started the motorcycle and Bucky wrapped his arms around her waist.

They took off. It was a weird feeling for Bucky to not know where they were going, but he trusted Y/n. After a while, Bucky felt the bike slow down. He could hear crowds and screams of joy in the background. After the bike was stopped, Y/n looked over her shoulder.

“You can take off the blindfold now.”

Bucky slipped of the blindfold and smiled when he saw they were at Coney Island.

“Good surprise?” Y/n asked and bit her lip.

“Best surprise.” Bucky hugged her close.

“Good. I wanted you to have fun and not worry about the world and this seemed to fit what I wanted.”

“It’s perfect.” Bucky got off the bike and helped Y/n off.

They spent their morning at Coney Island, riding everything they could and playing several games. Y/n made sure to win a stuffed bear for Bucky. Bucky really enjoyed the Cyclone and regaling Y/n with the story of how he made Steve ride it back in the day. They had lunch and then decided to finish their visit with the Wonder Wheel. At the top of the ride, they shared a kiss.

“Good birthday so far?”

“Best I think I’ve ever had.” Bucky looked at Y/n like she hung the moon.

“Ready to head back to the compound? The team has a small party planned for you.”

Bucky had a hesitant look on his face.

Y/n rushed to assure him. “Nothing like Tony’s usual parties. It’s just the team and significant others. We want to celebrate you turning 104.”

Bucky looked relieved. “That’s fine. As long as you promise to not leave my side all night.”

“Like I would leave you anyways.”

Bucky and Y/n made their way back to the bike. Bucky immediately got on and looked at Y/n. “I’m driving back. You did a good job but I wanna drive.”

Y/n laughed and climbed behind Bucky, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I figured you’d want to drive back. I only cared about surprising you here. And maybe after the party.”

Bucky reached down and squeezed her hands. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Bucky.”

They made their way back to the compound and got ready for the party. Y/n put on a deep red knee-length dress that fit her body in a way that showcased all her favorite assets. She kept her hair and makeup simple, since the party wasn’t going to be crazy. She made her way out of the bathroom and saw Bucky buttoning up his shirt. He looked up as she walked in to grab her shoes. As she passed him, he grabbed at her hand and pulled her close.

“You look delectable,” Bucky murmured. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. His arms slid around her waist, his hands moving down until they cupped her ass. Y/n smiled at Bucky and put her arms around his neck.

“Glad you like. I bought the dress just for tonight.”

“So, another present for me? I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands off you.”

“Well, that is a perk of it being your party. We go for a while and then leave early and you can unwrap me and put that blindfold to use.”

Bucky groaned. “Can’t we just skip the party?”

Y/n threw her head back and laughed. “No. You know they’ll just barge in here. If we make an appearance, then we won’t be interrupted later.”

“Fine.” Bucky grumbled. He pouted as they left their room and made their way to the common area where the party was set up. Bucky was hoping if he pouted enough, Y/n would let him leave extra early.

“Your pouting isn’t going to work, Baby.” Y/n said over her shoulder, smiling.

Bucky gave up the pout and smiled back. “Worth a shot.”

When they entered the room, it was filled with the team and their partners. Steve had brought Sharon, who was happy to have made it in time, having been on a mission for the past few weeks. Clint and Natasha stood together, Clint’s arm around Natasha’s shoulder. Wanda and Vision were holding hands. Bruce had excitedly brought Betty Ross, who had recently come back into his life. Sam and Peter stood with their girlfriends and Tony and Pepper were happily hugging.

“Happy birthday, Bucky!” everyone yelled as Bucky and Y/n entered the room. Bucky felt so happy to be surround by his friends. Tony and Steve had hung up a banner that said “happy 104th birthday” and there were streamers all around the room. On the coffee table was a cake with a pile of presents for Bucky. Tony had set up a bar to the side, fully stocked with a bartender there to make everyone’s night easier. Though Thor couldn’t stay, he had dropped off some Asgardian mead for the super soldiers earlier that week. There was also a buffet table with various foods that Bucky loved, both from back in the 40s and from now.

The party had been going for a few hours and everyone was having a good time. Bucky and Steve had gotten into the mead and were feeling its effects. Bucky had opened his presents, loving everything he got, especially his new knife from Y/n.

“Doll, you already did breakfast and Coney Island. This is too much,” Bucky said as he admired the tactical knife. It had a black and blue carved handle with a steel blade that had a blue sheen.

“I saw it and thought of you,” Y/n said with a shrug. “The blade reminds me of your eye color.”

Bucky leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait to use it on my next mission.”

“Only you would be that excited for a knife,” Sam said with a laugh.

“Shut it, Pigeon.”

Sam just rolled his eyes with a smile. After presents were done and the cake was eaten, Bucky decided he was ready to finish his night in the bedroom with Y/n, wanting to make use of the blindfold. He looked over at Y/n and caught her eye. Bucky gave her a smirk that signaled he was ready to go.

“Well, thank you everyone for a truly great birthday. I can’t thank you enough for everything.”

“You deserve it, Punk,” Steve said, Sharon cuddled into his side.

“Definitely my best birthday yet.” Bucky pulled Y/n close and kissed her temple.

Y/n smiled, ready to start trouble. “I think that’s my cue to get this old man to bed.”

Everyone laughed while Bucky looked down at her in faux shock. “Old man??”

Y/n laughed as she stood up. “I mean, you are 104. I’m surprised you lasted this long.” She slowly made her way over towards the door. “Do we need to get you a cane or maybe a walker?”

Bucky jumped up and moved quickly towards Y/n. She let out a yell and ran towards their room. “I’ll show you old man, Doll,” Bucky yelled out as he chased her.

Everyone heard Y/n yell, “bring it on, senior citizen!”

Sam looked at Tony. “Thank you for soundproofing their room.”

“That was a present for all of us.”

[missscarletta7]

The Broken Crown- Chapter 1

Hello! So this is my first Peaky Blinders Fanfiction.  I own nothing, except for the few OCs I created. 

This story is also on Wattpad and FF.net under the same title if you want to read it there as well--- however be warned it is not as edited as this post and I changed the name of one of the characters because I thought it was a better fit... lol!

Summary: All Margaret Shelby ever wanted, was the opportunity to write her own story. Only now is she beginning to realize that her brother may have already written it for her...

  Enjoy!

OoOoOo

"He's a ghost, he's a god, He's a man, He's a guru,

You're one microscopic cog, In his catastrophic plan

Designed and directed by his red right hand"

~Red Right Hand~

1919

She had that dream again, the one where she had to decide which door she would open. Both doors were identical in every way. Yet, she just stands in the empty room lit as if by candles; frozen in place; The weight of the decision ultimately waking her out of-

No, that wouldn't do, a dark-haired girl thought as she scratched out the words she had just written down. In a small bedroom on the second floor of number Seventeen Watery Lane, sixteen-year-old Margaret Shelby sat on her bed, or rather the bed she shared with her older sister. Dressed in the long white nightgown that had once belonged to her mother and with a pen in hand, she scribbled down more words in her brown leather-bound journal resting on her lap. The journal was gifted to her by her Aunt Polly on her most previous birthday. Upon receiving it she couldn't wait to fill its pages. She liked writing, ever since she learned how to form her words into a cohesive sentence on paper. It had been an outlet, a distraction from the "shit-hole" that was Small Heath, Birmingham.

As a child, she had the fondest memories of taking the drawings her eldest brother Arthur would sketch and would accompany his rendering with an original story. She took pride in how much he would always be so impressed and relished when he called her “his little genius". As the years passed, she believed if she could write and publish a story that was good enough, then maybe one day she could provide for her family. Give them a way out of their current situation. Not that she knew much of how dire their situation really was. To their credit, her family tried their best to shield her, as well as her youngest brother Finn, from feeling the effects of living a life in the slums. She was lucky in that way, most of the girls her age had dropped out of school and had a child of their own already.

Her thoughts of prose were soon interrupted by familiar sounds causing the pit of her stomach to sink. Even after three months of him being back, she doubted she would ever get used to it. Opposite from her bed, through the thin wall with floral green wallpaper which had been peeling off for years, muffled cries could be heard. Maggie knew exactly who it was, her brother, Tommy.

She placed her journal onto the thin cotton sheets and traveled into the hallway. Before she knew it, she was standing outside the door of her older sibling. Taking a deep breath, she decided against knocking and slowly opened the door.

"Tommy?" she whispered into his candlelit room. She could see he was awake. Lying flat on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Go back to bed, Mags," the second oldest Shelby ordered, but the girl hesitated.

"I thought I heard yelling," she sounded apologetic, before taking a whiff of the air. "Do you smell that?"

"I said back to your bloody bed," his harsh tone surprised her.

This time she did listen, gently she closed her brother's door and made her way back to the empty bedroom she once was in.

OoOoOo

The next day, Margaret exited the small school she attended that was located right on the edge of Small Heath with her best friend Cara Ryan by her side. The girls had played together for as long as their memories had served them. Cara was a stylish and talkative girl who stood at a height of five feet and six inches. Dazzling green eyes sparkled and her straight honey blonde hair fell upon her shoulders. Her family did better than most, the Ryan's own a dress shop that is very popular amongst the younger women, Ada, in fact, is a frequent customer of the establishment. Though the word 'customer' was a loose term, the Ryan's like most shop owners in the area were obliged to give anyone with relations to the Peaky Blinders whatever they wanted. Mrs. Ryan's and the two oldest sisters operated it, and in her spare time, Cara could often be found working in the backroom, sewing buttons and beads to fabrics. The family had a deal, in a year's time Cara would come to work for the shop full time, but until then Cara could continue her education.

"Can't believe Henrietta's having a baby," Maggie said aloud, as shorter and younger students ran past them excitedly.

"I can," Cara replied smugly. "That girl would open her legs up for any sod that gave her a second glance."

"I feel bad for her." She admitted thinking of the fifteen-year-old whose life was now forever changed.

Cara shook her head, "Don't it's her own bloody fault."

After rounding the corner, they both saw Ross Murray. A thin nineteen-year-old with dark hair standing at five feet and eleven inches, resting his back against the dull red brick wall, smoking a cigarette. Cara stopped them in their tracks and waved at the young man. "All right, Ross?!"

Maggie smiled at her friend, she liked Ross, he'd always looked out for her and Cara like they were his own sisters. They had all been in school together up until the moment Ross was kicked out for beating up another boy named Jonah Smith. In all likelihood Jonah may have had it coming. He never had the ability to let go. For example, just last year Maggie would have to constantly have to turn down his advances for over a month. Due to the reputation of her family, attention from boys was a rare occurrence. Which she didn't mind, she never really felt romantic feelings for anyone. However, Jonah took advantage of her brothers absence. One day he even cornered her when she went back to the classroom to grab the jumper she left behind. Thankfully Jonah eventually stopped, and never bothered her again.

Getting kicked out of school didn't seem to bother Ross though. Once he turned eighteen, he enlisted to help with the war effort. He completed basic training within the required three months, and according to the letters he would send her and Cara, he was held in high esteem with all of his commanding officers. Just as he was about to be shipped to France, an armistice was declared. He'd managed to find a job working at the BSA factory rather quickly, but when he came back into town Maggie could tell he had changed. He now had this mentality that made him seem as though he was ready for a battle, yet had no one to fight.

"Cara, Margaret," he acknowledged, stubbing out his cigarette on the bricks he had rested his back upon "Where are you two heading, aye?"

"Just going home," Maggie told him, readjusting the bag on her shoulder.

He came closer to them, "I'll walk with you. Birmingham hasn't been the safest place now that all these blokes with fucked up brains are back."

"Look at that Mags," Cara said happily, and he allowed her to take his arm. "The only gentleman in Small Heath"

Maggie smiled knowingly at the sight. Since Cara was ten years old, she had been smitten with the dark-haired boy. Cara would frequently turn down other offers in hopes that Ross would one day ask her to be his girl. They both hoped that it would happen soon, because in Cara's words "She wasn't getting any younger".

"Don't know what you two keep going to school for," He expressed to them, as they began to walk in the direction the girls needed to travel. "What more is there to learn?"

His comment made Maggie shrug, "It's something to do."

"Yeah, most girls our age who aren't in school are either whores or mothers." She agreed.  "Or both."

They continued chatting about their school day as they walked closer into town. The canal that ran nearby as well as the different establishments were coming into view. "Mags, is that your brother?" Ross asked, pointing to a couple of boys.

Maggie turned her head to where her friend was pointing. He was right, her younger brother Finn, was running around in front of the pharmacy with Isaiah Jesus. He must have skipped school again. "Oi!" Maggie called out angrily, and Finn froze in place "What have you been up to all day, hm?"

"Please don't tell Tommy," the ten-year-old begged.

Maggie was about to tell him off, but she was caught off guard by the arrival of a person exiting Compton's, "Ada?"

"Oh, hello." The dark-haired beauty clutched the paper parcel tighter in her hands, clearly caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her younger siblings. "Heading home then?"

Maggie nodded and Ada continued, "I'll join you." The older sister then turned to her brother "Right Finn?" The boy scowled, but nodded all the same.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Maggie told her friends, still trying to process what her sister was up to.

Cara didn't seem to mind her best friends' announcement to depart. Turning to the hazel-eyed boy she asked, "Fancy accompanying me to the confectionery?"

He looked over to the Shelby family first, "Will you three be alright by yourself?"

Ada looked amused at his worry, "We'll be fine. I doubt anyone would mess with us." He accepted her answer with a nod and led Cara to the candy shop.

As the water rushed in the cut, Ada and Maggie walked down the sidewalk arm in arm. Finn wasn't too far in front of them. He was running and jumping around like a madman. That boy always had so much energy, Maggie found herself thinking. No wonder he skipped school, the poor thing probably could not sit still.

"That Murray boy has aged well hasn't he," Ada commented, finally breaking the silence, "Have you two?"

"Ada!" The younger sister cried out in surprise.

"Just asking." She shrugged, "Jesus you're a prude"

"Everyone's a prude compared to you" she retorted, "What were you doing at the pharmacy?"

Ada didn't reply though, instead opting to purse her lips. They were almost home now; Maggie could even see Pol heading to the house, traveling towards them. She was about to wave at her aunt until she was distracted by Finn, who ran around in front of his sisters. Her heart clenched when she noticed a black metal object in his hand.

"Finn, where did you get that gun?" she questioned, yet the youngest Shelby only giggled in response. 

"Oi! Quit messing around," Ada scolded, moving forward in an attempt to take the weapon away. "You shouldn't b-"

BANG! The sisters screamed and Aunt Polly, who had witnessed the whole event transpire, rushed over from down the street. Both the girls tried to catch their breath and a shocked Finn looked like he was trying to mentally process what had just happened. 

"The hell were you thinking?!" Polly scolded, snatching the gun from his hand. "Where did you get this?!

"He nearly fucking killed me!" Ada screeched pointing to her brother.

"I-I found it on the sideboard of the shop." Finn spit out as they watched his face concave and he soon began weeping in fear. "I-I thought it was empty. I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

His tears pulled on Maggie's heartstrings, but Polly wasn't having it. She pushed the sobbing boy towards Maggie ordering, "Take him home, and no more playing with guns. Next time you leave them be." 

The young boy nodded and allowed his sister to lead him back home."I didn't know Mags, I swear" he cried out again.

"I know you. You can apologize to Ada once she's feeling more forgiving" she expressed, her arms wrapped around his small shoulders.

OoOoOo

Childhood had molded her into the person she had become. Now she understood that...

Maggie internally groaned and scratched out what she had just written. No, that was definitely not good enough. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a chuckle. Her eyes were taken off the page by Ada, who was getting ready for her date with some mystery man.

"What's so funny?" the younger sister grumbled.

"You," Ada smiled as she brushed her hair in front of the small vanity mirror, "And how seriously you take yourself."

Quickly she closed her journal, wanting to change the subject "So, what was the family meeting about?" Maggie asked, not genuinely curious.

"New copper’s coming to town," Ada replied unbothered, more interested in fastening her shoe buckle.

"When I went downstairs, I caught Finn trying to listen through the door. Told him off for eavesdropping," the younger sister snickered .

"Can you believe that little tosser?" Ada said, putting on her paste earring. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately. He could have killed me today!"

"It was an accident, Ada." She reasoned, opening her journal once more, "Pol already told him and John off, what more can you do?"

"I can still bitch," the older sister huffed, before looking at the book in her sisters' hands. "Are you ever gonna tell me what you're writing about?" Ada asked pointedly, now completely dressed in a white fur coat that rested over her dress.

"Are you ever gonna tell me who you've been going out to see the last few months?" Maggie shot back jokingly. 

Ada responded by pantomiming the locking of her lips, which only made the younger sister smile. "Cover for me?"

"As always," The girl assured Ada before she quietly opened and closed the bedroom door.

It was about an hour later when Maggie began to hear the familiar muffled cries. Feeling hopeless as she stared at the green papered wall.

OoOoOo

The following day was mostly uneventful for Margaret. She'd gone to school and heard all about Cara's "date" with Ross. According to Cara, he was a complete "gentleman", much to the blonde's disappointment, though she still clung onto hope. 

Now she stood in the kitchen with her Aunt and sister making dinner, continuously kneading some dough until her skinny arms began to burn. Hopefully, this batch of bread would last long enough for her to enjoy. Last time she made bread her siblings had eaten it all, not saving any for her. Upon hearing the door slam, she and her aunt stopped to glance over to the door.

"Holy Shit!" The girl exclaimed, witnessing her eldest brother who was bloody and beaten, being assisted by John into a wooden chair.

"Finn, go find Tommy and tell him what happened," Polly commanded. Like a shot, Finn was running out of the room, but not before Pol hurriedly added, "And tell him we need a shit ton of more alcohol!"

Polly then immediately began to gather gauze and rods of wood to make a splint, "Margaret, start heating up water, then cut this cloth up in stripes." Nodding at the directive, the girl began to do just that.

"The fuck happened?" Ada interrogated, arms crossing in front of her chest.

"Was told some of the men found him like this outside the cinema," John explained.

"Do you know who?" Maggie heard her sister continue as she put the kettle over the flame, but Arthur remained silent.

"I'd like to know as well," An aggravated Polly chimed in.

This time Arthur did speak. “That Belfast copper,” the mustached man spit out, "I'll discuss it more once Tom gets here."

They all fell into silence, the only noise coming from Maggie who pulled out a chair to sit next to her brother, and quietly began cutting the cloth Polly left for her on the table. "Do you think this is enough?" Maggie asked her aunt after she finished.

"Should be plenty, love," Pol told her, taking one of the strips to start mending his hand.

"John, wipe the blood out of his eye," Ada told the third eldest sibling who was just watching the ladies scrabble around as they tended to Arthur.

"Since when did you give orders?" John asked incredulously.

"I'm a trained nurse." The sister stated.

Though seeing as John wasn't budging Maggie rose from her seat and began to wipe the blood herself.

"Don't make me laugh. It hurts my face," Arthur joked as Polly bandaged him up. "You're a nurse like Mags here is a writer."

His comment caused more annoyance than Maggie cared to admit. With her index finger, she pressed onto a forming bruise on his cheek with great pressure, instigating a string of curses to come out of the eldest man's mouth.

"Oops," Maggie said insincerely. This caused Arthur to look to his aunt, wondering if any reprimanding would be given to the girl, but Polly just gave her brother a 'like you weren't asking for it' look.

 "I bloody am!" The older Shelby girl whined to John.

"You went to one first aid class in the church hall and got thrown out for giggling," John corrected her.

"Not before I learnt how to stop somebody from choking," she shot back.

"I'm not bloody choking, am I?" Arthur spoke gruffly.

"You will be when I wrap this cloth around your neck." She told him as she poured hot water from the kettle into the bowl.

"Let me see him." Tommy's voice was heard as he entered the kitchen. "Well, have this" Tommy passed the bottle of rum and Arthur took a swig. Grabbing a rag, he immediately got to work tending to his brother's face.

"He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham. 'National interest', he said. Something about a robbery." Arthur explained. "He said he wants us to help him"

"We don't help coppers," John said immediately, disgusted at the thought.

"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said -" He paused a moment before continuing, "I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote".

Everyone remained silent, and frankly, that was enough of an answer to the eldest. "Why not? We have no truck with Fenians or communist," Arthur said exasperated, before heatedly asking Tommy. "What's wrong with you?"

Tommy continued to stare back at him, before asking his aunt, "What the fuck is wrong with him lately?"

"If I knew I'd buy the cure from Compton's Chemist," Polly answered, staring at Tom who stared right back.

OoOoOo

Being alone at night was something Maggie had gotten used to now. The cries next door, however, that was something entirely different. Sighing to herself, she decided to give it another go. Once again, she rose from her bed, and ventured into the hallway. This time though she brought her journal with her. Not long she stood in front of her brother's door, allowing herself to open it. 

Again, in the candlelit room, she saw him lying in his bed staring at the ceiling, though she couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. "Still awake?" she asked.

"Can't seem to fall asleep," Tommy mumbled calmly. She took his stillness as permission to enter.

"Do you remember when I was a little girl and you used to read me books to make me fall asleep?" she asked, moving closer to the bed, "I used to love those voices you'd do for all the different characters from the picture books."

He nodded and he couldn't help the ghost of a smile while thinking of the memory. Unlike his other siblings, Maggie was the only one who would beg him to read to her. It was something they bonded over.

"If you want," she continued, motioning her hand to hold the journal up. "I can read you my story." Tommy was silent as he looked at the journal for a moment, before Maggie added, "I just thought maybe I could try to help you sleep like you did for me."

"Only if you do voices" he stressed jokingly, then shifted his body to make room for her on the small mattress.

"Remember," she squished next to him leaning her back against his bed frame. "This is a work in progress."

"I won't judge you too harshly" he replied, watching her open the journal that lay on her lap.

"Long ago when she was young, she believed that what she saw in her dreams could be a vision of what was to come. It was only now she understood that it was just an amalgamation of-"

"A what?" He interrupted.

"An amalgamation" she repeated. "Do you not know what an amalgamation means?"

"No, I do. Didn't think you did."

"Shut up. You're supposed to allow my words to lull you to sleep."

"Sorry, please continue"

"It was only now she understood that it was just an amalgamation of all her childhood aspirations, fears, and perhaps a little  too much whiskey. With this knowledge she found herself yearning for-"

By this point, Tommy had closed his eyes and was half-listening to the words his sister read from her journal. It wasn't half bad what she wrote. He reckoned by the time she was his age she'd actually make something of herself all with those stories in her head. Perhaps make a career out of it, possibly even get out of Small Heath. It was to be the start of a new decade, a new time, who knows what would happen? When he finally made it back from France, her face was the first face that caught his attention on the station platform. It shocked him. No more was the little girl he would read stories to, but in her place stood a smiling young woman. She had changed so much during the time he was gone.

Come to think of it, they'd all changed. Arthur was head of the family, in charge of the business, and had done a decent job of it. But that was before France, he was different now. He quickly noticed the change in his brother and how he couldn't think straight anymore. Arthur's personality became more explosive, as well as violent. John, well he had become more reckless, especially after a few drinks got into him, and since Martha's passing the drinking had only increased. 

As for him, well he was the one who had changed the most. He used to be carefree, joke and laugh, but now he was more solemn and even more protective of his family. Constantly worrying about how Arthur couldn't handle the business anymore, how John couldn't be alone anymore, and him? Well, he couldn't stand to see his family scrape and scrounge in the slums of Small Heath in order to survive any longer. No, not anymore. New copper sniffing about or not. No matter what Polly said, Tommy saw an opportunity with these guns. He wasn't about to turn it down. He just had to play it smart. As Maggie continued her reading, Tommy could feel himself slowly begin to drift out of consciousness and into a dreamless sleep.

[artificialqueens]

I Know the Sound (Of Your Heart) (Rosnali) - Athena2

Denali works the overnight shift at a diner, and has a crush on the woman who hosts the radio show she listens to every night.

A/N: I've been busy with school and work lately, but I finally finished this and wanted to share it! Please leave feedback if you'd like, I really do love reading your comments. Thank you to Writ for beta-ing!

Title from the Sound by the 1975.

Denali doesn’t hate the night shift at the diner.

It has its slow times and busy times, especially on the weekends. It has its regular customers—the group of college kids that comes every Monday for all-you-can-eat-pancakes, the woman from the local paper who comes in a few nights a week and gets a to-go box of pastries for her coworkers on deadline. It has its good points, like her coworkers and the free slices of cakes and pies the owner lets them take, and its bad points, like the rude customers and weekend rushes.

It’s pretty much a typical nine-to-five--just nine at night until five in the morning.

The night shift isn’t ideal, but it’s easier with her schedule. She gets home a little after five in the morning, collapses into bed, and sleeps until ten or eleven. Then she heads to the ice rink and trains for hours before teaching a few afternoon lessons and going back to the diner. She’s tired, of course, so often it’s just her default state at this point. But the full-time coach at the rink is planning to leave soon, meaning she can pick up his hours and classes, and then she can quit the diner and practice more and get a reasonable amount of sleep. She just needs to tough it out another month or two, and she can do that. She’s been toughing it out on the ice for months, pushing past her bleary eyes and weary limbs to keep her place on the competition team.

She’s in the kitchen tonight, dropping baskets of fries into oil and making grilled cheese for the occasional customer, business mostly a crawl after eleven. But it’s quiet, and she gets to turn the owner’s ancient radio to her favorite station.

“--if you’re just joining us, welcome to the Pink Hour! Not sure why they call it that, because I’m here all night, but whatever, I just work here. I’m Rosé, I hope all you gorgeous listeners out there are having a lovely night.”

Denali leans against the grill and sighs. She found the show months ago, flipping through local radio stations on a drive home after forgetting her AUX cord. The host’s voice had pulled her in, and Denali stayed in the car for five minutes after reaching her apartment’s parking lot just so she could hear the rest of the story Rosé was telling. Within days, that station turned on the second her car roared to life, and she didn’t even bother with the AUX cord if she was driving at night. Not when she could listen to Rosé.

Her voice does something to Denali, makes her calm and happy all at once. It helps that Rosé tells hilarious stories about gigs she’s played and takes callers in between her song picks, playing their suggestions or giving them a listening ear or sharing some advice if they want it. It brings some excitement to an otherwise boring shift, gives Denali something to look forward to. The show runs from nine at night to five in the morning, and Denali likes that they have that in common, that they’re out there doing the same shift, with Rosé’s voice and perfect song selections keeping her company.

“I’m in a dancing mood tonight,” Rosé continues through the speakers. “I’d dance myself, but I’m too damn tired--hopefully they don’t bleep that out--so I’ll let ABBA take over. My parents played them all the time when I was a kid, and this one is my favorite.”

The unmistakable first notes of ‘Dancing Queen’ pour from the speakers, and Denali grins through her exhaustion, letting Rosé get her through the night.

---

“--So I’m standing there on stage, singing and minding my own business, and then a rat, a fu--a freaking rat runs in the bar. I ran for my life and tripped on the amp plug, and that, my lovely little listeners, is how I sprained my ankle last year. I just wish the story was more glamorous.”

Denali’s so lost in the story she accidentally tips an extra chicken tender in the fryer. Whatever, a little midnight snack won’t hurt. She brings the order out to one of two occupied tables, then devours her prize the second she’s out of sight. The radio is playing a Fleetwood Mac song, and Denali sighs as Brooke, the only other person working with her, pops in. They usually work the night shift together because Brooke spends her days training with some ballet company, and though they’re not super close, that combination of exhaustion and dedication has created an understanding between them, and one of them will often pick up the slack when the other is too tired to even stand.

“Contraband?” Brooke asks, nodding to Denali’s chicken-tender-stuffed cheeks. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

Denali finishes chewing and nods. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Still listening to that radio show? Why not just listen to a murder podcast like the rest of us?”

“Some of us aren’t obsessed with true crime, Hytes.” Denali rolls her eyes. “And why would I want to hear about people getting murdered on the way to their cars? I drive a car.”

Brooke snorts. “Fair.”

“I could probably kick their ass, though,” Denali says.

“You could,” Brooke agrees, then sighs. “I better get back out there. Enjoy the radio show.”

“Thanks.”

Denali turns it up a little after Brooke leaves, just in time to catch Rosé’s story about the song. Denali stands still as Rosé explains how she won her middle school talent show singing that song when she was just in sixth grade, how it made her want to sing all the time.

Denali can’t help but imagine Rosé singing, even if she doesn’t actually know what Rosé looks like. It would be easy to find her if she wanted to—the show has an Instagram page, and she would undoubtedly find Rosé there—but Denali likes the mystery of it. Likes keeping Rosé in her mind and behind her radio speakers. It’s ridiculous, probably, how much Denali likes hearing Rosé talk, but every word is so expressive, so passionate, and Denali feels like she’s gotten to know part of Rosé just through her stories, like how she got a guitar for her tenth birthday, or that she likes trying different fancy drinks when she goes to coffee shops, or that she had her first kiss in her car, hiding behind the high school gym--though that story makes Denali oddly jealous. It’s comforting, somehow, to know Rosé is out there, that she and Denali are occupying the same space and time, even if they’ve never met.

As long as Denali can hear her voice, things feel okay.

---

The nights continue, bleeding into days on the ice where the cold doesn’t even wake Denali up anymore because she’s so used to it. She’s tired, so tired she almost falls asleep in someone’s pile of leftover mashed potatoes, but she’s so close. The head coach is leaving in two weeks, and the rink’s manager already said the job is hers. Two more weeks and then she can sleep at night and be a normal level of tired like everyone else.

The song on the radio transitions into the crackling static of a caller connecting. Denali’s thought of calling in to request a song a few times, thinking that it would be like officially talking to Rosé--albeit over the phone--but she always chickens out before she can even type the first number. This is the most ridiculous crush Denali’s ever had, and she definitely has to call it a crush now, given all her fantasies of busting down the radio station’s door to ask Rosé out. She sighs and listens as the caller speaks. It’s a teenage boy, one trying and failing to sound older, telling Rosé about how he came out to his friends today, how they were so happy for him and want to throw a party this weekend. He had been nervous all week, the boy explains, and found Rosé’s show when he was up at night and used it to stay calm.

“Thank you,” Rosé says, and Denali can tell from how her voice is a little thick that she’s really touched. It’s not the first time she’s gotten calls like this, either. “I’m so happy things worked out for you. My friends and family were really supportive when I came out too, and I’m glad you’ll have that support. Be proud and be you, okay?” Rosé clears her throat. “Now, I hate to be that cheesy person--oh, who am I kidding, I love to be that person--but here’s a special song just for you.”

Denali laughs out loud as Diana Ross starts singing about coming out. This whole night, and how kind and genuine and sweet Rosé was, have only made Denali’s crush deepen. Maybe she should find Rosé, message her on Instagram. Denali can’t imagine seeing her in person, hearing that voice and that laugh so close. Finding out all the things about Rosé that she can’t get over the radio.

Maybe one day.

---

Denali’s almost home when she realizes she was so busy thinking about Rosé that she forgot her phone at the diner, and, tired as she is, she’d rather just go get it now than later. She trudges back in the place to hear a laugh--a laugh she knows for some reason, even if it doesn’t belong to any of her coworkers. And then she hears the voice, one excitedly reading out the pecan pancakes on the menu, and follows it to a booth in the corner. It’s coming from a woman with soft pink hair and a huge smile. She’s gorgeous, but it’s the voice that stops Denali in her tracks. Because she absolutely, unmistakably knows that voice. She listens to it every night, its smooth sound and cackling laughs flowing through the scuffed speakers of the radio.

The woman is Rosé.

It simply has to be. Even if Denali’s never seen her, she knows it has to be her. Who else could have that exact voice? Denali’s about to march over to the table when she slams into something, and looks up to see Brooke clutching her order pad in a death grip.

“What are you still doing here?” Denali asks.

“I was on my way out when that table”--Brooke nods to the corner--”came in. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a ridiculously beautiful woman at that table, and I’m gonna wait on her.”

Denali yanks the order pad out of her hand. “I’m waiting on her. Rosé is at that table!”

Brooke stares at her. “No, I think her name is Vanessa.”

Now Denali stares. What if she’s wrong and it’s not Rosé? She risks another glance at the booth and suddenly realizes there are two women there, and her eyes narrow. “Who are you talking about?” she asks Brooke suspiciously.

“The tiny one, with the brown hair.” Brooke crosses her arms. “Who are you talking about?”

“The one with the pink hair and the most amazing smile ever! She hosts that radio show I listen to every night!”

“Oh. Oh,” Brooke repeats, realization dawning on her. “Well, maybe we can both wait--“

“Excuse me,” a rough voice says, and Denali knows from Brooke’s deer-in-headlights-look that it’s the brunette. “Can someone show me where the bathroom is?”

“Brooke can,” Denali says, giving the blonde a gentle push, watching her trail with Vanessa out of sight and almost sprinting to the booth Rosé is now at by herself. She’s even prettier up close, with kind eyes and a perfect smile. Denali can do this. Except now that she’s here, she has no idea what she’s doing. Should she tell Rosé that she knows her? How creepy is it to admit that she recognized her voice?

“Can I help you?” Rosé asks, and hearing her voice close like this makes Denali surer than ever that it’s her. It sounds a little different in person, but it’s definitely her. It snaps her out of her thoughts, and she realizes she’s standing in front of the table in a waitress uniform with her mouth wide open.

“I should be asking you that,” Denali stammers, trying to recover. “Can I get you coffee or anything?”

“Can I get the caramel latte?”

“Of course.”

“My friend wanted coffee too, but I don’t think she’ll need it, considering how long she’s been in that bathroom with your friend.” She flashes a smirk, and Denali’s knees wobble.

“I don’t think she will either.” Denali snorts, but a rush of determination hits her. Things worked out for Brooke, so why can’t they work out for her too? And Rosé coming in here this morning—the morning Denali happens to forget her phone—feels like fate, like someone wanted them to meet. Screw it, Denali thinks. “Hey, uh, you have a show on the radio, right? Please don’t think I’m a creep, it’s just—I listen to it every night when I’m at work.”

“Always nice to meet a fan,” Rosé says. The smirk is still there, but it fades into a real smile. “But yes, I do have a show. I’m glad you like it.”

“I love you,” Denali blurts. “I--I love the show, I mean,” she says, her face on fire. “It’s kept me company at work. You’re really fun to listen to.”

“Thanks.” Denali might be imagining it, but there’s a hint of a blush in Rosé’s cheeks. “You probably know my name, but I’m Rosé.”

“I’m Denali.”

Rosé smiles again. “Denali, I think you’re pretty fun to listen to too. Would you want to go on a date sometime? Then we can listen to each other all night. I gotta warn you, though, I love to talk.”

“I’d love to. I can handle talking, believe me. Actually, you know what--” Denali slides into the other side of the booth, grinning at the excited look on Rosé’s face--”I’m off the clock. What do you say we have a date right now?” By the time she hits the ice she’ll be cursing herself for not sleeping, but she wants to talk to Rosé so bad, wants to spend this morning with her.

Rosé grins. “Absolutely. Do you think someone could get me that latte though?” she asks sheepishly. “I’m so tired.”

“Make that two.” Denali laughs and then flags down one of her coworkers, not wanting to miss a single second.

[uzuma-take]

I don’t wanna be seem as I’m being rude and disrespecting anyone with this post. This is my opinion on some characters that where never confirmed nor denied being LGBTQ however they have had strong moments within there respective series that hints to them being LGBTQ. Let’s start with...

Joey ... I’ve been really into friends as of recently . And a lot of scenes with Joey make me think he’s either Gay or Bisexual. There’s a couple of moments that make stop and go oi that’s interesting. Let’s go through them

The biggest moment is Emma’s birthday episode when they are discussing the cake and Joey says something along the lines of “oi man I why did I like more as a penis.

Then there’s the gif below

Both him and chandler are enjoying that a bit too much for them to not like each other at least a little. Then there’s a bathroom scene I can remember it exactly but joey is very interested in seeing Chandler and Ross with no pants by looking over there stools.

Unfortunately back then TV shows weren’t a load to air any lgbtq stuff it would have been awesome to see joey in a loving relationship that didn’t seemed forced .

The next character is from friends too

Pheobe had more moments the Joey did flirting with the girls of the group she even had a massive falling out with Monica and Rachel when she picked Rachel as the person she’d date. There’s moments where she openly (unlike Joey accidentally) mentions how sexy some of the women are and mention there breast ect. However in the end she got married to Mike I think it was.

Lister and Rimmer what can I say I’ve shipped this for a while now . There is literally a Kiss scene albeit was a dream Lister had after rimmer left in season 7 but there have been other moments as recently as 9 April 2020 in the promised never land they had an extremely touching moment with Lister even stating the He was the sun the that was shining on Rimmers moon. “You can’t have Moonlight with out sunlight” that’s what a couple would say to someone the loved as it basically translates to I can live without you.

Oi he may be a science experiment but if you watch the show then you know he pretty much ignores Sarada unless she’s in danger it’s about his Sun Boruto the light that is guiding him I personally ship him and Chocho as I don’t think Boruto is into Mitsuki like that but I can see where people are going with it.

These two are my hardcore ship there is so much evidence even within Boruto / The novels. Out of every episode in shippuden there is only one ep I don’t consider canon and it doesn’t feature Kakashi or Gai. So my thoughts Kakashi is Bisexual cause of his heavy crush on the warden from his novel and Hanere .

Gai is at least Gay. I think the reason they didn’t get together at first is because after each of there traumatic experiences (Kakashi with Rin and Obito’s death . Gai with the eight inner gates) they pushed each other away Kakashi felt like he was gonna kill Gai and Gai being depressed not wanting to show Kakashi him being weak. (I feel he pushed Lee away for the same reason see the ep where he trains Metal Its heavily implied he hadn’t seen metal in a long time and Lee is very short with Gai later in the episode)

I also like to think that the movies are mostly canon unless stated otherwise (every ep unless stated) as we have had surprise confirmation from the manga and novels before . There’s a couple of moments in the third shippuden movie where they think Kakashi is implied to be gay . Near the end of the movie He actually makes a face of ‘well what did you think Naruto’ this causing Naruto to flee. Kakashi denies liking Naruto but not about liking other men . It’s also Lee who first points it out using Gai as an example stating “Gai sensei told me this was the spring time of youth” . Tenten replying with “I knew it” implying again Gai had that talk with Lee.

There’s also the whole Steam Ninja Scrolls arc where Kakashi literally gives Gai his food . The conversation at the end basically solidified the ship when Kakashi admitted that he’d make a dumbass move to save Gais leg even if it killed him . And we know for a fact he wouldn’t do that for anyone else at all. OK ENOUGH RAMBLING ABOUT MY FAVE SHIP... I need to talk about the last couples.

This is jus a shit posting ship but I think it’s cute so Toshi and Aizawa. Personally I don’t see any thing canon but it’s my personal fave ship in BHNA .

LOOK AT THEM . They are so cute yes Bakugou gets easily upset (but he does it with anyone) I DO NOT SHIP IZUBAKU OR DYNAKU (Dynamite x Deku) until recently that was a really abusive relationship. Kirishima was the only one Bakugou grabbed the hand of and Deku knew that. There’s been subtle hints but I unfortunately have the feeling if Bakugou ends up with anyone it’ll be Tsui as there’s been a lot of drawings with them together let’s hope KiriBaku wins tho.

Last one

These two are cute but it’s already been pretty much confirmed Deku and Uraraka will end up together

😭😞

[seaside-stories]

The Second First Time I Saw You

A one-shot that I have no idea if its canon. ~1300 words Characters: Ross Hayes, Tony “Stark”, Lylah Russel (mentioned)

Ross opened the door. It creaked very loudly, but nobody noticed because there was already music playing in the bar. It felt wrong to be here, but then again, Ross figured that it would feel wrong until his 21st birthday. Which was in a few months. God, he wished for a normal birthday this year. 

Inside the bar, there were not very many people. Those who were there were sitting quietly at tables. There was one man at the bar. Ross recognized him. He hadn’t seen that man in a long time. Ross sat at the bar. The man looked over.

“Hayes.” “Stark.” Tony blanched. “What?” Ross asked. “That’s what they call you, isn’t it?” “Yes, it is. Well, it was. I don’t know. Nobody has called me that in a while.” Tony said and looked down at the counter. “I’ll still call you that. If you want.” “Sure.” The bartender came over and asked Tony if he wanted a refill on his drink.

Ross considered everything that had happened since they graduated and realized that he didn’t know where Tony was in all of it. For some reason, he wanted to know. “So, how have you been?” Ross asked awkwardly. “Good, good.” Tony responded. He looked down at his drink. “Do you want anything? It’ll be on me.” “No, but thank you. My birthday isn’t for another few months.” “Oh yeah, I forgot.” The music wasn’t that loud, anyway.

“How have you been?” Tony asked. Ross was surprised; he thought he’d be carrying the conversation. “I’ve been good, I guess. I mean, it’s been hard recently. You know. I’m sure you can’t be any better than me.” Tony chuckled. “That’s true,” he said. “I’ve just been busy. The...the people I work with...they keep me busy.” Ross nodded. “I can relate. I wish we could catch a break.” Tony looked around the bar. “This is a break, isn’t it?” Ross gave him a questioning look. “Is it? I guess.” They sat in silence for a moment. Or, however much silence you could sit in in a bar. “Do you want to get out of here?” Tony asked. Ross did a double take. He was reminded of his little...”crush” from high school. Luckily, he saved himself. “Are you trying to pick me up?” “Maybe,” Tony said with a smirk. He motioned for Ross to follow him as he left some change on the counter and left the bar.

Tony kept walking at a brisk pace, seeming to know where he was going, but ultimately going nowhere. “Where are we going?” Ross asked. “You’ll see,” said Tony. They kept walking for a few more minutes before stopping at a tree just inside the woods. “At the top of this tree, you can see pretty much the whole town.” Tony explained. “Really?” “Yeah. Do you want to climb?” Tony didn’t even wait for a response before climbing the tree. Ross quickly followed him. 

The lowest branches were pretty high, but luckily there were some large knots spanning the base of the tree. Tony had already made himself comfortable in the middle of a branch. Ross joined him, but stayed closer to the trunk for fear of falling. “It’s okay, you can come closer,” Tony said, beckoning him closer. “No, I’m good,” Ross replied, clutching the tree trunk. Tony chuckled. “Fine, suit yourself.” Ross tentatively let go of the tree trunk, and realized that he would not magically fall just from being up high. He scooted further out on the branch. “There you go!” Tony encouraged. Ross scooted all the way out to where Tony was sitting, which couldn’t have been farther than 4 feet, but felt like a whole football field.

“I used to watch everything from up here,” Tony said. “Really?” “No, I’m pulling your leg. I just discovered this tree 5 minutes ago.” “Nice try. What sort of stuff did you see up here?” “Nothing very interesting. I used to watch kids play in the park, mostly. I also destroyed a lot of books by dropping them from around 30 feet up.” “God, don’t remind me.” “Do you not like heights?” “Not particularly.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” “No, I’m fine.” Tony snaked his hand behind Ross’ back. “I also watched the election a few years ago from up here. Well, not the election, but the rallies. The only other things that people gather like that for would be a funeral...or something like that. Sometimes I could pick out specific people. Usually people who take similar routes every day. Like, Keegan Michaels lives there, and he takes those streets every day. He never uses other streets until he has to.” “Wow. That sounds like OCD.” “Maybe. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.” “Did you ever watch me?” Ross asked. “A few times, maybe.” Tony responded slowly. “What a voyeur!” Ross teased. “Hey! You asked me!” “You’re right, I did. Look, there’s my house.” “The lights are on.” “Yeah, Lylah’s probably home.” “Oh, you still live with your sister?” “Cousin.” “And your cousin?” “What?” Ross asked, confused. “What.” Tony wasn’t sure what he said wrong. Ross chuckled. “Lylah is my cousin. My sister, Elle, lives with my parents.” “Oh.” The two of them sat in silence again and looked out over the serene night city.

Ross remembered a time when he would fantasize about sitting in a tree with Tony, his hand snaked around his back. “Do you remember high school?” Ross asked. “Sure, what about it?” Tony responded. “Just, the people. Where are they all? What are they doing?” He and Tony both knew exactly what everyone from their high school class was doing. But they both knew what the question really meant. “Doing whatever people do, I guess.” Tony said. He looked over at Ross. “What about your family?” Ross asked. “My family? Well, my mom is doing well. My sister is living with her...they live on Lincoln. God, I sound like an adult.” Tony said with a smile. “We don’t have to be adults right now.” “Yeah. Being an adult sucks.” “Most of the time, yeah.” Silence fell again. Fingers were almost intertwined but were still too far away.

Tony looked just past Ross into the woods. “I always wondered where you went.” he said. “I mean, you were there, I saw you, but you were so distracted. You always had something you were doing. Ever since senior year. And you would never tell anyone what you were doing, either. I just...I wish I didn’t miss you.” “Wait, like, miss as in ‘pass by?’” “Yes, as in ‘pass by!’ I was trying to be all edgy! Thanks for that.” Tony said, a smile on his face once again. “Sorry! I just wanted to make sure,” Ross apologized. “I wanted to make sure before I spilled my guts up here. Because, I always felt like you were unattainable. Like you were so far out of my league I didn’t even have a chance. And then...I waited too long. You were with someone else. I had to force myself to get over it. And I did, for a little while. Okay, for a long while. But it never worked out because I never forgot about you.” “Wait, like, forgot about as in ‘don’t remember?’“ They both laughed for a moment. And it was perfect. And then it was quiet.

“So what does that mean?” Tony asked. Their fingers were touching now. “I don’t know,” said Ross. They both leaned in. Ross could feel Tony’s breath. “Can I kiss you?” Tony asked him. “Of course.” It was everything he had ever imagined. It was not his first, but at this point in time, that was okay. It was probably for the best. It was small and chaste, but only for a moment. They broke apart before coming back together again. Ross swore that he would never let an opportunity like this one slip again. “I’m so happy I found you,” Ross breathed. “Me too,” Tony breathed back.

[papermoonloveslucy]

SHIRLEY MITCHELL

November 4, 1919

Shirley Mitchell was born in Toledo, Ohio, on November 4, 1919. She started her acting career on radio in Chicago but soon moved to Los Angeles. Mitchell was a regular on radio in series such as "Fibber McGee and Molly" and "The Great Gildersleeve". She became friends with Lucille Ball in the late 1940s when she was featured in four episodes of “My Favorite Husband.”

She made her screen debut in 1944′s Jamboree, about two rival bands competing for the same spot on a radio show. Mitchell played Alice Darling. 

She made her television debut on August 17, 1951 on an episode of “Hollywood Theatre Time” (aka “Hollywood Premiere Theatre”) an anthology series. “I Love Lucy” writers Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh were writers on the series, and had also been writers of “My Favorite Husband.” That was quickly followed by an episode of “Personal Appearance Theatre” (December 1951) opposite Jane Darwell. 

In 1952 and 1953, Mitchell made four appearances as different characters on “I Married Joan,” NBC’s answer to “I Love Lucy.”  There she worked with “Lucy” alumni Margie Liszt, Ross Elliott, Hal March, and Joseph Kearns. “Lucy” and “Joan” were both filmed at General Service Studio. 

Starting in 1953, and for the next ten years, Mitchell would make a total of eight appearances on “Make Room for Daddy” aka “The Danny Thomas Show”.  The series was filmed at Desilu, and Danny Thomas and Lucille Ball had a long-lasting work relationship. When the series moved to CBS for the final years of its run, it took the timeslot of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” The two shows did reciprocal crossover appearances. 

Mitchell reunited with Lucille Ball on “I Love Lucy” playing Marion Strong, a member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. Her first episode was “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3) in October 1953. This is not, however, the character’s first appearance. Marion was previously played by Margie Liszt, an actress Mitchell worked with on “I Married Joan.” 

Mitchell went on to play the character twice more. In “Lucy Tells the Truth” (ILL S3;E6) three weeks later, Lucy has to tell the honest truth to Marion about her featured hat and inane cackling:

LUCY: “I’ve been waiting ten years for you to lay that egg.”

In “Lucy’s Club Dance” (ILL S3;E25) Lucy creates an all-girl band. Marion is the troupe’s publicist and doesn’t play in the band. This is the character’s last appearance on the series, but we learn her husband’s name is Bill.  The need to have actresses who could play specific instruments probably side-lined Mitchell from the main action of this episode. 

Even though the character never appeared again, Marion was someone Lucy sometimes mentioned, as in this telephone conversation from “Staten Island Ferry” (ILL S5;E12) in 1956.  In real life, Marion Strong was a high school friend of Lucille Ball’s who later married Norman Van Vlack. Lucy Ricardo interchangeably uses Marion’s surnames and mixes her fictional and real husbands! 

In early 1956, Mitchell did two episodes (playing two different characters) on “Our Miss Brooks” opposite Gale Gordon and Eve Arden. The series was produced at Desilu Studios and Lucille Ball counted Arden and Gordon as two of her most cherished co-stars. Desi Arnaz even appeared on one episode of the series. 

In 1957, Mitchell did a day on the Desilu series “The Real McCoys” starring Richard Crenna.  Although Crenna was a regular on “Our Miss Brooks,” he did not appear on either of Mitchell’s episodes. 

In 1954 and 1958 she appeared on episodes of Desilu’s “December Bride” starring Verna Felton and (in one episode) Elvia Allman. Like “Our Miss Brooks” Desi also made an appearance on this show as well. 

In 1960 and 1961, Mitchell re-teamed with Doris Singleton (Caroline Appleby) on the Desilu series “Angel”. Mitchell played Blanche and Doris played Susie on this short-lived comedy. 

In 1960, she became a recurring character on “Pete and Gladys” a sequel sitcom to Desilu’s “December Bride” that was otherwise not connected to Desilu. Mitchell played Janet Colton in 13 episodes of the series. 

In 1962 and 1964, Mitchell made appearances on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” which was filmed at Desilu. 

In 1968 Mitchell played Sally on two episodes of “My Three Sons” shot on the Desilu backlot. 

That saem year she did two episodes of Desi Arnaz’s sitcom “The Mothers-in-Law” where she was reunited with Desi and Eve Arden. She played Margaret Cornell in both appearances. In one, she was joined by June Whitely Taylor who had also been a member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League!  Taylor here played a character named Mrs. Trumbull!  This is not surprising as Desi had managed to employ his “I Love Lucy” writers to pen the series. 

In 1970, she again played a character named Marion on “The Debbie Reynolds Show”.  Naturally, the writer was “Lucy” scribe Jess Oppenheimer. 

Mitchell continued to act up through her final screen appearance in 1990 on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire.”

In 1946, she married Dr. Julian Frieden. The engagement party was held at the home of Dinah Shore. They had two children and were divorced in 1974.  In 1992, she married songwriter Jay Livingston, and the two remained married until his death in 2001. 

Shirley Mitchell died of heart failure on November 11, 2013, seven days after her 94th birthday.

[softlass27]

I started thinking about Robert spending his birthday this year alone in a prison cell and it made me sad. So I decided to fix it with pure fluff and self-indulgence.

No prison, no bloody Posners, Seb back with his dads where he belongs :')

AO3 link here

If I should smile with sweet surprise

It was no secret to anyone who knew Aaron and Robert, that of the two of them, Robert was the romantic one. He was the type of person who got a thrill out of making grand gestures – surprise trips away, home-cooked dinners by candlelight, too-expensive gifts that he’d bought just because I saw it and thought of you.

It took Aaron a while to get used to being with someone like Robert, but now that they were married and solid, he’d come to love the gestures, he really had. It was just, well, he never knew how to make them in return. He’d never been the particularly romantic sort, never thought he’d want to be, either. Sure, he’d booked them the odd night away, and he always tried to make sure he got Robert thoughtful Christmas and anniversary presents. But showy, full-blown declarations of love? Apart from one cold night in February when Aaron had shown up on Robert’s doorstep, determined to get his husband back, it just wasn’t his thing.

The odd time he’d hesitantly brought it up with Robert over the years, feelings of insecurity and of not being enough rearing its ugly head, Robert just smiled and said he didn’t mind, he spoiled Aaron because he enjoyed doing it, not because he expected something in return.

“You enjoy showing off, more like,” Aaron had scoffed, though something warm settled in his chest at the reassurance.

Robert just shrugged a shoulder at him and said there were plenty of things Aaron did for him – things that no one else had ever done before. Like always making his tea exactly the way he liked it, like knowing to buy his favourite chocolate after a rubbish day, like letting Robert lay his head in his lap and stroking his hair when he’d given himself a headache by staring at the computer screen for too long.

Like listening to him talk about his favourite memories of his mum, asking him questions about the kinds of food she used to cook and what her favourite songs were. Like letting him rant about Jack and Andy and the misery of his teenage years, without telling him he was overreacting.

So that was the way it was. Robert did the cheesy, over-the-top gestures of love and Aaron accepted them with a kiss and an I love you.

Until today.

Today, it was Robert’s 34th birthday and Aaron was going to sweep his husband off his feet if it killed him.

He deserved it after everything they’d been through in the last twelve months. They’d thought nothing could be worse than what had happened to Victoria only days after Robert’s last birthday. Then just as Lee Posner had crawled back into whatever dark hole he’d come from and she’d begun to turn a corner, they were hit with another bombshell.

One day in early September, Aaron dropped Seb off in Liverpool to find Rebecca had nipped to the shops and Ross was acting strangely. Despite Ross’s protests, Aaron stuck around until Rebecca got back, making small talk with him and watching him carefully. By the time he got back in the car, he’d seen enough. He knew the signs, Ross was definitely on something. Maybe cocaine, maybe spice, maybe something else entirely. It didn’t make much difference to him either way; Ross was on drugs when he was meant to be responsible for Aaron’s stepson, and he was not having it.

Aaron had broken several speed limits on his way home and wasted no time telling Robert as soon as he walked through the door. They’d already been concerned that Rebecca couldn’t seem to keep a nanny around for longer than a few weeks at a time, and it wasn’t like her brain injury had just disappeared in the last year. If anything, she seemed to be deteriorating some days. And if Ross – the one who was meant to be keeping her right – was high on god knows what, then there was no way in hell Seb was staying with them.

Although they were both tempted to go charging through Ross and Rebecca’s door and grab Seb there and then, they held back. Rebecca had threatened them with legal action before, and if they tried anything, she’d wouldn't hesitate to do it again. They had to be smart about it.

A few days later, Robert popped round to their place unannounced, having supposedly been “in the neighbourhood”, so he could get a good look at Ross for himself. It didn't take more than a few minutes for him to agree with Aaron's suspicions. The next time they dropped Seb off, they made sure to do it while only Rebecca was home and they stuck around for a coffee. Robert distracted her while Aaron snuck upstairs and rooted through Ross’s stuff until he found a stash of white powder, snapping a photo with his phone.

Robert had Ross followed by a private investigator, who eventually confirmed that not only was Ross buying drugs, he was dealing them, too. The private investigator also told them – with more than a little concern – that on one occasion he’d seen Ross and Rebecca briefly leave Seb alone in the house.

It had taken endless meetings with lawyers and social services, gathering evidence and providing character witnesses from everyone from Aaron’s therapist to Nicola (who was more than happy to throw her weight around as local councillor on their behalf). As the days and weeks passed, Robert was out of his mind with worry, not to mention guilt for having let Ross and Rebecca take Seb in the first place. He barely slept and only ate when Aaron forced him to, exhausting himself to the point of Aaron being terrified that he’d have another seizure.

The wait was agonising, but after what felt like an eternity of hardly daring to hope, Seb was released into their custody and back at the Mill by Christmas, with arrangements for Rebecca to see him under supervised visits in the new year. At first, Seb was a little withdrawn and confused by the disruption, but Aaron and Robert both showered him with as many cuddles and presents as they could, and he soon perked up. It was the best Christmas Aaron could remember having.

The first few months of 2020 had passed quickly and quietly, with most of their time spent making sure Seb settled in properly, and helping Victoria with her new baby boy, Harry. Not to mention catching up on all the work they’d both put on the back burner recently. But now, things were getting back to a new kind of normal. Seb was his happy self once again and getting into mischief at every opportunity, while Vic was regularly seeing a counsellor and taking motherhood in her stride. Things weren’t perfect, but they were getting there.

Now it was Robert’s birthday, and this year Aaron was going to treat him, dammit.

He entered their bedroom with a tray full of Robert’s favourite breakfast foods and set it down carefully before carding a hand through Robert’s sleep-mussed hair. “Hey, birthday boy.”

Robert’s mouth quirked in a half-smile before his eyes even opened. “Mornin’.”

Aaron leaned down and gave him light peck, but before he could sit up Robert slung his arms around his neck and yanked him down again, suddenly much more awake. “Oi, it’s my birthday, gimme a proper snog.”

Aaron rolled his eyes but didn’t resist, pressing his mouth to Robert’s and sliding his tongue past his lips, kissing him slowly and deeply until they were both gasping for breath. He eventually pulled away, laughing when Robert tried to chase his mouth with his own. “I made you breakfast, eat it before it gets cold.”

Robert gave a put-upon sigh but let him go, tucking into his plate of fresh fruit and pastries, occasionally letting Aaron steal a bite.

“Is Seb up yet?” He asked, sucking juice off his fingers.

“Nah, we’ve probably got a while. He’s dead excited to give you his card, though. He’s drawn what I can only guess is either a cow or a train, I’m not sure which but it’s very good.”

Robert laughed and relaxed back into the pillows, sipping his coffee. At least he was relaxed until he noticed Aaron fidgeting next to him, shifting on his side of the bed and tapping his hands against the duvet. “You alright over there?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re a bit… twitchy. Are you – ”

“Do you want your present now?” Aaron cut him off, unable to wait any longer.

Robert smirked and set his mug down. “Go on, then.”

Aaron reached over to his bedside table, pulling an envelope out of the drawer and passing it over. Robert waited for a moment to see if anything else would follow, but Aaron just shoved the drawer closed and turned back to him. Robert blinked at the card. “Did you… get me a voucher?”

“Did I – no I didn’t get you a voucher, you idiot. I’m not that bad of a husband.”

“Well I don’t know about – ow don’t hit me it’s my birthday – of course you’re not, you’re a brilliant husband. Amazing. Stupendous.”

“Would you just open your bloody present, please?”

Robert tore open the envelope and pulled the contents out, while Aaron pressed a fist to his mouth in order to hide the grin that was threatening to break across his face. He watched Robert’s face change as he took in the tickets and brochure, his jaw dropping as he looked at Aaron with wide eyes.

“No.”

“Yep.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?!” Robert held up tickets for flights to Iceland, due to depart the next day.

May 2016

“Oh my God, Ibiza, really?” Robert groaned. “You’re such a lad.”

“And you’re such a snob, there’s nout wrong with Ibiza.”

It was after midnight and they were lounging in Aaron’s room at the pub, chatting about everything and nothing. It had only been a couple of weeks since they’d decided to give them a proper shot, and although they’d already been through hell and back together, it still felt pretty new. They might have the, well, physical side of things down, but they’d realised there was still a hell of a lot they didn’t know about each other.

So most nights, when everyone else was asleep, they talked. Which was how they’d come to this particular argument.

“Okay whatever, just don’t expect me to go there with you. Ever.”

“Pfft, I wouldn’t want you there anyway, you killjoy, “ said Aaron, though his smile took the sting out of it.

“Alright, where else would you want to go? Any dream destinations?”

Aaron thought for a moment. “I’d like to go to Vegas one day.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, all the casinos, the shows, the fireworks. It looks amazin’. Maybe even see the Grand Canyon, too, that’d be mint.”

“Hmm, noted,” said Robert, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

“What about you?” Aaron poked him. “Anything on the bucket list?”

Robert shrugged. “Dunno. I like city breaks, mostly. Paris, Rome, that sort of thing. Barcelona,” he said, raising his eyebrows playfully.

Aaron winced, still feeling guilty about bailing on their trip. He pressed a kiss to the side of Robert’s head. “Sorry again. We will go, promise.”

“S’fine, I told you not to worry about it. But yeah, apart from that I wouldn’t mind holing up in a villa somewhere warm with you. Doesn’t matter where. Sun, pool, sex, what’s not to like?”

“Sounds nice,” said Aaron.

They lay there in comfortable silence. Aaron was close to drifting off when –

“Northern Lights.”

Aaron’s eyes opened to see Robert looking at him with a sleepy smile. “Hmm?”

“I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights.”

“Yeah?”

“Ever since I was a kid. I saw this tv programme about them, used to think they were magic. I don’t now, obviously, but yeah. Would love to actually see them someday.”

His eyes fell shut, and Aaron's followed soon after.

“Vic’s gonna bring Harry here and help Liv look after Seb while we’re gone. Or he can have a sleepover at hers, or with Moira and Isaac, whichever he prefers. But starting tomorrow it’s just you and me, five days, and – hopefully – some magic lights in the sky.”

Robert stared at him for a moment before running his thumb over the printed words on the ticket. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

“I do listen, you know.”

“I know but I told you that years ago.”

“I mean, I can’t guarantee we’ll actually see the lights,” said Aaron. “But I checked the weather and it’s supposed to be clear skies for the next week, so fingers crossed.” He pulled the hotel brochure towards them. “And if not, we can still go in the hot springs and nice restaurants, and our room’s dead fancy, got a log fire and everythi – mmf!”

Robert pounced, pressing a hard kiss to Aaron’s lips, then when his grin caused him to break it he pressed more over as many parts of his face as he could reach. He bumped his forehead against Aaron’s, eyes sparkling.

“You got me the Northern Lights for my birthday,” he laughed like he couldn’t believe it.

“Told you I’m a good husband.”

“You are. The best husband I’ve ever had.”

Aaron’s reply was cut off by the deafening cry of “Daaaaaddy!” coming from down the hall. He shoved Robert back with a sigh and pushed himself out of the bed. “Better not keep his lordship waiting. There’s still presents to open and then we need to be at the Woolpack by noon, before Diane comes looking again.”

He was about to head out the door when Robert caught his hand and pulled him back until they were pressed tightly together. He cupped Aaron’s jaw and kissed him one more time.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Aaron pressed a thumb on the crinkles around Robert's left eye. “And I think 34 is gonna be your year.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hm. Just a feeling.”

“Well it’s looking that way so far,” said Robert, his smile suddenly turning slightly bashful. "No one’s ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you.”

God, Aaron was gone on him. “You deserve it, you daft sod.”

Three days later, Aaron watched Robert gaze up with delight at the bright streaks of light stretching across the dark sky. As they took in the brilliant colours, he grabbed Aaron’s hand tightly and whispered that they were even better than he’d imagined. He was so absorbed in what he was seeing, he didn’t notice Aaron grinning smugly to himself.

He was a romantic bastard.

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Chocolate Box 2021 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Elsinore | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Simoun

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

Requesting fic; open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Elsinore

Relationship(s): Hamlet & Ophelia; Hamlet & Horatio & Ophelia; Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia

I found the friendships in this game, and the different ways that characters can reconcile or try to find a way forward together, to be really sweet and moving, and I'd love to read something that focused on those relationships of trust and support. I like how important Ophelia and Horatio's counsel and friendship is in timelines where Hamlet becomes king; I like Hamlet regretting how he behaved towards Ophelia and striving to live through his depression and find out what it is that he wants, not what everyone else wants of him; I like seeing childhood friends Bernardo and Laertes and Ophelia and Hamlet, whose growing-up has stretched them so far apart, taking time to catch up and enjoy each other's company a little.

So, futurefic in one of the timelines where everything doesn't go to shit? A timeline that we don't see? (There is something narratively interesting to me in Permanence/Passion in that the entire plot of Hamlet ends up as a distant backstory to someone's full life; I don't know how compatible that idea is with these requests, but if you want to write any of these groups fucking off to Italy or Constantinople or London and living until the Elsinore pressure-cooker is a distant memory, I'd be just as happy with that as with fic about them building some kind of future together still in Denmark, trying to make it better for its people and to hold on to who they are as individuals, and friends, beyond their roles.) If you want to write Hamlet/Ophelia, Hamlet/Horatio, or for that matter Horatio/Bernardo as shippy, I'm fine with that, but I don't want a focus on the romantic aspects of their relationship.

Fandom-Specific DNW: death of requested characters within the timeline being explored, or focus on death of requested characters. These characters die in this game a lot and I don't need you to pretend entirely that it's not a time loop game, but I would like them to be happy. If you write the Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia request, I'm fine with either or both names/pronouns for Bernardo|Katherine, but I don't want to read a story focused on their gender or coming-out. Please don't include Peter Quince as a character (you do not need to retcon, you know, the existence of the time loop).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Relationship(s): Maria Ross/Olivier Mira Armstrong

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Relationship(s): Abigail Pent & Dulcinea Septimus; Gideon the First & Matthias Nonius

Dulcie and Nonius were two of my favorite additions to the cast in Harrow the Ninth (and Dulcie in "Doctor Sex" via letter). I loved everything we learned about Dulcie - her wit, her quick thinking in a pinch when confronted by Cytherea and her secret to Harrow. I found her "The only thing preventing me from being exactly who I wanted..." speech both genuinely moving and very funny, and I love her thirst for revenge. What else might she and Abigail Pent, "independent research? it isn't even my birthday!" daredevil spirit-talker par excellence who has just conjured up a ghost out of an epic poem, get up to after Harrow's bubble collapses? Or what were they up to when they weren't on screen in Harrow's dream, putting together this whole, well, play?

Nonius's arrival, entire scene, and departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. I'd love to read either more about his mysterious past with Gideon the First, or about their second encounter as allies (throw in Marta, Ortus and Pro if you like as well!)

Fandom-Specific Exception: to my unrequested ships DNW, Dulcie/Cam & Dulcie/Pal. I love their three strand thing.

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Relationship(s): Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...

I would also be up for smut for them, especially something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

Fandom-Specific DNW: sex solely for magical purposes without an emotional connection (sex for magical purposes is fine), focus on Raylla (I don't need you to retcon it, but please don't dwell either on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail), Scylla bashing, Abigail/Adil (I would prefer to imagine, if he is mentioned in the fic, that they’re just friends).

—

Fandom: Simoun

Relationship(s): Aer/Neviril; Aer/Neviril & Neviril/Paraietta; Aer/Neviril/Paraietta; Aer & Floef & Neviril & Paraietta & Rodoreamon & Vyuraf

Aer, and Aer/Neviril, really grew on me on my recent rewatch. I appreciated her more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon, who grows into a respected role in the choir, than the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. (I've written a lot more about what I love and am interested in about Neviril and the show in general, her journey of figuring out what it means to her exactly to lead an air force, here.) I'd love to know what happens to them post-canon - what is the "new world" and their travel in it like? It's an escape for them, sure, but what are they escaping to, not just from? Are there problems there, too?

I'd also be up for a poly situation where Neviril is involved with both Aer and Paraietta, her long-loyal second-in-command whom she's blessed and forgiven, as a V where they're friends or as a triangle where Aer and Paraietta are also involved (I don't quite know what that leg of the triangle would look like but I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

If Neviril and Aer make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, as at the end of the series, but their old cohort can't fly anymore, what do they see their role as being? Does Neviril see herself as a leader for peace, for war, for something else? How do they interact with their former squadmates, whether as part of a more plotty piece or not?

I could be interested in explicit fic for this canon, as an option - the series is, on some level, about the contrast between the reality and physicality of their bodies and the general perception of what they do (which even in its non-spiritual military capacity is removed from a connection to their bodies via the Simoun aircraft), about becoming an adult, and of course about gender.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I'm not really interested in Kaim and Alty and would prefer for them not to appear or for their backstory to come up. I would also not like to see pre-timeskip Dominuura/Limone.

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 44

On December 15th, construction officially, finally, began on Stark Tower, and you were more than happy to give the eager press a few more sound clips to pad their papers with the next morning. It had been a hop and a skip over to the site from the penthouse where you and Tony were still anniversary-ing it seemed. But Pepper was on top of things back in California, and SHIELD could wait because you needed time to yourself for once. It would have been nice to keep it that way.

So it was extremely unfortunate that only twelve days later a news story broke over every single one of your devices in that room that the Roxxon Norco tanker had spilled millions of gallons of crude oil off the coast of Pensacola.

Even more unfortunate that your newly elected President Ellis seemed to care very little about punishing the people who were responsible for it. Several calls to him went unreturned. So several more got put out into the sphere that Stark Industries was working on a solution-

At least until Tony took the phone out of your hand late the next night and gave you a look that broke your heart for one reason or another.

“We’re not responsible for everything that goes wrong in the world, you know.”

“We’re not.” You knew why he was trying to impart this to you. Not working for this long had perhaps driven you just a touch cabin crazy, in mostly all good ways. But now the earth had a problem. And… “But we can help. We have the means.” Which meant you couldn’t turn your back on it.

That seemed to be just enough for him. Either that, or your resolve. “Alright. I’ll get to work on something.”

While the boys down in California probably could have come up with something to clean this up on their own, you realized you doing this yourself was putting Tony in the position of having to help. Or that must have been what he felt like. It made you feel terrible. But… it was also good to have him on board. “Thank you.” Reaching up to wrap your arms around him and press an all too brief kiss to his lips.

“Vacation’s over, huh?” Mumbled half into it so he wouldn’t have to stop kissing you to get it out.

“We’ll have another one again soon.” You lied.

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

Your lying continued into the new year, where you and Tony shared a celebratory glass of champagne at the office. Not the most ideal setting, but one that worked for the both of you. He’d taken a meeting with investors and you’d somehow become the new face of a cleaner earth movement. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world but it put a lot more on your plate to deal with. The only sensible thing to do was to leverage the moment for good press with Stark Tower also running on clean energy.

But that put you all over the map. Meetings with politicians and environmental groups and foreign ambassadors looking towards Stark Industries for the lead on how to save the planet. This was at least a more sensible superhero-ing that you could deal with. And things on that other front seemed quiet. Suspiciously so. But being as busy as you were, you let it go.

He met up with you in a quaint little hotel room in Brussels for Valentine’s Day. While the both of you couldn’t yet promise an extended stay somewhere together, you tried to make room for the little moments. He showed up in a fetching suit with a bouquet of flowers- and you may have had an evening planned to go out. But once he was there, it was over. You got lost in his embrace and found yourself pining by the time he left the next morning.

His birthday became another pinpoint on your calendar, and you wondered why it was always the marker your life revolved around. But for this year he said he wanted something quiet, so you invited the only people that seemed to matter. Rhodey, of course, eagerly put aside time to sit down with the two of you at some restaurant bought out for the evening. And Happy was just as happy to be invited and thought of. Even though Tony could very much look after himself, you thanked him on the side for keeping an eye on him while you were away so often. A thought kept between the two of you.

It was almost too nice to be reminded of what a normal night looked like. An evening with friends, good drinks, good food, and more laughter than you’d had in a while. This year was flashing by and you barely had time to even think about how much it bothered you that you were losing such large swaths to meetings and emails and talks and phone calls and plane rides and speeches and pitches and…

The small briefing you had at SHIELD in the middle of it June further signaled your attention that they were actively including you in their smaller dealings. However, the table you were sitting at was full of faces you didn’t recognize. And the piece of information that you really cared about…

“General Ross has suffered a heart attack. He’s scheduled for surgery today. This down time is crucial for some movement.”

That monster, you assumed. Emil Blonsky. You didn’t know if they wanted it gone or wanted it brought to them. While you agreed with them that it was better put in a place where you could control the means of its possible escape- and definitely the possible means of it being weaponized, you weren’t equipped to go out and get it. Then why put you in the room to hear that news…?

You’d never know.

But when you came home that night to tell Tony, his response was just as callous. “Should I bring it up in the interview? Send my well wishes?”

The two of you had a joint interview at WhiH on the 30th. And while they were putting out headlines daily that really hurt the company, your image, his image, you decided it would be better to go and confront the empire Christine Everhart thought she was building by spewing out garbage every day to an ever growing rabid fanbase. Left unchecked, things like that could become dangerous…

In early July you saw yourself back in New York City to check on the Tower, and to set up a press briefing in the coming days to talk about how far along the construction was. Everything had been moving according to plan, which was very excellent news. You hadn’t had much time to watch over anyone’s shoulder- and even if you had, construction itself wasn’t really your forte. The workers seemed to be carrying out your and Tony’s vision well enough, and the estimation came back that it was about 40% complete.

Which is exactly what you told reporters the coming morning. That and that things were still on track to have the Stark Tower completed in early May of 2012. You used the platform to again talk about the importance of clean energy, and sung the praises of the large amount of work that was going into laying pipes and wires to power the building once it was finished. Everything due to Tony’s genius reworking of his father’s old tech, of course. None of this could have been done without him.

“Where is Mr. Stark now?”

But when posed with this question… you just had to let them know he was hard at work. Just not at that exact thing. No, instead, he’d taken back his Mark II armor from Rhodey some time ago so that he could build him a proper suit.

War Machine the military was calling it, and you put in your very loud objections about that.

“I don’t like this. I don’t want Stark rebranded as giving the military weapons again. This is bad for optics.”

“Hey, I don’t like it anymore than you do, but at least we know it’s me piloting the thing. You know you can trust me to make the right calls.”

You had to. And you did. Rhodey was definitely the man meant to wear that suit (and of course the only one capable of doing so. Tony had double and triple checked that). Even though he would be given orders to carry out missions inside of it, you knew you could trust his judgment if something seemed wrong. It was about the only thing you had to rely on. So… you did.

It was only around September that things finally started to cool down. You’d have to be back in New York in another month to see to the closing of the Expo and maybe start plans to host another one the coming year, but that was something for a later date. Instead, you relished in the change of waking up in your own home, next to your very warm and welcoming boyfriend who was just as eager to have some time alone.

He had seemed to be chugging along with the progress of the Mark VII, an Iron Man suit that hosted some sort of tracking device- able to be loaded up in any situation. Even dangerous ones. When posed the question of, “Why don’t you just do one like mine?”

Tony, of course, had an answer at the ready. “Because that’s yours. And, no offense, but the capabilities of mine are far more powerful. One day we’ll up the specs on yours. But I think it’s good for now. ...unless you want more?”

“No. It’s fine the way it is.”

You didn’t want to throw him immediately back into work. And you hadn’t gotten much, if any, use out of it anyway. You preferred it that way, too, in fact. But it was that exact thinking that may have tempted fate. Such was your life.

Getting called to another SHIELD briefing had become almost sort of standard. It fell in line with some of your other training sessions, all of which were… mildly progressing. You still felt stronger with Natasha’s guidance than you did with Coulson’s. No matter how hard you worked on the thing you just seemed to be stuck. Putting too much pressure on yourself, perhaps.

Immediately you realized something was up when there were no other agents present in the room. Even early, there were usually one or two before you. And the meeting head. Sometimes it was Fury, and the two of you had come to a mutual understanding of basically ignoring each other. It worked better that way. He’d be in the room, talk to everyone, and you’d keep your head down for the most part.

But today was different. Today no one was in the room. And you sensed something was very amiss. There was something in the air. Something that made you very nervous.

It was that thought alone that may as well have brought down the house. Lights went out all over the compound, including the room you were in- and sirens started sounding. The entire warehouse seemed to plunge itself into lock down, as grates slid down over the windows.

Reaching up you pressed once on your cuff earrings, “LUNA, give me night vision. And call Tony-”

The sound of gunfire just outside the room drew your attention. Seconds after, your eyes adjusted as LUNA did what you asked. And then again when you heard his voice, “What’s up? What’s happening?”

“SHIELD is on lockdown.” You tried to keep your voice hushed, although it may not have mattered as the sounds of gunfire continued, only interrupted by pained shouts. Backing yourself against the wall closest to the door you took a breath in. This was a trick right? Some sort of test?

“I’m coming. Stay where you are. Don’t move.”

But was that really the correct course of action? Agents were taking fire in the hallway. Several feet from you. And you had the means to do something about it? ...didn’t you?

“LUNA identify bodies. How many are we looking at out there?”

“I told you to stay where you are, damn it.” It was hard to ignore Tony’s ire. But… you couldn’t just stay put.

“Five injured. Suspect is two corridors down.”

“Only one?” It seemed strange there was just a single person behind this sudden onslaught. Then again, with everything you’d been through, maybe you should have expected that. “Light the way for me.”

LUNA zeroed in on the target’s heat signature- and with them moving farther away, you chanced stepping out of the room. Agents were down. But you couldn’t stop to help them right now. Someone had broken into SHIELD- probably get something. You had to try and put a stop to it.

So around the next corner you went- and then the next- until LUNA’s voice interrupted you again as you came to an open door at the end of the hallway. “Director Fury’s inside with the suspect.”

Fury could handle it, right? You should just lay low? But as you approached, another gunshot spooked you, as did the sound of a body falling. “Where is it? Give me the files. No one else has to die.” You didn’t know the voice.

 Where was Natasha? Or Coulson?

 Sliding the zipper down on your jacket, the Heart Reactor’s glow burst forward in the darkened hallway. You gave it a single tap. “LUNA I need a glove.” Maybe it would have been smarter to go in full. It probably was. But you only needed one shot.

And that’s exactly the one you took.

Busting into the room you thrust your hand out, bracing yourself for the impact that threatened to throw you from your stance and to the floor as the repulsor shot out, taking the aggressor to the back of the room in one clean move.

Quickly you moved to Fury, kneeling. “Get up. Now.” You didn’t have a lot of time.

“Just get out of here.” He growled back. Unable to move? You had no idea. And no time to ask LUNA for vitals. Sense of duty took over.

You slung his arm over your shoulder. “Come on. Help me help you.” Lifting him to his feet was not an easy task, but somehow you managed. And with that you started walking him towards the door. Almost home free- you didn’t know where you’d hide, but you only needed to last as long as it would take for Tony to come-

“Projectiles coming in from behind!!”

LUNA’s warning was too slow. Without a second thought you shouldered the brunt of them, turning sideways to keep Fury out of the line of fire. Two very sharp- something- knives it felt like- slammed into your back, almost right into your spine. Leaving you lurching forward on your feet with a punched out breath that you immediately sucked back in.

Fury tried to steady you but it wasn’t enough. So you did the next best thing.

You gave the Heart Reactor a double tap with your free hand, and a pained grunt, drawing the nanobots out with a quick sweep of your arm, letting them rain down the rest of your body. It took seconds. And two more for you to turn around and face him. “Let’s try this again.”

“Incoming!” LUNA zeroed in on the next projectile coming right at your face, spurring your quick reaction to reach out and catch an arrow midair seconds before hitting you. So you did the next best thing you could think of.

“Here, you can have it back.” And with every ounce of force, after locking on through the visor, you threw it back at him, sinking into his shoulder- yes, him you realized, as he got caught with a sharp hiss and a growl. “And this too, while we’re at it-” Opening your hand again to blast him right off his feet- right through the wall. “Let’s move.” Talking to Fury.

Making it about five steps out of the room before everything shifted on an uncomfortable axis and you weren’t sure who was holding on to who anymore. Your legs stopped working.

“Ma’am your vitals are dropping- you’ve got tetrodotoxin and datura innoxia running through your system- you need to stop moving or there’s a chance of critical failure in-”

“Not now LUNA-” Breathing out of control very suddenly. And then you were no longer standing- pinned against the nearby wall- and then dropped to a tumble on the floor. Body on top of yours. No thought in your head. Seizing in pain-

Survival became the only thing you could think about. Putting your hands up to block a blow, you shunted his fists off next, lifting your hips to roll him forward. Bracing his chest you threw him up and over and then followed blindly in a backwards roll, spinning around to pin him. Bringing your hands up in a lock and then down smashing his windpipe-

Your vision cut- perhaps LUNA failing on you. You just knew you weren’t in that darkness alone- but it lit up in just another moment. And you felt the wave of a ripple brush against your hand. Then. Finally. You were moving. One- two- three in-

Seeing that man standing there. In stilted movements you crept up to him, and then put your hands on him- lowering in like he was made of water- in him-

It’s when you knew your eyes were no longer your own. Your hands were not yours as you struggled to reach for a gun on the floor.

 But you heard your own voice- Don’t you feel terrible? All these people you’ve hurt-

 And an answer, No. I don’t. I did exactly what I was supposed to.

 So you wondered- Don’t you feel like being honest? Who do you work for?

 Finger on the trigger. Hammer cocked. Barrel on a temple.

 Panic came to a boil.

 I’m on your side-

I’m on your team-

I work for SHIELD-

I don’t want to die.

 Solid fear shoved you back. And you belonged to you again. Briefly. For seconds. And then you were falling again. Shuddering a breath in and then-

And then-

 ...and then….

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

 Voices faded in and out around you. Your entire being told you it was better to keep your eyes closed. To keep drifting. To let the room sway back and forth…

“So far as I can see it, the Avengers-”

People were yelling. They were always yelling.

“I warned you once-”

“She nearly killed him-”

“I’m fine-”

“I’m sorry- was that not the point?- get better risk assessment-”

They were all yelling on top of each other. A door slammed close to your head. It startled your eyelids open finally. About a quarter of the way. All you could manage. You already felt him. “Tony…?”

“Right here, honey.” The bed dipped as he came to sit next to you. His hands were cool against your forehead. Something you appreciated immensely. “I have JARVIS running your vitals, but tell me how you’re feeling.”

“What happened?” Your voice came out in a croak. “Why is everyone screaming at each other?”

“Wonderful team we’ve got going here, wouldn’t you say?” It was hard to get him into focus, so you gave up, closing your eyes again and just listening to him. “Training exercise, he says. Very close to failure until you put in your bid- and I came in with mine.”

Training exercise-

Training exercise-

 Anger rose up in you hotter than any you’d felt before.

 “I will kill Nick Fury with my bare hands.” Blinking your eyes open again, seeing the brief and very fond line of a smile on Tony’s lips as he watched you. But his hands were quick, stilling you as you went to sit up.

“Not before I do.”

“You won’t be the first ones to try. And you won’t be the last.” He came through the door, crossing his arms. “Just so we’re clear, I’m only very generally considering today a mild success. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Rest up. Debrief is in fifteen. If you can make it.” And then just as he’d let himself in as quickly, he was gone in the next breath.

Through the fog- and the much heavier ire- you surprised yourself, “So. SHIELD’s version of a fire drill?”

“Not nearly that competent.” Despite Tony’s mood matching yours, you saw a small light of a half grin.

“Who does that say more about?” Shifting, finding your body belonging painlessly to you again, you sat up halfway. Tony’s hands were quick to your shoulders. “So one of theirs did this to me.” But you knew that already.

You remembered.

“Yeah, well, he’s lucky he’s not in a hospital right now. Or a morgue.”

“You do that much damage?” No doubts in your mind that if Tony had come blasting in as Iron Man and seen that man attacking you- or whatever had happened after everything went black- he probably would have killed him.

But Tony’s lips curved further into a slightly satisfied smile. “You did. There was barely anything left for me.”

There was a light sense of pride here. And relief, too. Knowing that you could defend yourself if it came down to it. Knowing that LADY had perhaps served as enough protection- and really, had you activated the whole suit when you should have… Beginner’s mistake. “Yeah but. According to LUNA, I’m pretty sure I was almost poisoned to death. I remember… having him but then everything went dark-”

“That wasn’t from the tetro and innoxia. You basically sweated them out.” And, of course Tony knew exactly what had been ailing you. He’d probably been running diagnostics since the moment he’d gone in probably right up until a few seconds ago. But hearing him say this confused the hell out of you. The little tilt of your head got him to continue. He was much softer when he finally did. “That was- …if they’re worth listening to, anyway, that was you using too much. Of the thing. And passing out.” And then, quieter still, “...I saw the footage. I think you scared the hell out of everyone in this place.”

Including him, it seemed. And hearing him put it that way- and catching those brief flashes- maybe even yourself. “I… I went further. It’s impossible to explain. But I think for a few seconds I...”

“Made him put a gun to his head? Because that’s the way he’s telling it. And much as he deserved it, if you’ve got a different side to that story, it might be worth telling.”

Your mouth opened but nothing came out. Slowly you looked up at him. “...I don’t.”

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

 The air in the debriefing room was extremely tense. Not unusual for this entire compound, but after everything that had just happened, you couldn’t imagine it getting much worse. There were agents in the room you didn’t recognize again, and everyone looked like they’d taken equal turns beating on each other.

Fury had his hands on his hips, surveying the crowd of tired faces. “Let’s start off simple. This test operation was run by Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton.” The two of them stood at his sides, and while you knew Nat, this Barton man you didn’t- ...except that you did. “Romanoff was tasked with the west wing, Barton with the east. They were unsuccessful. But just barely. And I don’t put bets on teams that just barely squeak by.” Leaning in he put his palms hard on the table. “And it’s hard for a team to win when all their players aren’t on the same page. We’ve got Team Stark over there in their own faction.”

“And this is the part where you segue into thanking us for our service, I’ll bet, since you were down and we pulled you back up.” Tony’s arms were crossed tight as he spoke. Tone dry and very displeased.

“Nice suit you’ve built for her. When were we gonna get let in on that?”

You looked up at Fury, “It had nothing to do with what I was being trained on.”

“Oh we can talk about your training. Barton here says we’re playing with a telepath. Not an empath. So you’ve been lying this whole time?”

Tony’s rebuff was quick, “Wasn’t that your intel? You’re gonna blame her for your mistakes?”

This was an unfair hole for you to be in. Because there was no way to climb out. No way to convince them one way or the other. Yet still it upset you. “No! It’s not like that. It wasn’t like that- I can’t just- I can’t just make people do things- I was trying to do what I learned but I was panicking- and full of fucking poison I might add- I went further than I ever have that’s all.”

Barton turned his sharp gaze towards you, clearing his throat somewhat painfully, “Well if that’s how far you can go, I’d rather have you on our side. But that was not someone messing with my emotions. I’m not really in the habit of trying to shoot myself during missions. No matter how I might be feeling about them.” His candor both surprised and upset you.

Tony put a hand on your bouncing leg underneath the table, but kept his eyes up. “Turnabout is fair play. You surprised her, she surprised the hell out of you.”

Fury locked his gaze again. “I can’t direct players on a field if I don’t know what they’re capable of.”

You were frustrated beyond belief. “Even if you did, would that have changed the outcome? If we’re trying to set up a scenario where a rogue person comes in looking for information- or whatever- and they don’t know everything- then I’d say we did fine.” Since, it appeared, you had one-upped them and kept them from completing their objective.

It was hard to tell. You’d been slightly unconscious for the end bits.

“Fine is not gonna be enough when the big dogs come to play.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “What big dogs are we talking about? You know- you’re all about being a big leader. Director. But you don’t have a habit of speaking very plainly. If you wanna keep the analogy up, your team can’t make the right calls if they’re missing information on their plays.”

Natasha finally spoke up, “So the team’s full of information holes on both sides. Is that what we’re saying?” This sort of hurt you. You’d been growing closer to her, but then again, was she really your friend? She worked for SHIELD. Not for you. “But- everyone did their part here. And I think it’s fair to say Agent Barton and I are not easy to get a leg up on.”

You could practically feel Tony’s eye-roll, and caught the dramatic loll of his head to the side. “Save the self praise, would you?”

“It’s a two way compliment.” Natasha smiled. You noticed Barton turning to hide one as well. She was right, anyway. She’d been in a whole other part of the compound doing who knew what- stacked against who knew how many agents. Barton had been alone on your side, as well. And he’d taken out two hallways worth of agents. And put Fury on his knees.

It was safe to say they were very good at their jobs.

“Compliment or not, you’re missing a big part of this picture.” Tony spoke again, standing soon after, leaning with his palms on the table. “Are we putting together a team to face threats the military can’t handle? Or are we putting together a team to protect SHIELD secrets?”

“You are a SHIELD secret, Stark.” Fury was quick to comment.

“No. See, I control my own headlines. Pretty sure the whole world knows who Iron Man is. So if that’s a threat-”

“And how’s that been working out for you?” He looked directly at you, next. “And you? The world knows about your secret little operation? I remember you asking me for a mask to keep that secret off the streets.”

This was not headed to a productive place. You stood aside Tony. “Stop being so combative. You’ve been so terrible to me the second I met you- yet for some reason I keep coming here-”

“Something that we’re grateful for.” Natasha chimed in very quickly.

“Everyone else out.”

At Fury’s hard order the unfamiliar agents got up mere seconds after being told to do so and filed out. Fury crossed his arms, turning to the window. You looked up at Tony, as if to ask if you should even bother staying, and he simply shrugged with another roll of his eyes. He was getting to his limit, if he wasn’t already over it. So were you.

Fury cleared his throat and started with your name. It almost surprised you that he even knew it. “I think I need to be very clear about this.” He turned around to face the four of you left in the room. “The Avengers are a secret team, right now. The world is not ready for this. What it means. What it could mean. We need to protect that. At all costs.”

Tony’s reply was as quick as it was angry. “A secret spy organization needs to protect its secret spy files. Color me surprised. Let me be clear. I haven’t so much as seen a mission statement. Not for the Avengers. Not for SHIELD. If any of it is worth protecting, working for- you damn well better start trying to actually convince me.” He turned to leave. “I’m gonna start billing you for miles by the way, next time I have to come over here to clean up.” Just like that he left. To go to the recovery room, you knew. His suit was still in there.

Natasha and Barton were next, sent out of the room with a wave of Fury’s arm. He came up behind them and you stood your ground, feeling something awful on the horizon. It always was with him.

He looked down at you. Sizing you up probably. You didn’t waver.

But when he finally spoke, “It’s been expressed to me in fuller language that I have not been easy on you. And up until now, it was because I didn’t trust you.” He was being entirely too honest, really. None of this was helping your feelings over him if that’s what this was about. “But you’re right. You keep showing up. You keep putting in the hours. And back in that room you didn’t hesitate.”

You were not hungry for Nick Fury’s acceptance, which drove your next statement, “That was your own mistake.” You knew who you were.

“That’s what I’m saying.” His hand came off his hip, holding out to you. “You might not be an agent, but you’ll make a fine Avenger.”

This in no way made up for everything else he’d put you through. Being the bigger person wasn’t always a fulfilling feeling. But if your reevaluation period was up and he’d finally figured it all out… you took hold of his hand and shook it. “I’ll do my best. Not for you.” Whatever this team was, whatever it would end up fighting for, standing for, if it was the right things, you absolutely would. “This doesn’t make up for everything, by the way.” But you had to at least let him know this.

Finally, for once in his life, he grinned. “Of course it doesn’t. You’ve got a lot of work to do if you wanna make everything up to me.”

Your brow popped up before you could stop it. “Fell face first right out of the gate.” Turning away from him with a shake of your head, you ignored his lighthearted chuckles behind you.

Going back to the recovery room, Tony was waiting, all suited up. “Ready to go?”

Both doors were open, and Fury was standing in the hallway now with his arms crossed. Watching you. It was why you derived much pleasure with a nod at Tony. “Yeah.” And then gave a tap-tap to the Heart Reactor, bringing your arms out and then crossed in, finishing off with a flourishing press of your cuff earring to activate your visor and helmet. “Let’s go.”

It was those notes of anger and resentment and disbelief that were oh so delicious as Fury stood aside while the two of you jetted out of the room and up through yet another hole Tony must have made in the compound’s roof when he’d come in. “He have anything good to say?” Tony asked as he kept speed aside you.

“Does he ever?”

“Very good point.”

As you broke through the line of clouds, “He said he was going to be less of an asshole to me. In much fewer words.”

“And all you had to do was nearly kill one of his favorite agents. Be careful or you’ll be teacher’s pet by the end of the year.” You couldn’t help the eugh that rose up from your throat, and the sound of Tony’s quiet warm laughter in your ear provoked a smile. “Anything else?”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m an Avenger now. I guess.”

“Should I order some champagne? Or is this more of a boxed wine occasion?”

You blew out a sigh. “After everything I’ve been through today…?” There probably wasn’t enough creature comfort in the world to soothe this over. Or the looming promise of what it was slowly becoming.

“Fancy wine in a hot bath. Complimentary shoulder massage.”

At this you really couldn’t help the smile. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” As long as you could decompress with Tony… maybe you could handle it all. Together.

Maybe.

[inawickedlittletown]

Walking The Wire (108/?)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

@findmeinthestarss

Masterpost

Chapter One Hundred Seven

They never found out what had been going on with Loki and Thor because nothing came of their appearance and then disappearance because aside from a blip somewhere in Ireland that wasn’t necessarily them, there was nothing and while Tony waited for the other shoe to drop and something crazy to happen somewhere else in the world, nothing did.

“So, do you think he was just popping in for a visit and didn’t even think to stop by here?” Rhodey asked during a team meeting.

“I don’t know,” Tony said. “And there’s no way to contact him. I called up Jane and she -- well, apparently they broke up sometime before he left the last time and she didn’t have a way to contact him anyway which is sort of why they broke up.”

“But nothing’s happened right,” Sam said. “I mean, no random Asgardians have shown up so--”

“Not since then,” Tony said. “At least not that my satellites picked up anyway. But Coulson or Fury would have mentioned if they heard anything.”

Tony kept paying attention, but nothing outside of the usual happened. Ross’ announcement that Spider-Man was Tony’s son had been a small blip that most people didn’t pay attention to despite all the pictures that Ross had managed to get of Spider-Man coming and going from the tower. Mostly, he just sounded like a conspiracy theorist especially after Tony tweeted that his son was definitely not Spider-Man and that the theory had made Steve laugh. Still, he was sure some people did believe Ross’ story. It was also a concern that Ross was clearly keeping an eye on the tower.

There was a whole thing with the resurgence of AIM in the middle of August but it was such a disorganized mess that they didn’t get very far in even setting themselves up as a threat and Tony had them all rounded up and arrested in the course of an afternoon.

By the time that the summer was actually over, Tony was starting to relax on the Thor front. Peter on the other hand was a tad disappointed that he hadn’t gotten to meet the god yet. It turned out that next to Iron Man, Thor was Peter’s favorite.

“He’s an actual god,” Peter had said, “but also an alien. And just cool. He’s just so cool.”

Sam found the whole thing amusing. “Your kid has good taste at least,” he said, “if he had to crush on any of us.”

“It’s not a crush! I just -- he’s a god, Sam! And the lightning--” Peter trailed off as Sam laughed and Tony tried not to join in.

“He is seriously impressive,” Natasha said in Peter’s defense.

“Yes, exactly,” Peter said.

“Which is why you had a crush on him,” Sam said matter of factly and Peter threw up his arms in the air and Tony knew that he had figured out he couldn’t really say much else to make a difference to the conversation. Mostly, though, Tony loved the level of ease that Peter had with the rest of The Avengers.

But when Peter’s birthday came around, Tony decided that they needed to go on a mini-vacation. Not to get away from anyone, but because Tony wanted to spend some time on his own with Peter away from wedding planning and everything else that was going on at the tower. They went to California because Peter had never been to the West Coast and because Peter had also been interested in seeing the rebuilt Malibu house. It was fun to show Peter around and take him to a few of Tony’s favorite spots. All in all, their vacation was a nice break from the usual. They got back after a couple of weeks away and right in time for Peter to get back to school and Tony to move forward with the new suit. Everything was ready and Tony just needed to have the housing unit put in his chest.

On the night before school was starting up again, Peter was leaning against Tony’s side. There was a movie on, but Tony had long given up on watching it because the plot had changed so drastically that the movie was downright silly and either way, Tony had gotten busy answering emails because Pepper couldn’t understand why Tony was delegating everything to do with SI for the next week or two. Tony still hadn’t told her that he was going to be putting in the housing unit for the nanotech in his chest. He and Shuri both agreed that it was the only way to make it as effective as Tony wanted it to be.

“Is it going to be a long operation?” Peter asked.

Tony looked down at him. “A few hours.”

“I don’t like that I’ll be in school and I won’t be here.”

The whole thing with Thor had really hastened Tony to get the device ready faster. He wanted to be prepared for the next time something happened and things would have been dire if Thor’s return had signaled the beginning of something being wrong. Sure, Tony had his other suits, but the nanotech one was going to be better than any other. Steve and Peter for their part thought that he knew best despite the risk that the surgery would bring him.

“You’ll be here plenty,” Tony assured him. “Nothing is going to go wrong. I have the best doctors on this and we have a good plan for how we’re handling this.”

“Dr. Cho is pretty great,” Peter said with a grin.

Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “So why did you want to watch this movie again?”

“Ned recommended it,” Peter muttered. “I don’t think I’ll be taking his advice on movies again any time soon.”

Tony laughed. “On that we can agree, kid.”

---

Steve didn’t argue with Tony once Tony decided that he needed to get the housing unit put into his chest. It was Tony’s body and Tony’s decision and while Steve did voice his questions and got Tony to think about the pros and cons, he left it up to Tony because Tony knew best when it came to his suits. The device was different than the arc reactor, anyway, in that it wasn’t working to keep Tony alive. Looking at the ring with the shrapnel that had almost killed Tony, reminded Steve of how much Tony had gone through and survived.

He was with Tony during the operation, holding his hand while Dr. Cho and her team worked on Tony with a combination of Dr. Cho’s tech and Shuri’s as well. It brought down the risk for the procedure considerably. When it was over a few hours later and the whole thing was successful, Steve let out a sigh of relief.

“Good,” he said.

The whole thing was taking place in the compound since the facility had a medical wing and Tony had gone ahead and added an operating room to it too. It meant that Tony was going to be staying at the compound for a few days even if that was more of a precaution than anything, but it was better for him to not have to travel to the tower while fresh out of his operation. Steve had insisted on being there so his anklet was off. The FBI had only checked in on them once since putting the anklets on and the only reason they showed up in the first place was that Sam’s had malfunctioned. It was lucky that they were all in the tower at the time, not that Fury had been sending them on a lot of missions lately. Things were on the quiet side.

“He’ll be asleep for a little longer,” Helen said. “We’ll move him somewhere comfortable. You can call Peter in, if you want.”

“I’ll go get him,” Steve said and leaned over to kiss Tony’s forehead first.

Helen smiled at him.

When he returned with Peter in tow, Tony had been moved into one of the rooms in the medical wing. Tony was still asleep, but he looked peaceful all tucked into bed.

“Everything went perfectly, Peter,” Helen said. “He’ll be awake in an hour or two. Myself or someone from my team will come check in.”

“I’m glad,” Peter said as Helen grabbed a few things and walked out of the room. “I was actually a little worried,” he admitted to Steve. “I just -- I’ve lost all the father figures in my life and he was doing this and I was worried.”

Peter walked to stand by Tony’s bed and Steve moved forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You dad rarely does anything that isn’t for a reason. And if he had suspected that this was any riskier than it needed to be he wouldn’t have done it because the last thing he wants is to leave you. Shuri and Helen worked this out and you know how smart they are.”

“I know,” Peter said and looked up at Steve. “I just couldn’t help it. And thanks for helping me get out of school today. Dad just kept saying how I didn’t need to be here.”

“Yeah, well, he hates that we fuss about him.”

---

Taking it easy was boring. At least, it wasn’t bed rest. Tony could move around and he could go to the workshop but he was limited by how long he could work and how much he could lift or really do which ultimately just made him grumpy. Steve was also hovering for most of his time in there and jumping in to do things for him which Tony had found endearing at first but then kind of frustrating. So, he was happy to be back to normal a month and a half later even if Steve still seemed a bit wary of him doing much. Pepper was worse. She had started to just show up to make sure he was okay every other day right after Tony moved back to the tower and she’d fussed and fussed over him after telling him off for putting the housing unit in his chest in the first place until Tony had enough.

“You know,” Steve said one afternoon, “it’s almost been a year since I came back.”

“It has,” Tony said. A full year. It had been more than a year since the whole fiasco with The Vulture too. They were lucky that there hadn’t been any big villain like that popping up since but even if there had been, Tony was confident that Peter would have been able to handle it.

Training with Steve and the team in general had made a huge difference to Peter’s capabilities as Spider-Man. Peter didn’t use the Iron Spider suit often, opting for his other suit over that one most of the time, but he had gotten so much better with his powers and just his physicality because he wasn’t just following his instincts which were often good, he was doing more. Strategizing and thinking his plans through and really knowing his strengths and weaknesses and using that knowledge to do things in the best way possible.

“And it hasn’t been all bad,” Steve said.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “I half expected you to get too bored to stay.”

“I’ve found that life can’t be boring when you’re in it. But, not just that, it makes a difference that we’re together. You’ve made this worth it and it’s just one more year, Tony.”

“We better hope nothing crazy happens before then,” Tony said. “I thought Thor coming back meant--”

Steve nodded. “I know. I know. I did too. I just wonder what the whole point of it was. He wouldn’t have shown up and left that quickly without there being some reason and I just don’t trust that Loki was with him. Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “That’s what Thor said.”

“Jane was confused about that too. She seemed concerned -- but she hasn’t called which means she hasn’t found anything alarming. At least I have this thing now,” Tony said and tapped his chest. “It makes me feel a little better about any possible threats.”

It was Tony’s fear -- and had been since going through that wormhole -- that they’d be faced with something from outside their world again. Even if nothing came to pass, he wanted them to be prepared. After all, he’d seen what some of those aliens could do and create and it was only a matter of time before Earth became a target again. Loki being alive -- he’d been the one behind the attack in New York. Of course, helped by the stone in the scepter but nevertheless one of the reasons. Thor had said he was leaving to find out more about the stones and...and maybe it was what he was still trying to figure out. It worried Tony.

Chapter One Hundred Nine

[fragilcs]

        º◦·✧·◦º  ┊  tarjei  sandvik  moe,  he /  him  &  cismale  ┊  damn,  look  at  adrien  dahl  this  year  !  i  heard  he’s  seventeen and  has  lived  on  the  northside  for  one  year.  also,  he  tends  to  be  empathetic,  but  also  hedonistic,  just  in  case  you  wanna  get  on  his   good  side.

         christina  (  archie  &  co  )  here  !  i  ...  never posted this  ...  so here we go  .  fair warning it ain’t gonna make a lot of sense but  ,,,  love me pls  .

adrien dahl is a born witch  ---  his mother didn’t want him at the time she had him  ,  so she dropped him off on the side of the road in  GREENDALE  .  he was found by members of the farm  ,  who took him in and raised him as their own  !

bc of this  ,,,  he’s an interesting boy  .  he’s v earthy  /  mellow  ,  and doesn’t rlly see anything wrong w the farm for the first sixteen years of his life  ?  everything they do is v normalized to him considering he grew up surrounded by their views  /  ways  .

in the earlier parts of his life  ,  he kinda just lays low  ,  hangs out  ,  does what he wants  .  he’s a v chill dude and spends a lot of time in the gardens  /  farm landscapes  ,  usually painting or drawing  .

age eleven finds adrien befriending a boy from the town over  .  they meet in a park in greendale  ,  and have been best friends ever since  .  it’s not until this friendship that adrien thinks to question the way he was raised  ,  and the beliefs he’s taught to have  .  still  .  the farm is all he knows  ,  and he’ll ignore its oddities for as long as he’s able to  .

several years pass  ,  and it’s finally at the point where it’s a bit unavoidable  .  the older he’s gotten  ,  the more he’s grown aware of the fact that he’s not entirely human  .  he’s got a kind of magic in him  ,  and he hasn’t been given the opportunity to understand it  !  he knows  something  is up  ,  and he reckons it’s time to figure it out  .

in doing so  ,  he’ll start to spend all of his time either on his own  ,  or with his best friend  .  this  ,  along with his friend’s constant pleading  ,  allows him to think that perhaps it’s time to branch away from the farm  ,  so as to help him uncover who he truly is  ---  his roots  ,  his parents  ,  the feeling that there’s something more within him  .

he’ll run away to riverdale on his sixteenth birthday  ,  as part of a plan with his best friend  .  he’ll live with their family  ,  keeping a low profile and adjusting to life outside of the farm  .  in his time away  ,  he’ll begin to find an interest in paganism and celestial practices  .

by age seventeen  ,  he’s managed to keep himself undercover  ,  & is fully practicing paganism in an attempt to figure out who  /  what he is  .  while he has an inkling that he’s a witch  ,  he obviously doesn’t know for certain  .

with talk of the farm  /  g&g showing up more and more in riverdale  ,  it’s hard to say he isn’t nervous  .  he left the farm with no echo of goodbye  ,  and they surely haven’t just let that slide  !  he’ll opt to be more cautious  ...  but it’s only a matter of time  .

        miscellaneous  fun  facts  !!!

honestly  ,,  an enigma when you first meet him  .  even after knowing him for a while  ,  you still never really know what he’s up to  ?

little spoon for sure  (  but he won’t ever admit to this  )

lowkey listens to taylor swift music

EASILY INFLUENCED  ,  VERY IMPRESSIONABLE

has been going to a lot of parties w his friend since moving to riverdale  ---  he’s proven to be a bit of a lightweight  (  literally  ,,  two shots and he’s done  )  ,  and will always smoke if it’s offered to him  (  he’ll claim the high helps his art so  ,,  it’s valid  )  !

his starbucks order is  always  a horchata.  probably cries when they say they don’t serve it  .

he can read tarot cards  ,  palms  ,  you name it  .

his crystals are his Certified Children  .

no concept of time  /  personal space

will let u drag him thru hell if it means you’ll hold his hand  ;)

probably paints w bob ross videos

will  DEFINITELY  flirt with you

weak boi but Wants To Be A Bad Ass  ,,  fails often

[nadiineross]

requested by @ladies-of-lodge for “chloe on her deathbed”

note: i call this one “adventure grandmas and their glory days”. i wrote this in chunks and did some editing so bear with me i promise its not that bad

Chloe woke up with a heavy feeling in her gut, a sense of foreboding hanging over her. 

Today was the day she was going to die. 

She wasn’t sad or angry or any other emotion she thought she’d feel when the time came, just quietly acceptant. Then again, she always assumed she’d die somewhere darker, some way darker, and by the hand of someone that wished her ill. She also thought it would happen in her thirties, forties at most. 

Two and a bit decades too late for something like that to happen. She retired in her sixties, well-off enough to last her till this day. 

The first part of her retirement was eventful, to say the least. (She doesn’t think elderly women scaling the climbing wall faster than young college students at the local gym is an ordinary sight.)

While her permanent residence was in South Africa, where she was now, she had spent most of her later years still living like a nomad and embarking on low-risk adventures. 

She had only officially thrown in the towel barely a decade ago when a particularly nasty fall busted her knee and gave Nadine a rather unpleasant concussion. After that, her health started to decline. Nadine’s did too, of course, but not at Chloe’s pace.

Speaking of whom... 

“Morning.” Nadine rolled over, muffling her yawn with the back of a thin hand. 

Chloe smiled, blinking through the bleariness and reaching out to lay a hand over Nadine’s cheek. “Morning, love.”

After pressing a chaste kiss to Chloe’s palm, she turned and pushed herself off their mattress. 

Nadine’s birthday passed a couple months back. It was a quiet affair since most of their friends had passed, from natural causes or otherwise. Chloe had taken her to a nice restaurant by the ocean and they’d walked along the coast to their bench afterwards, sitting and talking for hours. 

She had cracked every joke possible about feeding pigeons as a hobby when they’d first sat on that bench. 

She sat up then, watching Nadine shimmy into a pair of cargo pants. “I want to go to the beach today.” 

Nadine glanced over her shoulder and her lips twitching into a smile. “Okay. Should I save some leftover toast for the seagulls?” 

“Oh. Yes,” Chloe said, “Crust, whole wheat. I take my hobbies very seriously, Ross.” 

Nadine laughed. They did not have bread or similarly hard to chew foods that didn’t return in flavour in their home. That’s just something Chloe will have to die resenting. 

It was a few hours later when they were both ready to go. She still remembered the first casual morning they had spent together. It was stormy outside, so they had all the lights on and the space heater plugged in. 

Ah, to be young and in love. Not that she would’ve ever admitted to herself that she was truly and deeply in love with her partner at the time. No, that would take her two more years and a gunshot wound to finally say it out loud. Nadine was not enthused about the timing, but she’d said it back anyway through bloody, grit teeth. 

Chloe sighed and examined the spots on her hands. That was what retrospection did, made her sigh forlornly and out of nowhere.

“What?” Nadine asked, coming around the corner with a baseball hat on this time. 

“Nothing,” Chloe replied immediately, looking up and grinning. Then, she sighed again and grasped Nadine’s hand. “China?” 

The corners of Nadine’s eyes crinkled when she smiled. “Ja?” 

“I love you, really, but the hat needs to go.” 

Nadine rolled her eyes and, very pointedly, turned to the door and said, “I love you too.” 

She came back a moment later with two canes, one she leaned against on her forearm, the other she levelled out, handle pointing at Chloe. “This or the chair?” 

“I think I can make do without today,” she said, heaving herself to her feet. Nadine, out of pure instinct at this point, held her by the bicep until she was steady with the cane. She leaned over to kiss Nadine thoroughly on the mouth and grabbed a water bottle. “Ready?” 

“Ja, I’ll get the door.” 

Chloe scoffed, patting Nadine’s calf with the end of her cane. “I can still open doors, wrinkles and all, thank you very much.” 

Nadine twirled their house keys around one finger and raised an eyebrow. She opened the door with a wry look. “It’s called chivalry, but okay.” 

The door closed, Nadine outside and Chloe left alone in the hall. 

Chloe gave an indignant huff, but couldn’t help the face-splitting grin when the door opened again a second later, Nadine peering through the crack. 

“You’re ridiculous.” 

“Learned it from you.” 

“You pass with flying colours. Want a little reward or two?” 

Nadine’s smile turned coy. “Do you want to go out or not?” 

It was a ten-minute walk to the bench at their usual pace, but Chloe found herself unable to move quite as fast as she did the night of Nadine’s birthday. Nadine didn’t complain though, occasionally straying to lean against the fence separating the boardwalk from the sand and watch the birds swoop down. 

There was a breeze blowing by, on the cusp of being too cold, but pleasant enough as it was. For Chloe, at least. When they finally reached the rickety bench, however, the first thing Nadine did was burrow closer so that Chloe could do nothing but lift an arm to drape around her shoulders. 

Nadine had stopped being shy about these things decades ago, though if Chloe really tried, she could still make her go beet red. Not today.

Nadine sighed, head lolling to bump briefly against Chloe’s. “Goddamn cold.” 

“If you want my coat, you’re going to have to ask for it,” Chloe teased, moving to unbutton the front anyway. 

“I’m fine,” Nadine said with a roll of her eyes. “In a mood, are you? Killing chivalry and romance, and all before lunch.” 

Chloe grinned, impish. “Yet you’ve stayed with me for how many years exactly?” 

They’re quiet for a while, introspective suddenly. As they grew older, Chloe realized that she had a lot to reflect on and she happened to take the time to do just that much more frequently than she would’ve thought. 

It’s true for Nadine, too. They often found themselves in thoughtful silences, especially after their retirement, no job to distract themselves with. Well, either that or their years together are showing through. She never imagined she’d be in a relationship that lasted this long, grown so familiar that she could sit in a room in complete and utter silence for hours on end — and without starting something either. 

Chloe supposed that if her old self were surprised with the way her life had gone, she must have done something right. She was, in all honesty, a bit of a mess in her twenties and thirties. 

“Almost sixty years,” Nadine said suddenly, jarring Chloe out of her own thoughts. 

“What?” Chloe blinked down at the top of Nadine’s head, dark grey hairs tickling her cheek. 

Nadine’s eyes fluttered shut as she inhaled deeply, softly, through her nose. “We’ve been together fifty-five years in total.” 

“Huh.” Chloe raised her eyebrows. “Nice number, that. Over half a century.” 

It would’ve been past that number if they hadn’t split when she was in her early forties and Nadine was in her late thirties. Chloe refused to call it “breaking up”, even if that was what technically happened. It was more of a four year long hiatus taken so that they could give single life one more go and then mature enough to realize that it was, overall, a very shitty and very boring way to live. 

After they met again on an island whilst hunting for the same treasure, after fighting and fucking and fighting again, they settled their differences and hadn’t parted since. Chloe thanked whichever higher power there was for it. 

Here they were, fifty-five years in total. They wouldn’t reach fifty-six, Chloe knew, but she was relatively happy with how they’d spent the years they were afforded together.

“Did you take your meds this morning?” Chloe asked. 

Nadine didn’t reply. Instead, she produced three small plastic containers from her pocket and gave them a prattle. 

“Do you have water?” 

“No, but you do.” 

Chloe scoffed, uncapping and handing the bottle over. 

With some care, Nadine removed her pills from their containers, gathered them in a cupped palm, and tossed them all in her mouth. “Thanks.” 

Even with all that, Nadine was the healthier of the two. Chloe had at least always known she would be outlived by her partner, this she did not have any doubts about. 

She had only grown frailer after her retirement. Who knew a career that involved landing dangerously high falls and suffering from multiple concussions could affect your health in the long term? 

Nadine had suffered her own share of health issues but not quite as badly or as many as Chloe did. 

Because of that, Chloe had quickly tired of hospitals and had been proportionally horrified at the idea of being put in a home. Nadine slept in the guest room for three days after proposing that brilliant idea. 

She lifted her hand experimentally, watching it tremor and quake. Frankly, she was a bit disappointed her body had fucked up so soon. The doctors had told her what was coming and their general predictions, so she had mostly made peace with it. Still, she could be quietly disappointed, couldn’t she? 

Nadine, ever alert, caught onto her souring mood and set out to lift her spirits, grasping Chloe’s wobbling hand in her own as tightly as she could without hurting — which wasn’t very. 

“You okay?” she asked, barely over a murmur.

Chloe let out a slow breath and grinned. “Of course, love. My arthritis puts me in a wonderful mood.”

“Me too,” Nadine said, putting on a serious face. “That’s why I’m with you.” 

“My arthritis?” 

“Ja.” Nadine was only encouraged by Chloe’s stifled guffaw. “Gets me going.”

Chloe burst out with a laugh, lightly slapping Nadine’s knee with her other hand. “You’re terrible.”

“Don’t pretend you aren’t with me for my aching joints either.” 

They dissolved into giggles, huddling closer to each other. 

Moments later, calmed down and in a better mood, Chloe took a hold of Nadine’s face in both hands. Nadine waited, unwavering in her stare.

“I can’t express why I’m with you because I’d have to explain how you make me feel and there aren’t enough words to describe that,” she started, hushed yet firm. “I just...” 

Nadine slipped her hands over Chloe’s, opening her mouth to speak. 

Immediately, Chloe shook her head. “Listen, please.” A beat, then a single nod. “I love you. You’re smart and amazing and, god, so strong.” 

“I’m not.”

This, she knew Nadine couldn’t stay silent about. She might not have said in so many words, but she was someone who was built like a god and had slowly atrophied with age and going through it had put many a dent in her ego. It had turned out to be a sore spot for Nadine, one she had gotten better with, yes, but she would still be occasionally self-depreciating when she reckoned she could get away with it. Chloe would always shut her right up though. 

“No. Nadine, you are the strongest person I know, and not because everyone else we know is either sick or dead. We’ve been through thick and thin; you’ve toughed it out.” She smiled. It felt bittersweet. “And I know you’ll get through whatever else that might come after. I just want you to know that. That you’re strong and that’s one of the things I love you for.” 

Nadine was not an idiot. Any fading traces of her good mood vanished abruptly. “Frazer.” 

She couldn’t help it, she laughed. Frazer? Nadine only whipped that one out when she was pissed and Chloe would know if she were before she even said it. Not this time. 

It felt like India, all those years ago. 

Instead of a smoking helicopter and the carcass of Shoreline in the background, they had the gentle blues of rolling waves and the afternoon sky. This seemed much more fitting for a final goodbye speech. 

She choked on whatever humour she had felt. Her final goodbye. Christ. 

Nadine had the same look on her face in India: eyes soft with pleading, eyebrows knit, jaw tensed shut. Everything felt so fragile in this moment, Chloe didn’t dare move. 

“Chloe,” Nadine said, pitched low and measured. 

A stronger gust blew by, shaking out the loose strands from the side of Nadine’s head, where her stupid cap didn’t reach, into her face. Chloe still did not move. 

“We’re old. We both take a cocktail of meds every morning and night. It’s natural.” 

“If I listened when people told me about what was and wasn’t natural, we would not be here,” Nadine spat, gone rigid against Chloe’s side. And, as if she could read Chloe’s mind, she drew away, putting them at an arm’s distance away. 

Chloe blinked, looking down at her hands and following the bones jutting from her skin. 

“You can’t save me from old age,” she said, mildly. 

She didn’t doubt that if Nadine could physically brawl it out with Death, she would. 

“You don’t need to.”

Nadine scooted back, taking one of Chloe’s hands in hers, and said earnestly, “We’ll go to the hospital. I’ll call a taxi.” 

“Oh, china,” Chloe sighed and then finally moved, stooping lower to catch her eye. She decided, looking at Nadine, she would give her one last lie to tide her over. “We all die. It happens, and we always knew I’d kick the bucket first. It might happen today, tomorrow, next bloody year, but it will happen. I just wanted you to know that I love you before I go. That’s all.” 

Nadine regarded her in silence, hands slackening just slightly. She had gotten better at telling when Chloe lied, but there must have been some part of her that didn’t want to call this one out because she stayed silent. 

They’re old, death was, reasonably, an oft touched upon subject. They had even managed to make writing their wills a fun activity, both tired of how morose they could get when they talked about their fast-approaching ends. 

And even before they had retired, considering their occupational hazards, they had talked about it. 

Chloe remembered the promise she made decades ago about her death. Perhaps it was foolishly agreed to, but it was a promise nonetheless. Not that she had always kept them, but she tried her best for the important ones and owned up to it when she didn’t. 

(It was midnight. She was laying on Nadine’s naked chest, listening to her quickened heartbeat, when she brought it up. Nadine’s hand in her hair had stilled and she’d tucked her chin over her collarbone, looking at Chloe with a deep frown. 

“What do you mean?” 

Chloe had shrugged, kissed Nadine's chest, and said again, “I think I’d know on the day of my death that it would be my last. I mean, if it was of old age. Unlikely, but...” Nadine’s frown deepened. “I’d wake up in the morning and it would just make sense. I would know.”

“...Like a sixth sense?” she asked, slow and incredulous like Chloe was an idiot. 

Chloe had narrowed her eyes and clapped her hand on Nadine’s abdomen for that. “You could call it that.” 

“Okay.” Nadine laughed, shrugged awkwardly, and tightened her arms around Chloe’s middle. It was endearing, so much so that Chloe decided then she would not bring this up again, but then Nadine had asked, “Will you promise to tell me? On the day?” 

Chloe remembered she had felt funny upon hearing that Nadine thought they’d last that long. She remembered she had nodded hastily and pushed up to meet Nadine’s mouth, so she didn’t have to think about it.) 

Chloe supposed she could stand to break one more promise. 

It didn’t really count. Nadine knew now, in some way, shape, or form. Besides, just bringing it up would have at least prompted Nadine to start mentally preparing. She hoped it would, at least. 

Nadine’s grip tightened again. “You’re such a dickhead.” 

“I know.” Chloe lifted a hand, brushing springs of hair away from Nadine’s eyes with the back of her fingers. “We’ve lived a fun life, haven't we?” 

“Yes.” 

“A happy life?” 

“Yes.” 

“A good life?” 

“A good life,” Nadine echoed in agreement. 

Chloe leaned forwards, pressing a small kiss to the corner of Nadine’s mouth. “That’s all I could’ve asked for.” 

She reclined into the bench, pulling Nadine along so they were pressed together once again. 

“So... want me to go back to listing why I’m with you?”

Nadine hid a grin in her collar. “Don’t start.” 

“I was only going to say your arse.” Chloe sniffed but broke into a grin when Nadine dug her chin into the dip of her shoulder. 

There was a natural lapse in the conversation, the sound of waves and overhead birds filling in the silence. 

Nadine must have still been cold because she wedged closer into Chloe’s side and shivered. 

That was her cue. Chloe kissed the crown of her head and reached for their canes. “Let’s get going. We’ve got yesterday’s leftovers for lunch.” 

Nadine got shakily to her feet and pressed in for a kiss, something warm and intimate and long as their kisses were wont to be. 

The way back was faster, lacking the pit stops this time. The ocean really was beautiful, but they’ve seen it a thousand times before. 

Their afternoon was spent similarly: sat down, silences filled with conversation and pauses filled with whatever senior citizens did in their free time. 

Nadine had picked up the habit of reading all of Chloe’s old reference books she’d used for their adventures. She'd spent two days emptying Chloe’s many storage units into their spare room and had been slowly making her way through it all. Sometimes, she stopped to point out an old scribble Chloe had written years before or to discuss something she’d read which, more often than not, ended up being a nostalgic session of remember-whens and back-in-the-days. 

In Chloe’s case, she liked to fall into a stream of endless clickbait articles and banal smartphone games. 

Today, however, Chloe was content to just lay her head in Nadine’s lap and listen to the turning of pages and the muted sound of Nadine’s reactions. 

Nadine, being considerate as always, made sure to pause more often than usual to point out a fun fact about an artefact they’d found back in the summer of 20whatever. 

For dinner, Chloe made Nadine’s favourite Indian dishes. She considered spicing up the presentation but didn’t bother in the end. She wanted some sense of normalcy, even though she hadn’t put this much effort into making a meal since New Year’s. 

Nadine caught one whiff from an open pot and was already sitting down at the island. They had a dinner table, but they only ever ate there if guests were over. 

As she watched her fork shake in her hand, Chloe found that she didn’t feel any bitterness. She figured that there wouldn’t be any last minute regrets rearing their ugly heads tonight. She’d be getting her last supper exactly the way she wanted it. 

Afterwards, they did the dishes side by side. They had a dishwasher, but neither of them used one growing up and preferred to do it by hand when they had the time which was almost every night now that they were old. 

“Do you have any regrets?” Chloe asked, suddenly. 

A plate slid into the drying rack. Nadine picked up another. “No.” 

“Anything you’d like to do before you die?” 

Nadine gave her a look. “I’m 86, I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do already. Probably before I even turned fifty.” 

Chloe pouted. “You’re no fun.” 

“Well, what about you?” Nadine asked, accusing, and when Chloe didn’t answer for several long seconds, she snorted. “Exactly.” 

She would’ve tossed some soap at Nadine if she were younger and could stand without leaning against the sink. She made do with plonking a bowl into a soapy tub of water, splashing some suds onto Nadine’s shirt. 

Nadine only smiled. 

There was something charming about this. Just the thought of them, so old and still pathetically in love with each other, upholding traditions from when they were younger makes her smile.  It was why she loved their house and the off-colour bench overseeing the ocean, though she’d never voiced this.

It was mostly because of this that she was okay with dying and with knowing it would come very soon. 

She had hated and loved and been broken and fixed. Her life had been full and had turned out to be fuller. It was only fitting that she’d die while still with the woman who she had found and had stayed by her side throughout what came after.

She was content with how things were with Nadine and how things had gone with everyone else; all her loose ends were tied and tied well. 

It made sense that she would pass in this stage of her life, where she was blissful and accepting of it. Not many of her old acquaintances were spared a peaceful death; it was, frankly, extraordinary that she would die on an ordinary day.  

While Nadine organised the drying rack, Chloe finished off rinsing the last plate and handed it off. 

Routine.

It was something that Nadine had found herself returning to after their retirement and gradually Chloe came around to it. 

That wasn’t to say she had abandoned spontaneity entirely; retirement lacked excitement and they were both closeted adrenalin junkies, they were bound to break routine up just for the fun of it — they travelled on the drop of a hat and ordered from new takeout places regardless of bad Yelp reviews. Chloe called it lukewarm adventuring.

The point was: routine was safe and comfortable and reliable, and that was what Nadine needed right now. Some part of Chloe found she enjoyed it too, though she suspected this was largely due being around a carefree Nadine. That, she would never tire of. 

So they followed their nightly rituals which mostly consisted of getting ready for bed and taking their pills. 

Nadine brought a book to bed, a different one from the one she had in the afternoon, and took out her reading glasses. They were thin and sometimes hung around Nadine’s neck by a string if they weren’t perched on her nose. 

When she first got them, she had held Chloe’s hand just a tad too tight on the way home, staring down passing trees in a stony silence. Clearly, they both had some issues handling their bodily deterioration with grace. 

Eventually, after months of Chloe jumping her while in glasses, she didn’t seem to hate them as much. She even cracked a joke or two when she was in a mood. 

Chloe smiled at the memory. 

“Are you going to say something?” Nadine asked, barely sparing her a side eye. “Sexy librarian jokes? Four eyes?” 

“No,” Chloe said after some consideration. 

“No?” 

“Should we have you fitted with hearing aids?” 

Turning, Nadine put her book on the side table. “Insufferable.” 

“You love me.” Chloe grinned, but before she could make out another word, she felt an itch in her throat. 

Quickly, she flipped onto her back and broke into a coughing fit. She let her body hack itself raw, resigned. 

When she looked over, Nadine had a tissue box in her lap and was sat up in attention. 

Chloe wordlessly accepted a tissue and let Nadine place a soothing hand on her shoulder. 

“Jesus fuck,” Chloe wheezed.

“We’ll go to the hospital tomorrow,” she said as Chloe coughed one last time before subsiding. “Chloe.” 

“I’m fine.” She held the tissue over her face, squinting at it. There was a spot of red. Instantly, she scrunched the tissue up. Nadine shouldn’t see that. “I’m fine, love. I promise.” 

She was. Mentally, at least. She doubted Nadine would agree with this definition, so she pushed herself up with a great amount of effort and aimed for the bin. 

“Kobe,” she hooted, or croaked, really. It fell short and she sighed. 

“You’re not funny.” 

Chloe fell back with her eyes squeezed shut. Shit, she had a headache. “Nadine. I’m fine.”

After a moment, she felt the bed shift and then dip once Nadine returned. She sank down too, their arms glued to each other under the blanket. 

Nadine curled her fingers around Chloe’s limp hand. 

Finally, in a tone so low and so soft, she spoke, “Chloe. Please.”

Chloe rolled her head to the side and found Nadine already looking back at her, their faces only inches apart. 

“I love you,” she said, raspy enough to be barely audible. “I’m glad I got to spend today with you.” 

Again, she had that look on her face that made Chloe ache in her chest. Nadine’s eyes were wet with muted sorrow, a subtle twitch at her jaw as she clenched and unclenched her teeth. 

“God, don’t do that,” she said, reaching out to cup Nadine’s cheek. “You have made me a very happy woman. You don’t even have to bloody do anything, I just love you.” 

Nadine’s eyes fell to the outline of their hands under the sheets and then fell shut. 

“And don’t get me started on your arthritis.” 

Nadine laughed wetly, grip tightening as she did. “You’re such a dick.” 

“I am, aren’t I?” Chloe agreed with a snort. “Good to hear me say it?” 

“Ja.” Nadine nodded. She arched forward and Chloe met her halfway for a chaste kiss. “I love you too.” 

From their distance, Chloe could count Nadine’s eyelashes. She didn’t, watching Nadine’s lips part for a shaky exhale instead. 

Chloe pulled their joined hands to her face, sighing into the knuckles. 

“If you want to sleep in the spare—”

Nadine inhaled sharply. “Maybe later.” 

“This is how I wanted today to go, okay?” Nadine didn’t reply. “We’ve talked about this, love. No hospitals, I just needed you. You’ve made it perfect.” 

Her hand twinged from Nadine’s grip, but she didn’t complain. 

“Okay,” Nadine said, then stopped short. 

Chloe smiled. It was sad and genuine. She rarely ever faked them nowadays. “I’ll see you in the afterlife.” 

“The first time I came with you with certain death guaranteed, I was riding shotgun and you were driving.”

“We’ve come full circle,” Chloe said. 

Today was a day tangled with reminiscence, it seemed. 

“Shit,” Nadine muttered, first covering her mouth with a hand, then dragging her knuckles under the corner of her eye. 

Chloe felt her own eyes prick. She really was okay with this, but it was hard not to be empathetic when she was face to face with the one person who might not be, held in her arms. 

“I love you,” she said because she didn’t know what else to say. 

Nadine smiled — or bore her teeth — and nodded. She pulled back, took a deep breath, and sat up. 

Chloe understood, really. Who would want to go to sleep knowing the person they’d gone to bed with would be a corpse in the morning? 

She reached out for Nadine’s forearm who stilled under her touch. “One more time?” 

Nadine’s back shifted, her whole body sagging with her sigh. She put her jaw against her shoulder, eyes moving from the edge of the mattress to meet Chloe’s. Her cheeks were damp.

This time, her smile was real. 

“I love you.” 

Chloe closed her eyes and relaxed into her pillow. 

Nadine shuffled out, cane tapping lightly against the wooden floor. The door closed with a click. 

And, well, Chloe Frazer had another train to catch. 

[cirie-won-thirty-four]

Ok...hear me out

Friends reunion...But as a dramedy,Oscar bait type film

It happens on emma’s 18th birthday getaway (full circle with the video tape for emma)

Ross and rachel never stayed together. At the finale,despite her getting off the plane for that one night,rachel still wanted to go to paris (she didnt want to give up her career for a man) and since ross is a tenured professor,didnt want to leave newyork either,they tried the long distance thing,it didnt work and ultimately what janice said in the hospital came true,ross found someone else and it ended up being just her and emma,with ross having his own family and seeing emma on holidays and rarely when ross could make the trip to paris, since it got difficult shuttling emma between newyork and paris,especially after she started school. Rachel never marries. Rachel has alot of resentment towards ross for abandoning her and emma. Also Its not one of those ‘lets break them up so we can bring them back together for the reunion’ at the end of it ross and rachel still aren’t together. Things eventually come to a head with ross and rachel but she realizes ross didnt abandon her,things just got very complicated when she chose her career over ross,and so did he. Rachel made peace with the fact that she would never marry a long time ago and focused on her career and child,but in the reunion,we see her meet the owner of the vineyard the villa they are staying at is in...and we see her rediscover her romantic side (YES I WANT RACHEL AND ROSS APART)

One of monica and chandler’s twins is trans,forcing him to deal with his inate biases due to the resentment he still has for his trans-parent.chandlers transphobia always bothered me so this would be a good way to address it. The other twin has eating issues...monica,fearing her children would be fat and have to endure the shit she went threw just for being fat,Is relentless in making sure her children are fit...this is the source of her child’s eating disorder. She finds out in the trip, its emotional,its dramatic,its educational...

Phoebe and mike are still together. When everyone left newyork i.e phoebe's entire support system (with exception of mike and ross.ross and phoebe grew apart since there wasnt monica or rachel to connect them and they were never really one on one close) she fell into a deep depression...Phoebe had been repressing alot of trauma and abondonment issues from having a very difficult childhood and the friendgroup schism triggered all of it. She’s still resenting towards everyone for leaving her,despite working on her issues for years and this resentment comes to a head when they get together for the first time in years (an awesome chance for a oscar worthy performance here for lisa kudrow). She finally gets closure on that chapter of her life. She has wonderful friends now, amazing children and a supportive,loving husband. She lets go of her anger towards them,Most likely,phoebe won’t speak to any of the friends group again.

Joey is famous AF...like a bonafide movie star (I honestly didnt watch the spinoff show joey so idk if this happens but,when he moves to Hollywood his career takes TF off). He always makes jokes about how he’d be too good for the friend group if he ever got super famous but this actually happens. When he’s invited to the party,he obviously doesnt want to go,until he’s caught up in the #metoo movement and decided to go because his publicist (?) advises him that going on a getaway with ‘life long’ friends would be good for his image (at this point all he really cares about is himself) (i dont think joey would ever assault someone,but sexual harassment? Yeah) Emma is #woke and is not happy about Joey or his presence,and when they finally play the video and the part where joey says (18 huh...its for her hot friends) emma freaks out at him,and all of them for enabling his behavior for years. Joey through all of it,learns the error of his ways and at the end issues a press release about his behavior,settles his lawsuits with the women he harassed and is genuinely apologetic for his past behaviors. His career doesn't recover (we are not in the business of giving abusers total happy endings) but he genuinely grows as a person.

Setting: i know destination reunions are cliche but i sooo want a destination reunion. Since emma grew up in France I’d say there. She obviously wants to spend her 18th birthday with her friends but rachel convinces her to spend the weekdays of her birthday week with her so she can watch the 18th birthday video (with the people in the video) they made for her and she can spend the weekend with her friends. She agrees. Setting is in a villa in some part of France they rent for the birthday week. Chandler and monica bring the twins with them, phoebe and mike don’t and rachel wants the week to be about emma so she requests ross not bring his kids and his wife to the getaway.

[aion-rsa]

TV’s Most Confusing Episodes From Doctor Who to Westworld

https://ift.tt/2WAmL4r

There has to be some confusion in a TV drama, a procession of things not-yet-understood. That’s the deal: accept temporary bafflement in the expectation that at some point, all will be revealed. Or even if it won’t be, at least there’s a reason it’s been left unsolved, like a Sudoku you’ve got jam on. 

Read more

TV

Enough, Scrappy-Doo! The TV Dogs Who Need to Chill the F Out

By Alec Bojalad and 3 others

TV

TV’s Most Stressful Episodes From Battlestar Galactica to The Handmaid’s Tale

By Alec Bojalad and 2 others

What doesn’t work is when a TV show that’s supposed to be taking you along with it, leaves you behind. That could be your fault (Did you stay awake? Skip an episode? Were you checking your phone? Was your dog doing that weird thing with the curtains so you had to get up and miss a bit?). Or it could be the fault of a TV show either too ambitious or inaccessible or illogical for comfort. We’ve chosen the episodes that left us scratching our heads; you can judge who’s to blame. 

Doctor Who ‘Twice Upon a Time’ (2017)

So named because twice is the minimum number of times you have to watch the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas special before you have the weakest grasp of what’s going on. Considering that most will have only watched it once, and that, from inside a boozy, gravy-based fug, it’s staggering how esoteric this one is – impressively so. As showrunner Steven Moffat’s farewell episode, it’s a distillation of the sort of clever, complicated, ambitious, self-referential writing he’s known for.

There are two Doctors (three if you count the post-Regeneration glimpse of Thirteen), two overlapping Doctor Who stories, a Dalek, an ancestor of The Brigadier, a ship’s pilot made of glass, a moving historical WWI moment and three companions who aren’t really there. (Or are they?) It’s about regret, or reminiscence, or saying goodbye. It’s definitely about something and is doubtless very meaningful and poignant once you crack its shell, but there’s the sense that, unless you’re one of the Who hardcore, it doesn’t really care for you to try. Why be so aloof? It’s Christmas. Let the rest of us play too. LM  

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 4 Episode 8 ‘I’m Not the Person I Used to Be’

This was a bold move from a bold show. When Santino Fontana chose to leave Crazy Ex-Girlfriend after his one year contract ended, the character of Greg – assumed by many to be lead Rebecca’s romantic endgame – was written out in early season two. Then in the fourth and final season, Greg returned but this time played by Skylar Astin. Instead of glossing over the casting change and pretending as though nothing had happened (like when, say, Ross’ ex-wife Carol on Friends or mercenary warrior Daario Naharis on Game of Thrones changed faces), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hit it straight on.

This smart, innovative series had always been filtered through the unreliable perspective of lead Rebecca Bunch (hence the extravagant musical numbers that take place in her head). So when Greg’s character was recast, the show used it to comment on our impressions of other people. ‘I’m Not the Person I Used to Be’ lampshaded New Greg with a psychoanalytical reflection on changing perceptions and personal growth. It was brave. It was innovative. It was admirable. It was… really confusing and distancing. However great Astin was in the role, and however clever the idea was, New Greg was the point at which some Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fans began to peel away from a show clearly unafraid to leave viewers behind. LM

Westworld Season 3 Episode 8 ‘Crisis Theory’

The Westworld season one finale was confusing in a delicious, grinning ‘Oh, you clever devil’ kind of way. The Westworld season two finale was confusing in an exhilarating ‘Blimey. All right then!’ kind of way. The Westworld season three finale was confusing in a way that made you feel like you’d watched the entire Terminator trilogy on fast-forward while downing a 12-pack of Red Bull and trying to rewire the electrics in your house. It wasn’t a good feeling.

I still don’t know which world-dominating AI was which, who was fighting who, what the evil French guy wanted, how many people were secretly Dolores, whether Maeve still only existed in the Matrix, and why Jesse from Breaking Bad was the new Jesus. If free will still exists by the time season four comes, I’m using mine to either get a valium prescription or change channels. LM

Rick and Morty Season 4 Episode 6 ‘Never Ricking Morty’

“Never Ricking Morty” is a particularly divisive episode of Rick and Morty – even at this very website! Some of us loved it, while others weren’t big fans. One thing that’s undeniable, however, is that this midseason 4 episode is the show’s most complicated narrative endeavor yet. “Never Ricking Morty” takes place on a “Story Train,” meaning that the plot initially goes through your typical three-act storytelling structure.

Once Rick and Morty realize where they are, however, Rick understands that the only way out of the Story Train is to reject the conventions of storytelling altogether. This means that any natural storytelling inclination must be resisted. It also means that the show burns through about nine series finales worth of epic nonsense right at the end as Rick and Morty’s “canon” is sucked right out of them. It’s tremendously challenging to watch, much less understand, and the episode wants it that way. – AB

Russian Doll Episode 7 ‘The Way Out’

Like many other Groundhog Day-style “time loop” stories, Netflix’s Russian Doll goes out of its way to establish the “rules” of its sci-fi premise. Every time Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne) dies (which happens with disturbing frequency), she returns to the night of her 36th birthday party, washing her face in the bathroom as Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” plays. That much is easy to understand, and Russian Doll has fun seeing how far it can make Nadia last before perishing and returning to the night in question.

Once she meets another person stuck in a time loop, however, things start to get wacky. Russian Doll’s seventh episode, “The Way Out,” is about as off-the-wall an experience as you’ll find on television. Nadia’s loved ones start to disappear. Then she flashes back to memories of her mother. Before you know it, teeth are bloodily falling out. Russian Doll settles in for a relatively logical ending in its eighth episode, but this penultimate installment is pleasantly incomprehensible. – AB

The Nevers Episode 6 ‘True’

The Nevers’ premise is bold enough to begin with. The HBO series is set in a fictional Victorian era where a select portion of the population (most of them women) have been “Touched” or blessed with supernatural abilities. Apparently, however, bold wasn’t nearly bold enough. The Nevers’ sixth episode, which serves as a de facto season finale due to a COVID production delay, upends everything.

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This episode begins not in 19th century London like every other installment thus far, but in a far flung dystopian sci-fi future. Earth is barely habitable and humanity is on the ropes. The only possible hope that the human race has left is in the form of a powerful alien species known as the Galanthi. If this all sounds complicated, you don’t even know the half of it. “True” is notable for not holding the audience’s hand through this disorienting experience at all. The episode makes no attempt to tone down its futuristic jargon and it’s not entirely clear what’s even happening until halfway through. By episode’s end, it’s apparent how “True” connects to The Nevers’ original concept, but no one would be blamed for needing multiple rewatches to really get it. – AB

Farscape Season 4 Episode 7 ‘John Quixote’

Let it never be said that Farscape was a TV show afraid to take a big creative swing. In season 4, we get this trippy and confusing episode (written by series star Ben Browder), which sees Crichton and Chiana trapped in a virtual reality game based on the memories of Black-T Crichton (because, yes, this was after the storyline that saw the show’s main character split into two, equally valid humans) and a neural template from Stark. The game is designed to keep C & C trapped in the gameworld until they die so their consciousnesses will be trapped in the virtual reality—wait for it—forever.

This hour of TV actually holds up quite well upon rewatch, probably because it is packed to the brim with clever pop culture references, but an initial watch of this series installment is absolutely bonkers, featuring Aeryn as a southern belle, Rygel as a version of Monty Python’s Black Knight who can shoot fire out of his ass, and D’Argo as a lederhosen-wearing Hansel who, at one point, eats baked beans out of Jool’s intestines. I can only imagine what someone watching this episode out of context would imagine this show is actually about. – KB

Fringe Season 2 Episode 11 ‘Unearthed’

Some episodes of television intentionally challenge the viewer’s ability to interpret what the hell is going on, and some episodes of television are broadcast wildly out of order, seemingly bringing back a character killed off in the previous season for a humdrum monster-of-the-week installment. You may have guessed that I have a specific example in mind for that second category and, if so, you would be right. Written and filmed to be the 21st episode of Fringe’s first season, “Unearthed” was instead recycled to be a mid-season installment in the second season of Fox’s usually pretty great sci-fi drama.

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This might have worked—it’s a basic episode that sees the Fringe team exploring the mystery of a teen girl who is pronounced dead, only to wake up screaming an alphanumeric code while doctors are working to remove her organs—save for the fact that it features a Fringe team member who was killed at the end of the previous season. Honestly, I can laugh about this now, but, at the time, it was jarring and confusing, with the network (Fox, if you were wondering) offering no pre-episode or in-episode explanation offered for why the aforementioned deceased character might be up and walking. For this to happen in an episode that also features a guest character thought dead revealed to be alive is icing on the cake. – KB

The OA Episode 8 ‘Invisible Self’

The OA is one of the most aggressively bizarre shows in Netflix history. Created by and starring Brit Marling, this two-season sci-fi series is fit to bursting with strange, at times difficult-to-comprehend concepts. The storyfollows Marling as Prairie Johnson, a young woman who resurfaces after disappearing – only now she refers to herself as “The OA (or original angel)”. Prairie/The OA recruits several disciples who she promises to take to another dimension. In “Invisible Self”, the final episode of the show’s first season, it all somehow culminates into…well, into this:

Yes, what you’re seeing there is a group full of cult weirdos engaging in an interpretive dance to stop a school shooter. And mostly succeeding! The OA‘s second season gets even stranger in many respects but it’s hard to top the confusing majesty of this first season finale.

Twin Peaks: The Return ‘Part 8’

Legendary filmmaker David Lynch has absolutely no concerns about being dubbed “confusing.” In fact, when it comes to Lynch’s filmography, that’s kind of a feature, not a bug. In-between crafting mind-bending classic films like The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive, however, Lynch took some time to stamp his name into TV history with the surprisingly straight-forward Twin Peaks. Sure, Twin Peaks was frequently abstract and strange throughout its two-season run but it had a coherent plot, which is more than many Lynch movies can claim.

That sense of narrative coherence all ends during a particular episode of the 2017 revival Twin Peaks: The Return. “Part 8” is absolutely bonkers. Episode co-writer Mark Frost described it as “what you might describe as a Twin Peaks origin story, [showing] where this pervasive sense of darkness and evil had come from.” In Frost and Lynch’s world, that sense of darkness comes in forms including but not limited to: the detonation of the first atomic bomb in 1945, oodles of primordial ectoplasmic fluid, a frog/cockroach creature, woodsmen manifesting out of mid-air, and of course: a performance by “The” Nine Inch Nails. It’s one of the most confusing episodes of television in history…and one of the best.

Dark – Every. Single. Episode.

When trying to pinpoint one episode to highlight for this article, Dark fought back and I came to the conclusion that every single episode of German multigenerational sci-fi series Dark is borderline impenetrable. Just when you think you have finally wrapped your head around what’s happening in the small town of Winden, Dark will throw in another layer to this timey-wimey, multiversal story that assures that you, in fact, have no idea what the hell is going on.

That being said, unlike some of the shows on this list, the confusing nature of Dark’s narrative isn’t a bug; it’s an intentional feature. This is a show that asks a lot from its viewers, but gives us satisfying answers in return. And it’s OK if you only ever have half an idea of what’s going on—if that’s the case, you’re doing better than most of Dark’s characters. – KB

The post TV’s Most Confusing Episodes From Doctor Who to Westworld appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[junkazama]

Tagged by @capcomvssnk

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 10 people

# following: 491

# of followers: 2544 (it was 2551 before I posted porn a couple days ago and got mass unfollowed lmao)

Average hours of sleep: 5. At most.

Lucky number: 707

Instruments: viola and violin

What are you wearing: black boxer briefs and a white "boyfriend” t-shirt

Dream job: professional musician, leader of my own founded early music ensemble, and musicologist

Dream trip: Leipzig, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Venice, Italy; Hokkaido, Japan

Significant other: He currently only exists in one of my 421 dream worlds, but I’m trying to develop reality-altering powers to bring him into the real world. (In other words, I don’t have one)

Birthday: February 13th because my mother just had to pop me out early to prevent me from being a Valentine’s baby smh

Height: 6′3″

Gender/pronouns: Male, he/his

Other blogs: @evahpirazzigold is my classical music blog. I did have a porn blog, but it wasn’t a sideblog and I forgot what its URL was and which e-mail I used for it, so it’s just floating out there in internet limbo now

Nicknames: Current: "Brine” (how southerners down here mispronounce my polysyllabic name), BryBry, B-Ry, Ms. Bitch/King Bitch/Prince Bitch (work joke), Mr. [insert last name of any coworker I currently have a thing for; also a work joke]. Former: Shabooty, Harpie/Harpie Lady (high school joke)

Star sign: Aquarius

Time: 9:41am as of this writing

Favorite bands: If we’re just strictly doing rock bands: Cage the Elephant, Disturbed, Rage Against the Machine.

Favorite artist: Alex Ross, Kevin Wada

Favorite tumblr artist: @pliskin

Song stuck in your head: What Lovers Do by Maroon 5 ft. SZA, Until Then by s/he

Last movie you watched: Black Panther, which I’ll probably be going to see again today since I skipped work today.

Last show you watched: The last thing on my Hulu is Barefoot Contessa.

Why did you make your blog: A now former friend of mine convinced me to join about 7 years ago and set up my blog for me, although it took me a long while to actually start using it.

What do you post: comic books, fighting games, half naked men, shitposts, humorous things, just a little bit of everything

Fandom contributions: Many of my fighting game gif posts are widely popular. My celebrity edits are popular with Marvel cast fan blogs.

Last thing you googled: cremona school of violin making

Ao3: I do not know what this is.

Do you ever get asks: Yeah, although mobile for some reason automatically opens them and marks them as read so I sometimes don’t see them until days later smh

How did you get the idea for your url: i’m a lowkey attention whore, so i needed a good url to make other people salty, and what better url than the main character of one of the most popular fighting games in the world.

Favorite food: cheesecake (either classic style or new york style) and plenty of its flavor variations, my mother’s mac and cheese casserole recipe (which I can make better than her), the general tso’s chicken at my local chinese restaurant, “American” type foods (hotdogs with chili, burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, etc), and most importantly: carrot cake

Last book you read: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

Top 3 fictional universes: Prequel trilogy Star Wars because it was beautiful as fuck before the Empire fucked up the government and ecosystems, Marvel Cinematic Universe because it’s basically just this universe except with super powers and aliens, any one of my made up daydream universes because my life is ideal in all of them lmao

Tag 10 people: lemme see, who didn’t Lou tag.... @dae-break @gochugaru @dobokun @joltikeon @sakkakumon @selfieswithsatan @bardock-the-father-of-goku @barebacktothefuture @sfex2 @michellechang @ironfist @theblackmegadeus @pliskin