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ihavemanyhusbands · 1 year

Text

Honey Bun (18+ Series)

(Aaron Hotchner x Stripper!Reader)

Part 4 // MINORS DNI

WC: 2.0k Words

Song Inspo: Angel - Kali Uchis

Series Warnings: Smut, bit of an age gap (placing reader at around 25-26), cursing, alcohol consumption, formalized sex work (Stripper/Pole Dancer), occasional angst, drama, and that's all I can think of rn but lmk if I missed anything!

A/N: hahaha sorry for today's spam babes but I couldn't wait for y'all to read this!!!! Should I start a taglist? If so, let me know if you'd like to be added! And lmk your thoughts on this :)

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Aaron drove you home the next day, after another slow, lazy round of morning sex, of course. The two of you could barely keep your hands off each other now that you’d caved in to your desires.

After many more hours of lovemaking, you’d had late night pillow talk before falling asleep in his arms. Normally you preferred sleeping in your own bed, but you were so comfortable snuggled up with him that you slept like a log. It also helped that you were completely and utterly sated, basically swimming in endorphins.

Sadie bombarded you with questions when you got back home. You avoided any specific details, but you gushed over what a great time you’d had. She teased you whenever she caught you smiling to yourself, lost in thought. Also when you loudly sang in the shower, or repeatedly glanced down at your phone whenever you got a text. The teasing was endless.

Still, you were on cloud nine for the next couple of days. Aaron had to travel due to work, and you weren’t quite sure when he’d be back. You missed him terribly, but you knew it was all part of it from the beginning.

At least he kept in touch whenever he had the chance, but you didn’t pressure him whenever it took him hours to respond. That’s not to say you didn’t treat him to some eye candy in the late hours of the night, reminding him of what was waiting for him when he returned.

You decided to occupy your mind with work and Gia’s upcoming birthday. You’d already planned on taking her and Sadie shopping so that she could pick out a gift. It’s been a particularly good month, so you didn’t mind splurging a little on someone you loved.

When the day came, the three of you drove to an outdoor mall with more upscale shops, given that you wanted to be fancy. It was a nice, sunny day, so you finally got to wear that long, form-fitting sundress you’d recently bought. It hugged your figure in all the right ways, accentuating your curves. Gia acted like a cartoon wolf when she first saw you, panting and widening her eyes, comically howling “Awooooga!”

You’d rolled your eyes, unable to hold in a laugh. You’d finally caved and told her about Aaron a couple of days prior, so she’d joined Sadie in her interrogations and relentless teasing.

“So, when are we going to meet him?” She asked as the three of you sat down for brunch. “He needs the seal of approval, you know.”

You chuckled. “Easy there, tigress. Gotta ease him into it still. It’s only been a couple of dates.”

“Just you wait until Derek finds out. You really are not gonna hear the end of it.”

“Speaking of…” You smirked at her as you took a sip of your mimosa. “You two celebrating tonight?”

Gia wagged her eyebrows comically, suggesting mischief. “Oh yeah. I know he’s been very busy, but he promised to make time for my birthday.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, you guys are soooo sappy.”

“Wait ‘till you find someone you like, and then we’ll talk,” Gia said.

“She acts like she doesn’t crush super easily,” you added, raising your eyebrows. “Hard to keep up sometimes.”

Sadie smacked your arm playfully, shooting you a glare. Gia chuckled at this, already knowing how your sister could be. It seemed like being a romantic was a family trait.

You toasted to Gia’s twenty-seventh, wishing her many more good years to come. Though you had known her only a handful of years, she was like another sister to you. Friendships like that were few and far between, so you always cherished them even more.

Once brunch was over, the three of you walked around and peered at all the storefronts in case anything caught Gia’s eye. The first stop was at an expensive lingerie shop, but she insisted on paying for her own, since she needed some new stuff anyway. You already had an idea for a gift after you’d spotted a Tiffany’s earlier, but you’d have to lure her there afterwards.

She modeled some of the lingerie for you and Sadie, the two of you whistling appreciatively and cheering her on when something fit her particularly well. As she changed into another lacy ensemble, an emerald teddy caught your eye. It was a beautiful piece, made of fine satin and lace, and it just happened to be in one of your favorite colors.

“You should try it on,” Sadie said when she noticed you staring.

Gia emerged from behind the curtain, adjusting her garter belt. “Oh my god, yes! You have to. It’d look so hot on you.”

You hummed in thought. “I have plenty of lingerie as it is…”

“Never enough, Honey Bunny. Now get in that fitting room!”

You sighed, acquiescing. You changed into it and looked in the mirror. Your fingers ghosted over the fabric as you admired the way it looked on you. There were a couple of gaps here and there where skin would enticingly show, and you wondered how Aaron might react to it. You wanted to find out, so you immediately decided you would in fact be buying it.

Gia’s jaw dropped when you emerged so they could see. “Oh, your man is going to go insane when he sees you in that. I’d be surprised if I’m not an aunt nine months after that.”

“Ditto,” Sadie added.

“Guys!” You cackled in surprise, waving them off. “None of that!”

“I’m just saying. You’re gonna bring him to his knees,” Gia said, your sister nodding along.

“Just how I like ‘em,” you smirked.

After changing back into your clothes and paying at the front, you helped Gia haul her bags. Turned out, she liked most of the things she’d tried on.

“Derek’s gonna be really spoiled, is all I’m saying,” you chuckled, glancing over at her.

“Only means I’ll be spoiling her back twice as much.”

His familiar voice made you whip around. Derek was standing outside of the Armani store, looking equally surprised at running into the three of you. Your eyes widened some as you stopped in your tracks. Excitement broke over Gia’s features, but she hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Rarely did either of you see Derek outside of the Crimson Lounge, especially during the day. Sure, you were friends, but no one in his personal life knew of his escapades. You didn’t know much about what he did, but you knew it was important. You respected his decisions, as did Gia. She’d confided to you that she didn’t mind the secrecy as long as he continued being a constant in her life.

For his part, Derek had his signature smirk, but he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He was trying to keep his cool, you could tell, but he was nervous. He eyed the bags you two carried, a mischievous glint appearing in his eye.

“Happy birthday, Gigi,” he said with a wink. “I meant what I said a moment ago, just so you know.”

Gia’s smile turned sheepish, and she blushed a little. “We’ll see about that later.”

“You out buying a suit for tonight?” You asked him, trying to sound casual, teasing even.

“Actually, I’m here with–”

At that moment, you were shocked to see Aaron walking out of the store, looking down at his watch and carrying one bag. He looked utterly handsome in a black polo and black jeans, more casual than you’d ever seen him. The familiar smell of his cologne wafted over to you, rooting you to the spot.

“Morgan, I took your advice and went with the…Oh,” Aaron looked up and blinked, momentarily taken aback. “Honey, what a surprise.”

Derek raised an eyebrow in your direction, and you shook your head almost imperceptibly.

“Hi,” you said, waving awkwardly, an unsure smile on your face. “I, uh, didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Just got in last night, it’s been very hectic. Sorry for not letting you know,” he cleared his throat, looking over to Derek. “You guys know each other?”

“We have a friend in common,” you said quickly, gesturing to Gia.

“Hi, nice to meet you!” she said, overly cheerful as she offered him her hand. “I’m Gia, her best friend.”

“And I’m Sadie,” your sister chimed in.

Aaron shook both their hands, smiling amicably as he introduced himself. Even so, there was a tension in the air that wouldn’t easily dissipate. He could tell there was more to the story, but he didn’t want to press. Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to feel a certain way about it.

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

“So you two…?” You ventured, pointing between him and Derek.

“We work together.”

“We had to come shopping for an upcoming work gala,” Derek added. “There’s an unspoken competition for best dressed at those events.”

“And of course, you just have to win it.”

Derek winked. “You know it.”

You huffed in amusement, unable to help rolling your eyes, a small smile on your face. Aaron’s brows furrowed a bit, even more surprised by your blatant familiarity. Clearly, Derek wasn’t just a friend of a friend.

His eyes flicked between you, assessing. You made eye contact with him for a fraction of a second, quickly looking away.

You adjusted your purse higher on your shoulder, and Aaron tracked the movement with his eyes. His gaze was then drawn lower, to the way your dress clung to your body. He swallowed hard, nostrils flaring as he exhaled slowly.

If you looked, you’d see a myriad of emotions warring in his dark eyes — apprehension, longing, confusion, and others that were harder to decipher.

But you couldn’t really bring yourself to. For some reason, you felt like you’d been caught doing something wrong, even if that wasn’t the case.

“What a crazy coincidence, isn’t it?” Gia quickly chimed in. “We work together, too.”

“At the Duchess?” Aaron asked.

“No, uh… elsewhere. But yeah, same sort of thing.” She shot you a panicked look, biting her lip to keep herself from rambling.

Whenever she was nervous, Gia had a tendency to overshare. If Aaron asked any more questions, you weren’t sure she wouldn’t cave. You needed to get out of there before she spilled something she couldn’t take back. Derek was aware of this, too.

“Um, well, it was nice seeing you two. We’ve still got some shopping to do but uh… yeah,” you said with a lopsided smile, gesturing to Aaron. “Call me later?”

He nodded, but said nothing, his lips pursed. Gia waved Derek goodbye as you hastily dragged her and Sadie away. You couldn’t even glance over your shoulder as you got further and further away.

“That was rough,” Sadie sighed heavily. “Not the first impression I was expecting.”

Gia wrung her fingers anxiously, glancing over her shoulder. “Do you think Derek’s gonna tell him?”

“He wouldn’t do that to us,” you declared with as much conviction as you could muster.

You were afraid he’d be put on the spot and have to explain himself. You wanted to believe he would have the decency to let you be the one to bring it up with Aaron first… but you just never knew.

You’d been so sure that you could put it off for some more time, but it seemed like life had other plans. You were going to have to talk to Aaron, and you were going to tell him everything. If things were going to progress between you, all cards would have to be on the table.

“Maybe it’s about him seeing it for himself,” you mused aloud.

“Ease him into it, though,” Gia said slowly, unsure of what you were planning. “Maybe a private show?”

“Maybe indeed,” you inclined your head a little, the gears in your mind continuing to quickly spin.

#aaron hotcher #aaron hotchner x stripper!reader #ssa aaron hotchner #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner series #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds #honey bun #series #minors dni

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borathae · 2 months

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ok finally doing this after a nap

Chapter 3

What is wrong with me *me 24/7, ALSO YES WHAT WAS ALL THAT???

Ever since you set foot into this estate, your brain went into a total frenzy YES EXACTLY AND it seems like she can remember hmmm

Why does everything here look so ancient? YOU NEED TO READ FANFICS to learn to live (except we dont get lucky yn parts just the unlucky embarrassing parts but thank god we aint dying every 5 chapter like yn)

You remember drinking one glass of wine. the said glass of wine:

It is totally normal to forget your date’s name after sleeping in his guestroom never been on a date, but i forgot someone's name after sitting next to them all day and realized after class while talking to bestie and had to wait till attendance next day -_-

ok the door is still locked. he told her to keep them locked and she did, but opened it for a sec and locked it again during the night. and the entire teleporting happened. this is a bit confusing hmmm. like opening it for a sec caused the change, but she locked it again. then how did they get her inside again? the bruise is there so it means it was real. the lock must have some magic and opening it during night causes it to go away?? i will think later lol

Did you punch your own throat in your sleep oof

Why did he know where to look exactly it wasnt a dream babe

istg im about to bitch slap this bitchless dude (TAE I LOVE U DONT TAKE IT TO THE HEART)

You should take better care of your belongings Kim Taehyung damn

He creeps me out honestly speaking all of them are creepy, yoongi is 10% less

just like that all your worries are wiped away like magic. like magic or with magic 👀👀(were u silent or silenced)

your knees are buckling like crazy THIS WILL BREAK ME THIS IS GONNA BREAK ME

Okay not going to lie, this was kind of cool you know whats more cooler??? jimin feeding his cycle 😂 THAT REMINDS ME OF JIN RIDING THE CYCLE HANDS FREE *fans myself

You snort, “so very humble.” ikr sOoOo HuMbLe

hmm usually you see cats sitting on horses, chilling. yoongles must be a rare kitty

Tell me again, why are you studying?” seriously dude must be bored as fuck to study, or started to forget cuz its beeen toooo looong

hold on what if some old being makes some theories and is "killed/disappeared" and later, with a different identity, studies his own theories in college 😭 and continues with it lol

It earned you a scholarship, it clearly must be well written.” or was it something to bring her to them??? 👀 *sus

The entrance exam stole my sanity from me. Even after a week of completing it I still felt jittery.” what type of students go there? what type of university is that? very weird

sunlight was just too bright for his eyes, DONT BE AN UNCULTURED SWINE, THATS WHEN UR SUPPOSED TO TWITCH AND SAY I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE

Emma left, she won’t come back again EMMA DIED FOR SURE OOF

It was a clean and painless end whats that supposed to mean mr.dracula?

Taehyung was a man of such humour ikr him in interviews 😭

Taehyung knew such peculiar stories about places and that doesnt seem weird???

the rain part was soo cute it could me giggling and listening too still with you

wow the honesty was cool, though there is many secrets, some parts feels really raw.

we are both pick-me girls then BAHAHA PLS *starts playing pd48 pick me

they are so cute im gonna die

(the way i started slightly mad at tae and then ended up simping, sighs)

THEY ARE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER DATE YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE

i cant wait for 2seokkook's pov and her talking to them woohoo

its only been 3 chapters, obviously the suspense wouldnt make me grip my pillow yet but its already made me clutch my blanket/pearls lol

jjdafjs it took me so long to figure out how the wine pic happened HAHAHA this is such a funny idea help fjadjfs 😭😂

What is wrong with me *me 24/7, ALSO YES WHAT WAS ALL THAT???

ISTFG WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS ESTATE???

Ever since you set foot into this estate, your brain went into a total frenzy YES EXACTLY AND it seems like she can remember hmmm

like the suspicion is growiinnggg

it doesn't make sense to you yet probably but I wanna be SA!OC so bad jfasdjf

girliepop me all the time, I forget names so easily (the same with song titles FAFAJDS like I kid you not I even forgot BTS song titles sometimes like it's so bad)

hmhmhmhm interesting theory indeed mhmhmmh or perhaps 👀 someone made her lock the door again and then think everything was just a dream 👀 mhmhmhm

You should take better care of your belongings Kim Taehyung damn

"belongings" LIKE THE ICK

He creeps me out honestly speaking all of them are creepy, yoongi is 10% less

JFJADSJF YES jhfahsdhf I agree fjadjfa

just like that all your worries are wiped away like magic. like magic or with magic 👀👀(were u silent or silenced)

INDEED LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER???

Okay not going to lie, this was kind of cool you know whats more cooler??? jimin feeding his cycle 😂 THAT REMINDS ME OF JIN RIDING THE CYCLE HANDS FREE *fans myself

omg hahahaha this scene 😭😭 he is such a goof I love him 😭😭 Seokjin is honestly so hot I need to inhale him

hmm usually you see cats sitting on horses, chilling. yoongles must be a rare kitty

*cries* he is indeed a kitty

Tell me again, why are you studying?” seriously dude must be bored as fuck to study, or started to forget cuz its beeen toooo looong

LMOAOAO FOR REAL LIKE FADHF couldn't be mE FJASDJF

hold on what if some old being makes some theories and is "killed/disappeared" and later, with a different identity, studies his own theories in college 😭 and continues with it lol

👀 interesting ohohooh

It earned you a scholarship, it clearly must be well written.” or was it something to bring her to them??? 👀 *sus

OOOOOH IMAGINEEEEE 👀👀

The entrance exam stole my sanity from me. Even after a week of completing it I still felt jittery.” what type of students go there? what type of university is that? very weird

IT IS INDEED VERY WEIRD ALL OF IT 👀

sunlight was just too bright for his eyes, DONT BE AN UNCULTURED SWINE, THATS WHEN UR SUPPOSED TO TWITCH AND SAY I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE

lmaoaooaoao in her defence I have really sensitive eyes too and can barely stay in the sun without my eyes ACHING jfadsjfj so it IS possible

Emma left, she won’t come back again EMMA DIED FOR SURE OOF

👀 mhmhmhmmh

It was a clean and painless end whats that supposed to mean mr.dracula?

LIKE HELLO WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER????

Taehyung was a man of such humour ikr him in interviews 😭

I love him 😭😭

Taehyung knew such peculiar stories about places and that doesnt seem weird???

kfadjsfasj she is just here for a good time not a long time lmaooa

wow the honesty was cool, though there is many secrets, some parts feels really raw. they are so cute im gonna die (the way i started slightly mad at tae and then ended up simping, sighs) THEY ARE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER DATE YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE

fjadjfjad I love how you switched instnatly JFJADSJF THIS IS SO ME WHEN SANGUIS TAE FJADSJFJ

i love how smoothly its written, like everything just flows nicely, the scenes and dialogues, its like those nice cozy well directed movies that you watch with pillows and blanket and rested face, body and mind. its only been 3 chapters, obviously the suspense wouldnt make me grip my pillow yet but its already made me clutch my blanket/pearls lol

gaaah thank youuu <3 I'm so happy that you're having such a good time with it heheheh istfg I love reading your comments, they're so awesome heheheh 🥺😭💜💜

#asks: sanguis alpha #asks #minusback #tw: long post

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imogenleewriter · 10 months

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I would have waited for it to be over to rr the whole thing, write a rant simultaneously and then send but lmfao the ne chapter needs to be ranted about.

(I'm only 2 words in)

Not Louis being smarter than Harry lmao.

Yeah, Louis it's LITERALLY the only explanation my brothah stop lying

'symptoms' BAHAHAHAHA

Not Louis being SCIENCE and Harry being completely inexperienced on falling in LOVE LMFAO

Noooooo Louis knows what those feelings are cuz everytime he triggered then he also felt them himself 🥲🤏

✨Love ✨

Not harry's symptoms being his literal FEELINGS FFS

Nooooo Louis only has a theory. (I need Zayn to somehow find out about this debacle and repeat it at their wedding or to their children (whichever option Harry hates more and Louis is less wary of))

Yeah Louis you're definitely, DEFINITELY misinterpreting this YUP YEAH sounds about right

(side note:- idk how you even ever manage to put so much work into something you do for free and get so much stupid comments for but I will ALWAYS be SOOOO GRATEFUL 🥲 like these are the highlights of my shitty days I can't believe you do it for free TYSM TYSM THANK YOU SO MUCH 💗💗💗)

(also:- a massive, massive thank you to everyone who supports you and helps you because- just- just- LOOK how amazing these are I literally can't rn-)

Knowing for sure that Harry isn't sick, I do kind of understand why Louis is hesitant to assume Harry's just in love with him because imagine your crush is casually dying in your arms out of a heart attack or something and you are just like "dw, bestie, your heart is fully functional, you just have feelings ❤️"

Ok so rn I am at the place where Louis is thinking about how Harry can totally have feelings for him but still not want a relationship and just- *sigh* don't you just HATE it when a character who is clearly miscommunicating still make sense in their monologue based on what their arc and personality is? *sigh again*

It's so funny that the tables have COMPLETELY turned this time around now HARRY is an oblivious idiot but LOUIS KNOWS!!!!

(I love how subtle this shift is btw because I'm not really sure why but in my brain Louis' characterization seemed like he knows his problems and would just rather be in blissful denial about it, yk? But Harry always seemed like a person who would look at others worst emotions when directed at himself but forgive the other person and not himself)

Looking at Louis's inner monologue rn is so funny because he is just like "omg I cracked a case"

Help-this is getting too long for an ask but basically my point is that if I have been procrastinating this ask for ages and I am still stressing over the semantics in it then you being stressed over the complete masterpiece literature you create that I and so many other people are lucky enough to find then IS MORE THAN REASONABLE!!!!

So THANK YOU

I'll just read the rest by myself sorry 😐 I'll add it to the inevitable rant I'll send in your dms whenever I can complete it lmao my life is a fucking mess with me somehow ending up with fucking BOB CUT rn in this economy but I'll send it I PROMISE

Hahaha I love all the comments I get I promiseeeeeeeeee!

Well 99% of them. The other ones I whine about in a discord group to the point they made me my own sticker

Thanks @enchantedlandcoffee

No, but it's honestly a sticker in a group with like 80 people and I love thinking about what the people who don't know me (because the majority of the time I only go in there to complain) think when they open the group stickers and see that one.

ANYWAYYYYYYY

I appreciated all your commentary a lot! I love it when people understand the characters and why they do things even if they don't agree with what they do.

Sorry about the bob-cut, not that I have anything against bob cuts but it sounds like it was not what you wanted.

A few years ago I went to a salon and asked for my hair to be just above my shoulders. The hairdresser was clearly in the middle of something, like maybe a break-up because she was like... close to tears and kept using the phone and stuff.

Anyway my hair but was at the nape of my neck, like if it was any shorter she would have had to use a razor. Without me even complaining- because I just can't do it- the manager gave me a discount. Like I literally didn't say a word about it and she gave me a discount. That's how bad it was.

As soon as I walked out I burst into tears and cried non-stop for at least two days. I literally put on social media if anyone sees me not to talk about the haircut or I'll start crying. It was sooooo bad.

Anyway lol, thank you!!

#smfm #and me going on random tangents

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calciferstims · 2 years

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izzy hands anon here. so i was gonna reply to you the day after you had replied to what it is because it was getting late and i needed to rehearse some words but then...i got maaaad sick, like i rarely get sick. it was strange bc i had felt weird since thursday and then i got fever and felt like a punched rice bag the entire day 😶. still had fever today but i feel a tad bit better now so ima take the opportunity in replying to it now!

huehue when i read this "you do NOT have to read all of this oh god please don’t force yourself to read it. I’m serious." i was thinking "hahaha you bet i am gonna do it anyways!!"

ngl i wasnt thinking he was from a show, much less from this one lmfao i thought he was some...idek, random dude or sommet baha.

wait what "one time he moaned ‘daddy’ on screen because he was???? trying to make fun of someone I guess??? but it traumatized many people." LMFAOO??? he moaned daddy and it traumatised a lot of people lmfaoooooo I CANT. THATS HILARIOUS WHAT EVEN?? 😂

"he has like, these insanity-inducing micro expressions going on in the background at all times." AHAHAHA WHATTT 😂

"you can just feel him VIBRATING with repressed gay thoughts" okay by now i gotta say, the way you explain things is fucking hilarious lmaoo. i was gonna say he doesnt look too angry, but then i thought if this gif was shown with no context then yea, i think he does look angry lol, or more like frustrated.

okay i read it all and i gotta say, this is definitely not what i had thought was gonna be said. idk what i thought but...this wasnt it lmfao. his names soooo fucking random. who tf names a character IZZY hands. and now all i see is that dino rb'ing the flaming izzy hands hahah

Ohhh nooo I hope you feel better soon!!! 🥺 that sucks, def get some rest and relax!

And yeah, he’s from the beloved gay pirate show that consumed tumblr 😂 I simply watched a show with the the most groundbreaking queer rep I’ve ever seen, the sweetest most tender gay pirate couple as the main center, only to shove aside everyone else and point at the worst guy ever and go ‘that one. that repressed homophobic bitch in the corner that one’s mine’.

DHSGH THE DADDY SCENE IS So Much™️ ITS SO BAD LMAO. Pretty sure he’s like. Trying to do this weird homophobic impression of stereotypical gay people but he just gets WAY too into it and completely exposes his whore gay ass SGHSGHSHS. Also fun fact apparently it was supposed to be even longer but they cut it for time…. The fucking mad lad just kept going… absolutely desperate to see that tbh. Give us the extended daddy cut NOW.

I would share a gif of the daddy scene but honestly I am not brave enough for that

God Con O’Neill and his expressions are SOO good… tbh I’m also probably just biased and overanalyzing a lot of shit!!! But he’s rlly rlly good and I have seen the creators of the show and his fellow actors praise him a lot for his work as Izzy lmao so I’m probably not just going insane. He rlly put everything into every second of his screentime and I thank him for it 🙏

Why thank you I try to be comedic 😌😌

His name IS weird lmao 😂 mf literally named Hands… people call him Mr. Hands with a straight face… to be fair it’s not like they made it up for the show like Israel Hands was a legit dude! He even appears in other pirate media! But apparently for ofmd they were like no…. His name isn’t stupid enough….. we must nickname him Izzy too… that old man looks like an Izzy…….

also I FOUND MORE DUMB IZZY PICS I COULDN’T FIND LAST TIME YAY

ty for indulging me anon lmao <33

#also question!!!! are u the same anon who I talked to about the popcorn thing and stuff #I’m guessing???#bc if u want u could pick a lil emoji so I know it’s you!!#I’ve never really done the emoji anon thing before but it would be fitting in this case I think :)#so u could sign off as something #or just. pick a name or something idk #totally up to you!!!#ask box

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ruminate88 · 5 days

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Then vs. Now:

Funny how little I knew back then about emotional abuse talking to my ex Andrew but understand it now many years later. It’s almost night and day! (I was more innocent and naive back then despite being a nasty girl)

So my friend Bri confessed to me she had been talking to my ex Andrew behind my back for a month, that they had “sexted” and she’s sending me the screen shots of him saying to her, “I’m in the shower 😉 Wanna join me?” Like…. Wth. 💔💔💔 I sent him the screen shots and told him to EXPLAIN it. (Thinking he can be honest) LOL Well, I’m a wreck at this point. I’m so confused and JEALOUS!! Can you believe I was jealous? Hahahaha I was angry at both of them. Bri knew I was mad at her and she tried to apologize but also told me she was “in the right” that she only did it to prove to me Andrew was a cheater. 😓

Andrew’s explanation was the saddest, most unreal and confusing response I’ve ever received from anyone. First he asked me “Where did you get those messages?…” hahaha He was BUSTED! Then he says, “Wait… I thought that was you!!!! You made two accounts to talk to me!!!” Wow…. Why would I EVER waste time doing that and plus we had started texting more from our phone numbers and not talking on kik as much so…. That made no sense to me.

WORSE, he says “I really thought I was only talking to you this whole time.” Okay. So, me being nice and not quick to judge. I pause AND QUESTION MYSELF 😳😳😳 Waaaaaas he that stupid OR does he think I AM THAT STUPID???? Then he began to try and convince me of it, “Yeah, that’s you. Why were you trying to catfish me???” For a split moment, I was caught up in his gaslighting trying to make sense of it all. (There was soooo much fog in my brain) I was talking in my head asking so many questions about him. I felt like for him to be this “Ambassador for his school” and to be in “Pre-med” he’s NOT that stupid….. IS HE?? There’s no way he believed I made two accounts to talk to him from. But did he really believe it??? Whew, I was confused so much. 😵‍💫

I never heard of gaslighting EVER. I knew manipulation was real but never understood it or believed I would be manipulated because I’m not easily convinced by others or tricked. Yet, I was though sadly… I had to face the hard truth that yes he was trying to dumb me down and keep me in the dark about his true self and secret life of women behind my back. He wanted me to believe I was his only girl in his world BUT his Facebook was swarmed with pretty girls AND how could he not know I was stalking his Facebook?? It’s common sense to go to Facebook if you want to learn about anyone. Also his mom’s Facebook had even more information about him than he wanted me to know. He didn’t want me to see he had 500 girlfriends. 😛 oops.. too late.

NOOOOOW, that I understand about gaslighting and manipulation, I can make sense of the breakup and the past. It hurt me so much and I pushed Bri away. I was angry she went behind my back and sexted him although I can’t blame her. He was super hot 🤪 LOL but looks fade and behind his blue eyes I’m sure is black. His personality stunk in that moment. The way he put me down to make himself feel better. Ya know, you pushed away a woman who genuinely cared about you son and adores you. (His loss) can’t change a man and can’t babysit him either. I shouldn’t have to!!! I’m sorry if maybe you didn’t have a great relationship with your parents not sure about that. Can’t judge that and I hope the best for him every day. I always want him to be ok. My only expectation moving forward is that we can find peace in ourselves and happiness. Good health and good finances. Drew, just have a good life!! I’m daily working so hard to forgive you and get completely over the past. I go back and forward with him in my head always trying to make a sound opinion and I keep reminding myself “You don’t really know him and you’re not his judge.” 🥺🙏🏻

Let’s all strive to be better humans and heal each day ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

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paleparearchive · 7 months

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My Story Begins Here

Rembrandt's New Year 4★ story (3/3) ( 1 - 2 - 3 )

Location: museum exterior (New Year) | Characters: Rembrandt, Renoir, Hokusai, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Millet

Hokusai: Aight, Next's the "stage" cleanin'. Let's get to it!

Millet: I never thought I'd hear Hokusai-san say "I'm going to clean up" one day…!

Renoir: Millet, you're so moved and excited. I've never seen anything like that, but is Hokusai's room really that messy?

Millet: … One wrong step and you'll end up in the devil's cave. If you want, you can join us next time, Renoir–

Renoir: I'll pass. I'm too busy having fun with the ladies.

Rembrandt: Hahaha, that's a quick answeeer. Well then, do you need my help? It sounds like fuuun!

Millet: Well… If I get a chance, I'll ask you.

Renoir: … If you helped, Rembrandt, you would get hurt, break things, and make even more of a mess. Millet is kind enough not to say no clearly.

Hokusai: Oop! Is this good?

Van Dyck: Wait, what are you doing!? That's not going to clean it up. You have to clean up more carefully. You're too bold, Hokusai.

Hokusai: What, ain't it enough to just clean up the mess?

Well, now that I've finished my work, I'm gonna go eat daifuku on the way back!

Van Dyck: Ah, hold on a second! We just started!?

Velazquez: …

Renoir: Alright, I think it's okay like this.

Millet: No way, Renoir. There's still some dirt left. If you don't clean the corners properly, the next person who uses it will have a hard time, right?

Renoir: No, I think it's pretty enough.

… Rather, this exchange reminds me of Sisley's cleaning service.

Velazquez: …

Rembrandt: Woah! This place is so clean! Did you do this, Velazquez-kun?

Velazquez: I did. I'll go clean up over there next. I'll leave the rest to you.

…

Rembrandt: (He looks like a craftsman! Velazquez-kun is a good cleaneeer.)

…

(The stage keeps getting cleaner and cleaner. When we're done cleaning, we'll take it apart.)

Rembrandt: Soooo much happened at the New Year's event.

(The six of us here were chosen. I was surprised when I was nominated as the leader, wasn't I? I didn't have the courage to be a leader at that time, so I turned it down. Even if they went through all the trouble to nominate me…)

I feel bad for Palette-chan and Mr. Owner.

(Then, as expected, there were all kinds of troubles. Many times I wished I wasn't there. But…)

Hokusai-san… Everyone gave me the courage to get on stage. Everyone… They had my back.

(I'm not completely over it yet, but I feel sooo much better.)

I wonder if one day... I wonder if I could make my own story, with myself as the main character…

(That time…)

Van Dyck: Hey, Rembrandt! What are you just standing there for? There's still a lot of cleaning left to do!

Rembrandt: Woah, sorry! I'll do it right awaaay.

(Hahaha, I got scolded.)

–Alright! I'll do my best to clean up.

#card tl #card translation #palepare #palepare tl #palette parade #palette parade tl #translation #rembrandt #rembrandt van rijn #4★

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busybingingfiction · 3 years

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I shit on Hindi serials so much but can’t stop myself from watching them. Heck, there’s no such thing as one episode a day for me. I’m gonna wait for the show to finish to binge all the episodes in 2 weeks. Trash is comfort.

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let-me-write-shit · 4 years

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You writing is soo cool, you're amazing! I don't know if you are taking requests, but what about a famous Y/N and meets professor Harry and he is like "I don't want to teach you, you are famous" and she is like "you are going to teach me and fall in love with me😏" and well, idk the idea just came to my mind and I thought of you to write it hahaha. Love your writing, keep doing it 'cause you are great!

Word Count: 9,443 LONG AS SHIIIIT

WARNING: FILTHY SMUT!!!!!!!! (I put ******** before and after the smut so you can skip if you’d like

A/N: Thank you SOO much to @mylittleangel9403 for this request and I’m SOOOO sorry it took so long. Turned out a lot longer than I anticipated. Not sure if you wanted this to be smutty, but I just couldn’t help myself. Also, shoutout to @gwenlovesharrystyles for the help on this imagine! Much appreciated!!Enjoy!

Requests are OPEN! If you have a request for a blurb, oneshot, imagine, whatever, Send me a message HERE!!!

To add yourself to my Taglist, click HERE

CLICK HERE TO READ OTHER COMPLETED STORIES

Friendly reminder to please like and/or reblog. It helps more than you think :)

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Professor Styles

“Ma’am, respectfully, I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Harry leaned forward in his chair, fingertips pressed together, aware of the large presence that sat beside him, his voice almost a whisper. “We’re already several classes deep, and as you know, my class is very difficult. She’ll be at a disadvantage going in, not to mention the students already in my class. The distraction isn’t fair for them.”

“Professor Styles, I don’t need to tell you how much this means to our University. I understand your concern, and I have every faith in you to help miss Y/L/N catch up to speed and keep your students in-check.”

He could feel the eyes of the famous singer on him as she uncrossed her legs and sat straighter in her chair. In his peripheral, he could see her burly manager, who stood in the back against a wall, take a step closer behind them like a bodyguard waiting to pounce. But for some reason, Harry had the distinct impression that Y/N could do without protection. He thought she was tough enough.

“Sir,” Y/N spoke softly and respectfully. Harry turned, seeing a reflection of yellow in her eyes as the sun shone through the window onto them, and he couldn’t help but think she was putting on an act for the Dean. “I know that the circumstances are...unusual. But, I promise I will do everything in my power to not cause any distraction in your class. I’ll sit in the back if that helps. Whatever it takes.”

The young professor took a deep breath, taking in her words. He looked around the room in thought, feeling everyone’s attention on him all the while. Some of the rumors about her seemed to ring true. Y/N had this energy about her that made it difficult to focus or think straight. She hardly took her eyes off of him throughout this entire meeting.

Harry sighed in defeat and nodded, “Alright. I trust she’ll be given the syllabus and information on everything she’ll need for my class?” he asked the Dean.

But before the Dean could respond, Y/N chirped, “I’ve already gotten it and I’m prepared to start next week.”

“Well, that’s settled, then,” the Dean grinned, victoriously, “Welcome to our school, Miss Y/L/N. Unless you have any more questions, you are free to go.”

Y/N stood up with a smile, followed by the Dean and professor. She stuck out a hand and shook them, saying, “Thank you so much. I look forward to starting on Tuesday.”

Her burly manager opened the door for her and she began to make her way out. And as Harry collected his things to leave, the Dean quipped, “Oh, Professor Styles. Before you head to your next class, I’d like to speak to you for a moment.”

Harry watched as Y/N closed the door behind her, almost certain he saw a wink, before setting his things back down and taking a seat once more. He listened as the Dean encouraged him to do all that he can to ensure Y/N had a good experience here, explaining how big of a deal this was and how Y/N taking his class might encourage more students to enroll.

Harry listened, respectfully, but wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes. It annoyed him that he was expected to baby Y/N and bend to her will solely because she was a rich and famous singer, and he refused to play a part in that. If she wanted success in his class, she would need to earn it just like the rest of his students.

When they finished their conversation, he was already running late for his next class. Again, he collected his things and made his way out of the office. As he speed-walked through the administration, he was surprised to see Y/N still there, sat on a chair beside her burly manager, talking. When she noticed him, she instantly jumped to her feet and raced up to him.

“Hey,” she said, simply, keeping his pace as they continued out of the administration building and into the main campus.

“I’m running late to my next class, Miss Y/L/N. Did you have a question, or can this wait?”

Her voice was so flippant that it bordered arrogance, “Just wanted to thank you again for letting me join your class this late into the semester.”

“It’s not me you should thank. I don’t agree with it and I won’t baby you. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I suggest you start reading your books so you’re not lost in my next class. Your classmates have worked hard to get to where they are and I’d hate for you to be the reason for a halt in their progress.”

“I think you’ll find that not to be the case.”

She was so smug that it caught him off guard. The looming of her large manager two paces behind him as they hustled down the walkway was even more noticeable now, along with the many whispers and stares as they continued. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, perplexed.

He debated whether to ask, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. Not wanting to show any sign of weakness or that he’d entertain her malarky. But his curiosity got the better of him.

“Miss Y/L/N, why are you taking my class?”

“Why not?” she smirked in response.

He sighed, annoyed that he was even going along with this, “We both know you don’t need to go to school, especially for Advanced Musical Theory. Why are you only taking my class?”

Her voice was softer and more sincere this time as she spoke, “I’ve always been interested in Music Theory and wanted to take it before my career kicked off. And I heard you were one of the best teachers in your field.”

For a split second, in that moment of sincerity, he thought he might have just seen her, the real her, behind all the fame and money and act. But her innocence faltered as she quickly shuffled in front of him, making Harry fumble to a stop.

Her eyes were more seductive now as she hushed, “Besides, I heard about how hot you were and I needed to see it for myself. And I’m not disappointed,” she looked at him through her eyelashes.

Harry could feel the warmth rise to his cheeks, extremely aware of her manager’s presence behind him and the few students nearby, staring. He was sure his face was bright red right now as Y/N’s smirk only seemed to grow.

Harry was aware of his reputation around campus for being the ‘hot teacher’. He wasn’t a stranger to the gossip or the occasional student trying to make a pass at him. And, honestly, his ego enjoyed it. But he’d never crossed that line with a student before and she would be no exception.

He did his best to compose himself and continued past her, Y/N following behind, “I’ll ignore that and just give you fair warning,” he started, “My class is hard and you will not be given special treatment just because you’re famous. I promised the dean I’d get you caught up, and I will. Your class is every Tuesday, and you can meet me in my office after each lesson for an hour for the next few weeks until we get you up-to-date on what you’ve missed. I will not play into your games.”

“Yes, Sir,” she pouted, teasingly, and again, jumped in front of him, holding a hand out and smiling, “Looking forward to next Tuesday.”

Harry looked at her suspiciously, pausing for a moment before ultimately giving in and taking her hand in his. But before he could respond, she pulled herself closer to him. So close that she was practically whispering in his ear.

“But just to warn you, not only will I ace your class, but by the end of the semester, I’ll make you call in love with me.”

Her breath was so hot and her words were so unexpected that he stood there, stunned, while she pulled away, winked, and walked back towards her bodyguard, heading back from where they just came from. She waved to a few students that recognized her, and she looked back once to blow a discreet kiss before she rounded a corner and was out of sight.

Harry watched after her, stunned at her assertiveness while people were watching. But he shook it off and continued to his class, mentally preparing himself to break the news to his students.

The anxiety in the week leading up to the start of Y/N’s first official day in Professor Styles’ class was becoming more frequently accompanied by the Dean’s constant checking in on him to make sure everything was ready, more students visiting or showing up to class, and even more excited whispers. Harry, on the other hand, did his best to push it aside, not getting what all the fuss was about.

He had done his best to prepare his students for their newly joined classmate, even sending out mass reminder emails to those in his class to please be courteous and warning them to avoid distraction. But when he pulled up to the school that day, he noticed more students than normal just hanging around, scanning all over campus like they were scouting for something.

Harry quickly realized that they were waiting to catch a glimpse at the famous singer and he snorted, rolling his eyes. Kids were so predictable. He slipped his lanyard with his ID around his neck, grabbed hold of his coffee and briefcase, and got out of his car, heading towards his classroom.

The Professor smiled and nodded at the students that greeted him in the hallway, proud that he knew each of them by name, continuing to his class. He knew his students would already be there, by now. Harry was usually always a few minutes late and he assumed that it gave his students more than enough time to ogle their new addition to the class.

But, when Harry rounded the corner and saw Y/N leaning up against the wall, arms crossed and alone, his nerves increased.

“Harry,” Y/N beamed when she spotted him, practically skipping over to him.

Harry raised his eyebrows, clearing his throat, “It’s Professor Styles,” he warned, earning a sarcastic nod while he continued, “Why are you not in class?”

“I thought we could go in together since I’m new.”

“I’m your professor, not your babysitter. Go on in next time,” he said as they approached the door. Before turning the knob, he paused and faced her, “While you’re here, I’ll explain to you what I explained to them on the first day. I’m a pretty easy-going teacher because I know how hard this class can be. You can eat in my class, you can have your phones out, you can come in wearing pajamas, I don’t care. However, the biggest rule in my class is that you treat people with kindness. We do not judge in this class. We don’t interrupt people or talk over others, we don’t make others feel inferior. My class is a safe space for people to be their authentic selves and we respect that. Can you do that?”

Y/N’s stance softened and she grinned, nodding, “Yes. I can do that.”

“Good,” Harry nodded, “I’d like you to take a seat towards the back of the class for today if you don’t mind. I’d rather they pay attention to me than the back of your head.”

“Whatever you say, Professor,” Y/N exaggerated his title, her lips twitching up in a lopsided smile.

He looked down at her for a moment, narrowing his eyes, trying to size her up, before he gave in and turned the knob to his class. The buzz from his students loudly chattering amongst each other instantly stopped when he walked in, closely followed by the singer. Harry vaguely noticed that not only was every single one of his students present, but they all looked slightly more put-together than normal. He snorted under his breath, dropping his briefcase on his desk, taking a sip from his coffee cup, and placing that down, as well.

“Morning!” He called out, earning a chorus of greetings in return. He gestured towards Y/N who was making her way up the steps towards the back of the class, “I’m sure you all know who this is. We are incredibly lucky to welcome Y/N in joining us this year.”

Y/N stopped climbing the steps to smile brightly and wave obscurely at everyone, “Hi!”

Harry nodded towards her to keep moving. She rolled her eyes, playfully, and continued while he explained, “I know we’re all excited to have her here, but I want to remind everyone that while we’re in the room, we’re all students, and that includes Y/N. Let’s all focus on what we’re here for, so we don’t get lost when mid-terms get here, yeah?”

After another muttering of agreeance, Harry noticed Y/N getting settled in the back and he nodded, starting the lecture, “Okay, what I’d like to do is a one-minute warm-up on today’s exploration on duple and triple meter. So, I need everyone to stand up.”

The rustling of chairs echoed and screeched as students got to their feet. Soon, they were marching along to Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles, everyone laughing and feet stomping on the ground. He felt proud, seeing all the smiling, attentive faces in his direction and happy that throughout the lesson, nearly everyone had seemed to grasp everything that he was saying.

But, each time he glanced up in Y/N’s direction, he noticed that not only had she not even so much as picked up a pencil or opened her laptop, she had not looked away from him even once. He made a mental note to reprimand her after class and continued on.

When the lesson came to an end, Harry thanked the class for their cooperation and the students began to pack up their belongings. He watched as Y/N was met by a group of kids who were considered to be more ‘popular’ around campus. He saw her friendly smiles, but could barely hear her over the noise.

Once Harry managed to gather his things and toss his now-empty coffee cup in the trash, he approached the group, earning a pleasant round of hello’s by the students. One of the girls, Jesse, made sure to bat her eyelashes a little more and lean closer than necessary as she spoke.

“Great lesson today, Professor Styles. I did have a few questions about musical texture and was wondering if we could meet privately so I could get some more clarity on that?” she asked, twisting a lock of hair around her fingers.

Harry was used to Jesse’s incessant attempts at flirting with him and getting him alone, but he never took the bait, “I’m sorry, Jesse, I have no free office hours available, right now. But please shoot me an email with all of your questions and I’ll gladly help you out.” He heard sniggering from her friends as her face shifted into disappointment and he turned to Y/N, “Miss Y/L/N, when you’re done here, please meet me in my office so I can get you caught up.”

“Yes, Professor, I’ll be right there.”

He waited twenty minutes before he finally heard a knock on the door. He had half a mind to ignore it and let her stand out there, annoyed that he was wasting time trying to help an entitled celebrity who clearly had no interest in his class. What was the point? But, he thought back to the Dean, and reluctantly made his way to the door.

“Your students seem to really like you,” she confidently walked in, taking a seat on top of his desk and tossing her bag on one of the chairs, crossing her legs. “Especially that girl, what’s her name? Jesse?”

Harry blinked and slightly shook her head back before closing the door and rounding the desk she sat on towards his chair, not bothering to give the statement a response. But that didn’t stop her from continuing, “She’s like, in love with you. Well, maybe not in love. But you definitely make her horny.”

“Y/N!” You shoot back at the brassiness.

“She’s hot, I’ll give her that. But she’s definitely got that ‘daddy money’ vibe to her. She and her friends invited me to a party next weekend. And that kid, Mark, gave me his number. He’s pretty hot, too. Looks like some kind of jock.”

Harry nodded, shuffling his papers, “He’s here on a full-ride soccer scholarship.”

“Damn, I’m good,” Y/N leaned back, pressing her palms flat against the top of his desk, impressed with herself.

Harry looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. He wished he could say that her confidence astounded him, but honestly, he wasn’t that surprised. He could hazard a guess that her success was probably all handed to her. She joked about another student being given ‘daddy’s money’, but if he had to guess, she was probably the same.

He set the stack of papers down beside where she sat on his desk and looked up at her with a sigh, “Miss Y/L/N, my desk is not a chair. Please have a seat.”

She slithered down off the desk and plopped in a chair opposite him, scooting it closer and crossing her arms on the top, waiting for him to speak.

He relaxed his shoulders and continued, “You didn’t participate much in class today.”

“Well, you told me not to be a distraction.”

“Yes, but you’re still a part of the class. I expect more participation from you in the next class. And that includes note-taking. You won’t pass my class from memory. For now, I need to get you caught up.

Harry spent the next hour trying to get her caught up on the very first day of his class, which she interrupted every ten minutes, or so, going off-topic or asking very personal questions like ‘do you have a girlfriend?’ or ‘how many students have you been with?’ None of which he answered. When there were about ten minutes left in their time together, Y/N interrupted for the eighth time that hour and Harry groaned, unsure that she had retained any of the information he had provided her so far.

“What made you want to do this? Teach Musical Theory?”

He looked up at her and paused for a moment and she stared at him, her head cocked to the side. She looked genuinely interested, and it wasn’t often that he got asked these questions. He decided he’d entertain her, just this once.

Harry slid the paperwork away from him and sat back in his seat, “I’ve just always been interested in music since I was a kid.”

“Yeah, so have I. That’s why I became a musician. There are so many jobs in the musical field, why music theory?”

“Well, I am a musician. Not as big as you, obviously, but I have a small band and we play gigs around town. But the more I deep dove into music and the history behind it, the more I got into musical theory. It was a hobby and a passion before it was a career. And I guess I just wanted to show people how fun and interesting it could be.”

Y/N nodded, seeming content with his answer before saying, “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a good teacher.”

“You’ve only been in one class,” he chuckled, sitting up again and straightening out his papers once more.

She giggled, “Yes, but it doesn’t take long to know when a teacher is good or not. I see the way you interact with your students and hear the way they talk about you. Everyone seems to love you. It’s part of the reason why I chose to come here.”

“My reputation precedes me?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Something like that,” she grinned, before softly speaking, “You know, we’re not all that different, you and I. I’ve been passionate about music for as long as I remember,” she laughed and said, “I remember when I was seven years old my mom took me to the library and I must have read at least six books, cover to cover, about Chopin. I knew everything about him and even named my pet rabbit after him. Everyone thought I was crazy.”

“Classical music?” Harry questioned, surprised.

She nodded, sitting up, “I’ve played piano since I was two.”

Harry pursed his lips, nodding his head, “Never judge a book by its cover.”

They stared at each other for a moment, silence filling the room. She looked more innocuous now; harmless as she sat with one leg crossed over the other. By this small conversation she had, she could see bits of himself in her eyes and it made him bring his guard down. For a moment, he was fascinated.

But her expression changed, more curious, as she asked, “So, how many lucky girls get the chance to have this one-on-one time with hottie Professor Styles?”

Harry sighed, rubbing his temples, “You exhaust me.”

“Or guys, I’m not judging,” she shrugged, “Though that would totally suck for Jesse. She’s really crushing.”

“I’ve never dated a student and I never will,” he said blandly.

“Never say never,” she smirked, “Why not?”

“Because they’re kids and it’s inappropriate.”

“Kids?” she snorted, “You’re barely four years older than most of your students. And everyone is of legal age.”

“I am not having this conversation with you,” he said, packing his things, “Our time is up. I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you in class next week.”

She grinned, gathering her things together and following him towards the door. As he reached for the door handle, she quickly put a hand on top of his, stopping him from turning it and making him look down at her as she said, “Don’t forget, Professor. Never say never.”

He watched as she opened the door and slipped out, turning her head once to wink back at him before she rounded a corner.

Harry found himself nervous and somehow anxious for the following week to arrive. It was the first time for years he had gotten there before any of his students. Every time the door opened and a student arrived, surprised by his early presence, he noticed he would jump and whip his head in the direction of the door. He tried to tell himself that he was just jittery or had too much coffee this morning, but he knew that wasn’t the reason.

When Y/N walked through the door, he felt his heart start to race.

“Good morning, Professor,” she smirked at him as she made her way up the steps towards the back of the class.

He nodded but didn’t respond. He felt stupid for not knowing what to say. There were so many options; hi, hello, how are you? Nothing. Harry watched out of the corner of her eye as she made a dramatic show of pulling out a notebook and a pen, sitting back in her chair and propping her legs up on the desk, making her short skirt slip up her thigh even more, waiting while she tapped her pen on the paper while the other arm was crossed over her stomach and her thumb grazed against her mouth.

He shook his head, pretending to search his briefcase for something as more students started to arrive, annoyed at himself for letting her get to him. In his four years of teaching, this had never been a problem before. How was she doing it?

Y/N waved as the group of kids she was seen talking to at the end of the last class squeezed in and they all excitedly waved back, making their way back to the seats in the row in front of her, spinning in their seats to talk. He wondered what they were talking about each time he saw her laugh or look down at him and hold eye contact.

The lecture started smoothly. He had them do another goofy exercise to get them ready for the class and was able to keep everyone’s attention as he explained notes and scales. Harry noticed the singer scribbling down in her notebook and was relieved to see she was taking notes this time. But what shocked him, even more, was her participation. The Professor, although known to make teaching and learning fun, was also known to ask a lot of hard questions throughout the class. Most, of which, the students rarely knew the answers to. That’s why he was surprised to see Y/N’s hand raised after nearly every question he asked, and even more taken back when her answers were right. Every single time.

Students began to become amused, automatically looking in between the two when a question would arise, and giggling at the incredulous expression on his face when she had, yet again, gotten the answer right. If he didn’t know any better, he would bet that by next week the class would turn it into some kind of a drinking game. He could have sworn he saw Y/N giggle under her breath and even blow a kiss.

After class, once again, Y/N was grouped on the steps by the rows of desks with Jesse, Mark, and their other friends. Y/N would twirl her hair and smile towards Mark and seemed to have him wrapped around her finger, but Harry also noticed how she’d look over Mark’s shoulder at him and bite her lip. She knew he’d be watching, and he hated himself for it.

Quickly, he packed his things and left the room, heading to his office to wait for her there, wondering what they were talking about. He closed the office door behind him, tossed his briefcase on the floor beside the paper shredder, and decided against turning the lights on. He blamed it on a splitting migraine, but it was really because there were too many intrusive thoughts running through his mind that he was doing everything he could to ease it, including pacing the room.

The attempts, however futile, were short lived. Minutes later there was a soft knock on the door and Y/N emerged, closing the door behind her, strutting right past him, and plopping on top of his desk again.

“How was that for participation, Harry?” she asked, propping a foot on the arm of his chair which made her skirt shimmy up her thigh just enough that if he were to look, he was sure he’d be able to see what she was wearing underneath.

He took a gulp and fought hard not to look down, lightly pushing her leg off of the arm of his chair so that both of her legs now hung down, taking a seat and crossing his arms, “It’s Professor Styles, and you did very well in class today, Miss Y/L/N.”

“Told you that I’d be a good student,” but her smile turned devilish as she spread her legs apart further and bent down closer to him, “But I can be bad if you’d like.”

“Please get off my desk and take a seat, Y/N. We’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Whatever you say, Professor,” she exaggerated, slowly slipping off of his desk and rounding to the other side.

Again, Harry tried his best to catch her up on lessons she missed, but it hardly seemed to get anywhere with Y/N’s constant interruption of inconsequential questions and arbitrary thoughts that seemed to almost pour out of her mouth without thought. He couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath a few times. She wasn’t boring, he’ll give her that much.

The more she fought against his attempts at teaching her, the more he realized that they weren’t going to get anywhere unless he gave her a little of what she wanted. So when she asked, “Do you have a girlfriend?” he sighed and ran his finger through his hair, giving in.

“No, I don’t. And why do you insist on coming to these meetings if you aren’t going to pay attention?”

“I am paying attention. You were talking about themes and motives of the piano and violin in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony,” she said, confidently, crossing her arms, “I just think that it would be easier to come to class and learn if I knew my teacher a little better.”

He rolled his eyes at this attempt, but a smile crept on his face anyway, “What do you want to know?”

She smiled, sitting up, eagerly, “Well, it’s good to know you’re single. When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

He sighed, uncertain why he was even taking part in this conversation, “A little over a year.”

“And you haven’t tried again since?”

He shrugged, “I’ve been busy.”

“Or you were heartbroken.”

The response stung a little. She was right. And that annoyed him even more. How did she do this? Get under his skin so easily? Instead of answering that, he retorted with, “Well, what about you? You’re obviously single, otherwise, you wouldn’t be flirting so much with your professor or the soccer star.”

Her smirk stretched wider, “Oh, are we jealous of Mike?”

He scoffed, grabbing the few pieces of paper off of his desk and attempting to organize it in the side filing cabinet, “No, I’m not jealous of a student.”

“Mhmm. Well, for your information we were just talking about the party they’re having this weekend.”

He tried his best to look confused, although he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that party since she mentioned it last week, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, it’s on Saturday. Not sure if I’m going yet. I’m sure my manager and PR would have my head if I was caught getting sloppy at a college party. Not good for the image,” she whispered, rolling her eyes.

He shrugged, “College parties aren’t all that great, anyway.”

“I’m sure,” she said sarcastically, “Anyway, I have a concert the night before, so I’m usually exhausted by the next day. You should come.”

“To your concert?” he asked.

She raised an eyebrow, skeptically, “Unless you don’t like my music?”

Harry shrugged, “I haven’t really heard much of it,” he lied, “but my sister’s a big fan.”

“Well, I’ll put you down for a plus-one. As long as it’s just your sister.”

Harry felt a lump beginning to form in his throat and he shook his head, “I already have plans for Friday. But thanks, anyway.”

She shook her head, nonchalantly, “Well, offer still stands if your plans fall through.”

He tried his best to reroute the conversation back on topic and was thankful that she seemed to finally go along with it. But as it neared the end of the hour, he felt her eyes on his face more and more. He looked up in the middle of his sentence and froze when he saw her eyes on his. She seemed entranced and almost out of it. And something seemed to pull him into the same trance as her.

It was the first good look at her that he had gotten since their first meeting. Her skin looked soft and her eyes sparkled when the sun’s rays shone on them at just the right angle. He hadn’t noticed until now that the bridge of her nose was slightly elongated and somehow endearing. And her lips. Those lips.

Y/N shook her head and stood up. It was the first time that she seemed to be caught off guard, and that stroked his ego a bit. He glanced down at his watch and noticed that they had run overtime and he gasped. She seemed to realize, too. Hurriedly, they both began to collect their things, but in the frenzy, she accidentally flicked her pen off the desk and it ricocheted on his side, landing on the floor near his briefcase.

“Oh!” he heard her mutter, rounding the desk where they both hastily attempted to grab it.

Harry was the first to grab it and as they both stood up, they were face to face with each other, inches away. They froze, again, unable to move. He saw something in her eyes that he hadn’t seen before; nervousness. Y/N was always such a confident force, and to see her any less than that admittedly made him gratified, like he had obtained a victory. But he, himself, was losing the battle. She was breaking him down one wink at a time, and he had never felt so weak in his life.

He could feel the strain of his desire pulling him closer towards her, the gloss on her lips looked enticing. If no one stopped him soon, he wasn’t sure if he could hold off much longer. He saw her eyes begin to flutter shut as the gap between them closed. Her sweet, minty breath swirled in front of his lips, he could almost taste it. And then a loud knock on the door echoed around his office.

Y/N flew against the wall while Harry awkwardly knocked his elbow against the back filing cabinet just as Jesse haughtily belted into the room. Her wide smile slowly screwed up into trepidation at the awkward tension that filled the room as the professor and singer avoided eye contact with each other.

“Jesse!” Harry quickly spoke, “What can I help you with?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you’d be finished. I just had a few questions about the essay, but I can just email you.”

“No, no, it’s fine, come in. Y/N was just on her way out.”

“Okay, cool,” Jesse smiled, stepping in further and placing her things on the chair opposite his desk.

Harry watched as the two girls exchanged friendly smiles, but he could see the slight embarrassment behind Y/N’s as she made her way towards the door.

“Don’t forget about this weekend!” Jesse called out after her, “I’ve never seen Mark so excited for a party before.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Y/N faked a laugh, sharing one last concerned look with Harry before closing the door behind her on the way out.

All week he found himself analyzing all of the occurrences that led up to him and Y/N almost kissing. He debated his sentiments, trying to logic every feeling of vulnerability and affection away with a simple explanation. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to pay attention to his work, constantly stumbling over his words of forgetting what he was talking about. When his class ended early on Friday afternoon and he sat in silence in his apartment, he stared at the blank television screen, contemplating whether or not he should take up her offer to attend her concert.

He paced the floor, opened and closed the fridge, tried to scroll through his social media apps, or read a book, anything to keep her mind off of her. He picked his phone up and stared at the home screen for a few minutes, constantly unlocking it when it got dark. With a final sigh, he opened it once more and dialed a number, putting it up to her ear.

“Hello, ya nimrod. What’s going on?” He heard his sister’s voice ring through the other end.

“How do you feel about going to a Y/N Y/L/N concert tonight?”

“You serious? Tonight? Bloody hell, yeah, I’ll go!”

“I’ll pick you up in two hours.”

Time only seemed to drag for Harry, left with nothing but his thoughts. It was enough time to go back and forth on whether or not he was making the right decision. Ultimately, he decided to go. He had already invited Gemma and he would feel guilty for bailing after getting her hopes up.

The sun was beginning to set and Gemma was singing loudly to Y/N’s lyrics in the passenger seat beside him. His palms were sweaty, gripped tight against the steering wheel. As the song ended, Gemma turned the volume down and turned to her younger brother.

“How did you get Y/N Y/L/N tickets, anyway? I didn’t know you listened to her like that.”

“I don’t, really. I mean, I’ve heard a few songs. But she’s my student and invited us to come.”

“She’s your student?” Gemma laughed, amused, “Cut the shit, Harry. How? Did you win them on the radio or something?”

“I’m serious. She’s taking my class.”

“What?” Gemma gasped, “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t think to.”

“You didn’t think to tell me that one of my favorite singers is a student of yours?” Gemma clarified. Eyebrows furrowed, she sat back and huffed, “Some brother you are.”

“Hey, now! I’m bringing you to her concert, aren’t I?”

The walk up to the ticket booth was one of the most humiliating things he had ever experienced as he uncomfortably explained who he was and that he was invited by the singer, herself. It took two people and a member of her staff to vouch for him before he and his sister were escorted through the venue and entered the pain event area through a private entrance that led them towards a VIP barricade towards the front of the stage. Thousands of screaming fans surrounded them, and Gemma looked around, shocked at the scene.

“This is insane!” Gemma shouted in his ear, bouncing on the balls of her toes.

Harry had to admit, it was pretty cool to see all of these people here for Y/N. He felt a sort of pride for her that he wasn’t quite expecting. And it didn’t take long for the lights to dim and the music to start.

He heard her before he saw her, and he felt his heart start to race again. He tried to play it off by the screams and the thumping bass, but when she finally came into view, he felt like he had been bolted to the floor, unable to move or talk or even smile. He was just stunned. Seeing her on stage was surreal. He knew of her, first, but it was hard for him to dissociate ‘student’ Y/N from ‘famous’ Y/N.

When they caught eyes and she realized he had come, a smile stretched across her face behind the microphone. He couldn’t help but mirror her, his shoulders relaxing as he managed a gentle wave. She walked closer to them on the stage, singing down at them, and he could hear his sister repeating ‘Oh my god, oh my god’ beside him as Y/N waved back in their direction.

Y/N was talented, there was no denying it. And the way that she interacted with her fans, you could tell that she was grateful for every second of it. It was touching. She was knocking down his assumptions about her little bit by little bit. He always thought that she’d be a spoiled, ungrateful celebrity, but that seemed to be completely false.

By the end of the concert, he had eased up and began to jump around, goofily, with his sister while Y/N watched, dancing around on stage, laughing and singing. Finally, the burly manager he had seen on the first day of their meeting with the Dean had approached him and his sister, informing them that they were invited backstage and to follow him.

His nerves began to rise in his chest again as they wove down several corridors until eventually, they stood before a door with Y/N’s name taped on it. The manager knocked loudly and waited a moment before they heard her voice on the other side call out, “Come in!”

With a turn of the knob, Y/N was now seen. She was in a new, more casual change of clothes and her hair was now up, but with visible beads of sweat lining her forehead and neck, she took a long swig of water.

“Hi!” she called, capping her drink and beckoning the two in, “Come in, come in! I’m so glad you came!”

“Hi! It’s so nice to meet you,” Gemma tip-toed closer to her, smiling coyly as the door was closed behind them.

“It’s nice to meet you, too!” Y/N grinned, giving Gemma a much-wanted hug, “Please tell me you’re Harry’s sister.”

“Yes, I’m Gemma, his older sister.”

“Oh, thank god. I was worried he’d bring a date,” Y/N said, boldly, “He’s been playing hard-to-get.”

“You’re interested in my brother?” Gemma asked, astounded, “You’re way out of his league.”

Harry’s mouth fell open as Y/N laughed, “Yeah, and you’d think that’d be enough for him, wouldn’t you? But apparently he’s got standards,” she hyperbolized, rolling her eyes.

For an hour, Harry watched and laughed as Y/N and his sister talked and got to know each other more. They made jokes at his expense, and exchanged stories from their childhoods, shocked by how similar they seemed.

“You grew up around here, right?” Gemma asked the singer, taking a sip from her second beer of the night.

Y/N nodded, “Yeah, about fifteen minutes from here.” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, knowing the only residential area in a fifteen-mile radius wasn’t exactly known to be the best neighborhood. Y/N seemed to gather his thoughts, further explaining, “It wasn’t always easy. My siblings and I were cramped in a two bedroom apartment and we didn’t have our own phones until well into our teens. I missed out on a lot growing up, but my parents did their best. We had everything we needed. I was lucky to be able to get all this and get them out of that apartment. My parents deserved a big house and a yard. I owed them that much.”

“How did you do it? How did you get to this point?” Harry asked, astounded.

Y/N shrugged, “Right place, right time. I was found singing at the mall for a small gig at a Christmas event. The rest is hard work and history.”

Harry shook his head, speechless. He felt guilty for passing judgment on her before, assuming that it was all handed to her and that she had got her start because of her parents' connections. She was self-made, smart, and deserving of every bit of success that came her way.

After one more round of beers, it was getting time for them to leave. Harry could see the excitement in her sister’s eyes start to be replaced by fatigue, and as much as he wanted to stay and talk some more, he knew he had to get a jump start on grading papers.

He set his empty bottle of beer down and Y/N frowned, “Time to go?”

“Yeah, should probably head out,” Harry nodded, pausing for a moment and taking in the frown on her face. He didn’t have time to think before he blurted out, “Want to join us for the ride?”

Her eyebrows raised and her lips twitched up into a smile, “Yeah, sure.”

Gemma let Y/N take the passenger seat and Harry felt tense as he drove, hand shifting the gears right beside her leg. He smiled every time he heard her laugh, though he couldn’t quite pay attention to what the girls were talking about. He was able to gather that they exchanged phone numbers before he reached Gemma’s house. His sister gave them both kisses on the cheek before bounding up the steps to her home.

The silence was deafening and Harry was certain she could hear him gulp as he turned to her and asked, “Where to?”

He knew what she was going to say. He didn’t need to ask. But to hear it come out of her mouth was something almost too much to handle, “Your place.”

He reversed out of the driveway, barely croaking out, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” she asked, turning towards him.

“You’re still my student.”

“So? We can just talk.”

Harry turned and looked at her, giving her a knowing look, “You know it’s not to just talk.”

“Why can’t it be? You don’t have any self-restraint? Is it because you like me?”

Harry felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he fumbled out a, “No.”

“Well then, what’s the problem?”

“......Fine.”

There wasn’t another word uttered for the rest of the journey to his place and he began to overthink. Was his apartment clean? Had he done the dishes? How messy was his room? Did it smell? He knew he should have gotten that diffuser from the store last week.

His nerves rose as he led her up to his apartment complex, pushing the door open and flicking on the lights, breathing a sigh of relief to see that it was, for the most part, fairly tidy. Y/N walked past him, scanning the scene, and as he locked the door he also held his breath, waiting for her to say something.

“Nice view,” she noted, briefly looking out of the window before turning to face him.

He tossed his keys on the entry table and motioned towards the kitchen to his left, “Drink?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Tea? Coffee? Water?”

“Water’s fine,” she said, making her way towards his living room.

He took the moment to catch his breath, trying to regain control of his thoughts before joining Y/N on his couch, handing her the drink. They both took a swig and he felt her eyes bearing holes into him, again.

When he set his drink down, he turned to her, “You’re very intense, you know.”

She smirked, leaning into the couch some more, “Yeah. I just know what I want.”

“And what’s that.”

“You.”

The immediate response caught him off-guard, but he wasn’t surprised by the answer. At this point, he knew exactly what she wanted, and was only feeding his ego more. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by her and hadn’t thought about the same, but a part of him liked the chase.

He chuckled, sitting back, “You’re my student.”

She moved closer to him, more energetic this time, “I just happen to be into Musical Theory, that’s all.”

“You’re still my student,” he grinned, amused, patting her leg.

“So, what if I drop out? Would that change anything?”

Harry’s grin faded and his hand stayed where it was, resting on her thigh. He stared into her shining eyes again, seeing the seriousness behind them, and he froze, unsure of what to say. Would it change anything if she dropped out of his class? He wasn’t sure it would even need to come to that if she kept looking at him like that any longer.

His eyes flickered from her eyes, to her lips, and back up to her eyes as she waited for a response. He debated whether or not to just give in and kiss her right there. She wanted it, he wanted it, why keep fighting it? There weren’t any rules against relationships with students at his University, not like they’d even fight him on this one; they’re the ones that basically told him to give her everything she wanted.

But when he didn’t respond, Y/N pulled back away. He slumped, kicking himself for not pulling a move sooner. And after a moment of silence, she asked, “Hey, is it okay if I use your shower, real quick? I’m still sweaty from the show and I feel gross. I can take an uber home afterward.”

A million thoughts ran through his mind. Was that a move? Or an invite? Should he ask to join her? Why did she have to leave? He could drive her home, she didn’t need to take an Uber. But the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “Uh, yeah, sure.”

He showed her to the bathroom and went to grab her a towel from the linen closet as she adjusted the knobs and stuck her hand under the flow of water, gauging the temperature. By the time he got back in, she seemed happy with the warmth of the flow and took her hair out of its bun, placing the hair tie on the edge of his sink. He hung the grey towel on the rack beside the shower.

“Let me know if you need anything,” he muttered.

She smiled, “Thanks,” and before he was fully out of the room, she began to pull at the ends of her shirt. Quickly, he scurried out of the bathroom and closed the door to give her privacy.

Once out, his hands shot up to his forehead and he crouched, mumbling to himself a frustrated, “Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with you? Idiot!”

He sat impatiently on his couch, waiting for her to finish. When he heard the screech of the knobs turning and the pressure from the water fade, he shifted his position and quickly forced his attention elsewhere, trying to act casual. But when he heard the creak of the door opening, he turned his attention to see Y/N standing in the doorway, bathroom light glowing behind her, hair rang out and damp, clutching the towel around her body.

His eyes widened a bit as she spoke, “Do you have clothes I can borrow? Mine are still covered in sweat.”

“Uh, yeah, probably. In my room,” he stammered, getting to his feet and leading the way to his bedroom.

She followed, her feet lightly padding the wood floors. He felt almost embarrassed to have her in his bedroom. He wasn’t sure why, it’s not like it was dirty and he didn’t have anything oddities displayed, still, it was an intimate space, and to have her there felt personal.

He opened the bottom drawer of his dresser where he kept his pajamas and motioned towards it, standing up straight, “You can borrow anything from here.”

She bent down in front of him to rummage through, giving him a better look at her back. It looked clean, soft, and supple as droplets of water still lined her back and dripped from the ends of her hair, getting absorbed by the thin white towel she had wrapped around her. When she stood up, he took a step back and she turned, holding one of his oversized white t-shirts and a pair of his plaid pajama pants.

He stood there, unable to move as she stared at him, raising an eyebrow. And still, as she tossed the clothes on the bed behind him, he found himself, once again, rooted to the spot. A smirk started to form on her face and her voice was soft and playful as she spoke.

“How’s that self-restraint going?” she teased.

He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He just looked at her. And when her playful smile began to shift into something more alluring, he held his breath, watching as she untucked the towel around her chest and let it fall to the ground. His eyes instantly dropped to her exposed chest and he felt his heartbeat pounding rapidly in his chest as she stepped closer to him, barely twelve inches, refusing to take her eyes off of his.

“I know you want to,” she whispered, stroking his arms before taking hold of his hands, lifting them and placing them on her chest, “Touch me.”

He felt his erection becoming uncomfortable as he ran out of room in his pants for growth, massaging her chest. His attention roamed back up, locking eyes with her again. There was no stopping it.

************************************************** In a bout of passion, they threw themselves at each other, hungrily attaching their lips to one another, tongues circling and roaming the other’s mouth. Y/N tore fabric after fabric off of him as they spun, grabbing at each other roughly and without deliberation. Soon, they were both naked and knocking into walls and tripping over clothes.

Harry pushed her up against the dresser as she grabbed hold of his dick, pumping her hands up and down his shaft as he moaned into her mouth.

“Does that feel good, Professor?” she bit his lip with a smile.

“Ungh,” he grunted, pulling away. He spun her around so that her back was to his chest, and forced her down to bend over his dresser, propping one of her legs up on the top of it before he got to his knees, burying his face in her muff.

She cried out, “Yes! Teach me, Professor!”

He flicked his tongue inside of her, lapping up all of her juices while he rubbed himself. He could have kept going for hours, but he could feel her legs start to tremble. When he stood up, he slapped his cock on her ass a couple of times, swiping his tip against her entrance enough to get it lubricated before slipping right into her.

Y/N threw her head back, breathing, “Oh my god, you feel so good, Harry.”

He wrapped an arm around her neck while his other hand clasped over her mouth as he grunted, “Professor Styles,” before sucking on her shoulder blade.

When he loosened his hand from her mouth to take hold of her hip, she whined, “I’m so sorry, Professor Styles. I’m not always bad.”

“No, Y/N,” he pulled out of her, spinning her to face him, tempting her as he walked backwards towards his bed, “You’re my good girl.”

The back of his legs hit his bed and he scooched himself back, letting her climb over top of him, straddling his hips. She bent down, biting his lip again as she lowered herself onto him, gasping as her cunt swallowed him up.

She leaned back, letting him get a better look at her, breasts jumping up and down along with her. He ran a hand from her cleavage down to her navel, grazing her soft skin and watching as her mouth formed an ‘o’, scrunching up her eyebrows in pleasure as she called out his name.

“That’s a good girl,” he breathed, an arm behind his head as he watched, “Make me cum.”

She rode him faster, breathing heavier as he continued to grunt, propping himself up now and suckling on her skin. Her breaths became more shallow and her movements more rigid as she wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing herself onto him even harder. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her down onto him, even more, to go deeper. He could feel her throbbing around him, which only made him more aroused.

“Good girl, Y/N,” he breathed, “Cum on my dick.”

She buried her face into the crook of his neck, and with three more pumps she let out a scream as she said, “Pro-fessor Styles!”

He smirked, quickly flipping her on her back and pumping harder and faster into her as her legs wrapped around his waist. She panted, squeaking as he grunted into her. He looked into her eyes which were full of lust as she stared back into him and he could feel himself start to build up. Even faster now, knowing he was about to finish, he smashed his lips down on her quickly before pulling out and squirting his jizz on her stomach, letting her rub out every last drop.

*******************************************

He collapsed on the bed beside her as they panted, trying to catch their breath before he got the strength to reach down and grab his shirt for them to clean up the mess.

When he turned to face her, she smirked, “Do I need to drop your class? Or can we fuck in your office next time?”

He let out a breathy laugh and mumbled, “That depends. Are you going to the party with Mark tomorrow?”

“Do you want me to?” she retorted.

With a deep breath, Harry shimmied closer to her, nuzzling his head into her chest which made her wrap her arms around him, running her fingers through her hair as he whimpered, “No.”

She laughed, kissing his curly brown locks, “Told you I’d make you fall in love with me.”

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

Taglist:

@odetostep @mylittleangel9403 @thurhomish @fallingfordolans @gwenlovesharrystyles , @harryswinterberries, @gucciboots, @golden-grande, @ilovedogs1989 @f4llingfairy

#Harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #Professor! Harry #Harry styles one shot #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fanfiction #one direction #one direction imagine #one direction smut

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dragonotaku-justineverything · 3 years

Note

(Pokémon AU) How did Jaune meet his adorable little Eevee, Caramel? And what was his first interactions with Aerial and her own Eevee Mocha like?

Well... I got a bit carried away again. I just love this AU and I'm really getting into Pokemon again recently, so sorry for the long post ahead.

But I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

It was a beautiful day outside Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and hardly any clouds were visible. Multiple flocks of Wingull, Starly, Pidgey and other bird-like Pokémon soared freely in the sky around Beacon. A few letting out some faint cries sporadically. The Wooloos were happily grazing and rolling around in their paddock. Many students and visiting trainers alike were outside, just enjoying the nice weather with their Pokémon. This nice weather gave both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc the idea to enjoy the day with a nice picnic outside with their friends.

On several blankets spread out in a grassy portion of the academy's lavish courtyard near a tree, the group of eight friends were all eating and chatting away. All of their Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and gathered around them.

Some were just lazing about, such as Ren's Greninja sitting cross legged while dozing off with his head tilted down or Weiss's snow white Vulpix snoozing in Weiss's lap while she sat in the shade of the tree. Others were chowing down, like Nora's Shinx or Blake's Litleo, eating berries/Poké food in their own little food bowls. Or in the case of Pyrrha's Aron, he was eating some screws, nuts, bolts, and other small pieces of scrap metal. Yang was busy brushing her Growlithe's fur, and watched her Combuskin running around with Ruby's Zorua.

Jaune was happily munching on a sandwich. He put the sandwich down and moved his hand to lightly scratch Hera's head, who was laying down next to his left thigh. Normally she'd be laying in his lap, but that space was currently taken. A small glass container was resting in a space between his legs. Inside it was a Pokémon egg he'd "won" two months ago wrapped in a blanket, so Hera had settled for laying right next to him instead. She was adapting pretty well to the new circumstances with said egg. Though Jaune was still wondering how she'd react when it finally hatched

His nails lightly scratched just around the base of the tuft of white fur on her head, just where she really liked it. "Shoo-, mmm *swallow*, sorry. So Pyrrha, you're Metang actually evolved on live TV?"

Pyrrha lowered her fork with the next bit of her chicken and strawberry salad to respond with a smile. "Yes indeed. It happened during the final match of my second tournament at Sanctum. It was quite an astonishing sight."

Jaune smiled and leaned back a bit. "I bet! Man, watching a Pokémon evolve in person must be amazing."

Yang looked up from her Growlithe over at him. "You've never seen a Pokémon evolve?"

Jaune chuckled a bit. "W-well I mean I've seen it on video and stuff, just not in person."

Nora shamelessly jumped in and added her two cents. "Neither have I! It must be soooo cool!"

Pyrrha giggled happily and looked over to her Metang, who was actually on the ground for a change instead of floating, with Cubone resting on its head. "Well, watching my Beldum evolve into Metang was definitely a sight I'll never forget."

They group continued to converse, laugh, and just enjoy themselves. Their Pokémon did as well, all of them getting along pretty well. They were all so engrossed in their merriment, none of them noticed another member slowly walking towards their misshapen circle.

That was until she made her move.

Jaune felt a small tug at his hoodie but ignored it, thinking it was just Hera rolling around in her sleep. It was a pointed finger and a question from Ren that actually made him look. "Uuuh Jaune... do you know who... that is?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked down to where his friend was pointing, which was by his stomach. There, in his hoodie's pocket near his stomach, was a small little brown Pokémon with a small, furry body and a big fluffy brown tail.

And half of its body was buried inside his hoodie pocket, rummaging around in it.

"WAH!??" Jaune nearly jumped up in surprise, but he managed to stay pretty still for the most part, trying not to jostle the egg between his legs. However, he still shot back an inch or two when he threw his hands up above him and fell back, his head lightly landing on the blanket.

Hera, startled by her Papa's sudden jolt, sprang up to her feet and spun to look at him. She lowered her stance, ready to defend him if she needed to! That's when she saw the little brown Pokémon as well, now standing on top of her Papa's stomach while he was laying back, but its top half was still stuffed in her Papa's pocket! What was it doing? Was it trying to attack him?! She wouldn't let it!

"Growl! ROW! GRO-!" She had just started barking at it when someone else's yelling stopped her.

"Eevee! Stop that! That's very rude!"

The brown Pokémon stopped moving finally, and stood still for a moment on Jaune's stomach, then slowly started walking backwards. It took a little tugging, but it finally pulled itself out of Jaune's pocket. As it got free, everyone around got a good look at its top half.

The first thing they all noticed was a large collar of fluffy, cream colored fur. Then two long, thin ears on top of its head. Finally its small, soft, squarish face with two big dark eyes and a happy smile. As well as a small plastic candy wrapper hanging from said smile.

Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Nora all let out a coo of "Awwwwww" at the same time.

"Eevee no!" The group again heard the voice call out again, and almost all at once, they looked away from the 'Eevee' and towards where it was coming from.

There they saw a young girl, running up to their group with her arms waving above her. She was quite slender, had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had a light blue jacket on, open in the front to show she had on a black halter top underneath it. A pair of tight black and blue pants with heeled fur boots matching in color. A simple black choker around her neck finished her outfit nicely.

Then the group noticed that a Pokémon that was just like the one on top of Jaune right now was also running alongside the girl. One this one had a small band of flowers around the base of one of its ears. It was hopping/skipping along right by her feet as they both ran towards them, its whole body arcing into the air as it followed her.

Within just a few seconds, she was right next to them, her arms still frantically waving. "Eevee you can't just jump on people you don't know like that! That's very rude! And give that candy back! You can't go stealing from peo-" The girl abruptly stopped her admonishment of the Pokémon as she finally looked at who Eevee was still standing on top of. "...JAUNE!?"

Jaune, still laying on his back, turned his head to look at the new girl that screamed his name, and quickly shot back up to a sitting position when he saw her. "Aerial!?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both smiled widely and started to laugh. Aerial started talking first. "Hey! What are the odds of running into you like this!"

"Me? What are you doing here haha?!"

Aerial leaned over a bit, smiling down at him. "Aunt Juniper said you'd gone off to Beacon, but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jaune, still sitting, smiled brightly back up at her. "Yeah hahaha, it's always been my dream to go to a professional Pokémon academy after all haha. Hera's here too!" As Jaune finished, he pointed towards the Fire-Type.

Aerial shifted her gaze to her and her eyes brightened even more. She got down on her knees and hunched forward, getting close to Hera's height. "Heeeera~ hi! It's been such a long time! How are you?"

Hera's earlier confidence seemed to wane a bit as she started to look a little nervous. Papa seemed to know this woman and was happy to see her, so she shouldn't be worried, but she still pulled back a bit from Aerial. She seemed a little familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure...

Jaune chuckled. "She might not remember you, Aerial. It was a couple years ago now."

Aerial pouted childishly and straightened her back, "Awwww that's a shame. I definitely remember her!"

"I don't doubt that. You loved her as a kid."

"Uuuummm... hello?"

Jaune and Aerial turned their heads in unison to look at who spoke.

Yang was holding a hand up, like she was waiting to get noticed or called upon. "Uuuh yeah, we're still here. Mind uuuuh, filling us in on what's happening Jaune?"

Jaune sweatdropped a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten about the others present for a minute there. "He he, sorry guys." With one hand, he gestured to Aerial. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Aerial Yeager. She's from Atlas actually, so that's why I was so surprised to see her."

Aerial waved at the group, still with a smile on her lips. "Hi everyone! I trust Jaune's been good to all of you."

A lot of them nodded at that, and many of their Pokémon had stopped in their activities and gathered around as well, looking at the new arrival.

Aerial's eyes scanned over all of them and began to sparkle. "Awwww you all have such amazing Pokémon!"

"Speeeeaking of which... Aerial, are these Pokémon yours?"

Aerial turned away from the group and back to Jaune. He was pointing down right beside him. There, the Eevee from earlier that jumped on Jaune was licking away at the now unwrapped candy that it got from his pocket, looking completely carefree. Meanwhile, it looked like the Eevee with flowers that ran up with Aerial around its ears was admonishing it.

"Y-yeah, they are. H-hey Eevee what did I say! That isn't yours!" Eevee stopped licking and looked up at her with a head tilt, then just went back to licking the candy happily. "Hooooh." Aerial sighed and bowed her head, feeling defeated at being ignored.

"Hey it's no big deal Aerial, I have plenty of these caramel candies. I was just caught off guard when Eevee just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah sorry about her. She's kind of a handful sometimes. She likes doing what she likes when she likes. Oh, everyone," Aerial gestured in front of her towards the two small Eevees. "This is Mocha and Eevee, their sisters."

Blake was the first to catch what she said. "Mocha?"

"Ah yeah, that's what I call my Eevee, the one with the flowers. The other Eevee... Well, no matter what name I try, she doesn't respond to it. Coca, Ginger, Toffee, Hazel... she doesn't seem to like anything I pick out for her."

The group all turned to the Eevee still licking away at the candy, not noticing or caring about all the eyes on her. Mocha seemed a little annoyed at her sister's actions still, but had stopped reprimanding her as she didn't seem to care too much.

Jaune looked down at the Eevee right next to him, then slowly reached a hand over and gently rubbed his index finger on its head. "You sure do like that candy huh? Did you smell it and that's why you came over to me?"

Eevee didn't seem to mind the light petting. In fact she seemed to like it as she enjoyed her treat. She stopped her licking for just a moment and looked up at the person petting her. "Vee vee vi!"

Jaune chuckled at its happy cries.

"Grooow!"

A very familiar voice on his other side made Jaune turn his head to see a begging Hera standing next to him. "Oh sorry Hera, you probably want some pets too." Jaune reached his free hand over and gently began petting Hera's white floof on top of her head. That immediately put a smile on the Growlithe's face and she happily nuzzled Jaune's hand back.

Aerial shook her head in slight disbelief. "Same old Jaune. Always a whizz with Pokémon."

Now that the excitement had fully died down, the group went back to lounging about like they were, now with an extra member as Aerial sat down and joined them at Jaune's invitation.

They all talked and got to know each other more. Aerial explained how she was indeed from Atlas, but had come with a few friends on a trip to Vale and Beacon to explore what kinds of Pokémon were here. Aerial told them about her friends, her school, and of course also her Pokémon. They were all surprised by how many she already had. A Braviary, a Ludicolo, and a Munchlax. Plus her two Eevee's as her companions, that made five Pokémon in total! There were teachers at Beacon that didn't have that many!

After about another two to three hours of talking, laughing, bonding, and snacking (Jaune offered some of his food to Aerial which she gratefully accepted), the sun was beginning to set and Aerial said she had to go. She stood up; brushed some crumbs off of her pants; said her goodbyes to everyone, giving Jaune her scroll number and promising that they'd talk again soon; and called for Mocha and Eevee to come along. Only that's not what they did.

Mocha stood up with her no problem and was ready to go, but Eevee didn't. She just kept laying down next to Jaune where she'd been for the past hour getting pets and even , licking a second caramel candy that Jaune had given her. She didn't move at all at Aerial's call.

"Eevee? Come on, it's time for us to go."

Again, Eevee didn't move.

"Eevee." This time Aerial's voice was a little more stern. "We need to go. Now come on." Aerial walked over to the Eevee and bent over to pick her up. Before she even touched her, Eevee had snatched up her treat and jumped into Jaune's lap, getting a surprised "Ooph!" from him. She set her treat down and turned to look at Aerial. Then for the first time all day, it let out a cry. "Eev! Ve ve Eevee!"

Aerial pulled back. She was surprised to hear Eevee talk back directly to her. Sure she didn't listen sometimes, but never out right talked back at her. "Eevee! What's gotten into you?"

Eevee didn't respond this time, just curled up in Jaune's lap and hunkered down.

Everyone watched this unfold, but only Ren spoke up. "I think Eevee is trying to say that she'd like to stay with Jaune."

Aerial looked over at the stoic boy, wide eyed. "W-wha? Wait really?" Aerial looked back at the tiny curled up Pokémon in Jaune's lap, happily laying down with her eyes closed, her treat finished in a hurried bite. "B-but... Eevee really? Y-you wanna stay with Jaune?"

Eevee looked up to Aerial, smiled easily, and nodded. "Ve ve!" It definitely seemed to be happy.

Aerial kept looking down at Eevee, and Eevee kept looking up at her. After a few seconds, Aerial's expression shifted from being slightly sad, to understanding. "Okay. Well then, let's see what Jaune thinks." Aerial looked down to cousin, his confused face making her almost giggle. "Jaune, it looks like Eevee has taken a liking to you. Would you like to keep her around with you? I know you'd take amazing care of her, so I'd be comfortable with you taking her with you if you want."

Jaune's mind nearly exploded from hearing that! His cousin was asking him if he'd like to have another Pokémon!? For real?! Jaune felt his lips twitch upwards before he even said anything. He looked down at the Eevee in his lap. She seemed very happy there, and she'd wanted to stay with him first. Jaune looked back up to Aerial and nodded once. "I'd love to. And I promise that I'll give her the best care that I possibly can!"

Aerial knew he'd say that. He loved Pokémon, so being offered one by a family member was probably like a dream for him. "Well alright then. I have to say... I-I'm sad to see you go, Eevee." Eevee looked up at Aerial when she said her name. "But... if this is what you want, then I can accept it. I know Jaune will take great care of you, and I can call to see you anytime I want. So... you take care of yourself and Jaune alright? Your sister and I will see you again, sometime real soon, I promise."

Eevee smiled and leaped out of Jaune's lap, landing close to Aerial's feet. The little Pokémon nuzzled her head against Aerial's leg and let out faint coos. Aerial quickly dropped down and scooped Eevee into a tight hug. She held it for at least 10 seconds before she let her go, setting her softly back down on the grass. When she did, Mocha bounced over to her sister and they started talking by themselves, most likely saying their own goodbyes while Aerial stood back up. "Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now Eevee. Jaune, I'll definitely be expecting some video calls from you now. Oh, and maybe you'll be able to think of a good name for her too."

Jaune, now no longer having a Pokemon in his lap, stood up. He was careful not to bump the container with the egg in front of him as he did so. He stood up straight, showing off just how much taller he was than his cousin. "You got it Aerial. I hope we meet again sometime soon as well. This was fun." He took a step forward and embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

When they separated, Aerial stepped back. "Okay, well... we really have to head out now. My friends are all probably waiting for me back in Vale and I need to catch a Bullhead before they stop for the night. It was nice meeting you all! I hope to meet you all again someday!" Aerial started to leave, and Mocha, having finished her goodbye to her sister with a loving nuzzle, followed her.

Eevee watched as they left. Eevee suddenly bounced forward a few feet in their direction and let out a loud "Eeeeveeeee! Eeeeeveee!", saying goodbye for now to her family.

Aerial stopped and turned her head back to look at her after her cry. She smiled back at her and waved before continuing. As the pair got farther and farther away, Eevee returned back to the group, stopping in front of Jaune.

Jaune smiled and knelt down to be closer to her. "Eevee, I'm touched that you wanted to stay with me. I promise that we'll have some amazing adventures together! Oh, there's someone that I want you to officially meet now! This is Hera." As Jaune said her name, the red Growlithe walked up next to her Papa and stood next to him proudly. "She's my best friend and has been with me since I was a kid. I hope you two can be friends."

Hera padded forward and stopped right in front of Eevee. She looked down at the smaller Pokemon with a big smile. She leant forward and gave Eevee a big lick on her head, which Eevee started to laugh at. The two then began to talk to each other in their out cries, and Jaune could already tell they'd get along fine.

"Well... that was sure something huh?" Jaune looked behind him and saw Nora holding her Shinx in her arms, and all his other friends smiling at him.

"Haha yeah, I guess so. Aerial's always been super trusting of family, but this shocked even me."

Yang walked forward and lightly punched his arm in a friendly way. "So... got any names for your new friend Vomit Boy?"

Jaune, while he was rubbing his now sore arm, looked down at Eevee again. As he did, he noticed a wrapper from the caramel candies he'd given to the Eevee earlier. "Huh..." Jaune knelt down and picked up the wrapper, then looked at it in his hand. "Maybe I do. Hey Eevee?"

The Pokemon stopped speaking with Hera and looked over to the kneeling Jaune. She quickly skipped over to sit right in front of him. "I was thinking, since Aerial couldn't think of a name you liked, yet you liked these candies so much, how about I just call you Caramel?"

Eevee looked up to him curiously with her big doughy eyes. Slowly those eyes began to shine with joy and she jumped up at him. Thankfully Jaune was used to this sort of thing thanks to Hera, so he caught her easily since she was a lot lighter.

"Whoa haha! Okay then, I guess that's a winner huh? Well, welcome to the team Caramel!"

AND! FINALLY! DONE!

Aerial Yeager is an OC created by my good friend @jace-the-writer-guy, who is also Jaune's cousin on her mom's side. I owe him a big thanks for helping me write this because I constantly was asking for specific info on his OC and him giving me ideas for stuff.

I'd been planning this out bit by bit for so long, so I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this origins ask for Caramel, Jaune's Eevee!

#rwby #hera #hera the growlithe #caramel #caramel the eevee #mocha #mocha the eevee #jaune arc #aerial yaeger #jace the smut guys ocs #pokemon in remnant au #ask #sfw #fluff #jace the smut guy

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bbrandy2002 · 3 years

Text

Happy Birthday Burnsy!

The Country AU -- I'm Gonna Live Where The Green Grass Grows

Pairing: Drake x Alyssa, Liam x Riley, and a whole host of other TRR characters.

A/N: This was a silly little idea I had months ago for an AU built around the places and people where I grew up. I never had plans to actually write it, but I mentioned it to Burns, and well ... she wanted it lol so here we are. And she’s already read half of this and is the one who made the mood board for it and the song inspo hahaha. Thank you to @mskaneko for the edits of our OTP’s, and @charlotteg234 for pre-reading the first half of this.

Trigger warning: Gun usage, hunting, mild language ... I think that’s it

@burnsoslow

My dearest friend, when I think back at where we were one year ago, I can’t help but be reminded of the vastly different world we live in now. On February 5, 2020, there was no covid keeping us sheltered and fearful, families were complete, jobs were stable, and so many of the things we worried about then simply pale in comparison to now, Life wasn’t so bad. But here we are with all these new changes and mindsets. Through it all, one thing remained consistent: YOU. You have been my strength, my rock, the anchor that grounded me. We have cried together, laughed a lot together, worried for each other, and celebrated those small victories that were important to each other. And I get so happy when someone comments about how much they love the friendship between Riley and Alyssa because it's the most real part of Fearless. If anyone ever wanted to know what we’re like, it's all written out in that story. I’ve got your back, and you have mine. You’re my best friend and I just love the hell out of ya! I hope your birthday is amazing and that this fic is everything you wanted for this AU.

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On Sunday mornings in southern Georgia, you did one of two things: You woke up early for church services or woke up late to watch NFL football.

Some people figured out a long time ago how to do both.

Sitting in the back pew of the First Cordonian Church of Everlasting Peace, Alyssa Walker sat quietly with the sweetest southern belle smile, nodding her head along to the beautiful words spoken during Pastor Hakim’s sermon and hiding a pair of earbuds lodged in each ear.

She and her husband, Drake, had laid claim to the pew when they were teens trying to sneak a kiss or two during prayers. After ten years of marriage, they no longer needed to sneak kisses but stayed in that same seat, believing the biggest sinners should stay as far away from the minister as possible. Why be the barrier that may prevent the spirit from reaching the rest of the congregation? The couple felt it was the least they could do.

They were actually pretty good folks and well respected in their community. Alyssa had taught first grade for eight years at the local elementary school, where her two children, nine-year-old Audrey and six-year-old Patrick, also attended. Her best friend since third grade, Riley, was the art teacher there.

Drake worked nearby as the lead mechanic at Rys and Sons Chevrolet out on North Ramsford Avenue. Constantine had owned the auto dealership for 35 years before passing it down to his sons, Leo and Liam, when he ran for and became the town's mayor. Leo peaced out, heading to South Florida, while Liam took on the sole responsibility of ownership himself.

And while most people in this sleepy little town of Cordonia were Falcons fanatics, Alyssa grew up rooting for the team where her parents were born and raised before settling in Georgia as newlywed lawyers: The Chicago Bears.

With the game against the Packers blaring into her ear, she kept a keen eye on the rest of her fellow parishioners. When they clapped, she clapped. When they sang, she sang. She raised her hands in hallelujahs when they did. She had learned to read lips and could “Amen” and “Praise God” right on cue with the rest of them. All the while, she sat in contentment, listening to her weekly football games.

“The score with 14 seconds left in the second quarter is Chicago -- 14, Green Bay -- 17. The Bears have the ball on the 5-yard line. It’s third and goal. If Trubisky can score here, they’ll go into the locker room at halftime with a lead for the first time in this game, or possibly tie it all up with a field goal after this down. This is a huge, HUGE play, Jim ...”

Alyssa twined her fingers together and lowered her forehead onto them as she waited with bated breath for the announcer to call the play-by-play. As far as anyone else knew, she was praying fervently for the Hebrews crossing the parted Red Sea away from Pharoah's army that the pastor was chronicling.

“And here comes the snap. Trubisky backs up. He tosses to Robinson in the end zone. OHHH! So close… batted away by Alexender …”

“JESUS!” Alyssa yelled out in anger. With earbuds in, she didn’t realize how loudly that just came out of her mouth. Drake nudged her in the thigh. She glanced over at him for a second before he nodded to the 123 pairs of eyes that had all turned at once in her direction. It instantly dawned on her that everyone in the congregation heard the outburst.

Feeling the color drain from her face, Alyssa placed a hand over her chest and addressed, “I am soooo into this sermon, Hakim. Woohoo! Go, Jesus, go!” She pumped her fist in the air like she was rooting him on.

Drake dropped his face onto Patrick’s shoulder, who was sitting on his lap, to cover the incessant laughter that threatened to spill out of him. He was doing a terrible job of it, as a momentary burst of muffled snickers could be heard through the sound of the game playing in Alyssa’s ear. Her husband was nothing but a big kid himself -- she wouldn’t change that for anything.

“Mommy,” Audrey whispered next to her. “It’s about Moses. Not Jesus.”

Alyssa smiled, patting her daughter’s knee. “Same thing, baby. They both performed miracles.” She cut her eyes to the phone hidden under the cardigan draped across her thighs. “And the Bears need a miracle right now, guys,” she muttered, “Part those shithead Packer’s defensive line, Lord. It’s time to help my Bears get to the promised land.”

“Going for it on fourth down, Trubisky drops back. The Packer defense is putting a lot of pressure on the Bear’s offensive line. Every man is covered in the end zone. He has no one to throw to, Jim. They’re running out of time. Four seconds left. And, NOOO, they sack Trubisky on the 10-yard line … WAIT THE BALL IS LOOSE … THE BALL IS LOOSE ... he fumbled the ball. The Packers are scrambling to get it. There are green and white jerseys all over that ball. BUT LOOK … Green Bay’s Klark picks it up. He’s running the other way … and he just slipped … he just slipped, and the football fell right into the hands of Chicago’s Robinson --”

Alyssa grabbed Drake’s thigh, her fingers digging deeply with hope and panic. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” her stressed words weren’t audible to the crowd, but they were speaking volumes in her heart.

“--Robinson’s on the 20, now 15, he’s sweeping past the defense to the 10 -- 5 -- TOUCHDOWN, CHICAGO!!!”

"FUCK YES!" Alyssa jumped up, her arms outstretched in a V shape. “Hallelujah. Holy shit. Thank ya, Jesus.” She let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling nothing short of elated, not concerned in the slightest by the heads that twisted around again.

Hakim stood slack-jawed from the raised platform for a moment, his tallish physique slouching on the pulpit, before adjusting the microphone and clearing his throat deeply. "I'm certainly glad, Sister Alyssa is ... feeling the spirit this morning."

"I am feeling it, Brother Hakim," She shook her head profusely. "I. Am. Feeling it." She shot him a dimpled grin.

Drake snorted loudly, covering his face with one hand and grabbing the side of her dress to pull her back down with the other.

They turned to each other, neither one able to control the snickering and shaking of their bodies. Drake lifted a sleeping Patrick over his shoulder while Alyssa grabbed Audrey's hand; the Walker couple decided they were too immature for church this morning.

They laughed all the way to the parking lot.

"It's never a dull moment with you, baby girl," Drake chuckled, turning over the ignition.

"You know me …” She blew on her nails before rubbing them against her chest. “... just doing the Lord's work."

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

It was customary in Cordonia for families to gather together each week for a big supper after church.

The Walkers traditionally took turns hosting with Liam and Riley, and Constantine and Regina. This week's meal was at the elder Ryses.

Sitting down at the dining room table, everyone licked their chops, hungry and ready to dig into all the made-from-scratch southern goodness Mrs. Regina had prepared: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, green beans with hamhock, corn-on-the-cob, deviled eggs, biscuits, sweet tea, and coffee. It was all accompanied by two containers of broccoli salad, Alyssa picked up from the Piggly Wiggly deli after church, and Riley's lopsided carrot cake.

There was always a lot of food, a lot of love, and what would it be in a small town without a little gossip here and there.

"Regina, you've outdone yourself on this meal," Liam raved while placing his five-month-old son in a high chair and fastening the clasps. "If it tastes as good as it smells, we're all in for a big treat."

Everyone agreed as she sat down, Constantine pushing her chair in with a peck to the top of her head. "Thank you, Liam." She looked up at her husband with a sincere smile, rubbing his arm. "Only the best for our family."

She meant every word of that as she and Constantine glanced around the table at all the cheerful faces of the people they loved most — that included Drake and his family.

Drake's father had been the sheriff for many years before his untimely death, while the younger Walker was a teen. Connie had never met a braver, more hard-working man than Jackson; the now mayor stepped in after that death to be the father figure in Drake's life. Drake was already best friends with Liam, and over time, the family just considered him one of their own. Drake and Alyssa's children referred to them as Mamaw and Papaw Rys.

As everyone settled in and passed the food around the table, the doorbell rang; 7-year-old Ellie -- Liam and Riley's oldest -- jumped up to answer it. With everyone focused on getting their helpings, Riley leaned over and whispered to Alyssa, "Any more scoop on Savannah?"

Alyssa passed the potatoes to her and answered in a hushed tone, "I drove past her house yesterday ... Chuck was there. His big rig was backed right up into the driveway. They're not even trying to hide it anymore."

"I knew it." Riley slapped a scoop of potatoes onto her plate, passing them across to Liam. "When does Bertrand get back from that Bankers Convention in Atlanta?"

"I think Max said on Tuesday. And I guarn-damn-tee, Chuck will be there until then."

"Of course he will. Have you told Drake yet?"

Alyssa shook her head, peeking over at her husband, who was in hog heaven, dousing everything on his plate with white gravy, blissfully unaware of their idle chitchat. She turned back to Riley. "Not yet. You know how protective he is. I'll need to hide the gun cabinet keys when he finds out ... if he finds out. You remember how upset he got when Bianca got caught at the Love's Truck Stop with Landon Ebrim over the summer. His mama can do what she wants, but not with a married man."

Riley agreed with a nod before taking a sip and swallowing her sweet tea. "Ya know, I've never seen sweet Emmaline that angry."

"Yeah, me neither. She sure whopped ass that day." They both giggled lightly. "Landon's dentures flew clean across that truck lot."

"I saw her the other day at the Food Lion, grinnin' like a baked possum. Got that ol' dog for everything he had."

Alyssa huffed, "Cept' his nuts."

Ellie ran back in and hopped in her chair. "Miss Olivia is here!"

Alyssa stiffened, clutching her fork a little tighter before letting out a faint groan. Not that she didn't like the Assistant Principal of Cordonia Elementary -- she was her boss, after all, and they grew up together -- she could just be a little off-putting, sometimes with her treatment of Drake. In light of Olivia's recent divorce, she had, however, started directing most of her scorn on her ex-husband, Anton.

Everyone greeted Olivia as she strolled in behind the youngster, shrugging her jacket off and tossing it on a counter with her purse. "I smelled your chicken and taters all the way from Lythikos Drive, Regina. You know how I love a good rib stickin' meal."

"Is Travis and Waylon here?" Patrick piped up eagerly from the children's table, hoping to have some boys to play with rather than the three little girls who kept ganging up on him.

Olivia pulled out a chair and started loading her plate down. "They're with their daddy this weekend, sugar. I'll tell them you asked about them."

Drake lifted his coffee mug, not making eye contact with anyone. "Speaking of ... I saw Anton yesterday at the Dollar Tree ... with someone." He smirked into his drink. While everyone else knew who and was trying to avoid the elephant in the room, he owed her for years of squabble.

"Who? Madeleine?" Olivia spat, adding heaping spoonfuls of sugar to her already overly sweetened tea. "Bless her rotten heart, he was seeing her before our break up. Moved in with her right after the divorce was final, so I hope she's enjoyed cookin' and cleanin' after my youngins' all weekend, cause she's gonna be doin it a hell of a lot more now that she got herself fired."

Madeleine was a bank teller in the drive-thru at First Cordonia and also Leo's ex-fiancee.

"Madeleine got fired?" Alyssa asked in surprise. "She's been there for years."

The redhead swirled the sugar around in her tea with a spoon before licking it off and continuing, "Mmm-hmm. Bertrand caught her on video, stuffing her gaudy drawers into the vacuum tubes at the bank and sending them to that bastard when he drove through to make a deposit. He was making deposits alright. Right between her scrawny, cankled ass --"

"Olivia!" Liam quickly interjected, knowing once she got going, it would likely turn R-rated with several little ears listening. "I'm dying to hear how the Christmas Festival for next Saturday is coming along." He shot a look across the table at Drake for getting her worked up. Drake simply grinned.

By late afternoon, supper had been eaten, dishes cleaned, and pants unbuttoned. After a couple of hours of chatting on the back porch and watching the kids play, the two younger couples packed up leftovers Regina insisted they take home and were ready to hit the road.

Liam and Riley lived next door and walked out with the Walkers who were making their way to the Tahoe parked on the street.

Alyssa bounced and cooed over baby Jacob before handing him back to Riley and getting into the vehicle's passenger seat.

Liam was leaning into the driver's side window, having a casual discussion with Drake about the opening day of deer season next Saturday and asking what time he wanted to head out.

Alyssa was half-listening and half-working the stereo when an idea popped into her head. "You know what would be fun?” Both men stopped talking and glanced over at her. “We should all go?”

Drake knit his brows. “Go where?

“Hunting. We can make it a double date. You and me, Riley and Liam. The great outdoors. Some quality time together. I’ll even make snacks for everyone. It’ll be fun,” her voice was chipper. She was excited about it.

She was also deadly serious.

So were the dubious looks Drake and Liam gave each other over the thought of taking their wives on the most important hunting event of their year. Not that either didn't enjoy spending time with their significant others, but hunting was a whole different world. It was a one-person sport where you spent the day away from reality and responsibilities and just enjoying the great outdoors —a place to be alone and experience the thrill of a good hunt.

“Guys, I’m serious. We go fishing together, and I’ve shot targets plenty of times. I really wanna go hunting with you. Riley wants to go too, don't you?” She cast an inquisitive glance out her window at Riley, who glared back with the biggest what-the-fuck look she'd ever made. “See, she wants to go too.”

“Baby,” Drake began softly, giving her knee light squeezes. “I don’t mind taking you, but this is opening day. We’ll be in the woods for hours, in the cold. It’s not really what someone would consider a ‘date.’ And we’re going to the Festival that night … we’ll get a chance to spend time together there.”

She held his gaze as her lips began to quiver. “I understand. You .. you need time to be away from me, and it was a dumb idea anyway --”

“No,” Drake cut in. His heart plummeted from the sadness in her voice and eyes. “That’s not it at all. I love spending time with you. And if you really want to do this, then … let’s do this.”

“Really? We can go together?” Drake nodded with a smile before she squealed in his ear and pulled him into a tight hug. “I can’t wait! Thank you!”

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Liam let out a heavy breath as he looked over at Riley -- The woman he knew would not be a fun hunting partner next week -- still standing on the sidewalk, appearing like she might faint. “Yeah ... I can’t wait either.”

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

Saturday. 5:15 a.m. The cellphone alarm on Drake’s bedside table let off a series of rhythmic beeping sounds and vibrations.

The alarm wasn’t needed. The man had been awake for hours, listening to his wife's gentle snores; the anticipation of bringing home at least a 12-pointer keeping him from falling back asleep.

Letting out a ferocious yawn and a hearty stretch, he picked up his phone to dismiss the alarm and rolled over to wake Alyssa.

With her ass perfectly curled into the space between his stomach and thighs, his hands settled on her curvy hip, jostling her slightly. “Time to get up, my little peach. We gotta get crackin’ before all the good deer are gone.”

“I just need one more hour, okay? Thanks,” she protested with a drowsy murmur, pulling the pillow over her head.

Drake chuckled, rubbing soothing circles over her back. “No. We have to get up now. We’re wasting time, sleepyhead. Unless … you don’t want to go.”

Alyssa’s heavy eyes stung as she tried to peel them open one at a time. “No, I wanna … go ...” she trailed. Her eyes slowly shut again, and she was out.

On a day like today, Drake was usually up and ready in ten minutes. Once he could finally get his wife out of bed, dressed, and back awake again from where she fell asleep on the toilet, it was close to 45 minutes.

Maxwell, who was also a childhood friend and the music teacher where Alyssa taught, rented the room over their garage. He agreed to come down that morning and watch the kids while the pair spent their morning in the woods. Bianca used to help out in that regard, but the kids complained she slept the whole time, and Alyssa was pretty sure her mother-in-law smoked pot around them.

Drake loaded up the truck, placing his rifle and a smaller .22 caliber for Alyssa behind the seat. Dragging herself slowly to the vehicle, the night sky still pitch black and her breath turning to thick vapors in the frigid air, she listlessly tossed a Taylor Swift tote bag on the floorboard and climbed in.

Drake looked at his phone after everything was packed up to see if Liam had sent a message about being late. It was unusual for him not to be there already. Typically, his best friend was up and at his house before Drake was even ready. He sent off a quick text to check.

Drake: Where you at, man?

Liam: Running late. Riley had to put makeup on and do her hair.

Liam: I’m having so much fun already 😑

Liam: snark

Drake: Lyss couldn’t decide which gloves looked the best with her orange vest. I guess she wants to impress the deer before she kills them.

Liam: We’re not catching deer today. We’ll be lucky if we catch a cold. Be there in 10.

Twenty minutes later, Liam’s gray Silverado pulled onto the Walker’s gravel drive. Riley had wanted biscuits and gravy from McDonald's, and she had to run back inside to pee, so that set them back. But, with everyone now there, they were finally ready to head out.

Just down the rural road from where Drake and Alyssa lived, the current sheriff of Cordonia, Bastien, owned several acres of unoccupied land that he used for recreation. He had been a close friend of Drake’s dad and agreed to let Drake and Liam hunt and fish on his property whenever they wanted.

Turning onto the dirt road and opening the gate, the four friends arrived at their spot just as dawn was breaking.

No one spoke much as they trekked through the mud, sticks, and brittle fall leaves that littered the path to the deer stands. Riley and Alyssa were too exhausted to say anything. Drake and Liam just weren’t used to talking at all.

"Riley, love,” Liam whispered softly. “Can you watch how you’re walking? The noise is going to scare the deer away.”

“I can’t help it if … " She reacted loudly in frustration before Liam placed a finger over his lips, and she resumed speaking more quietly. “I can’t help it if there're leaves everywhere. I’m walking on them as delicately as possible.”

“How much further? I think my toes are frozen and I need coffee.” Alyssa bemoaned while walking on the balls of her heels. Drake was basically dragging her sluggish body by the hand. Her eyes were still drooping from exhaustion with every careful step.

“Just over yonder of that fence row is our stand.” He pointed out.

Alyssa aimed her flashlight around the woods in several spots. "And where do we pee at?"

Liam lightly snorted as Drake answered matter-of-factly. "Just over yonder of that fence row below our stand."

"Oh ... " her tone was small and apprehensive, "... I guess that's ... okay." She glanced back timidly at Liam, who was following close behind.

He shielded his eyes from the beam of her flashlight in his face and frowned. "I'm not going to watch you pee, Alyssa."

Riley gasped, "Eww! I don't want Drake watching me pee either."

"Shhhhh." Liam was quick to remind her again of the volume of her voice.

"Stop, shushing me, Liam! Those deer don't know I'm out here."

Drake grunted, then whipped around to face the three of them. "Would you keep your voices down? No one's watching anybody take a piss," he whisper-yelled. "Lyssa and I will be at least a hundred yards away from ya'll. Riley, I promise you can piss your little heart out, and I won't see it."

"We're separating?" Alyssa asked wistfully. "What if I need to ask Riley something, and she can't hear me yelling across to her?"

"You'll just have to ask her when we're done, baby girl. And ... please don't yell questions to her while we're out here. Low voices."

They continued on with their noisy hike.

"Having so much fun," Liam grumbled to himself.

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

Liam and Riley headed to their tree stand as Drake helped Alyssa climb up the ladder to theirs.

The stand and ladder were made of plywood -- chipped and faded from years of exposure to the elements -- and were attached at the apex to an oak tree about twenty feet off the ground. At the top it had enough room to take a step onto, with a wooden seat just wide enough to accommodate them. One plank rail came out on both sides.

Alyssa plopped down onto the seat, clutching her tote bag of goodies on her lap. She lifted the brim of the orange beanie she borrowed from Drake -- that smelled of animal carcass and gun powder -- above her eyes and peered out to the wilderness spread monumentally below. She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled the fresh, dewy air, taking in the sounds of twittering birds, branches clashing from the nearby squirrel frolicking on them, and the rippling of a bubbling brook streaming down the hill.

A pleasant warmth overcame her as Drake's much larger body sat down next to her and protected her from the frosty wind blowing in from his side.

Alyssa wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling into him. "I can see why you like this so much. It's so quiet and peaceful ... look how purty it is out here, Drake. It's just real purty, isn't it?"

Working diligently on getting their gear together, he stopped briefly to look out; affection glowed in his eyes. “It sure is, darlin’. Almost as purty as you ... and notice I said 'almost.'” He winked, and Alyssa blushed, feeling that same love trickling up inside her she'd had since they were teenagers. Drake could charm the pants off a chipmunk, but she was thankful he only used that gift on her.

"Sooo ... " She drawled in her thick Southern accent. "How long will it be before the deer start coming out?"

Drake drew the barrel of her gun back after loading it with shells and explained, "Don't know. It could be minutes. It could be a few hours. Just whenever they head this way, I reckon."

Perplexed, Alyssa nodded slowly. "A few hours? I s'pose that's okay. What do you do while you're waiting?"

He shrugged, passing a gun to her. "You just ... sit here."

"You just sit here and do what?"

Drake leaned over to kiss into her orange cap and replied, "Wait."

"Wait." She acknowledged. "I can do that. I'll just sit here ... and wait."

Several minutes had passed, and Alyssa was already bored with listening to nature, Drake's gurgling stomach, and sitting quietly with nothing to do. Every so often, a shotgun blast was heard in the distance, signifying either someone out there had gotten their prize or Riley had driven Liam insane. It was the only break from the monotony that came with the boredom of sitting in a tree for who knew how many hours.

Letting out a giant exhale that caught Drake's attention, she propped her rifle against the railing and pulled the cloth tote that was sitting between her boots into her lap. Rummaging through the bag, she pulled out her phone and began thumbing out a message.

Drake furrowed his brows and asked, "What're you doin'?"

"Just texting Riley,' she answered dismissively. He shook his head and leaned it back against the tree while she formulated her message.

Alyssa: You still alive over there? How's it going?

Riley: This is boring as shit.

Riley: And now my texting is apparently scaring away the deer. F the deer Liam. F all the damn deer!!!! What were you thinking, Lyss?

Alyssa: I was thinking we could spend quality time with our husbands. The men we love and cherish with all of our hearts. I’m having a great time with Drake so far 😍😘

Alyssa: And no one twisted your arm to come bitch.

Riley: Liam's just staring through binoculars. He hasn’t spoken in 20 minutes except to tell me to point the gun away from him or to quit moving. Let’s go get our hair did at Adelaide's.”

Alyssa: OHHH Yes! And get Chinese food ... CRAB RANGOONS!! I'll have Drake drive us back. Girls Day Out. Love you!

Drake let out a belch and blew it away when Alyssa turned to him with a dazzling smile and a sparkle in her blues. "Can you drive Riley and me back to the house?"

"What? Right now?" he shrieked. She answered him with a cheerful nod. "What happened to all that talk about wanting to spend quality time with me?"

"I still do. But ... we're just sitting here, not really doing anything. I could be getting my hair done for tonight's festival. I also have a ton of laundry to do, some papers to grade, and I’m supposed to be making the Devereaux’s famous peach cobbler for the raffle. If I leave now, I’ll have time to do all of it.” Alyssa knew she probably wouldn’t do half of that, and Audrey would likely make the cobbler, but it made the situation sound more urgent.

"It's opening day, baby. I'm not leaving this spot." He reached into the pocket of his overalls and pulled out his keys. "If you and Riley wanna take my truck, I'll ride back with Liam."

She gave him an exasperated look. "I don't know my way back to the truck. And I sure as hell know Riley doesn't."

He smirked, stuffing his keys back. "Then you're stuck."

The next hour was brutal. Alyssa texted Riley to alleviate the boredom for several minutes, but there had been no responses in a long while. She wasn't aware that Liam tossed her friend's phone over the hill when she started making TikTok videos of her plight -- Liam took his deer hunting seriously: No noise meant no noise.

Drake wasn't much better; he was quieter than his usual self. It wouldn't have been so bad if she could at least talk. An occasional whispered word was not going to cut it.

Alyssa sighed heavily. She wiggled around for comfort. She unwrapped a Nutty Bar. She crunched. She opened a can of pop. She tapped her fingers. She flipped the pages of a magazine. Each one got that look from Drake that let her know it was too loud. If she ever made it out of there, she planned to jabber and stir until she couldn't do it anymore.

After another half-hour of stewing quietly in her thoughts without a sign of a deer anywhere, Alyssa decided now was the time to finally just talk.

"Do you ever think about having another baby?" It was a topic that had been on her mind for a while. To her surprise, Drake didn't give her a look or even freak out the way she anticipated. Despite his own rule of silence, he even responded in kind.

"Yeah. Kind of a lot."

Her right brow darted up. "Really?"

Drake took a breath and shifted the gun across his lap. "I mean, of course. It's always been my dream to settle down and have a bunch of youngin's with the woman I love." He studied her lit-up face; he'd swore she'd gotten more beautiful with age. That's why he hesitated when he added, "But ... "

Her shoulders slumped at his words, and a deflated look impressed upon her face. "But ... " The word barely made it past her lips.

Drake reached for her hand and gripped it tightly. "Lyssa, we have so much going on right now. You're working on National Boards, Audrey has piano recitals and basketball, Patrick has peewee football and Boy Scouts. We barely have time -- except for right now -- for just ... us. I'm not saying,"never"... just that right now ... isn't a good time."

"I understand that, but ... we've always made it work. And don't you miss those tiny little fingers wrapped around yours? And the way they smell fresh out of the bath? And those chubby little cheeks pressed up against yours?" she goaded.

“Of course I do. I remember the first time I held Audrey and PJ in my arms -- there’s just no better feeling in the world than ...to look down ... " Drake paused as his voice cracked, and his brown eyes glistened like glass. " ... and to see someone so small ..." When she sniffled, it made it that much harder for him to speak. "... that you created with the woman you've loved since you were 16 years old. But I like who they are now, and watching them grow, and doing things with them ... And, well ... there’s no shit clean up.”

“You obviously haven’t washed Patrick's clothes in a while,” Alyssa retorted with a chuckle that brought out one in her husband.

"I’ll have to talk to him about that." He gazed deeper into her eyes. "But I do love you ... more than all the peaches in Georgia, Lyssa Claire.”

Alyssa smiled.“That’s what you said to me when you promised to marry me when we were teens.”

Drake returned his own smile. “I did. I remember like it was yesterday too. Sitting in your parent’s basement, watching Friends reruns, eating pizza, making out. And hell, it’s still as true today as it was then. Somehow, even more."

Their cold lips parted and joined halfway for a fervent kiss, with Drake's hand meandering around the subtle groove at the junction of her waist. Just as it became more intense and desirous, a rustling of twigs off in a nearby thicket caught Drake's ear, and he broke away, his eyes scoping the perimeter. Alyssa wasn't offended, she heard it too, and her heart raced with excitement.

Lifting the binoculars hanging from his neck, he spotted two deer eating from a blackberry patch some thirty yards away. He pointed in their direction; Alyssa gave a quick thumbs up, letting him know she saw them too.

Drake carefully lifted the rifle resting in his lap as Alyssa leaned forward and squinted to get a better visual. "Is that a buck and a doe?" she whispered, not moving an inch.

"Sure as fuck is." He mounted the stock of his .30 caliber, Winchester, just beneath his collarbone; the rush of this moment coursed ravenously through his body. He lined up the scope and placed a steady finger on the trigger -- his thumb pulling the hammer back.

“Wait.” Alyssa loudly whispered. “You can’t shoot him.”

"I'm gonna. Better cover your ears."

"No, Drake. There's a doe with him. What if that's his wife? You can't just leave her all alone without him."

"Lyss, this is the whole reason we're out here."

"So you can make a widow out of her?"

"No ... so I can make deer chili out of him."

Alyssa's mouth flew open. "No. No. RUUUUUUUUN! RUUUUUUN!"

Drake pulled his face away from the scope and fired her a look. "What the hell are you doing? They're getting away!"

She tilted her chin boldly. "I don't care. That was her husband, and they're in love, and you can't take that away from them. I would be so sad if we were just out eating berries and someone came up and shot you, ALL SO THEY COULD EAT DRAKE CHILI!".

Drake dropped his head. He knew there was no point in arguing with her. As long as he’d known her, she was stubborn, and at that moment, she was dead set in believing those two deer were living out the greatest romance of all time. Nothing he said or did would change her mind on that.

A thought emerged while he attempted to comprehend the logic of the situation. Those deer ran off in the direction where Liam was set up. Maybe if he could give his friend a heads up, it was still possible at least someone would leave those woods with the prized buck.

Turning his back from Alyssa so that she couldn't stop him, he pulled a small walkie-talkie from his pocket and radioed Liam. Alyssa knew what was up and jumped to her feet, thrusting her arms around him in an attempt to stop the travesty.

"You can't do this, Drake," she hollered, "That’s her soulmate. And why don't I have a walkie-talkie? I want a walkie-talkie!"

While seated next to Liam, Riley was swinging her legs, purposefully making the soles of her boots scrape against the platform. Liam tried to ignore her; maybe he had been a little too uptight about every little noise and utterance she made. But this was playing a whole different ballgame now: she was now making it her mission to piss him off.

Prepared to pound his head against the tree, Liam gritted his teeth, skimming his eyes in her direction. "Love, do you have to do that?"

"Did you have to throw my phone in the woods?" She spat back.

Liam rubbed his hand over his face. "No, and I am sorry that. I apologize for all of eternity. I promise I will get you another one as soon as we get back, okay?”

Riley huffed. "Fine, but that phone had all of my contacts on it. It had our babies' pictures and videos on it ... our vacation photos. I can't get those memories back ever, and I have to find it, and God only knows where it landed. It could be ..." She stopped rattling on when she caught sight of the distressed look Liam was giving her. Knitting her brows, Riley asked, "What?"

"Nothing ... just ... can you lower your voice a little? You're gonna scare the deer away,"

He regretted it as soon as it came out.

“LIAAAAM!”

He saw the steam gushing out of her ears. There was no time to answer the incoming call on his walkie-talkie from Drake.

Belting out a furious screech, Riley jumped up and tried to jerk the gun from his hands. There was no question she wouldn't shoot him, but she'd sure as hell shred his favorite gun apart piece-by-piece and toss them all the way to Portavira Lake on the other side of town.

Riley tugged with all of her might. "I have HAD IT with being quiet for those damn deer, Liam. HAD IT!"

"Sweetheart, you need to calm down ..." He stood up in front of her, pulling back on the rifle even harder, surprised -- and not pleasantly so -- his considerably smaller wife had this much struggle in her.

"Don't you sweetheart me. You have shushed me for the last time, Liam Preston Rys!"

“Okay, I’m sorry! But can you at least admit us fighting over a gun is dangerous? Somebody is going to get seriously hurt, and I don’t want it to be you, Riley. Please. I won’t shush you anymore, I promise.” His face softened, eventually adorning a loving smile at his wife, who, with a sigh, was unable to resist that handsome face and relaxed her grip.

Riley gave him a half-smile in return. “I’m sorry, too. I’ve ruined your hunting trip.”

“Yes ... you did.” Liam agreed, dodging the playful slap she nearly made to his upper arm. “But I don’t want to fight anymore.”

With the War of the Ryses finally over, they went in for a makeup kiss until Drake’s voice called out to Liam again through his walkie talkie. Liam set the gun down on the bench and leaned it against the tree before he started digging into his pocket to answer the device. Riley dropped down onto the seat, her elbow brushed against the rifle and caused it to slide away until the barrel end hit the railing and set off a powerful blast.

When the ringing in both of their ears subsided, and the smoke had cleared, Liam and Riley collected themselves from the sudden spine-gripping explosion that shook them both. While Riley explained to Liam what happened, a hysterical sounding Drake came back over the walkie-talkie, wailing, “Alyssa’s been shot! Alyssa’s been shot! Help me!”

__________________

Later that evening, in the courthouse square, the street was lit up with zig-zagged rows of red, green, and white lights. Strands of garland were wound around every lamppost in perfect spiraled loops, and red bows hung and waved with the wintry breeze.

With traffic rerouted away from the area, vendors lined sidewalks selling local goods to put the town's citizens in the festive spirit. What would this small town in Georgia have been without boiled peanuts, low country boil, fried green tomatoes, barbecue, and peach everything?

Once Constantine had lit the 30-foot spruce, surrounded by hundreds of merry people from all walks of life that made up this small community, the festival was officially kicked-off.

In a large tent set up on the square, Liam and Riley laid out styrofoam containers and drinks they’d purchased from a barbeque vendor on one of several picnic tables inside. With their two young daughters munching away on their meal, and the stroller with their sleeping son beside them, they both sat down with heavy hearts and restless minds.

Liam bit into his barbecue sandwich, noticing Riley only prodding at her mac-and-cheese while staring off into the distance. He didn’t have to ask what was wrong; he knew what happened that morning was bothering her with guilt and worry. It wasn’t every day she accidentally shot someone.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Riley shook her head slightly with a sad look. “No. It’s just not the same without Alyssa here. You know how much she loves Christmas and the festival. She was so looking forward to it too, until --”

“You shot her.”

“Yeeeeeesssss,” she cried out. Liam reached across the table and gave her hand a comforting squeeze, his thumb caressing her smooth skin. Riley continued to sniffle as she grabbed a handful of napkins and wiped the barbecue sauce off Liam’s sticky fingers that were now smeared all over hers. “I didn’t mean to, I swear it. And the way … and the way Drake cried. It broke my heart. Now he has her on bed rest AND house arrest. He won’t let her take calls. I’ll never see or hear from my bestie agaaaain.” The tears continued to flow in steady streams.

Liam stiffened, feeling the eyes of everyone in that tent, gawking at his overly-dramatic wife breaking down. He started to tell her to lower her voice, but after the gun battle in the woods, he thought better of it. “Riley, darlin’, you know Drake is really overprotective of Alyssa. And as scary as what happened was, she only needed the one stitch and band-aid for her graze wound. Something tells me Drake won’t be able to keep her down long.”

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

Liam was right. As much as Drake tried to keep her in bed so he could wait on her hand and foot, protect her from the careless friends of the world who could inadvertently do his baby girl harm, and check to see if she needed a new band-aid every few minutes, he could not keep her down. She had been far too excited to hang out with the people she loved so much and celebrate at one of her favorite festivals.

Maxwell had left for the events with Audrey and Patrick an hour ago; they were part of the children’s caroling group and needed to be there early. Against Drake’s wishes, Alyssa showered, got dressed, and made sure he knew in no uncertain terms would he be able to prevent her from going. The only thing he knew to do was to go, follow her around the entire night, and make sure she wouldn’t get shot again.

They circled the block where everything was held several times, but spaces to park were impossible to find. Three blocks away was the church where they attended, and the parking lot was completely empty. Drake didn’t like the fact that Alyssa would have to walk so far in her debilitated condition and was prepared to haul her piggyback style if he had to, but this was the best spot he could find.

Drake moved the gearshift into park and reached over to grab Alyssa’s arm, who was already bounding out the door. He pulled Alyssa back inside, the chilly air blowing through her open door swept her straighten hair this way and that way.

She cocked her head to the side and exhaled, “Drake, I can open my own door. I’m not broken. It’s just a scratch. I’m fine.”

“I know.” He smiled that tenderhearted smile only Alyssa had ever seen. The same one sending a shudder through her already chilled body. “I changed my mind,” he replied simply

Alyssa slammed her eyes shut and groaned. “I just told you I was fine --”

“No, no,” He shook his head. “About having another baby. I want to start trying.”

Saddled with curiosity, she slid back into the truck and shut the door. “But, I thought you said we didn’t have time for that --”

“Yeah, I did say that. I still believe it. But … today made me realize that yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today …”

Alyssa’s hand flew to her mouth as she laughed out loud. Drake gave her a confused look before chuckling awkwardly to himself, “What’s so funny?”

She lowered her hand, still laughing. “You got that saying from a quote on a poster in my classroom. You’re the one who hung it up for me.”

The memory dawned on him, and he lowered his head, attempting to cover the guilty grin that spread over it. “Well, hell. Here I was trying to make you think I was all insightful and smart and stuff.”

Alyssa’s hand splayed across his rugged chest as she leaned over to kiss him.“You are very insightful and smart. You know I never settle for anything less than the best.”

“I s’pose.” he said, forking his fingers through his hair. “But … I guess what I wanted to say was … I know that bullet missed you, barely … but what if it hadn’t? What if I’d left those woods without you today? Just like you were afraid that doe might. Time wouldn’t matter anymore. There will NEVER be enough time with you. You’re my life, Alyssa Claire. You’re my lover, my friend, my heart, my confidante, my soul, my everything … my little peach. I want to experience all that life has given me with you as my wife … and forever make time with you.”

“DRAAAKEY!” she bawled, spreading her tiny arms wide around his bulky body. Alyssa drew him into her so hard it nearly crushed the wind right out of his lungs. “I -- love -- you -- so muuuch!” Drake patted her back and kissed into her hair as she sniveled into his shirt. He hated when she cried, but damn if this didn’t feel good to him. Anytime she was happy made him that way too.

They took a moment to kiss and pet each other a little before Alyssa sat up and asked, “So … when do you want to start trying for a new baby Walker?”

He shrugged. “Whenever you want, baby.”

Alyssa looked through the back window of the truck and scanned the parking lot. She bit her lip and looked back at him impishly. “What about … now?”

Drake’s eyes flew open wide. “In the church parking lot?”

Pursing her lips, she affirmed, “Yes. We’ve done it behind the Piggly Wiggly plenty of times. And let's not forget the ‘Great Ass Blow-out of 2019’ in the Atlanta Convention Center parking garage.”

“I will never forget that.” Drake shook his head as that momentous sexual experience replayed in his mind. “Mmmm, you performed magic that day, woman.”

She raised a brow and coaxed him on, “So? What’dya say?”

Drake took a tentative look around at the dark, empty lot, then back at her. “We’re so going to hell, but I’m in.”

“Eeeeeee,” she squealed, jerking his arm around in excitement. “Try to keep your ass out of the window this time, okay?”

Thirty minutes later, Pastor Hakim pulled into the church parking lot with Mara, the game warden, following behind in her truck. There had been several reports from passerby’s of loud animals howling and screeching behind the church. The stray cat population was out of control in that area, and several cats had burrowed their way inside the church on occasion.

Hakim parked his car, with Mara pulling in beside him. They both got out simultaneously and listened quietly to see if they could decipher where the commotion was coming from.

Within seconds, a load moan roared out, followed by several consecutive whimpers that were hard to make out by the duo.

Mara listened intently, then gestured with her flashlight to an area near the back of the lot where clusters of shrubs and dry brush bordered. Hakim ambled behind her, the noise getting closer and closer until the pastor's brow furrowed at the shaking of a nearby truck.

“Damn, teenagers,” he grumbled as they tipped toed discreetly.

Mara crouched down by the truck's tailgate, Hakim bending over while she duck-walked toward the driver's side door.

The game warden turned to the pastor and instructed, “On my three. 1 -- 2 -- 3.” They both jumped up at the same time, flashing the light inside the cab. “HAHA Caught ya! OH MY GOD!”

Alyssa, who was on top of Drake, completely naked except for the band-aid on her left arm, looked up in utter humiliation and shock. She crossed her arms over her chest to cover her breast, feeling like she might faint. Not knowing what to say at that moment to rectify their actions or why those two were still staring inside the truck, Alyssa smiled sheepishly. “I’m still feeling the spirit, Hakim.”

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#drake x alyssa #Liam x Riley #gun usage #hunting

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someone1348 · 3 years

Text

Okayy! First tumblr story here we gooooo!!

People in this!

Switch!Quackity and Switch!Badboyhalo

This is platonic!

This is based off of the one clip of quackity telling bad to chill out 😂

Tw: mild language

This is a tickle fic so if you don't like it dont read it, no hate or anything inappropriate on my acc thanks!

They are my comfort duo and i thought for the first one this would be good so enjoyyy hehe :]

_______~☆°♡°☆°♡°☆~_______

Quackity had been extra hyper that afternoon and decided to make it his main priority to push one of his best friends buttons. Him and bad were just getting back from the nether after searching for netherite. He had been teasing him all day, putting words in bads mouth and just pushing him over the line to get a reaction.

They got out of the portal yelling at each other

"Bad Chill out-"

"NO! YOU CHILL"

"Bad! Chill the hell! out alright!"

"YOU CHILL!-" the demon paused before yelling again, "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME! Do you wanna go quackity!"

The beanie wearing male nervously laughed at his friends new tone of voice and made a dash for it through the grass.

"HEY! you get back here you muffin head!"

Bad chased after him as the younger bolted, laughing nervously, letting out nervous babble and pleads screaming a few times the closer bad got to him.

"AH! Nononono haha i don't wanna die no no no SHIT!"

"LANGUAGE!"

He screeched and rounded the corner stumbling a bit and laughing bad right on his tail.

"GOTCHA!" bad tackled him to the ground both of them falling on the soft grass.

Bad smirked sitting on his thighs as quackity pleaded out and continued giggling nervously

"Bahad dont kill me! Please im to sexy to die!" He joked giggling nervously at his best friends smirk

"Giggling already Quackity but i haven't even started yet" He giggled and wiggled his fingers taughtingly at him

Quackity's eyes wided as he realized what was about to happen.

"WaIT bad DONT-" too late! Quackity broke out into hysterics as bad digged his claws into his stomach

"BAHAHAD-!"

Bad chuckled and removed his wiggly fingers from his stomach

"Hehe im saving that tickly tummy for later" He teased and moved to tweak his ribs

"PFFT- HAHaHahaha!" Quackity pushed at bads hands and turned his head side to side in a giggly fit

Bad sighed and took quackity's hands in one of his own placing them above his head

"Those stay there"

"Yeaha? What happens if they don't stay there hmm?" Quackity took that opportunity to be cheeky, it was rare to have people join in his playfulness like this and he couldn't remember the last time he was tickled, might as well make the most of it right!

Bad smirked

"If they come down the tickle monsters gonna get you! And trust me you're not gonna like him when he's hangry"

The two giggled at that as bad smiled going back to tickle his ribs starting from the highest set of ribs going down

Quackity shrieked once again giggling his head off

"Bahad!"

"Thats my name quackmister what cha' need?~"

Quackity's giggles turned into sweet laughter as he got towards his lower ribs

"NAHAhaha bAhAhahad please! NOHO TEHEHeheasiHihinggg"

"Say quackity how many ribs do you have?" Bad said completely ignoring quackity's words

"IHiHi dohOhont know!?"

"Hmmm lets find out together sha'll we!"

Bad went back to the top of his ribs dragging a finger across the highest one

"Oneeeee~"

"EE!"

Bad dragged it out and continued

"Twooooo~"

"BAHAhahad pLEAHeheAse!" He wouldn't normally laugh this lound but the teasing making it tickle soooo much more than normal.

Bad giggled dragging a finger down his ribcage

"Tickle tickle tickleee~!!"

His hands came shooting down on reflex pushing at bads hand. The demon looked down at the giggly law student crossing his arms as the said law student opened his eyes hesitatly

"Those better not be your hands quackity you know what happens when you don't listen"

Quackity's eyes wided. He swore he ment to keep them up! He was doing so good too! Shit! This can't be good!

"I uhum" he was speechless as the other smirked digging into his underarms with one hand holding them up with the other

"AH! HAHAhaha NAHAHA SHH- PFFT BAhAhaD!"

He squeezed his eyes shut again trying to squirm away, occasionally squeaking if he hit a really bad spot

"BAHAHAD PleaAhease!"

"Nope! This is what you get for pushing my buttons you silly muffin!"

Bad took away his hands moving to pull up the rim of his shirt to show his stomach

"Wait wait! Bad no! Waihit!" Quackity nervously giggled again sucking in his stomach trying to get away

"Hehe awww you think sucking in is gonna do something, thats adorable!" He took a big breath in blowing a raspberry directly above his bellybutton

"AHHH! NAHAHAHAHA WHAIHIHIT BAHAHAHAD!"

Bad laughed with him smirking

"D'awwww Big Q can't handle a wittle raspberry!" He used his tail and swirled it around in his bellybutton

"AYEHAHA BAHAD PLEASE IHIHIM SOHOHOHORRY!"

Bad giggled and got off him smiling down at the giggly bean on the ground

"Thank youuuu"

Quackity regained his breath sitting up

"Yohou better run buddy!" Quackity stated smirking at the man beside him

"Wa- QUACKITY!"

Bad was tackled to the ground as the roles reversed

"No! wAIT! QuackiTy!"

Bad squeaked as quackity squeezed his sides

"Hehehey! Nohohot fahahair" bad "complained" giggling freely as quackity giggled along with him

"Thats what you get bitch! Haha!" He said moving to his stomach

"H-HeHeY! LANGU-HAHaha Language QuackiTHehe!! HAHaha!"

Quackity laughed and blew a raspberry getting him back for the one the giggly demon did earlier

"HEHE STahaAhAP iHiHit you Muffinhehead!"

"Fuck, shit, bitch" Quackity teased him with cursing while moving to pinch at his hips

"LAHAHA- HAHAHA QUAHAHACITEHEHE LAHAHNGUE STAHAHAP NOHOHOT THEHEHERE!"

Quackity smirked "yes here! Tickle tickle bad! Haha!" He teased giving his signature playful laugh

"PLEHEAHASE!"

Quackity gave in and tickled his neck slowing the muffin loving mans laughter down to pure giggles

"Hehe"

Bad scrunched up his shoulders lightly

Quackity smiling and stopping getting off him

"That was fun" Big Q exclaimed smiling at bad as he sat up

"Yeah it was! But maybe you'll learn next time to not push the tickle monsters buttons" bad teased throwing some wiggly fingers in the youngers direction

"Haha yeah we will see about that bad" Quackity smirked happily

"BAD!"

Bad turned to see skeppy running at the two of them, Quackity rolled his eyes

'Fun's over' he thought as bad talked to his best friend

"SKEPPY! Hey!"

"Quackity, hello to you too" Skeppy said trying to keep his annoyed tone to a minimum

"I'll see you around bad" Quackity went to turn away but bad stopped him

"Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Sleep with one eye open tonight"

Bad joked as the beanied boy laughed and walked off

"Bye bad!"

"Hehe Bye Quackity!"

"You really hang out with him?" Skeppy asked as the diamond boy walked away with his best demon friend

"Oh hush mr jealous he's not that bad"

"Pfft yeah right"

Bad smirked and rolled his eyes

"Lets go skeppy we got stuff to rebuild since creepers keep blowing it all up"

"Okayyy!"

A conclusion to a good day

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

Hehe!! I hope you all enjoyedd! More to come! Definitely! :]

#switch!quackity #switch!badboyhalo #lee!badboyhalo #lee!quackity #ler!badboyhalo #ler!quackity #dreamsmpticklefic #ticklefic #dreamsmp

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jokertrap-ran · 4 years

Photo

Disney’s Twisted Wonderland: Dorm Uniform Floyd Leech SSR【What will you give me?】Chapter 1

*Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

⊱ ────Interior Hallway──── ⊰

Jade: You made a contract with Azul.

Jade: And yet, now that the contract's been completed, you refuse to work at the Mostro Lounge... That most certainly won't do.

Savanaclaw Student: B-But it's for every single day till I graduate! I never heard anything about working my bones off!

Jade: It's written in the contract, is it not? You should have read the contract thoroughly before you signed it.

Savanaclaw Student: Am I supposed to notice it despite the minuscule font it was written in!? This is invalid; invalid I say...

Floyd: Oh? Invalid? ...I don't think I heard you right.

Savanaclaw Student: Eek!!

Jade: Oh dear. Floyd, you really shouldn't be making such scary faces at our business partner. We should treat them with utmost care and respect.

Jade: That only applies to "Business partners" though. I can't say the same when it comes to people who don't hold up their end of the agreement, however...

Savanaclaw Student: U-Ugh...

⊱ ────Octavinelle Dorm- Hallway──── ⊰

Floyd: Okay, one down~ Today's "work" is going really smoothly.

Jade: Indeed. It's a good thing that most of them are easily convinced after a proper "explanation".

Floyd: You really do like your troublesome explanations, don't you~ It'd be faster if we just broke their bones. You're really weird.

Floyd: You even go out of the way to remember every single little detail in Azul's complex contracts; and then go on and on until they can't talk themselves out of it anymore.

Floyd: I don't like using such roundabout methods

Jade: You're fine just as you are. It's different from the way Azul and I go about doing things, at least.

Jade: If we're to be the more straightforward ones, then you'd be...Hmm. A surprise attack; a missile, perhaps?

Floyd: What's with that~? Are you praising me or are you trying to pick a fight with me?

Jade: I'm praising you, of course.

Jade: You solve even the hardest of problems in ways no one would ever think of.

Floyd: Do I? I never really noticed it so I don't know about that.

Jade: Heh, you're actually very reliable. Now then...Shall we head to our next "job"?

⊱ ────Octavinelle Dorm- Lounge──── ⊰

A few days later--

Floyd: You want to buy the rights to the goods that seahorse is selling in his shop...?

Azul: Yes. The popular "Mystery Drink", an original product that Sam recently started selling in that shop of his...

Azul: I wish to obtain that product of his, no matter what the cost. Therefore, I want to have acquisition of the sales rights.

Floyd: ...You wish to purchase it, you say? How much would you be willing to offer?

Azul: As cheap as possible; get to the lowest price you can.

Jade: That's a pretty impossible request; considering how we're dealing with a professional business administrator.

Azul: Well, I'm sure there's a way to make him comply...isn't there? Floyd. I'll rely on you to gain the rights to it.

Floyd: Ehh~ Me? But things like the conditions you're purchasing on and even the contract itself is cumbersome~

Azul: Jade's slated for another job I have on hand. Plus, I don't mind whatever methods you use for this so that's why I chose you for this job.

Floyd: The store, huh...

⊱ ────Mister S's Mystery Shop──── ⊰

Sam: Little demons over there, are you going to be purchasing the mystery drink as well? ...Thank you!

Sam: Hey. Don't rush; line up properly, little demons.

Floyd: There's soooo many people here, just like a school of sardines...

Sam: ...Now, the next bigger little demon. Thank you for waiting; are you here to order the mystery drink too?

Floyd: Nope, but I do have something I need from you, see~?

Sam: Something you want? Great! Anything and everything you could possible want is IN STOCK NOW!

Sam: That's what makes my mystery shop all so mysterious! Now, whatever is it that you wish to purchase?

Floyd: Give me the rights to that mystery drink of yours.

Sam: ...Huh?

Floyd: Did you not hear me? I said, I want the rights to that drink of yours.

Sam: Oh, well; whatever do you mean by that?

Floyd: We wish to sell that mystery drink of yours and make a profit out of it.

Floyd: So give us all the rights to it. That's all there is to it.

Sam: Hahaha! What an interesting little demon! So what's your budget for this anyway?

Floyd: Azul said to make it as cheap as possible.

Sam: What a honest little demon you are. Although, I must say that it would have been better to keep such inside information under wraps.

Sam: Anything and everything is IN STOCK NOW! ...But I can't sell that to you if that's how your conditions are going to be.

Sam: The mystery drink's the hottest item I have out there right now. That's why I can't be selling the rights to it to someone else all so easily.

Sam: However, if you really do intend to buy it from me, then perhaps we should conduct a formal business talk about it instead.

Floyd: What~ But that's so troublesome! Meh, never mind then.

Sam: ...Huh!? Aren't you way too quick at giving up!?

Floyd: Azul did tell me to go buy it for him, but I don't personally have any interest in the exchange nor the complicated details it entails.

Floyd: All those super calculated things aren't the slightest bit fun at all! It would be much more interesting if I was tasked with something better.

Floyd: So I'm leaving.

Sam: Is that so? You're pretty chill for a little demon.

Floyd: Oh, gimme some peppermint candy before I go.

Sam: That'll be 100 Madols.

Floyd: Here.

Sam: And yet, you pay for that without so much as a haggle for discount...I really don't understand you at all.

☪⋆ ────── ⋆⋅☆ 𝔗𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔬��𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢𝔡 ☆⋅⋆ ────── ☪⋆

#twisted wonderland #twst translations #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #floyd leech #Octanivelle #translations #Disney #ツイステッドワンダーランド #ツイステ

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michaelarowrites · 3 years

Note

Hi hi!! Just finished reading Honor the Words yesterday - SOOOO GOOD! So much LORE! The plot is THICKENING!!! Im EXCITE!! :DDD thank you so much for this story and these characters theyre always so wonderful (genderqueer yumeko & asuka hello!! New godly powers whaaaaat?!! Literally everything with/about youji & that stuff with the characters taking on more power with their godly aspects?!!?!?!)

Im already looking forward to the next one XD how many books are you expecting there to be in the series? 6 for each divinity? (Also are you expecting to get the next book out next year?) Also also, do you have an approximate for how many words these books are? If not no worries ^_^ im just curious

Im rereading both of them now and oh my GOD i cant believe you mentioned the blood ash cult in book one! I COMPLETELY missed that! XD On that note, im looking forward to seeing Akane again! Maybe she'll become an ally oooo... And learning more about Shiori's childhood with the blue dragons.

YOU PLANT SO MANY SEEDS AND I LOVE THEM ALL! THE GARDEN THIS ALL TURNS OUT TO BE WILL BE AMAZING!!

(Akdgskf side note: i cant believe it took me this long to realize the sun moon and star nations are comparable to japan korea and china *facepalm* lol)

I have sooooooooo many thoughts about this world thats mostly just excited questioning about lore and future events XD but theres too many to say or even remember at one time so i hope i can convey it all when i say im LOVING! EVERYTHING youre doing here and i cant wait to watch the rest of it unfold <3333 thank you sooo much!!

Thank you so much, friend!! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book, and I'm very glad you asked all of these questions =D To be honest, one of the most difficult parts of the self-publishing process is that I don't get comments like I would when posting a story chapter by chapter online, so it sorta leaves me at a loss wondering if anyone is reading/enjoying the story. So thank you very much!

And I am always very happy to answer questions about these books! So here I go, in probably more detail than you ever wanted to have =D =D

- The original plan was to have at least 8 books, one for each divinity and then two that were going to be... something else. But I've been working on the third one and realized that it would just be easier if I don't try to confine the entire arc to one book, so now the series is just going to be however long it needs to be =D Although, knowing me, it's really going to depend on how much I enjoy writing these stories and how much people enjoy reading them =) I always write more when I know people want to read more.

- I am in the final stretch of finishing the first draft of the third novel! (it took me a loooong time to figure out how I wanted to end it, so writing this one took longer than it should have). After that it's the editing/beta reading process. My hope is that it would be out early next year, but definitely no later than the summer of 2022, since summers seem to be when I publish them =P

- And yes! I actually have a very deliberate word count that I shoot for-- I aim for each book to be about 60K words long, although I think Shine the Brightest was a little less than that and Honor the Words was a little longer. But my goal was to have these books be as cheap as possible, and the shorter the novels are, the cheaper they are to buy. (The longer the books are, the more the print costs are, so the higher the flat rate for minimum cost). But also, I figured I could finish writing them faster if they were only 60K words long.

- Hahaha, the Blood Ash cult was planted early in the first book because I knew they would be significant later, but it's definitely something you would miss except on a re-read. So thank you!

- Akane returns in the third book! And you find out a little bit more about Shiori's childhood =)

- And hahaha no a map/general layout doesn't exist yet, but I definitely need to make one, because I keep writing in terrain details and eventually I'm going to have to figure out where all the territories are in relation to one another. (In the third book, I mention that the Blue realms are near the ocean, and I had this mental note of "dang you better remember that and come up with a map later" but then I didn't.)

- Hahaha, no, Masaomi's safe sex practices only prevented the other grand dragons from privately assassinating him and making his kid the new Red Dragon. They probably would have killed him regardless. So there you have it, safe sex protects you from assassinations XD

Thank you so much for all your questions and for your enthusiasm, friend =D I'm very happy to answer more!! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy how it all turns out!

#mikki writes #I have asks! and I'm answering them!#honor the words #The Magpie Chronicles #writing update #thanks friend!!!#thanks for asking on this blog!#long post #htw spoilers

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mrs-nate-humphrey · 3 years

Note

do you think dan loved/ saw the real Blair. or did he only like Blairs good qualities or the character he created? In 5x24, he says "I thought she had changed" what do you think that line meant?

hi!! i dwelled a LOT on question 1, as you’d probably expect, and there’s a bit on your second question at the end of the ask. i didn’t want to put this under a read more, but... i probably have to, hahaha. oh well...

a lot of people think that dan liked the version of blair he created (i’m not sure why - maybe because of the way derena played out, or maybe because of “inside” & the fact that he definitely was dreaming of her?) but i personally do not agree with that or buy that at all. i’d argue, even, that dan has never had any illusions about the kind of person blair is.

the first time we really get to hear dan’s thoughts on blair (that i can remember, at least), is in 1x04, when he’s complaining to rufus, and he is downright scathing. he hates her! he has a long list of adjectives about how much he hates her!!

in the end of s1, he and blair even team up to get revenge on georgina because of the shit she put serena through - that gave me so many feels, the first time i watched it, and i’ve actually been thinking abt that a lot - the parallels between 1x18 & 4x10/4x11 and these two being knights in shining armour for serena. maybe i’ll write a fic about that, later (im getting distracted!!)

in s2, dan says the very iconic “google revenge and you’ll get blair waldorf dot com” thing to vanessa, who wants to help nate. and this makes perfect sense to dan, because he’s definitely schemed with blair to help someone he loves before, and he knows that when it comes to her best friends, she’ll do anything. stuff like this, to me, is the heart of the dair dynamic (along with a 101 other things, blah) because like... dan can see the good parts of it - the fierce loyalty, the “if you want to help nate, blair’s your best shot, because of how she protects and fights for the people she loves,” while also being cynical about it, like, “oh yeah, blair? she’s schemey, she’s mean, she could probably kill someone and show no remorse.” like... .this is one of the most balanced perspectives on blair, ever. i feel like he really understood both sides of her - the part of her that loves so much and so deeply, and the part of her that can be cruel and causes destruction (i would even say that dan himself sort of operates like this - he can be really kind but he can also be really mean, and. yeah idk i just find it fascinating, how much they have in common.)

he even acts on the wrong instinct at times, like, when he’s expecting her to sabotage him at W so he sabotages her first? like, i don’t think there’s really ever an instance where dan is looking at blair and seeing someone who isn’t there? he might read her wrong sometimes, but i feel like he understands her. they both understand each other! this jibe is one of my favourites because... i think nads @mysteriesofloves said it perfectly here, specifically, the part where she says:

“serena isn’t there to see him, and she won’t be, and he’ll miss his interview waiting for her to throw one glance at him over her shoulder, the way he always has. he says that whatever scheme blair is plotting is going to backfire. and here’s the thing! they’re both completely right - but it has nothing to do with prediction and everything to do with the fact that they know each other better than they know themselves.”

their entire relationship is a gradual building up, and it definitely has its roots in that, you know? like, dan and blair aren’t the people they were in high school, sure, they’re growing past it, but they knew each other back then, they understood each other back then. dan has seen blair at her best, at her romantic and enthusiastic and intellectual opinionated self (whom he vibes with immensely, remember that pretentious sleepover), and he’s seen blair at her worst, and he loves the part of her that schemes and causes problems (she ruined his award nomination thing in despicable b and he was ready to work through it with her! i know i talk about this episode a LOT but it just really makes me feel things. why would he forgive her for this, if he didn’t understand/accept that side of her???)

now, for your second question. i honestly do not really remember (or vibe much) with that episode, but i think the whole “i thought she had changed” had to do with like... blair seeing him as an equal, and not just as some poor boy from brooklyn or whatever. blair is pretty canonically classist early on in the series, and she very openly scoffs and looks down on the humphreys due to like, status & wealth & all that jazz (jenny gets it soooo much worse than dan, but. that’s dan’s sister, he’s allowed to be pissed off.) so i would read this as like.. “i thought she and i really connected as two people who had a lot in common, who had common interests and common life goals and who were able to be honest and open and sincere with each other... but i guess that she still looks at me as that nobody from brooklyn, and she’d much rather date a billionaire who’s been terrible to her, than me, who’s tried my best to support her even when she hurt me.”

i do think there’s ample canon evidence to support this, too, but i can’t think of what to link and show you here that isn’t...... the whole dair arc, lmao. i just think it was very... dan knew that dating him was out of blair’s comfort zone or dream future / ideal future. so i think that’s the context of “i thought she had changed.” like, a paraphrased “i thought i had a chance.”

oh damn, now i’m sad. :’)) time to listen to new york city by among savages on repeat again!

#anon #dair #meta #me: im going to keep it brief im going to answer this one in one paragraph #9 paragraphs later #'oh fuck'#lkdhgklshgh #long post

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jess-rewatches-prodigalson · 3 years

Text

Alma Mater (S2, E3)

My time-stamped thoughts for this episode. As always I reference Malcolm’s mental health. A lot. So if that’s going to be a trigger for you, don’t keep reading.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

0:20 - There’s no way Martin is actually going to escape Claremont until AT LEAST the season finale.

0:55 - Anyone else annoyed that Ainsley isn’t in Martin’s fantasy? I mean - it’s completely in character but it still pisses me off.

1:49 - I’m sorry - what? How will pouring Malcolm a drink help this fictional situation?

2:00 - Malcolm ruining Martin’s fantasy dream is honestly such a mood.

2:10 - “That little kill joy.” haha

2:21 - Malcolm has a stationary bike. Of course he does. But why does he listen to the personal trainer lady (who I assume was a recording programmed on the bike)? Malcolm doesn’t seem like he needs praise or motivation to exercise. He probably does it the way I do - mindlessly as a habit. A habit built from the knowledge that if I skip a morning workout I will feel more unsettled and anxious than usual before lunch....and don’t even get me started on how quickly my depressive thoughts escalate.

2:24 - ....I’m still convinced/hoping that this is a false memory Martin has planted in Malcolm. I’m all for Malcolm whump and Malcolm trauma...but the thought of Gil, the team, and Jessica finding out that Malcolm committed a crime terrifies me. I don’t want him to go to jail. I don’t want Gil and the team to turn their back on him. I don’t want Jessica to blame herself (more than usual).

2:39 - I love that the “Malcolm pretty much only feeds himself liquorice and lollipops” is still canon this season.

2:42 - OMG. That is not a helpful affirmation. Like maybe for anyone? If you’re traumatized/depressed/anxious “consider the past and you shall know the future” is not comforting or inspiring. It’s the opposite.

2:48 - I’m loving how confidently Malcolm has been shutting down Martin’s manipulation. #soproud

2:52 - Anyone else super upset that Martin is the person with whom Malcolm discusses his mental health the most honestly?

3:12 - Check out the way Mr. David looks at Martin here. Does Mr. David already know about Endicott? Or is he just like, “Bitch, spit it out so I don’t have to keep guessing your current family drama.”?

3:17 - “Let’s have another session today.” .....Does Martin really think he’s Malcolm’s new therapist? DOES MALCOLM THINK THAT? IS THAT WHY HE ISN’T SEEING GABRIELLE? HAS MARTIN MANIPULATED HIM INTO THINKING THAT HE DOESN’T NEED GABRIELLE?!?

3:22 - hahahaha OMG. Mr.David is so done with Martin’s theatrics.

3:32 - Ok so two things:

Martin’s insight on Malcolm’s mental health/coping mechanisms is disturbingly on point. Almost like he’s an attentive, caring, father (which he isn’t).

How long was Gil outside Malcolm’s door before he knocked? Do you think he overheard Malcolm’s side of the conversation? I kind of hope he did. But only if it means I get to see Gil asking Malcolm about it.

3:50 - “Put me on speaker.” I’m torn. Part of me is so proud of Malcolm for denying Martin’s need for attention....but part of me is living for a Martin/Gil showdown where they fight over Malcolm in front of Malcolm.

3:54 - Ok. So Gil was a jerk last episode but I forgive him. Gil just showed up at Malcolm’s apartment to tell him about a case instead of calling Malcolm. Gil knew Malcolm would be upset. Gil knew that Malcolm needed to hear this in person. <3 My heart is full. <3

4:12 - Concerned!Gil is everything. Look at how much he cares about Malcolm and what this case will inevitably bring up for Malcolm. You can almost see how badly Gil doesn’t want Malcolm on this case.

4:13 - “What if I said I need you?” Damn. Gil knows. He knows that Malcolm desperately doesn’t want to ever disappoint Gil. Gil is Malcolm’s hero and, when Malcolm is thinking straight, he’d do anything for Gil.

4:17 - <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Gil looks so sad when he notices Malcolm’s hand shaking. Can a heart simultaneously break and heal?

4:23 - Oh yeah. Gil definitely wanted Brumback dead for what he did to Malcolm. He doesn’t even try giving Malcolm the “you’re being insensitive” look.

4:42 - Wow. That school is nicer than my university.

4:47 - Do you think Gil’s been to the school before? To visit and/or pick up Malcolm? ....I really want to believe he did. Gil looks like he’s leading Malcolm through campus. Gil looks like he’s familiar with the campus. Surely that means he visited Malcolm there. Right?

5:17 - So...was the “office under water” thing officially a prank? It’s brutal. Forget the murder, Brumback would’ve expelled kids for that prank.

5:27 - I love how Dani looks at Gil for clarification here. She’s like, “Malcolm is upset, ranting, and making no sense. I’m not going to set him off further by asking more questions. But I need to know what the hell he’s going on about.”

5:40 - Soooo is JT texting Dani? Or is Tally? I really hope it’s Tally. I hope Dani’s texts are all reading something along the lines of “He won’t stop pacing and panicking. If he doesn’t calm down I’m going to slap him.”

5:43 - I love the look of disbelief that Gil shoots Dani when her phone goes off. haha

5:52 - hahaha Gil so heard Edrisa the first time. He was just giving her a chance to conform to professional social standards.

6:03 - hahahaha OMG. Edrisa is a treasure.

6:56 - awww Malcolm, baby. :( This boy has so much trauma. I love it.

7:07 - I’m assuming Malcolm’s ‘high school’ was grades 10-12 (not 8-12 which is common in the area of Canada where I grew up) so that means Tom Payne is currently being passed off as a 15-16 year old. It kinda works. But ngl - I spent most of this scene thinking “could they not hire a kid because of COVID?”

7:12 - I’m not actually mad that Tom Payne was allowed to play high school Malcolm though. His performance in this scene is really moving. “Be someone new.” :( <3

7:45 - Sooooo Malcolm changed his name before he was legally an adult. If it’s his legal last name (we see “Bright” on pill bottles in S1 so it’s his legal name now at least) Jessica had to have signed the paperwork. Damn. I wish I was there to see that process regardless of when it became his legal last name.

7:49 - Baby Malcolm looks so comforted by Martin’s acceptance of his new name and new school. It breaks my heart.

8:00 - Wait. There was a teacher who liked Malcolm at this school? The son a serial killer? AND the teacher recognizes Malcolm 15 years later?!? Nah. I don’t buy it. I love Malcolm but I feel like the teachers would’ve avoided developing any sort of relationship with Malcolm even if they didn’t have a problem with him.

8:05 - Hold up. This school is so fancy. Are you telling me they don’t have outdoor security cameras? Surely those would’ve told you who the suspects for the desk thing were at least.

8:15 - awwww poor Malcolm looks shattered here. :(

8:31 - “Easy. Let’s keep an open mind.” That is pure Dad!Gil energy and I’m here for it.

8:39 - Of course. Of course Jessica is involved in the rich school.

8:51 - I’m on Gil and Malcolm’s side here. Jessica is putting her reputation over Malcolm’s mental health. Shame on her. No no. I will not stand for this - and neither will Gil. Damn. Look at how pissed he is on Malcolm’s behalf. <3 So sweet.

9:06 - “Pop-pop’s aquatic center”!?!? Soooo is Pop-pop Jessica’s grandfather or Malcolm’s? Either way give me more information about the extended family. Are they dead? Did they disown them after the Surgeon business? I WANT ANSWERS FEDAK.

9:15 - I swear. Malcolm is the best son/brother ever. The sacrifices he makes for his Mom/sister are unreal. Also - how much do you want to bet that Malcolm was thinking about the Endicott murder coming out when Jessica said, “how soon until they connect that back to me?”. Malcolm looks so sad here.

9:23 - Nah. I don’t like Delaney. Even on the first watch I was put off by him. Something about him just creeps me out. He’s showing a weird amount of affection for Malcolm 15 years after Malcolm finished school. IDK maybe I was just upset that someone was trying to mimic Gil’s relationship with Malcolm?

9:27 - oooooooohhhhh Mom and Dad are fighting. hahaha Malcolm looks so uncomfortable. Gil looks livid. Is Gil pissed because Jessica dumped him or because she totally just neglected Malcolm’s well-being for her own? Probably both. Either way, it’s endlessly entertaining.

9:53 - I’m on Gil’s side here. She dumped him (like a f**ing moron) because she “doesn’t want to hurt him” and because she’s “broken” and “cursed”. Yet - she manipulates her way into cases. Making her business Gil’s. Gil should be pissed - she broke his heart. Again. Like he’s literally been choosing to hang out with Malcolm, Jessica’s (let’s face it) broken son, for more than 20 years. Jessica’s crazy if she thinks that she’s going to get Gil killed or hurt just because she’s a Whitly. Malcolm’s technically a Whitly - Gil hasn’t died yet.

10:15 - “Not usually.” Dang. That was icy.

10:50 - Yo this is one messed up bible study. Take it from someone who has attended many young adult/teenage bible studies. This is crazy. Usually it’s: read the bible for 5-10 minutes as a group, discuss how you interpreted it for 15-20 mins, pray as a group for 5 mins, then like an hour of tea/coffee, cookies, board games, and general chatting about normal stuff like romance, school, and personal drama.

11:44 - “Poor Tally.” hahaha I’m willing to bet that Tally is texting Dani - not JT. I just can’t imagine a panicking, first-time father, texting his little sister with accurate medical details about his wife’s pre-labour experience. He’s probably way too panicked to remember the medical jargon that is “foley ballon”.

12:00 - I’ve watched this scene about 30 times. I’m in love with it. Tom Payne’s performance is haunting and I’m a sucker for emotional whump. I love how Dani is concerned about Malcolm but respectful enough to pry until he shuts down. I love Malcolm’s little speech about the hand tremor (even though it doesn’t make sense because baby Malcolm’s hand was shaking when Shannon interrogated him - but that’s a whole different can of worms I’m not going to rant about).

12:39 - Does anyone else think it’s weird that there’s a bolt on the closet door? Why isn’t there a lock in the door handle like every other interior school door? I mean, I guess it’s because they can be unlocked from the inside and Nicky would’ve needed a key....but still. The things I forgive for the sake of plot.

13:25 - Damn. Brumback was a real jerk. “I know what you really are.” Do you know how painful that would be for Malcolm to hear? Regardless of what he almost did to Nicky? Everywhere Malcolm goes people accuse him of being just like his father. Is it surprising that in a moment of weakness, with teenage hormones, Malcolm snapped and said, “Eff it. They think I’m a murderer anyways.”

13:26 - OMG. How bad were the kids at this school?!?! Brumback expelled so many kids. Holy hell. Also - Brumback is wearing a wedding ring. Did he get divorced before he died? Did his wife pass away before him? Why was his family not part of this investigation at all?

13:31 - Brumback writing “Malcolm Whitly” instead of Malcolm Bright is....ouch. I just. My heart breaks for Malcolm.

13:37 - OMG. Traumatized people going through PTSD flashbacks should not be unattended next to a pool of water. Honestly - I thought our boy was going to drown. Which the whumper in me would’ve loved but also I don’t think it was right for the plot on this one.

14:38 - Martin is such a liar. He definitely thinks he’s God’s gift to the Earth.

15:02 - Martin knows a lot about the security zones. Something tells me this isn’t the first time he’s contemplated escaping.

15:04 - Oh shit. Daryl has an imaginary cell mate. I know that’s a serious mental illness and I shouldn’t laugh but OMG. The moment Martin realizes that Daryl is delusional is priceless. hahahaha

15:25 - How much to do want to bet Mr. David has a red key card? Martin’s grin confirms it.

15:40 - Wow. The classrooms in this high school are really big. I would’ve thought this fancy private school would have smaller class sizes.

15:49 - YES. OMG. Malcolm walking into that classroom soaking wet is golden. *chef’s kiss* Look at Gil’s face - it’s a mixture of concern and disbelief. He’s soooo worried about Malcolm right now. <3

16:07 - It’s a good thing Malcolm’s rich because that phone is never going to be useful again.

16:20 - ahhahahaha OMG. WTF. Gil’s little twinkle-finger wave is hilarious.

16:38 - This whole scene Gil is just staring at Malcolm with so much concern. It warms my cold, dead heart. <3

16:46 - Do you think Malcolm looked for his name in the book? Is it the same book? Do you think Brumback expelled enough kids that this is a new black book?

17:08 - Ok. So I immediately don’t like Louisa. That level of confidence and self-absorption is very unattractive.

17:25 - Louisa volunteers in the library. That’s how she got access to the poison.

17:35 - “Dude. You’re dripping.” “Yeah. Water does that.” Can Malcolm be this sassy every episode?!? I’m living for it.

17:57 - “Boys right? Oof” haha I love Malcolm talking to teenagers. I want it in every episode. ALSO - the jock’s story about the two girls - I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how that an expulsion level offence unless the kid is leaving something out of the story.

18:31 - Of course they talked about this before they came there. DELANEY WARNED THEM. But mostly to keep his little cheating ring hush hush.

18:55 - And just like that we’ve been blessed with Malcolm in casual clothes. Wish I could’ve seen Gil question Malcolm’s swim though.

19:26 - OMG. Edrisa is such a cute little nerd. <3 Protect her at all costs.

20:00 - Gil and Jessica arguing is amazing. I’m loving it and hating it. Because I want them to live happily ever after in a fairytale world but I do enjoy the drama.

20:06 - hahaha look at how Jessica just pushes Gil to the side and plows on to Malcolm. This woman is fierce.

20:11 - Yes. Yes Malcolm. Tell Mom she has unrealistic and insensitive expectations of you.

20:18 - What kind of school is this?!? The board of trustee members are buddy buddy with the students?!?

20:22 - “They’re all from impeccable families.” “So was I” Mic drop. Watch Malcolm drop the truth bombs. This is maybe the best line in this episode.

20:30 - “And just like you - none of them is capable of murder.” .....well this sentence is going to come back and bite Jessica in the butt later this season.

20:44 - The fact that these kids think Edrisa is a freshman is actually hilarious to me.

20:50 - OMG. “Welcome to boarding school. Bitch.” I was ready for Louisa to die right here. She just punched Edrisa and then called her a bitch. No no no. Edrisa is a quirky treasure and we must protect her.

21:00 - Damn. I wish we got to see the team’s reaction when they found out one of their teenage suspects assaulted their favourite M.E.

21:10 - Why is it soooo attractive when Malcolm wears casual shirts under a suit jacket?

21:53 - “My vote is for Louisa. The girl’s got a heavy fist.” hahaha I love Edrisa. SO SO much.

22:05 - Soooo is Jessica some sort of consultant now? They used her to interview cult extractors and now rich, teenage murder suspect. Is she the “rich person investigator” now?

22:11 - Does Louisa know that Malcolm is Jessica’s son?

23:04 - Louisa is a bad liar.

24:15 - Delaney should be ashamed. He told Nicky who Malcolm’s dad was. He is the reason that Malcolm got locked in a closet for 3 days. He is the reason Malcolm is claustrophobic. This man should have his teaching license seized and be charged with child abuse. What he did was absolutely despicable.

24:35 - “My mom’s sending a car.” It’s nice that Malcolm doesn’t always refer to Jessica as “mother”

25:00 - This is heartbreaking. I hope Nicky got expelled. If he didn’t - Malcolm experience a bigger injustice than we were lead to believe. Look at Nicky walking away from Malcolm. That kid has no remorse. I don’t blame Malcolm for seeking revenge. Malcolm keeps getting burned by people. Something had to give eventually.

25:30 - The biggest crime this episode committed is that we only saw Malcolm getting comfort from DELANEY. Honestly. Where was my papa Gil moment?!? Or a Dani+Malcolm moment?!?

25:51 - I doubt Delaney tried to stand up for Malcolm. He probably encouraged the expulsion.

26:05 - “Please.” Yikes. This has been torturing Malcolm for years. Who sold him out? Who ruined his last chance at a happy childhood? Who allowed him to be traumatized further? Who gave him the hand tremor (assuming we’re ignoring the S1 canon).

26:38 - What. A. Getaway. This school is full of crazy rich kids.

26:55 - “This time”?!? Doesn’t Martin always root for the killer?

27:05 - I love everything about this interaction between Martin and Malcolm. I love how upset Malcolm is. I love how Malcolm calls out Martin for being a bad dad. I love that Martin just sits there and takes it. Martin even looks a little sad. It makes me wonder - did Martin know about Delaney’s cheating ring? Did Martin manipulate Delaney into thinking Malcolm was a threat and convince him to get Malcolm expelled? I can see Martin doing it. If for no other reason than to tarnish the “Milton legacy” at Remington.

28:04 - UGH. I want to see how Malcolm got out of that closet SO BAD. Who found him? How close to death was he? PLEASE TELL ME IT WAS GIL. Why didn’t Jessica investigate when Malcolm didn’t show up at the Hamptons as planned?

28:13 - “How you wish that were true.” Ouch. Martin is a real asshole. He knows just how to destabilize Malcolm’s confidence.

28:56 - Even now, Martin is trying to manipulate Malcolm. Their relationship is so dysfunctional, beautiful, heartbreaking, and complex. I could watch them interact forever.

29:31 - Look at that little head shake from Mr. David. Martin’s cell is not soundproof. Mr. David heard everything. Mr. David always hears everything. Mr. David knows about Endicott. Istg.

30:12 - Delaney is a scumbag. He might not be a serial killer but he’s another male, adult asshole who gained Malcolm’s trust and then stabbed him in the back.

30:37 - OK. So I know, I’ve been hypothesizing that Mr. David is an ally to Martin’s crazy schemes, or that he worked for Endicott, or that Martin is going to try to kill Mr. David. BUT YO. IF MR. DAVID DIES I WILL THROW HANDS. HE’S SUCH A GREAT CHARACTER.

31:40 - This is a weirdly fancy room for video games. Also I miss JT. He should be here. I wish he was here. He would’ve been so good in this episode. Can you imagine his facial expressions and comments when he finds out little tidbits about Malcolm’s teenage past?! It would’ve been comedic GOLD. Couldn’t Tally give birth during a less interesting episode?!?!

32:15 - I’m convinced that Malcolm isn’t actually upset that Delaney’s crime is running the cheating ring. I think Malcolm’s upset because he just realized the only positive male role model (aside from Gil) that he had as a teenager was a manipulative liar who betrayed him. Malcolm just realized that this dude never cared about him and he’s crushed.

32:27 - Wait. Does Delaney make the kids pay him for the answers? Because that actually makes sense.

33:08 - This whole scene where Molly runs out of the back room and Dani says, “who are you running from?” is really cringey to me.

33:19 - Oh great. Now the guy who betrayed Malcolm is touching the back of Malcolm’s neck. JUST LIKE GIL DOES. Well....something tells me that’s going to taint how comforting Malcolm find’s that gesture coming from Gil for a while. Malcolm just isn’t allowed to be happy. Even for a moment. It’s a shame. I also love it.

33:40 - Awww...poor Malcolm is claustrophobic and he gets locked in the vault with a dying man. Look how desperate he is to get out of there - to save Delaney and to save himself more mental distress.

33:53 - Look at Malcolm panicking here. He tries to hide his panic as concern for Delaney but he’s clearly freaking out about being trapped in a smallish space.

34:25 - Yep. Malcolm didn’t think he could trust Daryl because Daryl is delusional. SO Martin threatens to murder Daryl and then metaphorically stabs the dude in the back. This is perfectly in character.

35:25 - Damn. Louisa is seriously mentally ill. She has zero empathy.

35:57 - Malcolm projecting his mental issues on the killer du jour is always simultaneously cringey and amazing to me.

36:26 - I’m not going to lie. Daryl screaming “He’s a Judas” as he was dragged away was hilarious.

37:04 - Holy shit. This took a turn. I’ll be honest - I don’t blame Malcolm for almost killing Nicky. But it does scare me.

38:35 - That story must have been haunting Malcolm for 15 years. I bet you he’s never told anyone not even Gabrielle. He’s had nightmares about it. Because he knows he’s capable of murder. Just like Martin. That terrifies Malcolm more than anything in the world.

39:12 - sooooo Delaney just heard that whole confession. Delaney lives. Something tells me this is going to be a problem for Malcolm when Endicott’s murder is investigated later in the season.

39:35 - “Are you insane?” “Maybe.” That’s it. That’s the show.

40:00 - Two questions: 1) Where is Dani? 2) Why does Gil not know where Malcolm is right now?

40:22 - Look Fedak screwed us over. We didn’t get to see Gil find Malcolm half-dead on the floor of that library vault. BUT this scene almost makes up for it.

40:24 - Malcolm wrapped in a blanket is so so cute. I just want to hug him. I want Gil to hug him. Ugh. <3

40:28 - I love that you can tell that Malcolm and Gil have had this sort of discussion about Malcolm’s sense of self-preservation numerous times in the past. Gil looks sooooo pissed. And concerned.

40:35 - Malcolm’s imitation of Gil makes me so so so so happy. I just. Ugh. It’s adorable. Look at how exasperated it makes Gil. Look at Dani’s reaction to it. This might be the greatest “found family”. scenes this show has given us to date.

40:55 - “All in a day’s work.” Oh yeah. Gil is super concerned about Malcolm’s mental state. Gil is Worried. I want to see more of it.

40:57 - I love that Dani just can’t wait anymore. She’s so precious. Look at how excited she is about JT’s baby. <3 I’m in love. She’s so soft here - it’s beautiful and rare for this show to let the audience see this side of Dani.

41:00 - GIL’S REACTION. <3 OMG. I LOVE HIM. HE LOOKS SO HAPPY. I HOPE JT AND TALLY DUB HIM THE BABY’S UNOFFICIAL GRANDFATHER.

41:02 - MALCOLM’S FACE. <3 <3 <3 IS THIS THE FIRST TIME HE’S EVER SEEN A BABY? HE’S SO ENAMORED WITH THIS CHILD ALREADY. LOOK AT HOW MUCH MALCOLM ALREADY LOVES JT’S KID. <3 <3 IT’S SO SOFT. I LOVE IT SO SO SO SO MUCH.

41:22 - I can’t decide about this scene. On one hand - I think it’s really mature of Malcolm to apologize to Martin. It’s a courtesy that Martin doesn’t deserve. ON THE OTHER HAND - I wonder if Malcolm is only apologizing to throw Martin off balance. I wonder if this is Malcolm’s attempt to manipulate Martin for once. Either way - I love it.

42:25 - Martin always gets the last word. He always worms his way into Malcolm’s brain and screws with Malcolm’s sense of self. I hate it. But I also find it so captivating.

43:05 - Sooooo is Martin committing the murder next episode? Or is he just manipulating someone else to commit a murder? Either way - I’m excited.

If you read this far - I’m flattered. I also think you’re a little crazy. But thanks for hanging out.

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