#teacher mumbo jumbo

[chillychive]

Having so much brain rot abt teacher Mumscarian so I’m gonna throw it at you lovely citizens of the inter webs:

- Grian is the part time art teacher who subs a lot at the school.

- Mumbo is the tech teacher who everyone is a little afraid of before they get to know him and realize he’s just a tall, intimidating goofball.

- Scar is an architect who is known for 2 things: Amazing architecture and his cat who he manages to mention in every single conversation regardless of topic. You could be talking to him about geothermal heating and he’d find a way to work in Jellie in something that made complete sense in the moment but was utterly bewildering upon reflection.

I accidentally wrote a fic, so here you go!:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grian sighed, heading to the main office to check his mailbox after a long day. He passed his sister, Pearl’s desk, on the way and paused.

It was utterly wrecked, piles and piles of papers decorating it. She was so stressed out at dinner last night…

He sat down. She could owe him for this one. He sorted through the papers, finishing the easy ones and making neat piles of the rest.

It was nearly 9 now, he was going to be late for dinner, but he knew Mumbo was finishing up some work- a student had wrecked their project in the rain by accident so he was painstakingly assembling a replica for them so they didn’t fail the class- so he wouldn’t be home for a while, either.

Mumbo’s love for his students was a big part of what Grian loved about him- it was hardly the first time Mumbo had gone far, far out of his way to help one of them- once he actually drove all the way to a student’s house to talk them through a project that would make or break their grade after they called him crying.

Partially to distract himself and partially to annoy Mumbo, Grian pressed the button on the intercom. Everyone would be out of the building by now, so he wasn’t worried about annoying anyone.

“Main office to Mumbo Jumbo, how are you, dearest?”

It only took a couple seconds for Mumbo’s reply. “Grian?! How-“ Grian could hear Mumbo’s smile in his voice, “You almost made me drop the whole project! I’d have to start from scratch!”

Grian laughed. “Sorry…”

“No you’re not.”

“Nope!” Grian grinned into the mic, squinting at the page in front of him. “Did you go to the assembly today?”

“Yep… had to go to the first one and the third.”

“The presenter was so hot.”

Mumbo laughed. “Seriously, the man was way too attractive for his own good.”

“And his cat was the cutest.”

“No, the cutest was how much he loved her.”

Grian grinned. “Okay, you’ve got me there. And his eyes, too.”

“What about them? I wasn’t close enough to see.”

“They were like this really vibrant shade of green- I’ve literally never seen someone with that color eyes before- and it perfectly complemented his suit too- I wondered about the maroon until I saw his eyes…”

Grian slowed his ramble, and Mumbo clearly noticed but didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, yeah, he was so hot.”

Mumbo laughed. “I’m nearly done here, but I have a lot of clean up to do, so I’m gonna go for a bit.”

“Okay! I’m just tidying in the office, so I’ll be here when you’re done.”

“Love you, Gri.” Mumbo said over the intercom, and Grian grinned, turning it off with a quick “Love you too.”

—-

Grian had finished cleaning Pearl’s desk and had moved on to his own papers when he was interrupted by the door opening.

“Ready to head home, babe?” He asked, not looking up.

Someone cleared their throat. “Sorry, just wanted to let you know I’m leaving…”

Well that definitely wasn’t Mumbo. Grian looked up.

“Oh.” His face was definitely burning. “I- sorry, can I help you?”

The man in front of him- a taller guy in a wheelchair, wearing a maroon suit with a cat snuggled into his lap. Grian drew his eyes up to his face, which was currently doing it’s best to color match the suit, to meet those startling green eyes.

“I’m Scar.” The man offered, rolling toward the desk. “Do I need to sign anything or can I just go?”

Scar’s voice was smooth, but his red face betrayed how flustered he was.

“Nope!” Grian squeaked.

“Hear that, Jellie? Time to go.”

Grian watched Scar’s rapidly retreating chair, cursing his bravery for what he was about to do. “Wait! There is something I need you to sign.”

Scar’s head turned quickly. In moments, he was in front of the desk again. Grian shoved the paper he had just written at him.

Scar read it, eyebrows raised. “This is a… non-disclosure agreement?”

“So you don’t tell everyone about what you overheard.” Grian explained, blushing.

Scar’s face stretched into a classic salesman smile. “Oh, but what if I want to tell someone?” He rolled closer. “I can think of a few things I’d like to say.”

Grian, stupidly, raised his chin at this. “Oh yeah?”

“How about, ‘Are you single?’” Scar asked, equally confident.

Grian frowned, pretending to ponder the question. He leaned forward, face inches from Scar’s. “I suppose that wouldn’t be a breach of contract…”

“Perfect.” Scar breathed. Grian started to lean in. Scar sat back in his chair, teasingly. “And what about the other fine fellow on the line? Would it be imprudent to ask about him as well?”

“Oh, not at all!” Grian grinned, sitting back in his seat. “In fact, I could call him right now, see if he has any objections to our little contract.”

“I think that would be quite appropriate.”

Grian turned on the intercom. “Mumbo Jumbo to the main office?” He turned it off again, leaving no room for Mumbo to protest.

“And now, would it be a breach of contract to suggest, say, dinner?” Scar asked, eyes gleaming.

“Actually, Mumbo and I are going for dinner soon… any objections to Thai?”

“That sounds amay-zing!”

It was that moment that Mumbo walked into the main office, tugging a backpack on wheels behind him. Mumbo stopped in the doorway seeing Scar. Behind Scar’s back, he mouthed to Grian “He’s been here the whole time?!”

“Ready to go?” Grian replied, standing and gathering his things. “We have a date.”

“Sorry, what?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[pixiesempire]

hi guys i had a dream that i had a book club with the girls of the secret life smp and we wouldn't let jimmy in because we didn't think he could read

so i made this tier list based on whether i would invite members of the slsmp to my book club :D

(( + the story we read first is the tale of the red winter 🙏 [i miss ren SO MUCH] ))

part one. ♡ part two , part three.

[keirawantstocry]

Grian is like that one history professor in high school or college that everyone thinks is gay but who actually has a wife, two kids, and a dog

[piglinmyfeet]

My year 9 English teacher was so mumbo jumbo core

He used to keep a spreadsheet of all his various suits and shoes and every day he wore them, he was such an icon also a really incredible teacher

[xinanigans]

Gonna do ALL my late work the day BEFORE the last day until thanksgiving break! This time I will NOT get distracted and NOT go off track and get a GOOD EIGHT to NINE HOUR SLEEP.

[12u3ie]

3 at most i think? you come off as super nice but also teacher-ly? like a cool english teacher who is kinda no-nonsense. man. english teachers

okay no one send in any more asks this is the best vibe check ive ever gotten thank you mumbo-killingmachine-jumbo

[cocopubpotato]

i have a single class tomorrow at 10 am and then an exam at 8:30 pm with nothing in between

and you think i could probably study in the middle of that but it kinda isnt enough time but im dissociating so badly trying to read the slides rn

[ficthots]

Blinded

A/N: Okay, this is one of I believe like three fics that I have had like 90% complete for ages and I finally got it done. Set up on a blind date with Josh? Yes, please. Oh and some smut of course, it's me, C'mon. As always let me know what you guys think and enjoy!

Warnings: 18+ Content Only. DNI if under 18. Smut.

Word Count: 7k+

There hits a certain point in life where the once exciting and glamorous life of dating fades away and becomes an utter nuisance. It can happen at different stages of life for everyone. Friends and relatives finding their person early in life and can abruptly halt the dating process by their early twenties. Others play the field throughout their younger years, not in a hurry to settle down with just one person, but end up finding the one when they least expect it.

Now where did that leave you?

Devoid of all hope in the dating pool. That’s where. No one seemed to believe you though when you made claims about being happy with where you stood relationship wise. To most people, you could only be truly happy when you were getting said emotion from another being in which you share every aspect of your soul with.

That sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you. You were content with just being with yourself despite others claiming it was actually just sad. In actuality it wasn’t sad in the least. Comfortable and content. Able to fully support yourself, in a career you loved, in an apartment you adored. What was there not to love?

According to your best friend Katie, a man to share some time with.

It’s why you were sitting alone at a dimly lit restaurant, sipping a glass of ice water, anxiously waiting for a complete stranger to occupy the open chair across from you. Given, you did arrive fifteen minutes earlier than you needed to, but your “date” was running a bit behind. 

Katie swore up and down that this person was going to change your outlook on relationships and how great of a guy he was. Josh. That was the name you were given. The only information you were given.

You were skeptical. First impression was he was running late and in your book that was a big no no. You were raised to always arrive preferably early and in the worst case scenario on time.

Eyes scanning the bustling restaurant, yours settled on a frazzled man standing at the hostess stand, his own eyes blown wide as his gaze settled on your table. Assuming she had informed him how long you had been sitting there, you felt slightly bad for him with how mortified he looked. Offering a small wave and shy smile in his direction, he nervously smoothed down his patterned shirt as he hurried to the table.

“Wow, I am so sorry, there was a major accident on the highway and I wanted to get here early,” you cut him off with a chuckle, the man out of breath from clearly having hustled to get there. “Don’t worry about it, I’m always early, I doubt you’re late at all.”

His smile grew at your obviously generous offer of peace to him. The waiter immediately approached the table, asking for a drink order. When he stated a request for two glasses of wine, you immediately spoke up. “Oh, actually none for me, thank you.” Brow furrowing and smoothing out right after, his cheeks tinted in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry,” he started, but you again cut him off with a reasonable explanation in hopes to get him to relax. “No, don’t apologize. It’s a school night is all,” realizing as you watched his shocked expression take over his features, you immediately started to speak quickly. “Oh my god, that sounded horrible. I mean I’m a second grade teacher, not that I myself am still in school.” 

Feeling heat creep up your neck, he laughed. His hand wiped at imaginary sweat on his brow. “Phew. Had me worried there for a second,” you both laughed at the joke, taking a moment to silently peruse the menu. Small talk filled the quiet space surrounding you two as you both said what looked appetizing. 

Politely placing your respective orders, once the safety of your menu was removed, you took a moment to really look at him for the first time as he gave the waiter his order. 

His clothes were slightly dressier than his normal attire you assumed given you were on a date. Hair was a bit different than normal. Shaved sides, but a clearly permed updo. Earrings adorning both sides. No tattoos you could visibly see. He was most definitely attractive. 

When his attention fully settled on you, he beamed. His entire face lit up with excitement as his eyes fully settled on you for the first time since sitting down. Knowing he was taking you in the way you had just done with him. It had you fighting the urge to nervously fidget.

Deciding to break the ice first, you settled your intertwined hands on the tablecloth, giving a kind smile to the man and clearing your throat. “So, Josh, how do you know Katie?” He mimicked your actions, diving into his recount of their relationship. 

“Katie’s partner, Ryan, is very good friends with my twin brother, Jake. Given Jake is my twin, I am also good friends with Ryan, hence me knowing Katie through him.” Mind racing a million miles a minute as you mentally tracked the relationship, he turned the same question to you.

Smiling into your glass as you recalled your time with Katie, adoration for your best friend and her being your safe haven over all of the years. “Well, I met Katie my freshman year of college. She lived directly across the hall from me in the dorms. My roommate and I did not get along and there was one night where she was coming back with laundry, heard us fighting, and took me to her room. She’s been my best friend ever since.”

Josh’s soft smile made your nerves slowly melt away. Despite having just met the man, you had never seen someone listen so intently to your stories. Not even your students. It seemed as though he wanted to keep listening to you because he prompted you once more.

“Okay so you met in college. You’re a second grade teacher, you said. How long have you been doing that? Do you enjoy it?” Heart leaping in your chest at just the thought of talking about your job, you fawned over it. 

Immediately diving in, he watched in awe at how much you truly loved your job. “So yeah, I do love it. Given, it’s only my second year having my own classroom, it’s just such a great experience. My first year out of school I was a sub while I took all my exams, but nothing beats having your own room. The kids are great. It’s just fun.” Realizing how long you had been droning on, you felt heat take over your features.

“And it just dawned on me how long I’ve been talking,” you both laugh at your enthusiasm, but he waves it off. “No, it’s great! Trust me, I love hearing about people's passions and what makes them tick.” 

Shooting him a grateful smile for being so kind about your babbling, you encouraged him to share as your food was placed in front of you. “Anyways, you’ve probably learned more about me then you ever wanted to so please, your turn. What do you do for work?” Taking a bite of the salad you had ordered, his head slightly fell.

Clearing his throat as he stumbled over his words, your brows furrowed about why he was so nervous to tell you what he did for work. Did he not work? Did he have a horrible job? Live at home with mom and dad?

“I, uh, I’m in a band.” Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, mouth slightly falling open. Ah, there it was. “A band, huh?” Trying to feign enthusiasm for his career, he didn’t know you well enough to know that the higher pitch of your voice was you trying to be nice and listen.

Nodding as he finished chewing a bite of his own dish, he spoke again. “Yeah, me and my brothers.” Wow as if it couldn’t be worse, he dragged his poor siblings into that mess. “Siblings? How many siblings do you have?” Trying to get off the topic of his horrid job, you wanted to be able to get through the rest of this dinner. 

“Four, okay well technically three, but I count Danny as a brother.” Giving a weary smile, you shook your head, a smile plastered to your features. “Danny?” When it dawned on Josh that you truly had no idea who he was, a breath of relief washed over him. 

He dove in, excited to share about all of his siblings, what they all did in the band apart from his sister who you were overjoyed to learn has a real job. Engaging in polite conversation for the remainder of dinner was your goal until you were going to be able to make your escape and annihilate Katie. 

As the night wrapped up, Josh paid the bill with no hesitation, escorting you out to your car and offering you a good night. He claimed he had a blast with you and honestly you had as well until you learned about his job choice. You needed to be with someone who had a stable job, not someone who was going around parading that he was in some band with his brothers.

How embarrassing, you thought to yourself as you drove home. 

Katie was at your apartment first thing on Saturday, ready to hear all the juicy details about how the evening had gone. “Okay, spill! Did you like him? Did you fall in love?” Her funny accent on the last word had you rolling your eyes, sipping on your coffee she had brought. 

“You’re an ass first of all,” you started with. Her face fell into a puzzled expression, not understanding what the problem was. “What? Why?” Looking at her like she had two heads, she was clueless as to why you were irritated with her. 

Leaning forward and placing your coffee on the table, you stared her down. “Katie, look I get that you think my love life is in desperate need of repair, but setting me up with a fucking loser is where I draw the line.” Her jaw fell slack, eyes nearly bulging out of her head. 

“I don’t understand! What happened? What did he do?” Crossing your arms, you leaned back on your couch. “It’s what he doesn’t do. He’s in a band for a living, Katie! The man doesn’t even have a real job! I mean him alone is one thing, but to rope his brothers into that mess, too? His poor parents.”

Sipping your drink, you jumped when her cackle echoed off the walls. She was clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m glad you think it’s hilarious, but I am offended.” As she calmed down, she took her phone from her pocket. 

“Birdie, did he tell you his band name?” You tried to recall, knowing he had, but you were more interested in your dinner than him at that point. “I mean, yeah, but it was weird.” Flipping her screen to show you, there he was on a Spotify page with his siblings. 

You were fairly certain your eyes fell out of your skull when you saw their monthly listener amount was over five million. Immediately going to her Instagram, you saw their band page had over a million followers, his face plastered all over the page. 

Putting your head in your hands, you felt nauseous as she continued to cackle next to you. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the hell is the matter with you?” Grabbing the throw pillow from behind your back, you repeatedly hit her with it. 

“What? What did I do?” She asked as you stood, beginning to pace in your living room. “You couldn’t have given me a heads up? Instead you just put me in the lion's den with an actual celebrity!” She shrugged at your words. “If I did tell you, you wouldn’t have gone.”

Your eyes squeezed shut, feeling a migraine coming on. Replaying everything you had told him and embarrassment pummeling you as you replayed the events from the other night. “Still think he’s a loser, birdie?” 

Silently shaking your head, your gaze panned to her, worry on your features. “Yeah no, he thinks I’m the loser for sure. He probably thinks I’m the most boring person in the entire world.” Her lips sucked into her mouth, beginning to ask her questions. 

“Tell him you’re a teacher?” One nod. “How your main hobby is being the neighborhood bird lady?” Another nod. “And how you have a hobby slash craft bag with you at all times?” A final nod. She offered a shrug, a smile peeking on her lips. 

You couldn’t have been more mortified with how the date had gone. Honestly, it was the worst case scenario in your book. You were one hundred percent positive you were never going to hear from him again. 

Until Katie called you on your lunch break the following Monday. “Josh is totally in love with you!” She offered no other greeting apart from her exclamation, causing you to nearly choke on your sandwich.

Setting it down on your desk, you swallowed your bite, wiping your mouth with your napkin. “What? What are you talking about?” She immediately spewed all the information she had. According to her and Ryan, the night he got home from the date he dished out to Jake how smitten he was with you. How taken he was with you. That he wanted another date immediately. 

Sitting in total shock, she texted you his contact information and there it sat, staring at you as you got off the call with her. Katie said she didn’t want to set up the next date, that the ball was entirely in your court. If you want to go out with him again, text him. If not, ignore it and delete it from your phone. 

Gnawing on your lip, you sat on it for the rest of the school day. When you got home, you thought about it some more. Finally deciding, what the hell there was nothing to lose, you sent him a basic message. 

Not expecting a response from him that night, let alone at all, you were floored when your phone immediately dinged with a response. That was just the beginning.

You had never been on your phone as much as you were in the two weeks following your first text to him. It was constant back and forth, postponing your next date because of his travel plans and him knowing how you really did not enjoy going out on school nights, which he thought was adorable. 

When you finally were able to see him again, it was in an entirely different setting. With Katie standing next to you, Ryan to her other side, you were watching the show of a lifetime. Being able to hear him sing and perform the way he was able to was heartstopping. He and his brothers were so talented it was hard to fathom how much they had done to get to this point. 

It was one of the best nights you had ever had. Seriously, it was unlike anything you had ever seen before which was sparse to begin with, but now had set a standard you didn’t even know existed. 

Wobbling in nerves and excitement to see him following the conclusion of the show, you were overjoyed when he appeared. His expression was ten times more excited than yours which was saying a lot based on how you were currently feeling.

Sweeping you into a big hug, you laughed as he spun you around lightly. It was just you two in this wing of the tunnel, him saying this was the only area where you would have a moment of peace. “Birdie! What did you think of the show? No, wait, don't tell me yet. You can tell me at dinner after. Do you want to go get dinner? Everyones dying to meet you, so maybe after that, yeah?” 

He was speaking so quickly, you could only imagine how fast paced his own thoughts were. Only able to nod in somewhat understanding before he dragged you away, your stomach was a mess of butterflies as his cold hand enclosed with yours, leading you in the correct direction.

After a tiresome round of introductions, telling everyone how much you enjoyed the show, stating it was a pleasure meeting everyone, you finally had some quiet reprieve. Sitting in a diner booth, Josh opposite you, sharing fries and a shake, you giggled as he told you how nervous he was for the show tonight knowing you were watching.

As you went to gush about another part of the spectacle that you enjoyed you were interrupted by a group approaching your table. “Hi, we’re so sorry to bug you two, but we were just at your show! We are huge huge fans. Can we get some pictures and an autograph?” The group squealed as Josh slid out of the booth, engaging in easy chatter with them as he signed various things, took a bunch of photos and selfies, taking an extra minute to speak, reality set in.

Josh was a celebrity. He wasn’t just some guy that Katie had set you up with. No, he was an entire public entity that you really didn’t comprehend until just then. Sitting silently in a booth as he took fifteen to twenty minutes to engage with fans. It was amazing that he was so wonderful with them, but as each minute ticked by it was another minute of silent thought.

Of realizing that if you dated him or continued dating him, this was going to be your norm. A world you didn’t understand. One where you weren’t sure you were entirely comfortable with being approached on a night out time and time again while trying to enjoy some much needed time together. 

A stone sat in the bottom of your stomach, forcing a smile back on your face as he finally sat back down. He didn’t ask outright what was wrong, but he noticed the mood change almost immediately despite how well you were playing it off. 

There it went. The possibility of a great relationship with a guy who you knew you would have some amazing potential with. Why couldn’t things ever go your way? 

That night as Josh dropped you off at your apartment, you told him that. How you weren’t sure this was a lifestyle you could live with and be comfortable with. Losing all sense of privacy because of who your partner was. 

Despite how sad your confession made him, Josh understood. This life was not for everyone. Did that mean he was going to stop talking to you? Absolutely not. You were elated when he asked if he could at least maintain a friendship with you. 

Katie on the other hand needed more convincing. She knew how well you two got along, so ending a chance of a romantic relationship boggled her mind entirely. “It’s too much. It’s wildly intimidating. I can’t be in the public eye like that, Katie. That’s just not for me,” you told her on the phone during another lunch break.

She sighed on the other end of the call. “No, no, I get that, I do. But I don’t know, I just feel like there could be something with you two.” When you remained quiet for a beat too long, she knew you were thinking the same thing. 

Little did you know, this was just the start. The start of what you may ask? The endless pursuit Josh was about to be on to get you to change your mind. He wasn’t going to pressure you, but he was certain that if he could get you to spend enough time with him, it was going to be a piece of cake.

It’s why you agreed to open your home to him on a Friday night as you graded this past week's homework packets. Claiming on the phone when he asked to come over that you were engrossed with work and how easy it was to fall behind if you didn’t get things like this done immediately. He didn’t mind. 

In fact, he said it was perfect. How he had work he needed to get done as well and you two could enjoy one another's company as you worked side by side. He also assured you that he would provide takeout for the evening because you cannot work on an empty stomach. That’s how you ended up on one end of the sofa and him on the other, legs brushing against each other as you extended them out on the couch.

A quiet chuckle left your mouth as you reached page five in one student's packet. Josh’s head immediately looked up in your direction, one of the first words spoken all evening. “What’s so funny?” Flipping the packet over so he could see, his brow furrowed in confusion as to what he was looking at. 

“The assignment was to draw a character from one of their books on their reading log this week. She read Junie B. Jones and that is supposed to be Junie herself,” snorting as his jaw fell slack, he tried to play it off. “Well,” he flipped back to the front page before going back, “Stacy here has quite the imagination. Really took some creative liberty, huh?” 

Before long, you and Josh were on the same side of the couch, going through each packet and seeing how your other students had done with their drawings. His commentary is what really had you bursting at the seams, hand clutching your stomach from the cramps that were happening.

He took another bite of his spring roll as he finally caught his breath. “Oh god, you would love Steven. Seriously, he is such a talented boy. He’s been doing figure skating since he was three and man he has such an energy around him, it’s amazing to see.” Josh’s smile lit up his face, seeing how much you knew about your students and how you truly cared for them.

As you two finished working for the night and wrapped up, Josh left your home that evening having fallen for you even more. How that was even possible, he had no clue, but he had. It was frustrating. His entire plan revolved around him getting you to fall for him, but each time you spent time together he felt himself slipping more and more for you. 

You would never admit it to him outright, but when he told you he was going to be gone for the next two weeks for work things he had to handle, you were sad. Over the previous weeks, you two had been spending quite a bit of time together. 

Getting used to him being around, even on school nights, was not helping your case. Having to remind yourself why you weren’t with him to begin with was becoming more and more difficult as time went on. Especially because you didn’t see him in that context ninety-nine percent of the time, it was easy to fall for just Josh. Not the Josh who was the frontman for a globally known rock band. 

Him being gone for a couple of weeks was like being splashed with cold water. Drenching you in the reality of who he was and what his career entailed. It was easy to forget all of that when he helped you grade science projects and shopped for craft supplies with you. 

What didn’t help was how often you two kept in contact while he was gone. It was torture being up in front of your students and knowing your phone was buzzing up a storm in your top desk drawer and having to wait until recess break to respond. 

Katie thought it was adorable. Confessing to her more than once that your feelings were becoming too much too fast, she told you to lean into them. To forget the main aspect of who Josh was and to just focus on the man he was when he was with you. It was easy to follow that advice and honestly you did. Yet, when something for his band would pop up it was a slap in the face to the reality of the situation.

When he finally returned home after his prolonged absence, you were over the moon when he picked you up for dinner on the night of his return. Rushing out to his car, he was waiting for you on the passenger side, sweeping you into a huge embrace.

“There’s my birdie girl,” he spoke softly into your hair, arms wrapped so tightly around your waist it would’ve hurt with anyone else, but not Josh. All doubts and worries seemingly melting away at that moment. 

As you sat in the passenger seat and he drove you to your location, you knew you needed to play this better. As you arrived at your location, Josh having filled you in on the details of his trip on the way, you narrowed your eyes at the building.

“This is awfully date like, Josh,” you spoke, but he waved you off immediately. “Absolutely not,” you two walked in the front doors together and were greeted by the typical look of a dive bar, a small bowling alley in the back. 

Sitting at a high top table, he sighed, a big grin on his face as his dagger earring swayed from his movement. “I would never take a date here. A friend, though? Absolutely,” shrugging and playing into his game, you perused the menu. “Well then since we’re friends you won’t mind seeing me eat then.”

Josh’s smile only grew at your words, accepting the challenge you were putting out to him. As the waitress approached your small two top table, you immediately placed your order. “I would like a Coors Banquet, your double bacon cheeseburger with no lettuce or onion, the loaded garlic fries, and,” you trailed off at the end, looking over the dessert menu, “oh, and once I’ve finished that, a slice of your New York cheesecake.”

Giving her a large smile as you handed the menu over, you turned to Josh to see him grinning. “Just a veggie burger with sweet potato fries and I will also have a Coors Banquet,” he handed her the menu, thanking her by name and eyeing you. “Surprised you’re drinking tonight,” he said as he tied his straw wrapper into a knot.

Offering a shrug, your chin tipped high. “It’s Friday, I’m allowed one.” As you two waited for your order, you told Josh all about how your school week had been. “I’m just so stressed about it because Mrs. Thompson in the front office is making such a big deal about field day for my class and I have it under control, but she is really pressuring me about getting more chaperones. I already have three, which is more than the other lower grade classes have. I know she’s just pressuring me because I’m the youngest, but it’s stressful.”

He listened as you vented, but spoke up right away. “I’ll chaperone. Hell, I might even be able to get my brothers to do it, too.” You shook your head. “No, I don’t want you to do that. No one wants to volunteer their free time to go watch and help with booths for a bunch of kids they don’t even know.”

Rolling his eyes, his tongue darted out to wet his lips before taking a swig of his beer. “Fine then just me. Let me help you. You’ve been talking about how stressed you are for field day nonstop for weeks. I can help, birdie, really and I’d like to.” Sitting in quiet thought for a moment, you gave in.

“Really?” His hands enclosed around yours on the tabletop. “Absolutely.” Feeling a smile take over your face, your food was placed in front of you moments after. You both demolished your food, hungrier than you even realized, but Josh was eyeing the bowling alley. 

Seeing where his eyes kept darting to, you gave in. “Fine, we will play one game!” Needing something to sweeten the deal, you both bet on the loser having to pick up the check. What Josh did not expect was you to be a borderline professional bowler. 

As he stared at the screen and the massive points difference, you smiled triumphantly. “Did I ever tell you that I did bowling in high school, did a league with my grandparents, and nearly accepted a college scholarship for bowling?” He whirled around, shock taking over his face.

“You hustled me! You’re a hustler.” Reaching behind you and grabbing the check off the table, you extended it towards him. “Maybe, maybe not. I believe this belongs to you, sir.” He snatched it from your hands, leaving cash before dragging you out of his favorite place. 

When you arrived back at your apartment, you sat in his car, seeing him eye you. “What’re you doing for the weekend?” You sighed, grabbing your list from your purse. “Craft shopping. Need to get a jump on field day.” 

Without you having to ask, he grabbed his own phone and you watched as he canceled plans with other friends. “Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at ten, sound good?” You couldn’t fight the smile taking over your face. 

Leaning over the center console, you gave him a small peck on the cheek. “Yeah, thanks, Joshy.” As you got out of the car and spared one glance at him, his face was beat red. A small chuckle escaped your throat as you headed inside. 

The amount of time you and Josh were spending together was growing exponentially. It was rare when there was a time he wasn’t near or around you. His siblings knew that if he were MIA and they called nine times out of ten, he was going to be with you. 

Whether it was being at your apartment nightly to do “work”, sitting in your classroom with you for lunch, going out to dinner every weekend, it never failed that he was with you. It was becoming normal for you to expect him to be around, too. Knowing it was going to like clockwork, he would show up at your classroom door at 11:09 at least once a week, lunch in hand.

The office ladies knew him so well now that when he would show up, his guest name tag was already filled out, and the front door unlocked for him to go through. It wasn’t rare for him to have a little treat for them as well. 

What was getting old was the constant bombardment of opinions from everyone. Your coworkers, Katie and Ryan, your parents, even Josh’s siblings were all pushing for the relationship to actually happen. It didn’t matter what excuse you gave them, it wasn’t good enough.

It was getting harder to make yourself believe them, too. Your initial reasoning was beginning to fade, trying to make yourself see that the Josh that was a public figure wasn’t around you very often if at all. It was also worth noting that it was because they were on a small recovery session between albums and tours.

Knowing that in just a month's time he was going to be fully embedded in that world again was sitting heavy on your chest. These feelings that you have never experienced with or for someone else were intense, but it was difficult wrapping your head around the idea that he was going to be snapping into a different persona soon. 

Sooner than you wanted.

Instead, you opted to soak up the time you did have with him. In any way you could. Which was why you were sitting in his massive home, watching him clean up his kitchen after having cooked you one of the best meals you had ever eaten in your life. Since it was a Saturday night, you were three glasses of wine deep since your arrival, getting ready to pour yourself a fourth. 

A smirk appeared on your lips as Josh denied topping your glass off for another time. “What, afraid you’ll get me too drunk?” His cheeks pinkened at your words, immediately shaking his head. “No, no, of course not. Can’t believe you would assume such a thing.” He scoffed, making you chuckle into your nearly empty glass.

Watching him as he fidgeted on his end of the couch, within touching distance if you would just stretch your hand out. Feeling the softness of his curls twine into your fingers. The warmth radiating from his neck as your lips trailed along his rapidly beating pulse. 

Perhaps it was the liquid courage, but you were wiggling in your seat. The thick seam of your jeans pushing just right on your aching core if you could move in the correct fashion. You were far too gone to notice how entirely obvious you were being, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

All your thoughts were centered around how Josh’s veiny hands were trying to mask the growing bulge in his already too short khaki shorts. How you were quite certain if you leaned forward ever so slightly and if he had himself positioned right, you would be able to see his weeping tip resting against his thigh. 

Setting your glass on his coffee table, you inched closer to him. What you didn’t realize was that without noticing it, you were practically on his lap as is. Which is why he was beat red, sweat beginning to glisten on his brow, a slight tremble in his hands that failed to mask his clear arousal. 

Your hands were already in his locks, tugging ever so often, a cascade of whimpers sounding from the back of his throat. Eyes struggling to remain open and focused on whatever program you had long forgotten about.

“Do you like this, Joshy? Being touched?” Your hand softly glided over his cloth covered erection, him putting up no fight to block your advances. His adam’s apple bobbed at your words, surprised that you were so willing to take control like this. 

Cupping your hand around him, a moan escaped in a breath between his teeth. “Very impressive if I do say so myself.” You murmured into his ear, but he couldn’t respond in words. Unable to form even a semblance of a cohesive thought. 

Lips being continuously moistened as his tongue darted out repeatedly, almost a nervous tick you memorized. Finally catching it right, you leaned in, capturing his tongue in your own mouth. Josh put up no fight, immediately letting you forcefully put your lips on his.

In a hurried mess of removing clothing, not having moved an inch from your positions on the couch, you both sat naked, sweat glistened bodies colliding together. Your hips writhed on his, forcing you to continue your movements, chasing your releases. 

Hands digging into his shoulder blades, fingers tightly holding onto the curls at the nape of his neck, feeling him nestled deep inside you in a way you couldn’t recall ever feeling before. His mouth ever chasing your own and your tits that bounced in his face with every movement you made.

His own hands left imprints deep on your ass cheeks, bruising indentations. As you felt your orgasm slam into you, your body shook with force. Josh’s arms wrapped securely around you to keep you upright, he having finished just moments before. 

The rest of the evening was spent tangled with one another on the sofa, under a blanket that had been draped over the back of his cushion. Worth more than you probably saw in three months paychecks, but for this fleeting moment you let yourself fall into the ideas.

Of what might be able to be. Seeing his blushy cheeks as he peered down at you from above, a smile never falling, fingers tracing every inch of you they could. Falling asleep right next to each other, him pressed tightly against your bare back, arm draped over you. 

The tv drowning out any noise for the remainder of your time. What you tried to get off your mind was the quiet conversation had occurred. Where Josh had asked you why not.

Why not give this a try? Why not be together for real? Why continue to deal with this ridiculous attempt at friendship? Your response hadn't been what he was expecting.

That the reason why was because you were intimidated. Not by him, you had clarified, but by his life. That you were terrified of his entire world. Not sure you were up for that task.

He had dropped it immediately despite how sad it made him feel. Letting you get rest for the remainder of the evening. You left the next morning before Josh woke up.

After what had happened you and Josh had hardly spoken. Terrified that what progress you had made with him as a friend had gone out the window diminished when you saw him appear at your classroom door early on field day morning.

To make it better, adorning the t-shirt he had told you he would never be caught dead wearing on the off chance it could leak to the media. It would ruin his cool guy reputation he claimed. You had only rolled your eyes in response, but now you felt tears welling in them instead. 

“You came,” you sniffled as he tilted his head at you. “Of course I did. I would never let my favorite teacher down. In case you didn’t know, I was a teacher's pet during my time in school and that never leaves you even as you grow up.” You wiped at your eyes, not believing him. 

“Really?” He shook his head, bottom lip pushing out. “Not at all, but I’m trying to get brownie points here so work with me.” You both laughed and you couldn’t help yourself as you crossed the room, throwing yourself into a tight embrace.

His hands rubbed soothing circles on your back before pulling back wiping at your eyes. “Alright, no more tears. Don’t need the kids seeing you a mess. Where do you need me, birdie?” A large smile took over your face as you turned and began giving directions.

The entire day while tiresome went off without a hitch. Every booth was packed with kids of all ages, prizes awarded, games played, and a wonderful close to the school year. Even though you had been more than occupied all day, you couldn’t help but look over to Josh every chance you could. 

Seeing him interact with your students and kids of all ages had your stomach in a mess of butterflies. He was a natural with them. It wasn’t long before other students were asking him to help with their activities or be their partner for different challenges and games. 

He took it in stride, letting them pull him in a million different directions. You could tell as the day came to a close, all booths packed and cleaned, sorting items in your classroom that he was exhausted, but still had that signature Josh smile on his face. 

“Okay, it was your first field day. How’re you feeling?” You asked, putting empty glitter pens in the trash. A long sigh escaped his lips, leaning against one of the open desks. “I don’t know how you do this everyday. You are a saint.” You laughed with a shrug. 

“Eh, it’s not so bad. It’s the end of the school year so they have an energy they typically don’t during the year. It’s fun seeing how much they’ve grown in just a handful of months though. Kids are amazing,” Josh spoke up right after. 

“No, you’re amazing. They wouldn’t be growing like that if it weren’t for the superheroes you guys truly are. It’s all you guys,” you felt pride shoot through your veins at his statement. Murmuring a small thank you at his kind words, you finished your task. 

Clearing your throat, you knew it was now or never. “You know, I did hear a rumor today.” His eyebrows show up, quickly glancing up at you as he wiped down desks. “Oh yeah?” You gave back a head nod. “Yeah. Something about a teacher having a crush on one of the chaperones.” 

Josh stopped wiping the desk, standing upright and crossing his arms over his chest. “Is that so? Cause I heard a rumor during the three-legged race that one of the chaperones has a crush on a certain teacher.” 

Playing along, you leaned back against your own desk as he slowly crossed the room to you. “Is that so?” His expressive facial expressions had you giggling. “Totally. Apparently, and this is just rumors,” you cut him off, “Of course.” He chuckled, still moving towards you. “Apparently, he’s been chasing her for months now.” 

Feigning surprise, you continued. “Months you say?” He nods, earrings moving with his movements. “Months. Ever since their first date and even though she keeps trying to push him away he just keeps falling harder for her each time.” 

A sad, but soft smile adorns your lips. His hands find home on your hips, pulling you towards him. “Maybe it’s because she’s insecure about who she’s with. She’s a teacher who makes dirt for money, spends all of her time with seven and eight year olds, and is a self proclaimed neighborhood bird lady.”

His head tips back as he laughs, adams apple bobbing. “Well then it’s a good thing I make good money, I basically am a seven or eight year old depending on who you ask, and love that you’re the bird lady.”

Her eyes narrow as she wraps her arms around his neck. “You’ll have to help me here, Josh. Really, I feel like I’m getting in over my head.” He quells your worries right there as he pulls you to him, lips connecting in a soft kiss. 

“Don’t worry, I can teach you a thing or two about this if you can help me with my times tables.” You fall into a mess of laughter, but the tint on his cheeks lets you know he’s serious. “No, really. When we were grading their homework packets it was embarrassing how often I had to use my calculator.” 

Nodding, your head nudges to your desk. “I have some spares for you to practice on.” He laughs, head falling forward as he does.

“Okay good. Just don’t let Sam see them. He’ll never let me live it down.” 

[liminal-space-lesbian]

Loser IV

Pairing: Enid Sinclair x fem!reader

Warnings: Mutual pining, scary Wednesday, bullying / harassment, the d slur, physical violence, blood, panic attack, mentions of police and EMS

Summary: During a field trip to Pilgrim World you and Enid are paired up for volunteering. Things are going well until a group of boys decide to harass Enid.

Words: 3,659

Part One // Part Two // Part Three

a/n guyssss this is kinda bad ngl... I got carried away but OH WELL. Also any legal stuff I mention is all mumbo jumbo bc I have no clue how any of that works so just ignore it please 🫶

The days following your confession to Enid were... awkward to say the least. Though you both had promised things could go back to normal there was a tension between the two of you. You caught Enid staring at you more than once during Vampire biology, and you weren't quite sure what to make of it.

Today wasn't the day to worry about it however, considering you and your classmates were on a field trip of sorts to Pilgrim World to... volunteer? You weren't really paying attention during the announcement so you weren't even sure. All you knew was that getting away from Nevermore for a change of scenery was just what you needed for a distraction.

Or so you thought.

Apparently your teacher was pairing up students for their tasks of the day, and you were paired with none other than Enid. Perfect.

"Ready, partner?" Enid asks, bouncing up to you excitedly and looping her arm through yours. You stiffened at the contact, your heart skipping a beat at the warmth of her arm against yours. Her smile faltered as she noticed you tense, trying to casually release your arm. The atmosphere between you was awkward now. Great.

"Ready as I'll ever be. What are we even supposed to do anyways?" You ask, trying to diffuse the tension as you begin walking side by side. Enid lets out an agitated sigh, rolling her eyes.

"We get the boring job. We have to check tickets at the entrance." Enid says with a groan, purposefully dragging her feet as she casts a forlorn glance at you. You can't help but chuckle at her antics.

"Well at least you'll have good company." You say with a cocky grin, causing her to smile, pink tinging her cheeks. You felt your heart stutter in your chest. 'Wait, was that flirting? Did I accidentally just flirt with her? Oh God I hope I didn't weird her out.' You think frantically as you turn your gaze ahead.

"Mm that's true. I do think I got the best volunteer buddy for the day." Enid says with a wide smile, her eyes glittering with mischief and something almost like affection. You had to look away from her gaze or else you'd stare for too long. 'Why is she so pretty, oh my God.' You thought as you felt your cheeks burn.

"Oh hey, are you guys the Nevermore volunteers?" A young man with a scruffy beard and messy blond hair asked with a half smile. You nodded, stuffing your hands in your pockets.

"Yep that's us. Are you like our adult supervision for the day?" You asked, eyeing the pamphlets in his hands. He barks out a laugh, causing you to flinch slightly.

"Well, something like that. I'm not gonna be here to supervise much though, you're taking over my job for the day. I'll show you the ropes, and if you need anything I'll be in the lounge." He explains simply, handing you some pamphlets and a hole punch to Enid.

"It's simple, you," he points at Enid, "take a look at the tickets and make sure the date and price is correct, then hole punch the upper right corner like this." He demonstrates on a ticket he pulls out of his pocket, then he turns to you. "And you hand out the pamphlets, which is basically more information on Pilgrim World and also a map of the grounds. Easy peasy." He says, patting you on the shoulder and flashing you a smile. "Well I'm off, goodluck." And with those words he was gone.

You turn to Enid, only to already find her staring at you wide eyed.

"Well that was... a less than ideal introduction." You say, stifling a chuckle at Enid's distraught expression.

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it. We totally got this though, how hard can it be? Like he said, easy peasy." She says, shrugging her shoulders as she tries to stay optimistic, turning to face the entrance as a few people approach with their tickets.

"Hi! Welcome to Pilgrim World!" She says in her usual enthusiastic tone, causing you to smile. This day was gonna be a peace of cake.

~ ~ ~

Oh how wrong you were. After about an hour of standing in the hot sun waiting for people to arrive, this job was looking very bleak. Pilgrim World wasn't as popular of an attraction as it used to be, if it was ever popular to begin with. You were simply standing there sweating miserably, and you now understood why that guy was so eager to leave you two to this job.

"Well this sucks." You say with a sigh, wiping sweat off your forehead. Enid chuckles, gently pushing your shoulder with hers.

"Hey, don't be so negative. I mean we've already been here for," she checks her phone for the time and blanches, "forty minutes?" She nearly shouts in astonishment, her expression crumpling. "Oh my gosh we're going to actually die here." She dramatically says in despair. You couldn't help but laugh, causing her to playfully pout at you.

"Hey, how about I run and grab us some water from the fridge inside? A cool drink will probably make this a bit more bearable." You offer, and Enid turns to you with wide eyes. She grabs you by the shoulders and looks in your eyes seriously.

"At this very moment in time I wouldn't love anything more than a cold water." She says in a dead serious tone and you stifle a laugh, gently patting the hands that rest on your shoulders.

"Yes ma'am! Think you can hold down the fort while I run and get them?" You ask, wiggling your eyebrows playfully as you gesture to the empty queue. She scoffs, playfully pushing you in the direction of the lounge.

"Yes, I am more than confident that I can handle it." She says with an eyeroll and you giggle as you scurry off to get some water. You let out a relieved sigh as you enter the cool ac of the lounge. The guy who was supposed to be supervising you was lying on one of the couches, dead asleep. You chuckle softly as you open the fridge and grab two chilled bottles of water. You turn around to head back outside only to be met with Wednesday standing right behind you.

"Holy shit." You nearly scream, flinching back from Wednesday sharply. The girl doesn't react, simply staring at you with the same intense dead eyed stare.

"What are you doing?" She questions, her tone cold. You feel goosebumps rise on your arms from the intensity of her stare, and you swallow nervously.

"I'm getting water for Enid and I, since it's hot in the sun." You explain, voice shaking embarrassingly as Wednesdays eyes narrow. There is a tense silence for a moment before Wednesday takes a minuscule step closer to you, causing you to take a step backwards, nearly bumping into the fridge.

"Enid cares about you. I can't even begin to understand why, considering you are nearly as unremarkable as a drop of water amidst the ocean. However you are important to her, considering you're nearly all she ever talks about. So I shall give you a single warning." She leans closer to your personal space and you lean backwards away from her, heart racing in fear at her unblinking gaze. 'How does she never blink? It's like she has creepy soulless doll eyes.' You think as her dark eyes bore into your soul.

"If you hurt her, I will eviscerate you and strangle you with your own intestines." Wednesday says, her tone clear and colder than ice. You shiver, and nod, not trusting your voice. There is another moment of tense silence before Wednesday turns on her heel and leaves you alone, heart still hammering in your chest.

"What the hell was that?" You whisper to yourself, blinking at the space Wednesday occupied only moments before. What did she mean, Enid cares about you? She talks about you all the time? You couldn't help feeling a flicker of happiness at the thought. You shake your head, quickly leaving the lounge and heading back to Enid. You'd unpack your encounter with Wednesday later, right now you needed to get back to Enid.

As you approached, you noticed three guys standing a bit too close to Enid for comfort. You could see the jeering smiles on their faces before you heard their voices, and you felt adrenaline begin to flood your system as you approached.

"Isn't this the little werewolf chick from Nevermore?" One of them drawls, pinching the shoulder of Enid's blazer, causing her to lean away from him.

"Yeah I think so. She's the one who can't even shift though, right? Like some sort of runt or something." One of the other boys taunts, reaching over to tug at a piece of Enid's dyed hair.

"Hey, what's going on here?" You announce your presence loudly, shoving your way through the boys to stand beside Enid, placing your body between them. Your tone is cold and your expression is serious as you stare down the boy who touched Enid's hair.

"Tsk, chill we're just trying to get her number." The boy lies, a disgusting smile curving at his lips as his eyes drift from you to Enid, who was still standing slightly behind you. You shift your body to shield her from his gaze.

"Well she's not interested. So either show me your ticket or fuck off." You say, your voice hard as you grit your teeth. He raises his eyebrows at you, a scoff leaving his lips as he glances at his friends for support, who chuckle as well.

"Oh, what, is she your girlfriend or something? Damn, can you imagine being a dyke and a Nevermore freak?" He directs his question to his friends, who jeer and laugh along with him.

"Hey!" Enid protest from behind you, but you cut her off, wrinkling your nose in disgust as you stare him down.

"Seriously dude? Grow up." You snap, your tone laced with distaste. The kid straightens up to his full height, trying to loom over you and intimidate you. Your heart pounds nearly painfully in your chest with fear, but you keep your exterior calm.

"Or what? What even are you anyway, a vampire or some shit? Gonna bite me?" He taunts, and you stare at him with an unimpressed look.

"You're really fucking pathetic, you know that?" You say, anger flaring in your chest now. 'Can't this douchebag just leave us alone? God, why is he so entitled.' You think as your grind your teeth.

"What'd you just say?" He asks in a threatening tone, stepping into your personal space. You hold your ground, meeting his gaze. Your pulse roared in your ears and you felt Enid's hand grip the back of your blazer tightly.

"Oh, are you deaf or just stupid?" You taunt, feeling a shred of satisfaction at the way his expression contorts with anger. You see the way his hands ball into fists and you gently reach behind you, pushing Enid away from you.

Just as you expected the boy shoved you hard in the chest, causing you to stumble backward. Enid cried out your name but you ignored her. He had put his hands on you, now you could beat the shit out of him.

You drop the bottles of water into the dirt and fly at him, driving your elbow into his face. He stumbles back with a grunt, but before you can land another hit one of his friends grabs your arms and wrenches them behind your back. He lifts you up painfully, forcing you to stand on your tiptioes as your shoulders strain under the angle he has your arms pinned at.

"Fucking whore." The boy spits, punching you across the face. Your head snaps to the side but you hardly feel the pain from the adrenaline in your system. You don't know where the third boy is, too focused on the one holding your arms. Your punched in the face again and you twist and writhe, trying to escape the firm grasp on your arms.

Suddenly you're released and sent sprawling into the dirt face first. You scramble to your feet and glance behind you to see Wednesday standing over the boy who had been holding your arms. You turn back to the one who had punched you and lunge. You slam your shoulder into his stomach and tackle him to the ground. He gasps for breath as the wind is knocked out of him. Before he can recover you are slamming your fist into his nose repeatedly. Your vision narrows, solely focusing on continuously hitting him. Your heartbeat roars in your ears and rage seems to fill every inch of your body. 'How dare he harass Enid? How dare he say those things about her?' Your mind repeats this like a mantra as you continue hitting him.

Suddenly someone is dragging you off of him, shouting at you. You shove them away, trying to claw your way back to him, but their grip is too strong.

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna beat that motherfucker until he can't breathe." You snarl, writhing and struggling against the arms holding you back. Your voice tears through your throat as you scream, slowly losing steam as you feel ever emotion flood your system.

"Y/n, you need to calm down." An even voice says close to your ear, and you sag into the arms, tears streaming uncontrollably down your face. You feel overwhelmed in every sense of the word as you try to catch your breath, hyperventilating as you begin to sob.

The next thing you know you're sitting in the dirt crying, Wednesday in front of you with something akin to concern in her gaze. Enid hovers behind her, looking panicked. You notice her claws are out and covered in blood.

"Y/n you need to take deep breaths." Wednesday says in a steady reassuring voice. You try to even your breathing, still gasping and hyperventilating as your eyes dart around. You notice a few adults are kneeling over the boys. who are all lying on the ground or sitting up clutching various injuries.

"Let's get you three to the lounge." One of the Pilgrim World employees says before leading you to the lounge and away from the boys. You wait for EMS and the police to arrive, slowly calming down, wiping your eyes as you stare down at your shaking and bloodied hands.

"Here." Enid's voice says softly beside you, her hand gently tilting your head towards her so she can dab at the blood dripping down your face. You avoid her gaze, your breathing shaky from crying.

"I'm sorry." You whisper, sniffling slightly. Enid lets out a quiet breath, her thumb tracing your jaw gently.

"You don't need to apologize. You were just trying to help; those guys were being creeps." She says softly as she finishes wiping at the blood on your face. You look up as an officer enters the room, speaking to one of the Pilgrim World employees before nodding and leaving once more to retrieve EMS.

"What'd he say?" You ask the employee nervously. They sigh and look at you with their hands on their hips.

"Well, since we have security footage of the fight we know you're not the aggressor, so long as neither of you press charges the cops are willing to let it go." They say with a heavy sigh, looking relieved. "Of course you'll all be banned from Pilgrim World in the future but I assume that's the least of your worries." They say with a tight lipped smile and a nod.

"Oh okay... Thank you." You murmur, dropping your head to rest in your hands as you take a deep breath, The adrenaline had long since fled your body and now your face and knuckles were throbbing terribly. Your shoulders felt strained from how they had been held as well.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur as EMS checked you out, patching you up and giving you a few stitches on your lip where it had been split from the boy punching you in the teeth.

Soon you were back at Nevermore and lying on your bed with an ice-pack pressed to the entirety of your face. Every heartbeat sent pulsing pain through your face and hands, causing you to groan. You didn't regret it exactly, you knew you'd fight a thousand people to protect Enid. You just wished it didn't have to escalate that far.

There was a knock at your door and you mumbled for whoever was there to come in. You pulled the icepack off your face and were surprised to see Enid standing there.

"Oh. Hi." You say dumbly, sitting up to stare at her in surprise. She offers you a small smile, padding over to stand in front of you, fiddling with her hands nervously. "Uh... Sorry again for earlier. I didn't want to fight him but he just wouldn't-" Your rambling was cut off as Enid threw herself at you, wrapping you in a tight hug. You stiffened in shock, gently resting a hand on her back.

"Thank you." Enid whispered, pressing her face into your neck, and you felt goosebumps prickle your skin as her breath tickled your skin.

"I- it's no big deal." You say casually, rubbing Enid's back soothingly as she tightens her grip on you..

"I was really scared when they were... I didn't know what they wanted with me. You have no idea how relieved I was when you showed up." Enid admits as she leans back to look at your face. Your heart lurches when you notice her eyes glistening with tears.

"Hey, it's okay. I'd never let them do anything to you." You say, attempting to comfort her as you brush hair away from her face, offering a gentle smile. Her eyes soften and her gaze flicks down to your lips for a moment. Your heart races in your chest, and you think maybe you had just imagined it.

"Well I appreciate you. And I'm sorry that you got hurt." Enid says, leaning back slightly as she adjusts how she's sitting in your lap. Her fingers trace the stitches on your lip and suddenly the throbbing pain was replaced with pleasant tingles.

"I'd do it a thousand times if you asked." You whisper before you can stop yourself, and Enid's lips part slightly in surprise. Her eyebrows pull together slightly as her thumb traces your bottom lip, her breath fanning over your face. 'She looks like she wants to kiss me.' You think, sure you must have some sort of head trauma. No way Enid would-

All at once, she's leaning down and her lips press to yours gently, softer than rose petals. Her mouth is warm, her lips tasting of cherry lipgloss. Your eyes drift shut and your hand on her back presses her closer to you. Your head feels light and airy, as if it's full of clouds. Surely you're dreaming?

No, the way Enid cups your jaw in her hands is all too real. The soft breath she exhales through her nose as she moves her lips against yours, tilting her head slightly so her nose brushes your cheek. All too soon she pulls away and looks into your eyes, her face tinged with a blush.

"I like you too." She confesses in a quiet voice, and you simply stare up at her dumbly, mouth agape. "When you were avoiding me it made me realize I thought of you more than I did Ajax. I was more upset over you than I was over my breakup with him." She murmurs, looking a but ashamed. You bring your hand up to brush your fingers across her cheek lightly.

"I can't say I'm disappointed." You say with a breathless chuckle, a smile curling at your lips involuntarily. Enid smiles back, giggling slightly as she leans into your touch.

"So... will you maybe be my girlfriend?" She asks quietly, her hands sliding down from where they cup your jaw to rest on your shoulders. Your stitches burn from how big you smile.

"Only if you'll be my girlfriend too." You tease, chuckling at the way Enid covers her giggle with her palm, gently giving your shoulder a playful swat.

"Okay, we're girlfriends then." She says with a broad smile, bringing her face close to yours to place a gentle kiss at the corner of your mouth. You gently guide her lips to yours to kiss her fully, relishing in the taste of her lipgloss as you inhale deeply through your nose, smelling her vanilla shampoo.

You lean back onto your bed, pulling her down on top of you, cuddling her close. She is more than happy to oblige, curling into your side and nuzzling her face into your neck, placing a gentle kiss there. Your arm is wrapped around her shoulders while your free hand is laced with hers where it rests on your stomach. Her legs twine with yours lazily and you let out a contented sigh.

Your face and knuckles are still throbbing, and you know your lip will scar. However those worries seem small and far away as Enid's warmth seeps into your body. You feel sleep tugging at your mind as you roll over, tucking Enid's head under your chin as you wrap your arms around her. She quickly reciprocates, her arms looping around your waist as she holds you close to her. She's so soft and warm that it's not long before sleep fully takes you.

When you wake up the next morning with Enid still in your arms, you fully realize that it was in fact not a dream.

p.s. I've never kissed anyone before so if it's poorly written that's why 💀

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 21- Lorelai’s Graduation Day, Aka Lovesick Stepcousins In The Big City, Part 3

I'm cheering Rory on as she leaves school grounds, leaving these 35 year old classmates in the dust, and as she manages to pull it off under the eyes of two teachers or administrators. Yes yes yes! Well from here on out it's going to be pure Literati appreciation with only minimal anger and rage, you know, my usual shtick. That being said, when that happens I start to sound a little disjointed, like, this episode is so pure and precious and enjoyable that I really don't have much snarky commentary on it and I can just watch it. What am I without my snark powers?

Destiny awaits. In one of many examples of what I call "Gilmore Girls Poor"*, which is a term I coined myself for how AmyShermanPalladino views lower/middle class/urban/city life, Rory manages to end up in the Port Authority Bus Terminal in another dimension. The Alternate Dimension, 100% white, Spotlessly Clean, Nearly People-Free New York City Bus Terminal where she stared down a scary dude without being stabbed and she was offered a locker to store her book bag. (*More examples of GGP: In season 4, Jess is 19 years old, a high school dropout, and is living in a clean, rat and roach free, enormous New York City apartment with working utiltiies and large windows that in today's housing crisis people would murder him to get, he just needed a bed frame and to pick his shit up off the floor but we are supposed to believe its a crack den; Rory and Lorelai live in a beautiful home and eat take out and restaurant food every day on nothing more than an innkeeper's slary)

This was cute. Rory the little mouse getting ignored by city folk. I love it so much.

I think AmyShermanPalladino inserted this smoking guy to make it look like Rory was in a rough part of town. Someone finally gives our little mouse an abrupt answer on how to get to Washington Square Park where she can meet her stepcousin and her destiny.

The little smirk before he turns around! And then, and then...and then...the big grin when he sees her!

I am STARVING for stepcousins!!!!!! ..And the Emmy Award for the whitest words ever spoken on teleivison goes to Alexis Bledel, as Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls:

Baring his naked forearms like a saucy strumpet. Book sticking awkwardly out of his back pocket. He either finds the smallest books or has the roomiest ass pockets that he keeps pulling that off. How does he do that?

This is all so precious and pure I could die.

He is RAPT with attention listening to her silly stories. Show me where Dean or Logan ever paid this much attention to her telling one of these stories.

We know, Bubs. We know :(

Red alert! Red alert! Our first display of physical contact!

Jess says he eats from this hot dog cart every day. Let's unpack this: 1) Holy child neglect, Batman! I mean, Liz Danes. You can't even make your kid a peanut butter and jelly sandwich once in a while? This boy is feral. These are survival hot dogs. This may be all he can afford to eat on his own. 2) How are you still as skinny as a rail? 3) How's your blood pressure? 4) Where are you getting the money?

This sweet bubba unquestionably paid for Rory's lunch like a true gentleman.

I refuse to acknolwedge any sort of Behind the Scenes Hollywood mumbo jumbo like "Milo wasn't ACTUALLY eating the hot dog" or “umm, it’s a prop hot dog”. i am firmly committed to a scenario where everyone on the set for this episode was like "Milo our precious vegetarian baby boy we will get you a tofu hot dog to eat"

Ending this chapter with this adorable face.

[wilcze-kudly]

The (old) announcement for the new earth Avatar series in 2025 is making the rounds on twitter with so many reactions being wishing for a Bolin-like mankisser Avatar, which has led me & my maladaptive daydreaming to concoct this speculation/wishlist/fanfic, hope you enjoy:

Technology has evolved to be somewhat modern day tech with majority population no longer very spiritual & dismiss bending & spirits as being "old head" stuff & glorified pretty animals & weird martial arts, and now the Avatar isn't considered a big deal anymore. This is part of the main conflict with the new Avatar

Korra dies at around 80ish, mostly b/c I want old lady Master Jinora to be the new Avatar's main spiritual teacher

Show starts with Jinora copying her dad's lead and summarize the end of Korra's life before zooming in on her and the White Lotus going around the Earth Kingdom searching for the new Avatar. Unlike w/ previous generations, there's hardly any Avatar claims, which is nice b/c no random false claims, but Jinora gets annoyed at how un-spritual and downright flippant people are about the Avatar cycle nowadays.

This search goes really wrong though... b/c 20 years after Korra's death and they still haven't found the new Avatar 😨. WL members begin wondering if the cycle is broken, but Jinora doesn't give up hope in finding Korra's reincarnation.

Jinora may be an old lady, but she's very spry and agile and credits the Air Nomad lifestyle for how she doesn't slow down at all in the search.

Scenes begin getting interspliced during the Avatar search, cutting to some ”random” Earthbender (obvs the Avatar). He's some big buff brown athlete dude who is trying to make it to the big leagues of pro-bending... but he struggles a lot. Backstory: he's dirt poor and kicked out by his family after being such a failure in school, turning to sports to try to live out his dream is a last ditch effort. Very last ditch b/c if he doesn't win tonight's match money, he's not gonna make rent and end up homeless, so he's very stressed.

Cut to some of the younger While Lotus guys who pass by the local small-town arena and then ask Master Jinora if they can take a break this weekend and watch a local pro-bending match. Honors was at first gonna say no, but her gut/spiritual connection to the previous Avatar suddenly tells her that going inside might be a good idea.

They walk in to see a pro-bending match in progress, and it's pretty neck&neck with our Earth Avatar looking like he might be able to pull out a close victory..... until the enemy's team's earthbender sends him flying back, and instead of falling normally, our Avatar gets genuinely scared that he's gonna break his neck and experiences a slowmotion "life flashing before my eyes" near-death moment where he gets sad b/c.... he's kinda a loser and his life sucks!

That's when he suddenly airbends and catches his fall.

Jinora & the WL are overjoyed to see this and it's a big huge moment..... until they zoom out and it turns out nobody else in the arena gives a single fuck outside of the fact that airbending is cheating ”yellow fan! move back 1 zone!" even our new Avatar's teammates are pissed at him

Jinora gets really mad "Um, hello? That's the Avatar!" but nobody cares beyond the game. Jinora starts grumbling abt "young folks"

Our new Avatar doesn't even care much either and just pleads with the ref that he just did it on accident, but the yellow fan goes thru.... and it ends up costing the match!

new Avatar leaves the match dejected and kicked off the team "if you hadn't done that Avatar mumbo jumbo, we would've won the prize money!" and new Avatar leaves teary eyed and cursing this "stupid Avatar stuff"

Jinora & the WL drop in on new Avatar (literally, Jinora is too excited and just flies down from the sky) and new Avatar yells abt "I don't have any money, scary airbending Grandma-mugger! Please don't rob me, I'm already homeless!"

It takes a while for Jinora to convince him to come with her (turns out, he doesn't know much abt Avatar stuff either, Jinora really starts grumbling abt "young folks" now) but in the end the White Lotus win him over by pointing out that the Avatar gets free room & board from the WL.

scene break to the following day, preparing to take a Sky Bison to the Fire Nation, & the new Avatar asks why they're going there

Jinora explains that the WL has contacts with the traditional Sun Warrior pueblos who have agreed to train the new Avatar in Firebending (Jinora then wonders aloud if the offer still stands after being 20 years late in finding him)

new Avatar guy then asks why Fire first, & not Air. Then Jinora starts lecturing him abt having to go in the order of the Avatar cycle ”It's Earth Fire Air then Water. How do you not know this?"

While she's ranting abt this, some dude shows up and new Avatar tries to hide by earthbending a hole into the ground... it turns out to be his dad. Somehow, his dad found out abt him being a late bloomer Avatar (new Avatar bragged on corny Instagram-parody abt being the new Avatar, it wasn't as popularly received as he had hoped, most ppl called him a liar)

NA's dad, same dad who kicked him out of the house for being a jobless loser dropout, suddenly wants to schmooze up to the White Lotus, after confirming that his son wasn't lying

Argument ensues, but ends with his dad at least being concerned abt his son travelling overseas and insisting that the WL take his number and give him updates. While climbing onto Sky Bison Jinora takes some grandma-ly pity on NA and tells him that they won't update his dad if he doesn't want them to.

Fast forward to NA meeting a Sun Warrior Master (their people are one of the few civilizations still keeping the traditional bending and spiritual practices alive, part of why Jinora picked them) and NA begins his training... poorly

The SW Master gets very frustrated at how blockheaded this guy is and how little he pays attention (on more than one occasion, NA pulls out his phone and desperately tries to convince social media that he really is the new Avatar, but everyone keeps accusing him of using a greenscreen filter or something to look like he's on vacation)

Sun Warrior guy ends up dragging Jinora aside and having an outburst and saying some... not so nice things about this new Avatar. He starts asking Master Jinora if it's possible that intermixing between nations has somehow produced multi enders, maybe he just has an airbender & earthbender parent. Jinora tells the SW Master to stop being ridiculous, and then he escalates as says that even if NA is the Avatar, he won't teach him b/c he's ”a lost cause"

NA accidentally walks in and overhears this, and it hurts his feelings and he starts getting existential b/c "it's happening all over again! o sucked at school! I sucked at probending! now I suck at this too! my dad was right.... I should just go home" 😢

the Sun Warrior Master feels bad & tries to retract what he said, but Jinora says that she'll talk to the NA

Jinora decides to change up the schedule the rest of the day and train the NA herself. He gets excited at first b/c he thinks it's for airbending"at least know I can airbend!" but turns out Jinora just want to do some simple spiritual meditation stuff as something (hopefully) easier for him to help build his confidence

Meditation practice goes similarly awful (he can't concentrate or relax to save his life) but the conversation does turn to Jinora talking about the spiritual aspect of Avatars and asking him if he's ever connected to any past Avatars

Jinora decides to try something, and takes NA to a shrine that she had once visited with Korra in her later years. Jinora hopes that this place might help him connect to Korra (possibly for selfish reasons b/c Jinora misses Korra)

It's late at night at this point, and the NA just ends up falling asleep rather than meditating. Jinora sighs and reasons that it's only his first day.

But ... turns out that during his sleep, NA does make contact with the spirit of old gray Korra... and she slaps the NA's spirit awake

NA freaks out "Why are you blue & glowy? Wait why am I blue & glowy?"

Korra doesn't have time for his questions and starts getting into it "Finally! It's been 20 years! You're old enough to be a fully realized Avatar, so why is this the first time I finally made contact with you? You've gotta be a bigger spiritual blockhead than when I started out!"

NA confused and explains that he's not a realized Avatar, it's just his first day

Spirit Korra freaks out and starts shaking NA's spirit like a ragdoll "You just started!!? We don't have time for this! I need to warn you about something! Here, it'll be easier if I show you!"

Spirit Korra touches his forehead and shows him a vision of a worldwide apocalyptic event that's like a climate change fueled by the modern-tech world's disconnect & mistreatment of the spirits hanging around the material world.

After the vision Korra lets him go and yells at him to hurry up and finish his Avatar training. And then before she wakes up him again she asks him to send her regards to Jinora btw.

Cut to the waking world, Jinora is concerned over where NA's spirit went and shaking him. Then he wakes up screaming and asking if being an Avatar always means that "scary old ladies are yelling at me... Oh... she told me to tell you that 'Korra says hi'"

And that's where my maladaptive daydream decided the 1st episode of this hypothetical/speculative show would end, but here's also 2 other "scenes" I daydreamed where the new guy's Team Avatar forms.

1st scene is him perhaps going on a trip away from the Sun Warriors' remote traditional village and going to a semi-rural fishing town and ending up meeting some bronze-skinned rough-and-tumble looking firebender dude seaside restaurant that he flirts with.

The NA wonders if he could flex his Avatar status to help with flirting with the fellas, but his recent failures w/ Avatar training has him feeling down and ending up losing his nerve and goes to leave. But the firebender guy sees the depressed NA first and invites him for a bowl of this town's specialty noodles.

They hit it off well, and NA enjoys getting to forget abt Avatar training (Jinora will yell at him later when he ends up missing the whole day's practice). NA asks firebender guy what he does, and he says he works on his dad's fishing boat as the chef ”stereotypical, right? they always ask the firebender to cook. I'm good at it though" And when he in turn asks the same question, NA tiptoes around the Avatar stuff (after how everyone else in his hometown and his old probending reacted, he thinks it probably won't be "cool" to say he's the Avatar)

But turns out, firebender guy thinks it's awesome, and NA is like "You're the first person other than Master Jinora to think me being the Avatar is cool😊" "Who's Master Jinora 🤔?" "One of the old ladies who yells at me 😐"

2nd scene is the waterbender & Airbender girlies of the team being introduced.

the waterbender is a traditional southern water tribe student who's doing field research for her thesis on Sun Warrior culture. She doesn't use waterbending much for combat at first (she mostly just uses it to create ice magnifying glasses to read ancient texts)

But she ends up getting roped into Avatar business after running the airbender girlie, who is Jinora(& Kai)'s granddaughter!

She flies over to the SW pueblo to see how her old granny is doing

she has a sort of funny half-camaraderie half-antagonism relationship with Granny Jinora, b/c she's a master Airbender who genuinely cares abt Air Nomad culture, but she also likes new untraditional modern tech social media fashion stuff too, and that part kinda annoys Jinora since her granddaughter kind of runs a nomadic travel page and takes lots of pictures

Jinora's granddaughter and the water tribe thesis writer meet at the Sun Warrior village, and the water tribe student complains that there's practically nothing to make a thesis on since the Sun Warriors are very protective of their culture to actually let her study anything beyond some old statues at the gate. She rambles aloud that the other grad students were doing much more exciting theses, and that the only novel thing she could do was either try (and fail) to convince the secretive Sun Warriors to let her do a paper on them... or do a paper on the mystery fate of the Avatar in the 20 years since Korra's death

Jinora's granddaughter ends up being a big blabbermouth and spilling every abt why her granny is here with the Sun Warriors

They both get roped into Avatar destiny stuff as a result

Some other random thoughts I had: it'd be cool to do another southern water tribe festival arc at some point, except this time with nods to Korra and Katara in the festival and an update on the spiritual connection there far away from the big metropolises.

Plus, it'd be cool to see Tenzin's kids and grandkids at some point, with a joke about Rohan being forgotten, b/c he was just a baby while his whole family saved the world a million times, so a self aware jab abt Rohan being old and still salty abt missing out on the adventures w/ Korra 😤

OH my gosh i love that! Babe you've got some spectacular ideas, write a fic! Granny Jinora oml 😍 and I genuinely feel for the new avatar. Its easy to feel like a failure and i think a lot of us could relate lol

[sichore]

[I haven't written in years and bam - 1200 words off the dome of whatever idea I've got rattling around.

Pickles goes to the ocean.]

As usual, Pickles is pulled from sleep by a dull throb in his head and in his groin. Try as he might to ignore it, he can't ignore instinct: he has to piss.

With a groan, he opens his eyes and stumbles from the beach chair and over various passed out bodies strewn across the sand to find some place to empty his bladder. Which ends up being some decor half destroyed by whatever the guys were up to a few hours ago. Whatever.

It's the dead of night. All he can make out is the blue of the sand, and the black of the sea beyond. If it wasn't for the crashing waves, he'd think he was looking out into the abyss.

The abyss, and - he blinks a few times, his squinting, blurry vision focusing on a figure in the ocean.

That's -

"Oh! Hey! Heyyyyyy!"

His need to go out there overrides the seed of panic in his gut, as he sprints across the beach with about as much grace as a newborn foal taking its first steps. Stumbling, tripping, he hardly falters once he breaks water, wading until he reaches them.

The [scribe].

No, wait, that's what Nathan keeps calling her, when she's not a journalist or whatever. Right. She's an art teacher. Toki's tutor. [Painter].

… why was her name not coming to mind? Whatever. Not important, clearly.

"Hey, what're you - you, uh, okay out here?"

"Hey," she greets him, casual as ever, like she's not standing in the middle of the goddamn ocean. "I'm all right. No freaking out or deep, soul-wrenching breakdown this time."

She's just standing there, looking out at fuck knows what - everything to the horizon and back is complete darkness. Onyx. Ebony. Blacker than the blackest black times infinity.

She turns her head to look at him finally, her round glasses flashing with the movement. Her lips move and - he's not sure any sound comes out. Her mouth doesn't form his name and yet he recognizes it all the same, spoken with a familiarity and acceptance that feels dangerously close to affection. Pickles.

"I think it's happening," she says, like it's the most obvious announcement in the world.

"Uh… dude, there's nothing going on," Pickles replies, feeling sick as he says it.

"Yeah you do. You know, this. Us. Whatever we're supposed to do." She shrugs, and Pickles realizes he hasn't stopped looking her over. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Her dark curls as usual are pulled up and spilling over and around her face, like she hasn't been to bed. Starlight catches on her brown skin, shimmering, silver, then gold. The corner of her full lips quirks - she's trying not to laugh.

"Cut that out. Look."

He Looks.

Stars glimmer and shine beneath their bare feet. Pickles wriggles his toes and he swears that a nebula swells in response. They're everywhere. Galaxies unfurl and sway in the cosmic breeze and stars twinkle and shine and burn and die. He can't look away from the radiant giant of a far off planet, long dead. There's an explosion frozen in time, blooming and swirling cosmic dust blessing the birth of a new star that cries out, wailing, ringing -

He hears…

He hears -

"Ohhh shit…"

He grasps her shoulder; she's freezing, scorching under his grip. His eyes dart around even though he doesn't see so much as feel Them.

He's not high enough for this shit and tonight they're fucking loud, and he can't ignore them, can't get away, can't -

"It's okay." Pickles can't tell if she's talking to him or not. She's holding herself, nails digging into her arms, and without the glasses her brown eyes are - are black, too. Fuck. "I-it's okay."

"Is it?!" Pickles shrieks. "How can you be so calm with this - this cosmic mumbo jumbo bullshit going on? Oh my god. Oh my god, I - I need a drink. Fuck." His hand shakes as it runs through his dreads, thinking this is the worst time to have a panic attack where he can't hide from Their Song, dick and balls out for the world to see like this is some hentai -

"We're gonna be okay." She's speaking, her voice resonating into infinity. Huh. He didn't think the universe would have great acoustics. "We're - what? What do you know about hentai?"

"How would I not know about it?"

"You barely use the computer!"

"Wh - And? I've been around! I've seen old tapes and shit!"

"I just thought it was a bit past your time-"

"Yer not that much younger than me!"

"Oh, my god. Whatever. That's beside the point." She waves her hands and finally turns to face him, and for a moment, he's distracted from the inky black dancing in her eyes.

"... Huh, so it's two snakes on yer tits-"

"Pickles." She's claps her hands before her face and takes a deep breath, like she's praying for the strength to deal with his bullshit. She wouldn't be the first one, he thinks bitterly. "Stop that. Focus. I want to be here."

"Do you really? And how come you can hear me but I can't hear you? That ain't fair!"

"I don't know, you're loud as hell here and I can't turn it off. Look!" Her hands frame his face suddenly, more of a double-slap than a caress. Pickles stills.

Everything goes quiet, blessedly so, and calm washes over him. It's not dreadful this time. There's the universe, and there's him. Breathing in time with the rise and fall of the Great Breath.

"Oh, hey, that's…. That's kinda nice."

"Yeah," she agrees, and despite the nameless dread lapping at his mind he finds himself staring at her face. Her hair loose and waving in the current. Eyes rich like fine whiskey and summer afternoons. Nose wide and nostrils flaring as she stifles another laugh, but she's smiling. Like really smiling, not awkward and forced. Their secret. He promises not to tell. "Freaky, but nice."

"So, uh, now what?" 

"I dunno. We listen, then… do what we do best? What we have to do. Or something."

"Like what, pop a Perc, smoke a bowl? Freaky sex?"

"I - what? No. What? I mean, uh, another time, maybe. No, like, there's something bigger going on."

"Uh huh." He's not sure when he starts holding her hands, but here he is. Idly rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. "Is… is this the end?"

"No." She shakes her head, which is something to witness underwater. Stars fall from her curls - or embers. "It's the beginning. Just don't mind the tentacles."

"Yeeeeah, I dunno about that."

"And don't look down."

Of course, he looks down. The last place he needs to look when he feels Their tendrils beckoning, slipping down his spine - and himself reaching in turn, with his brain. Or something. Is his mind literally expanding? Shit.

There's heat coming from somewhere. Everywhere. A distant flame that he knows is an inferno. And beneath his feet, a planet looms. He stands above it as a moon, a satellite, space debris and sky hawk all at once. He sees clouds form and waves churn. He feels the Deep, reaching up to call him home.

Pickles' stomach drops as he plummets.

[kipercrow]

took a men’s yoga class at my local fitness club the other day and was shocked by how many of the positions were really putting a strain on our guts. lots of bending and stretching and flexing. eventually there was a scattering of farts across the yoga studio. some guys going completely red in the face, others chuckling until it was there turn then getting really quiet. a few excuse me’s and apologies or others just pretending like it didn’t happen. at the end the yoga teacher said that many of the poses he chose were intended to loosen us up because a key part of his yoga practice is recognizing the body’s natural impulses and indulging them rather than suppressing them. sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to me and it made some guys hesitant to make eye contact in the locker room. felt too perfect not to share

That's amazing! Sounds like an old Brad Jade story that I read before. I wonder if any of the guys will eat gassy foods in the future.

[kbandtrash]

OMYGOD YES I'VE SEEN YOU AROUND BUT OMGG YOUR SISTER MEGAN WHO DREW THE MINGI AND YENA DOODLE I LOVE IT SO MUCH I HAVE IT SAVED IN MY PC AND OMG EVERYTHING'S STARTING TO MAKE SENSE NOW as in now i remember seeing you two around HAHA YES OFC I KNOW YOU BOTH <33

day6 was my first kband and they're so close to my heart literally and sungjin is literally the ult of all my ults i love him a bit too much and you have... a sungjin wip?? interesting. i will have to check it out (it would be my first time reading a day6 fic btw i'm excited hehe)

i hope my feedback made sense tho 😭 i'm kind of new at such detailed feedbacks too so it's mostly just mumbo jumbo incoherent fangirling or whatever haha but ofc i had to! i was so excited for the math teacher anon reveal and to learn that it's someone familiar made me so happy 😭😭 and you did not disappoint at all! less than three was perfect and i hope more ppl read it!

Megan was actually the one who introduced me to your blog when I was starting to get curious about Ateez lol she made me read My Way to her out loud because she was trying to sell me Mingi as my bias

Do not be surprised if I drop by with Sungjin in your inbox because that guy is not only my bias but also the first kpop boy I actually fell for lol it was when he first started his food rec Twitter and I just couldn’t get over how silly and sweet he was and that he would translate all of his tweets himself?? And don’t even get me started on his YouTube channel like how much more real can this guy get

Mumbo jumbo incoherent fangirling is the best kind of feedback are you kidding?? Literally the most motivating response anyone could ever receive

[aestheticsuwu]

Tag , Your It !

Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky x Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell

Daycare Au

Tiny crossover , Slight mentioned of Johnny Lawrence x Daniel LaRusso .

The Dagger squad are in Mavericks class . Only mentioned Bradley and Jake since I don’t have the capacity to write .

Maverick has the thirst for Ice, but nothing new.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Summary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In where Mav starts a daycare after he becomes the sole guardian of Bradley Bradshaw . Not as easy as he thought it would be to handle 10 tiny kids that were adorable but ruthless when it came to naps and snacks. Maverick wasn’t also counting on meeting a tall glass of a man ,when he was showered in glitter by curtsey of Bradley and the other kids, with his newphew looking lost .

Or Maverick meets Ice and gets cockblock by his nephew , Jake, and is in constant competition with the other daycare teachers.

——————————Summary—————————

“I assure you , your son will be in good hands. This is the best class in this daycare , you can even ask the kids.” Maverick gives him his signature flirty smile that always worked in his favor . There’s never not a good time to seduce a man especially when the person was this hot .

“I’ve heard good things about the other daycare class .” The blonde said , Mavericks flirting flying past his head or the man decided to ignoring it , He wasn’t sure ,he couldn’t read through the blank emotionless expression. It was a hot one , he would give him that. Or was the glitter throwing him off.

Of course they did. Everyone wanted to be in that class. If it wasn’t the fact Maverick fell in love the second he saw this man , all 6 feet and bleached hair tips , he would’ve agreed . Mr.LaRusso already has a hot blonde chasing after him , he can’t have two . That’s not fair.

“I mean sure, if your into all that hippie mumbo jumbo, class filled with plants and a teacher that never knows when to shut—.”

“Mr.LaRusso is really pretty .” The boy cuts him off , Jake, if Maverick remembers correctly . A tiny replica of his Dad even had the same expression , doubtful . Unimpressed.

Maverick had to refrain himself from glaring at the kid that was doing a pretty good job at ruining his chances with his hot dad.

“I think if you gave me the chance , you and your dad will find me pretty ” Maverick realizes to late what he said. Jake looked confused and Mr.Kazansky was staring at him intensely making Maverick flush down to his neck.

Maverick didn’t always had a good filter or had good control of whatever his mouth says. At least he didn’t say he wanted his dad to bend him over the—

“I’m his uncle .” Mr.Kazansky corrected him quickly like he knew what Maverick was about to say in his mind.

Can he read his mind? He really hopes not. Mavericks not sure what to say next , so he calls for backup .

“Bradley can you come please.”

Bradley comes over and stays hidden behind his leg feeling shy only peeks out for a second but dives back to hide his tiny face .“Why don’t you show Jake around ?”Maverick encourages him and gently pushes him out of his hiding spot.

Bradley shyly reaches out to hold Jake’s hand but the kid steps back and face scrunched up like if holding hands was disgusting “I don’t want to hold your hand.”

Bradley turns to look at him, his chin already wobbling and sad eyes making Maverick this close to glare at Jake. Bradley was having a bad day, so everything was making him get teary eyed , but before Maverick can comfort him ,Ice is telling Jake something making the boy to look at Bradley in defeated.

“Don’t cry.” Jake mutters and grabs Bradley small hand .

“Okay.” Bradley sniffs .Then slowly begins to talk Jake’s ear off as he drags him in the class . Jake look behind his shoulder in panic searching for his uncle .

The man gives him a reassuring nod and a salute which the the kid return , no trace of panic but now replaced with determination in those green eyes.

Wasn’t that attractive , there’s nothing more attractive but a man being a good parent or in this case a extremely hot uncle . Maybe he should stop, his issues are coming up .

…………………

[cocopubpotato]

Good ol' brain dont work gonna sit on the floor the entire calculus class and draw spirals on the back of my notebook