#new agent 3(Rory)

[octocurse]

”You can’t just baby your agent-”

Captain:

(Not ship: do not tag as ship.)

[thankskenpenders]

The Knuckles show

The announcement of a live action Knuckles streaming miniseries was surprising, to say the least. I mean, what would such a show even be about in a version of the Sonic universe with no Angel Island and barely any characters from the games around? Is he gonna go treasure hunting with the gang from Montana or something? Would a streaming miniseries have the CGI budget to squeeze in any new game characters, even briefly? Rouge? Amy? At least one member of Team Chaotix? Anyone?

Now the show is finally out, and it turns out what they actually made was a comedy show about bumbling deputy sheriff Wade Whipple, the minor comic relief character played by Adam Pally who you might not even remember all that well from the first two movies, with Knuckles as his sidekick. While, yes, Knuckles does get a decent amount of screentime and opportunities to punch bad guys and do cool moves from the games, large stretches of this show focus on Wade's personal life, to the point that a couple times I almost forgot I was watching a Sonic-related show. If you're judging it purely by the metric of how well it adapts and engages with its source material, this surely must be one of the worst adaptations the Sonic franchise has ever seen.

So then, despite some huge complaints... why do I kinda like it?

(This will contain full spoilers for the Knuckles show.)

A brief summary of what the show is actually about because I know half of you aren't going to watch it

The show picks up not too long after the end of the second movie. Knuckles is now living in Montana with Sonic, Tails, and the Wachowskis out of a sense of debt to them, though he doesn't really see it as his home. He doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth, and his life currently lacks direction. After communing with the ghost of Pachacamac, though, Knuckles is instructed to keep his culture alive by teaching "the ways of the echidna warrior" to a new apprentice: deputy sheriff Wade Whipple, who's currently more concerned about winning a bowling tournament in Reno than anything else.

Things are complicated by the interference of two rogue GUN agents - Agent Willoughby, played by Ellie Taylor in a bad wig, and Agent Mason, played by Kid Cudi. (Yes, the artist behind the second movie's credits song is one of the bad guys in this.) They want to steal Knuckles' power and sell it to a former associate of Robotnik's played by Rory McCann (The Hound from Game of Thrones), who now works as a black market arms dealer. Yes, they're still doing the thing where Sonic and friends' quills radiate some kind of super-energy that the bad guys all want. No, I don't particularly love this element of the Paramount Sonic continuity. Anyway, they go after Knuckles and Wade, complicating their straightforward road trip to Reno. Antics ensue.

The Wade show

So here's the thing. While the first episode focuses largely on Knuckles, the entire rest of the show is very much the story of Wade, and by extension the other original human characters invented for this miniseries.

Episode 2 is about Wade having to rescue Knuckles from captivity after the GUN agents get him. Knuckles spends most of the episode in a cage.

Episode 3 is about introducing Wade's Jewish family, including his slightly overbearing mother and weird sister, so that Knuckles can learn about their family traditions and have Shabbat dinner with them (and then save them from bounty hunters that the GUN agents hired).

Episode 4 only features Knuckles at the very beginning and very end of the episode, probably for less than a minute total. Wade is captured by a bounty hunter he personally knows, and Knuckles decides to let that be a trial for Wade to overcome on his own.

The last two episodes feature the climactic showdowns with the GUN agents and their arms-dealing ally, who comes in with a mech for the obligatory final boss fight. You'd think this would be Knuckles' time to shine, but really, these episodes are mostly about the bowling tournament in Reno where Wade encounters his estranged father, wrapping up his own personal arc. While Knuckles does get some fights, a lot of the finale is spent on lengthy bowling scenes where Knuckles isn't in the room or even mentioned. It frequently feels more like a spiritual successor to '00s sports comedy movies like Dodgeball, Talladega Nights, or Blades of Glory than it does a part of the Sonic franchise, and the presence of ESPN 8: The Ocho commentary in the finale only drives those Dodgeball comparisons home. They get so immersed in the bowling stuff that it's genuinely hilarious when the show suddenly pivots and remembers "oh shit we still need to do the final boss fight"

Throughout all this, Wade is the protagonist. He's the character we spend more time with, he's the character who drives most of the major events, he's the character who gets more of an arc. The emotional core is Wade's journey. Knuckles is still present - sometimes, at least - but he's there as Wade's wingman, and also just as the excuse for there to be some fight scenes.

How much Sonic stuff is actually in this show?

Honestly? Not much.

Sonic and Tails are only in the first episode. Sonic gets some good scenes, but Tails gets a grand total of five lines. I counted. Unsurprisingly, Jim Carrey is absent as Robotnik, though he does get mentioned a fair bit. (For that matter, basically the entire established human cast beyond Wade is absent, even including Tom, though Maddie is there in episode one.)

GUN is involved in the story, which helps it feel slightly more connected to Sonic, but it kind of feels like it's GUN in name only. They don't use any recognizable GUN tech, and they don't call in the military. It's just two agents in suits. They might as well be the Men in Black.

The Master Emerald is mentioned as something Knuckles has to guard, but it's never seen. Angel Island is pictured as a drawing during the show's intro, appearing exactly how it does in Sonic 3, but it's never referenced at all beyond that.

I guess the climax taking place in and around a Reno casino is a reference to Sonic's many casino-themed levels. That's something. I'll give them that.

Oh, and if you're wondering if this is the point where we finally start to get actual music from the games: no, it's not. The soundtrack consists of a lot of '80s needle drops, many of which are generic Hollywood picks like "Holding Out for a Hero" for the billionth time, thought it at least has some slightly less obvious picks than the Mario movie. The theme song is '80s rock song "The Warrior" by Scandal. You'll hear it many times. You'll hear the Adventure era Knuckles raps zero times in this. You'll briefly hear classic A Tribe Called Quest song "Can I Kick It?" before Knuckles takes the question too literally and breaks the radio in Wade's car.

Beyond a handful of surface level references for nerds (one of which is admittedly wild - we'll get to that), this is probably the least an officially licensed adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog has ever tried to actually engage with its source material. I struggle to think of another Sonic adaptation that has less to do with Sonic. For as much shit as I and countless others have given Penders for seemingly ignoring the content of the games in favor of building his own convoluted mythos, his Knuckles comics honestly included way more elements from the games than this show does.

Somehow, the one new(-ish) Sonic character introduced in this is the ghost of Pachacamac of all characters. Not even Tikal! Pachacamac! A very minor character nobody has particularly strong feelings about! You can't even use the excuse that they already had the character model, because they completely redesigned him compared to his cameo in the first movie to better match his Sonic Adventure design. And he's voiced by Christopher Lloyd! Honestly, so many of his lines are strained that it sounds like he's on death's door here, but then he'll surprise you with a more casual line like "just do it, man" and it catches me so off guard that I can't help but laugh.

Pachacamac here has basically nothing to do with the game character he takes his name and appearance from. Where the game character was a cruel warlord who kicked off a 3000 year cycle of violence, Paramount Pachacamac is now just this chill old man who gives Knuckles (and later Wade) advice in two episodes of the show. Hell, he also feels completely disconnected from his established role in the movies, where he's literally the guy who shot Longclaw. The show will not grapple with this contradiction at all. He's just here to be a thing fans like me will recognize from the games. Again, if that's all they wanted, it's kind of baffling that they didn't just use Tikal.

I don't love Knuckles in this

But what about Knuckles himself? Well, he doesn't feel all that much like Knuckles to me. Ironically, he sometimes feels like one of the weaker elements in his own show.

Back when the second movie came out, I noted that Knuckles' characterization seemed to be pulling heavily from MCU Thor as a gallant warrior from an archaic alien culture who doesn't really understand modern day Earth stuff. That worked for me in that movie. It was just there for spice. Just a little extra flavor for the character in what was otherwise a very faithful adaptation of Knuckles' storyline in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Without those familiar elements grounding him and with a much higher reliance on comedy, Idris Elba's Knuckles becomes a pretty one-note character in this.

In damn near every scene with Knuckles, he's going to say something about being a proud, honorable echidna warrior, or brag about his glorious feats of strength, or be confused about some Earth thing and call it sorcery, or act like every other character is also a member of some noble warrior clan. He still has his moments for sure, but this schtick kinda gets old fast, and it just doesn't feel like Knuckles to me. His entire character feels derived from the scene in the diner where Thor smashes the cup on the ground and goes "Another!" Sure, I can picture game Knuckles smashing a radio to turn it off and being a little too gung-ho about busting holes through walls. That's Knuckles behavior. But building a barbarian combat pit in the living room so the Wachowski family dog can fight the mailman? Nope. That's some other guy now. It really does just feel like them taking a broad character archetype from something popular that kinda sorta fits Knuckles and just running with that, rather than trying to actually adapt the character.

Oh, but don't worry, he wears the OVA hat for like two minutes! AND he loves grapes! See, Sonic nerds? We read the wiki! That's his favorite food! Grapes! This is gonna come up like five times!

Knuckles kind of gets an arc here, but not as much as Wade does. I think the stuff about him starting to feel at home on Earth thanks to Wade's mom and the way he connects with their Jewish family traditions is oddly sweet. This arc is kind of let down, though, by the fact that Knuckles' heritage is treated as a complete joke. He's a cartoonish pastiche of various historical warrior cultures stuck together in a blender and used mostly for comedic effect. When Pachacamac's ghost appears, he's reading a newspaper and bemoaning the fact that the Mets lost again. This is not the place for a serious examination of Knuckles' feelings on being the last of his kind.

This is far from the only time the show undercuts itself with its jokes and attempts at self-parody. In the first episode, for instance, Knuckles clashes with GUN Agent Mason and his tech-enhanced punches, leading to an extremely on-the-nose inversion of the "Do I look like I need your power?" scene showcased in the trailer for the second movie. Except this time, Agent Willoughby butts in and points out how stupid that line is in this new context, since they're literally trying to steal Knuckles' power. The fight can't just be cool, they have to get cute with it. A lot of stuff like that happens in this show.

Given all these complaints, the first two episodes left me thinking I'd be fairly negative on this show overall. This seemed like the version of the show from the fandom's collective nightmares, one that undoes all of the progress the movie series seemed to have been making towards faithfulness to the games. Like, just look at these cast posters. Is this what you want out of Sonic? Do these excite you?

But then, something strange happened. Over time, I just kind of let the jokes and shenanigans wash over me and basked in how fucking weird this show is.

And I started to actually enjoy it.

Look. The Wade & Knuckles Show was never going to be peak Sonic. But that sure as hell doesn't mean it can't be entertaining.

This show is so fucking goofy

Here's the thing.

The show is funny.

Unlike a lot of other people, I didn't hate all the wedding stuff in Hawaii in Sonic 2, because I thought a lot of it was funny, both in its actual jokes and in the ways in which they tied everything back to Sonic. Tom looking wistfully at some bodybuilders doing Top Gun shit and spraying each other with beer and being like "I wish Sonic had that" is weirdly funny. The twist that those muscle bros are all agents of the newly formed GUN, who orchestrated the wedding as an elaborate scheme to catch Sonic, is funny. Mr. Olive Garden becoming the fucking GUN Commander is VERY funny. Are any of these elements of my dream Sonic movie? No, of course not. But my dream Sonic movie was never gonna happen in live action.

The Knuckles show follows up on the comedy of the previous films by being probably the funniest live action Sonic release yet. Did every joke land for me? God no. There are some stinkers in there that made me roll my eyes. But enough of them landed that it worked out for me overall. A big part of this is the fact that they've got a good cast of actors and/or comedians here.

Adam Pally is funny as Wade, and I found myself liking him more and more as a character as the show went on. He becomes an oddly endearing loser, with some sweet moments in his personal arc that made me feel for the guy. I like Wade more than Tom now, thanks to this show. I will now be happier to see Wade in Sonic 3 than I would have been previously.

The supporting cast is frequently great, too, many of whom are playing completely cartoonish, over-the-top characters. They took a cue from how exaggerated Carrey's performance was as Robotnik and decided to just abandon all pretense that this is the real world. Stockard Channing as Wade's mom is funny, and carries some of the more sincere parts of the show. Cary Elwes as Wade's very British dad who abandoned him as a child to run off and be the world's most egotistical professional bowler is funny. Edi Patterson as Wade's sister Wanda is... well, she's kinda trying too hard, but she has her moments. The Mighty Boosh co-creator Julian Barratt(!!) as a scenery-chewing bounty hunter, who was also somehow Wade's former best friend and bowling partner, is VERY funny. I love this guy.

(Honestly, they should let more people who were on Garth Marenghi's Darkplace be in Sonic stuff. Where's Matt Berry)

This is kind of a stacked cast for a bunch of stupid side characters in a live action Knuckles show! And honestly, that just makes it funnier to me. Even when they're not funny, the fact that this exists makes it funny. They somehow convinced Paramount to give them a bunch of money to make a spiritual successor to Dodgeball about a schlubby guy who wants to beat his dad at a bowling tournament... except also Knuckles the fucking Echidna is there as his personal life coach. My life is richer for the fact that I can say that sentence. I think about all the little kids who are probably watching this show this weekend, going in expecting a show about Knuckles the Echidna and having to sit through extensive bowling scenes and lore about Wade's family, and sorry kids, but I just have to laugh. Wade isn't even on the poster! The poster is just a picture of Knuckles!! They punked those kids!!!

In a franchise where every single aspect is so carefully micromanaged these days, it feels truly special to get an adaptation this bonkers. It frequently appeals to the same part of me that enjoys the fact that there's an officially licensed Knuckles comic in which Charmy Bee's best friend (also a bee) dies of an accidental LSD overdose from a drug-laced chili dog. Or like, everything about the original 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie. Or the fact that they made seven direct-to-DVD sequels to Alpha and Omega, one of which is half a retread of the adventure from the first movie (with more annoying supporting characters in tow this time) and half a literal clip show of the first movie. The sheer absurdity of the fact that these things exist is charming to me. Except, with the Knuckles show, it has the added benefit of frequently being funny on purpose! This is why I'm not sure I'd call it "so bad it's good." Like, it's not amazing, but there were a lot of parts that I enjoyed in the exact way I was supposed to enjoy them.

Look. Here's a list of real lines of dialogue from the Sega-approved Knuckles the Echidna streaming show that they're billing as a pillar of the Paramount+ lineup, to drive this point home. Let these marinate for a minute:

"I only eat grapes, and Cool Ranch Doritos™."

"Annihilate this little girl, Wade. Crush her spirit. Humiliate her so badly her parents won't even look at her again." "Doesn't that seem like we're going a bit far?" "Not far enough."

"So is he Jewish?" "Half, I think."

"I had a friend who when he listened to Alien Ant Farm he could lift a Toyota Corolla over his head."

"I'm in dire financial straits. Due to my lawsuit against an unnamed rainforest-themed restaurant franchise, I don't have two pennies to my name."

"We're here in sunny Reno, Nevada, which is so close to Hell you can smell the sparks."

"You can't threaten me with your Jewish karate chops because I am a federal agent."

"I will say, regardless of how you feel about child abandonment - and I'm against it! - the deals at TJ Maxx can't be beat."

This is a Sonic show in which they got Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel to appear as ESPN 8: The Ocho commentators.

This is a show where Wade's mom insists upon pronouncing "Knuckles" with the throaty Hebrew "ch" sound, and declares that Knuckles is basically Jewish. Later, they watch Pretty Woman together while enjoying a nice slice of key lime pie. Knuckles comments: "I don't understand. This young streetwalker with a heart made of gold, why do the others treat her with such disdain? Is it so wrong to walk the streets?"

This is a show where the fourth episode is directed by one of the guys from The Lonely Island and features a hallucinatory low budget rock opera stage musical put on by the ghost of Pachacamac. It recounts Knuckles' life story, with Wade playing Knuckles and the "evil" Longclaw played by the bounty hunter guy who's played by the Mighty Boosh guy.

Look at this.

And also, Knuckles' singing voice is provided by Michael Bolton, which they proudly announce in the middle of the musical.

And also...

Also...???

IBLIS IS IN IT????????????

Yes, Iblis!

From Sonic '06!!

Knuckles is said to have looked for a mythical power called the "Flames of Disaster" to avenge his clan, which ended up being the power that was within him all along that lets him do fire punches yadda yadda yadda. As part of this, he apparently fought Iblis off-screen at some point, as conveyed with the giant singing papier-mâché Iblis in the musical.

...Then Iblis sings about hitting up Facebook Marketplace

How? How does any of this exist? Why reference '06 of all games? How did Iblis get into the live action Sonic movie universe before Amy and Metal Sonic? Why are they using Iblis and the term "Flames of Disaster" in such a goofy way that completely disregards their original context?

I don't know. I don't know how any of this happened. But I love it. We got a Knuckles miniseries in which Michael Bolton sings the phrase "the Flames of Disaster." The world is a beautiful place sometimes.

Some people will tell you to skip episode four. "Knuckles is barely even in it," they say. "It's dumb and pointless," they say. "They clearly just ran out of special effects budget," they say. These are people whose opinions you should disregard. The episode with the least Knuckles in it is somehow the most entertaining episode of the show. I would, in fact, go as far as to say that if you only decide to watch one episode of the Knuckles show to see what goofy bullshit they get up to, it should be this one.

I cannot be mad at this show. It's so dumb, but it completely owns the fact that it's a dumb and unnecessary spinoff. Inferiority is baked into its very DNA. It's very self-consciously redoing the premise of the first movie, but stupider. It's about The Other Cop from the movies, instead of the competent one. Instead of being into a "cooler" sport, his life revolves around professional bowling. Instead of going to Vegas, he goes to Reno. Even his tragic backstory that shaped his entire life sucks. He was abandoned by his pro bowler dad in a TJ Maxx. Not even a nicer department store. A fucking TJ Maxx. This whole show is a Dril tweet.

They put a ton of effort into making it dumb in an occasionally spectacular way. So much effort was put into that joke rock opera that fans will just write off as stupid filler. They put their whole pussies into it. This is not a poorly made show. This has better production values than half the shit made for Disney+. This was made with love. Maybe not as much love for the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games as we'd like, but it's love nonetheless.

Maybe this show broke me and these are the ramblings of a madwoman. Maybe I'm just really nostalgic for the '90s and '00s comedy movies all the Wade stuff is modeled after. Maybe the Alan Wake fan in me just really loves it when a story pivots to a silly rock opera for no real reason. I won't discount any of these possibilities. This isn't high art. This isn't something I would recommend to anyone with zero interest in Sonic, and it also isn't going to sway Sonic fans who hate the Paramount universe. I really can't blame them for being bewildered by this show. But for a specific type of person, this is the absurd three-star Sonic-adjacent comedy miniseries of your dreams. It's a mid masterpiece.

Again, I just have to step back, realize the fact that this shouldn't exist, and smile. Sega's too afraid to do stupid bullshit with the franchise like this these days. And I can't blame them, after years of Sonic being a treated as a laughingstock. But part of me misses some of the goofy shit. No matter how much I tore some of the Archie comics apart as I was reading them for this blog, I just look back on stuff like Cal and Al or the Many Hands issues and laugh. And that same part of me looks at this show about Knuckles being the sidekick to this fucking guy, and just goes...

"We're so back."

In conclusion, I genuinely think this was a more enjoyable TV show than Sonic Prime.

I wouldn't go back and rewatch Sonic Prime anytime soon, aside from maybe, like, a couple of the Shadow-heavy episodes. Huge stretches of that show bored me to tears. The writers squandered all of that show's potential. But I would rewatch the Knuckles show, which takes a terrible premise and has a lot of fun with it, in a heartbeat. Even the bowling parts. The bowling scenes in the Knuckles show are more engaging than 70% of the fights in Sonic Prime. I am not trolling. I mean that sincerely, with all my heart. Don't @ me.

Stray observations

There is effectively zero meaningful setup for the third movie in this, unless Wade's family or the two GUN agents come back or something. Project Shadow is not mentioned in this. There is no secret post-credits scene with Gerald

The CGI in this is pretty good. Not quite on par with the movies, but pretty good. Sonic's weird forehead wrinkles are distracting in his scenes though. Please fix that

I wouldn't say I liked this as much as the second movie, which obviously gets a ton of points for, you know. The Cool Sonic Shit. But I had more fun with it than the first movie, which I still feel is a painfully generic family movie that was only saved by Tyson's redesign

"Grapes are an interesting choice for someone who doesn't use his individual fingers."

Agent Willoughby was apparently the one at GUN who had to buy the Olive Garden gift cards and set up the fake wedding. Her origin story is that she hated doing shit like that and wanted to go fight aliens

This miniseries contains another Keanu namedrop because Wade's childhood bedroom has a Speed poster on the wall. I swear, if Sonic doesn't say Shadow sounds just like Keanu...

Knuckles is familiar with Paul Blart Mall Cop

Near the end the ESPN 8: The Ocho commentators say that the 1974 Reno bowling championship was also interrupted by an extraterrestrial, and given that was exactly 50 years ago I can't write off the possibility that that was Shadow. Please for the love of god give us a sequel series after the third movie where Wade takes Shadow the Hedgehog bowling. I need this more than I need air

[pollenallergie]

18+ only!!

do not interact if you’re under 18 years old!

some random best friend!Eddie headcanons bc I feel like it:

Eddie has several pairs of holiday-themed socks and he wears them year round. You can frequently catch him sporting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer socks, regardless of the season. <3

When Eddie was like 8 or 9, he went through a phase where he only wanted spaghetti-o’s for dinner every night, so your mom started calling him “Eddie Spaghetti.” <3

Little kids love Eddie. He doesn’t know why, but they sort of gravitate toward him. That said, he certainly doesn’t mind; he thinks it’s adorable. He’s just naturally very good with kids. <3

You two have matching tattoos. His says “billy” and yours says “silly,” in reference to an inside joke from when you were little. <3

You and Eddie always manage to get sick at the same time. Always. Wayne and your mom used to take turns staying home to take care of you two when you were little, but now you two little sicklings just take care of each other. <3

After every single holiday meal, you both sneak off to your bedroom to sleep off the impending food coma in your bed. It’s a tradition you’ve had since you were ten. <3

Eddie is your grandma’s favorite grandchild, even though he’s not technically her grandchild. <3

The first time you smoked weed, you got so high that Eddie called you “space cadet” the whole night. He now calls you that every time you get high. <3

Whenever Eddie goes to the gas station to pick up a new pack of cigarettes, he’ll grab your favorite candy for you. <3

You’re insecure about your laugh (not your cute little giggle, but your genuine, unrestrained laugh), but it’s one of Eddie’s favorite things about you. <3

You and Eddie have a rule about getting each other christmas and birthday presents since you both grew up with little money. The rule is that you can only make things for each other. For the most part, you both adhere to this rule completely. However, you’ve both been known to break it every once and a while in favor of getting something extra special for each other. For example, you had splurged on Metallica tickets for Eddie’s 18th birthday. Likewise, he’d spent entirely too much money on a special edition gift set of your favorite book series last christmas. <3

You and Eddie used to put on plays for your mom and Uncle Wayne when you were kids. Honestly, you’d continued to do so for far longer than either of you would like to admit. <3

Eddie’s so close with your family that he even bickers with your siblings like they’re his own. <3

Eddie takes your dog to the park at least once a week for quality “bro time,” as he likes to call it. <3

He also helped name your dog when you’d first gotten him. He’d named him Philby after the Rory Gallagher song, only to later learn that the title for that song came from the name of a British spy who’d worked as a double agent for the Soviets. oopsies. <3

Wayne takes you, Eddie, and your family camping near the Indiana Dunes every single summer, and has done so since you were ten. <3

When Eddie was a kid, he had a black cat named Samwise. Unfortunately, Samwise passed away when Eddie was thirteen. You’d both cried about it for weeks. </3

You and Eddie both hate the public pool, Eddie because he’s the town pariah, and you because people always look at you weirdly when you wear a swimsuit and it makes you feel insecure. So, in the summertime, you’ll often sneak Eddie into your dad’s backyard after he leaves for work in the morning, that way you two can spend the whole day swimming without being subjected to ridicule from the other Hawkins residents. <3

Wayne has a copy of every single one of your school pictures much like your mom has a copy of every single one of Eddie’s. <3

Eddie learned how to make pot brownies after you’d expressed an interest in trying them. <3

Unbeknownst to you, Eddie’s written multiple songs for you. <3

He gets your mom a mother’s day present every year. He also gets Wayne a father’s day present every year. <3

Your mom packed lunches for the both of you until she finally cut you off freshman year, hoping to urge you both to become more independent. <3

Your dad paid for you to go to summer camp in the summer between sixth and seventh grade, and, while you were gone, you’d made a total of six sets of matching friendship bracelets for you and Eddie. Only one of them survived to adulthood, and he still wears it to this day. <3

For his birthday one year, you’d made him a scrapbook filled with pictures of the both of you. Unbeknownst to you, he’d continued to add pictures to it until it was completely full. <3

Eddie cries every single time he watches Bambi. <3

Eddie also cries when he watches Old Yeller. <3

Eddie took you to see The Color Purple when it was released in theaters. He cried during that movie as well. <3

Eddie won a story-writing contest in the sixth grade and, again, in the seventh grade. <3

Eddie only lies about the most inconsequential and random shit. Like he’ll tell some extremely thorough, elaborate lie about the etymology of a word just for shits and giggles. He’s a very convincing liar too, which makes it even funnier when you’re in on the joke. <3

Eddie doesn’t believe that he’s a good writer, just that he’s a good bullshitter. You assure him that he’s far too good at both of those things. <3

Eddie prefers to start his Sunday mornings with a good, ole fashioned wake n bake followed by an unreasonable amount of chocolate chip pancakes. <3

In the wintertime, he walks around the trailer cocooned in the fuzzy blanket that your mom got him for christmas one year. It’s adorable. <3

Eddie has surprisingly steady hands which you frequently take advantage of by asking him to paint your nails. <3

He hugs you very frequently because he just likes hugging you, okay? Don’t make it weird! (his words, not mine). And, believe me, this man gives the best hugs. <3

Eddie talks in his sleep, but his words are usually so slurred and garbled that you can’t understand them. <3

Eddie and Wayne also collect beer coozies, in addition to their collection of hats and mugs. Seriously, they have an inordinate amount of beer coozies. And they just whip them out, unprompted, all the time. Are you drinking a soda? Well, hey, they’ve got a coozie for ya! Hell, they’ll even use them on glasses of water. <3

Wayne’s a big NASCAR fan and he even took you and Eddie to the Indy 500 once. You were both bored out of your minds the entire time, but grateful nonetheless. <3

You guys even stayed in the train-car hotel for that trip which, as eight-year-olds, you both found insanely cool. <3

Wayne frequently goes to your mom for parenting advice. <3

Wayne also played matchmaker for your mom and her boyfriend, Hank, one of his coworkers from the plant. They’ve been together for two years now. <3

She’d repaid the favor by setting him up with the receptionist from her office, Marie. They’ve been together for almost a year now. <3

Wayne and your mom have been trying to play matchmaker between you and Eddie for years now, but you’re both too damn oblivious. <3

Eddie tried to teach you how to ride a bike when you were eleven, but you fell once and never attempted again. So, before he’d gotten his license, he’d either let you stand on the back of his bike and hold onto him or he’d let you sit on the handlebars. <3

Eddie wants to get a motorcycle one day just because he thinks you’d look hot perched on the back of one. <3

Eddie’s first car, before the van, was your mom’s old station wagon. <3

You and Eddie both talk a lot, so you have a bad habit of interrupting each other, but, it’s hard to get mad about that given how much you both like listening to each other talk. <3

You two used to argue a lot as kids, mostly because you’re both stubborn, but now you hardly ever butt heads. You’re both still incredibly stubborn, but are now more willing to compromise, at least with each other. <3

You’ve never missed one of Corroded Coffin’s shows. <3

Eddie loves naps, can’t get enough of ‘em. <3

Eddie’s superpower is his ability to sleep anywhere. Once, when there was a tornado during school, he’d fallen asleep on the tile floor of the hallway of Hawkin’s Middle while in that protective, crouched position that you’d all been forced to sit in. It was honestly impressive. <3

You have asthma, so Eddie’s developed a habit of keeping one of your spare rescue inhalers on him at all times. The one he’s got for you is technically expired, but he figures it’s better than nothing. <3

Eddie loves it when you play with his hair. He even lets you brush it for him. <3

Eddie guilt trips you into giving him back rubs by faking a sore back and complaining about how awful his mattress is. Truthfully, Eddie quite likes his bed, it’s much better than the one he’d slept in when he lived with his dad, but he’s willing to throw ole reliable under the bus if it means getting a free back rub. He’s been using that trick since he was nine. Of course, his intentions are purely wholesome in nature; he really just loves your back rubs. <3

He’ll frequently return the favor by giving you shoulder and neck rubs because he knows that you carry a lot of tension there. <3

Eddie has a framed picture of you two together on his dresser. <3

[whumpily-ever-after]

Whumpy Book List #3

Hello! As requested, here is another book list. Some of these books will contain a list of whump tropes and others will not. I did not take notes while reading, and I don't remember the exact tropes. There is at least a little bit of whump in each book.

Happy reading!

List below the cut

The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence #1) by K.D. Edwards

Summary: Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

Genre: Fantasy, urban fantasy, magic, MM romance, Mystery, adult

Whump tropes: Past trauma

 Liar City by Allie Therin

Summary: A murder has Seattle on edge, and it falls to a pacifist empath—and a notorious empath hunter—to find the killer before it's too late It’s the middle of the night when part-time police consultant and full-time empath Reece gets an anonymous call warning him that his detective sister needs his help. At an out-of-the-way Seattle marina, he discovers that three people have been butchered—including the author of the country’s strictest anti-empathy bill, which is just days from being passed into law. Soon, Reece’s caller a shadowy government agent known as The Dead Man, who is rumored to deal exclusively in cases involving empathy. He immediately takes over the investigation, locking out both local PD and the FBI, but, strangely, keeps Reece by his side. As the two track an ever-growing trail of violence and destruction across Seattle, Reece must navigate a scared and angry city, an irritating attraction to his mysterious agent companion, and a rising fear that perhaps empaths like him aren’t all flight and no fight after all…

Genre: Fantasy, mystery, paranormal, MM romance, urban fantasy

Magic in Manhattan Series (Spellbound, Starcrossed, and Wonderstruck) by Allie Therin

Summary: To save Manhattan, they’ll have to save each other first… New York, 1925 Arthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric…and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether. Rory Brodigan’s gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he’s become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques. But with the city’s fate hanging in the balance, he can’t force himself to say no. Being with Arthur is dangerous, but Rory’s ever-growing attraction to him begins to make him brave. And as Arthur coaxes him out of seclusion, a magical and emotional bond begins to form. One that proves impossible to break—even when Arthur sacrifices himself to keep Rory safe and Rory must risk everything to save him.

Genre: Fantasy, historical fiction, MM romance, paranormal, magic, urban fantasy

Spell Bound by F. T. Lukens

Summary: Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed. Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less. But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.

Genre: Fantasy, young adult, MM romance, urban fantasy, magic

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

Summary: Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the Market’s most powerful merchants. Now, after years of watchful servitude, Deri finally spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but also his place amongst the Market’s elite when he stumbles into the path of a runaway princess desperate to sell her royal destiny. But news of the missing princess and her wayward destiny spreads. Royal enforcers and Master Merchants alike are after it. Outmanoeuvring them all would all be hard enough had Deri not just also met the love of his life, a young man called Owain, whose employers are using the Market for their own nefarious schemes. Deri soon finds that the price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving the man he loves is dear. The cost of it all might just change the destiny of London forever.

Genre: Fantasy, MM romance, historical fiction, urban fantasy

Saint of Steel Series by T. Kingfisher

Summary: Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year… Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind…

Genre: Fantasy, mystery, romance

Silver Under Nightfall and Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco

Summary: Remy Pendergast is many things: the only son of the Duke of Valenbonne (though his father might wish otherwise), an elite bounty hunter of rogue vampires, and an outcast among his fellow Reapers. His mother was the subject of gossip even before she eloped with a vampire, giving rise to the rumors that Remy is half-vampire himself. Though the kingdom of Aluria barely tolerates him, Remy’s father has been shaping him into a weapon to fight for the kingdom at any cost. When a terrifying new breed of vampire is sighted outside of the city, Remy prepares to investigate alone. But then he encounters the shockingly warmhearted vampire heiress Xiaodan Song and her infuriatingly arrogant fiancé, vampire lord Zidan Malekh, who may hold the key to defeating the creatures—though he knows associating with them won’t do his reputation any favors. When he’s offered a spot alongside them to find the truth about the mutating virus Rot that’s plaguing the kingdom, Remy faces a choice. It’s one he’s certain he’ll regret. But as the three face dangerous hardships during their journey, Remy develops fond and complicated feelings for the couple. He begins to question what he holds true about vampires, as well as the story behind his own family legacy. As the Rot continues to spread across the kingdom, Remy must decide where his loyalties lie: with his father and the kingdom he’s been trained all his life to defend or the vampires who might just be the death of him.

Genre: Fantasy, vampires, LGBTQIA+, gothic

The Druid Stone by Heidi Belleau

Summary: Sean never asked to be an O'Hara, and he didn't ask to be cursed by one either. After inheriting a hexed druid stone from his great-grandfather, Sean starts reliving another man's torture and death...every single night. And only one person can help. Cormac Kelly runs a paranormal investigation business and doesn't have time to deal with misinformed tourists like Sean. But Sean has real magic in his pocket, and even though Cormac is a descendant of legendary druids, he soon finds himself out of his depth...and not because Sean's the first man he's felt anything for in a long time. The pair develop an unexpected and intensely sexual bond, but are threatened at every turn when Sean's case attracts the unwelcome attention of the mad sidhe lords of ancient Ireland. When Sean and Cormac are thrust backward in time to Ireland's violent history—and their own dark pasts—they must work together to escape the curse and save their fragile relationship.

Genre: Fantasy, time travel, MM romance, contemporary

Whump tropes: Curses, sent through time, torture

Whisper into the Night by Jay Leigh

Summary: Theo Moreau never wanted to be involved with politics, but when his mother wins the presidential election, he reluctantly agrees to tag along for his younger siblings. Nothing could have prepared him to juggle his anxiety, complex family dynamics, and the complicated world of the White House. Lacking supportive friends and family, he leans on his steadfast Secret Service agent as tensions rise across the divisive political landscape and the dangers of being close to the president come to the surface. Agent Connor O’Brien always wanted to be a hero, so working on the protective detail for the First Family seems like the perfect opportunity. What he isn’t expecting is to fall head over heels for the man under his protection. As their relationship blossoms, the foundation of the administration grows more unstable and the chatter from America’s right-wing demographic rises to a fever pitch. But when Theo becomes the target of their campaign, the stakes get even higher. Unsure of who to trust, and with little help from the President, Theo and Connor join forces with their motley group of friends to unravel the mystery of who is working against them from inside the White House before the situation turns explosive. As the sinister reach of this masked shadow spreads, Theo and Connor grow even closer and the magnitude of everything they risk losing propels them into a race against the nefarious mastermind, desperately clinging to the hope they’ve found in one another before their dream come true turns into a nightmare.

Genre: Contemporary, MM romance, suspense

Whump tropes: Anxiety, asthma, kidnapping, bad parents, bodyguard

Adonis by L Sherleen

Summary: Accused of a hate crime and expelled from school in his final year, Connor returns home to his seaside town to let everything blow over. There, not only does he have to learn to deal with the addition of two new stepbrothers and a new stepdad, but he also has to grapple with a world set against him. It’s not all bad though. Within his dad’s underwater lab, he discovers something in the deep. Something exciting. Something that calls to him. Something that doesn't shy away from the ugly in him as the world does. And Connor could use the distraction…even if it endangers his life.

Genre: Fantasy, MM romance, mermaids, science fiction, mystery

Whump tropes: Found family (kind of), bad parents, kidnapping, false accusations

A Rake of His Own by A.J. Lancaster

Summary: Marius Valstar doesn’t know which is worse: the dead body in his greenhouse or the naked fae prince on his desk. The only rakes of interest to Marius are garden tools. Not fae princes. Certainly not the arrogant, selfish fae prince he has the misfortune to have a history with. But when Prince Rakken turns up naked and bleeding in Marius’s college the same day a body appears in his greenhouse, scruples must take second place to solving a murder that could unravel the delicate balance between humans and fae. Marius’s own developing magical powers are more hindrance than help – as is Rakken’s bloodied past. Forced to work together, they must forge an uneasy alliance if they are to track down the killer. But how can Marius trust the man who represents everything he’s trying to avoid?

Genre: Fantasy, fae, MM romance, mystery

Whump tropes: Pain from telepathy, attempted murder, bodyguard

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Summary: Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt. But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses paths with Jihoon, a human boy, being attacked by a goblin deep in the forest. Against her better judgment, she violates the rules of survival to rescue the boy, losing her fox bead--her gumiho soul--in the process. Jihoon knows Miyoung is more than just a beautiful girl--he saw her nine tails the night she saved his life. His grandmother used to tell him stories of the gumiho, of their power and the danger they pose to humans. He's drawn to her anyway. With murderous forces lurking in the background, Miyoung and Jihoon develop a tenuous friendship that blossoms into something more. But when a young shaman tries to reunite Miyoung with her bead, the consequences are disastrous . . . forcing Miyoung to choose between her immortal life and Jihoon's.

Genre: Fantasy, young adult, mythology, romance

[demonoflight]

A little bit of a redraw/repurposing of official Splatoon art - my New Agent 3, Riff (in the middle) and their two best friends, Rory (left) and Nika (right).

[liverpool-enjoyer]

footballers as students

requested by @aechii!! thank you so much <3

leo: the Quiet Kid. does his work n keeps to himself n his two (2) friends that he sits between in class. somehow manages to avoid getting called on the entire year. when he does finally utter a single word everyone in class is like "HE SPEAKS!!!"

ney: as 1/3rd of msn hes literally never seen without the other two. never pays attention, is usually passing notes and/or throwing random pieces of paper at luis n leo.

luis: bit a few kids in elementary/middle school n still hasnt lived it down, even tho he claims hes changed. of msn hes the smartest, n manages to retain the information learned in class even though hes always playing into neys antics.

sergio: beefing with like, half the other students. once fought mo salah in the parking lot after school because he "gave luka a dirty look" (his words).

luka: fuckin TEACHERS PET. reminds the teacher to collect the homework if they forgot. hes also an overachiever n probly president a the student council or some shit. fuckin rory gilmore kinda aesthetic.

muller: he thinks hes the class clown, but lewys the only one who laughs at his jokes. (whats worse is lewy genuinely thinks theyre funny)

erling: the foreign exchange student that everyone thinks is "strong n silent," but actually jus hasnt fully grasped the english language yet

trent: every year him n robbo pull the most OUTLANDISH senior prank, despite not even being seniors. also participate in senior ditch day every fuckin year.

zlatan: hes far, far, too old to be in high school, but everyones too afraid to ask what hes still doing here. so there are jus the most wild ass rumors going around abt him (some of which include: him being a newly released prisoner, him being a foreign government agent, n him being an undercover cop)

gavi: the drama magnet. fuckin EVERY week its something new with him his life is essentially a euphoria plotline. skipped a grade in elementary school so hes younger than everybody else. hosts a huge end-of-year party only to kick everyone out early cause his parents will be rlly mad if they find out.

[a-pink-lilypad]

Saw this being done and posted here so...

1. Courier 6, Fallout New Vegas - New Vegas and the Courier has a high influence on my character's development, and many traits were picked through my playthrough.

2. Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist - Look at the picture, look at Edward. See the similarities? I inspired a lot from his combat style, her metal arm, her shortness and temper, but also from his level of maturity and kindness. Though in her case, her kindness is very deeply buried.

3. Melissa Rory, Cyberpunk 2077 - You see her as a Max-Tac officer in the game; but you might recognize her from the trailer released years ago; with Bullets by Archive playing in the background. She went cyberpsycho because of her mantis blade implants. Lily also have a similar design for her mantis blade, and used to be a Civil Corps officer.

4. Jack, Mass Effect - Appears in 2 and 3; much of her hand-to-hand combat style and roughhousing tendencies. I didn't particularly like the character, she looks like a trapper or like a detention desk in school, but I liked incorporating those traits into Lily.

5. Shizuo Heiwajima, Durarara!! - One of the few anime I like; and the whole 'angry guy that just wants to live in peace and quiet' is a trope that I love and built Lily on. Lily is also angry, and while she has a different career path, she does want to have a peaceful life at some point.

6. Kinzie Kensington, Saints Row - Man, I was obsessed with Saints Row. She appears in the third game, former FBI agent that joins your crew, and possesses lots of technical and computer skills. Yeah; she was a heavy inspiration for Lily's set of technical abilities. She's just more of a brute to make her to be strictly a scientist, or strictly an engineer. Regardless of her background, she's a survivor first and foremost.

And this is it. This was fun lmao.

[theresattrpgforthat]

could you reccommend any ttrpgs that have body horror as a major theme ?

THEME: Body Horror

The following recommendations are a few TTRPGs that are full of gut-churning inspiration for any body-horror fan! The covers of these games suggest at the horror within, but for the most part it's the games themselves that contain trigger warnings.

Bloom, by Litza Bronwyn.

BLOOM is a solo gm-less journaling game in which you play a teenage girl trapped in quarantine at a boarding school on an island infected by the Tox, a plague that makes the trees and animals grow huge and hungry, and mutates your body in strange and horrific ways. In it, you will draw cards and write journal entries based on specific prompts in order to craft a story of survival and love.

This game is based on The Wretched by Chris Bissette. BLOOM is directly inspired by the novel Wilder Girls by Rory Power, a New York Times bestseller, and contains spoilers for the book.

Solo games can add a layer to horror because your character is experiencing the Tox by herself; she has nobody to help her. This is also a good option for stories that you might want to tell regardless of whether or not you have a group to share them with. If you have an aptitude for journaling and want to stretch your creative muscles, this might be worth checking out. If you want to check out another solo game of feminine body horror that will send chills up your spine, check out Horse Girl, by BabblegumSam.

Candy Teeth, by World Champ Games Co.

I've worked my whole life to make something worth a damn. To feel something. To make you feel something. To change the world with my art. Until they took my art from me. Now, I only want one thing. I'll make you feel something: Pain.

Candy Teeth is a storytelling game of creativity, power, and violence for 3 players inspired by Brand New Cherry Flavour. Using the included cards and rules, players take turns creating scenes exploring the dynamics between three roles: The Tooth, The Rot, and the Sweetness.

The three of you are working to exact violence and revenge, not just against others, but against yourselves. There’s disturbing images within the game, so it comes with a Parental warning all it’s own, but if you like stories about magic and art interwoven with horror, and you have a play group of exactly three people, this might be the game for you. The creator of this game has also released a game called Necronautilus, which is about agents of Death exploring the universe as clouds of noxious gas. Mother Needs Flesh, by JoPa.

MOTHER roams the galaxy searching for ways to satisfy her hunger. You, her Scions, operate to fulfill her needs. Most of the time, you’ll infiltrate spaceships and moon stations, seeking to end all life aboard so MOTHER can feed on the flesh of your victims. Other times, you’ll forge alliances with pirates and planets to keep MOTHER safe. At dire times, you’ll help MOTHER fight off spacecraft seeking to destroy her. No matter what you do, you do it for MOTHER.

MOTHER NEEDS FLESH is a minimalist tabletop rpg for up to four players and one Game Master. All you need is four, six, eight, ten and twelve-sided dice plus pen and paper to play. This game is based off of the Breathless System, by Fari Rpgs.

This is great for players who want to stretch their tentacles in the cold vacuum of space. This time you are the eldritch horrors, and you have an alien matron to serve. Breathless depends on resources that slowly diminish, so it really puts you on the clock.

Phever, by o.hybridity.

The world as you’ve lived in it is designed to get as much out of you as it can before you reach that tipping point, then lock you down and put you away before you become a monster. 

Wouldn’t you know it: you’re changing.

A Near-Future Body Horror Adventure In a Paranoid World, built on the armature of Jared Sinclair's What's So Cool About Outer Space?

Evade the cops. Trust no one. Find your place in the world as the strange new being you're destined to become.

The other title for this game is What’s so Bad about Spontaneous Teratomorphism? The What’s So Cool about Outer Space game system has quick character generation and relies on 2d6 for pretty much all of your rolls. You can add +1 for advantages, and subtract -1 for disadvantages. If you roll an 8 or higher, you succeed. It’s that easy! Your characters all have physical oddities, something that’s unnerving to characters that aren’t phenotypically volatile. You’re playing people in a harsh world that fears them, full of mutations that are blossoming inside them as you play. The game comes with example PheVers, to give you NPCs or inspiration for your own characters, as well as Axioms for the GM and rumours that serve as excellent plot hooks.

Here for You, by William.

It's a normal day, as normal as anything ever is these days. A notification lights up your screen....

Here For You is a 2-person body horror RPG played with the Major Arcana of a tarot deck. This game takes place in real-time over instant messenger (like text message or Discord) with a standard play session lasting 1 to 1.5 hours.

Play as The Corrupted, a person undergoing terrible changes to their very being, and The Witness, someone they reach out to, scrambling to understand and stop this transformation before it finishes. These two people may be best friends or barely acquaintances but nonetheless are now embroiled in a race against time - and the inevitable. 

Here For You is about a sudden and unexpected change and how to cope with it. It's also a game about trying desperately to save someone even if you can't succeed. The game is ultimately about relationships, and what they mean to us as people. 

This is a quieter, more intimate game, which would work well if you find it hard to find a large number of people who appreciate the same genre as you, or if you want to have a small, private experience. It also works well for folks who can’t play in person, but would like the experience of a real-time roleplaying experience. 

Heart: The City Beneath, by Rowan, Rook and Decard.

Heart: The City Beneath is a tabletop roleplaying game about delving into a nightmare undercity that will give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of – or kill you in the process.

It is a dungeon-crawling, story-forward tabletop RPG from the designers of Spire that focuses on what characters have to lose in pursuit of their dreams in the chaotic darkness beneath the world.

This will give you cannibals, mad trees, forbidden gods, curses, underground pubs and more. Things with too many eyes and too many arms are all too common in the the undercity. Your characters will be strange and eclectic with backstories tied to the weirdness of the world around you. It uses the same mechanics as Spire - the Resistance System.

MÖRK BORG, by Free League Publishing.

MÖRK BORG is a pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy RPG about lost souls and fools seeking redemption, forgiveness or the last remaining riches in a bleak and dying world. Who are you? The tomb-robber with silver glittering between cracked fingernails? The mystic who would bend the world’s heart away from it’s inevitable end? Confront power-draining necromancers, skulking skeletal warriors and backstabbing wickheads. Wander the Valley of the Unfortunate Undead, the catacombs beneath the Bergen Chrypt or the bedevilled Sarkash forest. But leave hope behind – the world’s cruel fate is sealed, and all your vain heroic efforts are destined to end in death and dismay. Or are they?

If you’re interested in fantasy along with your body horror, this is probably the game for you. It’s gritty and dark and slimy, and much of the third party content that you can find for the game reflects its theme. The mechanics for this game are fast and cruel, which adds to the general feeling of horror. MÖRK BORG has been highly lauded and hacked a number of times, including a hack called ORC BORG, by Grant Howitt.

[darsynia]

Trust Fall | Ch 22

ARC by Eury Escodero on Unsplash | gif by @elwintersoldado

Story Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Emory and Tony both learn how to trust new people in their lives even as they discover awful things about the people they used to trust.

Length: 4,862

Note: An ‘albedo’ is basically the measurement of the sun’s light as reflected from another object. I’m using it here as an allusion to finding out the true nature of people Emory and Tony used to trust. They see evidence of Rory and Obie’s duplicity as reflected by their harmful actions. FINALLY, am I right?

Taglist: @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @themaradaniels @starksbf @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne

Excerpt:

Emory says, “Honestly, after three solid months of bean soup for every meal, coffee is coffee,” and follows Clint into the kitchen. There’s a towel with one of those crochet button clasps hanging from the stove handle.

“Well, in that case, you’re just going from one bean soup to another.”

She takes his proffered cup and watches him walk over to clean the machine he’d made it with, real barista-level equipment. He shoots a look over his shoulder to catch her first sip. It’s delicious.

“Agent Barton, this is some high class bean soup. Thank you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two: Albedo

It’s one thing to dress in the same clothes as a SHIELD agent pretending to be Tony Stark’s Morning Assignation. It’s something else to picture herself leaving the helicopter on SHIELD grounds and walking into the building dressed like that! Emory chooses anxiety (asking the pilot if she can change clothes in the back of the helicopter) over mortification (having to do a walk of shame across the Triskelion helipad). She ends up having to use the fishnets as a belt to keep Tony’s pants on, but she feels less exposed when she sits back down. Now, she thinks to herself, if only the hollow ache in the pit of my stomach would go away! Emory’s sure it’ll go away once they land and she’s settled, but it almost feels like it feeds off of her anxiety.

“Clint has an extra room,” Nat says, giving her phone back. “We’ll have to finagle some sightings of you, and we’ll have to do the rest of your training there, but Fury said yes.”

“It’s all settled, just like that?” Emory asks, incredulous.

Natasha sees her expression and shrugs. “Sometimes it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”

Voicemail Box, Stark, Anthony E.

2.20 PM

Mr. Stark, the FBI agents are here and I can’t find you or Harry. You aren’t in the bunker, are you? JARVIS won’t answer me, and I’ll feel very foolish if I have to explain that as your PA I don’t actually know whether you’re in your father’s bomb shelter or not! Please answer your phone.

3:10 PM

Tony, if they threaten me with obstruction I’m going to be very upset. The agents are saying they might come back with a warrant, and I know it’s a federal crime to lie to the FBI so I had to tell them I’d met Ms. Autumn. Please, PLEASE come out? I know you can get phone calls from inside there!

10:55 PM

Tony, where are you, it’s after ten! You only have enough fresh food in there for a few days! I’m… Wait, is that you on Channel-- [dial tone]

11:03 PM

You’re at a NIGHTCLUB! It made the NEWS, Tony! What if the FBI doesn't believe me? What if they think I was covering for you!? Do you know how many messages I left on Harry’s phone asking where the two of you were? I thought he was in the bunker with you trying to stop you from drinking yourself half to death! BOTH OF YOU COME HOME RIGHT NOW!!

When Tony returns from partying, he buries himself not in blankets and dreams, but files and memories. Stark Industries needs a new niche that isn’t weaponry, but draws on that expertise. Emory is at SHIELD’s mercy, and he doesn’t have any influence there. Is there something he could do that would solve both problems at once?

Some intrepid assistant in the late 80’s had digitized Howard Stark’s paper files, but they’re all mixed together, probably on purpose. He decides to track down the schematics he’d been so dazzled by when he was six and about to be sent away to boarding school; Tony had spent three glorious days digging through a couple of metal briefcases that had been accidentally left in his bedroom instead of the storage study one room over. At the time, Tony had been convinced they were for a secret government thing his dad was doing, and that was why they were sending him away to school. For his protection.

School had stripped away that sense of wonder, and eventually his father’s cold demeanor taught Tony to keep his questions to himself. Uncovering those memories is an uncomfortable process best done with the veneer of inebriation, but the physical effects mean he’s not very efficient. By dawn, the files are still elusive, and the issues that made him want to go drinking in the first place won’t go away. 

He decides to sleep on it.

Tony’s phone rings as he’s carrying the bunker pillows and Emory’s left-behind shirt up to his bedroom. His first instinct when he sees the name on the display is to be glad it’s not the FBI. His second instinct is to wonder if Coulson has learned how to manipulate people from the same place Agent Romanoff did. The man has to know that Tony was out till 3 AM. The agent probably expects to leave a message with a set of instructions he’ll expect to be followed without push-back, or Coulson’s hoping to manipulate him while he’s sleep-deprived and hung over.

As a result, Tony’s barely civil when he answers.

“You better be about to improve my mood, Doctor No.”

“Good morning. I have been asked to take over from Director Fury as your primary contact.”

“Wow,” Tony says. “Tell Boris he was almost the father figure I already had, will you?” Tony needs to yawn, but he holds it back.

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly the sort of message I was assigned to prevent,” Coulson says. The man’s deadpan delivery doesn’t change a whit. “Something’s come past my desk that I think you can help me clear up: is it true that you snuck out from under your PA’s nose yesterday afternoon to avoid a scheduled FBI interview?”

The rush of relief Tony feels is probably premature, but Coulson is handing him a resolution on a silver platter right now. “Pepper told on me? Look, I deal with a lot of acronyms. I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered if I was supposed to be at a meeting with the CIA.” He pauses for dramatic effect, then adds, “Not that I wouldn’t have still snuck out. Everybody hates those guys.”

“Are you asking me to smooth this over for you, Mr. Stark?”

“Is it illegal for me to say yes?” Tony shoots back. “Because if we’re in the plot of Entrapment, I want my money back unless there will be red lasers and hot women in skin-tight black leotards.”

He can’t help but picture Emory in the iconic outfit, and Tony tightens his hand around the spy shirt she’d left behind. The message he’d gotten from Natasha Romanoff at midnight had been promising, but sharing an apartment with another agent could be worse in the long run. The freedom Emory will gain will be tempered by the possibility of off-hours propaganda and persuasion.

“Sir?”

Oops. Coulson had been talking. Tony gives in to the yawn, making it as loud and obnoxious as possible.

“I was busy picturing that. Go on?”

“I was just saying, if we wanted to trap you, sir? We’d be more subtle. Speaking of which, any word on how long you’ll be staying in New York? I’d love to know if I’ll need to rent something long-term,” Coulson says, still as studiously polite as always, but now with a tiny edge to his tone, sharp as a razorblade. 

“I’ll be sticking around for as long as your archer plays house with my girlfriend, Phil.”

Tony doesn’t want to like this guy, mostly because it feels like there are two kinds of people in Phil Coulson’s world: the people he’s manipulating into liking him, and the people he’s screwing over very courteously. Tony’s been trying to manipulate the man right back, but it’s a delicate balance. Right before he’d left for New York, Tony had found a rare part for the guy’s beloved classic car and had it delivered by courier. That had been the carrot, and now, he supposes, comes the stick.

Coulson’s extolling the virtues of a particular apartment building he’s got an eye on when Tony interrupts. “Say, since you’re so good at passing notes, can you ask your boss if he can give me a call? I’ve got a business opportunity for him.”

There’s a moment of silence before Coulson wryly asks, “Should I address this message to ‘Boris?’ Or Director Fury?”

It's a shrewd question, and Tony's too fucking tired to play his usual hard to get. "Go with his official name this time, will you, Junior? Blame the lapse on sleep deprivation. And don't ever call me this early again, or I'll clone your voice with my AI and start releasing shit about Area 51 framing you as the source."

“Point taken, sir. Sleep well.”

Tony turns the phone off completely. “Yeah, I wish,” he says to no one. Thankfully, his head barely hits the pillow that smells faintly of Emory’s hair before he feels oblivion reaching out for him.

Emory wakes up in an actual bedroom.

Not a secure office dressed as one. Not a fancy hotel that reeks of opulent impermanence. Not a barely habitable cave with a truly embarrassing method of relieving oneself. A bedroom. The room Clint had given her even has a lock.

She’d spent so little time at her apartment while working as Rory’s PA that her last ‘home bedroom’ was pre-Rory, the room in her dad’s house. That memory is tainted by the conflict between herself and her parents about Rory’s influence, though. The time she got to spend at Tony’s mansion hadn’t felt like home either. It had passed almost like a daydream, a stolen few hours that, true to form, had ended with her being sent back to reality. When she was with him, Emory had felt like maybe she could belong there, but now, back in the real world, it’s hard not to feel foolish.

Rolling over, she buries her face in Tony’s shirt as she had so often the night before, picturing him across the room about to climb back into bed with her. It’s hard not to wonder how many women have done the same. Most of them were probably tall, glamorous, and rich, better suited to his world than she ever could be. Her rational mind is trying to tell her that Tony Stark is new to the hero business, and she was just a convenient damsel in distress. Her heart’s response is to remember the desperate catch in his voice as he screamed in the desert, angry at her for maybe dying and forcing the words ‘I love you’ from his throat.

Her instinct is to do what she’s always done: endure. This time, though, Emory wants to fight for what she wants, as terrifying as it is, as new as that is. She wants to live. She wants to love. How did everything suddenly become so hard?

Groaning, Emory gets up and makes the bed, tucking Tony's clothes under the pillow like she's burying a secret. As she has for the last few weeks, she also buries her instinct to go with the flow, to not make waves, to hide, safe and invisible. It's too late for that. Tony- or Natasha Romanoff -would find her. And if they didn't, well, thanks to the serum, she basically has an expiration date. The effects of her dependency are going to start manifesting themselves soon. 

She dresses and slips on the fuzzy slippers Clint had lent her, unlocks her door, and starts up the hallway toward the kitchen. On the way, she sees that his bedroom door is open, revealing a loft bed with a desk underneath, just like a college dorm. Most of the room is taken up by what looks like a built-in climbing wall that curves up onto the ceiling, anchored with some seriously thick cables.

“I’d offer to let you try it out, but I don’t actually have a rig, just pads for underneath. Not great for newbies,” Clint says from the other side of the hallway. He’s sipping from a mug, which he holds up. “I remember you usually avoided the SHIELD coffee. I approve. Want some of the good stuff, or did your cave detox put you in a good place?”

“Give?” Emory says, walking toward him like a mummy. She’d warmed to Barton during her training sessions, and he’s even more likeable here in his own home, relaxed and welcoming. The contrast between the way he’s treating her after knowing her for a month and the way Rory's treated her for the past nine years is stark, no pun intended.

“Right, what am I talking about? This is probably crap compared to your-- To Stark’s,” Clint says, stumbling over the right way to refer to Tony. Emory can’t blame him. Technically, she’s not supposed to be Stark’s anything.

A stubborn kernel of hope blazes in her chest, as she says, “Honestly, after three solid months of bean soup for every meal, coffee is coffee,” and follows him into the kitchen. There’s a towel with one of those crochet button clasps hanging from the stove handle.

“Well, in that case, you’re just going from one bean soup to another.”

Emory takes his proffered cup and watches him walk over to clean the machine he’d made it with, real barista-level equipment. He shoots a look over his shoulder to catch her first sip. It’s delicious.

“Agent Barton, this is some high class bean soup. Thank you.”

“I made a promise that I would indulge myself every day. This is what I picked,” Clint says.

“You mean your overhanging death wall wasn’t it?” she asks, walking over to rest her hip on the kitchen island and watch him.

He chuckles. “No.”

“Thank you, truly,” she tells him after a few more (indulgent is definitely the word) sips. “I didn’t know how on Earth I was going to balance my association with Tony and my obligations to the mission. Staying here is the perfect compromise.”

“Glad to help,” Clint says gruffly, focused on wiping off the counter. “That can be a delicate thing. Worth it, though, if he is.”

Emory blows out a long sigh, staring at her feet. “Looking at it from the other way around, I sure hope it is.” Across the room, she hears him let out a similar noise and looks over, curious. Clint looks sheepish.

“I wasn’t supposed to mention him in case it got you charged up. Sorry about that.”

“Hah, so my self-doubt saved your apartment? Does that cancel out the whole dive-bomb rescue thing on the day we met?”

"Let's not get too hasty," he teases, jumping his eyebrows at her. A second later, he shifts into 'agent' mode. "We need to make a 'game plan.' The goal is for you to take a walk and get sighted. The building itself is secure; unofficially mostly government workers and domestic violence survivors live here, but there's an unspoken agreement with the local media about that." His smile is full of promise; whether it's for her protection or for a journalist's destruction if they choose to overstep is unclear.

“Guardians and survivors, convenient,” Emory murmurs.

“Exactly.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and starts tapping at it as he speaks. “Nat wants you to get groceries today, a courier will drop off a bank card. Says here yours was--” Clint frowns, squinting at the phone in his hand. As he reads, his jaw firms up into a hard frown. “Your account was closed ten days after the initial attack in Afghanistan. By Rory Fall. She showed them Power of Attorney papers.”

Shock and dismay lock up her muscles and she sways a little. Clint reaches out and grabs her upper arm to steady her. His grip isn’t meant to hurt, she can tell, but right now, everything is heightened, so the skin under his hands burns.

“Look at me,” he says. She does, still reeling, both surprised and (horribly) not surprised. “You okay?”

“I’ve watched her turn on people for years, I just never thought--” Emory shakes her head. Her tear ducts grind to a halt with the dry pain of understanding just how much she’s lost, how different her life is. Tears are premium content now, and she’s just a regular person.

“Did you make her your POA?”

She shakes her head again. “My parents sent me the paperwork for one. It was their last-ditch effort to-- To, crap, to prevent this, to stop Rory from trying to screw me over if we had a falling out. I didn’t sign them, but I didn’t get rid of them either.” Rory must have gone through her things and falsified the documents with her own name instead of Emory’s parents’. After all, everything in Rory Fall’s life was about Rory Fall. In Rory’s mind, Emory’s salary was ‘her money in the first place,’ after she’d been deserted during the most traumatic moment of her life. 

Fuck, Emory thinks to herself. Her own ‘most traumatic’ train is heading downhill, adding events as it goes, but she’s still rationalizing, still working to understand Rory’s actions. If only her former friend’s loyalty had run that deep!

Clint guides her toward his small couch, snagging her coffee cup on the way. “So they’re forged?” He sits her down and hands over the mug.

“I would never have given her Power of Attorney over me. In Rory’s twisted mind, she probably thinks it’s her money if I’m not there to spend it, but--”

He walks away from her abruptly. “No excuses.”

She’d been trying to explain Rory’s thought process, but the marksman’s curt comment hits home. 

Emory changes tack. “At least this works out perfectly for SHIELD! It proves I have no money,” she says, taking gulping sips of her cooled coffee. He doesn't answer, his head stuck in the fridge, shuffling things around. “What are you doing? Do you have some kind of crazy ‘dormant when refrigerated’ weapon in there?”

“I’m making a grocery list. One thing at a time.”

“That works,” she says, sitting back on the couch. As she lifts the mug to drain the last sip, Emory notices the design. It says, ‘Fix It Yourself.’ The O in ‘yourself’ is a bullseye, and the sideways word ‘it’ is made up of several arrows.

The only way to do that involves crossing half the globe and lying to the person who holds her life in the palm of their hand. Emory turns the cup so the words face away, but she knows she’ll have to follow its advice anyway.

The first thing Tony does when he finally wakes up is check on the status of the palladium shipment he appropriated from SI’s factory. The weapons ordered prior to Tony’s cut-off date of mid-July have been constructed and much of the raw material deliveries have been paused. During their discussions in the limo on the way to New York, Emory had suggested that the company offer a two or three week paid vacation for the factory employees whose jobs are in question. He’d set the thought aside in favor of spending time with her, but now Tony dials up Stane’s number to put that in motion.

“Hey, Tony. I see you were finally back to your old self last night!” Obie says, in greeting.

“Yeah, well, keeping up appearances,” Tony says. A knot forms in his gut, similar to what Emory had described when dealing with Rory. He’s not a fan. “Hey, you still planning to come out this direction next week?”

“Yeah, I have some loose ends to tie up. Why? Did you need something? If you’ve got some new projects I’d be happy to tell the boar--”

“Still percolating in there,” Tony interrupts. “I was looking to get ahold of the palladium we won't be needing. Instead of cancelling it I figured I'd just take the regular shipment. It’s just less hassle if you bring it.” 

There’s a sigh on the line. “Tony, I don’t think we have any extra right now. Did you order more on top of the standard delivery for the factory?”

“We’re not using it at the factory.”

“Tony, production doesn’t just halt overnight, we--”

“I was very clear about the deadlines,” Tony says, standing up to pace. The knot has turned into a lead weight. “We’ve satisfied our obligations up to the middle of July, which is why I was about to ask you to give the whole factory staff a two week paid vacation while we shift the production lines over to something more benign.” He can hear frantic typing on Stane’s end. “You didn’t halt the lines, did you?”

“Tony--”

“Did you?”

“I thought you were going to change your mind! It’s not sound business practice to interrupt production at this kind of scale on a whim!”

He’s having trouble swallowing, but it’s not because of the anxiety, it’s because of anger. “Shut it down. All of it. By the end of this week, or I’ll fly out there and give the maintenance guys something to do after I fire a couple of repulsors at every piece of equipment!” Tony slams his hand down on a worktable, knowing Obie will hear the sound through the phone line. “Come on! You knew I wasn’t going to budge on this!”

“I needed to know you were serious, and now I know you’re serious,” Stane says, a hint of the ‘make it right’ businessman tone returning to his voice. “Tell you what: let me boost the palladium order for this next week so there's enough for both. We’ll extend production ‘till the end of July, make it a nice round number, give these workers some warning, okay? August is a better vacation month anyway. First of August they’ll get two weeks paid vacation, everyone but security.”

Tony’s jaw is so tightly clenched he can’t respond right away.

“Tony? Hey, I know you’re passionate about this stuff but we’re still a business. A month is a much better time frame to develop a new plan. You know I’m right.”

“Do it, then,” Tony grits out.

“Good man,” Obie says in the fatherly tone Tony’s come to despise. “I’ll bring the palladium in a week. When I get there, you’ll give me some kind of an idea of what we’re transitioning to, and the two of us will get the company back on solid ground. See you then.”

Stane hangs up without a response.

“JARVIS, was there ever a slow-down in production?” Tony asks, the second he sets his phone down.

“All I can find is an internal memo informing workers that there may be a temporary halt sometime in July.”

“Right.”

Tony throws himself in his chair, the momentum carrying it away from his desk, which is just as well. He needs to calm down before he makes any of this worse. He briefly considers going upstairs and getting Emory’s shirt, since it smells like her, but that reminds him too much of what he’d done at seventeen. He’d had the housekeeping staff pack up his dad’s clothes and general belongings to put them in storage right away, but kept his mothers things where they were for months. He’d yo-yo between extremes, partying it up and pretending he didn’t care, then curling up on his mother’s side of the bed hugging one of her dresses, sobbing.

With a sigh, Tony recognizes that this comparison is toxic; Emory is alive and his, a partner who needs Tony’s actions, not his sentimentality. He resolves to work on his secret project for her this evening, as soon as he gets a few things out of the way.

“All right,” he says aloud, walking the chair back to his desk without getting up, Flintstones-style. “Do we have the capability to store palladium at our New York office? There are still research labs there, right JARVIS?”

“Indeed there are.”

“Order some under the name of the most senior employee with a note that they’re to contact me and only me upon receipt, but be diplomatic. I don’t want to signal a rift.”

“Are you certain they’ll believe it was from you, sir?”

“Funny,” Tony says. “Next item: I’d like to use Stane’s Opposition Strategy on SHIELD, with some modifications. Copy over all related files and analyze them for anything that might get Nick Fury’s panties in a bunch if I implement it.”

“Estimate ten minutes for full copy, twenty more for analysis. Do you wish me to erase evidence of the copy?”

“Good catch, make it so.”

He gets up to make a smoothie, patting Dum-E on the way over. It had been JARVIS who’d suggested bringing his ‘pets,’ another point in the AI’s column of knowing Tony better than he knew himself, sometimes. As the blender spun, Tony thought over what he knew about Stane’s Oppo strategy. JARVIS will be more thorough, but there’s only so much intuition one can program in. Tony knows he probably relies too much on intuition, but something about SHIELD feels off, and before he throws in his lot with the agency, he wants to know why. It’s no different than when they run the program on a company they hope to buy out.

The key part of the Strategy is analysis. That’s what Tony wants to use on SHIELD, despite the fact that the data set will be incomplete, given how secret most of their operations are. What he’s hoping for is a glimpse into the vulnerabilities of the agency, as evidenced by what the deep dive comparisons that the Opposition Strategy might reveal. That thought prompts another one.

“Hey, J? Do a quick scan through the Not Nows and Not Yets, in projects. I want to know whether anyone’s done some poking around in the past two weeks.” The blender stops, and Tony adds, “Hell, add the current ones too, note any unusual access.”

After a minute, JARVIS says, “Two files show anomalous access, both by Mr. Stane after hours, approximately eight days ago.”

The knot is back. “Hit me.”

“Multiple copies of the Repulsor technology details and schematics in various places, some encrypted. Single copy of the Sonic Taser, encrypted. Access was from his private residence.”

“Obie, Obie, what are you doing?” Tony says, brows furrowed. “Didn’t the government threaten us with new legislation if we didn’t completely scrap and bury that Taser?”

“Colonel Rhodes likened pursuing the project further to ‘peeing on the third rail in public, within a mile of an elementary school,’ yes, sir.”

“He’s just jealous he didn’t get a working ‘Get Out of Indecent Exposure Charges Free’ card from MIT security,” Tony laughs. “God bless gender quota hiring.” A second later, he freezes in the act of taking a sip of his smoothie. “Son of a bitch. Obie didn’t destroy the prototype, did he?”

“Ascertaining that will be difficult, and likely will require physical interviews, which may create more trouble than you may wish to-- wait, what am I saying?”

“You’re saying trouble is my middle name, JARVIS. Usually you’d be right, but this time I’d like to avoid the consequences if at all--” Tony gulps down the rest of the smoothie over the word ‘possible’ and sets the cup down for his robot to clean. He points at Dum-E. “If that breaks, I’ll let a group of toddlers glue the pieces all over you, wherever they want.” He gestures broadly as he back-walks to the desk.

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but parents generally avoid letting their small children anywhere near broken glass,” JARVIS points out.

“Well, that’s boring,” Tony observes. “What was I saying?”

“Ironically, you were discussing your desire to avoid consequences.”

“Personally, yes. I’ll reserve judgement on Stane, though. I want to know what he’s up to, first.” 

He sits down at the desk and thinks about the Sonic Taser. Its function is really limited outside of law enforcement and military use, though he had joked about using it to make the board sit still and listen to him. The thing is inherently antagonistic; the only way to avoid total, temporary incapacitation is to already be wearing earplugs before the device is activated. 

“Do they make undetectable earplugs?” he muses aloud. He takes threats to his autonomy very seriously, unless they’re hot, wearing spandex, and digging a knee into his lower back.

“You have asked that question a total of three times since my creation, and the answer has been ‘no’ for two of those times,” JARVIS states dryly.

“That’s a yes now, then? Order me a pair.” Murphy’s Law states that if he’s prepared for a threat, it’ll never materialize, but something about Obie’s demeanor lately feels vaguely threatening. He wouldn’t put it past the guy to use the Taser to force Tony to listen to him. After Afghanistan, Tony’s through being forced to do anything. At that thought, a collage of images cross his mind’s eye, all of Emory, and he has to amend his previous assertion to ‘almost’ anything.

“Analysis complete,” JARVIS says, filling Tony’s screen with various windows of information. “Advise not exercising official channels to request mission data from the military, but speaking to Colonel Rhodes, instead. Strongly suggest not revealing any knowledge of statistical data when speaking to Agent Coulson or Director Fury. Further conclusions will require an examination of the program results.” JARVIS pauses, then adds, “In summary, I predict a high chance of panty bunching. Proceed with caution.”

Tony cracks a smile despite himself. “Will do. Run the program, I’ll call Rhodes.”

Next chapter, the effects of serum withdrawal start to hit Emory, meaning that the mission must come soon; Tony seeks to reassure her and himself with a spicy phone call.

[specialagentlokitty]

Okay! I have so many ideas!

1. Lucifer x twin! Reader - Reader meets Lucifer after he first comes to LA

2. McGee x Tony's twin Reader - Reader and McGee go on a date but McGee doesn't realise who Reader's brother is until Tony finds out

3. Spencer Reid x Reader - Coffee shop Meet cute where Reader is also another FBI agent

4. Derek x Reader - Reader is Derek's spouse who finds out they have a brain tumour.

5. Snape x Reader - Severus meets the new muggle studies teacher his childhood best friend

6. Tony x Reader - Reader is one of Tony's old MIT friends and at a party, drunk Rhodey tells them about Tony's crush on them or drunk Tony confesses his love

7. Bruce x Reader or Phil Coulson x Reader - Reader is their godchild who has autism. They get sensory overloads and like to have a strict routine.

8. Merlin x twin! Reader & Arthur x Reader - Merlin's twin confesses their love for Arthur on accident through magic flowers.

9. Mycroft x Moriarty's twin/sibling - Mycroft dates Reader, trying to get info on Jim but ends up falling for them.

10. Moriarty x twin! Reader - them building their empire/web

11. 12th Doctor x Reader - sees famous composer reader at their concert after he left them on Earth a few years before

12. 11th Doctor x Reader - Rory's sibling falls for the Doctor but hides it thinking the Doctor doesn't reciprocate. Thinks he likes River but when Reader gets hurt, he confesses.

13. 9th Doctor x Child! Reader - Reader is the doctor's unofficially adopted human child. instead of Rose becoming Bad Wolf, Reader does and the Doctor saves them. "I want you safe. My Doctor. My dad."

14. 9th Doctor x Reader - Reader is basically like the doctor's human soundboard who he rants to. Set after Rose saves her father and Reader has something to say. "There was only two real human reactions to a loved one's death. Either you save them and change everything or you leave them to die and hold so much guilt for it"

Ahhhh yesss thank you for these I love them all!!

[octocurse]

Neo 3!

rbs are appreciated

[kudosmyhero]

Daredevil (vol. 1) #113: When Strikes the Gladiator!

Read Date: May 31, 2023 Cover Date: September 1974 ● Writer: Steve Gerber ● Penciler: William Robert Brown ● Inker: Vince Colletta ● Colorist: Linda Lessman ● Letterer: Artie Simek ● Editor: Roy Thomas ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● GLADIATOR <3 ● is Matt finally back in New York for good? ● Artie Simek’s lettering is chef's 💋. never really noticed until I came across a lot of comics with not-great lettering ● DD heading to Netflix headquarters, apparently

● if Candace needs a lawyer, why didn’t she call her brother, the D.A.? ● o_o is that the first time we really see Gladiator’s blades cut someone? ● ah, so that’s why Candace didn’t call Foggy ● a mention of both the Daily Bugle and ESU. could there be a Spidey crossover in the near future? ● finally a good DD story! ● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Following the defeat of the Mandrill and the Black Spectre, Matt Murdock decides to remain in New York for the time being in order to get the District Attourney's office back in order while Foggy Nelson is still recovering and bids farewell to Natasha for the time being parting with a kiss. Out on patrol as Daredevil, Matt broods over his relationship with the Black Widow and the current state of things in his life, he returns home just to miss a phone call.

It is from Candace Nelson who is trying to get a hold of Matt Murdock to represent her now that two FBI agents have come to take her into protective custody. With no time to wait, they take the research papers she has collected and is being led out when suddenly her apartment is crashed by the Gladiator. He critically wounds the two FBI Agents, takes the research papers and escapes with Candace as his prisoner.

When news breaks out, Foggy and Matt are worried about Candace's well being, and Matt decides to investigate. Going to Empire State University, where Candace had told him her trouble began, he meets with School of Journalism teacher Charles Laing. Liang explains that Candace took an interest in the universities work with the military and stumbled upon experiments conducted by former ESU professor Ted Sallis regarding Formula SO-2 that would turn people into pollution breathing creatures so that the current rate of prophets for progress could continue unimpeded long after the pollution makes it too toxic for normal humans to live. The troubling fact about this research is that none of the research or it's findings ever went public and stranger still Sallis has since gone missing in the Florida Everglades.

Traveling out to Citrusville, Florida, Matt Murdock meets with radio DJ Richard Rory who tells Murdock everything he knows about the disappearance of Ted Sallis, the strange murders that happened at his old home, and the creature known as the Man-Thing. Being taken out to the Sallis property, both Richard and Matt are attacked by the Gladiator. When Richard is knocked out, Matt slips away to change into Daredevil.

During the fight, Daredevil has the advantage over his old foe, until Gladiator's missing swings cuts loose a tree branch that lands on Daredevil's head, knocking him out. Then out of the bushes comes the Gladiator's employer, a costumed villain known as the Death-Stalker. He orders the Gladiator to kill Daredevil, and as the Gladiator raises his arm to land the killing blow, the Man-Thing shambles out of the swamp to witness the scene.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Daredevil_Vol_1_113)

Fan Art: The Gladiator by Kyle_Miller

Accompanying Podcast: ● Josh and Jamie Do Daredevil - episode 18

[dialsdrnk]

new muses added ! i also dropped a few who i hadn't done anything with. under the cut, there's some introductions. <;3 please like if you want me to come plot with you for any of them.

phillip "lip" fry. jeremy strong. 45. bisexual. he/him — coo of a multi-billion media company, divorced, absolute failure of a father and husband. few redeeming qualities, overall public menace. disclaimer: highly inspired off of kendall roy, not even gonna lie about it. he's like kendall but written by someone who's never seen succession. me, i've seen like 3 episodes. selective muse.

jeffrey love. timothy olyphant. 54. bisexual. he/him — starting out strong with another bad father, jeff. he's a sports agent who has been married once, young, had a son and promptly fucked off; however, he's now taking a turn and after years of partying and traveling the world, he's decided to get sober and try to get his life together. he's high energy, think chris traegar from parks and rec, a little wild, too charismatic for his own ( and your own ) good. semi-selective muse.

jack love. wolfgang novogratz. 25. gay. he/him — good boy poet, turned calculated lawyer. pretty much all of jack's problems can be traced to ^ that guy — at least, if you ask jack about it, that's the case. he's full of himself, just as sickeningly charismatic as his dad is and mad about it, and is quite honestly a nepo baby who's had everything handed to him. struggles with his sexuality due to some traumatic bullying that left him unable to do athletics anymore in high school. despite his hard shell, he is still very much a hopeless romantic, and has a deep love for literature.

aurora "rory" everett. kaylee bryant. 22. pansexual. she / they — comes from a deeply troubled family, the youngest half-sibling of my muse, axel. rory's studying to be a veterinarian and she's always operated with a dreamy kind of mellow demeanor — a stark contrast to her older brother. she's gentle, kind, patient, and a natural leader, but she also really struggles not to keep people at an arm's distance due to the nature of her upbringing.

dani lee. hwang yeji. 21. lesbian. she / they / he — youngest of a very prestigious, very toxic family. not much was ever expected of dani as the fifth and most averagely skilled of her siblings, so she gets away with a lot more than they do — they're also not particularly close, except for her and flynn. she's coasting by in college, keeps changing her major, skates, basically just does whatever because she can. nothing but good times with this one. you know, until things start getting real.

merlin aurelia. tom holland. 25. gay. he/him — i don't really know what to say about this guy. in human verses, which be the default unless requested otherwise, he hops from gig to gig and scams people he thinks are dumb. he's an every man for himself kind of guy, lost his mom young, and has no sentiment towards his dad that isn't vile. in supernatural/superhero verses, he's a bloodbender, caught up in crime, and extremely unpredictable. chaotic evil is probably the alignment here? mix of that and chaotic neutral.

august "auggie" guidry. jonathan daviss. 23. pansexual. he/him — auggie's a part of a big, loving family and he is the definition of just a dude. low expectations in life, low worries; put out good in the world and it'll come back to you, probably, guy. he's autistic ( like me! my baby for real ), a college student, and he signs every one of his texts with the frog emoji. he can do frog impressions like you wouldn't believe. nothing else though, he's not a voice actor. he actually has no idea what he wants to do with his life, and could probably stand to be a little more curious about that.

[you10tubesworld]

➢ Subscribe:   / The Real Estate L...   Welcome globally-recognized marketer and serial entrepreneur Kurt Uhlir to the podcast! Kurt is the CMO for Showcase IDX and has the unique bilingual ability to speak business and tech. Kurt has generated over $10 billion in value for investors and clients as a business operator, product visionary, and angel investor. He has run businesses from start-up to over $500M annual revenue, assembled teams across six continents, had an IPO ($880M), and multiple acquisitions. He was at the front lines of creating several of the marketing channels we all use today, including social media management, influencer marketing, and location-based marketing. In recent years, he has focused on helping individual business owners and marketing agencies, with a heavy focus on real estate. At Showcase IDX, Kurt and his team have analyzed more than 50,000 real estate websites over each of the past 3 years, and the agent businesses behind them, to identify what works in modern marketing. Showcase IDX is the only true independency IDX service and the only home search that research shows consumers prefer to using Zillow. Things we discussed in this episode: - Why does a brokerage need an IDX site? - Does a good IDX site attract new clients? - What agents can do immediately to improve the influence of their websites. - How Kurt took an 18-month sabbatical to spend more time with his family. - In a world where anyone can be considered an “influencer” how can somebody set themselves apart? - Consumer privacy and what happens when a buyer gives information to Zillow. - What are some good practices to make use of the IDX investment and drive people to a real estate website? - What are 3 things real estate agents need to implement into their marketing strategies right now Where you can find Kurt: Website - https://kurtuhlir.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kurtuhlir/ YouTube -   / KurtUhlir   Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kurt.uhlir Twitter - https://twitter.com/KurtUhlir Join Jason Muth and Attorney / Broker Rory Gill of NextHome Titletown and UrbanVillage Legal in Boston, Massachusetts for another episode of The Real Estate Law Podcast! #realestatepodcast #nexthome #humansoverhouses #realestate #realestateinvesting #realestateinvestor #realestatelaw #entrepreneurship #idx #realestateagent #realestatemarketing #idxwebsites #timefreedom #cmo ___________________ The Real Estate Law Podcast is hosted by Jason Muth and Attorney / Broker Rory Gill. This podcast and these show notes are not legal advice, but we hope you find both entertaining and informative. The Real Estate Law Podcast, because real estate is more than just pretty pictures and law goes well beyond the paperwork and courtroom arguments. You can follow our sponsors here: NextHome Titletown Real Estate: https://www.instagram.com/nexthometit... https://www.facebook.com/nexthometitl... https://www.linkedin.com/company/next... AND PLEASE... 🚨 DON'T CLICK THIS LINK!! 🚨 - https://bit.ly/3rh6hdb

[bonesimagines]

Look To The Future Now, It's Only Just Begun (Aubrey/OMC)

So I wrote a fanfic where Bi!Aubrey slowly falls in love with one of Brennan's new interns, based on this prompt list by @creativepromptsforwriting. It's fluffy and Christmassy and gay and I'm so proud of myself that I finished it in time! The first chapters are rather short, but give the boys the time to get to know each other ;)

Oh yeah, you guys get the scoop, cause I have been uploading the chapters in real time on AO3, so the last two chapters (30 and 31) aren't uploaded there yet ;)

So without further ado: enjoy the story!

--------

Rating: PG-13. It's mostly just fluff, fluff and more fluff

Fandom: Bones

Words: 11,092

Relationships: James Aubrey/Rory Dupont (OMC)

Other Characters: Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins, Daisy Wick, Temperance Brennan, Seeley Booth

Other tags: Bi!Aubrey, Christmas fluff, developing relationship, strangers to friends to lovers

TW: Homophobia in part 20. It's noted there again. You can skip the chapter if this is a trigger for you.

Summary: Aubrey didn’t realise that borrowing the new intern’s scarf would lead to a beautiful friendship. And a huge crush. And maybe even more?

This is the link to the story on AO3, if you'd rather read it there.

Note: the chapters each represent 1 day of the month December :)

1. Baking

“Yeah, that’s great. I’m on my way.” Booth said into his phone. Aubrey looked at his own phone, not wanting to eavesdrop.

“Okay, I’ll ask him. See you in a bit.” Booth ended his call. “So, it’s one of the squintern’s birthday and he brought cake for an entire army. Wanna come?” He asked while putting on his jacket.

Aubrey smiled and nodded. “You know I’m always in for cake!”

The two agents walked into the Jeffersonian where their friends were chatting and laughing.

“Hi Booth, hi Aubrey, want a piece of cake?” Angela greeted them.

“Is that even a question?” Aubrey asked with a grin and everyone who heard him laughed.

“So, who’s birthday is it?” Booth asked as Aubrey ate his cake enthusiastically.

“Rory’s.” Hodgins answered.

“Happy birthday, man.” Booth said to the intern. “Cheers.”

“Thanks, Agent Booth.”

“Yeah, happy birthday! Where did you get that cake? It’s a-ma-zing!” Aubrey said, already taking a second serving.

“I made it myself.” Rory said, clearly proud.

“Oh my god, I think you’re my friend now.” Aubrey answered before stuffing his face with even more cake. Everyone laughed.

2. Scarf

Aubrey shuddered and put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. His jacket that was way too light for the early December temperatures. His teeth chattered lightly and he shuddered again.

“Agent Aubrey, please be quiet. I know it’s cold, but I can’t concentrate over here.” Rory said, standing over some human remains.

“Why did we have to be called out of bed to look at this guy? He won’t go anywhere anymore.” Aubrey murmured and Rory snorted. He looked up.

“I have my woolen scarf in my car. Take it, the door’s unlocked.” He smiled.

“Are you sure?” Aubrey asked.

“You said yesterday that we’re friends now, so I guess it’s okay as long as you give it back.” Rory grinned.

“You’re my hero.” Aubrey said and Rory concentrated on the remains again.

Aubrey shuddered one last time as he wrapped the scarf around his neck and buried his nose in the warm wool. This was better.

“Mr Dupont, tell me what you know.” Aubrey was shaken out of his warm cocoon by Dr Brennan coming on the scene. He took a deep breath. Time to be professional again.

3. Hot Chocolate

“Are you coming?” Aubrey asked Booth.

“Where to?”

“The Jeffersonian. They’re selling hot chocolate for charity,” Aubrey answered. “With marshmallows!”

“You go, I’ll be there in a minute. Have to do some paperwork first.”

Aubrey looked around in awe. The Jeffersonian was lit up with fairy lights and there was a huge Christmas tree in the income. Christmas music was playing. He recognised Mistletoe by Justin Bieber and sang along under his breath.

“James, hi!”

Aubrey turned around and was greeted by Angela wearing a Christmas hat.

“Hi Angela.” He smiled.

“Come on, I’ll show you the hot chocolate.”

“That’s the only reason I’m here to be honest.” Aubrey grinned and Angela rolled her eyes.

“Agent Aubrey. I was expecting you. With my scarf to be honest.” Rory said seriously, his arms crossed.

“Oh shit, I totally forgot about it. I’m sorry.” Aubrey said carefully. Rory uncrossed his arms and hit Aubrey’s shoulder playfully.

"I'm only teasing you." Rory grinned.

“Oh my god, I thought you were really angry with me.” Aubrey murmured and Rory laughed.

“Here, have a white hot chocolate with marshmallows. It’s my favourite and you’ll get warm without my scarf.” Rory winked.

Aubrey didn't let him ask it twice.

4. Starry night

Aubrey was happy he got his warm winter jacket this time when they called him out of his bed to go to a crime scene again. When he walked up to the scene, he saw that Dr Brennan and one of the interns had already arrived.

“Good evening, Agent Aubrey. The uniforms are over there to give you everything they know.” Dr Brennan said.

“Good evening Dr Brennan.” Aubrey smiled.

“And me?” Rory asked and Aubrey hit his forehead.

“I’m so sorry, if I had known it was your turn, I would’ve brought your scarf.” Aubrey said carefully.

“Don’t worry, it was supposed to be Wendall’s turn, but he’s out with the flu.” Rory smiled. Aubrey sighed, relieved.

“I’ll let you work!”

The crime scene was cleared pretty quickly. Everyone was already gone. It was just Rory and Aubrey, who were putting the last things away and some uniforms in the background.

“I see you’re dressed properly now.” Rory teased Aubrey and Aubrey laughed.

“Yeah. I guess the cold makes the people violent. I had to be prepared this time.”

There was a quiet moment, just them working around each other.

“You know, the most amazing thing about being this far out of the city, is the stars at night. Look up.” Rory said, leaning against the car. Aubrey leaned against the car as well and looked at the sky.

“Wow. This is not something you see every day.” Aubrey whispered and he smiled.

“I guess that is the star that the Wise Men followed to see baby Jesus.” Rory said, showing the pole star.

“You religious?” Aubrey asked, looking at Rory instead of the sky.

“Not really. I was baptised and I did go to a catholic primary school, so I know the most important stories. I just love Christmas.” Rory answered, also looking at Aubrey now. “What about you?”

“I was brought up Jewish, but I’m not really practicing.”

“I should go now. Tomorrow will be there quickly.” Rory said after another five minutes of staring at the sky.

“You’re right. See you later. Get home safe.”

Aubrey got into his car with a smile.

5. Snowman

“Uncle Aubrey! Are you coming to the light festival with us?” Christine asked enthusiastically.

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world! Especially when I can come with the mini-Booths.” Aubrey grinned and Christine hugged him shortly. Dr Brennan smiled at him.

“Come on Christine. You have to dress up warm, it is freezing outside.” She said. Christine ran to her room without a word.

“Thanks for having me.” Aubrey said.

“Don’t worry. You know you’re like family to us.” Dr Brennan smiled, putting her hand on Aubrey’s shoulder.

“I’m ready!” Christine said, buried in her scarf and hat.

***

“Wow, this is amazing.” Aubrey said, looking around in awe. The lights were always his favourite part of this time of year.

“Uncle Aubrey, look at that snowman! It’s huge!” Christine said. She took his hand in hers and pulled him to the lit up snowman enthusiastically. Aubrey laughed.

“Aah, Agent Aubrey.” he heard next to him and he turned around.

“Mr Dupont, nice to see you.” Aubrey said as seriously as possible when he saw it was Rory. “How are you doing on this fine evening?”

“Well, I’m cold to be honest. Cause someone still has got my woolen scarf.” Rory said accusingly.

“I know, I’m so sorry!” Aubrey said. “I’ll just bring it to the Jeffersonian next time I have to be there.” He said.

“I’m teasing you, James. I’m okay. Just here enjoying the festival with some friends. What about you?” He asked.

“I’m here with Brennan and Booth and the kids.” Aubrey smiled.

“Awe, is that Christine? She is a-dore-able.” Rory awed.

“Hi, who are you?” Christine asked.

“I’m Rory. I’m a friend of your mum’s and of uncle Aubrey.” Rory said, kneeling to be at the same height as Christine.

“Okay.” Christine said and she put all her attention back to the snowman. Rory laughed.

“Hi Mr Dupont.” Dr Brennan said.

“Hi Dr Brennan. Your daughter looks so much like you, it’s amazing.” Rory said.

“Yes, she does.” Booth said lovingly.

“Rory? Are you coming?” A girl asked.

“I’m going back to my friends. Have a good night!” He said, looking mainly at Aubrey. “See you next week in the lab, Dr Brennan.”

“Enjoy your night, Mr Dupont.” Dr Brennan answered.

Aubrey smiled.

6. Music:

Aubrey sighed and he shut down his laptop. He was the last one in the Hoover building and everything outside of his office was dark. He dimmed the light in his office and looked out of the window. He was still in awe of all the lights outside. In his mind, he even heard people laughing and the Christmas music that was doubtlessy playing in the streets.

He smiled and started to gather all his stuff. Aubrey laughed when he saw Rory’s scarf.

“Maybe I can take it to the Jeffersonian when I go tomorrow.” He said to himself and he nodded.

He put his nose in the scarf and smiled. Rory. Aubrey really liked him. Rory could be a savage sometimes, but he was always nice. He also didn’t look bad. Maybe a little crush?

“I can live with a little work crush.” Aubrey said to himself and he put the scarf back in his desk. Time to go home.

7. Snowflakes:

Rory blew in his hands before rubbing them together.

“You should really get a pair of gloves, you know?” Sasha teased him. Rory’s roommate had convinced him to go to the park with her. The park was full of those fairy lights that were all over the city and the first snow of the year was falling out of the sky. Rory had to admit: he liked the snow.

“Yeah, I know.” Rory rolled his eyes and shoved her playfully. “And that colleague of mine’s still got my scarf. I’m freezing.”

“Yeah, that colleague. That was the guy we saw at the light festival two days ago, right?” Sasha smirked. Rory rolled his eyes again.

“Sasha, he’s literally just a colleague. The light festival was the first time I saw him outside of work. And he was there with my mentor and her husband.”

“Yeah, but he’s cute. Don’t you tell me he’s not cute.” Sasha pushed. Rory didn’t answer immediately. He had to admit: Aubrey was cute.

“Okay, yeah, he’s cute.” Rory said, trying to let Sasha shut her mouth, but she squealed.

“I totally ship it!”

Rory couldn’t deny he wouldn’t mind if Aubrey showed up here in the park. But he mostly wanted his scarf back if he was completely honest.

8. Fluffy socks:

Aubrey looked at the scarf on his desk. He didn’t need to go to the Jeffersonian today, but he didn’t want to keep Rory waiting for his scarf. Just stopping at the Jeffersonian on the way home wouldn’t be that bad, so he decided he would.

The Jeffersonian was unusually quiet. He saw his friends on the platform though.

“Hello Agent Aubrey. What are you doing here?” Dr Brennan asked.

“I wanted to give Rory his scarf back. I’ve had it for a week now.”

“Rory didn’t have to work today. I think he’s home.” Hodgins answered.

“Is it possible to give me his address?” Aubrey asked.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Come along.” Angela answered and Aubrey smiled.

***

He was lucky: Rory did live only one block away from him, so he’d parked in front of his own apartment and walked the little distance to Rory’s. He knocked on the door. He was insecure, really didn’t know how Rory would react. He didn’t have to wait long, though. Rory opened the door and looked at him in surprise.

“I’m here with your scarf.” Aubrey said with a shy smile.

“How did you know where I live?” Rory asked, still surprised.

“I’m an FBI Agent, Rory.” Aubrey answered with a bit more confidence. Rory raised an eyebrow.

“Angela gave me your address.” Aubrey grinned and Rory laughed.

“I just baked some cookies and was about to watch a Christmas movie. Wanna come in?” Rory asked.

“If I’m not intruding?” Aubrey asked.

“Of course not. My roommate is out of town, so I’m home alone. Come in and get comfy on the sofa.” Rory held the door open. “I’m taking some snacks and I’ll be right with you.” he winked.

Aubrey snooped around in the living room. He couldn’t help himself. He smiled looking at all the pictures. There was even one of Rory and his friends at a gay pride.

“Yeah, out and proud here.” Rory said when he saw Aubrey looking at the picture. He put down all the snacks on the table.

“That’s a really cool picture.” Aubrey answered. “I wish I was that out and proud.”

“You what?” Rory asked, surprised. Aubrey laughed.

“I’m bi, just not really out. Not that I desperately want to stay in the closet, but no one asked before. And I’ve only been with one woman since I arrived in Washington.” He explained.

“Thanks for telling me.” Rory smiled and Aubrey smiled back.

“Come on, let’s watch Love, Actually. Take your shoes off and put these fluffy socks on. It’s a must.” Rory said while getting comfortable on the sofa.

“I’m okay with that.” Aubrey laughed and he got comfortable next to him before sneaking a cookie in his mouth.

9. Candles:

“Seriously, Angela. That new restaurant near my apartment looks so freaking good! It’s mostly Western European dishes and I want to try it so bad.”

“Maybe we should go together. See it as a sorry for keeping your scarf for so long.”

***

Rory still remembered Aubrey asking him to dinner and he didn’t really know what to think about it. He didn’t think it was a real date. More like two friends going out. But he was still looking forward to it.

He had been waiting for only five minutes before Aubrey showed up. Wearing a dark blue shirt and a bomber jacket. He looked amazing.

“Hi Aubrey. Thank you for taking me. I’ve been meaning to come since they opened.” Rory said as Aubrey sat down.

“Please, call me James now we’re not at work.” Aubrey grinned and Rory made a mental note about it.

“Well, James, let’s get something to eat.” Rory grinned. “I already know what I’m getting.”

“Tell me.”

“Bœuf bourguignon. That’s a beef stew, made with wine. It’s amazing.” Rory answered.

“Well, I’m taking the same.” Aubrey said with a satisfying smile.

They both ordered their food and took the time to look around. Most of the tables were occupied by couples, most of them holding hands or looking at each other with love in their eyes. It was only then that Rory realised there were candles on their table as well.

“Well, the candles surely make it romantic.” Rory mentioned.

“Yeah, I didn’t really think it through when I asked you to come. It seems the restaurant is a go to spot for couples and dates.” Aubrey answered, laughing.

The waiter brought them their food and they said their thanks.

“Well, enjoy your food, boyfriend.” Aubrey grinned and Rory laughed.

“Bon appetit!”

Rory had an amazing night out with Aubrey. They talked about nothing and everything at once and Rory was sure he had found a true friend.

10. Ornaments

*Hiya James! You free tonight? My roommate is still out of town and I’ve got a new video game ;) Also: the cookies I made are getting bad if no one’s gonna eat them. Wanna come over?*

Aubrey smiled when he got that message from Rory. Of course he’d go to his. He really liked the guy and then he didn’t have to be alone in his cold apartment.

*There at 7?*

*Your reservation for 7 is accepted.*

Aubrey laughed and shook his head. Idiot.

***

“Oh my god, you put up your Christmas tree.” Aubrey said, excited.

“Yeah, Sasha and I love Christmas, so I wanted to surprise her when she comes home tomorrow.” Rory explained.

“I love these ornaments. Did you make them yourself?” Aubrey asked, looking at the tree with the biggest interest.

“My siblings did. And since I can’t see them for Christmas this year, I thought it would be nice to have those in the tree.”

“Why can’t you see your siblings?” Aubrey asked, putting his jacket over a chair before sitting down on the couch.

“My family moved to Europe when I’d graduated high school.” Rory told him.

“Really? Why?” Aubrey asked, interested.

“My dad is Belgian. We went to Belgium every year in summer to visit family and my parents had wanted to move there for a long time.” Rory smiled. “There’s my last name from: Dupont. It’s French.”

“Oh my god, do you speak French then?”

“Not really. My dad is from the Dutch part of Belgium. We all grew up bilingual. It’s pretty cool.” Rory explained. “Yeah, I know, French last name, Dutch part. Belgium is complicated.”

“It’s a bummer you’re not seeing your family for Christmas, though.” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, but we skype as much as we can, so I’m okay.” Rory told him.

“That’s nice.”

“So, what is that video game you got?” Aubrey asked after a short silence. “I’m gonna destroy you, no matter what.”

Rory laughed.

“Challenge accepted.”

11. Family:

“Hey, Rory, you okay?” Rory heard through the speaker of his phone.

“Hey James. Something wrong?” Rory asked.

“No, just saw that there’s a food truck festival in the park near our apartments. Wanna join me?” Aubrey asked.

“Already putting my jacket on.” Rory answered with a grin.

***

“So, you say you’ve never tried tacos?” Aubrey asked, almost shocked. They were walking to the park together.

“No, we never ate it at home, and just never had the need to try it.” Rory confessed. “My dad isn’t the type for international kitchen, so we didn’t really try anything new all our lives”

“Oh, poor you. I’m having tacos and you will try one. With me, it was my dad who made the taco’s every Friday night…” Suddenly, the smile on Aubrey’s face disappeared.

“Oh, James, I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” Rory asked, concerned.

“No, it’s alright.” Aubrey forced the smile on his face again and walked a little bit faster.

“Hey, James, stop for a minute.” Rory took Aubrey’s arm with a light grip. Aubrey wasn’t looking at him.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, but I want you to know that I see you as a real friend, even if we haven’t known each other for a long time. I’m here for you if something’s wrong.”

There was a short silence. Rory could feel Aubrey tense up.

“My dad was a criminal. He stole a lot of money from a lot of people and left my mum and me with nothing. He left my mum without any money to take care of me. I was 14.” Aubrey told, still not looking at Rory. “It just feels wrong to have good memories regarding him.”

“As far as I hear, he’s been a real dad for a short time. It is okay to have good memories from that time. You’re not a bad person for that.”

Aubrey finally looked up, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Can I give you a hug?” Rory asked. Aubrey nodded.

“I’d like that.”

Rory took Aubrey in his arms for a tight, comforting hug.

“Come on, let’s go eat some tacos.” Rory nudged Aubrey’s shoulder. “My treat.”

“I’d like that, too.”

12. Traditions

“Okay, guys, listen up.” Rory said to all of his friends at the Jeffersonian. The latest case was solved and they were celebrating it. “Since I can’t see my actual family this year, I want to share one of our traditions with you, my new family.”

“Oh Rory, shut up, you’re going to make me cry.” Angela answered. A synced ‘Awe’ filled the room.

“So it’s food related.” Rory said.

“Are you sure you want Aubrey here then? He’ll eat everything before we all have the chance to try it.” Booth remarked and everyone laughed at Aubrey’s innocent face.

“I have enough for the entire Jeffersonian Institute, so we’ll be okay.” Rory winked, looking Aubrey in the eyes.

“The thing we always eat on Christmas Eve is cheese fondue. So I brought everything we need to enjoy cheese fondue with all of you.” Rory told everyone.

“You are the real MVP, Rory.” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, I’m sure I am.” Rory answered, shoving Aubrey’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s eat.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Aubrey answered.

***

Rory looked around him for a moment, taking in everyone enjoying the cheese fondue. He felt a warmth in his chest and happy tears welling up in his eyes, but he swallowed the tears before they could fall.

“This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Aubrey asked him.

Rory nodded.

“When my parents had moved, I never thought I could experience something like this again.” Rory admitted. “It feels amazing to be here with all of you.”

Aubrey bumped his knee against Rory’s and smiled at him.

13. Christmas tree

Rory didn’t know how he ended up in Aubrey’s apartment, but they were drinking beer and laughing when suddenly Rory realised something.

“You don’t have a Christmas tree?” Rory asked.

“No, I don’t. I’m here on my own, I don’t need a Christmas tree.” Aubrey shrugged.

“James Aubrey, everyone needs a Christmas Tree. Let’s go, we’re getting one right now.”

“But…”

“And you can use Sasha and I’s ornaments we’re not using for ours right now.” Rory interrupted Aubrey when he realised what he was going to say.

“Okay, but on one condition: I’m buying a fake one. I don’t want to be swiping needles every minute of the day.”

“Mood killer.” Rory mumbled. “But okay, that’s a deal.”

***

On the way to the Christmas shop, the boys stopped at Rory’s apartment to get the ornaments and the lights and one hour later they were back at Aubrey’s.

“Now we just need Christmas music and another beer and we can begin decorating the tree.” Rory said enthusiastically and Aubrey laughed.

“Already getting the beer part, you take care of the music.”

***

“You know, the words for ‘to decorate’ and ‘to flirt with someone’ are the same in Dutch: versieren. And we were always joking at home that we were ‘versieren’ someone, and wrap them in lights.” Rory told Aubrey and he did just that.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Aubrey laughed as he tried to free himself. Rory smiled affectionately when Aubrey tried to hide the blush on his cheeks.

14. Books:

Rory and Aubrey were in The Founding Fathers with a group of their friends. They were talking about their favorite Christmas presents.

“I’m always happy when I get a book to be honest. I know, lame” Daisy told everyone.

“That’s not lame! I love books! What do you like to read?” Rory asked her.

“I read a lot of romance novels. I live for those cliché man and woman run into each other and fall in love at first sight stories.” Daisy swooned and everyone laughed.

“What about you, Rory?” Angela asked.

“I love to read queer books, even if they're young adult - for obvious reasons.” Rory said, showing the ‘gay hand’ and everyone laughed. “But I also love the classics and books I believe will be classics in a couple of years.”

“What do you mean?” Daisy asked.

“Do you know The Midnight Library by Matt Haig? That book is a-ma-zing. I read it in one afternoon because I couldn’t stop reading. I really believe that book will be a classic in a decade or two.”

“I haven’t read The Midnight Library yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. I really love fantasy books and sci-fi.” Aubrey joined the conversation.

“I’m a sucker for detective stories. Like I’m not in it all day.” Angela said and everyone laughed.

“Like The Da Vinci Code and stuff like that?” Daisy asked.

“Yeah, I’m basic.” Angela said and everyone laughed again.

Both Aubrey and Rory enjoyed being around their friends. Nights like this were amazing.

15. Coming home

Aubrey opened the door to his apartment and smiled as he saw the Christmas Tree in the corner of his living room. He threw his jacket over the couch, took off his tie and lit up the lights in the tree.

Rory had been right: he really did need a Christmas tree. It brought such a nice atmosphere in his apartment. He even put on some Christmas music on his tv.

***

He had changed into something comfortable, put on some fluffy socks and made a cup of hot chocolate. He took a picture of the scene and sent it to Rory.

*You’re infecting me with all your Christmas enthusiasm.*

*You know you love it.*

*I really do*

*I’m watching The Christmas Setup tonight. You should, too. It’s a cliché Christmas movie, but make it gay. It’s amazing.*

*Why am I really thinking about doing exactly that*

*Like I said, because you know you love it*

Aubrey knew Rory was right and he shook his head.

*Where can I watch that movie?*

*Yeesss, I knew you would! Amazon Prime.*

That message was soon followed by another one.

*Little fact of the day: the two main characters of that movie are married in real life and I live for this shit.*

Aubrey laughed. Yeah, he would watch the movie.

*Okay, I’m watching it!*

*Yeeessss*

Aubrey wouldn’t admit it, but he was crying at the end of the movie. And he really wanted to watch it again, so he did just that.

16. Sweets

I know this was supposed to be about candy, and I know Sweets didn’t die in December, but shush

*Hey Rory. Can I come over? I’m not feeling great and I don’t really want to be alone.*

*Yeah, of course. I’m home.*

Aubrey sighed in relief. He immediately went over.

“Hey, come here.” Rory said as he opened the door and he embraced Aubrey. Aubrey wrapped his arms around Rory’s middle and answered the hug.

“Thanks, I needed that.” Aubrey admitted.

“Come in, I’m making spaghetti as comfort food and you can tell me what’s bothering you if you want.” Rory said.

“Thanks, means a lot.” Aubrey said.

***

They both sat on the couch with a big bowl of spaghetti.

“Have you ever heard about Dr Sweets?” Aubrey asked. Rory nodded.

“Daisy told me about him. It’s awful what happened to him.” Rory said.

“Well, he died 3 years ago today.” Aubrey began. He took a bite of his spaghetti and put it on the side for a moment.

“He was a really, really good friend of Booth and Dr Brennan. I was the one first on the scene. I put my jacket under his head and called Booth.” Aubrey told Rory. “And I saw him die in front of me, in Booth’s and Dr Brennan’s arms.”

Rory took Aubrey’s hand in his and pinched it.

“That must’ve been awful.” Rory whispered.

“So I’m a bit out of it today.” Aubrey confessed.

“That’s okay. What do you want to do? Do you want to watch a comfort movie? Do you want food? Do you want a drink?” Rory asked.

“I’d love to watch Star Wars together if that’s okay with you?” He asked.

“Of course that’s okay. I’ll give you a blanket and we’ll watch Star Wars.” Rory answered.

“Thank you.” Aubrey whispered.

Did I cry writing this? Maybe.

17. Miracle:

Rory was helping Aubrey set up a new closet when his phone suddenly rang.

“It’s my mum!” Rory said excitingly. It was so cute, Aubrey couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hi mum!” Rory said into the camera of his phone.

“Hi, love. You are not in your apartment?” His mum said. Rory rolled with his eyes and Aubrey laughed.

“Oh my god, are you there with a boy? It’s a miracle! My boy’s finally found love!” Rory’s mum squealed. Aubrey laughed even harder now.

“Mum, we’re just friends! I’m helping him set up a closet he bought.” Rory explained. “Look, I’ll call you when I’m back in my apartment, if you’re not in bed yet.”

“It’s Saturday, love. We won’t be in bed for a long time.” Rory’s mother winked.

“Mum, you’re not 21 anymore.” Rory laughed and his mum laughed too.

“Okay, I’ll hear you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Rory said affectionately. “Give dad, Amber and Michael a kiss from me.”

“I will. Bye!”

“Oh my god, your mum is amazing.” Aubrey laughed.

“Yeah, she is. And she is that romantic soul every family has. She just really wants me to find someone.” Rory explained.

“You’ll get someone eventually.” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, I know.” Rory forced a smile on his face. This was not a story to tell right now.

18. Cookies

*Hey, Rory. You seemed a bit distracted this morning. You okay?*

Rory looked at his phone and a small smile appeared on his face. Aubrey did really know him.

*Hi James. Yeah, I just miss my family, a lot. Talked to my family yesterday on Skype when I went home.*

Rory couldn’t help but feel disappointed when James didn’t answer anymore. He shrugged and put on the tv. Some Netflix would maybe help him get distracted from his feelings.

***

Rory looked confused at his door when someone knocked on it almost one hour later. Only after the second knock, he stood up and went to open the door. It was Aubrey.

“Hey, I made you some cookies.” Aubrey said carefully.

“What?” Rory asked.

“I mean, that’s what makes me happy, so I thought…”

It was only then Rory realized what Aubrey had done.

“Oh, come on in. I’m sorry I reacted so shortly.” Rory said. He took the cookies and put them down as Aubrey threw his jacket over a chair.

“Hey, it’s not cause I’m not close with my family, that I don’t understand you feeling homesick.” Aubrey said sweetly. Rory looked at him, tears clearly in his eyes.

“Can I have a hug?” he asked.

“Of course, come ‘ere.” Aubrey said and he wrapped his arms around Rory’s shoulders. Rory was a little bit smaller than Aubrey and he buried his nose in Aubrey’s neck while wrapping his arms around Aubrey’s waist.

They stood like this for quite a while, until Rory felt his heartbeat slow down.

“Thank you, I needed that.” He said, breaking the hug.

Aubrey took Rory’s shoulders and looked him in the eye with a comforting smile.

“You’re welcome. Now I want to watch your comfort movie and eat cookies.”

“Are you really watching Mary Poppins with me?” Rory asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You watched Star Wars with me.”

“Okay, but I love Star Wars.”

“Who told you I don’t love Mary Poppins?” Aubrey asked with a wink.

“Can I sing along to the songs?” Rory asked hopefully.

“Only if I’m allowed to sing with you.” Aubrey answered and a smile appeared on Rory’s face.

“Thanks, again. This means a lot.”

19. Apron:

“You’re early.” Aubrey said as he opened his door and he let Rory come inside.

“Okay, but your apron is amazing.” Rory laughed.

Aubrey looked at him dryly, but the apron that said ‘Mr Good Lookin’ Is Cookin’’ made it all even funnier. Rory took his phone and shot a picture.

“If you ever show someone that picture, you’re dead.” Aubrey said, but Rory was still laughing.

“What are you even making? I thought this was just a casual video playing night?” Rory asked when he’d finally stopped laughing. “I brought beer.”

“Well, I’m making my famous nachos with all the toppings and I really don’t want the marinade of the chicken stain my shirt. It’s a pain to get it out.”

“Look at you, mister independent.” Rory teased and he shoved his shoulder.

“I won’t say anything to that.” Aubrey answered as he went back to the kitchen and Rory laughed again.

***

“Okay, you were right. These nachos are a-ma-zing. Oh my god.” Rory said, mouth full.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, little man.” Aubrey teased. Rory raised his eyebrow, but he swallowed his food before answering.

“Look at who’s talking.”

They ended up having an entire discussion about who had the best manners and Aubrey had the time of his life. He was just so happy he’d found a real friend again. A friend who was there for him and didn’t expect anything in return, a friend who he could laugh with, a friend he could drink a beer with or share his favorite food with. Just a best friend like he saw in movies and in books.

They had seen each other almost every day outside of work for the last 10 days, but he looked forward to spending even more time with Rory and getting to know him even better. And if he was honest? He wouldn’t mind getting to know Rory in a more intimate way. Aubrey smiled to himself. Maybe he’d get the chance some day.

20. Secrets

tw: Homophobia. You can skip this chapter if it is triggering.

“Hey, I was just randomly thinking about it yesterday, but if you’re so close with your family, why did you decide to stay in DC?” Aubrey asked Rory when they were hanging out at his place that night. Aubrey had meant the question as something innocent, but he immediately saw and felt Rory tense up.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Aubrey smiled comfortingly.

“It’s just… It’s not a nice story.” Rory admitted. He looked at his hands. “Are you okay with me telling something… not so fun?”

“Uh… Yeah, I’m certainly okay with that, but are you okay with it?” Aubrey asked. Rory nodded and crossed his arms in front of his body.

“I told you we went to Belgium every summer when I was a child, right?” Rory asked and Aubrey nodded.

“Something happened there, the summer after I’d graduated high school.” Rory started to tell Aubrey. “I had been out for quite a while, but didn’t really know any queer people. My parents, amazing as they are, convinced me to go to the Antwerp Pride. It had been an amazing day. I met so many people who just kind of adopted me into the community. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere.”

It sounded like an amazing memory, but the pain was visible on Rory’s face. Aubrey wanted to take Rory’s hand, but he didn’t know if that was such a good idea. He decided to just listen.

“It was about 10pm and I was walking to the train station with two other guys I’d met that day. One of them was in drag and the other guy and I had painted rainbows on our cheeks and had glitter all over ourselves from the party.”

Aubrey already felt where the story was going and he didn’t like it one bit. He already felt anger build up, but he had to stay calm. For Rory.

“We saw a group of guys coming our way. They were in a group of six or seven. Those big, muscled, toxic masculinity on legs guys. We didn’t see them right away, we were still in the high from the party.” Rory took a deep breath and looked Aubrey in the eyes. The tears were ready to spill.

“Can I take your hand?” Aubrey whispered. Rory nodded. He couldn’t help it. He needed to comfort Rory.

“By the time we heard them shouting profanities at us, they were already too close. We tried to just get to the other side of the road, but they closed in on us and…” Rory held his breath and Aubrey pinched his hand.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me every detail. I know it’s hard.” Aubrey said with a comforting smile.

“You know, Belgium is supposed to be one of the safest countries on earth for queer people. They were the second country in the world the accept same sex marriage, there are two pride parades every year, there are national organisations for queer people,...” Rory told Aubrey. “But that night was the worst night of my life. I remember not feeling the pain, not until I was in the hospital. I’ve never felt safe again, walking in the dark in Belgium. That’s the main reason I stayed here in the US. And that’s also one of the main reasons I’ve never had a serious boyfriend yet.”

“Did you go to the police?” Aubrey dared to ask.

Rory nodded.

“Yeah, we went together. They told us they would check the CCTV, but they said it would be almost impossible to find the guys. And as far as I know, they never did.”

There was a painful silence between them. Aubrey just tried to calm himself down.

“I’m sorry I dropped this on you.”

“Don’t be. Thank you for trusting me.” Aubrey told him and he pinched his hand. “I’m proud of you.”

Rory relaxed.

“You want to play video games now? I really need something not serious for the rest of the night.”

“Of course! You want me to let you win?” Aubrey teased.

“You wish, I’ll destroy you no matter what.” Rory said, challenging.

Aubrey smiled and relaxed too, seeing Rory challenging him. He’d be angry another time, now let’s get Rory smiling.

21. Reunions:

“James? Can I ask you something?” Rory looked at him with begging eyes.

“I don’t know. I don’t trust you right now.” Aubrey said, the distrust hearable in his voice. Rory seemed to want something, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what exactly.

“Uhm…” Rory said.

“Just ask me, Mr Dupont.” Aubrey grinned.

“Well, there’s a reunion from my high school tonight.” Rory began.

“And?” Aubrey asked, still not trusting what Rory wanted to ask.

“A lot of my classmates are married, have kids, already have jobs… As far as I know, I’m the only single one...” Rory said. “And I thought: can you pretend to be my boyfriend for the night?” He begged.

Aubrey shook his head and sighed.

“Tell me more.” Aubrey answered. Rory cheered.

“I didn’t say yes yet, Mr Dupont.”

***

But Aubrey had said yes. He knew Rory really well, so one evening of playing his boyfriend would be okay. Right?

They walked into the sporthall of Rory’s old highschool hand in hand. Aubrey couldn’t say he really minded. Rory always grounded him.

“Mr Dupont, it’s amazing to see you.” An older, black woman stopped them. The smile on Rory’s face already showed Aubrey what he wanted to know: he looked up to her.

“Ms Frankie, likewise.” Rory said enthusiastically and he let Aubrey’s hand go to give the woman a hug.

“James, this is Ms Frankie, my biology, chemistry and English teacher. Ms Frankie, this is James, my boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Aubrey said with a charming smile.

“Ooh, you found yourself a good one, I see.” Ms Frankie said. “Tell me, what are you doing now?”

“I’m doing a forensic anthropology internship at the Jeffersonian, with Dr Temperance Brennan.” Rory said proudly.

“Wow, your dream did come true then.” Ms Frankie said proudly. Aubrey couldn’t help but smile at the exchange.

“And how did you two meet?” Ms Frankie asked.

“I’m with the FBI, ma’am. We work together on cases sometimes.” Aubrey answered.

“Oh, yeah, a really good one.” Ms Frankie winked and she touched Aubrey’s shoulder quickly. “Your old classmates are at table 4. Go show your boyfriend off.” She winked. Both boys started laughing when she was gone.

“She seems like an amazing teacher.” Aubrey said.

“Yeah, she certainly was my favorite. She’s gay, btw. She married a woman.” Rory told him.

“Aaah, I see why she was your favorite.” Aubrey winked.

“Yeah, that was a big part of it.” Rory admitted and they walked to the table with Rory’s old friends.

***

When Aubrey came home that night, he couldn’t stop thinking about Rory’s hand in his, Rory’s hand on his arm, Rory kissing his cheek, how his own hand had felt on the small part of Rory's back… It hadn’t been necessary, but it did feel good. Aubrey smiled as he sat down on the couch. He really hadn’t want Rory to stop touching him. Rory. Had he felt the same? Was that why Rory had kissed his cheek? Or was it just for show?

Aubrey made a decision: he would ask Rory out on a date. Tomorrow. He just hoped he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

22. Joy

Aubrey was panicking. They had gotten a case today and Rory was working, but it seemed like Rory was avoiding him as much as he could.

Had he done something wrong? Was he too obvious about liking to be close to him? Maybe Rory hated him now.

Yeah, Aubrey was panicking.

So when the day was almost over, he needed to know. He took his jacket and walked the one block to Rory’s apartment.

Aubrey was already happy Rory didn’t throw the door in his face.

“Hey.” Aubrey said carefully. Rory scratched his neck.

“Hey, come in.” Rory said.

Aubrey didn’t take his jacket off, like he did otherwise.

“Rory, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong? You’ve been ignoring me all day and I’ve been eating myself up about it.”

Rory’s eyes went big.

“Oh my god, did I give you that idea? I’m so sorry.” He immediately answered. “I was just embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?” Aubrey asked.

The short silence that followed was heavy.

“I was just thinking… After yesterday,” Rory admitted. “I really didn’t mind being that close to you and… Maybe we could go on a real date together?” He asked.

An enormous weight was lifted from Aubrey’s shoulders. He took a deep breath before answering.

“Yes, Rory, I’d love to go on a real date with you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but never do that to me again. The ignoring thing.” Aubrey told him.

“I’m sorry,” Rory said again. "I just thought you'd hate me after the hand holding and the kissing. We hadn't spoken about any of that."

“Oh, Rory, I couldn't hate you, even if I wanted to. Come ‘ere.” Aubrey said and he pulled Rory in a hug.

“Okay, what’s the idea for the date?” Aubrey asked after they broke it up.

“I’m picking you up after work. Wear something warm.” Rory said enthusiastically and Aubrey laughed.

“Deal.”

23. Sleigh ride

Aubrey was so excited for his date with Rory. It had been a long time since he went on a date and the fact that Rory knew him this well, made it even more exciting.

Aubrey was ready ten minutes before they had agreed on meeting up. Luckily for him, the knocks on his front door started before he could sit down and freak out.

“Hi, I’m sorry I’m early.” Rory smiled, the nervousness hearable in his voice.

“You look really good.” Aubrey smiled. Rory was dressed in a fluffy coat, a hat that was actually way too big and the scarf. But even with all the winter clothes, he could still see the blush on Rory’s cheeks.

“Thank you. You too.” Rory answered and Aubrey couldn’t help but feel a bit of butterflies in his stomach.

“Where are we going?”

***

Rory drove both of them to a park with a couple of hills. The grass was covered in snow and a lot of people brought their sleighs to ride from those hills.

“No, are we sleighing?” Aubrey asked enthusiastically.

“That was the plan. You okay with that?” Rory asked.

“I haven’t been on a sleigh since I was a child, but I’d love to.” Aubrey smiled. Rory took his hand and pulled him to the top of the hill where they rented a sleigh. Rory sat down at the front, leaving enough space for Aubrey to sit behind him. Aubrey smiled and took the hint. There was enough space for him to sit at the end and hold onto the sleigh itself, but Aubrey wrapped his arms around Rory’s middle and put his head on Rory’s shoulder. He felt Rory smile.

“Ready?” Rory asked.

“Ready.” Aubrey answered.

***

“Thank you for tonight.” Aubrey said when Rory dropped him off at his apartment. He couldn’t hide his smile even if he’d want to. “It was the best date I had in a very long time.”

Rory just smiled widely with a blush on his cheek.

“I had a very good time, too.”

The boys just looked at each other for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

“Uh, I’m going home. See you tomorrow?” Rory asked. Aubrey nodded.

“See you tomorrow.” He answered and he planted his lips shortly on Rory’s cheek, before he could change his mind. Rory blushed and smiled again before leaving Aubrey.

Aubrey went inside his apartment and squealed like a teenage girl. This had been a very good date.

24. Christmas cards:

Aubrey came home after a long day of work. He threw his keys into the bowl next to the front door and looked through his mail. Bills, mostly, but also one red envelope with his name in golden letters. He looked at the return address and smiled. It was from Rory.

Aubrey draped his jacket over a chair and opened the envelope. It was a beautiful diy christmas card and a handwritten letter. He began with the letter.

Hey James,

I don’t know how you feel about Christmas cards, but I couldn’t help myself. Making and sending Christmas cards to loved ones has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. And since you became pretty important to me in the last weeks; sending you a Christmas card was kind of a no brainer.

Aubrey smiled when he felt a warmth spread in his chest and stomach. Rory had become pretty important to him, too. Seeing on paper that Rory felt the same made him really happy.

I wanted to write this letter next to the card, because I just didn’t want it to be random ;) Christmas cards are just really important to me, and I hope I can send a bit of that warmth and festiveness to you.

Lots of love,

Rory

Aubrey smiled widely. He realized he smiled this way because he was really, actually crushing on Rory. Like, hard. But he could live with it.

He opened the Christmas card now, curious about the text in it.

You fill my life with joy

Each moment that we share

I’m thankful for my time with you

Nothing can compare

I want to make life good for you

In every way I can

You’ve been a true companion

Ever since our friendship began

Thank you for everything, James.

Merry Christmas

Rory

Aubrey didn’t know how to explain what he was feeling. He was feeling the butterflies in his stomach, he was feeling so happy, but he also wanted to cry.

He opened a message on his phone, before he could rethink his actions.

*Hey Rory, thank you so much for your Christmas card. It means a lot to me. I can’t remember when I last got a card from someone I really cared about. I can’t wait until tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with you. See you then.*

He didn’t have to wait long until he got an answer.

*You’re welcome, James. Can’t wait either! See you tomorrow.*

Aubrey sighed happily and put the card up on his cupboard, so he could admire it at all times.

25. Wrapping paper:

Aubrey checked himself in the mirror one more time and he nodded. He looked good, even with the ugly christmas sweater they had agreed on wearing. He smiled. He knew he thought he looked good because he was genuinely happy.

Three knocks on the door tore him out of his thoughts. Aubrey took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Merry Christmas!” Rory smiled widely.

“Merry Christmas! Come in.” Aubrey smiled.

***

The two boys were snacking on Christmas cookies and were watching Home Alone on tv, sitting comfortably close to each other.

“So, I think it’s time for presents.” Rory grinned. He took a present out of the box he brought.

“Ooh, I’m so curious.” Aubrey squealed and Rory laughed.

Aubrey tore the wrapping paper off and a blue book laughed at him. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Aubrey was sure Rory could tell he was happy with the present, seeing his smile.

“You said you’ve never read it, but I think it’s a must-read.” Rory smiled.

“Thank you so much, I’ve wanted to read this book for so long!” Aubrey said enthusiastically and he kissed Rory on the cheek. Aubrey smiled when he saw the blush on Rory’s cheeks.

“Okay, my turn now.” Aubrey said and he took one of the presents from under the Christmas tree.

“It’s a book as well, isn’t it?” Rory asked with an excited smile.

“Just open it, idiot.” Aubrey answered and he shoved Rory’s shoulder.

It was indeed a book: We Are The Ants by David Hutchinson.

“I haven’t read it, but it’s a bit of a mix of what we both like: it’s LGBTQIA+ themed, but it’s also sci-fi. I thought this was something you’d like.” Aubrey smiled.

“Thank you so much, James. I can’t wait to start reading!”

***

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. They both gave each other a couple of more little presents (snacks, socks and little trinkets mostly) and just stared into each other’s eyes at all times. Aubrey had the time of his life.

“Thank you for celebrating Christmas with me. You didn’t have to do that.” Rory smiled as he put on his jacket to go home.

“No, thank you! I would’ve been very lonely if it weren’t for you. So thank you.” Aubrey smiled as he walked to the front door to open it for Rory.

“Send me a text when you’re home safe.” Aubrey said.

Rory smiled widely again before kissing Aubrey on the cheek.

“I will.” Rory answered.

And with that, Rory walked back to his apartment with a smile on his face.

26. Wishes:

“So what are you bringing for the potluck?” Aubrey asked Rory as they were driving to Dr Brennan and Agent Booth’s home. They were celebrating Christmas with the entire Jeffersonian team today.

“I made a huge batch of salsa and guacamole and bought a couple of bags of nachos.” Rory answered. “And I made apple cake for dessert. What about you?”

“Just some meaty snacks.” Aubrey answered. “You know I love myself some meat now and then.”

Rory giggled.

“You are a child.” Aubrey said before he started laughing as well.

***

Everyone was all over the house. Rory was sitting on the couch, next to Angela; while Aubrey was talking to Hodgins at the other side of the room. Rory couldn’t help but look at Aubrey now and then. He was looking really good, in the shirt that made his eyes pop and the vest that made him look really, really handsome.

“He’s a real cutiepie, isn’t he?” Angela teased.

“Hmm?” Rory asked, turning his head in the woman’s direction.

“Aubrey. You were looking at Aubrey, right?” Angela asked and Rory felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

“What? No I wasn’t.” Rory denied mumbling

“Well, I certainly hope you’re not looking with lovesick puppy eyes at my husband, Mr Dupont.” Angela teased. That made Rory laugh.

“Okay, maybe I was looking at Aubrey.” Rory admitted with a small smile.

“So? You two an item?” Angela asked curiously.

“No, it’s just a stupid crush.”

“Are you sure?” Angela cocked her eyebrow.

“We went on a date a couple of days ago.” Rory smiled.

“And? Tell me everything!” Angela squealed.

“We went to the park to sleigh down the hill and drank some hot chocolate.” Rory smiled. “I have to admit I’m having a little bit of a crush. Cause it was an amazing night.”

“You guys would be so amazing together.” Angela smiled affectionately.

***

“So, what’s this thing between you and Rory?” Hodgins asked with a smirk. It wasn’t until that moment that Aubrey realized he was probably staring at Rory speaking with Angela and a blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Maybe a little crush?” Aubrey answered.

“I knew it!” Hodgins answered. “I wasn’t sure you were into guys, but the chemistry between you two.”

“Yeah, I’m bi.” Aubrey shrugged. “But is it that obvious?”

“It’s obvious that you mean a lot to each other.” Hodgins admitted. “And it’s only like 3 weeks since you met each other, so it’s not rocket science.” he winked.

***

The boys had an amazing night with all the people they loved. And the subtle glances at each other. And the random touches, just because they could.

And when Booth had wished everyone a year full of happiness and love; they both knew that wish could come true.

27. Bonfire

“Wow, this is amazing.” Rory awed as he and Aubrey walked into the park. There was a huge bonfire of Christmas trees in the middle of the open space.

“Look at the size of that thing!” Aubrey awed.

“That’s what he said.” Rory mumbled.

“Rory Dupont!” Aubrey said, sounding as offended as he could muster before starting to laugh.

“Hey, Rory!”

“I’ll be right back.” Rory smiled when he saw one of his high school friends.

Aubrey looked at Rory, his face lit up by the fire. The different hues of yellow and orange dancing on his face. He laughed at something his friend said and Aubrey’s heart skipped a beat. Damn. He had properly fallen for the guy, hadn’t he?

He sat down on the grass, close enough to the fire to feel the heat, but far enough to not sit in the large group of people. He looked at his hands and smiled lightly. Just thinking about Rory, thinking about everything they’d done in the past month. Just thinking about his smile, about his eyes, about the hugs,... Yeah, he was in love with Rory. He looked up, just in time to see Rory walk to him with that beautiful smile on his face.

***

“Have a nice evening.” Rory said before turning around to see Aubrey sitting on the grass. Aubrey was looking at his hands, with a little smile on his face. The fire lit up the right features of his silhouette. Rory stopped in his tracks to just look at Aubrey for a moment and smiled. He suddenly realized that Aubrey was the only one who knew everything about him: from the good memories of high school to the gay bashing he encountered back in Belgium. And he was still here. He still liked to spend almost every day with him after work.

Aubrey looked up and shot him a beautiful smile. Rory’s heart skipped a beat. “Fuck Rory, you’re in love with him.” Rory mumbled to himself before going closer.

Rory sat down next to Aubrey and shuddered.

“Ooh, the ground is cold.”

“Come on, come a little closer, that’ll warm you up.” Aubrey smiled affectionately and Rory felt the heat come up his cheeks. He didn’t answer but just sat down in between Aubrey’s legs and let his back fall against Aubrey’s chest. Aubrey closed his arms around Rory’s middle and put his head on Rory’s shoulder, cheeks almost touching. Rory felt himself relax in Aubrey’s arms.

Yeah, he was in love.

28. Silence

Aubrey just showed up at Rory’s place, the book he got for Christmas in his hands.

“Hey, come in.” Rory smiled.

“Can I get a hug?” Aubrey asked when he’d shed off his jacket and put the book on the table.

“Ooh, of course, come ‘ere.” Rory smiled affectionately and he pulled Aubrey in his arms. Aubrey took a deep breath and relaxed in the hug when the familiar scent of Rory filled his nostrils.

“Not that I don’t like you coming over - on the contrary, but what are you doing here?” Rory asked with a smile, breaking the hug, but not letting Aubrey go completely.

“Just wanted to read The Midnight Library, but I’d like some company?” Aubrey more asked than said.

“I was about to read the book you got me as well, so come on in.” Rory smiled and hugged him shortly before finally letting him go.

***

They had been sitting next to each other reading for about an hour now and Aubrey had never felt so relaxed before. Aubrey looked at Rory’s face. Rory was concentrating on the text on the pages before him with a little frown on his forehead. Aubrey smiled. Damn, Rory was cute.

His heart skipped a beat again. He couldn’t wait to experience way more nights like this, just sitting next to each other in silence, reading or studying or whatever needed to be done. He couldn’t wait to experience that with Rory.

But then he should make a move; and Aubrey was not ready to put his friendship with Rory on the line just yet.

29. Snowball fight

I know they’re going to the park a lot haha shush.

Rory entered his apartment and took a deep breath. They’d had a case today and although it was solved quickly; it had been a hard one. It was always difficult when the victim was a kid; and certainly when you knew how much they’d suffered.

He was about to just put on his pajamas, but his phone showed he had a new message.

*7 pm, Creekside Park. You against me, the snowball fight of the century. May the odds be ever in your favor.*

Rory didn’t really want to, but he could use the distraction. And he could spend time with Aubrey instead of crying in his bed until he fell asleep. So he decided to just go with it.

*The game, James Aubrey, is on.* Rory answered with a smile on his face before changing into warm clothes.

***

Two hours later, they were both soaked, but they were also laughing. They were walking back to their apartments, just an inch between their two bodies.

“Thanks for that, James.” Rory said with a smile. “This case was really fucked up and it was a welcome distraction.”

“That’s exactly what I thought. I really just wanted to do something silly for once.” Aubrey smiled and shoved Rory with his shoulder.

“Thanks again. I haven’t had so much fun in years.” Rory laughed.

They stopped in front of Rory’s apartment building, looking in each other’s eyes. They were standing so close that Rory could see the color differences in Aubrey’s eyes. Rory’s laugh disappeared and his eyes darted to Aubrey’s lips for a moment. Rory leaned in, but Aubrey averted his face and kissed Rory on the cheek. The disappointment made a hard knot in Rory’s stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Rory asked carefully.

“Can I come in to talk about it?” Aubrey asked and Rory nodded, opening his front door and walking to his apartment.

***

Rory had given Aubrey some tracksuit bottoms and an oversized shirt and they sat down on the couch.

“I’m sorry I turned away there.” Aubrey scratched his neck. “I just want to make sure that you see this thing between us the same way that I do.”

“Okay, I can live with that. Shall I start?” Rory asked, trying to make Aubrey feel comfortable with the talk.

Aubrey just nodded as an answer.

“I really like you, James. I haven’t felt so in sync with anyone, like, ever. You make me feel better when I’m sad and I want to spend as much time with you as possible.” Rory told him. “If we go into this thing, I want it to be a serious relationship.”

Aubrey looked up and smiled.

“Me, too. I feel the exact same way about you.” Aubrey answered. “You’re the one I want to tell everything to, good or bad. But like, even more than in a best friend. Even though I’m bi, I’ve never felt this way about a guy before, but it doesn’t scare me. Cause it’s you.” He confessed.

Rory smiled as well.

“Okay, so what now?” He asked.

“Would you like to go on a second official date with me tomorrow?” Aubrey asked eagerly, now knowing they were on the same page.

“I’d love to.” Rory smiled widely.

Aubrey stood up and walked to the door.

“I’m coming to get you at 6.30 pm. Wear something warm.” Aubrey winked.

“See you tomorrow, James.”

“See you tomorrow.”

30. Christmas market

Rory was nervous, to say the least. He did know that he and Aubrey were on the same page about this whole thing between them, but still. Luckily he didn't have to wait long.

A smiling Aubrey greeted him when he opened the door. He held something out to him.

“What is that?” Rory asked, opening the box.

“Cookies.” Aubrey smiled. “I mean, that was one of the first things we did together: eat homemade cookies, so I thought.”

Rory awed when Aubrey blushed a little.

“That’s so sweet, thank you. But I don’t have anything for you.” Rory answered, feeling the heat rise up his cheeks himself.

“Going on this date with me is enough.” Aubrey answered with an affectionate smile. “Come on, let’s get going!”

***

“Okay, this is an amazing place.” Rory awed when they arrived at the Christmas market.

“I know this is a European tradition, Christmas markets, so I thought you’d like it.” Aubrey said. Rory looked at him and kissed him on his cheek.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” Rory smiled.

“Are you up to skating?” Aubrey asked.

“Are you even kidding me? I love ice skating!” Rory exclaimed enthusiastically and Aubrey laughed. Rory knew he was way too enthusiastic all the time, but this was the first time he was on a date with someone of whom he knew they actually liked him back. And it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

***

Rory knew Aubrey was just kind of pretending not to be able to skate, but it was the most adorable thing ever. Aubrey would cling to Rory at all times, taking his hand or arm while trying not to fall over. And Rory was just feeling the butterflies at all times.

“Do you have a death wish?” Rory teased Aubrey when he almost fell again.

“Haha, yeah, you like laughing at me?” Aubrey rolled his eyes, but clinged at Rory again, his arms around Rory’s neck.

And suddenly their faces were just inches apart. This time, there was no sign of uncertainty with either of them. Just the curiosity and the tension that came with a first kiss. Both were determined to take the leap.

But suddenly, Rory slipped and fell backwards, tearing Aubrey with him. They both layed down on the ice, not being able to stop laughing.

“I think I hurt my tailbone.” Rory groaned while still laughing.

“Come on, I think it’s time to get off the ice.” Aubrey laughed and he tried to get Rory to stand up.

***

“Were you invited to Angela's for New Year’s Eve as well?” Rory asked as he blew in his hot chocolate, hoping it’d cool down enough to drink.

“Yeah, it’s just us, Daisy, Angela and Hodgins I heard. The Booths are out of town for the weekend.” Aubrey answered before sipping his own hot chocolate.

“I can’t wait for the fireworks. That’s always my favorite part of New Year’s Eve.” Rory admitted, already sounding enthusiastic for the event.

“I’m sure this year will be even more amazing, as I can spend it with you.” Aubrey answered. Rory opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t really know how to react, so he looked at his hands with a big smile. Missing Aubrey’s adorable smile in return.

31. Fireworks

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us for the fireworks?” Rory asked Angela again.

“No, the kids really should go to bed, but you guys have fun!” Angela answered.

Rory, Aubrey and Daisy put on their coats and went outside, looking for a good place to follow the fireworks.

“I really want to be in the mass of people.” Rory said, obviously excited. “The ambiance of the countdown is always amazing.”

“That’s okay by me.” Aubrey answered. “Daisy, are you coming, too?”

“No, I really should head home,” Daisy answered.

“Are you sure?” Rory asked.

“Yeah. Happy new year, guys.” Daisy smiled. They both hugged her shortly.

“Happy new year, Daisy.”

“So, that’s only us left.” Rory said with a smile. He offered Aubrey his arm and the other guy took it with a smile.

The animosity around them was amazing. There were people everywhere, ready to count down to the end of the year. Aubrey looked at Rory. He couldn’t deny the butterflies in his stomach for the younger man. It was crazy how hard he had fallen in the course of only one month.

“Come on, there’s where the party is.” Rory said enthusiastically and he took Aubrey’s hand in his to pull him closer to the enormous group of people on the square.

“Only five minutes to go.” Aubrey said, looking at his watch. He took a deep breath before telling Rory: “I just want to say: thank you so much for the last month. You are an amazing person.”

Rory smiled shyly.

"You weren't that bad, either." He winked. “Thank you so much, Aubrey”

And suddenly the countdown started.

“10, 9, 8”

Rory looked up to Aubrey while the world around them was counting down to midnight.

“7, 6, 5”

“Can I kiss you?” Aubrey asked, barely audible over everyone’s voices.

“4, 3, 2, 1”

Rory nodded, just in time for the end of the countdown. Aubrey pulled Rory close and pushed his lips on the other guy’s with more force than he had intended. Rory gasped. He closed his eyes and pulled Aubrey closer by his jacket, relaxing in the kiss. Their lips moved smoothly over each other, but Aubrey needed more. He let his tongue slide over Rory’s lower lip to ask for access. Fireworks were set off in his stomach when their tongues collided. He needed Rory closer, closer than was possible. He didn’t want to stop, but he was in desperate need for oxygen. Aubrey broke off the kiss and let his forehead rest against Rory’s, panting for air.

“Wow.” Rory whispered with an enormous smile on his face. “Happy new year.”

“Look to the future now, it’s only just begun.”

“You are such a sappy git. Just shut up and kiss me again.” Rory exclaimed before taking Aubrey’s head between his hands and pushing his lips against Aubrey’s once again.

[honeysorwell]

(a very unprofessional) game changer

Pairing: Audrey Tidall x fem!Reader x Diane Sherman

Summary: Audrey Tidall ends up conquering the role of the protagonist in the expected film that marks the great director and screenwriter Diane Sherman return to the film market, Run, that the blonde one desired really much. The filmmaker has only managed to return now since she left her job almost twenty years ago to take care of her daughter. She has no real plans other than finishing the film that will mark her return, but her nonpeaceful coexistence with Audrey during the filming, along with the loneliness that consumes her personal life ends up instigating an unexpected affection - and that grows every day - for Y/N, the costume designer for Run.

What Diane did not expect, when giving Y/N anonymously flowers during the recording months, is that the costume designer has been in a secret relationship for more than months with Audrey. However, the feeling of indifference and disdain that the director feels for the actress gradually dies after a heated argument between the two, leaving an unnamed tension in the air, while Y/N searches for her secret admirer with her girlfriend.

[gif by @sapphiclesbian​ ]

[gif by @cherry-jimin] 

A/N: I was extremely surprised when I posted You rush into my life, stay a little while (I know that we can have it all), and in less than a month I got +50likes (after all I barely know how to use tumblr and I discovered these days how and where to look at the followers that I have lol). And thanks to that, I will use (a very unprofessional) game changer as a social experiment, to see if you guys really like what I write, and if the answer is also positive, I will open requests to write things in my free time. And yes, my first language is not English so maybe something might sound strange.

I had this idea as soon as Run was released, thanks to Diane's passion for films... And since Audrey is an actress, I thought it would be good to combine these two...

I can say that this is a big AU because Diane is a lovely mother, and no one from Roanoke dies (because I don't have time to develop any of this shit).

Hope you all like it!

Synopsis of the story + Chapter 1 ,  Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , Chapter 7 , Chapter 8 , Chapter 9 , Chapter 10 (final one)

Chapter 1

Chapter’s summary: Audrey and Y/N get to know each other thanks to Diane, and even though they are about to start recording Run, they decide that it is worthwhile to continue with their relationship. Even if secretly.

Warnings: In this chapter at least, none. Just implicit mentions of smut, it's not really something!  

Word Count: 1,2k

In theory, when someone wins an award as important as The Saturn, their career between movies becomes more likely to invitations to productions. Films, miniseries, or even theatrical productions. But that didn't happen with Audrey.

There was a voice in her head that said it was thanks to her age. But since none of the actors in Roanoke's cast, especially women, were so different in this aspect, Audrey continued to ignore that voice.

Everything was relatively ready for the British woman to participate in Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell, however after her breakup with Rory, the blonde one preferred to focus on something new. She quickly fell in love with him, but when the red-haired man asked about marriage, everything was clear to Audrey. Their paths and thoughts were so different, even with the significant feeling between them, that it was better to break their love relationship before their friendship was affected. And this was what she did.

It was audacious. Refuse a proposal for the same program that gave her fame and awards, to audition for a new film that she barely knew would happen. Some people would call her crazy, but the email she received from her agent was enough to give her courage.

Or rather, four words from that email. Directed by Diane Sherman was what caught her attention and prompted her to try to venture out to take the test.

She can still remember. Years ago, while she was still fighting for a minor role in any theatrical production in England, Diane Sherman was already acclaimed worldwide for the grandiose films with unexpected endings that she produced, even at a young age.

All the films of the woman with a reddish tone between her brunette hair strands became hits. But in the midst of it all, Diane decided to take a break from her career, and less than five months later, a pregnancy was announced.

After that, twenty years passed and no film was released, no interview, no magazine cover. Such a gloriously famous woman disappeared from everyone's view with her baby. But only up to now.

That test was probably the one that tired Audrey the most in her entire career. To portray in a few minutes the pain of the life of a woman who is obsessed with her daughter to the point of making her sick was difficult. But she did, and so, while her former co-stars were locking themselves up in a seemingly haunted mansion, she was getting a call from her agent saying that she got the lead role.

Everything worked well when the blonde received her script and started working with Diane on how they would like this character to be seen by the audience, but as the conversations flowed, Audrey understood why all of the woman's films were such a success. She was a perfectionist and her authority was clear.

Everything needed to be perfect. Including the costume.

And so Audrey met Y/N. A beautiful costume designer with so much talent to spare to the world.

The first time they saw each other, Diane was not present, after all, it was just a date to take Audrey's body measurements. As the story was about a housewife, movable and comfortable clothes had to be designed, which did not force Audrey to strip naked to have her measurements known by Y/N, even if an unprofessional part of her wanted to.

Quick encounters followed, some with Diane briefly present, just to define new color palettes or to approve and disapprove something. The director never stayed more than twenty minutes with the two women, but thanks to Y/N's perseverance, in producing everything exactly as Diane wished, and Audrey's free time, due to her mind being ease in memorizing lines and just a few friendships outside England, the two woman became relatively close.

When the costumes were all designed and in the final process of being made, Diane decided that she would like Audrey's hair to be longer. Some wig tests took place, but a joint decision was made.

The film would be postponed in five months from there, so that the blonde's hair would grow.

It was frustrating, to say the least, and maybe that was the trigger for Audrey's disapproval with Diane, but one thing was good. The time now acquired has started to be spent on Y/N.

Always at discreet lunches or afternoon teas in their homes...

Y/N thinks it might be extremely inappropriate and absolutely unprofessional to get personally involved with a co-worker, even outside the set, and even though their work on Diane's film was relatively distant. But, after many glasses of wine and random conversations, nothing made more sense to Y/N than Audrey's lips against hers.

A one-night stand. That was what they thought they were born to be. But the skin on Audrey's stomach was so smooth that Y/N didn't know if she wanted to kiss her until she moaned or laughed, confused as she tried to understand which one of the sounds was the actual responsible for her heart beating faster.

A one-night stand. Because Audrey didn't feel ready to start a relationship after such a recent breakup. But there was nothing more beautiful than Y/N's face full of pleasure while she was being touched, or her face concentrated on redoing a crooked seam, even if she was the only one that noticed the defect in the piece.

A one-night stand. That turned into two, three, ten, thirty... and when they noticed, Audrey's hair was long enough for the film to start recording and their mind was unconsciously bought each other's favorite foods at the supermarket.

And on one of those nights, when they were both lying on Y/N's bed and Audrey was drawing imaginary flowers on the bare skin of her right hip, a whisper escaped the actresses lips:

"I don't want this to end because we are going to work together... Does that make me unprofessional?", The moment the question escapes her lips, she raises her face towards Y/N and looks deeply into her eyes.

"Well ...", the costume designer starts and stops, distracted by the beauty of Audrey's brown eyes and a lock of her hair - now longer - that is hindering the Y/N view of the blonde's cheeks, but that soon puts the hair strands behind her ear and continues - "Count me in because I don't want this to end either..."

It is a smile so beautiful that it takes hold of Audrey's lips, that the courage to take possession of Y / N's body and one more phrase escapes her lips.

"I think I'm in love with you."

The word think sounds so low, it's like it's not even there. Because Y/N's mind knows that she is sure, even scared and that is why Y/N's eyes focus on the whole room, except the face in front of her. Until delicate fingers touch her chin and direct her to see brown eyes bathed in tears, amid the same glorious smile of seconds ago.

"And I don't know how you didn't notice that I fell in love with you too."

And so they come to an agreement. Nothing will be explicit while they are on set. At work, they will be just friends, close friends if the distance wraps their stomachs, but still, just friends.

For the sake of their reputations, their jobs, and the Diane Sherman film they will be just friends.