#me when one direction reunites 10 years from now

[4ugust]

i love how she’s looking around like “is anyone else seeing this?!?!?!”

[punkshort]

Chapter warnings: references to PTSD and SA, language, soft and fluffy Joel, some mild sexual references

Chapter Eighteen

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

Tommy slid down from his horse as the other four members of his party glanced at him curiously and lowered their weapons. He stomped across the road with his eyes locked on Joel, looking him over before breaking out into a huge grin. Joel was frozen to the ground in disbelief, wondering if he had finally lost his mind until Tommy's arms wrapped around him. When he felt his brother's embrace, he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled him further into the hug, swaying back and forth and clapping his back.

You stood behind Joel and watched as the brothers reunited. Tommy's face was lit up, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears, not yet registering your presence. Joel's eyes were closed, but you could read him like a book, relief written all over his face. He was smiling into Tommy's shoulder, unable to keep his tough guy act up through his happiness, and you couldn't help but smile, yourself. It's been a long time since you saw him this elated. He had suffered a lot over the past year right along with you, and now, finally, something was going right. Your mind flickered back to your parents and what it would have been like, if you were able to reunite with them this way. It brought a sadness to your face, which you quickly wiped away when the brothers finally broke their hug.

"How in the hell did'ya make it all the way out here?" Tommy asked. Joel rubbed the back of his neck and cast a glance in your direction.

"Had some help," he said, still smiling, and Tommy finally turned his attention to you. You could see the realization slowly register as he recognized you. He gave you a half smile and shook his finger in your direction, then glanced back quickly at Joel, giving him a sly look before meeting your gaze once again, saying your name. You were surprised he even knew your name before the outbreak, let alone remembered it now.

"Hey... Mr. Miller," you said awkwardly. Tommy laughed and shook his head, heading towards you with his arms spread wide.

"I think you can call me 'Tommy', darlin'. I ain't your boss anymore." Your body tensed as you saw him about to envelop you into a hug, but fortunately Joel was two steps ahead and swooped in front of you, clasping his arms around Tommy again, cutting him off.

"I can't believe it's really you. C'mere," Joel said, trying to smooth it over. You could see Tommy's confused smile as he looked at Joel, but he let it go. He pulled back and waved the others over who were watching from the tree line with amused expressions. They slid off their horses and left them to graze as they strolled over to join you.

Tommy introduced you both to his group. Maria was the presumed leader, a beautiful woman with ebony skin and a quick wit. Also with them was a man who looked to be in his mid-50s with salt and pepper hair named Eugene, another man probably a little older named Seth, and a younger man with black hair named Jesse. Now that there was no threat, they all seemed very welcoming and pleasant. You noticed Maria caught your eye a few times, inspecting you closely, but you didn't get a bad feeling from her the way you did with Amy. You picked up a protective instinct, like she was concerned about you.

You all stood around in a circle as Tommy explained where his group lived. It was a place called Jackson not too far from where you were standing. There were about 30 people or so developing a sanctuary around a once gated community that existed there. As Tommy droned on about the advancements they were making with the place, Maria sidled up to you.

"Hey," she said, giving you a warm smile.

"Hey," you said back. "Thanks for not shooting us." She laughed, a sound that brought a genuine smile to your face, which Joel noticed when he turned his head briefly at the sound before focusing back on Tommy.

"Sorry about that. We are all bark and very little bite. The place we are building is in the middle of nowhere, and we'd like to keep it off the radar. Keep it safe," you nodded in understanding as she continued.

"We have a great group of people so far. It's really starting to feel like before. Like, life can be somewhat normal again."

"You really believe that?" you asked her before you could consider your words. "I don't mean any offense, but we've been traveling for a while. The QZs and other... places. They all think they can make it work, but there's always a catch."

Maria regarded you carefully, as if she confirmed something she already suspected.

"It's safe. It's not like those places. We are incredibly careful about who we let in. We haven't had to yet, but if need be, by democratic vote, if anyone steps out of line, they're out." The way her stare bored into you made it feel like she was trying to tell you something. Like she was trying to convey a message, and you were beginning to figure it out. Your eyes shifted back to the group of men chatting away, Joel's gaze frequently finding its way back to you to make sure you were alright. Maria took a step closer, but she didn't place a finger on you, giving you space.

"When did it happen?" she asked you quietly.

You sucked in a breath through your teeth and stared at the ground. You kicked at a weed sticking up through the dirt, trying to buy yourself some time.

"How did you know?" you asked without looking up.

"I used to be an Assistant District Attorney in Omaha," she said lowly, making sure the men didn't overhear. "I saw a lot of women like you come through my office. I prosecuted hundreds of men on sexual assault. And I've witnessed the aftermath... I guess I'm just sensitive to it now."

You nodded, blinking back tears as you stared at the ground.

"There was another community," you whispered. "They had a... system. That we were not told about when we joined." You looked up at Maria and you could see the disgust in her face. "The women were expected to..." you trailed off and she nodded, holding her hand up to cut you off.

"I can figure out the rest," she said. "No need to rehash it. When?"

"Umm," you took a shaky breath and looked up at the sky, the crisp fall air making your cheeks rosy. "Few months ago, I guess."

As if he could sense your energy, Joel turned his head to look at you, then Maria, then back at you, waiting until you met his eyes. You did, and you nodded to him, letting him know you were ok. He gave you one last look before turning his attention back to Tommy.

"Are you and him...?" Maria asked, catching Joel's looks in your direction. You nodded and finally met her gaze.

"Yeah. We all knew each other before. They were technically my bosses, although saying that now sounds so strange." You couldn't help but laugh at how much has changed in a year. "But he and I... that didn't happen til after. Well, kind of. It's a long story." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"It always is." You smiled and bit your lip, then she asked, "Does he take care of you?"

You looked back over your shoulder at Joel while he laughed at something Tommy said. You nodded and turned back to Maria.

"Yeah," you said, "he takes care of me. He... he saved me. In more ways than one."

Maria nodded at your words, as if it was all she needed to hear.

"Join us," she said. "Both of you. We could use another contractor, and I think you'd really like it. It can be a home, if you help us."

Your thoughts drifted to Yellowstone, to the imaginary house Joel would fix up for you to live, just the two of you. Maybe on the edge of a beautiful lake, surrounded by trees and wildlife. But then you remembered Joel's face when he held his brother, and your chest ached. You would have given anything to hug your parents again. And you knew you couldn't take that away from him. You nodded.

“Yeah. Let me talk to him first,” you jutted your chin in Joel’s direction. “But… yeah. Thank you.” And you really meant it. You tried not to let your hopes get too high, but for the first time in a very long time, you were beginning to feel optimistic.

Maria took a couple steps towards the men and touched Tommy’s shoulder. He immediately swiveled in her direction, and you could see the adoration in his eyes when he looked at her. You smiled to yourself as Joel sidestepped to stand next to you.

“What’re you smilin’ for?” he murmured. You nodded your head gently in Tommy’s direction while Maria spoke softly to him, the other men carrying on a conversation amongst themselves a few feet away. He looked at his brother and then back at you, confused.

“He likes her,” you whispered, and Joel scrunched his eyebrows together.

“You think?” he said, stealing a glance back in Tommy’s direction. You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, I do think,” you said, gently poking him with your elbow, and he grinned.

“That the same way I look at you?” he asked you, still grinning. You blushed and nodded.

“Kind of.”

Your eyes landed back on Maria, and you exchanged glances. You placed your hand on Joel’s elbow, tearing his eyes away from his brother.

“Let’s go talk for a second,” you told him, leading him a few feet away to lean against a guardrail. He settled in next to you and looked down, the sun radiating behind him in the sky, warming your face.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” he began. “Don’t worry. I ain’t gonna ask to join them, we can stick to our plan. And maybe every so often we can go visit Tommy, it’s probably only a few days walk. That is, if you’re up for it.”

The look he gave you was so sincere that it made your throat tighten. He really was willing to leave his brother, the only family he had left, just to be with you like he promised. You swallowed thickly, your emotions getting the best of you. His eyes trailed up and down your face and noticed your eyes begin to water. He reached a hand up to cup your face and stroked his thumb along your cheek.

"You'd do that for me?" you whispered, and he nodded.

"'Course I would. What's wrong?" He was confused now, his brow furrowed.

"What if I wanted to give this place a chance?" you said, bringing your hand up to his and pulling it from your face, interlocking your fingers together. He glanced over your shoulder at Tommy and Maria, who were trying not to watch your conversation.

"I'm not - I don't know if you bein' in a situation like that again is the best idea..." he trailed off and cleared his throat, struggling to find the words. "I mean, do you really think you're ready for somethin' like that?"

You sighed and shrugged your shoulders.

"I don't know. But I don't think the answer is isolating ourselves forever because one bad thing happened," you stroked your thumb over the top of his hand and looked past his shoulder at the abandoned road that would ultimately lead to Yellowstone.

"Besides, I have a good feeling about this place. Tommy, Maria... I trust them. If we were to ever join a community, this would be it. We can help them build something, Joel." You squeezed his hand, and he shook his head, still unsure. The past few months, he was so absorbed in protecting you, making you feel safe, and giving you a place to heal that he couldn't bring himself to let his guard down, even for his own brother. But hearing you say you wanted to do this, wanted to try again in a community after you had been let down, made his walls start to crack. He hung his head, tucking his chin into his chest as he listened to you.

"I would feel safe with you and Tommy. But it's up to you. If you don't want to -"

He brought his hand up from his side to gently clasp the back of your neck, pulling you towards him to rest his forehead on yours. Your eyes fluttered shut as the soft exhale from his nose fanned over your face.

"You sure?" he asked so softly, you almost didn't hear him. You nodded and opened your eyes to find him staring at you, trying to read your face. The small wrinkles around his eyes scrunched and his eyebrows pinched together in thought.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to do this." His eyes closed and you leaned forward to quickly press your lips on his, feeling Tommy and Maria’s gaze on your back. His eyes reopened when you pulled away. Joel grinned down at you and grasped your hand to lead you back over to the group. Joel cleared his throat to speak, but Tommy cut him off.

"C'mon, let's go show that girl of yours her new home," he said with a shit-eating grin, and you hoped they would blame the cold air for the redness on your cheeks. There was still something surreal about seeing these two men together again in such a different world.

Tommy handed the reins to his horse to Joel so the two of you could ride back together, and he joined Maria on the back of her horse. You pinched Joel's side when you saw who Tommy chose to ride with, and he smiled, shaking his head.

It turned out that Jackson was only about an hour from where they had found you on the road. You weren't sure what you were expecting. Maybe another big, abandoned building with tiny rooms, but you were never expecting an actual town. Not only a town, but a town with walls. Well, most of the wall was done. There were a few small areas that were under construction still. Maria explained that in order to keep the town safe, everyone took turns guarding the opening of the fence. She expected it to be completed soon, and gave Joel a look.

You had dropped your horses off at the stables. The three men, Jesse, Seth and Eugene offered to tend to the animals while Maria and Tommy showed you both around. There wasn't much to see yet, it looked like a regular town that was in the process of being remodeled, but you could see the vision as Maria walked and pointed at each building lining Main Street.

"That area over there used to be a gated community, so the handful of us cleared it out and set up camp. Then, we slowly expanded, and began coming up with an idea for the town," Maria paused to give a young woman a wave and a smile as she walked. "It worked out. We had somewhere safe to go while we built out the wall further to surround this part of town. We are also currently working on expanding the wall over that cluster of houses over there," she pointed to an area further back down the road that was currently barricaded, then she stopped in front of what used to be a bar.

"This is our kitchen and dining hall, come on in and take a look."

Maria led you through the doors of the Tipsy Bison and headed back to the kitchen with Tommy to find you some food. You spun around to take in all the American western decor hanging from the walls when you felt Joel's hand on the small of your back. His beard tickled the shell of your ear as he leaned into you.

"You just say the word if this ain’t what you want, you hear me?"

You spun around to face him and mockingly put your hands on your hips.

"Joel," you said flatly, "this place is incredible." A smile threatened the corners of his mouth, and he turned his head to gaze out of the window to hide it.

"Lotta work that needs to be done," he muttered. You glanced around to make sure you were still alone, then took a step forward, wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your chin on his chest, gazing up at him.

"I love you," you whispered, and that finally pulled the smile across his face, leaning down to kiss you. His lips were chapped from the wind and his beard tickled your nose, but you didn't care. You slotted your lips in between his and gave the bottom one a tug when he tried to pull away. You could feel his surprise, then his hands came up to cup your face gently, pulling you back.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked you inquisitively as he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. You shrugged.

"Just happy, I guess," you said. His hand froze on your face and looked down to study you, as if he were trying to decide if you were telling the truth or not. Whatever he saw made his eyes light up and his mouth came crashing down on yours, tugging your chin up higher as his lips pressed firmly against your own. For the first time in a long time, he tested the waters and licked at your lips, very quickly, assuring you it was alright not to take things further. But you opened your mouth for him immediately, and your tongues danced together in a frenzy. You wrapped a hand around the back of his neck to bring him further down, closer to you. He moaned softly into your mouth, and you felt a stirring in your lower abdomen you haven't felt in months. You continued to lick feverishly into his mouth as both his hands came up to the sides of your head, his thumbs gently pressing into the soft flesh of your cheeks.

"Ahem," Tommy said from behind the bar. You went to throw yourself backwards, but Joel snagged your waist, keeping you pressed against him, your cheeks burning hot as you lightly panted for breath. Tommy smirked at Joel, absolutely loving the uncomfortable position he put his older brother in.

"Great timin', as always," Joel grumbled, but you could tell he wasn't actually mad. Maria came around the corner with two bowls of stew, unfazed by Joel's grip on your waist. She placed them on the counter and invited you both to sit. Joel released his grip and nudged you forward first so he could follow behind, trying to hide the growing erection in his jeans.

You both expressed your gratitude and began to eat, enjoying the way the stew was warming you up.

"So, here's the deal," Maria began, and you paused briefly to listen. "We don't have a house ready for you yet. It might be a couple months. The homes we have now are all spoken for, and we need to finish the wall around the others before we can assign you one," Maria shot Joel a quick glance. "Maybe you can help us build the wall, and we can get you a house faster."

"'Course I'll help," Joel said, scooping the last of the stew into his mouth. Maria smiled, happy to have another contractor’s assistance.

"In the meantime, why don't you both stay with Tommy? He's got a big house. You have the room, don't you?" Maria placed a hand on Tommy's arm and gave him a small smile, and you watched him nearly melt.

"S-sure, not a problem," he stuttered, then cleared his throat and straightened up. "So long as you two can keep your hands off each other," he teased, trying to steer the attention away from him. Your cheeks flamed hot as you looked down at your nearly empty bowl. Joel met Tommy's eyes when you weren't looking and glared, trying to silently tell him to knock it off.

Maria elbowed Tommy in the ribs before saying your name and dragging your attention back to her.

"How do you feel about helping out in the kitchen?" Your eyes widened and you felt your chest constrict. You shifted your gaze around, trying to hide your reaction, but Joel placed a hand gently on your knee.

"Do you got anythin' outside?" Joel asked her, much to your relief. You let out a small, shaky breath when she answered.

"Yeah, of course. How about the greenhouse? We just got it up and running, we could use the help planting and tending to the vegetables." You nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds great, thank you," you said.

Tommy's house was cozy, but you could tell most of the decorating was done by whoever had the house before the outbreak. When you walked through the front door, there was a small living room to your right and the kitchen to your left. The master bedroom was off the kitchen and two bedrooms with a bathroom upstairs. Tommy led you both through the living room and pointed up the staircase.

"Make yourselves at home, I don't have hardly anythin' up there. I'll grab a fresh set of sheets from my room - you need anythin' else?" You shook your head and expressed your thanks as you headed up the stairs. Joel clapped a hand on Tommy's shoulder, nodding as he moved to follow you, but Tommy grabbed his arm, and Joel stopped.

"You gonna tell me what happened some day?" Tommy murmured so you wouldn't hear. Joel's mind immediately drifted to your assault, and he tensed, his jaw clenched.

"How in the hell did you two end up together? Was she... at your place, or somethin', that day?" Tommy clarified his original question, and Joel relaxed, letting out a puff of air.

"Nah, nothin' like that. We were at work when it happened." He glanced up the stairs, eager to follow after you.

"So, how did you end up findin' each other? I mean, were there a bunch of you from the office at first?" Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the railing. Joel shook his head and ran a hand over his beard.

"I was chasin' after her down the street. She quit, I was tryin' to make her stay. Then these soldiers rolled up to the office and started shootin', and we just took off." Tommy's eyebrows shot up.

"Shit. I picked a hell of a time for a work trip, huh?" He chuckled and shook his head, then frowned. "Why'd she quit? I thought for sure you two were hittin' it off." Joel groaned and lifted a foot to rest on the bottom stair.

"I was bein' an asshole,” he admitted, and Tommy laughed.

"Man, you always were a charmer," Tommy's eyes twinkled. "But seriously, I'm glad you're both safe, I never thought I'd see you again," he said.

"Me, too. And thanks again, for takin' us in, I mean. I think this'll be really good for her." Joel gave his brother a small smile. Tommy waved him off.

"Alright, get upstairs and go rest. We'll swap stories another day. Dinner's served at 7, we can all go over together and I'll introduce you around." Tommy turned to head back to his room. "I'll bring those sheets up in a minute," he added over his shoulder as Joel ascended the stairs.

You were sitting cross-legged with your backpack on the floor, picking out what few clothes and belongings you had, when Joel entered the room.

"Everything alright?" you asked. Joel shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and leaned it against the bed, which was bare except for the mattress.

"Yeah, he's just got some questions," he told you, flopping down on the mattress with a grunt.

"I imagine he's got a lot of those," you murmured, and stood to open the closet for some hangers. You saw a comforter in a plastic bag on the shelf, along with a few pillows. His eyes were already locked on you when you turned around to toss the items on the mattress next to him.

"I didn't tell him," he said quietly, and you stilled, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Well, Maria already knows, so he will find out soon enough, anyway," you said, turning back to the closet to grab the hangers. Joel sat up on the edge of the mattress.

"Oh. I didn't know," he said, scratching his beard. "You, uh... does that help? Talkin' about it with another woman?" You could tell he was being careful, trying not to ruin your mood when the day was going so well. You dropped the handful of hangers on the rug next to your shirts before responding.

"We didn't talk about it much, she could just tell, I guess. She said she used to be around a lot of people in my situation when she was a lawyer." You chewed your lip in thought. "Maybe, though. Maybe it does help, a little. I'm not sure yet."

Joel nodded as he rubbed his palms against his legs.

"Good. That's good." He swallowed roughly, looking around the bedroom, then he gestured at the walls.

"We gotta get rid of these pictures, they're awful," and you laughed, looking at what only could be described as hotel art mixed with framed pictures of people you will never know.

"Yeah? And what would Joel Miller pick out to decorate his room, if he didn't hire an interior decorator to do it for him?" you teased, and he pretended to be offended.

"Hey, now. I got good taste," he said as you took a few steps forward to stand in between his legs. You rested your hands on the tops of his shoulders and looked down at him, still sitting on the bare mattress.

"Oh, yeah?" you murmured, fiddling with the collar on his flannel.

"Mhmm," he said, bringing his hands to rest on the back of your thighs, near the backs of your knees, gauging your reaction before giving a gentle squeeze. "You bein' the perfect example of that."

You let out a huff at his corny line and rolled your eyes playfully as he smirked up at you. Neither of you heard Tommy come up the steps and pause outside the door, taking a step back so Joel wouldn't see him. He wasn't used to seeing his brother smile so much, finding it ironic that it took the world to end for Joel to finally be happy. He was about to knock on the door and hand over the sheets when Joel spoke softly.

"I love you, sweetheart," he looked up at you, his eyes bright and his gaze soft. "I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy. Y'know that, right?"

You nodded and leaned forward to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"I am happy," you whispered. "Stop worrying about me so much."

Tommy quietly placed the sheets on the table in the hallway and crept back downstairs, this time choosing not to intrude.

Joel hummed as he rested the side of his face against your stomach, closing his eyes.

"Always gonna worry about you," he murmured into your shirt.

You raked your fingers through his long curls, scraping your nails gently over his scalp.

"You should worry about getting a haircut," you teased, tugging on his hair so he would lift his head from your stomach.

You took a step back out from between his legs, and he begrudgingly let his hands fall from the backs of your thighs.

"Why don't you go see where those sheets are, and I'll hang up our clothes?"

Joel sighed and braced his hands on his knees before standing up with a grunt. Right before turning to head down the stairs, he noticed the sheets placed on the table, with Tommy nowhere to be found. His brows furrowed before he picked them up and walked back into the room, fluffing out the fitted sheet.

"That was fast," you said, glancing over your shoulder as you hung up your thermal long sleeve shirts in the closet.

"Yeah, Tommy left 'em in the hall. Guess I didn't hear him come up," he explained, pulling the corner tight over the mattress.

"Oh, god," you groaned, and he looked up at you from his spot on the floor next to the bed. "He probably really does think we can't keep our hands off each other."

Joel shrugged and stood to flick the top sheet over the bed, adjusting it as it fluttered down.

"He only said that to get under my skin, try to embarrass me or somethin'. Just ignore it."

You watched him from the closet as he tucked the sheet under one side of the mattress, then the other side, and finished up at the foot of the bed. Before you could even say anything, Joel stopped you.

"Get outta that pretty head of yours, it ain't that serious," he shot you a grin and bent over to unzip the bag around the comforter, shaking it out a bit before tossing it on the bed.

"I don't know. It's kind of serious," you said quietly as you began to rifle through Joel's backpack, lifting all his shirts out and draping them over your arm.

"Why? Who cares what he thinks?" Joel asked, pausing as he was shoving a pillow into a pillowcase to scrunch his eyebrows at you. You flicked your gaze up to him awkwardly before looking back into his bag, then he realized what you meant. You weren't talking about Tommy.

"Oh," he said softly. "Y'know that don't bother me, it's fine."

"I appreciate that, but it's not fine, Joel," you replied, focusing very intently on hanging up his shirts so you wouldn't have to look at him.

"Hey, c'mon, I didn't mean it like that," he abandoned the pillow and strode over to your side of the room, putting his hand on your back. "I just meant that I'm fine with it."

"I know, I'm sorry," you sighed and turned to face him. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Nothin' to apologize for," he said as he skimmed his thumb over your lower lip. "Got everythin' I want right here." You rolled your eyes at him, knowing he was just telling you what you wanted to hear, but you weren't going to push it.

"Now, I've been dyin' to sleep on a mattress, my back's killin' me. How about we take a quick nap before dinner?"

"Sure," you said as you helped him shove the last of the pillows into their cases. He collapsed on the bed with a throaty groan of relief and shut his eyes.

"I'm just going to unpack a few more things, then I'll join you," you told him, and he nodded, half asleep already. You grabbed what few toiletries you had and placed them on the counter in the bathroom, then brought your eyes up to look into the mirror. For once, your hair didn't look too frizzy, having pulled it back into a neat ponytail that morning. You noticed the bags under your eyes that you didn't remember looking that heavy before, and your lips were chapped. Definitely a different look from a year ago.

You walked back into the bedroom and slid under the covers on your side of the bed, listening to Joel's heavy breathing and watching the slow rise and fall of his broad chest. You turned your head to stare straight up at the ceiling, sleep escaping you as you replayed your last conversation with Joel over in your mind until it was time for dinner.

After eating, Tommy dragged you both around the dining room to meet the rest of the group. There were about 20 or 25 people you hadn't met yet, and by the end of the introductions, your head was swimming. You weren't sure if it was due to your arrival, or if it was like this every night, but once dinner was cleaned up, the town broke out into informal groups throughout the room, sharing drinks and laughs amongst each other. Tommy slid a glass of whiskey into Joel's hand, and he looked down at it incredulously.

"We got all the essentials here, brother," Tommy clapped Joel's shoulder as he took a sip and nodded towards you. "What'll you have, darlin'?"

"Oh! Uh, I'm fine, thanks. It's been a long day, maybe another time," you replied. Tommy smiled and picked up his own glass of whiskey, clinking his glass against Joel's before taking a sip. He was about to say something when his gaze fixed over your shoulder, and he swallowed nervously. You hid your smile, knowing when you turned around you would find Maria.

"Hey there, how's your first day been? Tommy set you up with everything you need?" Maria asked, sidling up between you and Joel.

"He has now," Joel joked, raising his glass and taking another sip. "Thank you again, ma'am. This place you got here is incredible."

Maria's eyes sparkled with pride as she glanced around the room at the groups of people laughing and smiling.

"We got a long way to go, but I have faith we will get there," she replied. She and Tommy exchanged furtive glances and looked away quickly.

"Maria, why don't we leave these boys to have some alone time, let's go get a drink," Maria smiled excitedly at your suggestion. As you were about to turn away, Joel stopped you.

"Thought you weren't drinkin' tonight?"

"I changed my mind," and you gave him a quick wink before turning and heading further down the bar, finding two empty stools. Jackson had a lot of things, but they were light on the mixers, so you each had vodka on the rocks, wincing as the liquid burned your throat.

"Oof, it's been a long time since I've had anything to drink," you admitted, setting the glass down. Maria nodded, setting hers down as well.

"I don't usually drink too often, but today's a special occasion, so why not," she gave you a warm smile that you quickly returned. You were growing very fond of Maria. You could understand what Tommy saw in her. She was bold, brave, outspoken, honest, and above all else, beautiful.

"So, you're like, the leader here, right?" you began, settling in to learn more about her.

"By default, I suppose. But as the town grows, we will need to figure out a new system. It's already getting to the point where it's difficult for just one person to manage everything. I'm thinking one day of instituting a town council, an odd number of elected people to vote in the town's best interest, oversee any projects and work assignments," she explained as you took another sip of your drink.

It was just then you realized: there were lights on. Actual, honest to goodness, electricity.

"Oh my god," you said, covering your mouth in embarrassment. "I must be exhausted. I can't believe I just noticed you have power running through the town?" She laughed and nodded.

"Yes! And sewage. And plumbing, as of two weeks ago," your mouth dropped as she continued. "There's a dam nearby that we draw the power from to run everything. A few months back - Dan over there," she pointed to a man with brownish hair and a beard who looked to be around Joel's age. "We found him half dead in the mountains. Turned out he used to be a plumber. Once he rested up, he was so eager to help us that he spent every waking minute working on the plumbing for the town so we could have running water. No more bathing in cold streams for us."

You sipped from your glass, the alcohol going down smoother now. You couldn't believe the advancements they have made in just one short year.

You noticed that Maria glanced over your shoulder and tried to hide a smile. You turned in your seat to see Tommy and Joel at the table where you left them, their eyes glued to the pair of you.

"So," you began, and Maria could already tell where you were going with a playful eyeroll. "Tommy?" She took a longer sip from her drink before answering.

"It's nothing official. We just… kissed. A couple times," your eyebrows shot up and a grin spread across your face as she shook her head and waved you off.

"I don't have time for a relationship, I have so much to do around town, I can't commit to someone right now," she explained, casting her eyes down to the glass in her hand.

"Oh, come on. You can't put off a relationship for "the town". Your happiness is just as important as everyone else's," you told her.

She shrugged as she took another sip.

"What if we helped you?" you offered. The vodka was making your brain fuzzy, and you just wanted Maria and Tommy to be happy.

"How?" she asked, mostly sarcastically, but you could tell she was intrigued by your idea.

"Well, what if Joel oversaw all the construction in Jackson. Scheduled the work assignments, prioritized the labor. And maybe Tommy could be in charge of patrols: all the organizing and scheduling." Her eyes shot up to meet yours as she considered your offer.

"That would... free up some time. But that's asking a lot, Joel just got here, and Tommy -" you cut her off.

"Joel's used to it, that's what he did for a living before all," you waved your hands around. "This. He would be happy to help. And Tommy?" You huffed and shot a glance back over your shoulder. "He would do anything for you."

You could tell Maria was embarrassed at the last part, smiling and busying herself with stirring her drink. But she nodded.

"Alright. That's not a bad idea. I'll talk to Tommy in the morning, see if he's ok with it."

"Oh, he'll be ok with it," you laughed as you took another healthy sip from your glass. "I'll tell Joel to find you in the morning and you can explain to him whatever he needs to do. I promise, he'll do it."

She nodded and thanked you, allowing a comfortable silence to come over the two of you as you glanced around the room, absorbing the atmosphere.

"Tell me if I'm out of line," Maria began hesitantly, "but... how are you doing? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

You sighed and met her gaze.

"Thanks. I don't really want to give it any more thought than I already do. I just wish..." you trailed off, but Maria gently encouraged you to continue. "I just wish it didn't affect that part of my relationship. With Joel." You could feel your cheeks flush as you took another sip from your glass for courage.

"Ah," Maria said knowingly, nodding her head. "It's not uncommon. You just need to take your time and do what's best for you on your own terms. Does he... understand that?"

"Oh, yes," you said quickly, and she nodded her head in relief. "Yes, he's... great. He never pressures me, he's even careful about how and where he touches me. I just feel guilty, you know?"

"Yes, I do. You need to listen to yourself and make that decision on your own. Don't do it tonight because you're drinking, either, you’ll regret that," she warned, and you agreed. "If he really understands and he really loves you, he will wait until you're ready."

You smiled and she held up a hand to hover over your own that was resting on the bar.

"May I?" she asked, searching your eyes. You nodded, and she rested her hand on top of yours. You didn't see it, but from across the dining hall, Joel's breath hitched in his throat, seeing Maria touch you, and waited for your reaction, but none came.

"If you ever want to talk, about this, or... anything," Maria said, looking you dead in the eye, "you come to me, is that clear?" You nodded and gave her a smile, relief flooding over you at her touch as she rubbed her thumb reassuringly over the top of your hand. You turned your hand upwards and grasped hers, and she smiled in return.

"And if you ever want to talk, about Tommy, or... anything," you joked, and she giggled. "You come to me! Understand?" She nodded and squeezed your hand affectionately.

"Deal," she said, and you released her hand and grabbed your drinks, clinking the glasses together and finishing what was left in yours.

"Do you want another?" she asked, but you shook your head.

"It's been a long day, I think I will head back to Tommy's," you said, standing up from the stool, slightly unsteady. Lightweight.

"Alright, let me walk you back," she suggested, looping your arm in hers.

"Wait, I need to tell Joel," you said, and pulled her towards the table where he and Tommy sat, talking about Tommy's experience when the outbreak hit.

"I'm gonna head back," you told him, your arm still linked with Maria's. "I'm tired."

"Alright, I'll come with you," he said, flattening his palms against the table to stand, but you held your hand out.

"Why don't you stay with Tommy and catch up? Maria can walk me home," you turned to her with a smile that she returned.

He gave you a knowing look and cleared his throat.

"You sure?" he asked, clearly uneasy about you leaving his sight. You nodded.

"One hundred percent. Stay," you told him firmly, and he sat back down in his chair. "Spend time with your brother." Tommy shot you a grateful smile, but you missed it, trying to assure Joel through your gaze. "It's okay," you added softly, and he slowly nodded.

"I won't be long," he promised, and you waved him off.

"Take as much time as you want, I'm just going to fall asleep the minute I get back." If it wasn't for Joel witnessing your interactions with Maria, he would have insisted on leaving with you.

"Alright, then," Joel said, and you tossed him a wave as Maria pulled you towards the door and down the street.

Joel stumbled into bed a few hours later, trying his best to be quiet and not wake you, but he failed. You turned over as he sunk into the mattress, pulling gently on the covers.

"Have fun?" you mumbled sleepily, and he reached out to you, pulling you up against his chest.

"Yeah, how 'bout you?" he asked, smelling the whiskey on his breath. You nodded.

"Yeah, it was nice," you tucked your head under his chin and buried your face into his bare chest. He ran his hands up and down your back, pressing you against him as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

"Did you talk about me?" you asked him with a smirk he couldn't see.

"Little bit," he admitted, kissing the crown of your head. "Did’ya talk about me?"

"Mhmm," you said, breathing in deeply. "I may have signed you up for a leadership job."

The rubbing on your back paused.

"What?"

You pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"Maria needs the help, Joel," you told him, "I said you could oversee the construction. Not right away, but once you get the hang of things... isn't it what you used to do back at work, anyway?"

He smirked and pulled you back against his chest.

"We been here less than a day and you're already findin' stuff for me to do," he tutted, and you smiled. "Nah, it's fine. If you're happy here, I'll do whatever it takes to keep this place runnin'." He placed another tender kiss on the crown of your head as his hands started back up again.

The alcohol in your system urged you to reach down to his waistband, but Maria's earlier words floated across your mind, and you refrained. Instead, you trailed kisses against his chest that slowly lead up to his throat. He must have been holding his breath because he exhaled heavily when your lips finally reached his Adam's Apple. You made your way to the underside of his jaw when he finally spoke.

"Easy there, sweetheart," he said, his voice strained, and he swallowed when you nipped at his jaw.

"Sorry," you whispered, pulling back. You noticed he purposely was tilting his hips further away from you under the covers. "I just miss you. So much." He groaned.

"Me too. But I need to know you're okay first." He rubbed his thumb in circles against your arm, his pupils blown wide as he gazed down at you. "There's no rush."

You wished nothing more than to give in at that moment, but you knew it would be a mistake. So instead, you tucked your head back under his chin and he pulled you close, his back falling against the mattress as you stretched your arm across his warm chest and nuzzled your face into his neck.

You fell asleep that night wrapped in each other’s arms, the peace of mind of knowing you were finally safe lulled you both into the deepest sleep you've had in months.

Extra Scene

Chapter Nineteen

Tag list: @chiogarza, @sparklejumpropequeen-777, @shotgun-shelby @partyofone3413

[siennafrxst]

🍂 ₊ ⊹ ~ fate (sequel)

pairing: barney stinson x female reader

universe: how I met your mother (HIMYM)

word count: 0.7k words

a/n: this sequel is set in season 5, which is 10 years after the prequel (yes it’s been that long).

dt @sunflowermyheart 🫶🏼

if you haven’t read the prequel, click here to view it.

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

Ding dong.

The five friends turn to face the sudden disturbance, all with perplexed expressions written across their faces.

“Did someone order pizza?” Ted questions.

Everyone shakes their head as Ted frowns, his eyebrows creasing in befuddlement. After much hesitation, he stands up from the couch and unlocks the door. That was when the mystery person had revealed their presence, causing Ted’s eyes to widen at the sight of someone he thought he’d never see.

“Y/N?” He lets out a light chuckle, a smile forming on his face.

“Hey, Ted.”

———

“Y/N, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was in the city, and I thought, ‘hey, why not go visit my brother?’ I mean, how long has it been since we’ve seen each other in person?”

He nods, the smile on his face only growing in size as they both savoured this moment of reuniting after not having seeing each other for a few, very tiring years.

Ted turns around to spot several pairs of extremely confused eyes glaring upon the two as he snaps himself back to reality.

“Uh, right! Guys, this is Y/N, my sister. Y/N, this is Marshall and Lily — who I’m sure you remember.”

She officially steps into the room to approach the couple as they stand up from the couch with huge grins on their faces.

“Y/N, it’s great to see you again! I haven’t seen you since, like, college,” Marshall says as he wraps her in a hug, Lily following after.

“Yeah, it’s been way too long. Congratulations on the baby, by the way!” She greets as she hugs them back before promptly breaking it.

“Thank you. You know, if you’re sticking around, maybe you can get a chance to meet him?” Lily asks.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The three smile at one another once more before Ted gestures towards Robin.

“Robin, this is my sister Y/N. Y/N, this is-“

“-Robin Scherbatsky! It’s nice to finally meet you,” Y/N greets as she reaches for Robin’s hand.

Robin simply smiles before shaking hers in return. “Yeah, you too.”

“And this is Bar… where’s Barney?”

Everyone scans around the room, searching for their missing friend.

“Well, while you guys look for your mystery friend, uh, could I use your bathroom? The cab ride here lasted longer than I expected.”

Ted nods. “Yeah, ‘course. The bathroom’s just that way.” He points to a door in the near distance.

“Thanks.”

Y/N rushes her way to the direction where Ted pointed towards, spotting the door and reaching for the handle, only for it to be opened by someone else on the other side.

“Ted, you’re toilet’s clogged agai-“

That was when Y/N’s eyes trailed to connect with Barney’s, a sudden moment of déjà vu hit them both where it hurt the most.

Her face instantly drops in realization, everything surrounding them seeming to fade into view, blurring itself out of the picture. Her eyes fixated on the man, who was glaring back at her dumbfounded expressions. “Y/N, you’re…”

Ted eyes the two suspisciously, already able to tell that a secret was silently being shared between his sister and his (second) best friend.

That was when Y/N subtly shakes her head, going unnoticed by everyone else in the room except for the man in front of her.

“…just as gorgeous as I pictured in my head! I knew Ted had a hot sister,” he exclaims in a cheery tone, earning an eye roll from Ted.

“And that’s why, you don’t just come uninvited to my apartment, because sometimes, I got a creepy guy lounging around.”

Y/N frowns at Ted. “Oh, I’m sorry for wanting to come visit my brother every now and then. Especially when the last text he’s sent me was ‘sorry I forgot your gift for Christmas.’”

“That’s my way of saying that I love you very very much.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I’ll be right back.”

Barney and Y/N’s eyes linger on one another for a seemingly forever-lasting moment before he steps out of the way, letting her walk past him and close the door behind them.

As Barney walks over to sit back on the couch, Ted approaches him, his steps suddenly deafening and cold.

“Hey, you better not be trying any moves on my sister or I swear to God I will individually rip every single suit you’ve ever owned.”

Barney rolls his eyes at Ted’s feeble attempt to make a believeable threat. “I won’t.”

Barney turns to face the bathroom door, holding in a heavy sigh from escaping his lips as his stare lingers into the room. “I promise.”

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

A/N: that “I promise” is a callback to when they both promsied that the next time they’d see each other, they’d kiss.

likes and reblogs are vv appreciated.

[nogenderbee]

Hi bee, may I rqs oneshot Reo with childhood friends to lover trope?

So reader and Reo are childhood bestie but they both separate for years because reader's parents have a job or something to do that make reader need to follow their parents and leave Reo behind but they made promise that they will meet each other again eventhough they don't know when. Until few years later, they both meet again and surprisingly reader in the same school as Reo

Absolutely! I may or may've not had a bit too much fun with this... but hopefully you'll still like it as much as I enjoyed writing this! ^^

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Reo meeting childhood friend!reader

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ no one in TagList

You finally came back to your native city after almost 10 years. You knew there was absolutely no chance for any of your old friends remembering you so you decided to start a new life here.

You were just going through corridors of your new school as you tried finding your class. You brough the paper a bit closer to your face trying to read small letters, you didn't even noticed person coming from the opposite direction which of course lead to you two bumping into each other and loosing your balance a bit.

When you looked up you saw a boy with short purple hair and purple eyes, you were almost 100% sure it was one of your childhood friends, Reo Mikage. You wanted to ask him if it's really him right here and now but you just had to make sure he was alright first.

"Are you okey? Sorry for bumping into you..."

"Y/N? When did you came back?"

But it looks like boy you bumped into wasn't so patient, maybe he was even more excited to see you than you were to see him!

"Just three days ago... Reo? Right? You go to this school?"

"That's me. And yes, I do but looking at your plan, I don't think we're in the same clas... I can walk you to your class tho?"

He said as he handed you your plan after having quick look at it. At least you don't need to worry about finding your next class anymore!

"That'd be great! Thanks a lot!"

"Absolutely no problem."

He answered with small smile before he showed you your next class. On your way he also exchanged phone numbers with you and shared his plan with you so you two can meet whenever you'd like.

"How about I walk you home after classes? I'd be nice to catch up, wouldn't it?"

"Oh totally! Where should we meet?"

"Just wait for me in front of your last class, I will find you."

You nodded at his small suggestion. It was nice way of him saying he doesn't want you to get lost... but it's still nice to see him caring for you like it used to be!

Once final bell rang, you excitedly packed yourself. Not only because you were finally reunited with your best friend but also because you were getting reunited with your crush! You still remember your cute little crush you had when you were children. Some might think you got over it by the years but it wasn't your case... if anything it grew a lot stronger!

"Hello Y/N! Are you ready to go?"

Familiar voice woke you up from your thoughts and catched you off guard as well, leading to you being a bit more nervous. Not necessarily because you were the shy type but because the person you were daydreaming off just now woke you up fromm your exact daydreams.

"Y-Yeah! Let's go!"

But luckily for you, he didn't seemed to notice and slowly walked with you towards your place. Basically it was him guiding you to school gate but from there, you took the lead! But of course, it wasn't a quite walk as the two of you had a lot to catch up!

"I still find it impossible we met so easily you know? I mean... what are the chances I ended up in the same school as you after so many years!?"

"Heh~ Well I'm not really complaining. I know it may seem childish but I think it may be our promise doing it's thing..."

"Huh? What promise?"

Your question made small smile of Reo's turn into one of embarrassment and shyness as his cheeks became slightly more pink.

"Oh... it's fine if you don't remember. It was quite a lot of time that passed..."

He finally looked back at you, back with that small smile of his.

"I remember us promising we'll meet again, no matter how long it takes. Heh~ I even promised I'll fly over whole world just to find you."

That explanation finally hit you, you weren't even watching over your words anymore. You just enjoyed those childhood memories coming back to your head.

"Ah right, now I remember! It was around that time when I barely confessed to you about my crush! Hehe~ I can't believe you remembered it."

"C-Crush?"

When you looked back at Reo you noticed him blushing and with slighly wide eyes. That sight caused you to realize what you just said... and your cheeks also became a bit more red as you thought of possible ways of getting out of this situation.

"W-Well... uhh... hehe... we... we were kids! You know how kids are... uh... silly ideas and all! Heh..."

"Heh, yes... you're right..."

The two of you walked in silence for a little while. You were just about to break it by starting some new topic but it looks like your friend was faster than you.

"Do you still... feel the same?"

He was looking away, his cheeks were burning right now! Could it be that he... felt something for you as well?

You ran away from your crush once, when you were a child. And now world decided to give you another chance and if he's not giving you hints he likes you, then you may as well change school because there's no way you're keeping it in again! Someone needs to be the brave one here!

You collected all your courage and looked straigh at him as you said your next words.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

It was easy to say your sudden eye contact made the boy next to you more flustered but he tried his best to also collect his courage. He didn't wanted you to get the wrong idea after all!

"Would you believe me if I said I do too? Since we were children actually..."

His sudden confession got you a bit surprised. Not only because he loved you as well right now but because he had a crush on you as children and you didn't notice anything!!

"Seriously!? So we both were oblivious of each others feelings for this long...?"

"I-It looks like so..."

In that moment you arrived at your place, as if world wanted to ruin this beatiful moment for both of you. Boy knew where this will go so he gently grabbed your hand, also making you look at him.

"In that case... would you let me take you to cafe? Tomorrow? After school?"

You just nodded excitedly. Both of you were blushing messes in that moment but it was obvious none of you mind, after all that was the moment when you and your crush finally got together! You thought it'll only happen in you dreams and yet here you are!

He soon let go of your hand but just after he placed a soft kiss on it's back. Before walking away he said few last words...

"I can't wait for tomorrow then~"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

[nocturnalfandomartist]

💛 I Remember You 💛

Time Elapsed: 1 hour, 11 minutes

Program used: Ibis Paint X

(This doodle is me coping with the Tears of the Kingdom trailer and pretending they aren't about to be traumatized more).

BotW/ToTK will forever be my favorite version of Zelink. They've been through a whole lot together, and seeing them reunited at the end of BoTW is so sweet (especially in the context of the diaries outside of the English translation)! Such a shame everyone's probably dead. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted...

I cannot express enough how agonizing it has been to wait for more news on TotK! So when I saw a Nintendo Direct was coming up, I was unable to focus on anything else. I knew we were bound to get info, but I was NOT READY FOR THIS

Everything about that trailer was so well done, it makes the wait for May seem even longer! A few thoughts I had personally:

1. Ganondorf is pretty decent casting. I'm admittedly surprised he doesn't sound hoarse or anything considering he's a reanimated corpse, but it's still menacing!

2. I'm convinced Ganondorf and Zelda are going to take the forms/powers of Demise and Hylia at this point with all these parallels...

3. POSSIBLE MORE RUNES MAKE ME SO EXCITED! We thought Link getting a motorcycle gave us too much power... Now we have cars and mechanical gliders.

4. It doesn't seem Zelda is getting damseled! That makes me so happy. I figured she wouldn't be playable (unfortunately), but it at least seems she'll have a presence throughout the story! Perhaps a Skyward Sword situation where she must go on a journey of her own? Maybe in the form of flashbacks to the previous Zelda from 10,000 years ago? If it goes with a SS route, maybe that leaves room for a playable Zelda in post-game.

5. All the monsters look stronger than before, and there are even new ones! I tried to see if those dino bird things matched up with any classic enemies, but they didn't seem to be so. Either way, they're awesome!

6. I can't wait to explore where all the characters are after a potential time skip. Zelda especially! She got so much character in BotW, and I am going to love seeing more of it!

7. If Zelda doesn't end up becoming Hylia, I'm also wondering if the previous Zelda ends up being revealed to be the same one (same with Link) due to time travel shenanigans like in Skyward Sword.

8. If Zelda and Link don't kiss or address Zelda's feelings for him at least once I will be very sad (but I'll love the game anyway).

9. I hope to see the cycle broken here. That seems to be where this is leading! It would be great to watch Zelda and Link finish off Demise's curse once and for all and finally have the peace Hyrule has been fighting to have for eons.

10. Hopefully Link's diary won't be lost in translation this time! Adding those little details like that made BotW even better than it already was.

11. LINK THREW THE MASTER SWORD ASIDE TO CATCH ZELDA I CAN'T- But poor Fi. Hope she's doing okay with the whole Malice infestation thing. This is a stretch, but perhaps there will be a return of Ghirahim or his sword form. That'd be cool.

12. It looks like there's potential for more old-school dungeons! With the Divine Beasts seemingly inactive, Link may have to travel through monster-ridden ruins to drive them out of Hyrule.

13. I'm excited to see details on the time between BotW and TotK, like how Zelda got her hair cut! It'll be nice to see which NPCs changed and which haven't (Beedle is probably the same and will be the same even as all of existence crumbles around him).

14. Maybe the memory mechanic will be implemented again by Link recalling his past life 10,000 years ago?

Alright, sorry for the ramblings here. I'm too excited. I have lots more thoughts, but I'll share them in the future. May 12 can't come fast enough!

Reblogging is fine, but please don't post this anywhere else without linking the original post. Thanks!

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Psst hey, Wsatw Headcanon time >:) One that Tails and Sonic were separated for several years for reasons they couldn't help. They finally find each other and have a very heartfelt reunion.

*sharp inhale*

I'm not even gonna be all loud about it this time, but I will give you kudos for putting that image in my brain there Non.

==

The two of them end up being away from each other longer than anticipated, they both decided to go on separate adventures to where they ended up on different continents and had a limited amount of time to call one another without something getting in the way and distracting them.

Once they do reunite, they're still the same yet so different at the same time.

.....

Ok, screw it. You gave me an idea and I went with it fully.

==

Sonic, of course, was the first one to see his little brother once they make plans to meet up and arrived at the planned rendezvous, the kid who had always literally looked up to him, was almost at the same height as him now, he could tell immediately even from the small amount of distance that separated the two currently.

A part of him wanted to run over and tackle him into a year's long worth of hugging and never let him go, the other part of him however took over and just watched to see how much the kid had changed from when he last saw him.

His fur had become a bit darker in color and was a bit more ruffled up around his tails and head, which proved that he still didn’t keep up with brushing his fur each day like he was supposed to. The back of his ears seemed to be gaining dark, brown patches and black tips right at the top of his ears.

He had all kinds of new attire on than what he usually carried on him, a toolbelt with many pouches carrying who knows what, a blue, oil-spotted scarf around his neck, and a pair of goggles sitting upon his head.

He even had a giant burlap sack slung over his shoulder that he impressively carried with one hand, Sonic could only guess that whatever was in there was going to be quite the dinner conversation to have later on.

One thing that didn't seem to change was whenever the fox was in a deep enough thought, he tended to sit completely still and stare off into space with a disinterested look on his face. Sonic audibly dubbed this as his "Mr. Rock face", much to Tails' disapproval and his amusement. That face was currently intact and internally betted that it's been more than 10 minutes since he even blinked.

"Tails!"

He saw Tails blink (ha, called it) out of his internal state and frown in confusion, his head turning in the other direction away from where Sonic was.

He shook his head and cupped a hand over his mouth. "Tails!"

The fox’s ears flick toward his direction and a sharp head turn follows afterward, a look of confusion quickly transforms into recognition and excitement. His tails started wagging back and forth and a wide smile masked his muzzle. Immediately, he dropped the huge bag off his shoulder and lifted himself into the air, flying straight towards him.

Sonic smiled just as heartily as a laugh spilled out from his chest, raising both his arms. "Hey!-"

His call was cut off as Tails flew directly into him, causing Sonic to lose his balance and bringing both of them down onto the grass. Sonic let out a pained grunt as his back hit the ground harder than he anticipated, the kid had definitely gotten stronger that's for sure.

"Ow. I was not ready for that one." He groaned, pulling his body up and rubbing a hand along Tails' back while the other gave a small scratch behind his ear.

"Are you trying to get back at me for missing your calls so much?" He joked lightly, feeling Tails curl up against him more. Sonic froze slightly, adjusted himself to a crisscross, and lifted him onto his lap, which in turn was an awkward position since he could barely fit on his lap anymore due to this growth spurt but he tried regardless.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked gently, all he got was Tails' voice being muffled as he had his face still hidden against his chest.

"Hmm? What was that?"

Tails moved his head away from his chest, glancing up at him with fresh tears forming in his eyes.

"-missed you", He finally said with a tearful smile. "I really missed you."

Sonic felt his heart fill up with a familiar feeling, a feeling he hadn't been able to hold onto as much as he wanted to over the years. Was it pride? Was it fondness? Was it joy? He couldn't tell, all that he knew was that it only happened a few times in his life ever since he took Tails in.

When he first shared a hug with Tails after the kit finally started to be more comfortable around him,

When he heard Tails say, "that's my bro'ter!" to random strangers walking past them,

When he witnessed him take down his first badnik all by himself without his help,

When the kid managed to stop Eggman from blowing up Station Square, among many other things that happened over the years.

But this? He wanted to hold onto this for as long as he could.

He gave Tails a tender smile, wrapping both his arms around him with his cheek resting on the side of his head and feeling his brother's arms tighten in response. "Missed you too little man. So much."

==

Psst, @starrjoy. It's still Wednesday where I am so I hope this counts :)

[lokiondisneyplus]

For 30 years, Dan Deleeuw has worked in visual effects, from “The Mask” to “Armageddon” to “Night at the Museum” — but he always had a dream that one day, he might get to direct. That opportunity finally arrived in 2019, when “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo — who’d worked with Deleeuw on VFX for their three previous Marvel Studios productions — hired him to shoot some additional photography for the behemoth production. That gig led to second unit directing jobs on 2021’s “Eternals” and 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and then, finally, to the main directors chair for the second episode of Season 2 of “Loki.”

Deleeuw, who oversaw visual effects on Season 1 of the show, presumed that he was hired because of his proficiency handling the action beats of the episode, in which Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his TVA compatriot Mobius (Owen Wilson) pursue a rogue TVA trooper (Rafael Casal) to 1970s London, and then later reunite with Loki’s variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) at a McDonald’s in 1980s Oklahoma. But Deleeuw says that executive producer Kevin Wright told him he was hired as a director because, even when working on visual effects, he “always talks about story.”

Deleeuw also discussed how both he and Ke Huy Quan — who joined the show for Season 2 — were surprised by how Hiddleston approached rehearsing the show, why the production decided to have Sylvie working at McDonald’s — and his reaction to the recent decision by Marvel’s VFX artists to unionize.

Since Sylvie is living in a branched timeline, did you ever discuss having an alternative version of McDonald’s, rather than the actual McDonald’s?

We started saying, OK, she’s gonna settle down on a timeline, what restaurant do we use? At that point, there was a pitch for RoxBurger — you know, the evil corporation in the Marvel Universe, Roxxon. But it didn’t tell a story other than it was like this faux-restaurant. And so McDonald’s came up as a suggestion. And McDonald’s is timeless, in a way — it crosses countries and borders. Everyone started talking about this nostalgic moment they had with McDonald’s. So quickly getting the audience cued into what Sylvie’s feeling — being on the run so long and seeing normal people, and just wanting to have that and leave everything else behind — we’re using McDonald’s to set the audience in a place where they can pick up on that pretty quickly. That’s what kind of sealed the deal on using McDonald’s.

Rafael Casal in Episode 2 of “Loki.” Courtesy of Marvel Studios

What was one of the biggest surprises about the experience of directing this episode?

Something I’ll always try to do on any other show that I direct: It was the openness to collaboration that Kevin Wright had, particularly encouraged by Tom Hiddleston and his experience in the theater. As the scripts were getting closer to being done, we would invite all the directors to come in for their different episodes. All the actors would come in. The writers are there. And we had a week-and-a-half, two weeks where we went through every single script, and just rehearsed them and played with them and made them better. It was just this wonderfully creative moment on the show. Once we got shooting, we had a really good idea of what we wanted to do. Ke [Huy Quan] sat next to me. He saw it all happening, Owen and Tom playing with lines. He leaned over and he’s like, “Is this normal?” I’m like, “It’s normal for them!”

You’ve been working with Marvel for over 10 years now, largely in visual effects. Did you always have an ambition to direct as well?

Yeah. In high school, in college, we did small films — public access, back when there was public access. It was something I always wanted to do. Even from the visual effects standpoint — designing the sequences and doing animatics — telling the story was something I gravitated to. When I got to work with the Russos, they definitely were encouraging of that and gave me the opportunity to shoot additional photography on “Endgame” that led to me doing second unit directing. I just always approach something from a story standpoint. So Kevin Wright saw that I had that kind of brain, and invited me back for Season 2 to direct.

How did he pitch that to you?

Being at Marvel for 10 years, there’s a little bit of a rumor mill going around. So I knew that they had hired Justin and Aaron, and then heard that Kasra [Farahani], the production designer, had gotten an episode. I was like, “Ah, there’s one left!” And then Kevin called me one day and he’s like, “Yeah, so, how’d you like to direct a ‘Loki.'” “Yes!” It was as simple as that.

Last year, several VFX artists who’ve worked on Marvel projects expressed pretty deep frustration with their working conditions, which contributed to the recent decision to vote to unionize. What has your experience been with those issues?

I support everything they’re doing. I’ve been in it for a long time. The number of hours in visual effects have been ingrained in the system for years. From the very beginning, we always had that crunch time. We take a couple months off, and we come back to it again. What you’re seeing now is, the shows are so much bigger, and you’ve got so many shows. A lot of the artists on set, and especially in the visual effects houses, are going from one big show to the next big show to the next big show. 

There has to be something that makes a better work-life balance, for the artists’ sanity and for their families and just their creativity. Otherwise, you’re getting diminishing returns. It’s your crew. You have to take care of them. That is something I think we have to think about and work out.

How did your experience in visual effects have influenced your approach to directing this episode, especially with regard to the VFX?

I can tell a story with something that isn’t there. In the original draft, there was a car chase. It didn’t make a lot of sense why Loki would be in a car chase. We decided we wanted to go a little bit more towards the dark Loki side and move away from a traditional chase. I was imagining one day, “What could Loki do?” and came up with the shadow gags with the horns and things like that. 

Was anything you did that a director who hadn’t worked in visual effects might not know to do?

You already know what it costs in terms of time and difficulty, and when you’re trying to get through your day, what you’re going do to [VFX artists] if you try to shoot without getting the blue screen just right Because I know the consequences, I’ll fight harder for getting it right, so the artists don’t have to deal with it. Getting into post-production, you know how much you can use an effect to help with storytelling, in terms of if you need to change the set a little bit, just to make it make sense for where Loki is. There’s an editor we have at Marvel, Jeff Ford, who’s cut a lot of the films. Jeff is a master. He doesn’t change his cut to fit the footage, he changes the footage to match his cut. I think that’s an insightful way of knowing how to use  some visual effects in post, without getting get too carried away with it. 

[schm00by]

Mixed Feelings about the Malware Arc (Ben 10)

The Malware arc, to me, left much to be desired. With the lesson Ben was meant to learn in the arc and the emotional impact of its conclusion heavily dampened due to the pacing and lack of buildup.

Basically, from my perspective, the arc with Malware was supposed to teach Ben to forgive himself for losing Feedback. Which might I add, is already a daunting message to tell (to me at least, I mean it hit me like a truck). In retrospect, yeah that is a hard-hitting topic that contrasts heavily with the more “kiddy” direction Omniverse is taking, at least compared to its predecessor: Ultimate Alien which often (to the best of their ability when the network was breathing down their necks) tackled darker topics and had a moodier atmosphere.

This message was reached and confirmed with Past Ben and Present Ben interacting. I felt the entire scene with Past Ben and Present Ben interacting was honestly pretty hard hitting, at least for Omniverse’s first season. With Past asking Present if he learned anything, and Present saying, "yeah that losing bites" and Past, with his eyes downcast, asking if Ben was still mad at him after all these years was just wow. And when Present got down to Past's level and agreed that instead of beating up his past self about what happened, he’d instead focus on what he can do in the now (Ben's way of saying he’s come to terms with what happened and is forgiving his ten-year-old self). I actually really liked that scene; it would have been an amazing turning point in Ben’s character.

However, even with the little praise I give it, the entirety of it felt sorta misplaced. Now this scene could totally work if the pacing hadn’t been so butchered. If we had more scenes with Feedback and really saw the closeness Ben had with him then this scene would’ve hit so much harder. In this arc we barely got any Feedback scenes or really how the loss of Feedback really affected Ben other than a few one off lines about how he feels whenever anyone brought up Feedback or some, one off flashbacks of 11 year old Ben using him, as most of season one consisted more episodic episodes than an overarching story (not including the episodes with Zip and the Hunter, and Malware)

Literally in the episode RIGHT before the conclusion to Ben’s arc (the Past and Present scene) we are shown what happened to Feedback. (Malware literally ripping Ben from his alien form was just wow and I don’t even know where to start with that). If they have given us more time to digest and see the impact Feedback made on Ben when he was taken, then it would’ve been all the more emotional to see Ben be reunited with his favorite alien. Having us see Feedback’s death scene just for him to immediately be brought back in the literal next episode was just too much to swallow at once. It’s hard to explain but it would’ve been neat to see that scene with Ben losing Feedback earlier in the season. Perhaps when Ben first saw Malware, he could get a flashback, or we could have an episode focusing on Rook trying to get to know Ben better and learning about what happened through Gwen. Not only would it give us more time to digest what happened to Feedback before he is revived but we can also see more character interaction with Rook, a current partner of Ben’s, and Gwen, who used to be partnered up with Ben and maybe contrasting they’re views on him and what is feels/felt like to be partnered up with him. It moves the plot forward, does not give us mediocre, forgettable, and practically useless episodes, and we get more character interaction. Fillers are always a great opportunity to go more in depth with the characters when they aren’t doing something with the overarching conflict and a lot of fillers in Ben 10 are often wasted to random, fast action mini-plots (not to say that is bad because it definitely isn’t, I personally loved the Billy Billions episode and loved Billy and Ben interacting, but I wish there was more variety in the fillers than a one off crisis that is dealt with in random episodes)

[regularme12]

Shiro's on a rampage

Summary: Shiro's getting one of his moods, and if Keith knows anything for the years he was living with him, He knows to run and hide and fast.

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

Oh no. Oh no. nononono. This can NOT be happening. Shiro's finnally gotten one of his ler moods. He never had one since the time he reunited with the specific mullet teen. Only bc of the fact that Shiro was too busy on fighting Galra and too stress on the information about his arm, he didn't have time for that. Till one faithful day.

Keith and Lance both walked past Shiro just getting done tickling Hunk. "Whew, two down..." Shiro got up from his crouched position, slowly turning his head to the scared teens, "...Two to go." And they booked it. As fast as they can.

"YOU GO OVER THERE!! I'LL GO OVER HERE!! IF HE CATCHES YOU I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM!!" Keith motioned to him, even though he wants to not get found, he was yelling awfully loud.

"WHAT?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!! WHY IS HE TICKLING PEOPLE?! WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I GET CAUGHT!! KEITHHHH!! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!! I'M SCARED!!!" Lance latched onto his leg, while Keith was trying to quickly push him off. Then they stopped... They heard an all too familiar voice.

"Shiro..." They said in unison, they looked up at each other and back to the hallway.

"GAH! Lance! Get. Off. And. Scatter." Lance scurriedly got off of him, and ran to one direction while Keith ran to the other.

It was a long chase. Well to Keith it was, but it was more like 5 minutes. He heard a loud scream followed by loud cackly laughter. "Damn, he got caught... that just means... I'm next!!!" He thought to himself, but he was destined to not get caught, because Shiro can be ruthless.

10 minutes went by, but it felt like an eternity. Shiro went to the room where Hunk, Pidge, and Lance was all at after getting ruthlessy tortured. "Do you guys know where Keith's at? It's his turn, and I can't find him at all. He's always been good at hiding."

"No why? I don't know why you're even gonna try to attempt tickling Keith, I don't really think he's ticklish." Pidge said and Hunk agreed with her.

"What makes you think that?" Shiro looked at them, with curiosity plastered on his face.

"Well... Keith's like... emoooo... so he doesn't give off the ticklish vibe." The yellow paladdin explained.

"I don't know guys, he seemed pretty scared, and he was running faster than I ever seen him run before."

"Yeah, Lance is right, I've lived with him most of my life, if I know anything about that kid, I'd know if he was super ticklish, and he is."

"NO WAY!! KEITH'S TICKLISH?!" Pidge shot up, Hink followed right after her.

"YOU GOTTA GO GRAB HIM AND BRING HIM HERE! WE HAVE TO SEE THIS!!!"

"Yh, It'll give me a nother reason to tease him." Lance. Ofcourse it was Lance, he's so snarky and sassy.

"Alr, I'll find him." And Shiro did. Keith was hiding in his lion, so obvious!!!

The red paladin squealed and protested, he was running around inside his lion with Shiro hot on his trails, before being cornered. "Wait, Shiro please! Can we talk about this?!"

"I just don't understand why you don't like me tickling you, it's suppose to be fun...~" Shiro whined, feeling hurt, but that was all an act.

"It WOULD be fun if you know how to acc tickle. But no you don't! It hurts when you do it, not tickle, HURT!!"

Shiro felt hurt by this, "Wow, Keith I didn't think u thought of me like that... You've lived with me so long and haven't told me that till now..." Keith felt sad that he hurt his brother figure.

"Look, I'm sorry alr? I didn't mean to say thAT-" Shiro saw his oppurtinity to pick him up and Throw him over his shoulder. "Wha-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! PUT ME DOWN!! If you're gonna tickle me do it here!! There's no point in switching locations!!"

"Oh there is, everybody else wants to see you getting tickled, so I feel obligated to show them just how ticklish you were."

Keith's heart sunk. He felt his face burning up and the feeling of being embarrassed rushing over him. No way is his brother gonna tickle him infront of EVERYONE!! That's his biggest fear getting tickled. I mean he can do it with just one person alone, but othe people watching him squirm and laugh uncontrollably where everyone else can just watch and tease him about it?! Hell no!! He was not gonna go down with out a fight. He started punching Shiro's back. He couldn't tickle him to let him go bc he was simply not ticklish, so Keith found it unfair. "NO! SHIRO! DON'T YOU DIDN'T TICKLE THEM INFRONT OF ANYBODY!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE ME!!! Come on~ we're friends, more like family, you wouldn't do this to family, right? RIGHT?!"

"Well I find it kinda amussing they didn't know you were ticklish, so I'm gonna show them."

"NO SHIRO!! NOOOO! STOOOPPPP!!!" Shiro went to the room every the paladins were waiting patiently. Shiro through him on the ground and placed himself on his waist.

"Stop! Shiro!! Don't tickle me hereeee!! Everyone's watching." Keith was averting his gaze from everyone else, but it was clear they all had big meanacing smiles on their faces.

Shiro was tryna pull Keith's arm up to tickle his ribs, but he was putting up a fight. Thankfully Shiro's robotic arm made him stronger and lifted his arm up with ease. Keith was using his other free arm to hold Shiro's other free arm, to no avail. "God! Shiro, Knock it off!!!"

"No can do, kid. You know this will not end well..." And there Shiro started scratching the latter's ribs, making him buck his hips and laugh wildly.

"GAHAHAHAHA!! SHIHIHIHIRO NOT THEHEHEHERE!!"

"Wow Keith, I didn't think u were THAT ticklish, let alone ticklish at all. I gotta write this down, for good knowledge." Pidge started scritching in her notebook, from where Keith's most ticklish, to the reactions he causes while getting tickled in said spot.

"Hey, Pidge, Mind letting me in on this too? I kinda need to know the good spots to target." Hunk asked.

"Yh, sure."

"NO! DOHOHOHON'T WRITE THIHIHIS DOWN!! YOU!! YOHOHOJOU FREAKS!!!"

"*Gasp* Keith! Did you j call your teamates freaks?! You know what comes next after being so mean to other people???" Shiro started wrigling his finger fast on the mullet's ribcage, side to side.

"No! Ihihjhi Don't!! Shihihihiro!! It huhuhuhurts...." Keith whined, but went back to his usual laughter after his brother figure targeted his sides.

"Guys? You wanna join in on this?"

"YEAH!!" Pidge and Hunk sat on both of Keith's legs, Pidge kneading his knee, while Hunk squeezed his thigh.

"GAHAHAHAH THIS IS TOHOHOHO MUCHHHH!!!" The red paladin started feeling hot and sweaty, he was coughing his lungs out, and there was no sign of him breathing normally, so the other paladins decided to give him a little break.

"Hey, Lance, you wanna get in on this? I thought u would want to considering he's you enemy..." Shiro looked up at the blue paladin, he knew what was going on. Lance didn't want to tickle Keith in fear that he wouldn't stop even if everyone else did, only bc Keith looked so cute and vulnerable in that position, so he decided to sit out on the sidelines.

"No, sorry Shiro, I'll sit out on this one."

"Suit yourself."

5 minutes break, and they went back to their usual torment.

"Ohohohokay, Ohohohakay!!!! Guhuhuhys, I'm done.... I've hahahahd enough..."

With that, Shiro motioned to thenother two to get off of him, letting Keith lay on the ground all sprodawled out, heaving and panting.

"Damn you, Shiroooo..." He said to himself, wanting to get revenge, but then again, the black paladin was not ticklish.

[medtech-mara]

Work in Progress(es)

I won't go on the spill, you know what day it is, and I do things when I want.

Lets start with DOGTOWN SAFE HOUSE. I'm working on making things a bit more homey for V3AH. It's a slow progress. Also if someone could help me figure out how to move the sleep icon up from the bed thats there, that would be great. Right now she clips thru the bed to sleep on that dirty ass mattress.

How the apartment pod even got up there is a mystery to us all, but its gonna stay. I already have some changes to it i'm wanting to do. maybe i'll release the preset when im done.

MOVING ON--

I've been working on some Lore for the 2077 timeline, still working on the name of it.. I've been..... Scheming.... if you will with @fly-amanitaa about some of the directions I plan to take. WHAT I CAN INDULGE, is public knowledge.... and by that i mean it's been posted in my Delusional corner for a week, so my besties already got first dibs.

Kang Tao reigns as the Apex of Night City with the help of Shin Chae-Rin joining the Engineering department. Gong-Ji and the Cheol Family have taken over after the construct of Jung Ho-Seok aka Jago (Jay-Go) was ripped out of him to prevent certain Terror on the city if reunited with his Wife, Panthera, who has been missing for nearly 10 years now. The Night Jackie and V3AH break into Konpeki Tower and preform the Heist, instead of being greeted with Arasaka family, it's the Cheol patriarch being murdered by Gong-Ji.

This storyline, plays directly off the second AU. Where Mara and Jago get married and at the end you see both borg’d out Jago and Mara closing in on an AV to Kang Tao tower, the plan is to destroy Gong-Ji and the rest of the Cheol family, rip it root and stem from the garden. They killed Jago’s whole family and have been in an active manhunt for him since the news doxxed his real identity.

Then, when Jago and Chae-rin split, Gong-Ji moves in with villian intentions to use her to kill her former lover, while keeping her for his own. Knowing how Jago really feels about Chae-Rin, when all else failed to get Chae-rin to Willingly come, Gong-Ji forced her to join Kang Tao and refuses to let her go unless Jago is killed. Chae-Rin, refuses to do it. She won’t be the one to give the command to kill someone she loves so much.

When Jago hears about her Capture, him and Mara fight for a while. The moment her name gets brought up, he always wants to run to her. It’s clear his feelings for her never left him, and Mara is sick of it. She agrees to do it, but she’s doing it to get back for taking his family. Not Chae-rin, and she will not extract her. He would have to do that himself. She’s sick of being second in his heart. The mission fails (still working on how that happened), Jago is captured and assumed to be dead. Mara narrowly escapes and is nearly dead when she calls Titus to evac her. She was already fading in and out of consciousness when Odessa shows to grab her. She was left in a recovery tank while they figured out what happened to Jago. No matter what they tried, Odessa nor Azimuth could find out what happened to Jago. All attempts ended the same, countless dying. Titus, knowing that Mara is basically Azimuths Adam smasher at this point, knows that she will go Berserk and kill everyone. Odessa had already made plans to leave earth and head to Europa where colonies were starting up. They loaded the Cryotank up with Mara inside and decided to keep her subdued until she got to Europa. Which is why Mara hasn’t been seen in 10 years and no one knows what happened to her. THUS explains as to how Mara ends up on Jupiter's moon with the rest of Night Raid Which bridges our lore from cyberpunk to Barotrauma.

LASTLY...

I mentioned I would talk about the unknown cutie that ya'll have been going crazy for!!!!! BABABABABABABAABAAAADAAAAAAAA!!!!!!\

It's Joi! Yes, in the main storyline she was the Clinic A.I, but in the new AU, Water on Mars, i decided to make her human, and she is Mara's Rival for Jack's attention... one of them at least.

Let me tell you it was a struggle to make someone that might make Mara jealous, but honestly, I think this cutie will make Mara run for her eddies.

Joi (I dont have her last name yet I might have Joi as her handle....) is 29, she's a techie/netrunner who specializes in drones. Think of a hivemother, but with drones. That's her. She will join Mara's merc team when they cross paths, so now its a question.... Will Mara and Jack make it to the end or will Mara be replaced with the girl she hired to work with Jack?

Normally, Joi is my Android or A.I character, i normally only play her on Barotrauma, but I needed someone to make Mara sweat, and clearly the Media from Wellsprings Tells things, was too intimidated by Mara. (for good reason too, after Mara threatened her, she smashed in Gorge's mom's head in. Gorge is a 13 year old boy who was hired and looked after by Jack and Mara. I will tell ya'll why later.)

okay... so those are my WIPs for whenever. I have been tagged by so many people i can't even keep up with, but most recently: @glitchinginthegarden

tagging: @imaginarycyberpunk2023 @nananarc @juststayquiete @aggravateddurian @ghostoffuturespast @pacificaisstillpacifica @gloryride @streetkid-named-desire @cyberpsychotic-purgatory

no pressure. i tagged anyone whose interacted with me recently. so sorry if you already done one this week and tagged me, im fr lizard brain most the time.

[shmowder]

An excuse to ramble about my Pathologic self-insert? Oh, hell yeah.

To start off I want to clarify that my S/Is are never carbon copies of me and while we all share certain traits, I like to make my self-inserts by majorly exaggerating some of those traits and then building up from there. I am aromantic, but have a huge crush on Daniil and thus I decided to make a character who basically has his entire world revolve around this guy.

Meet Florence Vaara! A psychologist specializing in studying trauma and the effects it can have on a person. He has been close friends with Daniil since high school and the two often help each other out in their studies. They’ve been a couple for a few years before the events of the game, although their relationship isn’t public.

He arrives in the town the same day as Daniil, although he didn’t travel with him. In fact, Florence wasn’t aware the small town in the middle of nowhere Daniil had mentioned to him a few days prior would be the same town that he was going to. So when the two reunite, he panics for a bit before giving Daniil the same lie he’d given to others who were curious about his intentions. He says that an old family friend of his had gone missing, but was seen taking a train to this town. So he came here to find him. Florence feels bad about lying to the person he loves more than anything, but he feels too ashamed to tell Daniil why he’s actually here. There is no family friend. The man who was last seen in this town is Florence’s biological father. And he came to this town with the sole intention of killing him.

I always found it fascinating how Daniil transforms from a well respected doctor from the Capital, to a desperate man fighting for his life willing to go so far as to kill someone so the Polyhedron won’t be destroyed. And Florence too becomes increasingly more uncomposed and unstable as the days go by. When Daniil can’t get the organs he needs, Florence offers to get them for him. He came here to kill a man, surely he can kill someone else too if it’s for his love’s sake? His initial distant, but polite demeanor directed towards the townsfolk turns into outright disgust and anger as he starts to despise everything about the town more and more. At first he disliked the town because of the treatment Daniil was given by its people, but once he found out his biological father was originally from there, he started associating everything about the place with this man he hated more than anything. By… I wanna say day 9 or 10? Florence truly feels like it's just him and Daniil against the world.

Now, you might be asking how he gets away with killing townsfolk? Well, he mainly attacks people when he knows there won’t be any witnesses and keeps himself hidden, so the people who end up finding the body that has clearly been stabbed and is missing some vital organs immediately blame Artemy. Because who else could it be, right? 

Does he ever end up finding his bio father? Yes! Too bad he’s already dead, so Florence came here for nothing. This is also when he reveals to Daniil why he truly came to the town and they have a moment. They still have work to do, though, so they can’t stop for long.

How are he and Daniil as a couple? Complicated! They’re two people who are genuinely in love with each other, but actively make others around them more miserable because they keep enabling each other’s worst habits. To quote one of my favorite reddit comments: “You’re both just enabling each other’s mental illnesses. You’re both perfect for each other. Never change. Just never involve anybody else in what you’ve got going on.”

How is his relationship with other characters? Mostly negative! He doesn’t trust the Kains in the slightest, most of the townfolk either annoy or flat out disgust him, he’s silently seething in the corner whenever Eva so much as mentions Daniil, he’s pretty aggressive towards Artemy… Pretty much the only ones he doesn’t have a problem with are the kids since he has a soft spot for them.

And here’s the man of the hour himself! There’s probably a lot more I could talk about when it comes to him, but this message is already long enough

- 🐍 anon (except not an anon since i apparently cant add pictures while anonymous. oh well)

A psychologist specialised in studying truama -> Travels across the country to a nowhere town in order to murder his biological father

10/10, I love characters who are true to themselves. It's like majoring in psychology only helped encourage him than anything else. Truly ahead of his time.

It's interesting that he doesn't like the Kains or Eva, contrasting with Daniil's soft spot for her and the great influence the Kains hold on him, managing to sway him to their side and rope him into their biddings. Would it create conflict between them? Would Daniil stubbornly cling to his initial choices even as Florence lists to him all the textbook manipulation tactics they've been using on him?

Framing Artemy for the murder he commits is a clever choice, though murdering others is okay ingame. It's just that stealing their organs isn't. Without prior experience in surgery, it'd be tricky for a psychologist to extract a valid sample without cross-contamination.

But Daniil could also use a dead sample, and I see Florence easily weasling his way into some people's hearts who are overcome with grief and desperate for any comfort or advice a psychologist might be able to offer.

The fact he likes kids while Daniil's biggest harrasers and bullies throughout the game being kids is another nice touch. Just calling him "Uncle Florence" and waving at him on the streets before going to kick Daniil in the shin and running away.

His design is absolutely beautiful, oh my god. If I saw a character like him in a game, I'd quickly save and take a million screenshots, then go and look up fanart. The braids are my favourite part. They lowkey look like hearts even. The way he dressed, too, was such a proper and refined gentleman.

But that unhinged look in his eyes, you did it more than justice in the drawing. Amazing OC, I would love to see him cause more mayham and chaos.

[blade-liger-4ever]

As promised, here is my Ahsoka Tano x Nyx Okami child!

His name is Jesse Okami, named for the fallen clone brother who Ahsoka held as dear as she does Rex!

Now, regarding his hair, I always pictured an Ahsoka x Nyx child as having white and blue hair from Ahsoka's montrals. I love the concept of anime colored hair, and seeing as it makes sense to me, I wanted to do it. And if you look closely, I did the same for his eyebrows: the right one is blue, and the left one is white. I also gave Jesse slightly pointed ears, and sharp teeth to go with him being born of a carnivorous alien mother. Thinking about it now, he probably has enhanced hearing, and above average sight. I tried my best to have his skin match Nyx's tone, but looking at it now, Jesse's skintone looks like a perfect blend of his parents, for which I'm proud of myself!

About my only complaint are his eyes. I'd wanted to give him one brown eye and one blue eye, but Hero Forge is finicky, and I couldn't do it. In hindsight though, I'm really pleased that I gave him Nyx's brown eyes: it helps show the similarities between father and son, as well as breaks the trend of blue eyed Force-sensitives (even though I too am inclined to make Force-sensitives have blue eyes).

Now, here's the little backstory I've got for Jesse and, by extension, Nyx and Ahsoka.

Ahsoka and Nyx ended up forming a partnership after Order 66 happened. Ahsoka needed an ally who could keep pace with her, and Rex was initially too shaken by the events of the Clone Wars and the knowledge that he and his brothers were always made to be traitors to their Jedi in order to help her cause. Leaving him to recover in a safe location, Ahsoka went out to try and find purpose and survivors in order to cope with this blow. One thing led to another, and she reunited with Nyx from their time in the underbelly of Coruscant (the Martez sisters don't exist in my canon, if you couldn't tell already.) Wanting to help her, Nyx offered her his services as an independent smuggler/infiltrator/jack-of-all-trades - "Free of charge," he added with a playful, nostalgic twinkle in his eye.

Missing her old flame and wanting company in her mission, Ahsoka gladly accepted his offer. They spent the next two years searching for Jedi, leading to dead ends and close calls. During this time, the old spark of their romance reignited, and they soon found themselves truly falling in love. Even after gaining the aid of a freelance, wandering Gray Jedi who taught Ahsoka a few extra things, they found their bond only grew stronger. Before long, Ahsoka found herself with child, and Nyx finally asked her if she'd marry him. The ceremony was short but meaningful, and Jesse was born in 17 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). Although the risks were greater now for their family, Ahsoka and Nyx regretted nothing, and even when each of them had to take on a long mission, they managed to find the time for each other and their son.

As Jesse grew, it became evident that he was Force-sensitive, just like his mother. With Nyx's help and encouragement, Ahsoka taught him the basics of the Force, as well as a few tricks that he could use if he were alone or in danger. By 10 BBY, they came into contact with Cal Kestis and Merrin, learning that there was a planet hidden in the Koboh Abyss that would be a safe place to rest as compared to their constant travel between worlds. Coming to Tanalorr, Ahsoka knew it was a place that would be good for her family, and that a planet so rich in the Force would do her son good.

But try as they had to let go of the past, the Empire's cruelty was too great of a threat to them and their son - and try as she might, Ahsoka still had a fight to finish. Together, she and Nyx found a means of bringing together people who had been hurt by the Empire and tired of its oppression. Forming the Phoenix Cell, Ahsoka directed their moves and searched for Imperial weaknesses the Phoenixes could exploit. Nyx aided by infiltrating various Imperial bases, sometimes working in synch with Ahsoka for their missions. Soon, Ahsoka felt the Force calling her to join the fight, leaving Nyx to hang back and raise their son while searching for other sources to aid his wife and the growing Rebellion.

Almost four years before Yavin, Ahsoka became aware of a young Mandalorian who was unique among her kind: she was Force-sensitive, for which she'd had to abandon her homeworld and her people to keep herself out of Imperial hands. Ahsoka took the young teenage girl under her wing, but struggled to find a means of teaching her without totally becoming her master. For this, she often confided in Nyx, though she had to use code in order to preserve the safety of all. Nyx gave her much needed advice and comfort, even though they were worlds apart; thankfully, the Mandalorian girl was already well versed in weapons' handling, and most of the teaching revolved around teaching her to open herself up to the Force. When the Mandalorian girl crafted her twin, yellow bladed lightsabers, her initiation was nearly complete.

However, the Force warned Ahsoka of a darkness on the old Sith world of Korriban - a darkness that her former master was seeking out. Knowing the urgency of this mission and aware that her student was in no shape to face a Sith Lord, Ahsoka instructed the Mandalorian to remain with the former commanders Wolffe and Gregor while she journeyed with the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger to the petrified world to locate the threat. Sharing some last transmissions with Nyx and Rex, Ahsoka departed.

Halfway across the galaxy, Nyx awoke in the middle of the night to a feeling he would never forget. When later asked by his wife's former pupil, he admits that it was like "a tear in reality. One minute she was there, then the next, Ahsoka...disappeared." He insists that it did not feel like a death, both because he would know on a primal level, and that Jesse would be far more heartbroken if Ahsoka had died. Instead, Jesse plays restlessly with the Tanalorrian coyotes, growing in power and asking more and more about his mother and what she is like. As for himself, Nyx has stepped further into the light of the Rebellion, close enough for his shadow to be seen but far enough away to remain safe with his son on Tanalorr.

For now, Nyx is biding his time, watching as his son grows and learns of the Force from Cal, though Jesse keeps his Jedi tutor emotionally at arm's length and spends much of his time with his father. When the Emperor is defeated, Nyx, after witnessing his son build a silver bladed lightsaber in a Force trance, decides it is time to find Ahsoka, and taking Jesse with him, the father and son begin to search the stars for Ahsoka.

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

And that's that! I hope you all enjoyed this, and that I piqued your interest! This is what I have so far for my personal Star Wars canon, though it may be subject to editing and little changes. Regarding that Mandalorian Jedi-in-training, I will elaborate on a few details:

She is not Sabine Wren, nor is she on the same political standing as Sabine. I am sorry that I did not name her, but this character has been in my head and heart for years. Frankly, she has been there since about seaon two of Star Wars Rebels, and even then, she had always been a Jedi-in-training - long before the Darksaber arc or even the Ahsoka series made Sabine Force-sensitive (which greatly annoys me, by the way - and she will not be Force-sensitive in my canon.) Since this Mandalorian Jedi OC is so close to my heart and has been protected from the fandom/internet for so long, I will, admittedly, find it difficult to disclose many details about her, though I am hoping to change that.

A last note: Kanan lives in my canon, and Ezra remains in the galaxy and has adventures with his "space family" on Yavin 4 and participates in Luke's rebuilding of the Jedi Order. If you have questions about my canon, my ask box is open, though I will only answer SFW questions, and any hate I receive will not be tolerated. If you don't like most of the answers I give, then please move on and don't let my takes upset you. I am doing this primarily for my own enjoyment, but if I make others happy, I will be glad to have done that.

Take care, and may the Force be with you!

(Tags under the cut)

@ahsoka (as promised) @vitamaeternum @magiesheartlove @princessallura052 @fantasyproductions @escapistsatellite @cherokeefrank

[rainfallnightmare]

Chapter 10

Happily reunited

(Experiments Sun, Moon and Eclipse (And Lunar) x Caretaker Y/n)

Genre: Fluff

Warning: Swearing

word counts: 1322

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

August 11th, 2087

CBR

3 AM

Y/n POV:

It’s been three hours since Lunar has been free. We were still in Marcus' secret room with the director and Simone as I called both of them down here. Marcus was tied up and was sitting on the ground with the most angry and annoyed look I have ever seen. “What is the meaning of this Marcus!” The director yelled in anger since this was the first time in his 20 years of being here. Never once had anyone tried to steal from the company nor stolen a subject before until now.

“Like I’ll tell you, you are nothing but an idiot who can’t see what I have been doing for this stupid company!” Marcus said bitterly before looking toward my direction with death glares. I was in Lunar’s arms as he was holding me due to Marcus' acid monster that attacked me not too long ago. “If you hadn't brought that insect into this place, I would have gotten away with it but no they had to ruin everything!” Marcus growl then cursed at my direction before glaring back at the director.

“Don’t you know what you did, your action could have killed everyone that was still here. You have extremely violated a law and this company's rules that I have no choice to terminate you and hand you over to the police” The director said in the most disappointed voice before he turned towards Simone. “You're now the official head scientist of this company, don’t disappoint me until this one” The director glared at Marcus before he walked away and started to phone the higher ups or the police. Simone came over to where Lunar and I were and looked at my leg that was bandaged up by him.

“How you two doing, It must have been rough dealing with the psycho”

I was a bit bang up from the attack and having to dodge a lot. It wasn’t anything horrible except my leg getting injured in the end.  I looked at Lunar to see that he had many scars from Marcus torture. He was physically alright but I didn’t know about his mental state since he was sedated for 2 almost 3 years. “Your alright Lunar?” Lunar looked at me with his light blueish eyes. He lightly took one of hands and gently had me cup his cool yet slightly warm cheek.

“I am now thanks to you for saving me” Lunar said softly as he closed his eyes and pressed his face against my hand some more. I smiled softly as before looking at Simone and he smiled at the wholesome moment. “Let’s get him back to the others, They're gonna be very happy to see the both of you” Simone said as he went over to the director and talked to him.

“Are you ready to go see the others?” Lunar nodded his head as he still held my hand in his as Simone came back. Simone had Lunar follow him while I was being carried in Lunar’s arm since I wasn’t in the condition to walk right now. As we got to the guys chambers, Simone opened it and let Lunar and I in as we saw a large hole in the wall that led outside.

My astral boys are still in the room as they turn to see the three of us. Sun, Moon and Eclipse froze when they saw Lunar and I. “L-Lunar?” Sun spoke in surprise as he didn't know if this was real or not. Lunar tense up at first but nodded his head as he gently set me down onto the floor so Simone could hold me up. It was even a second before Lunar quickly ran over to the others and hugged Sun.

“I-I missed you guys s-so much!” Lunar said as he sob into Sun chest as Moon and Eclipse joined in and it became a group hug. All of them were so happy to have Lunar back and is alive. I was so happy for them that my eyes had tears of happiness.

“You're quite the interesting person Y/n” Simone spoke as I quickly wiped my tears away and looked at Simone confused. “What do you mean by that?” Simone chuckled softly for the first time without fear as he looked at me. “You always make the impossible possible, I wouldn't know what to do when it came to Marcus and his whole evil plan but you managed to face it and won in the end” I was surprised by this compliment from Simone.

“I'm not that special, I'm just a regular human being” I looked at the four boys to see them all happy with each other. “You may not see it but to them, you're more than just a regular being Y/n. You're special to them” Simone said as he helped me walk over to the four as Moon looked to see us heading towards them. Lunar, Sun and Eclipse looked as before Simone and I stopped in front of them which caused Simone to let me go as Sun picked me up into his arms. “I'm so happy you brought Lunar back to us Sunstar, we are so glad to have you in our lives” Sun spun both of us around causing me to laugh at his silliness before he gave me a kiss all over my face.

“You did an amazing job comet, I agree with sun as your special comet” Eclipse smiled as Lunar and Moon smiled as well. “As much as I don't want to ruin the moment, but I believe you should start going before the director and others start showing up” Simone spoke up as I looked at the four of them. I smiled and nodded my head as the four smiled as well. Lunar undo my bandage leg and healed it like eclipse did with my arm before as I saw that more star like marks appeared. “Shall we leave stardust?” Lunar spoke and nodded my head as the five of us left the facility through the hole that was made.

Simone POV:

As I watch the five of them leave. I heard the door open causing me to turn and see the surprise director and my crew. “What happened here, where are the experiments and Y/n?!” I pointed towards the hole in the wall as the director started to panic and was about to call the higher ups. “Don't bother, we all knew it was about time the subjects were set free” Diana said as the director stopped then sighed. I would say something but I just kept it myself as all of us left to figure out how to patch the hole.

“See you around Y/n”

2 weeks later

Y/n POV:

Somewhere in the open fields by ourselves. Miles away from the city. It was just me alone with my beautiful and adorable astral boys. No toxic environment, no government facilities and cities. Just Sun, Moon, Eclipse, Lunar and I to ourselves.

It was quiet and relaxing. Being held by the astral boys as they took turns with me. I was more than pleased that everything turned out great in the end. “What are ya thinking about Comet?” Eclipse spoke as I looked up at him and smiled softly. “I’m just thinking of all of us Clipsy” Eclipse hummed at the comment and smiled before he leaned in and gave me a kiss.

I chuckled softly when I heard a soft whine next to us. Eclipse sighed softly but chuckled as I turned to look at the others. “Alright you three come here” Sun, Moon and Lunar beamed happily as they got their kisses as well. I had to be honest with myself. I was glad to have worked at the CBR because of it.

I wouldn't had my Experiment’s Hearts to myself

End

(Hope you enjoy this series of mine)

[medschoolash]

In Defense of the Daemyra Sex Scene:

So I almost didn't finish this but I still have a lot of thoughts and a few lovely people said they wanted to read my thoughts so here it goes.

Many people didn't like the sex scene or felt underwhelmed, and I'm still confused about why but maybe this wordy meta can help put things into a different and more satisfying perspective. I'm not here to say that you're wrong for how you feel, but I do feel like the scene was great and deserves to be defended, especially since people are blaming the director, who I think actually captured a lot of special things during the scene.

I can understand that people wanted it to be a bit spicier. Who doesn't like to see their favorite couple go at it with lustful chemistry but I think it was unrealistic to expect the scene to live up to an AO3 fanfic. It was never going to be a sex scene plucked right out of fanfic with all of your favorite positions and a lot of mindless rutting, but that's okay because IMO what we got was even better, and I think they picked the direction of the sex scene for a reason.

So no, it did not have the lust-filled frantic to be with each other feel that people expected or the intense tension of that the scene in episode 4 but in my opinion this is not due to bad directing or lack of chemistry. It's done on purpose because the two sex scenes were trying to highlight completely different aspects of their relationship.

The characters that made love on the beach at Driftmark are characters that have gone through so much over the last decade, and most of the things they've gone through have happened without being near each other. Rhaenyra even says she barely knew anything about what Daemon has been doing for the last 10 years. Their separate lives for the last 10 years did not change the love they had for each other but it did change both of them. I mentioned in my metas on episode 6 that Daemon and Rhaenyra lived perfectly content lives and had beautiful relationships and children, but they lived this life suppressing who they really are and what they really want, which meant no matter how happy and content they were there was always a cloud of sorrow and regret around them. This cloud of sorrow and unending feeling of loss shaped how they interacted with each other when they were reunited in episode 7.

The most gripping aspect of Daemon and Rhaenyra's scenes for me was how you could feel the sad longing they both felt through every word, kiss, and touch. They try to talk candidly and casually with each other but even during the part of their conversation that's not about the two of them, you get the sense that there is still so much under the surface that's begging to come out but they are both attempting to show restraint because of how they left things the last time they saw each other. There is so much pain underneath the surface. Pain about not being able to be with each other, pain about shrinking yourself to conform and being humiliated anyway, pain about abandonment, pain about being denied the one thing that you ever asked for from your brother, pain about the loss of two people they cared deeply for that they may have never experienced if they had just been with each other, pain about the what ifs that played in their minds for a decade, pain about not only losing each other but losing themselves.

Their relationship has been an open wound festering for 10 whole years. It never healed completely. It partially scabbed over and just stayed there, nagging them and causing them pain while it just waited for the right time to burst open and oh boy, did it burst. IT burst in the most achingly beautiful way.

If you watch carefully, the creators sought to directly contrast the Daemon and rhaenyra from episode 5 with the Daemon and Rhaenyra we have now. There were so many callbacks to that episode, from the way Daemon and Viserys once again reunite, to the way Rhaenyra stalks Daemon through a crowded room, to the way Otto is still lurking in the wings, and how Rhaenyra patiently waits until she has the opportunity to get him alone.

At the most basic level, a lot of things are exactly the same, except they also highlight all the ways in which they are not.

Viscerys and Daemon do not have an amicable reunion this time. In fact, this time, it's Viscerys who seeks out Daemon and attempts to reconcile, only to be reminded that he rejected Daemon for the last and most hurtful time 10 years ago when he denied him Rhaenyra's hand in marriage.

Rhaenyra lurks in the shadows again, but she's not the oblivious young woman acting without thought that she once was. She's keenly aware that she's being watched and analyzed for any misstep. She's also a mother now, so she can't dedicate all of her attention to her uncle. She actually has other people to care about and tend to that distract her from whatever she wants to say to Daemon.

The only thing that remains the same is Rhaenyra's innate pull to Daemon but we later see that even that pull is clouded by hurt, anger, and trauma. So even when it appears they've once again slipped back into their comfortable and transparent dynamic, it becomes clear that Rhaenyra has had 10 years to stew in her hurt and is not about to let it go even if her heart and soul are happy to be near him again.

One of my favorite aspects of the conversation that leads to their sex scene is how vulnerable Rhaenyra allows herself to be. We've seen her angry and sad before, but all of those emotions before episode 7 were hidden from the person on the other side of those feelings. She has spent the last 10 years believing she can't be vulnerable, she can't appear weak, she can't appear desperate. When Harwin leaves and dies she can't cry or mourn, when Laenor wants to abandon him she can't lash out completely or beg him to stay at her side, when Alicent humiliates her she has to put on a brave face, and deal with it.

With Daemon, the entire facade of her emotional stability collapses. She's so openly vulnerable that she almost appears childlike again. She finally lets herself express how she's been absolutely alone to drown at court and express how angry she is that he abandoned her..

"Look at what my life became without you" is such a loaded and vulnerable statement from her at that moment because it outright says "I was a young woman in over my head and I needed you, you marked my soul with your kiss and your touch then brutally snatched it away, and I was lost without you, my life became a sad tragic incomplete mess because I didn't have you". That one line alone gives Daemon so much power, power that Rhaenyra, as a woman who has been attempting to navigate patriarchy without completely giving into it, has been fighting to hold on to her entire life and especially over the last decade. In front of anyone else, those words would make her seem weak, directionless, and pathetic. They make her seem like a stupid little girl who needs a man to guide her life but in front of Daemon, a man who she still trusts completely, those words give her a new burst of power because they are authentic and are being expressed to someone who will not weaponize them against her.

Daemon has always given Rhaenyra a safety she could not get anywhere else, even before their relationship turned romantic and THAT's what she's been missing for the last decade. That's why she's been drowning this whole time and why she's so angry he did this to her. He snatched her safe space away from her at a time when she needed it the most and from her perspective, he never once looked back to see if she could survive it.

Even the way she is the one to initiate intimacy with him and she's the one who goes in for the kiss and the way she whispers "I want you" in that painfully tender voice could have made her appear just desperate but instead, she feels truly empowered for the first time in years because even if it is desperate this desperation is coming to from the deepest part of her soul, a place she's buried for years and now feels free enough to chase.

This is the most transparent and openly broken we've seen Rhaenyra and it's not just her we see this way. Daemon also finally finds the space to be vulnerable as well. His marriage to Laena was happy enough but the man has been a shell of himself. He was completely incapable of being honest with his wife, probably out of hurt and shame and probably because he cared for her and didn't want to make her feel like being with her was a burden instead of a choice. He couldn't even admit he missed home or this brother to her because he wanted to keep up the appearance of being content in his life but with Rhaenyra, he gets angry when she seems to believe he hasn't been hurting for 10 years just like her. He's finally honest with himself and with her and he allows himself to actually be angry too because it's like do you think I was truly happy? Do you think I was overjoyed across the sea without the one person who understood me and the one person my soul truly burned for? No, I was alone and discontent too and now look my life is a droll tragedy just like yours.

They both finally acknowledged their wounds, and by doing so, it freed them to finally heal, but even that healing was hesitant because of everything that had happened between them, and that's why their love scene had to be slow, painfully tender, and hesitant. It wasn't about lust or burning passion even if the passion is still there, it was about soul-crushing longing and emptiness, and finally feeling complete.

The point of Rhaenyra and Daemon's first sexual encounter is Rhaenyra and Daemon are crossing a line they've never crossed before and Rhaenyra is experiencing a pleasure she's never experienced before. The current Rhaenyra and Daemon have already acknowledged what is between them and Rhaenyra is a seasoned lover, she's experienced plenty of pleasure from Harwin over the years. So the focus with this encounter isn't pleasure, it isn't newness, it's wholeness, the feeling of being completely filled, physically and emotionally. This longing to be whole and filled is in every touch Rhaenyra gives Daemon. It's in the way she hesitates to touch his chest on the beach and sighs when she finally lets her hand travel. It's in the way Daemon breathes her name as if he wants her to stop because what they're doing is dangerous but he also craves her touch as deeply as she craves to touch him. It's in the way she gently reminds him she's no longer a child aka she knows what she wants and what she's doing to help him drop the final barrier he erected a decade ago to hold himself back from her.

Once the mutual wanting is acknowledged, they give themselves to each other in a more profound way than sex. Where Daemon's hands were rushed and determined to please before this time, they are slow and determined to worship. Where kisses were heated and lust-filled, and without thought, they are now so beautifully soft and meticulous so that we can actually feel the deep love between them.

Honestly, I don't know how you can watch the way Daemon's fingers gently hold her chin as they tenderly kiss with so much silent passion and wanting in that first shot of them in the wrecked boat and not see the chemistry and love there. There is a sense of reverence in the way Daemon slowly undressed her instead of pulling her clothes off like a brute and the way he clutches her face in his hands after she's undressed him, and that reverence speaks more profoundly about his love for her than any rushed frantic kiss and undressing ever could.

Rhaenyra gets to slowly undress him to highlight that she's truly making his choice to have him and she has an equal amount of reverence for him as he has for her. They are two people who are slowly healing with every kiss and every touch. The more they lay themselves bare to each other, the more their love grows and the closer they are to reaching that place of wholeness they've been without all this time.

Listen this shit was better than any amount of foreplay these creators could have ever thought up. The sex scene was emotional and sexy because we got to see Daemon take her leggings down, caress her thigh, and even grab it to show how badly he wants her. We see how he rolls his hips, and Rhaenyra opens up even more for him as his hands travel to grab his ass. All of the sensual elements are there, but they are in perfect balance with the emotional gravity of the scene.

And the best part is they finally become whole, and we get to see the moment it happens for both of them. Daemon is initially on his knees when he takes her leggings off and enters her but he brings himself closer as soon as he is joined with her, he completely envelopes her with his body, and from that moment on, he never lets her go because he's finally found his place in the world again. I know there is some controversy because we don't see his face as he rocks into her, but I actually like that we don't have to actually see him to understand where his head is at. The man is buried in her neck like he needs to breathe her in to survive and he hugs her body as he experiences his pleasure like having her in his arms is the only thing he's ever wanted in life. His feelings are very much conveyed in the scene, just now with words or facial expressions.

For Rhaenyra, it's the exact opposite. There has always been controversy over her facial expressions during their love scene. People say she looked bored or like she wasn't enjoying it. I think that's a misreading of what that moment meant for her. No, Rhaenyra's face didn't look like the face of a woman in the throws of intense pleasure and passion but what we got was even better. To me in that moment, Rhaenyra's face is the face of a woman who had been drowning for years, but now she has finally reached the surface again and now she can finally breathe. The angle they shot her also gives the appearance of someone who rises to the surface after fighting for air. We also hear her take a large inhale while Daemon rocks inside of her as if she had been holding her breath this whole time. Rhaenyra wasn't supposed to look like a woman who has found pleasure. She's had pleasure with Harwin for 10 years, she knows what coupling and orgasms feel like. This moment is meant to be more impactful than that because of who she's with and where she is in life how. She's supposed to look like someone with air to fill her lungs and fire boiling in her soul again. It's supposed to look like a relief, a moment of absolute serenity and completeness that has escaped her for years. We're supposed to see the spark of life in her eyes now and the energy that has come to her entire body as she rocks underneath him and runs her hands over every inch of his body she can reach because she's found her safe space again, she's found her center of gravity and the anchor to her identity that she's been missing. We watch her come alive and transform in Daemon's arms; now she can be who she truly is without shame or fear. That was ultimately the entire purpose of her coming together with Daemon in the first place.

That's why this scene was great and almost perfect (y'all can drag Miguel over that shitty-ass lightning for the next 10 years he deserves it lol). This is why I feel like I needed to defend it because we actually got something that was beautiful and nuanced. The directing of this scene gave it an impact that was worthy of the depth of longing and love they have built between these two characters for 7 episodes. That's why I'm so obsessed with it and I hope you become obsessed with it too.

[theresnotenoughusernames]

Witch of the Week - PT.1

PT 1 of Miniseries

Parings: Dean Winchester x reader, Sam Winchester x platonic!reader

Summary: W.O.T.W. 

 A night of celebrating your latest hunt turns upside down when you meet a handsome stranger at a bar, to your surprise, you would reunite not even 15 hours later at a crime scene. After the inevitable team up, things get heated between y/n and Dean.   

Word Count: 4680

.                                                                                                                              .

“Ugh” you awoke clutching your pulsing head; the aroma of fresh coffee and last nights tequila shots filled your nostrils. 

“Finally, I thought you were going to sleep in all day” your friend Maria snickered as she threw a water bottle to your side and opened the nearest window “You smell like shit, get the fuck up and shower, your stinkin up the house”

Smiling softly as you swing your legs to sit up, you shove your middle finger in Maria’s direction and slowly make your way to the bathroom, “Made any breakfast with all that energy?” you retort.

“Duh Its on the stove, hurry up, my shift starts soon” she stated as she swung her hospital ID badge on her neck.

As the warm water hits your skin you can’t help but to relive the thoughts from last nights encounter at the bar. You and Maria had hit the bar hard celebrating a simple and deathless case a 10/10 in your books honestly. 8 years into hunting 3 years solo, and you made a point to celebrate any and every little win you get. 

“Cheers” you exclaimed in unison, shooting back your 5th shot of the night you felt a surge of energy rush through your body. As you turned to scope the bar, you locked eyes with a tall green eyed man that caused a hitch in your breath. Opting for a smirk from the unknown man in return.

Flushed with anticipation of your potential trouble for the night, you slyly turned to inform your friend of your departure. However... she had intended on doing the same, which unfortunately, involved a plus one for you. Being the best friend that you are, you quickly ignored the pull to go after the green eyed man across the bar and turned your energy to the men in front of you. “Y/N/N this is Fernando and Steve” seeing Maria’s clutch on Fernando, you quickly gathered Steve would be your entertainment for the night. Both men were alluring standing tall around 6ft with beautiful dark smiles on their faces. You shot your friend a nod for approval once you truly started to take Steve in; Dirty blonde, blue eyes, and a chiseled frame poking out from his tight white shirt. You were going to be jussst fine. 

“Hi there” Steve offered his hand. “Ooo a formal man” you exclaimed – Something sober you would’ve probably just thought and not blurted out, but he seems to like the half disinterested vibe you're putting out. – “I’m Y/N, what brings you out tonight?” 

“Doesn’t matter what brought me out seeing now I’ve just met you” a sly smirk grew on your face as he whispered in your ear. You scoff dragging him to the dance floor not wanting to continue with meaningless chit chat.

by song 4? 5? Whichever it was, you were both moving as one sultry and (hopefully) tasteful mess; you broke off to catch some air. Steve was a blast but it was too much to take him outside on the off chance that he would get the wrong idea. Plus a tipsy smoke break of your vape was 10x better when you were by yourself. As the cool air danced over your skin, your eyes took in your surroundings, a jet black old muscle car caught your attention. You were never that into cars but you could appreciate it, plus it reminded you of the first car your dad had, long before the days of the good ol 'minivan. 

Taking a few steps to admire the vehicle you started to hear soft steps in the gravel behind you. That’s all it took for you to sober up and start to reach in your jeans for your knife, slipping it ever so carefully into your sleeve for easy access. Keeping the guise that you were checking out the car you turned your body to the side and whistled low. “Like what you see” a deep voice hums from your peripheral. “Haven't seen a baby like this in a long time” you stated as you turned your attention to the man, quickly recognizing him as the hottie from the beginning of the night. 

Judging from the smile on his face he remembered you too. Little did you know, he’s been watching you all night - taking in how carefree and effortlessly tantalizing you moved. “You’ve seen this car before” the man clearly interested if you’ve crossed paths before. 

“Looks like one my dad used to have, remember some crazy rides in the back of that thing” you beamed tucking your hands in your pockets still clutching your handy little knife. 

He subtly approached arm now resting on the impala. You stood your ground near the rear. 

“You from around here?” the man inquired. 

“Not really, and neither are you I bet” 

“Why’s that'' he stated.

“Cause, with a car like that – and a face like that” you pointed as the green eyed man smiled, “I deefffinitely would’ve seen you before” the bold statement rolled off your tongue smoother than your drunk mind cared to stop it. 

“Dean we’ve got a ca..” a deep voice slices through the tension from across the lot. Heavy boots and a large figure clears the distance in no time, stopping to speak once he sees your head poke out from behind Dean. “oh. i. uh. sorry De, we’ve got a call from uh Jody.” The man fumbles on his words and ‘Deans’ features stiffen ever so slightly but not letting it change the way he looked at you. If you weren't paying attention like you always did, you just might’ve missed it. Thus. prompting you to exit left before the mystery man you now identified as Dean had a chance to properly introduce himself or reply to your come on- “Welp, see you around then Dean” you let his name roll off your tongue as you walked away. “Take care of that car yeah” you turned to wink at him still stuck in his spot as he watched you walk away noticing you slip something into your back pocket. “Making new friends” Sam taunted his brother as you entered the bar taking one last puff from your vape. “Would’ve if it weren’t for -- shit -- didn't even get her name” Dean shrugs still watching you as he enters the car “So what's up with Jo”

Making your way back to your friend Maria you're ready to pick back up where you left off with Steve, that is until you're met with her sad eyes as she peers at her phone. “What's wrong” you asked with creased eyebrows as you shot a look to Fernando and Steve “UGHH Y/N! My surgery got pushed to the morning shift” Maria pouted and put the final nail in for the night. Yeah Steve was hot, but there was no way you would leave your friend for some guy you barely spoke to... You took down Steve’s number and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before you left. He even made sure you two were safe to get home and waited with you for the uber like the gentleman he is. 

Lucky for you Maria was just finishing up breakfast as you strolled out of the guest room y/h/c still damp wetting your top. She was one of your best friends since you met in middle school and you never felt like a guest in her house when you crashed in-between hunts, but there was always one rule any time you were in the house together you had to have ‘actual meals for once’. Your rule in return was to prepare her on how to defend herself and teach her any new supernatural warding you picked up. Your friendship was a nice touch of homelife that most hunters don’t get the chance to experience.. But this is usually short lived, after a night of celebrating a case closed... your phone started ringing with the next one up to bat. 

Your hunter friend Bonnie called you from a case 60 miles away from your location in dire need of some backup. Out of everyone in the community you were her go to and she was yours. Approaching hunting like a seedy tinder date, you’d check in and share locations on hunts. This time around she was hunting some nasty dark arts witch and ended up in the hospital after she finally caught up to it. 

You said your bittersweet goodbye to Maria as you grabbed your keys and hit the road. 60 miles would fly like a breeze after a hearty to-go breakfast from your bsf and your Spotify playlist playing all your hype mixes. 

Meeting up with Bonnie in the hospital was like a kick in the teeth. She looked BAD. Whatever shit she's mixing you into this time isn't going to be a one and one kind of stich. She gave you a quick lowdown on the POS plus the key to her motel, for the rest of the evidence. Bonnie squeezed your hand tight before you left “Be careful Y/N/N” all you could do is offer a knowing smile in response and lay down some protection wards. 

As you unloaded into the motel your scanner app alerts of death nearby with the same M.O. of your witch on the run. Prompting to go after the lead you slap on your fed suit. Cops were reluctant as usual, but you quickly pushed them out to thoroughly comb the scene in peace. The right confidence and badge could open any doors. 

John Doe was nailed to the wall with their heart torn out of their chest and tongue cut out. Not your typical witch run being more gory than usual, with odd markings on the chest. None that look similar from what you’ve encountered but you would have to compare it to Bonnie's notes when you get back. 

Still yet to search for any hex bags or supernatural mojo; you hear heavy steps and whispered tones from the entrance. Hiding your phone ready to scold some two bit deputies, you’re met with a familiar and confused face “Mornin Detectives” you spit out with a condescending tone and a sly smile.

.                                                                                                                              .

Dean quickly wipes the confused look on his face as he tries to analyze how to approach the situation. The other man simply scans the room focusing on the facade. 

“Morning” “Didn't know they put anyone else on this case” a tight lipped smile and serious response from the friendly giant. “I'm agent Kline this is agent Roberts”

Y/N smirks at the attempt “hmm you don't look like a Dean Roberts” you motion. “I’d prefer real names and what information you have on this case” Although you can spot a hunters facade from a mile away, you offer a chance for the men to clock you and speed up the process.

Dean finally perks up “Sam. Dean. Winchester. Only got a hunch. Your turn” Sam looks puzzled but accepts the events unfolding in front of him, offering you a quick smile and the smallest nod. 

“Body popped up before I had a chance to look into this case. Only got the cliff notes from a friend in bad shape, was going to compare to what I gathered from here” Loving this refreshingly cut and dry retort “Cards on the table” you state as you lean back.

“Would you be open to sharing?” Sam asks. 

“The sooner we get this piece of shit the better. Plus I don't appreciate the whole Bloody Valentine approach to murder. You can follow me to my motel after we're done here”

Sam and Dean share a look, Sam opening his tight lipped smile to speak “Works for me… uh” “Y/N” you state. “Now have you guys ever seen anything like this” you said blissfully unaware of just which pair of men you’ve encountered. 

.                                                                                                                              .

The ride back to the motel was brief and it just so happened the brothers already knew how to get there.. Since they were staying a measly 3 doors down. You wonder how you managed to miss them when you arrived but knew this case would be a lot smoother with backup close by. 

Deans the first one to speak when you all meet up outside of your cars. 

“Alright before we go in. I’m gonna need to change out of this fed suit.” Tugging on his collar and walking away. 

“See you in 15” 

“Fine by me”

Leggings and an oversized tee beats a suit any day. With extra time on your hands you have a chance to make the motel look decent enough for company. AKA hide the clothes you threw on the bathroom floor. 

A gentle but firm knock sounds in your ears. Jumping up from the table where you laid out the evidence you’re excited to share what you’ve found with the boys. 

“Hey. Any of you know why our witch of the week is carving Greek symbols into our vics?”

“Not really my thing” Dean states as he slides by you and gestures to his brother. 

“Greek? Huh” Sam brows furrowed as he starts a tangent of the possible connections. You clearly see the more valuable brother for intel as you shut the door. 

30 minutes pass and you are sure the carvings are related to the Greek god Eros but can’t find a single reason why the tongue or heart was cut out. Sam huffs as he throws down another stack of Bonnie's files. 

“There's nothing here. This doesn't make any sense.” he groans as he runs his fingers through his hair. 

“Dude calm down, something has to be here” his brother tries to offer some support. 

“No Dean, maybe he’s right. The only people who would understand is the witch or freaking Eros” The boys share a look just as your phone rings. As you excuse yourself from the table the guys continue chatting in hushed tones”

“Hey Y/N/N, its Steve from last night.. I uh hope this isn't a bad time for you”

“Oh Hi! No.. I'm free. just surprised to hear from you” Moreso how he got your number, you don't remember giving it to him or why this man you've barely spoken to would want to start now. You took his number down for this exact reason. So you wouldn't get any surprised calls unless you initiated it.

“Yeah, I kind of convinced Maria to have it after I didn't hear back from you last night.” 

Pushy. But the sweet tone of his voice tells you his intentions are pure which make you blush. It's been a while since you’ve had a guy care. Or rather one that you would let care about you. Hunting and dating don't tend to mix well so you opt for the occasional hook-up where you promise to call them the next day but then ‘lose’ their number. But this feels different. He feels different. You have.. hope? Shooting a glance at the men in front of you, your met with Deans hard stare, quickly you regain your composure and muster a response. 

“Yeah well a work emergency kind of took me out of town for the next couple of days, haven't really had a chance to breathe”

“You sound like you need a break doll”

—a few minutes pass as you indulge yourself with Steve before you're brought back to reality.

“Y/N, glad to hear catching up with your boy-toy but Sammy’s got a lead. Could you wrap it up.”

You roll your eyes at the comment but choose to cut off the convo with Steve… that is after you promised to grab drinks with the charmer when you get back to town. Beaming from your brief call with the Greek god of your own you join the boys back at the table. 

“So, what do we’ve got” 

“Well, you gave us an idea. Not sure if it was on purpose but it still got me thinking. We could ask Eros himself. It's super easy and only requires a few things from the store” enthusiasm dripping out of every word Sam offered.

“You sure it’ll work?”

“It's worth a try” Dean finally chips in as dry as could be. 

“I'm going to head out to the store to pick up the stuff, but get this, you need a man and a woman to recite the spell simultaneously. That's probably why all the vics have been male.” 

Satisfied with his findings he opens up the spells for you and Dean to study while he pops out to the store. After a few minutes of looking over the spell you asked Dean if he wanted to practice saying it in unison; to your luck you got it on your first try, still repeating another 2x to make sure it wasn't a fluke. 

“Beer” you suggested to Dean. 

He gave you a knowing nod and you made your way from the fridge. 

“So.. didn't peg you for a hunter last night” he started.

“Reallly” you chuckled as you took a swig of the cold drink. “You need to pay better attention then Winchester; was holding a weapon once you made your way over to me”

“Ah, I knew I saw you slip sumtin’ in your back pocket”

“While you were checking me out? Interesting” A playful smile spread across your face as you teased.

Red crept up Deans neck as he laughed at such an accusation.

“Sweetheart, the only thing getting checked out last night was my car. I guess captain America at the bar was too much for you so you had to run away huh?”

Well if you didn't think he was checking you out before, you definitely did now. For someone so short of words, he sure did know how to choke on em. You could’ve let it slide and ignore the blatant comment that confirmed he was checking you out. But you live for the drama.

Offering a low hum before you speak “Oh you noticed him. Shame really, there was a guy at the other end of the bar who looked more my type but then I got twisted into entertaining him for my friend.” a sinister smile briefly on your face as you take a sip of your beer. Carefully watching Dean as he tries to contain himself. He's enjoying this just as much as you.

Parting his soft lips to reply, he's cut off with the sound of Sam cock-block Winchester entering fresh from the store. Mentally cursing to yourself as this is the second time your bold comments go unretaliated. Finishing your beer you accept your fate and lend Sammy a helping hand as he lays out everything you need for the spell to work. 

.                                                                                                                              .

“…βγείτε μπροστά” “…βγείτε μπροστά” [come forth] 

Light fades in front of the group as a figure makes its way over. A tall shirtless man.. women?.. Figure seems to scramble in front. 

“εραστές γιατί με φωνάζετε [lovers, why do you call upon me]” a deep a soulful voice makes its way to your ears before your able to take in the figure in front of you, a tall shirtless man with chiseled abs, a jawline fit for a god and the face to match. As the boys are happy to see the plan worked Sam's attempts to translate, you on the other hand are trying to remember the task at hand as the God steps closer and makes you feel hot all over. 

“θέλετε να συλλάβετε [do you wish to conceive]” he whispers near your ear lustfully, taking in both you and your spell partner. You can't help but blush and squeeze your legs together absentmindedly, he's a god you think, the god of sex and desire, he must be secreting some sort of pheromones in the air. Y/N chill out. Your thoughts betray your actions as you peel your eyes of the God to look over at Dean, wrong move. He takes in a shaky breath as he shifts in his jeans. As the god slowly circles around the two of you like prey. You reach out to Dean's arm in an attempt to stabilize yourself. The contact sent waves of fire throughout your body and by the way your eyes locked, you could say the feeling was mutual. 

“Samm..” you croak out with strain, resulting in Dean to push his side closer to you. Sweat beading from your foreheads as you both fight the urge to keep composure and ignore the growing heat in your bellies. 

Sam attempts to explain the situation in the gods native tongue, causing the Eros to move closer to him and more importantly away from you. 3 steps was all it took for you and Dean to feel like you could breathe again, sharing a knowing glance and separating. Although it wasn't enough as you took it upon yourself to move farther away to get something, anything, to drink. As if things couldn't get weirder, when you turned back around from grabbing a drink the chiseled man who caused such a disturbance in the room was no longer there. Replaced by a woman in white who seemed to be casting a troubling effect on the pair of brothers.

“Geez could you tone down the sex appeal Eros” was all you managed to say before the God made its way over to you changing forms once again “κανένα πρόβλημα αγάπη [no problem love]” he stated as he ran a finger down your cheek. You find yourself leaning into the touch as it sends bolts of electricity through your body. But once you open your eyes you find that Eros did indeed ‘tone it down’ allowing you to breathe in their presence. “Good, now do you speak English by any chance” you hoped – Greek sounded hot but you'd rather not rely on google translate to solve your issues. 

“What is it you need, my doll? I do not know of this witch you speak of. Or the methods of mutilation, sounds more like something of interest for my father” 

“But she's been casting the same spell we just did” Sam questions as you inch your way closer to the boys and away from the sex god, testing if they will change into another form the further you get. 

“My love, ingredients are nothing without heart and heat”

“You mean ‘cause Blair witch forced the vics into the spell it wouldn't make it on your radar” 

Just as you thought, the closet Eros was to someone would affect the form they took on. In the blink of an eye a woman's hand brushed over Dean's forearm “precisely” she smiled up to the eldest Winchester. A goofy expression took over his face as he slowly pushed off the y/h/t God, looking between you and Sam. 

Eros took it upon themself to make its way over to sit by you [seeing as you were the one most open] as the chiseled man sat down, you noticed their eyes were no longer brown when he first appeared, no, now it's turning into a very distinctly familiar shade of green. Being on the other side of the room had its advantage as the boys would not be unable to see the change. Was this the reason Dean had distanced himself from Eros? How exactly does Eros choose what form or features to take on? A familiar fire warms your insides as the affectionate Greek God makes contact while you're lost in thought. 

“I am merely a lover, my doll. What can I do for you now?” you continue to chat with Eros as the brothers brainstorm far away from Eros’s lustful effect. 

“Can you tell when the witch tries to call on you?”

“Hmm.. I have felt an unusual pinch in my body in the past moon”

“You..your heart or tongue?!”

“Yes, my love. As well as my chest. It is the smallest pinch and then nothing” Eros states as he guides your hand along his chest mimicking his words. Keeping your hand over his heart Eros starts to lean in taking in your features “πανεμορφη [beautiful]” a heat rises inside you once again. Your heart beating out of your chest as you close the distance between you meeting the gods soft and welcoming lips before he devours you with the swipe of his tongue. You're not sure if it's him or his powers but you're ready to pounce on his lap - “woah. woah. woah.” a voice attempts to pull you out of your trance. Not bothering to find out who it was, you maintained your battle with Eros’s tongue, that was until someone physically tugs you out of it. Electricity fades the further you are pulled apart. Dean looked down at you like you were mad “the hell Y/N” he said with a twisted look in his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, the other hand no longer hovered over the male version of Eros, but rather a version who looked similar to yourself. The version who maintained to stay out of your sight but still in your grasp as you all stood connected, Eros whispered in the Winchester's ear falling under Eros’s spell, Dean leaned in, crashing his lips into them as y/h/c filled his hands. Something pulsed through you as Eros and Dean kissed. It was too much and it took every ounce of energy to break away and not join. While you stumbled away your head spined as it filled with vivid thoughts of you and Dean. Blinking the thoughts away, you were finally able to hear Sam, someone who you forgot about entirely for the past 5 minutes and apparently the person who's been trying to reverse the spell to send Eros back to wherever he came from. Not wanting to fall for the spell - you joined Sam's attempt. 

“..ΕΠΙΣΤΡΟΦΗ” [Return] Sam and you screamed the final part of the reversal. Right before Dean was going to mount Eros right in front of the two of you. “Thank fuck” Sam slumped into a nearby chair. Dean fell on top of the bed surprised to see the lack of person underneath him and you, well you, were as beat as Sam and confused as to what the hell transpired since it was now dark outside. “How long was this going on Sam?” You shot a concerned look over at the spent Winchester. 

“Way too fucking long. De you ok?”

“Oof never better” Dean now sitting up on the bed, holding his head in his hands. 

“Well.. i think now's a good time to call it a night right?” you were [to no surprise] left hot and horny after the whole encounter with Eros. The last thing you need is to continue the night in that condition. 

“Yeah, we’ll call you in the mornin’ to start on another lead. Goodnight Y/N” Sam jumped up heading towards the door. Poor boy, you had no idea how long he was trying to get you or his brother out of the spell. Sam couldn't get out of that room any faster and assumed/didn’t care his brother would follow suit, he needed to rest. Bad. His brother on the other hand, was still on your bed, head in hands and labored breath. Prompting you to instinctually rub his back “what's wrong” he stiffens at the touch. 

.                                                                                                                              .

A/N

- Hi pls send thoughts ty lol - 

y/h/t = Your Hair Type

  PT 2 - OTW 

[sankta-starkova]

LETTERMAN

003; the read through

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist

summary: the one where ej and andy reunite after years when they're cast as love interests, finally rekindling their friendship and maybe getting something else out of it as well

wordcount: 1.6k

Ashlyn and Andy walked through the halls on the day of the read through. Andy fiddled with the hem of her shirt, nervous.

She had never had such a big part in a show before and it made her completely nervous. She didn't want to mess this up.

What also made her worry was the fact that she was going to be playing opposite EJ Caswell, with the man being her love interest on the play.

The two watched as EJ filmed some weird video, Ashlyn running up to him and grabbing a hold of Andys hand to drag her along.

"Say hi to my cousin and my next door neighbour. They are the best. Peace!" He stopped the video, smiling at the two girls as they walked to the theatre with him.

"You're in a good mood, Caswell," Andy said, pushing her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket.

It had become surprisingly easier to talk to him since they started doing the production, neither of them feeling too awkward about their past.

"Thats just for the fans Andy. Inside, I'm a bucket of sad," he explained, Ashlyn laughing at it.

His smile deflated and she could see that he felt awful about his role as Chad even though he was Troys understudy.

"You're still not over the not getting Troy thing?" Ashlyn questioned.

"I put three years into this drama department and now I have to understudy my girlfriends ex," he said with an agitated expression.

"I know it sucks. But maybe it'll be good for you to not get what you want for once," Andy said and he scoffed.

"Why would that be good?" He asked, jokingly pushing her shoulder in annoyance. He smiled down at her and she rolled her eyes, hiding a smile.

She hated that he was making her smile, that she was finding joy from her old best friend.

"Yeah, maybe some people just are what they are," Ashlyn said with a laugh before both the three of them walked into the theatre.

They walked into the theatre, the girls looking at their assigned seats, Andys next to EJ and opposite Ashlyns.

Andy chuckled as she watched Big Red become forced to read the stage directions. He, however, struggled to read out the directions.

"So, you, ginger and Bowen are friends?" EJ asked, leaning over to talk quietly to her as Miss Jenn gave some speech.

"Yeah, what do you want Caswell?" She asked and he chuckled, he always did at that nickname.

"You really refuse to say my real name don't you," he said with a smile and she shook her head.

"Do you not remember our pact when were 9 and 10?" She asked and he smiled to himself.

"Of course I do, but I'm with Nini so being called Eej is off the table. You could call me EJ though" he said with a chuckle and she sighed.

Back when they were younger, she made a pact about their nicknames after watching pride and prejudice. He then promised to only call her Ands if they dated and she'd call him Eej. It was something she thought he'd forgotten but he clearly hadn't.

It was implemented after Cash joked to her father that the two of them were going to to end up falling in love.

"I'm sorry, but if you two would stop nattering like an old married couple, we could get on with the read through," Miss Jenn said.

Miss Jenn tried not to smile as they pulled apart awkwardly, not realising how close they really were.

"Please take your neighbours hands," Miss Jenn said, eyeing Andy and EJ.

Andy reached over and grabbed Big Red hand, not really caring as he was practically her other brother.

But then she looked at EJ, both of them awkwardly meeting in the middle, hands dangling off the table but still connected.

It felt weird, being this close to the guy she liked but also knowing that he had a girlfriend. But she couldn't fight the feeling 

"Feel each others energy, in a world full of no, this is a space of yes," Miss Jenn said, looking at everyone

Andy was painfully aware of EJs hand in hers, also aware that he had a girlfriend he was totally enamorued with.

She withdrew her hand, leaning it against the desk and he did the same thing. But it was almost like she could feel the heat radiating off of his hand and it felt wrong.

Andy pulled her hand into her lap, listening as Big Red stumbled over his words, everyone dying inside.

"And that's Act One. Let's take a break,' Miss Jenn said, many painful minutes later.

Andy stood up, looking over at EJ before walking away with Big Red and Ricky, leaving the situation. 

Two days later, after Ricky and Ninis mini melt down at dance rehearsal, they were all gathered around a box, Miss Jenn unpacking something.

She pulled it out with a gasp, unwrapping it from the bubble wrap. It was an old phone. "Here it is people," Miss Jenn announced.

"Is that a garage door opener?" Seb asked, sharing the same confused faces with everyone else.

"No. This is Gabriellas phone, from the film," she stated and everyone gasped, looking at it, "I plan on creating a time capsule display in our lobby,"

After all of that, they grabbed their scripts. Ashlyn and Andy watched as EJ turned around, mouthing a thank you to Ashlyn.

"What the hell is going on?" Andy asked and Ashlyn shrugged her shoulders, understanding nothing at all.

"I don't get what you see in him," Ashlyn said, dipping on her drink as she looked at Andy.

"See in who?" She questioned, not knowing what her best friend was talking about.

"My cousin, EJ Caswell," Ashlyn said and Andy snorted, not believing what she heard.

"I don't see anything in him," Andy promised, shaking her head.

"Sure, you totally don't have a crush on him," she said with a chuckle, pushing her friend playfully.

Ashlyn had always seen the way that the two of them had looked at each other when they were younger and she knew something was going on between them.

"Oh shut up," Andy said, taking another sip of her water before walking away. She looked back, sighing as she saw Ashlyn and EJ standing talking.

What had she gotten herself into?

After school, she stood of her house when she heard her name get called.

Andy turned around to see EJ standing there at his house, waving at her, "Can we practice some lines?" He yelled out.

She furrowed her brow, confused, "We only just finished the read through?"

He shrugged, jogging over, "Come round mine, please?" He tilted his head to the side, giving her those big pleading eyes, "Just an hour of practice,"

She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to say no to him. She reached for her backpack which she had dropped on the floor whilst looking for her keys, slinging it over her shoulder.

He took that as a sign that she wanted to come and his face lit up like a little kids on Christmas.

"What scene?" She asked, starting to walk next door.

He followed like a lost puppy, catching up to her, "I was thinking the bit where they are in cahoots to stop Troy and Gabriella?"

Andy chuckled, standind outside of his door, "Cahoots?" She questioned.

He laughed, shrugging, "I don't know what else to call it," he reached for the doorhandle before stopping and turning back to her, "Nobody's home, it'll just be us"

"That's fine, as long as your girlfriends cool with it," she teased.

His face dropped a little and she was unsure what to say but then he opened the door, ignoring the comment and leading her upstairs.

Of course she knew the layout of the Caswell house, she had been there enough times and she knew which way she was going as she walked to EJs room, muscle memory taking her there.

He looked back at her before opening the door to his room. It looked the same as it did before, but different at the same time.

"So, you have your lines?" He asked and she nodded, pulling them out of her backpack.

He sat on his bed, patting the space next to him. EJ pulled out his lines and she went to go sit next to him when she saw a picture of Nini on his nightstand.

There was a pain in her chest. She recognised the frame, the exact one that a picture of them from her 13th birthday used to be in there and it hurt to know that she'd been replaced by Nini.

Even though she was never dating EJ, it was weird to see another girl take up the space in her time.

He saw where her gaze was and looked at the picture, "She looks great there doesn't she?"

He didn't even notice that she was bothered by her replacement. When she saw the smile on his face, she didn't bother him about it.

"Yeah, you must have had fun at camp," she said, putting on a dmile.

"It's the best," he said.

Andy sat down, opening her script. She looked over into the distance, not knowing what to say in response.

That's when something caught her eye. She saw the picture of the two of them that she had mentioned earlier pinned up onto a picture board.

It was slightly covered up by a picture of his water polo victory and one of him and Ashlyn but it was still there.

A smile grew on her face as she realised that he did still care and that it did still mean something to her. Her stomach fluttered a little bit at the sentiment and she looked back at the script, face a little red.

"You ready Andy?" He asked and she nodded, picking up her script and getting ready.