#the way ted walks over to the organ WITHOUT TAKING HIS EYES OFF HER FOR EVEN A SINGLE MOMENT | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

firstdegreefangirl · 3 years

Note

If you are open to Ted Lasso requests, then Roy Kent/Keeley Jones + sickfic and snuggles?

Oh, nonnie, this got WAY out of hand. But I had SO MUCH FUN writing it, so thank you! There's a lot going on at the beginning here, but I swear there are sickfic and snuggles under the break. I hope you like it!

Read the whole thing in one click HERE on ao3!

The morning gets off to a late start, right out of the gate. The team bus leaves late when they lose Nate again (this year they knew to check the luggage hold, but no one thought to look in the upstairs bathroom, where he was “looking for a little extra privacy, sorry”) and there’s more traffic than anyone could have predicted.

Altogether, it means that the team hardly makes it to Sheffield with time to drop their bags at the hotel before they’re due at the stadium for the game.

Roy tosses a duffel bag onto one of the double beds in the room he’s sharing with Ted tonight (not by choice; it turns out relegation means there’s not enough money in the team budget for all four coaches to have separate suites. Last away game, he and Nate had been roommates, but Ted has some big idea about everyone spending equal amounts of time together in the name of ‘equitable morale,’ and apparently coaching staff isn’t exempt.)

Really, he should have taken the job with SkySports.

At least then, he wouldn’t be pulling a furry green unicorn out of his bag and sitting it carefully by the pillows.

“Security object, Roy?” Ted points from across the room as Roy reaches for his phone. “Respect. No shame in a man seeking a little comfort from-”

“Fuck off,” he snaps, but there’s no real heat behind it. “Phoebe’s mad her mum wouldn’t let her come on a sleepover with the team this weekend. Asked me to bring Captain McKibbin along instead, the little idiot. I … promised to send pictures. As proof.”

“Hey, I get it. My boy’s done many a Flat Stanley in his day.” Clearly, Ted expects him to know what this means, so Roy nods if only to save himself the explanation. “Anyway, we’ve got to meet the fellas in the lobby, head over to the field – pitch.” A full year in, and Ted still struggles with the vernacular sometimes. It’d drive Roy nuts, if the guy hadn’t done so much to help him and his career. “Is, ah, will Captain McCarlson be joining us for the-”

“McKibbin. Captain McKibbin, and he will not. Phoebe says he can stay here, to ward off any bad dream monsters.”

“Well you be sure to let her know that I intend to sleep snug as a bug in a rug tonight. No, two rugs!” Tim points at Roy with both hands, then spins around and opens the door to the hallway.

He still hasn’t gotten a chance to catch up with Keeley before the match starts. She and Rebecca had driven out separately – something about girl talk and lattes – but he knows she’s around somewhere. The owner’s box is a little different everywhere they go, but never too terribly hard to find, and he catches a glimpse of her bright pink peacoat when he looks around during the opening lineup. She's sitting between Rebecca and Higgins, and as soon as she notices him watching, she waves happily. He lifts a hand in response, then tucks it back against his chest, turning back to the pitch and squaring his shoulders as the first half begins.

Richmond is playing well; Isaac has stepped up and really filled Roy’s shoes as captain, and all the lads are on the same wavelength, without having to say much of anything to one another. He hates to admit it, but Roy wonders if the seamless communication doesn’t have something to do with the scavenger hunt they’d hosted in the locker room last night. Ted had blindfolded half of the players, and made the other half sit on the bench and shout directions. The whole thing had been a mess, but then they’d passed around the bottle of vodka he’d stashed behind the clean boots as a prize, and everyone had left smiling. If that’s it, Roy can’t deny the results, but he’ll damn sure try.

That’s what he’s thinking about a few minutes later when he turns around again, looking for Keeley in the stands. He’s always looking for her, when he doesn’t have to be watching every second of the match. She’s almost always watching him right back, before he’s even looking at her. And half the time, he’ll feel his phone vibrate in his pocket. Even if he can’t check it until halftime, he knows it’s a comment on the quality of the plays, or the other team’s kits, or how much she likes the view of his ass from the box.

But now, when he looks, he can’t find her anywhere. He looks again, trying to pick her out in the sea of Richmond jerseys. Most of the faces are strangers, but he can distinguish between them. All the way at the top, where Keeley had been sitting before, it’s just Rebecca and Higgins now, an empty seat folded up between them.

Roy stares for a moment, waiting for her to reappear with a soft pretzel or something. But she doesn’t. Eventually, Rebecca catches his eyeline, and shakes her head. Her lips move, but there’s no way Roy can make out the words. All he knows is that Keeley has disappeared, and judging from Rebecca’s gesture, she’s been gone for more than a few minutes.

Something isn’t right; he can feel it in his stomach. And in his knee, but that’s more from the impending winter. The feeling about Keeley, that sits deep in his gut, twisting and knotting around his organs as he turns back to the pitch.

The lads are lining up the next play, but Ted, Nate and Beard are spread out along the sideline. Roy sidesteps around Beard, almost trips over Nate when he moves back just as Roy passes behind him, and finally comes to a stop next to Ted.

"Coach?”

“What’s up, Roy?” Ted doesn’t turn toward him, but he leans in Roy’s direction, and he knows he’s got the man’s full attention.

He hears the announcer take notice of his new position, the commentary echoing around them.

On Richmond’s side of the field, former team member turned coach Roy Kent is vying for the attention of head coach Ted Lasso. The players are lined up; what could he be saying?

But Roy doesn’t say anything. He just points, arms still folded across his chest, until Ted looks up to the stands behind them.

Both coaches now, looking up at the audience. Surely they’re not surprised at the show of support for the Richmond Greyhounds? They’ve sold out almost every game since their relegation …

The rest of the announcement fades to the background when understanding spreads across Ted’s face. Roy knows he’s seen the empty seat, knows he’ll understand the concern Roy can’t put into words. He raises an eyebrow when Tim looks back to his face, and the other coach nods.

“Just be in the locker room for halftime, yeah? The guys are countin’ on you for a speech to hype them up for the rest of the game.”

Roy jerks his chin up and down, then heads for the tunnel that’ll take him out of view of the crowds. The announcer’s voice comes behind him again.

Coach Kent, now heading off of the pitch. Makes you wonder what’s going on for the Greyhounds. Have they sent a coach away in the middle of a match, or did he ask to be excused? And why? But gameplay continues without him …

It’s only a few steps before he’s in the locker room, trying to shake off the memory of the last time he’d left the pitch before a match was up. It’s empty, no signs of another occupant, but the solitude gives him an opportunity to fish his phone out of his pocket.

No texts, no missed calls. Right away, he dials Keeley’s number.

If you’re looking for the PR Manager for the Richmond Greyhounds, leave a message for Keeley Jones after the beep. If you’re trying to reach your best friend Keeley for a round of drinks, hang up and text me. Oh, and Rebecca? If it’s too long to text, I’ll check my emails soon. Kisses!

“Oi, it’s me,” Roy all but grunts into the speaker when Keeley’s voicemail recording is done. “You’re not in your seat. Not that you have to be, but Rebecca hadn’t seen you, and I didn’t …” he trails off, suddenly afraid of sounding clingy and controlling. “Anyway, call me when you get this.”

He stares at his home screen after he hangs up, a selfie Keeley had nabbed his phone to take. He’s got an arm wrapped around her shoulders and his lips pressed against her temple, and her face is scrunched up in laughter. It’s ridiculous, the first time anyone but a blood relative has ever been his background, but he can’t help smiling at it, even as the worry knots itself tighter in his stomach.

When he can’t stand it any longer, he texts Rebecca.

You seen her?

Her reply is almost instant.

Not since she left. I have her coat, phone is in the pocket. Heard it ring.

Well, shit. She doesn’t have her phone, and as far as Roy knows, nobody has any idea where his girlfriend is.

But then there’s a sniffle from inside one of the toilet stalls. He’d know that sound anywhere; it’s the same noise Keeley makes every time they watch a Disney film together, right before he teases her for crying and she pokes fun right back at how he’s not.

He’d peered under the doors when he walked in, checking for feet, but he knocks on the stall anyway.

“Keeley?” He calls, pushing the door open slowly. Sure enough, she’s inside, sitting with her feet tucked up onto the seat, head wedged between her knees and hands clamped tightly around the back of her skull. “Babe, what’s going on?”

“It’s so … it’s so loud out there,” she whispers, but doesn’t look up. “All the yelling and shouting and cheering. It’s a good thing, I know, that the fans are engaged, but it was just pounding on my brain, making my eyes go all spotty. I tried to stick it out, Roy, really; I know how much these games mean to you, to the whole team. But then I felt like I was going to vomit and-” Keeley chokes on a sob. “I couldn’t find anywhere else quiet to go.”

“Right, well come on,” Roy reaches out slowly and squeezes one of her shoulders. “There’s got to be somewhere better to sit than a men’s toilet stall. You’ve met the lads, they’re disgusting.”

Keeley chuckles, thick and teary, but drops her knees and lets Roy pull her to her feet. As soon as she’s standing, she wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest. It can’t be too comfortable; he hasn’t taken off the Richmond windbreaker he wears for every game, but Keeley relaxes when Roy doesn’t push her away. Instead, he locks his arms around her shoulders and walks them both slowly back until he can drop onto one of the benches. Keeley stays leaned against him, but brings one hand up to cover her eyes where the harsh lighting seeps in.

“Alright, now, what is it?” Roy asks, when Keeley hasn’t said anything for a while. “You seemed alright when we left this morning.”

“I was. Or, I thought I was anyway. Just a little tired, maybe, but that was all. It was fine until the car ride, but then I got really queasy, and my head started throbbing.” Roy reaches up to scratch his fingers gently through her hair and she sighs. “It got a little better when we got out of the car, but then it was just so-”

“Loud, I know,” he finishes for her, then they both fall silent.

Exhaustion. Nausea. Headache. His sister had those symptoms once, just shy of eight years ago.

Shit.

“Keel. You don’t think you’re … You – we – couldn’t be … you aren’t …"

“What?”

“Um, pregnant? I know we’re careful, but …" Keeley cuts him off with a laugh that turns into a whimper, and he tightens his hold on her.

“No. Definitely not. Not this week, for sure. Just a migraine, I think. Used to get them sometimes, but it’s been a bit.”

“Good,” Roy sighs. “I mean, someday, maybe, but not …”

“Not yet,” Keeley agrees, and something goes warm in his chest, knowing that they’re on the same page. Right now, they don’t need to worry about anything except getting Keeley back in fighting shape.

“Have you taken anything?” She nods against his chest.

“This morning, um, in the car. It didn’t help much. Just need it dark. And quiet.”

“OK, that’s alright,” Roy whispers, dropping his voice even quieter. “It should be almost half, what say we find somewhere else for you to hole up before everyone comes barging in like heathens?”

He’s not sure exactly where they can go, but he knows he’s got to get Keeley out of the locker room before they clear the players off the pitch. She shrugs half-heartedly, and lets Roy pull her back to her feet. He doesn’t have a plan yet, but he starts walking them slowly toward the door as he looks around. There are no offices in here, no treatment rooms or storage closets.

He hasn’t checked the time since he found Keeley, but he’s played enough years of football that his body’s internal clock can feel the seconds ticking away. There’s maybe two or three minutes left, and Ted wants him to give the halftime pep talk. If he asked, if he explained everything, he could probably get out of it, maybe trade Beard for next week or something. Keeley needs him.

But the team needs him too.

All at once, it hits him.

Rebecca.

Rebecca doesn’t have a role in the halftime routine. There’s nothing happening on the field and she almost never comes to the locker room before the match ends. And she’s got a car here; that’s somewhere quiet Keeley can sit, at least until the second half gets underway.

He wiggles his phone out of his pocket again and reopens the text thread.

Found her in locker room. Migraine. Can you meet us and take her outside for halftime? Ted wants me to give speech.

Rebecca doesn’t reply, but a minute or so later, Roy hears the steady click-clack of her heels coming down the hall. Keeley whimpers, and he presses a kiss to her hair as the door swings open.

“Hey,” he says, shifting around to look at Rebecca.

“Hello,” she whispers back.

“Hey, Keeley, Rebecca’s here now,” Roy tips his face back down to whisper against the shell of her ear. “Think you can make it outside with her?”

“We can head back to the hotel, Keeley, if you think that’d help? It’s only a few minutes’ drive.”

“Yeah, ‘s quieter there,” she says, but doesn’t move.

“And I’ll meet you there just as soon as the match is done, hmm?” He runs his fingers up and down her arm, shifting away slightly. “Here, want to take my sunglasses, block out some of the light?”

At that, Keeley squeezes her eyes shut and turns her face up toward Roy. He chuckles and slides his glasses over her eyes, then brushes a kiss to the tip of her nose.

“Alright then, off you go,” He lets Rebecca take her by the arm and lead her back out of the locker room, trying to ignore the way his heart clenches at the sight of her trudging away, hunched over against her own discomfort.

He’ll be back with her soon enough. But the door has no more than swung shut behind them when it bounces open again. Jamie and Sam are leading the pack, the whole team piling in around him.

As usual, their energy is infectious, and Roy finds himself slapping hands and patting backs as he makes his way across the room to where Ted is bringing up the rear.

“Hey, Roy, you get everything all squared away?”

“For now. Rebecca’s taking Keeley back to the hotel; she’s not feeling well.” He should have known better than to hope that Ted Lasso would ever let anything drop with a simple explanation.

“Well that’d explain the text message I got from Boss Lady asking if she’d be alright rooming with me tonight.” Roy’s eyebrows go up at that. “And I’m guessin’ from the look on your face that she didn’t mention anything about that to you? Aw, geez, I hope I didn’t spoil a surprise or anything. But the cat’s out of the metaphorical bag now, isn’t it? So I might as well tell you that I told her that I was a-OK with switching up the room arrangements if that’s what’s best for everyone tonight. Thataways you can keep an eye on Keeley, and down the hall we can have Biscuits with the Boss: Evening Edition. How’s that sit with you?”

“Honestly, Ted, I have no opinion on what time of day you eat biscuits,” Roy sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But thanks. I think. For making sure I can be there for Keeley.”

“We’re all on the same team here, right? What’s good for the goose and all that, we’re at our best when everyone is at their own, individual best. Hey, speaking of, there are some guys in here, waiting for someone to put a little extra pep in their step for the back end of this game. If you’re not up for it, I can see what Coach Beard has up his sleeve, or-”

“No, it’s fine,” Roy cuts him off before the rambling can reach full speed again. “I’ve got this one.”

He turns back to the group, and yells for everyone to listen up. When he’s got their attention, he takes a deep breath.

“What you’re doing on the pitch today, it’s fucking amazing,” he starts. “Not the score, though that’s pretty alright too. But that doesn’t matter half as much as how you’re playing. Hell, you assholes keep communicating this well, you’re going to put us coaches out of a job. I know Ted’s all about the rhymes and anecdotes and shit, but that’s not … I’m not a walking greeting card store,” everyone chuckles, Ted included. “But get back out there, keep working together, and dammit, make the four of us redundant!”

There’s a round of half-sarcastic applause, then Ted steps forward.

“Alright, y’all heard the man. Don’t get tired, get us fire—well, actually, don’t get us fired. That’s not … take the sentiment of what Roy said, but do me a favor and don’t take him literally. I like working with y’all. Anyway, Coach Beard’s gonna take it from here, walk y’all through a couple plays for the second half.”

The players cluster around Beard and his whiteboard diagram, and Ted finds his way back over to Roy at the back of the group.

“You know, if you need to head out a little early today, we can pull through without you. Sometimes a team is strongest when it’s split up to work on all the different things it needs to get done. Like taking care of each other.”

Any other day, he likes to think he’d insist on staying for the rest of the match. But if he’s honest with himself, he knows that he’ll put Keeley first anytime she needs him to.

“That’d be great, Ted. Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem, Roy. I’ll come check up on y’all when we get back?” Roy nods and shakes Ted’s hand quickly, then slips out of the locker room while Beard is saying something about the Sheffield players having “lots of power, like a high-watt light bulb.”

He doesn’t have a car, doesn’t feel like waiting on an Uber, so it’s a half-hour's walk back to the hotel. When he gets there, Rebecca is already waiting for him in the lobby.

“Ted gave me your room number,” she starts, as soon as they’ve said their hellos. “Keeley’s up there lying down. I, uh, I assumed yours was the bed with the unicorn on it?”

“It’s Phoebe’s,” he groans. “But yes.”

“I’m sure.” But she’s smirking like she might not be. “Anyway, Ted’s things are already taken care of, and I think I got everything of Keeley’s into your room, but she unpacked her entire suitcase first thing, so I might’ve missed some shoes or something.”

“No problem. She’ll get them back, I’m sure. Thanks for taking care of her.”

“Anytime, Roy. Really. I’m just down the hall, if either of you need anything.”

Roy nods his thanks and steps into the elevator.

He swipes his key card to unlock the door, then turns the handle and pushes it open slowly. The lights are turned off, and the curtains drawn, so he makes his way carefully, trying to remember if these rooms have any wayward furniture for him to stumble over.

Thankfully, the walkway is clear. He sits gently on the edge of his bed, smiling when the Keeley-shaped lump of covers shifts closer to him.

“Hey, babe,” she mutters.

“Hi,” Roy presses his lips together and pats what he thinks is probably her knee through the blankets. “Feeling better?”

“A little. Rebecca gave me water. And it’s quiet here.”

“Yeah, it is.” He’s not sure what else to say, but Keeley saves him from having to carry on the conversation.

“There’s a unicorn on your bed. ‘S soft.”

“His name is Captain McKibbin,” Roy replies, rolling his eyes even though he knows she can’t see from here. “I’ll tell Phoebe you like him.”

“Please do.”

“Anything else you need?”

“Just you,” she says, and it’s so quietly honest that if Roy weren’t already pretty sure he’s in love with her, it would have sealed the deal. He toes his shoes off and shimmies out of his windbreaker and trousers.

“Alright, well shove over then,” he teases, nudging her shoulder until there’s room for him to lie down beside her. When he pulls the covers back, he recognizes the hoodie she’s wearing as the one he’d crammed into the top of his bag when he packed last night. It’s three sizes too big, and she’s got one of her own just like it, but she looks far better in Roy’s than he ever will.

As soon as he’s lying down, Keeley is turning over and fitting herself against his side, tucking her face back into his bare chest. It’s still early in the evening, and Roy knows that if he falls asleep now, he’ll spend all week regretting it. But Keeley needs the rest, and there’s not much he can do without turning on the TV or lighting up his phone screen.

Besides, one afternoon nap never killed anyone, right?

So he closes his eyes and listens to her steady breathing. When Keeley wakes up, hopefully the worst of the migraine will have passed, and she’ll feel more like herself again. Roy knows they’ve got a pass on team bonding tonight, if they need it, and he doesn’t want to push Keeley into anything she’s not up for. But rumor has it that Beard found a pub with a bowling alley in it, and that’s bound to be entertaining, no matter the scores at the end of the night.

For right now, though, the only thing that matters is Keeley, curled up against him and warmer than all the blankets stacked on top of them. She’s asleep, and he’s following close behind, and nothing matters beyond the comfort they share.

Not migraines, or bowling, or trick plays, or shoes that might have been left down the hall, or anything but Roy and Keeley and this moment together, in the dark and the quiet.

Just them.

#thanks for the ask!#katie writes #anon love #ted lasso #roy x keeley #roy kent #keeley jones #phoebe #rebecca welton #kw21 #prompt fill #requested #just them

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newagesispage · 3 years

Text

OCTOBER 2021

THE RIB PAGE

*****

We miss U Charlie Watts!!

*****

The Stones performed at a private party for Patriots owner Robert Kraft of all people. The test run looked like just that. Shark jumped. I am becoming disillusioned.

*****

SNL is back with Owen Wilson as first host of season 47. Kacey Musgraves is the musical guest. Episode 2 will have a ridic choice for host. Halsey will sing. I suppose $ is power with the Kardashians. I could think of about 10 million other people to host but more and more Lorne goes for the shiny object , what he THINKS people want instead of taking risk. Beck Bennett is out.

*****

Is everybody watching the Amber Ruffin Show?? I loved her before but now… I learn so much from her show. Sometimes it takes a comic to get to the real serious shit. For example: Have you heard of drowning towns? Towns like Oscarville, Kowaliga, York hill, Seneca Village, Prentiss and countless other black towns that were drowned out to make lakes for the local whites. Central Park was also made after a black community was erased from history. Development displacement? Alleyway dwelling authority? Even those rabid for history can find out new things everyday. Thanks Amber!!

*****

Bob Woodward and Robert Costa are finally giving us Peril !!!!!! I’ve been waiting!!** I was in political nerd heaven on Sept. 24 when Yamiche hosted Robert, Bob and Weijia Jang on Washington Week. All of my favorite pundits all together at one table, my dream team!!

*****

Iman looked great at the Met Gala!! Other great looks belonged to AOC, Tessa Thompson, Maluma, Helen Lasichanb and Pharrell Williams. Gigi Hadid, Kiki Layne, Ashton Sanders, Hailee Steinfeld, Kehlani, Zoe Kravitz, Michaela Cole, Lili Reinhart, Kate Hudson and Shai Gilgeous- Alexander were great. Whoopi Goldberg seemed a bit off.

*****

Jason Isbell is back with his latest offering, Georgia Blue.

*****

I see a lot of Title Max type establishment are closing down. Are they a thing of the past? Let’s hope.

*****

Law and Order is coming back to NBC for season 21. Dick Wolf will own 2 entire nights of television. Some of the old cast is reported to be returning.

*****

Britney Spears Father was suspended as her conservator.

*****

Timothy Chalamet, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins and Olivia Coleman will star in Wonka.

*****

The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show will bring us Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar.

*****

People are doing test runs for school board positions to see if their political ideas will play well for the big leagues. If they don’t seem to work, at least they can sometimes change the rules in their own area.

*****

Joe Rogan got Covid.

*****

Lake Michigan beaches were closed down thanks to a US Steel plant chemical leak.

*****

Is this country the master of endless administrative work? None of us should have been surprised at the red tape that the slowed down the end of the war in Afghanistan.** Uber donated 50k for rides and meals to the Afghans when they arrive.**And why do so many waste taxpayer $ on useless recounts and recalls when people need real help with food and healthcare? They must really hate humanity.

*****

R. Kelly was found guilty of 8 counts of sex trafficking and 1 count of racketeering.

*****

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

*****

Texas has put a law into effect to allow most Texans to carry open without permit or training.

*****

Texas has banned abortion at about 6 weeks. Uber and Lyft will pay drivers legal fees if sued under Texas abortion law. Lyft donated $1mil to Planned Parenthood. ** Look for the ruling in the Mississippi law over Roe V. Wade in June 2022.**Hear us roar!** BTW.. Go Jen Psaki!!!!!!!

*****

They seriously banned plastic straws and abortion before assault rifles? – Eden Dranger

*****

Please stop banning abortions, the last thing the world needs is more Americans. –Sarah Beattie

*****

Women don’t inseminate themselves. Vasectomies are reversible. Should every man have one until he’s deemed financially and emotionally fit to be a Father? – Bradley Whitford

*****

90 year old William Shatner will go to space for Blue Origin.

*****

The Q Anon Shaman pled guilty to a felony for obstructing the Electoral College proceedings. I say 20 years and a $250K fine.** 600 others have been indicted.

*****

Days Alert: The Beyond Salem thing was ridic but it was so great to see some old characters. Days is so great at visiting old family. Who can resist Shane, Austin and Carrie, Billie and the old Kristen? I do wish that Peacock would get their kinks out!! Back to the real Days: Are we smelling an Emmy for Susan Seaforth Hayes and Bill?? ** Good to have Abigail back. It is always fun to wonder which actress and or personality it will be. ** Deidre Hall got her star on the walk of fame.**And just in time for Halloween, the Devil is making a comeback. The end of the year in Salem is always the best!! It is so brave to give the 96 year old man the old switcheroo into the Dark Lord. It was fun to see the grandkids discover Grandma Marlena’s story. Delicious!! Hail Satan!!** It is past time for Tate and Teresa to come back to town. Brady needs to be put in his place. And thanks for the Philip and Chloe flashbacks!!

*****

The breakdown of the vaccinated: 90% of Atheists, 86% Hispanic Catholic, 84% Agnostic, 79% White Catholic, 73% White mainline protestant, 70% Black mainline protestant, 57% white evangelical. 1 in 500 Americans have died of Covid.

*****

So Mike Lindell and Jim Baker have teamed up to sell children’s Bible pillows.** Piers Morgan has returned to the Murdoch organization by joining Fox. That sounds about right.

*****

Please stop saying the vaccine does not have severe side effects, I took my shots and now I’m alive and have to keep working. –Mohand Eishieky

*****

In theatres Oct. 22: The French Dispatch.** October also brings us a new season of Curb your enthusiasm and Oct. 17 will catch us up on Succession. Whew!!!

*****

So people under conservatorship are not free to marry who they want? What?

*****

46% of Americans believe in ghosts.

*****

Simone Biles, Mckayla Maroney and Aly Rasiman testified at the Senate judiciary hearing about the FBI’s handling of accusations against Larry Nassar and it was eye opening!

*****

We wanted a no -nonsense Dem who pushes on and does not puss out. I am a bit surprised to see we have it. There are so many pressing issues that I hope Biden works a bit more on Haiti though.

*****

The National Police Act was passed to celebrate cops. Still no police reform.

*****

John Mulaney and Olivia Munn are going to have a baby.

*****

The Emmy’s were a little different this year with more of a Golden Globe look. Cedric the Entertainer hosted with Reggie Watts as DJ. Lots of minority noms but barely a win. It was a white people night. Ted Lasso had a great night. Mare of Eastown took home a few with Evan Peters, Julianne Nicholson and Kate Winslet. Now, Kate is great but how did Anya Taylor- Joy not walk away with that? Queens Gambit did win a couple and gave the longest speech with the seemingly arrogant director Scott Frank who opened up 2 page acceptance. Categories were tough but I was routing for Renee Elise Goldberry and Bowen Yang but perhaps next year. The people in England who had their own party for all the statues that the Crown won seemed to be having more fun! Hacks won for writing and directing and Jean Smart!! It was nice to see the Norm Macdonald love which was barely mentioned by Lorne but celebrated by John Oliver. Colbert ‘s election night special won as did JB Smoove. Hamilton won and Debbie Allen got the big one. I do not understand why real singers and or musicians have to be there for the in Memoriam. It takes me out of it a bit and concentrates the focus on them. Do they think that people will pay attention more? Do they want to keep the home audience or live audience from the bathroom? My best dressed were Anya Taylor-Joy, Michaela Cole who won for I may destroy you, Jean Smart, Josh O’Connor, Kathryn Hahn, Billy Porter, MJ Rodriguez, Keenan Thonpson, Leslie Odom Jr., Catherine O’Hara, Trevor Noah, Eugene Levy, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, Bowen Yang, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Grossman, Amber Ruffin, Allyson Felix, Renee Elise Goldberry, Samira Wiley and Rege- Jean Page. My worst were Sarah Paulson, Gillian Anderson, Beanie Feldstein, Elizabeth Olsen and Aidy Bryant. To me the best part of the show was the enthusiasm of Conan and the way he injected himself into much of the evening .He was the show. Go Conan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****

Next year there must be some Emmys for Sarah Paulson and Cobie Smulders in Impeachment!!!!!

*****

Oh Boy!! The Eyes of Tammy Faye!!

*****

Looking forward to the Electric Life of Louis Wain with Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy.

*****

Abba has a new album!!

*****

Shang Chi is the biggest Labor Day opening with a $71.4 mil opening.

*****

Sen. Amy Klobuchar has announced she has breast cancer.

*****

Is it the 70’s? A streaker ran past the studio of the Today show.

*****

Rascal Flatts Joe Don Rooney was arrested for DUI.** Nicholas Cage was thrown out of a prime rib pace in Vegas after being drunk and disorderly.

*****

Jennifer Eckhart has filed a lawsuit against former Fox news anchor Ed Henry for rape and retaliation after allegedly being handcuffed and beaten.

*****

Scarlett Johansson has settled her Disney lawsuit.

*****

Pete Buttigieg and Chasten had twins they named Penelope Rose and Joseph August.

*****

I noticed a commercial for Dancing with the Stars. Are we onto the E list because I have heard of hardly any of these people. ‘Stars’is really stretching it. And as I post this I see there are some covid issues there as well.

*****

Virgin River was renewed for 2 more seasons.

*****

Trevor Noah is right? Why do they stop giving lollipops to adults at the doctor?

*****

Jon Stewart is back on Apple tv with ‘The problem with Jon Stewart.

*****

Brooklyn 99 had about the best finale (other than Newhart) that I can recall. I had my fingers crossed that Chelsea would be back. Will they honor us like they did in the show and come back for a special about once a year? That would be fucking awesome!!

*****

Don’t expect compliments from an insecure person.- Mr. Pickles

*****

Thousands and thousands of people are in need. Haitian refugees and other immigrants have seen nothing like this what with assassination, a hurricane and earthquake. The Southern border is a mess.** Why does Fox news keep telling refugees the border is open as they sit back and laugh at Biden’s predicament. Spreading false info to intentionally hurt poor, distressed people has no end for them.

*****

Do companies know how fucked up their employment websites are? It is true that some people do not want to work. It is true that people schedule interviews and don’t show up. It is also true that companies have made it so hard to apply that many can’t. I suppose it is easier for them but the poor who may really want to work have a hard time. Paper applications are almost completely gone. The old fashioned way of walking into low paying job sites and finding a connection with a manager rarely exist. Some places only accept texts or have long ridiculous psych tests that a working Mother may not have time for. A Father working many hours already, may not be able to go to the library to get online if they cannot afford a computer. Many websites tell you that there no positions available in your area while there is a huge sign in front of the establishment. Can’t find people to work.. Gee I wonder why?? And treat people with respect once you find them, how about that?

*****

Keep your head up in failure, and your head down in success. –Jerry Seinfeld

*****

Hey.. There was a van air B’n B biz going that got busted. Hey.. The poor need vaca’s too. It is wrong but If they are willing to sleep in a van, why not. I truly think that many do not understand how much people are struggling.

*****

Free coffee day came and went but only a few places really gave you free coffee without rules to govern the promo. Some places wanted to sell you something else and some made you belong to their club. Starbucks held that customers had to come inside for the free cup of Joe, handicapped or not.

*****

One would think the Republicans would run out of $ for recounts but they have deep pockets. Just think how much good they could do for the huddled masses with that scratch.

*****

Sad to lose Mick Brigden, protégé of Bill Graham who managed The Stones and worked with Frampton, Dylan and Santana.** And the comics were very vocal about the loss of Norm Macdonald. He was one of a kind and he will be missed!

*****

R.I.P. Ruth Marx, Lee Scratch Perry, Willard Scott, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Isadore Bleckman, George Wein, Michael K. William,George Holliday, Anthony Johnson, Basil Hoffman, Al Harrington,Willie Garson, Mick Brigden, Tommy Kirk and Norm Macdonald.

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previouslynebraskan · 3 years

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Why humans are assholes

Hi, my pen name is Gwendolyn, and welcome to my TED talk on empathy

*side note, I suck at writing, and my train of thought is derailed frequently. So buckle up, and I’ll be surprised if you make it with me to the end, as we don’t know organization.

First off, I’ll disclaim something terrible about myself. I’m a Christian. Even worse. I’m a rosary rattler. A Catholic! Oh and you thought it couldn’t get worse? I’m not even a good one. God and I are only on speaking terms when I need him (which is pretty frequent, but not the point). Church feels like an obligation most weeks, and just because I know the rules and believe in the rules, doesn’t mean that I follow them.

Alrighty! Terrible things out of the way. Let’s begin. Humans are assholes. Most people, especially the population of Tumblr, will agree with me. Between human atrocities, selfishness, and down right lack of care, humans are just assholes. I am too. I am human. Ask my siblings. Like any good older sister, I wanted nothing to do with my siblings, and when forced to see them at school, I was unprecedently mean to them. Ask my husband. I am ridiculously selfish, and only do things when it suits me. And yet, there is an entire history of the human race, with worse individuals than myself. And a lot of people might see that, and think, cool, I feel better about myself, because I’m not Hitler. I feel better about myself because I wasn’t a member of the KKK. Well, personally, I don’t. The next disclaimer I am going to make about myself, I’m a self-diagnosed empath. I’ve never been to a therapist. I don’t currently have plans to either, but I’ll let God decide that path later. The reason I bring this up, and the reason I mentioned my religion at the beginning, is because I truly believe that if not for my first disclaimer, my second might not exist.

I am a crier. And I get annoyed at criers. But I don’t cry at reasonable things. No. I cry at other people’s feelings. Let’s bastardize the golden rule real quick. For those who are unaware, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” Now, I’m sure many people recall going through a phase where they could translate that in their still learning brains to “I can treat people however I want because I wouldn’t care if they were that way to me.” Now back to the golden rule. The bastardization is, put yourself in someone else’s shoes. How many of us got told this by their parents at a young age after not playing nicely with another kid? Apparently, God took it upon Himself to write that verse on my heart. And it went something like this: I cried when my mother told me that her grandmother (whom I had only met twice and had no actual recollection of) died. I was inconsolable when my grandfather died. So much so that even now, almost fifteen years later, it still stops me in my tracks, my heart hurts so much. I cried when Michael Jackson died. I didn’t really even like his music that much. I’ve cried at almost every movie I’ve ever seen. My sister’s speech at my wedding included the moment where she had to chaperone me on a date with my then boyfriend, and we went to Frozen. Now yes, I cried at the scene when her parents die in the shipwreck. But it gets worse. Elsa is out there, just ran away, no plans for shelter yet apparently, and she begins to break out into song. At first I’m fine. But then I can feel my heart, as she sings, “well now they know.” I start bawling my eyes out. And all I can give in response to my sister’s quizzical look of “What the fuck is wrong with you???” (Yes I cursed, I told you, not one of the good ones. Fuck off), was: “She’s just so happy!” I wouldn’t necessarily say I was sad at that time. But I could feel the relase that an animated character was expressing on the big screen. I could feel the weight come off of her shoulders, and I cried. I mourned for what she went through, but shed tears of joy that she had found peace. Tonight. I was watching Facebook videos instead of taking care of my nightly routine of getting ready for bed. And a Mengele twin told her story of survival. When she mentioned looking around for her father and older sisters, I felt that. When she said she could still see her mother’s outstreched arms, I could see that. When she mentioned the panic of trying to save her sister years after liberation, trying to find records of what was done to them, her rage and anger. And then her forgiveness. Do you know how strong someone has to be in order to forgive? To let go of the pain in your heart, knowing you’ll never get revenge. You’ll never get an answer. And you just let it go? That strength is super human. This week, as we pass the 20th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, my hometown did a wonderful commemoration. I cried. My aunt gave me a look of disgust because I was crying, again. I cried not only for those who lost their lives, but for their families who would never be whole, for the heroes who stepped up, then and now. I am a proud Navy wife. My husband is out sacrificing his time, so that I don’t have to. And so that I can worship my stupid religion that I cling to, so I can walk around saying inappropriate words and wear not enough clothing. But he made that choice. There are a lot who didn’t. Earlier this week, someone posted the transcription of the phone call of flight 93. The moment that he said that the passengers wanted to sacrifice their lives, for the sake of our country, I hurt. And then he asked the person on the other end of the line to pray. Another video this week, an ex soldier, who fought early on in Afghanistan was telling a story about one of his soldiers. They were getting ready for a raid that would likely kill them. His soldier asks, I know we signed up to fight, but why are we doing this? The man’s response was, for the people up in that tower who didn’t. He goes on to explain the story of a young mother. Two kids. Went to work like any other day, and her last attempt at human decency was to hold her skirt down as she jumped out of the burning tower, so the people below couldn’t see up her skirt.

Crpl. Page was a Marine from my state who just passed away. He was two years younger than me. I never knew him. But I grieve for his family and friends.

See the worst part about being an empath in a world where human’s are assholes, is there’s never a shortage of people’s feelings to feel. I’ve been told that you can experience an emotion so strongly that your body’s only reaction to the volume of what it feels is to cry. And that resonates with me. I feel joy to such an extreme when I’m with my family, celebrating time together. I feel the sorrow of people missing loved ones, and their hearts breaking. And there are times when I wonder if it’s a gift? Or if it’s a curse. It’s a gift to be able to go to someone and say, I can feel for you and your situation. I don’t feel sorry for you. I feel your pain as though it were my own. But it’s a curse to feel the attrocities of humanity and just sit and wonder why it had to happen. Why it had to come to this. I got told I was crying for attention. I wasn’t, but that didn’t matter. Supposedly, behavioral psychology could “fix me” if I wanted it. I could be trained to control my emotions, and process them in a way that wasn’t so consuming. It would definetly help my self diagnosed depression. But let’s posit that God made me this way for a reason. He gave me this gift with a purpose in mind. What then? The problem is, I don’t know how to effectively use it without letting it ruin my life. I can never be a therapist, because I would be able to take on the feelings of my clients. And while I do very much believe in tough love, I also belive that if you just have the right push in the right direction, great changes can be made. Would the Holocaust have happened if Hitler had better relationship with his mother? (this is a personal piece, I am reflecting on history classes I haven’t taken since high school. I’m not fact checking this. Don’t at me.) Would Columine have taken place if those kids had been in a better place mentally?

You know what the awful thing is...? Look at all of these events. Look at all of these heart wrenching dates in history. And then look what came out of them. Out of 9/11 came one of the most unified fronts America has had in a long time. Out of World War II came men of valor. A chemical reaction occurs when you take an object, and force it to experience a high degree of change. And that is what gives us assholes grit. Our experiences make us tougher, and make us better. And maybe less of a crybaby in my case. Or more of a cyborg who doesn’t experience emotion for fear of being consumed by them.

Ramble is over. For those of you who persisted and tried to keep up, good job and I’m sorry. For those who didn’t, don’t worry, I wouldn’t blame you.

Some effort is better than none at all, and if all you are capable of is existing today, then I hope you do, and I know you will do it beautifully.

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0ciestiel0 · 4 years

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Buddie Appreciation/Ted Talk

Buddie Appreciation

This is going to be extremely long, basically a novel. For Real, this is loooong. I have tried my best to organize what we have for Buck and Eddie’s relationship and the building up that has been done and give some theories/explanations for our Buddie moments. I don’t necessarily mean that in the totally romantic sense as they aren’t actually a couple as of now, but I discuss why Buddie is a ship and why it is a valid ship and what it seems like the writers are doing. I cover all of seasons 1-3.I have posted everything before the updates sections before, but this is the complete seasons 1-3. Without further ado,

Welcome To My Ted Talk

So obviously Buck and Eddie are close. Buck calls him his best friend in Searchers. They didn’t start out that way, however.

Buck was jealous of Eddie. Not just because he was a new hot guy who was in his turf and he felt threatened with that whole hot firefighter calendar but of how easily the team accepted Eddie into their ranks. Buck had to fight and earn a place and respect but Eddie just walked in and had it. It stung and you could see it in Bucks facial expressions and overall attitude.

However, that animosity quickly subsided the minute he and Eddie share an intense call. He sees that Eddie has experience and skill. Eddie offers him to have his back and Buck offers the same. But Eddie acknowledges Buck’s skill. He tells him he’s good under pressure. He offers verbal praise which I think is something Buck kinda craves. He seems to need that verbal validation. He must not have had that unconditional love growing up, at least from his parents and Maddie left for school and then got married and had her own set of problems. But Eddie gave that validation. That was a very quick progression to friends but not necessarily unreasonable given Buck’s personality.

They slowly bond over their time being partnered in the field. Buck spends the most time with Chris out of anyone else on the team. Buck helps Eddie out, giving him rides, going to see Santa, getting Eddie Carla, and who knows what else we haven’t seen. The lady elf even thought they were a couple and Chris was their son. Buck obviously cares about Chris. He loves spending time with him. When Eddie brings him to the station Buck was already informing Bobby and getting the necessary permissions. And he was Playing with him on the fire pole with Eddie. Maddie even picks up on their closeness by teasing him about having boy-crush on Eddie.

Eddie talked to Buck about his relationship with Shannon. Buck was the one to take Eddie to the school to make sure Chris was ok and to pick him up, after the earthquake.

There was a lot of this trust built up and then Eddie emphasizes it when he drops Chris off with Buck before the tsunami. He drops by Bucks unannounced, clearly having a key to his place. Like it’s normal for Eddie to just show up without warning. I bet only Maddie would have a key besides Eddie. He gets Buck out of bed, not caring about his personal space. He says Chris is spending time with His Buck today. He’s Chris’s Buck. And maybe Eddie’s too. We don’t really know Eddie’s full meaning behind those words. We’ve never seen Eddie leave Chris with anyone but his family or Carla prior to this. He has a very overprotective nature with Chris. He wouldn’t even trust Shannon with him when she first came back.

And with Shannon is the first time we see Eddie get kind of angry at all. This is important for later. Chris has been the only thing that Eddie expresses lots of emotion for, aside from from his anger at Shannon which is still about Chris.

Then we have the tsunami episodes. And Eddie was happy to show everyone the selfies Buck was sending. He didn’t even seem worried that Buck and Chris were out that day. He likely assumed they were at the movies but still. He trusted Buck. And after Cap said that Buck still has them even if he doesn’t know it Eddie has that look of like ohhhhhh. And boom. Christopher basically becomes Bucks therapy.

And after. That scene at the end of Searchers. Where Eddie tells Buck there’s no one is this world he trusts more with his son than Buck, that’s intense. That’s meaningful. Parents just don’t say that to anyone, friends included. He also said Buck loved Christopher enough to never stop trying. Also an important thing to note. And Buck needed to hear that. Buck needs verbal affirmations it seems. He needs to hear that Eddie and Chris are still going to be a part of his life. That Eddie doesn’t hate him. That Chris doesn’t hate him.

Now to this whole lawsuit non-sense. After the tsunami Buck was cut off from his team. Even Eddie and Chris it seemed. Chris was having nightmares but Eddie didn’t go to Buck for it. It didn’t seem like anyone came around Buck much. And then he comes to find out Lena has taken his locker, his place as Eddie’s field partner. They taped over his name. Eddie is clearly spending time with her. It was all too much for Buck after the loss of no one coming around and he did something stupid. He filed the lawsuit. All he wanted was to get back with his 118 family. Including Eddie and Chris. I think the thought of losing Eddie as his best friend hurt him the most. He didn’t mean to cut of ties with Chris. He never wanted to hurt his family, especially Chris. He just wanted to feel like he belonged again. Like he hadn’t lost his family.

But he did act rashly. And Eddie took his rash decisions the hardest. Which came out at the grocery store. His whole speech was I couldn’t call you. I couldn’t reach out to you. It may have started with Chris misses you but it led to I need you why didn’t you consider that. It also made clear how much Buck means to Eddie. How much Eddie considers Buck a parental figure to Chris. The only other time Eddie got emotional was with Shannon. He felt betrayed when she left. When she left Chris. And it seems like Eddie had very similar feelings here. Like he and Buck had built this relationship and that relationship included Chris and then Buck just up and leaves. It’s like he stopped trying. If he loved Chris so much why would he have done this. To Eddie that felt like a Shannon betrayal all over again and he snapped. Which makes his grocery store outburst make so much more sense. And I think Chim was clearly picking up on just how intense this outburst from Eddie really was.

And It wasn’t just that he couldn’t talk to Buck either but that was certainly part of it. Buck was obviously Eddie’s first choice to bail him out of jail. He said to Lena he couldn’t call the team, he couldn’t call Buck. He separated Buck from the team. Like Buck was more to him than just a colleague or work friend. That he can trust Buck when he can’t trust anyone else. Buck obviously means a lot to Eddie. He even looked ready to deck Buck before the car accident in the parking lot happened. And what happens next? Eddie goes and does illegal street fighting. And Buck? He looked crushed when he heard that Eddie and Chris are hurting. I bet that’s exactly why he gave up on the lawsuit. He didn’t want millions. He wanted his family. He was wondering where Eddie was at the rage room. Just wait until Buck finds out about that. I have a feeling he will be the one to pull Eddie back from this spiral that he’s on.

Updates:

First thing I’d like to add into this is how the directors/writers add in these very…romantic tropey things with Buck and Eddie. Like how they set up shots for example. During Eddie’s ceremony when he’s finally like not a probationary firefighter and Chris is walking his helmet up the aisle and they have in frame: Eddie’s Abuela, Christopher coming up the middle, and Buck. And let’s take a min to look at Buck’s face as he sees Chris walking to his dad. It’s the face you’d expect a proud mom to have. But anyway. The fact they put Buck and Eddie’s Abuela in the same shot like that seems intentional and seems meaningful. Because Chris and his Abuela are two very important people to Eddie. And they have now included Buck into that moment. Giving us the impression Buck is as important to Eddie as his son (well almost, No One will be more important than Chris to Eddie but you know what I mean) and his Abuela.

Also, During Buck’s welcome back party we see Cap push Eddie, who was looking already ready to pounce, right to Buck to get the first hug. Everyone else waits while Eddie gets to greet his best friend first. And give him a very not bro-like hug. This kind of setup is also something we normally see with romantic partners. The love interest being the first to greet or hug or whatever.

Then we have that shot when Buck finally confronts Eddie for ghosting him when he comes back to the station. When they are standing apart Buck to the left Eddie to the right. It’s a very couple dynamic cinematography. Then after all is said and done, Eddie is still lying to Buck. He won’t meet Buck’s eyes. Like he knows if he makes eye contact Buck will push to find out what Eddie’s been secretly up to. And he knows he’d probably tell him. He tends to do that with Buck. He didn’t exactly want to talk about his relationship with Shannon when they took Chris to see Santa but it happened anyway. He talks to Buck. And Eddie currently doesn’t want to talk.

Next we have Buck and Eddie having dinner together at Bucks place with Christopher. We never see Eddie having dinner or hanging out like that with the other fire fam. Maybe as a group sometimes but never alone. And Eddie, once again, seems perfectly comfortable in Bucks place. we’ve seen he has a key when he showed up to get Buck out of bed pre-tsunami. And now we see him taking plates to the sink like he’s done that a million times before. He didn’t need to ask Buck what he wanted him to do.

And then we have that conversation in the kitchen. While Eddie does seem to have forgiven Buck, for real this time, Buck can’t seem to forgive himself. He apologizes for like the hundredth time. And Eddie is honestly shocked. He thought Buck knew things were good. But to Buck things weren’t. He still felt awful. He never meant to hurt his basically family like that. I think this is an interesting parallel here back to Shannon. She wanted Eddie to forgive her but she never really apologized. Not really. Eddie said he CAN forgive her. But wasn’t sure if he could trust her. He said he forgave Buck. No can, no maybe words. I think a lot of that has to do with their approach’s. Buck went out of his way to show Eddie he was sorry. He verbally said it multiple times. Eddie saw his remorse. He saw how much Buck was hurting just by the thought of hurting him and Christopher. That’s why Eddie thought they were past it. And why Buck didn’t. Buck seems pretty insecure with the people in his life. Like if they don’t tell him straight out what’s up he will worry. I don’t think Eddie’s the only one who feels like he’s not enough. I think Bucks love language thingy would be words of affirmation. He needed to hear Eddie tell him they were past it. To see Eddie really had forgiven him. And once they do get past it they are back to their weird flirty but not flirty thing they do. ([i](I mean did we all see Buck saunter over to Eddie with hands on his belt telling him he could take him?? Like that was a flirty way to say that, Buck))

And I think it says a lot that Eddie says his kind of therapy is just being with Buck and Chris. Buck does seem to be a grounding point for Eddie. Saying that out loud to Buck I think was important too because like I mentioned above Buck needs to hear things. Hearing that tells Buck that Eddie loves spending time with him. With his son. Basically like it’s his ideal day. It makes him happy.

And then we have the Christmas episode. Eddie invites Hen and Denny over to build gingerbread houses with Chris. But he also invites Buck. Hen points that out. All three of the boys. Buck, Chris, and Denny. Eddie knows how much Buck means to Chris. But I also think on some level he’s moral support for Eddie since he just told Hen that Chris was mad at him or upset really because he had to work on Christmas. And then Chris asks, His Buck, if he can spend Christmas with him. Like if he can’t have his dad he can have his Buck. Which is saying something right there. He knew he was going to be with his Abuela and his aunt but he still asked Buck. Buck obviously has a special place in Chris’s life for him to feel that way. To ask that kind of question knowing the alternative choice. But of course they both work and Eddie and Buck look heartbroken when Buck has to tell that to Chris. Let’s not overlook the face Eddie makes when he watches them make the gingerbread houses. Eddie looks so…happy when he looks over to Buck helping the kids. He doesn’t really look at other people that way.

Then at the station during the dinner, Buck is sitting next to Chris. Or more like Chris gets to sit next to both his dad and his Buck. They group Buck with the Diaz family a lot during this part. When Buck gives Chris his gift, it’s Chris, Buck, Eddie, and his Abuela off to the side. During dinner they sit like a family. During the fire fam photo Buck stands next to Eddie and the Diaz clan. When they return to the station to find all their family there the look on Bucks face is pure joy as he sees Eddie see Chris. And as he watched Eddie rush to Chris. Buck to doesn’t really make that face for other people. He made a similar face when Chris walked Eddie’s helmet up to Eddie after his probation status was up.

The writers and directors are intentionally making Buck look like part of Eddie’s family. They started this in season two but it’s increased since then. The way they film the shots, the way they write the dialogue, and the way the actors act the parts all add up to a very romantic/family centered relationship.

[c]It makes me wonder how much is implied off screen between Buck and Eddie. Like how much time does Buck really spend with the two, how much co-parenting are we not seeing. Because Chris isn’t attached to anyone else from the fire fam like he is Buck. It must mean Buck spends quite a bit of time with them. Kids don’t just get attached like that otherwise.

Episode 11 of season 3. So they start off giving us an odd look between Buck and Eddie on being asked if they are single. Was that necessary? Why did they look at each other? Are they setting up a not single scenario? In all honesty I feel like it’s too late to give us a love interest for either of them this far into a season for it to be a serious love interest.

Then we have Maddie scolding Buck for not bringing a gift to Eddie’s house. He didn’t need Maddie to “save him from himself”. Buck knows when to bring gifts, he’s done so at least twice before. Like with Bobby and Athena’s Christmas thing he brought like wine and eggnog. So he didn’t bring a gift because he was being forgetful or rude he did it because he doesn’t feel like a guest in Eddie’s house. Because Eddie has made him feel this way. Eddie wants him to feel that way. So when he says this is Eddie’s house, he’s not really a guest, both he and Eddie mean that.

Eddie also gives Buck and Chris that really soft but huge smile he only gives them while Buck was playing with Chris on the couch with Albert. And Buck hovers next to Albert and Chris as everyone is getting dinner, like he needs to supervise.

Episode 12 of season 3. Now this episode was stressful for many Buddie shippers I’m sure. But we are not yet to the famous line of Dante “Abandon all hope ye who enter here”.

Yes, Eddie does flirt with that teacher. But Eddie is still human and the pretty girl kinda flirted with him. And sometimes there is a “mistake” relationship before the real romance happens. Many late season love interests don’t end up staying on tv shows. They are a stepping stone almost. If she does stay at all or more like if they continue to pursue this or if Eddie leaves it. Who knows where they were going with this, it could be a thing or it could end at flirting. Although I do fail to see how they could possibly build to something as good and developed with a new love interest as they have with Buck and Eddie. The foundation has basically been built for them already and they would literally have to start from the ground up with someone new to make this any sort of believable. Not just some nice, cute, woman thrown into either of their lives.

Eddie did apologize to her but some of the things she said make me wonder if they are hinting to Eddie’s future Buck feelings. Like her whole “There’s also some value in learning that… you don’t like horses.” Could that mean she picked up on something Eddie hasn’t? Or foreshadowing? Writers do dirty tricks like that. And I’d personally like to believe they wouldn’t set up Eddie with someone we the audience haven’t had anytime to get to know. He’s not that kind of guy from what we know. He’s had like one relationship. And even when he was separated (before she died) from Shannon he didn’t date?? So why would he just jump into something with this teacher whom we and he know nothing about??

Buck’s teasing Eddie while they got that woman unstuck from a window also seemed a little jealous maybe? Not to say he’s jealous Eddie has a date and he doesn’t but jealous he’s not the date even if Buck doesn’t totally realize that’s why he’s jealous. A stretch perhaps but why did he need to bring it up right then. Plus Eddie looked like “hey, I didn’t tell you that to mock me” kind of face. Like shocked Buck said that. And if Bobby’s face was anything to go by that was something he only had told Buck about because Bobby looked very shocked and confused, and clearly knew nothing of that situation Eddie had gotten himself in. Buck blurting that out seemed a little...out of place, is all I’m saying. Was he maybe a little relieved he may never talk to her again outside of school necessities? But Eddie apologizes anyway soo...

And we can’t forget about the poker game at Maddie’s and how Buck was not at all offended that he would get set up with a man but that his sister said she wouldn’t do that to Josh. Plus I think Buck isn’t really looking to date. I know he said all those things but since when has Buck ever had trouble getting a date if he wanted to. I was getting the vibe that Buck just isn’t actively looking. That he’s kind of ok with where he’s at right now.

We also can’t ignore how Eddie clearly vents to Buck. Not only about Chris but his terrible flirting and snippy behavior. And Buck also puts things into a better perspective for Eddie. He doesn’t just offer up some weak moral support, he offers actual constructive advice. He trusts Buck. Yes, that comes with being his best friend but when you pair that with all the other romantic subtext you get that close bond that Eddie likely isn’t going to get with someone else. (Cute English teacher I’m looking at you). And he also trusts Buck with Chris. He trusts Buck’s advice even though he’s not a parent himself. More than he trusts anyone else according to Eddie. And they are at Buck’s place. Alone. No Chris? That was clearly a hangout so Eddie could vent and talk out his feelings. Plus Buck uses baseball as a stepping stone for his point. He knows Eddie likes it. And they only just brought baseball up last episode. But we know Buck pays attention to small details. Did Buck actually read that book in the hospital? Or did he research people who were different but found ways to succeed before Eddie came over? Also, Eddie knew who the player was so he probably knew some of the details of his interesting story. But he let Buck explain.

And ok. When Eddie is talking to Chris he tells him things he told Buck in regards to Chris. He told his son to never stop trying. He told Buck he knows he loves Chris enough to never stop trying. He also tells Chris that next time he wants to try something they will try it together. And that just happens to also mean with Buck. That was likely Buck’s idea, just like with Carla, and Christmas. Buck doesn’t hesitate with Chris, if he can do something for him he’s going to get it done. He puts so much effort into being there for Chris, for making sure Chris is ok, he already loves Eddie’s son so much and the tsunami only bonded them more.

And the most heartwarming scene of the episode? Eddie and Buck surprising Chris with the special skateboard while Carla films the whole thing. They way Eddie and Buck look while they both spend time with Chris is just so domestic and comfortable and sweet. They feel like a family. They look like a family. They act like a family. Buck and Eddie are so in sync with each other. They only look at each other that way. Eddie’s flirty eyes are still different than the “heart” eyes he gives to Buck and his son. It’s a look so far that is exclusively reserved for them.

There’s also a lot of this parallel of it being pointed out that Buck is single but then they cut to him, Eddie, and Chris as a family unit. Maddie and Chim seem to think they don’t have a kid but oh they have Buck, but Buck has been coparenting with Eddie for a while now and knows more about raising a kid than Maddie or Chim.

And the episode title, Fools, leaves a lot of questions too. The episode Eddie happens to flirt happens to be titled fools? The fools were not limited to the calls they received. Our fire fam is not immune.

Now on to Eddie Begins. Let’s start with the big moment. With Buck breaking down when the rig collapsed trapping Eddie. He screamed his name, began to try digging for Eddie, has to be pulled away by Bobby where he breaks down and cries. And then everyone, Bobby, Hen, Chim, and I assume a guy (who works with those digging rigs?) has to reassure him that no, no one thinks Eddie is dead. And that no one has given up. Buck even suggest to dig by hand. It was the same level of panic he had when he was separated from Chris during the tsunami. When Maddie was missing. It’s his, my family is in danger panic.

Now I know Buck would be worried about anyone he cares about. But he’s never been that overwhelmed with emotion for anyone except Maddie. Someone he finds especially close and dear to him. He hasn’t responded that way to the others the way he responds to Eddie. It’s like the thought of losing Eddie truly broke him.

And then when Eddie is losing consciousness he thinks about Chris, Buck, and the fire fam. But there’s a lot of moments he brings back that are just him Buck and Chris. That relationship with Buck and Chris is important to him. And the look of pure relief and joy on Bucks face when Eddie is okay, is that look he reserves for Chris.

We also had Buck looking at Eddie with the same level of anticipation of his answer to Chris asking him to be part of his show and tell that Chris had. And his level of comfort with Eddie just coming right up like he’s part of that family. And he just takes Eddie’s medal like no big deal. And Eddie let him.

And how they set up the scene where Eddie reunited with the team very much reminds me of when Buck was trying to tell Eddie he lost Chris in the tsunami and then Chris shows up behind him. Everyone was trying to keep Buck calm, make plan to find Eddie, and then there he is. They start with buck’s face. Show his emotion as he realizes Eddie’s not dead. Then we see Buck, and the others rush to him. As buck supports Eddie, we see the look of relief on his face. The look of joy/love at Eddie being ok.

Also, Buck asks the same questions as a nine year old. Just a fun fact not sure what to do with that yet.

[c]The One That Got Away

Let’s just start with Eddie’s sass when Buck says he wants to do something reckless.

I would like to point out how out of character it was for Buck to not go to Eddie’s for Chris’s sleepover. Eddie invited him outright. Even after he declined and everyone else had date night Buck could have showed up at Eddie’s. I understand that they wanted Buck alone at the bar to point out how alone Buck feels but I think they should have picked a different excuse for Eddie. And maybe this is showcasing Buck doesn’t feel like he’s part of Eddie’s “people” but Eddie clearly thinks of him as his people or he wouldn’t have invited him to his plans. Plus, Chris loves Buck so much. He was who he wanted to spend Christmas with when his dad had to work.

And can we talk about how Buck looks pointedly at Eddie when they talk about not losing touch as a fire fam. Buck’s eyes go straight back to Eddie. Every time he says that won’t happen to us or it better not. It’s once again a subtle point to how important they are to each other.

I guess this episode does point out that Buck has self esteem issues. That even when being blatantly offering an open door Buck doesn’t feel like he’s welcome. But that could all change with a simple conversation. A simple talk with Eddie. And hell it could start with Eddie telling Buck he understands what it’s like to be left behind. Shannon left him. Without warning. He knows. They could talk. It would honestly probably be good for both of them. Buck obviously has a big heart and what he did for Red was sweet. But he also took it too seriously as that’s his future but that’s simple not the case and someone seriously who isn’t Maddie, and probably Eddie, needs to tell him so.

This episode opened the door for Abby’s return and I honestly hope it brings us closure for Buck so he can move on. So he can maybe have that talk with Eddie. So Eddie and Buck can heal together.

The finale parts of season 3.

There are two finale eps this season. The first part isn’t too Buck or Eddie focused but we have a few moments we can talk about.

First up is the moment in the fire truck as Buck is giving hot air ballon facts and when Eddie asks where he heard that from and asks Maddie, then Buck goes no someone else. I was a bit surprised at his reluctance to tell Eddie. Eddie is the only person there who doesn’t know Abby personally. He only knows what Buck or the team has told him. He has no first hand bias. It felt like he doesn’t want Eddie to perhaps judge him or pick up on he’s still got some hang ups when it comes to Abby. But Eddie is his best friend and relationships are certainly something they talk about with each other and not the rest of the team. Eddie in particular. Not to mention Eddie’s suspicious eyebrows. He probably knew exactly who Buck was avoiding talking about.

And then we have the scene with Hen and Karen and Hen saying she doesn’t want to invite tons of people for the “dinner” with Chim because of cost. Well if Hen brings Karen, Chim brings Maddie, Maddie invites Buck (probably out sibling loyalty), Buck invites Eddie. And then Bobby and Athena have to get invited. This was set up in such a way that couples were grouped together with the exception of Maddie and Buck but she has that sister love of inclusion thing with him. That’s more subtext. More tropes.

Now part two. The first big interaction with Buck and Eddie would be when Eddie is bringing up summer camp with the fire fam. Eddie doesn’t seem too worried about letting him go but Buck seems to have all kinds of concerns. None of the others voiced any concerns or challenges Eddie’s decision to let him go. But Buck does. Acting more like an overprotective parent than a friend. And when he says what if he gets homesick felt like it had two meanings, much like when Eddie said/yelled at Buck in the grocery store. For Eddie when he yelled Chris misses you, there was an undertone of, I miss you. For Buck, what if he gets homesick, felt like what if I miss him? The added snark of sounds like child labor adds to that feeling. Like he’s just trying to find fault with this summer camp idea. Of course Buck wants Chris to have a good time but I think his worrying goes a bit deeper than seeing Chris as his best friends kid even if he doesn’t realize it. And of course we have another frustrated Bobby eye roll at Buck’s words. Like he knows Buck is being ridiculous but isn’t going to actually tell him so and that he probably sees it what Buck doesn’t. The looks Bobby has been giving Buck and Eddie this season have been wonderful overall, just saying.

Then when have when Eddie and Abby and talking and Buck shows up. Eddie notices the change in Buck’s demeanor. And his shocked face throughout the encounter is priceless. And after they rescue Sam, Eddie asks Buck if he is ok. He gives him the chance to tell Eddie he’s not ok by asking him directly which Eddie doesn’t do too often. His concern for Buck is obvious but he doesn’t push. He is trusting Buck for the time being that he will at least be ok enough to work and maybe Eddie understands better than anyone that focusing on the job is what he needs at that moment.

Next we have Buck wanting to do something reckless to save both Abby’s fiancé and the other person. Buck is adamant and fighting with Bobby. That’s normal. Buck challenges Bobby quite a bit when it comes to reckless decisions. What is unusual in this case is Eddie stepping in. Yelling at Buck to stop. He says this as Buck brings up the fire truck that crushed his leg. Almost like that was too much for Eddie. He had to watch that happen to Buck and was there when the truck came off him. He doesn’t want to risk his partners life. Normally Eddie is the one to jump into reckless situations with him but this time he didn’t, he tried to talk Buck down and out of the idea. Obviously that didn’t work. And Eddie doesn’t raise his voice often. Shannon and Buck are really the only people he has yelled at. He didn’t even really yell at Chris’s teacher, it was a sort of raised voice and he was angry but he didn’t outright yell. I think that means something or speaks to the level of closeness Buck and Eddie share. That the only two people he ever yells at are his son’s mother and Buck. The show puts a lot of parallels between Buck and Shannon and that can’t be for nothing.

And then May’s party. Not only was it adorable, it was very Buddie subtext heavy. First let’s talk about how each couple was shown taking pics together and then Buck and Eddie. They are, once again, paired like a couple. Taking many goofy photos with each other and then with Chris. Buck even taking many solo pictures with Christopher. No one else does that. Buck also seems to be helping Eddie keep an eye on Chris. They were even standing next to each other during the beginning of the party. He’s the one who helps him write a message for May. While keeping a general eye on other people’s kids is ok Buck goes above and beyond for Chris. More than what friends typically do. I would need to see more evidence one way or the other but Chris also says love Christopher in cards addressed to both Buck and Eddie and I wonder if Chris would do that for the other members of the fire fam or just Buck. They really played up Buck and Eddie and Chris being a family at the end of this episode.

Season 4

Alone Together

The only really note worthy moment to happen was Buck talking to his therapist about telling people how he really feels. That could mean a lot of things, like maybe stop people pleasing all the time or actually tell people when he’s feeling something that’s not happy things. Or it could mean having a talk with someone with an adorable son about feelings you may have that are totally not platonic.

Future Tense

We get our first real Buddie moments of season 4 in future tense. Specifically with Buck and Chris pranking Eddie. Eddie did always strike me the type to be a slight technophobe so it was hilarious. But back to the Buddie.

When Chris and Buck are playing video games and Eddie says “we’re taking an internet break” only for Chris to ask to go play games at Buck’s place, forcing Buck to look at Eddie. Eddie gives him that crossed arms you better have my back look. And Buck obviously compiles. It’s very good cop/bad cop parenting dynamics if I’ve ever saw them. It’s also very domestic. Like a couple where one is sorta still new to the whole parenting and rules thing. Much like Bobby was with Athena’s kids at first. He didn’t want to be the bad guy right away and usually deferred to Athena. That’s kind of where Buck and Eddie are at and they aren’t even a (canon) couple.

Then we have the actual prank. When Eddie opens the box with the coffee maker. Chris is right away on the phone with Buck. So either Buck is on speed dial or Chris knows his number. Either way that’s important. If Eddie has him on speed dial, and Chris knows the speed dial number, it only emphasizes how important Buck is in their lives. If Chris knows the number that’s also telling on his importance as most kids don’t memorize phone numbers easily, and only memorize important ones.

And final point of this episode, is the look on Buck’s face after Eddie hangs up. It’s the same look we have seen Buck make after talking with Abby, the first real love he’s had. That can’t be totally a coincidence that Buck makes that face with Eddie then? Why was it necessary to make that same face that seems to only be with someone he has feelings for previously?

The Crossover with Lone Star

First thing, both Eddie and Buck seemed a little disappointed it wasn’t going to just be them for the Texas trip. Then Buck seemed rather jealous when Eddie wasn’t going to be with him in the field. And seemed rather ruffled that Eddie didn’t seem to share his distress.

It also seemed weird that Eddie and Marjan were so almost flirty? Eddie doesn’t flirt well even when he’s trying. I wondered if he bonded with her so much, insta following, the selfie, and all, to get her to follow Buck back. He subtly hyped Buck multiple times, telling her he’s not so bad and that he helped with Chris’s skateboard.

Then we have TK assuming Buck was flirting with him, Buck looking confused but not immediately reacting negatively, and Eddie showing up right after. Nothing is an accident in film. Eddie showing up is either a subtle nod to future stuff or continuing the aid of the Buddie Baiting. Plus why was that scene even necessary at all? Having TK think Buck is flirting is a deliberate scene. Yes it does add to TK’s story by finally admitting he and Carlos are serious, but they didn’t need Buck to do that. And if it’s more Buddie Baiting it’s dumb but if it’s not then it’s another way to slowly build up to Buck and/or Eddie coming to terms with not being straight and having feelings.

The conclusion here?

Buck and Eddie definitely have an established relationship. Maybe it’s not romantic, at least yet (I can hope), but Buck has become a parental figure in Christopher’s life, regardless. And Eddie doesn’t let that happen with just anyone. And hell, they have more actual chemistry than most actual tv couples. I’m always a bit surprised when people say they don’t see how anyone could think Buck and Eddie should be a couple or how they look like a couple. You don’t have to ship them but saying you can’t even see why people do? Confuses me, Because they show is really hitting us hard with romantic tv tropes. Like you can have male friendships without romantic subtext. Like Jake and Charles from Brooklyn 99 or Shawn and Gus from Psych or JD and Turk from Scrubs. No one ships these friends seriously because there is no romantic subtext or tropes.

If this is just slow burn, like say Booth and Bones were on Bones then fine. I get it. All these little moments were just part of the build up and that’s fine. Booth and Bones took like six seasons before they became a couple. And they dated other people while still having those underlying feelings for each other. I would be ok if this is the route Buddie is taking.

However, if these tropes go nowhere and Buddie doesn’t develop, then this show is probably going to take the title for best queerbaiting show on network television.

And in all honesty I want Eddie to have someone who loves his son as much as he does because his son is his world. And who loves him too. And Buck already does that. And Chris loves Buck. And I want Buck to have that family that loves him because family is clearly something important to Buck and something he may not have had growing up. And he has that with Eddie and Chris. They could easily be each other’s happiness. They made something wonderful, it didn’t just fall into their laps.

If you have made it this far...

Thank You for coming to my Ted Talk and we will see you again once season four airs for more!!

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bigmafluff · 3 years

Text

Unreal Love Story “Henry Cavill” chapters 1-3

Sequel To My Story “Tom Hiddleston”

Summery

“ Tom Dear ! She is gone!” His mother says when her son barges thru her front door. Diana Hands a sobbing Charlie to His Stunned father Leading them into the house to a computer sitting @ her kitchen table with a flash drive in it. Just as Tom is about to say something . His Mom hush's them both and starts the video. I start with calming Charlie through the computer. “ Hello Little one . I'm am sorry I have to leave you so. But You are a strong young man . Sometimes even stronger than your father at times. Just know that I love you dear one and will always be your special friend . Now dry those tears and Go see Nanna . So Your dad and I can talk.” I said to Charlie thru the computer. Tom Knew after that our relationship was over maybe had been over for a while.

Chapter 1

Numbness,& NASCAR

I couldn't Stay in London. It hurt too much all I saw was pain. I couldn't go home yet still felt like I failed myself some how so home wouldn't work. So I numbed myself out in Cali. I did what I swore I wouldn't. I went full Party Girl. Between the parties ,clubs, Bars I was wasted most of the time. But I knew that being In Love Like this before then Losing love has it's down side . Tom and I had been it for 3 years. But towards the end I was more His son's nanny than his girlfriend . Most of his friends warned me this was one sided . He never got over Sophia Di Marino ,Charlie's Mom. The split was Mutual. I'm Not mad to be truthful. Annoyed really that I let it go on this long ..

So California I went , to numb the hurt. I don't give a rat's ass what they say about better to have Loved crap ! It still hurt's dammit! So Party Shannon I became. I still wrote my stories without impairment. By day I was the mildly hungover writer coffee in hand . Luca was still Daydreaming so I was still writing. But @ night Let's just say in the great words of Bill & Ted .” Party on Dudes” So I did. Shaking my ass Beer in hand in a club in south beach ! Rockin' out to Pink. I am vaguely aware I am Jamming with a rather large Englishmen Go Figure ! He has a familiar tone I can't place ,frankly all I see is curls ,beard & muscle , Cause I'm too drunk and don't care but he was hot and can grind Like no other. But even though I was no lady ,he was a gentleman And at the end of the night I was in my Hotel room clothes and dignity intact.

Woke the next morning with another hangover that I never use to get when I was younger. They still Suck! UGH! I'm about to start typing when I get a feed from TMZ. “TWH PROPOSES TO SDM!” I switch on my TV and sure enough The rock on her finger is massive and Charlie Looks so Happy . The numbness lifts along with the pain . I can see the sun again so I finally pack my stuff .

But not for England . I head home. I decide I need time with my son . So Arkansas, Hot Springs that is. Although when I get there I find out my son is in Florida . In Daytona Beach. At the Racetrack! My nephew Christian and his wife Kiki took Lucas to a NASCAR race and Somehow Lucas Landed a job as head mechanic for Carlos Contreras's race team. Shocked as I was, I get on a flight to Florida it is a good shocked but WOW. I got a Hotel room and then went to the track . Took me a little convincing to get in . Security walked me to the Pit where I found my baby boy covered in grease. Under a car . When Lucas jumped up and hugged me they left us alone . test moment's in a parent's life is seeing your child seceded at something he loves. This was Lucas's dream !Like writing is for me. It was his turn. Lucas Introduced me to Carlos with sparkles in his eyes . Carlos seemed to Like what My Son does. Even tells me that Because of my Boy, Carlos has won 8 races. How more proud can I get I am in tears. While I was here I went to a few races and Lucas and I raided the theme parks. Then one night Lucas had a grown up moment and told me I had to go back to the U.K.. He said I write my best stuff there and I need to make peace with Myself. How did my Autistic Son get so smart. Then he tells me. He is a big Guy now and He didn't need his Mom to hover.

Chapter 2

Something New

So once I'm back in London. I dust off My flat that Luke made sure I got despite me moving in with Tom. Besides writing, a few friend's gave me the intro to the London night life and I found a outlet to unwind . But I didn't drown myself like in Cali. But I still maintained my Party Mama status. Also I am exercising regularly, to compensate for the Night life . But I found that I have way's now that I am Back to make exercising fun. I do the Gym of course. But I also like rollerskating in Hyde or St. James park, when it's sunny. I found a Ice Skating rink that is 7 day's a week. And there is a indoor pool at the Gym I go to. .

But I realized some things while I was home in the states. I can't ever forget where I came from . So I pay it forward to 4 special organizations for charity and I never write them off my taxes . I went back to church I actually found a Nazarene church in the U.K. Honestly Church is what keeps me semi sober in the clubs on Friday and Saturday. No hangovers in Gods house .So I have been busy. By maintaining the order of my life like I did way before when My soul purpose was being a MOM. God, Family Friends career is a new addition but not that high on the list.

I found a way to keep myself going .My heart has even healed to a point and I am actually making good friends with “ The Hiddleston “ I can't even comprehend The fact that Sophia took Tom's name . I didn't think her agent's would let her do that. Any how I Am officially Aunty Shannon to Charlie and he even still talks to Lucas and they talk cars regularly according to Tom. As for right now though I'm actually doing more than writing I am at The Harold Pinter theater in London as a Producer and assistant to Kenneth Branaugh the director of a play Based on one of my fan fiction stories . It's a Vampire Love story with a family twist. No Not Twilight no blood sucking fairies here. But what has me excited is the cast . Tom is in it along a whole bunch of my fave idol's Including Henry Cavill as the male lead. . OK! I fibbed Kenny doesn't need me the whole time so I am writing when I am not teaching Charlie Who is acting for the first time. Tom is One Proud Papa! I will tell you what. And Charlie Looks like he is having a wonderful time despite playing a Girl demon!

also I do have a little Mystery of my own I am trying to solve. Every morning when I get to work. Yes I'm getting paid for this production. I go to my seat and drink my coffee but I find a different colored long stem lily in the seat . I asked Tom. If Charlie was doing it and I even ask Ken. None said It was them. Both even offered to investigate with me . Saying they have a little experience because they played P.I.'s

I was actually flattered I had an admirer. I just hope I won't regret taking the Lily more seriously. Anyway The play is gearing up for opening night I called Lucas's aide Reed to Se if He will be able to be in London for my Play . Which If it does well it will head to the States and go on Broadway. Now tell me if that ain't totally awesome. I.K.R. We as far as my Book's are concerned Luca start's Middle School. So Social interaction and puberty mixes in with his amazing world which should make for a wild ride for our readers. My honorary nephew is even reading them which make's my heart sing Oh! So I don't leave it out my lily was Aquamarine and silk today not real but it had a pink bow and it sparkled . He-he! Who ever this is knows I like things that sparkle. It makes me giddy.

Opening Night!!!!

My Lucas is here . Looking Just Like he did Prom Night When he took my god daughter to the prom. My boy is So handsome. Lucas has been working out so My lucas is Tall and Jacked thanks to His Buddy Phillip Hull. We get to ride in a Limo It will be Lucas's first time in one. Me! I'm In all Red Long red hair with a touch of gray at the temple and proud of it. A Long Jessica rabbit dress that sparkles in the light. Red flat's I ain't that crazy . It's gonna be a long night and I am in my 50's Heels are not in the program. I had red cloves and a red silk Shaw. I felt amazing and all my boy could say is Wow mama Look Pretty! LOL! I am also excited not only for the play but according to the Little note I got with My Red Rose that was sitting in my seat on the last day of practice. I get to meet my admirer tonight too

So Lucas and I are off Lucas is Like a school boy Looking around and he is also a little nervous. I can tell he Keeps Playing with his collar and tie. I made sure Luke had a pair of ear buds and his fave music in a MP3. And sunglasses to help with Lucas's experience. Plus so he doesn't have to deal with the red carpet stuff Reed is here so Lucas will be with me only for a few pictures then Reed will take him inside while I deal with the popularity this sold out play has caused . New York here we come!!!!!!

Lucas went inside as planned. And Luke is by my side in his place as my escort. Luke felt I shouldn't be alone. Because of the split and Tom's marriage. Even though Tom and I are cool talking about and he is even here with Taylor so I'm cool. I was having lot's of fun taking little interview's and pictures and such. Luke always said I was surprisingly easy going in the lime light and it shows tonight. `Sophia , Ken and I had some fun with the photo people and Kissed Each side of Tom's cheeks while he was trying to pic up Kenneth, then we Bent down to Kiss Ken's cheeks when Tom dropped him on his butt ,our booties where purposely in the air. Let's Just say we made Kenny's night! I was all in good fun Tom told me that Charlie was inside with new Hot wheels car's to show Lucas cause they are NASCAR ones.

Finishing up the pictures and fixing to go inside I was about to give up hope on there being an admirer. When I went to take one last. Picture, Henry Cavill came to Join me in the picture and whispered in my ear to Look down, as he grabbed my waist for the picture . I did. And their was a pink Lily and a white rose in his hand tied in a pink bow. Let's Just say that pic had my mouth hanging open and Henry laughing as we went in to the theater. Let the new dance begin.

Lois Lane never Got Superman this way Ha!

Chapter 3

Don't jump! One moment @ a Time.

As far as the play went it was as major success. I couldn't pay attention at all . I was staring at Henry the whole time In awe of all of this.As far as I was concerned it was like I had never tasted this before . I won't lie, it scares the shit out of me . I was a ball of nerves the whole play . It was Thomas all over again. @ least that was what I thought. Until Henry asked if I would sign a book for is Nephews Daughter who has Down syndrome. I was politely surprised . He then introduced himself to my Son. Which Lucas can recognize any actor who has ever played a Superhero or villain . Henry was one of our faves. He asked if we wanted to grab a bite to eat . Lucas always could eat. Even in his 30's endless Belly! Can you see 3 adult's in fancy dress in Mc. Donald's. I Loved it Because Henry took the liberty to date Lucas first. To me that Mc. Donald's was 5 stars. The Limo dropped 2 very full and sleepy men at My son's Hotel. I was sparkling in happiness. We pulled up in front of my flat but Henry wouldn't let me out yet. I think he wants to talk . So naturally I listened.

fore I could even say anything He Quieted me and held my hand . Baby Blues connected. Then he spoke. “ Shannon I know what you went through with Hiddleston. I grilled him after meeting you . Actually I'm kinda surprised he didn't rat me out. Story for another time. Now that you understand my intent. I want time. Time to know you. Also before you get nervous, will it help If I got permission from Lucas to date you and Charlie Hiddleston second's the permission. I'm normally a prideful Man But Shannon something inside Tell's me I am supposed to started something new with You. I want get to know you Date you proper. If anything let's see where it goes. Even if we don't connect more personally . We can at least catch a grind to a tune and groove like buddies”.

My breath hitch because I just realize that dude I was grinding with in California at that club. The English Dude. That was Henry!!!!! He notices my blush and Shakes his head showing me the bracelet. I smack his shoulder Laughing my Blush off. Then I told him I am willing to try and if all else fails Partying in New York won't get boring . Then he kissed my Palm and let me out . I gave him my # and told him to give me a call when he was ready to try. The Limo waited till I was Inside. But instead of Leaving The door opened and Henry came running up to me . Grabbed my waist, pulled me close and Kissed me. We exploded!!!!

Hand in Hand at JFK airport Henry and I go straight to the Hotel . No Not for that . We came early so Henry could as he says Court me proper. LOL! There is nothing I'd rather do the then run all over NYC for the first time with Henry. I have jumped in fully no comparing to any other love . This is true Eros and I'm going with the flow. That was our agreement for each other the next morning after the Play. To Just Love & enjoy till the fluffy lady quits singing.

I exploded because of SuperMan!

{None of this story is real the pic are from Googles images !!!!!!!!!!!!}

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scary-lasagna · 4 years

Note

Do you have any slender brothers hcs? I absolutely LOVE your blog 💖💖✨

omg i have so many it can probably be a series?? I have years of this pent up LmAO-Ty for coming to my ted talk.

General

Slender is the oldest, followed by Offender, Trender and then Splendor.

Their Mother, who is dubbed Mother, wasn't around a lot because she was always busy with work and her proxies.

Her proxies didn't know wtf to do most of the time.

Once they thought they had one under control, two others were trying to sacrifice the youngest (Splendor).

Their skin is so s m o o t h?

Like of like leather texture but s m o o t h and c l e a r

And it kind of sparkles sometimes, especially Slender's.

Mother usually stops by to check in on her boys at the Manor. She tends to the proxies very well like her own grandchildren.

All of them have different fathers because they either fucking die or ghost her.

Slender

Slender had to half raise most of his brothers.

This is why he's so well will the folks at the manor in discipline.

He's the most respectful out of the bunch and tries his best not to offend anyone.

Splendor is his favorite brother but shh don't tell anyone.

When he's down, Splendor always tends to find him and cheer him up no matter the situation.

Slender has always had beef with Jeff, maybe it's because Jeff tried to kill him when offering to take him in.

And then when Slender left him there in the forest, he came crawling to the manor.

He has favoritism towards the proxies, and they tend to get away with things a lot more than they should.

After handing over their will to Slender, Masky and Hoodie made excellent proxies in his opinion. But Toby was the easiest to manipulate.

He gets his power and energy from the souls either he reaps himself, or that the proxies or folks in the manor kill. The souls kind of stick around for a few hours their murderer kills them, so he set up a curfew for killing sprees.

That's kind of their rent.

Offender

Bad boi(tm) in his teenage years,

One of the reasons he got all of the *cough* experience he has.

He snuck out of the house constantly when he was a kid.

And sometimes Trender or Splendor tagged along.

He got into alot of trouble when he was both a kid a teenager, and he started shaping up when he reached his adult years because he saw how Trender was starting to take after him.

He goes to bars, usually, to lure in someone lucky for the night.

He gets most of his power and energy from pleasuring people.

Due to that, he's never assaulted anyone.

Has the longest tongue out of all the brothers, don't ask how they know that.

He's non-committal, and get's anxious when he stays with one s/o for too long because he knows he's going to outlive them one day. But, if he does find a way to either turn himself human, or turn them immortal, he'd change his life for them.

Trender

He likes his human form better than his original when he goes out.

It means more hairstyle options, make-up and all of that fun stuff.

His room is chaotically organized. If you move something in the mess, he will know.

His room consists of mannequins, small scraps of cloth he refuses to throw away, various loose (DANGerOUs!!) sewing needles, and just random things he find in thrift stores.

He goes thrift shopping to challenge himself to make it into some good and new, and then completely forgets about it/is too lazy to do it.

Kind of whiney like Offender. Also extremely lazy. He just wants to sit in his room all day and watch Netflix or youtube and draw or sew.

There are days where he gets inspiration and actually makes something from scratch, which usually turns out amazing.

Then he gets some dumbass idea like high heeled crocs.

He has an emo/goth phase when it was cool and the rest of his brothers despised him during that era.

He still cringes about it to this day. And Offender does well in reminding him.

He's so good at makeup and just art in general. He once spent a few hours on Jane and she was able to walk around without her mask. You couldn't even tell that Jeff had touched her. She cried (both happy and sad) for a good three days after that.

Splendor

Babey boi(tm)

Splendor is half-human, causing Slender not to like him when he first arrived. But he grew on him, much like all small children.

He has freckles!!

His eyes!! Are!! The!! Prettiest!!!!!!!!

They're pitch black but they have glitter/star-like sparkles in them. And they twinkle!!

Ironically, Splendor is the strongest (and scariest) out of all 4 of them when prompted. He's just too happy all of the time to let his anger get the best of him.

He carries glitter in his pockets. Not just because of "uwu" glitter, but he's kind of influenced by Offenders little shit personality and throws it at people to piss them off.

When he was 6, Slender was getting his first job and colored his tie rainbow polka dot. Slender was this ll close to chucking him out the window.

He doesn't know what he's doing most of the time, but he's just happy to be there.

His arms start off white at the shoulder and fade into black just above his elbow.

He has claws!! They're usually painted by Trender or Sally.

#slender brother #splendor #splendor x reader #slender x reader #slender #proxies #childhood #trender #ender brother #creepypasta #creepypasta imagines #creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta imagine #creepypasta blog

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streetlampsunset · 4 years

Text

Coffee (With The Right Amount of Sugar) How You Like It

Ao3

It took him an embarrassingly long time to notice, but David was pretty sure Patrick was a witch. In a building this old there should have been a draft, but there wasn’t anything more than a light breeze accompanying the chime of the bell.

No matter how preoccupied he got dealing with customers, David’s coffee never grew cold after Patrick brought their drinks back from the cafe. Most importantly, his selfies were always perfectly lit behind the cash, despite the fact that the stark white should have completely washed out his complexion. It was the bulbs Patrick had wired there that made him come to the realization.

“David?” Ronnie called. She was installing shelving in the backroom now that they had the money to splurge on a few things. David was perfectly content to continue stacking their paperwork along the wall, but Patrick had wanted a more visible filing system from day one.

“Hum?” he asked, glancing up from his phone.

“This wiring is a safety hazard,” she said, peering into the wall. “To be honest, I’m surprised they’re even running.” David shrugged, Patrick was good at fixing things. “Can you get the other bulb there?” she asked, gesturing with the end of her level.

David reached up to unscrew the light, a familiar current rushing through his fingertips. It felt like cocoa powder on his tongue, warm air curling over his skin, the sun catching the angle of his jaw just right. There was a steady thrum of energy keeping the bulbs running, but it wasn’t electricity. It was magic. He had thought the store felt like home from the start. He hadn’t realized Patrick was a witch too.

“Are you spying on Ted again?” David asked, leaning over Alexis’ shoulder. He had come out of the bathroom to find her sitting on her bed. Supposedly, she was doing her makeup, but she hadn’t moved for nearly three minutes.

“Oh my god, personal space, David,” Alexis said, snapping her compact shut. The last time she had been scrying something that intently, it had been a followup to the bunny webcam incident. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m checking on the animals,” Alexis said, “Twyla found two baby kittens in the dumpster behind the cafe and they have to sit in these sad little cages all day waiting for someone to buy them.”

“Mmhm, and you just happened to check up on them when you knew Ted would be getting back from his run?” He asked, moving to his closet.

“Okay, it’s not my fault if that’s when I have time,” Alexis said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I have a very full schedule today.” David snorted.

He flicked through his sweaters, “Did you know Patrick has magic?”

“Um, yes, obviously, David,” Alexis said without glancing up from her phone.

“Uh, excuse you,” David said, holding up a Rick Owens for consideration, before deciding against it. “What do you mean, obviously?”

“We talk witchy things literally all the time,” Alexis said. She waved her hand in his direction, “He uses little hedge spells to keep your clothes from getting all wrinkly and your hair from looking sad.” Alexis tilted her head and scrunched up her nose. “You can’t feel them?”

David slid on a Gavinchey piece and bent down to tie his high-tops. When he stood up, Alexis was about two inches from his face.

“Um, now who doesn’t understand personal space?” David asked, rearing back as she slid her fingers along his hairline.

“Shush, David,” Alexis said, going almost cross eyed as she focused on a spot near his temple, “and hold still.”

The Roses didn’t practice witchcraft so much as they lived it. Their mother’s idea of a magical education had been warning him to keep Alexis out of faerie circles while they explored the grounds, lest they bring malevolent energies into her homestead. It had been up to them to study what they found relevant to their craft. As a result, Alexis was unusually good at picking apart the intention behind a casting. She slid her thumbs across his cheekbones.

“Oh my god, David, he put a focus charm in your under eye serum,” Alexis said, grinning as she stepped back, “he is so into you.”

“Just because he did one moderately invasive thing, does not mean that he’s into me,” David said, arranging his rings for the day.

“Mmm, okay, you’re so wrong,” Alexis said, “ask him to come foraging with us tomorrow then.”

David grimaced, glancing away, “about that.”

“Do not tell me you forgot again, uuugh. No, David, I am not going alone. The woods are so creepy in the morning.” She rummaged around in her bag handing him a pair of cinnamon sticks wrapped in twine, “here, I was going to use this tonight, but it seems like you need it more.” David tucked the courage charm in his pocket; that was uncharacteristically unselfish of her.

“Patrick is good at carrying things and that way you’ll have to come.” David sighed, grabbing his bag and heading to work. “David, David!” she called from the doorway, “the woods, David, ask Patrick.”

“Walk into traffic,” David yelled back.

David hadn’t always gotten along with other witches. Especially not methodical, practicing ones like Patrick. He could see it now that he knew where to look, the ritual in Patrick’s movements. The organization and dedication to order. He watched Patrick spritz the basil plants in the window, murmuring to them softly.

“I’m going foraging tomorrow morning,” David said, words spilling out of his mouth before he could think them through. “It’s a good time of year to harvest around here if you want to come.”

Patrick looked up from the plants, grinning, “I’d like that.” The bell chimed over the door before they could talk more, a wave of customers pouring in. They had a pretty steady number of them until mid afternoon.

“Why am I doing this again?” Patrick asked, wiping the brush on the inside of the bottle. They were standing on opposite sides of the counter. David had complained about how difficult it was to paint his dominant hand and Patrick had offered his assistance.

“Because it requires a steady hand,” David said, taking another sip of his coffee, “and this makes me jittery.”

“Well, in that case, maybe I should stop bringing you one after lunch,” Patrick said, grinning. He moved on to David’s pointer finger, covering the nail in black polish with even strokes.

“That seems like a bit of an overreaction, when we have a simple solution to the problem right here,” David said, gesturing to his nails with the hand he was supposed to be letting dry. Patrick’s fingers darted out to wrap around his wrist, carefully lowering it back to the counter.

“If you smudge them, I’m not redoing it,” he said, glancing up to meet David’s eyes.

“Okay, well how am I supposed to drink my coffee, then?” David asked, shrugging with both of his hands flat on the counter. It was a very strange feeling.

Patrick rolled his eyes, picking up David’s coffee and tilting it toward him, “there, drink.”

David nodded to his sweater, “Okay, but this is Gavinchey so-”

“Just drink the coffee, David,” Patrick said, laughing, “I’m not going to spill on your sweater.” David leaned forward, taking a sip. He could taste the magic in it now. The warmth of the cocoa powder rushed through him.

“I’ve never thanked you for this,” David said, nodding at the coffee, “keeping it warm.” Patrick grinned, ducking his head as he moved to the next nail.

“You don’t have to thank me, David,” he said. “Honestly, it’s mostly automatic by now.” David bit his lip to keep from smiling. “You, uh, you looked so disappointed on opening night when it got cold, so I charmed it the next day, and the one after that, and I guess I never really stopped.”

“I don’t remember that,” David said. They’d had a constant stream of customers from the time they opened the doors til a few minutes after they were supposed to close. “We were so busy the day of the opening, how did you even have time to notice?” Patrick shrugged, capping the nail polish and setting it off to the side.

“I always notice you, David,” he said, glancing up to meet his eyes. Patrick was right there, eyes darting towards David’s mouth.

“Someone said I’m not supposed to move my hands,” David said, tapping his fingers against the counter. The cinnamon sticks were warm in his pocket; he could be brave, “so if you want to kiss me you’re going to have to make the first move.”

Patrick’s hand reached out to cup his jaw. He leaned in, closing the distance between them. David was pretty sure nothing was ever going to feel more magical than this, kissing Patrick in the middle of the store they had built together.

* * *

“Turn,” David said, making a circling motion in the air. Alexis raised a brow, eyeing the charm in his hands. “Oh my god, Alexis,” He repeated the gesture with greater emphasis, “just turn around.” Alexis rolled her eyes, but did as he asked.

“I’m not going to wander off, sheesh, David,” she said as he wove a well worn ribbon through her braid. Small silver bells dangled between the strands. He secured the top with a citrine hair pin.

“Mkay, that’s what you said at Yellowstone,” he said, tying off the end. “I ended up having to call for a park ranger because you were lost in the woods for two and a half hours.”

“I was five, David,” she said, twisting in the mirror to admire the adornments. “I know better than to play with the fae now.”

“Do you?” Patrick asked, mouth quirking up as he met David’s eyes over her shoulder.

“Ugh, yes, Patrick,” she said, moving to dig the brown bag their mother had given her out of the closet. David snagged his eyeliner from her makeup bag while she wasn’t looking. It kept ending up there, although Alexis claimed she had no idea how. Patrick followed him to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

“Can I help you?” David asked, leaning against the sink with his arms crossed. Patrick grinned.

“Actually, I was wondering if I could help you,” he said. “I thought you might need a steady hand for that.” He nodded towards the eyeliner pencil.

“Did you?” David asked. He held it out, gesturing at his face, “by all means.”

Patrick reached out to cup David’s jaw, tilting his head. Patrick took a step forward, studying David’s face. His eyes were dark in the low light from the window, honey brown turned light whiskey. He laughed softly.

“Look up,” he said, lifting the pencil. Oh, right. Patrick drew it over his waterline with even strokes. “Close your eyes, David.”

David slid them closed. He felt the edge of Patrick’s hand brush over his cheekbone and then there was gentle pressure along his lash line. Every other time he’d had someone do this they’d stabbed him with it, but Patrick’s hand glided over his other eye without incident.

“There,” he said softly, “you can open your eyes now.” David blinked them open, Patrick was inches from his face. “David,” Patrick said, thumb sliding down his cheek.

He wasn’t sure who moved, but one second Patrick’s gaze had drifted to his mouth and the next David could taste the mint on his tongue. Patrick’s hands found their way around his waist. David pressed closed, bringing one hand up to rest on his shoulder, the other twining through the short curls at the back of his neck. Patrick brushed a chaste kiss to his lips as he pulled away.

“You look nice,” Patrick said, squeezing his hips lightly.

David was wearing head to toe Rick Owens . This was a sweater he chose often for foraging; the exaggerated hood made a convenient pocket to carry mushrooms or leaves back to his bag. The skirted pants were mostly for aesthetic purposes, but they were also comfortable over long distances. He had a pair of boots somewhere, probably in Alexis’ closet, that laced halfway up his shin and were particularly good for walking through the underbrush.

More traditional witches had called it sacrilege, the way he and Alexis intermingled their crystals and herbs with designer pieces. But their mother had always believed that one's connection to magic was their own. She had taught them not to mind the opinions of others when it came to honoring their craft.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to tell you when I got here,” Patrick said, “you know, with Alexis around.”

David flinched, stomach sinking. His hands went cold where they rest on Patrick’s shoulders. Of course Patrick wouldn’t want people to know they had kissed. He thought he contained his expression well enough, but Patrick caught it.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked. David had to step away, turning back to the mirror to fiddle with his hair. He had thought being the dirty little secret was behind him, but he really liked Patrick. If this was what it took to be with him, so be it.

“Mmm, fine,” David managed. He watched Patrick’s reflection out of the corner of his eye. A small, worried line formed between his brows.

“I’m sorry if I said or did something upset you,” he started, but David cut him off.

“It’s fine, Patrick,” he sighed, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose to keep from crying. His eyeliner had turned out really fucking good. He kind of hated it right now. “If you don’t want people to know, that’s. It’s fine, okay?” Patrick’s mouth turned down, eyes going wide and sad.

“David, no,” he said, hand coming to rest on David’s elbow. “I just didn’t know how much you had told her and I know Alexis gets under your skin sometimes. I was trying to respect your privacy.” As David’s expression softened, Patrick grew more teasing. “We can tell the whole town if you want. I’ll go ask Stevie to get the word out right now.” He moved towards the door and David sighed with fond exasperation, looping his arms around Patrick’s neck.

“Mmm, I don’t think we need to resort to such extremes just yet,” David said. Patrick grinned, running his hands along David’s sides as he leaned in. David melted into the kiss, relief flooding him. Patrick wanted this, wanted him.

“David?” Patrick asked tentatively, grabbing the eyeliner off the sink. “Will you do mine?” David looked him over, woolen socks, denim jeans, loose cotton shirt. It was more modern than some, but still traditional, a selection of natural fibers.

“Why would you,” David trailed off.

“It’s part of your ritual, isn’t it, yours and Alexis’?” Patrick looked David over like he was something worthy of admiration. “I want to be a part of that, David.”

“Oh,” David breathed, “well, look up, then.” He took the pencil and drew it across his lower lashes. Patrick’s eyes fell closed and he repeated the motion on the upper ones.

“Thank you, David.” Patrick leaned in to kiss him once he had finished.

“Mmm, well, don’t thank me yet,” David said, “you haven’t even seen it.”

“I don’t need to.” Patrick pressed a kiss to David’s cheek. “I trust you,” he said, turning to open the door. He reached for David’s hand, interlacing their fingers as they joined Alexis to finish getting ready.

#sc fic #schitts creek #david x patrick #david rose #patrick brewer #magicAU #witches #alexis rose

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myssparklesbookrants · 4 years

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FICTIONAL CHARACTERS I WISH WERE TRUE SO THAT I COULD DATE THEM or stare at them from afar

HIWow! It was hard choosing a first topic to talk about. I felt like I needed to talk about something big and glamorous to blow the brains out of… of someone. But alas, this is my best, for now..

So, I chose the first one that I had listed on the top of my head ever since I first started reading.

BOOK BOYFRIENDS!

This is a list of MEN or BOYS who tickle the romantic bone just right! (I had dreamed that there was such an organ in the human body, just near the stomach)

I selected these FICTIONAL BOYFRIENDS as potential members of my harem If I ever defy normal Filipino conceptions of marriage and take up polyandry.

The criteria I used is simple.

Choose the fictional partners that I can imagine existing in real life (not too much of an alpha and rich or good looking that borders on unbelievable). The type of characters that I can imagine talking to, who I find fascinating and can be a potential long-time partner, casual hook up or best friend.

I originally wanted to stick to 10. But as I wrote, a lot of names popped up and I can’t not put them in the list but still, I am sure after I have this article published (Char! Haha) there will be a lot of “Shoot! Why did I not put him on the list???” exclamations. So, maybe I will eventually make another continuation list???

This list is based on the BOOKS I READ so if you have a bet that I didn’t list, please don’t hesitate to give a recom. A new book to swoon over is always welcome.

Most Importantly: READ THE BOOKS WHERE THESE AMAZING CHARACTERS CAME FROM. I liked them because of their wit, their personality, how they interacted with other people, their dreams and how their love for their other half made them better people or vice versa. MEANING: THE BOOK WAS WICKED AWESOME AND THE AUTHOR WAS A GOOD STORYTELLER.

(I must apologize for the lack of female to female romantic partner mentions given my current lack of FF Romance reads, which is something I will rectify soon. But if you have recommendations, feel free to comment below and maybe add some MM ones too!)

Anyway, meet…

1. Clayton Danvers and Lucas Cortez

Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Underworld Series

Genre: Horror fiction, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy

This series is adapted on screen called ‘Bitten’ which is available on Netflix.

Clayton Danvers is the strong, silent, and smart type. He is a professor in a university where he met Elena(his student) and a werewolf! His devotion to Elena was sweet, passionate and faithful to the point that bordered on obsessive but not off putting. The best thing about him was how un-Alpha he was. Although he was strong , his relationship with Elena was a partnership.

This is what romance needs today guys! A PARTNER not a rich and condescending daddy!

Lucas Cortez, on the other hand, is a lawyer/sorcerer, young master of a Cabal Group, who informally separates from his family's company to pursue a life as a lawyer protecting the rights of other magical beings against abusive Cabals(including his family's). Unlike Clayton, he was slender with brown eyes behind glasses. So basically, a cute, smart nerd who is the 'good' black sheep of the family.

(they are in separate books with different female romantic partners)

2. Quinn Sullivan

Penny Reid’s Neanderthal Meets Human

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Quin…*sighs*... So awesome! He was quiet, mysterious,unsmiling, rich and had an almost perfect handsome face. I love that the author imagined small flaws like almost unnoticeable crooked bottom front teeth and differing sizes of his ears with one prominent feature -his hawk-like stare. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, he took Janie's quirkiness in stride. Asking questions, debating, protecting, annoying, kissing…. You know the drill..😉

3. Beau Winston

Penny Reid’s Beard in Mind

Genre: Contemporary Romance

On first read, Beau was a good looking, charming good boy who is looking for his path after his twin, Duane left to pursue his own.

What I loved about him was how he dealt with Shelley's(Quinn's Sister) clinically diagnosed mental illness(OCD). He researched about it and made efforts to make it easier for her and was just overall supportive.

It was awesome how much the author has put an effort in researching OCD facts to make details perfectly accurate and how it was NOT at all a hastily placed plot device to get the story going.

4.Ted Beaudine

Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Call Me Irresistible

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Hello to my favorite romance book of all time!

I think I have read this many times already and have to put off re-reading it again for next year(2021) to give my brain some time to forget some of the plot. We need to keep the mystery going! amiright??

Anyway, Ted was the perfect genius, good boy and people pleasing guy. He is perfectly polite, straight laced and has basically carried the whole town in his muscled shoulders for years. (Did I tell you he was the Mayor?)

Meg's carefree life and struggles basically tickled his good boy bone the wrong way.

Read this novel to witness how a perfect boy and wastrel girl turned out in the end. Seriously Please Read!

5. Patrick Jason 'Pick' Ryan

Linda Kage' Be My Hero

Genre: Contemporary Romance

He was the tattoed, orphan softie on the wrong side of town who thankfully did not grow up a thug because of a vision he got when he was young from a moled witch.

One day, his tinkerbell, the star of his visions, enters the bar he works at, but PREGNANT!

Gosh! I loved this so much. This was part of the Forbidden Men Series but can read as a stand alone. Although, I advise you to read the other books also, they were all awesome!

6. Colin Bridgerton

Julia Quin’s Bridgerton Series

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance

Charming, green eyed and younger son, Colin was considered a catch of the ton.

He had a case of wanderlust and couldn't stay at one place without getting an itch. I can't say more without giving a major spoiler, but I loved that the author made him major insecurities.

Because secretly,too perfect is boring, right??

7. Sean Cassidy

Penny Reid and L.H Cosway's The Player and the Pixie

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Wewowewowewo. *sexy flames*

Imagine a gorgeous jerk of a jock with sexual inexperience and a rainbow haired goody goody shoes girl (whose brother is his ultimate enemy) who is willing to be the TEACHER!

But it was more than that, I liked how the authors highlighted the perils of kleptomania, the privilege of the rich and how gorgeous jerks are set straight by their women who would not suffer in a relationship with a class A insensitive jerk just because he was good looking and rich.

This was a ride! I lost count how many times I re-read this book.

8. Elend Venture

Branson Sanderson’s Mistborn Trilogy

Genre: High Fantasy

Elend was the angsty boy part of the elite class who is disgusted by his privilege and looks for ways to make the government better by reading outlawed books that spark rebellious and forward ideas. In short, he was a closet revolutionary.

Throughout the series there were some major changes in his life from a closet reader to a person who pursues ideas he just once read in books?

How do they say it? Walk the talk or in his case, Walk the read? (talking about it would mean death)

9.Archer Devereux

April White’s The Immortal Descendants Series

Genre: Time Travel Romance/ Historical Fantasy

Dumdumdumdum. Imagine a conservative college boy from the past your future self time traveled in, spends time with you, helps you in your quest, likes you secretly and is shy about it and becomes a vampire stuck in immortality waiting to meet the 'present' you.

Talk about love lasting through time! This was a great book if you love time travel stories with historically accurate and interesting facts injected heavily into the story!

10. Rupert Carsington

Loretta Chase’ Mr. Impossible

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

A hellion younger son of an earl who loves an adventurous carefree life who is without inhibition, just goes along the ride and has a set of surprisingly caring and dependable muscled shoulders.

Meets a beautiful tempered scholar who needs his help finding his kidnapped brother in the sands of Egypt.

This is perfect for those who love adventure romances, and topics on the papyrus, mummies and the french and British looting conflict in the African colonies.

11. Sebastian Ballister

Loretta Chase’ Lord of Scoundrels

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

My favorite Historical Romance book ever!! Like Ted Beaudine's book, I try to read this at least once or twice a year to forget some of the plot and keep the mystery going.

He was called the Marquess of Dain and has been raising hell since childhood and in the present day France where he meets the blue stocking Jessica. The author throughout the book continually refers to them as the Beauty and the Beast.

What makes this book SPECIAL is how intelligent, witty and funny most of their conversations were. It's funny how many books are under many sexy, funny and witty lists on goodreads but only some of those on the list are actually true! THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THEM!

Jess was not annoying or shy or too much of a fighter and Dain was not too obnoxious. It was perfect.

And if you have not read this book or others from this author or genre, I command you to start reading after you finish this article.Break some cherries!

12. Hardy Cates

Liza Kleypas’ Blue Eyed Devil

Genre: Contemporary Romance

A blue neck Town boy chasing dreams outside of town to leave the shithole of a living. He has white knight complexes but leaves the damsel in distress after the case is solved. Also, muscular and has the blunt and bluest eyes on Texas

This book I have also reread many times because it talks about dealing with domestic abuse and moving on after an abusive relationship, dealing with people who have narcissistic disorder and the life of the privileged.

13. Connor ‘Mad’ Rogan

Illona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy Series

Genre: Paranormal Romance (PNR)

Wootwootwoot. Imagine a former military but now head of the House 'Mad' Rogan successfully publicly kidnapping you in broad daylight using only wads of cloth. Talk about a powerful telekinetic!

I loved that he was once again, A partner in the relationship and not an overprotective ape despite him being awfully more powerful than Nevada.

14.Phil Tucker

Jennifer Crusie Welcome to Temptation

Genre: Contemporary Romance

This is written by an author whose ALL BOOKS WRITTEN i have read and loved.

Phil is part of a long line of male Mayors in the family and meets almost fugitive-like Sophie.

Read as they deal with each other, try to take down a production of town porn video, deal with an enemy, try to dirty Phil down to win the next election and spend time reading a romance classic.

15. Ansel Guillaume

Christina Lauren’s Sweet Filthy Boy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Known for the many explicit sexy times that can be read throughout the book. So, if you want to stay green in the ears, skip this one till you're legal.

Ansel is a sweet, full of life French Lawyer celebrating with friends in LA and Mia with her friends also, celebrating their newly graduated from college selves.

Ansel is soft, a daydreamer, magnificent bringer of orgasms and game with all things Mia is willing to do.

They married through Elvis and decided to not divorce yet to explore the beautiful France and a possibility of a good relationship.

AND DONE!

I actually have a lot more but these are for now.

CONSIDER THIS LIST AS A BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR AWESOME ROMANCES WITH WELL WRITTEN AND SWOON WORTHY CHARACTERS

Topic for my next blog entry:

How to Find the Next Good Book to Read:

A Guide to Good Sources of Book Recommendations

#bookaholic #penny reid #jennifer crusie #christina lauren #ilona andrews #loretta chase #lisa kleypas #susan elizabeth phillips #kelley armstrong #april white #brandon sanderson #julia quinn #book boyfriend #bookstagram #books to read #boys #men #love #romance

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askiisoft · 5 years

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FAN ART FRIDAY: ALL THE WARRIORS, Part 2

And to think I was planning to fit all of the OCs into one week...yeah, not happening. With 50+ entries and counting, I’ll be lucky to fit them all into four parts.

Welcome back to Part 2 of “All The Warriors”, a multi-week showcase of the Katana ZERO community’s awesome fan characters! The volume of submissions for this event has been mind-blowing, to the point where I’ve had to create a dedicated Excel spreadsheet to keep track of them all. If you haven’t submitted your character yet, there’s still one week left! If you have, rest assured that it’ll will be included eventually, so please be patient!

For those who missed it, don’t forget to check out Part 1 of this series.

[WARNING: The work herein is based on fan creations, and should not be considered canon.]

Alpha 13, “Believer” by @DokusatsuMurXer

What is the loneliest number? ‘One’, you say? Nope, it’s 13...Alpha 13, that is.

Being one of the first Alpha-series NULL, it’s likely that Thirteen joined purely out of adoration for the illusive “Great Scientist”—a noble cause compared to the violent psychosis that defined the later Gamma-series NULL. While it’s clear he’s taken lives in service of his one-sided infatuation, it’s hard not to see him as another victim, still pining for his senpai’s attention even after everyone’s graduated and moved away years ago. Why do we always love the one who will hurt us the most?

According to @DokusatsuMurXer’s, the drunken swirls in his Post-war portrait are hiding something much steamier. I can only imagine.

Please, senpai. By @DokusatsuMurXer

—

Beta 6, “Blade” by @Khwany_kawawii

In the Third District, there’s only two ways to get what you need: by coercion, or by force. Beta 6 opts for both, and seems to have a reputation on par with The Dragon amongst hapless goons. Ironically, it seems amnesiac NULL like Blade or Zero are the ones who kept going on killing sprees after the war, instead of throwing in with criminal syndicates or settling into an ordinary day job.

Her giant curtain of hair, while a bit ridiculous-looking standing still, would certainly add a sense of dynamism as she flipped and pirouetted in midair, tossing knives left and right. Also, knives.

“With no drugs, I will die. But with the drugs...I am the Killing Angel.” By @Khwany_kawawii

—

Ema by @Khwany_kawawii

Well, would you look at that. Not only is Ema our first non-NULL OC, but also the first...*drum roll*...Cromag! That’s right—as a child, Ema barely survived a NULL attack that killed her family, and she’s dedicated her life to finding whoever was responsible ever since.

The concept of a private eye in Katana ZERO’s neo-noir metropolis, especially one who suffers from such intense trauma and racial discrimination, has fantastic plot potential. What if she finds the NULL who orphaned her, but they don’t remember it? What if they have to team up? I can’t help but wonder how long an average woman (bionic arm aside) could survive in this dark underbelly of drugged-up super-soldiers...

—

Gamma 4 by @camellia_066

Not every hero dies on a battlefield.

Being a commander means taking responsibility for those under your command. For some that extends beyond wartime, and especially so after the one-way process of becoming NULL; while an Alpha could skip doses of Chronos with nothing more than a nosebleed, a Gamma might require twice the dosage just to stay lucid.

Maybe the weight of New Mecca’s defeat was too much for him to bear. Maybe he knew that a cure for Chronos was a pipedream. But it was better to die for the slim chance of salvation than witness his former comrades slaughter one another for just another dose.

—

Gamma 12 by @wqwrppwu

So this is who’s been stealing my Uber Eats.

The idea of a Gamma-level NULL—especially one as devious-looking as Gamma 12—working as a pizza guy is hilarious to me. I have a soft spot for features like thin noses, wild eyes, and razor teeth that just scream “bad guy, stay away”. Most other NULL would just kill the cashier and take what they want, but Twelve uses his powers to steal booze and cigarettes and get away with it, every time.

It makes sense that he’d be best friends with Alpha 25, “Pomidor” (see Part 1) thanks to their mutual eccentricity and love of mayhem.

Camaraderie at work. By @wqwrppwu

—

Gamma 5 by twink-182

Beta 6 had better be a wizard to claim the nickname “Blade”, given how many Gamma-level knife experts roam the city’s underbelly. Once part of Fifteen’s circle of former NULL, Gamma 5 evidently saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave before his comrade’s vendetta drew him deeper into danger. Otherwise, who knows, we might have had a quick, teleporting knife-thrower heckling us throughout the Headhunter boss fight...yeah, maybe it’s for the best that he’s M.I.A.

I’m guessing the photo and red string is just another point on Fifteen’s byzantine conspiracy board; I hope we get to see the whole thing one day.

—

Alpha 4 by @kym0433

As with any conflict, the end of Cromag War produced massive windfalls for organized crime in terms of illegal weapons, war drugs, and super-soldiers thirsty for Chronos. Luckily for Alpha 4, the Chinese had carved out their own niche in New Mecca’s Chinatown, and they offered him a steady supply of "ke le nuo si”, as they called it, plus a cushy job as a bodyguard; after all, who would dare to start trouble on their turf? Who, but a certain samurai who walked up to the roulette table one day...

While Ted might not be the strongest NULL, he leads the pack in terms of fashion. No musty olive fatigues for this killer—whether it’s a traditional patterned chengshan or tasseled shawl, Ted makes it look awesome. No one would even suspect he’s hiding weapons under there!

By @kym0433

—

Beta 24, “Cecil” by @Tacoyaki86

Contrary to popular belief, the inability to feel pain is not a superpower, especially when paired with a military specialization as hazardous as demolitions and bomb disposal. Imagine not realizing your hands got blown off until you reached for a sip of coffee. That, and you’d be stone deaf from constant close-range explosions and minigun fire.

Knowing that, I can understand Beta 24′s desire to spend a quiet veterancy at a manga café, where the otaku don’t want to chat anyway and the biggest risks are coffee burns and paper cuts.

Also, is that chevron on his beret the same as Headhunter’s? That must indicate rank, or possibly explosives experts. Given Headhunter’s propensity for sticky mines and suicide vests, I’d believe it.

“Detonation successful!” By @Tacoyaki86

—

Gamma 767, “Retana” by @TailWood

Given how many NULL prefer close-range weapons like knives, swords, and bludgeons, having to fire artillery from kilometers away must seem like a crushing indignity for a Gamma like 767: slowing time just means it takes longer for his rockets to hit their targets, and he can’t even collect any trophies to show off to the guys at the bar once they’re off-duty! But hey, someone’s got to do it; I don’t think even the sharpest steel would do much against a tank...

By @TailWood

—

Gamma 9, “Nara” by @couriervictor

Sadism and sharp objects don’t pair well together. It was never explained why Headhunter chose to wear her old uniform everywhere, but in Gamma 9′s case it’s pretty clear: he’s an elite, and he wants you to know it. Lack of physical strength doesn’t matter, since everyone in Katana ZERO died in one hit anyway, and his affinity for throwing knives reminds me of Biker’s levels from Hotline Miami. More knives.

—

Alpha 35, “Sako” by @matsumatsu_kou

For a Gamma NULL, overcoming a debilitating wound is as simple as using their powers to ‘reset’ and try again until they can win the battle without a single scratch. Sadly, that wasn’t an option for their lesser Alpha brethren, as evidenced by Alpha 35.

There have been known cases of NULL choosing to retain scars and other superficial injuries as badges of honor, but if there’s a reason why Sako chooses to fight with a blind eye and busted arm, it’s beyond me. However, if Proto-15 is anything to go by, battle damage is a huge plus for you ferals out there, and it gives him an extra place to store those KNIVES. *snickt*

By @matsumatsu_kou

—

Beta 74 by @cheezysucks

“Take everything from a man but his weapon, and do not judge him thereafter.”

Even in the far-flung future of New Mecca, it seems PTSD still haunts soldiers returning from conflict, even those as exceptional as NULL—if a near-death experience is harrowing, imagine the trauma of countless actual deaths, each instance being dragged backwards in time to start over.

Still, as far as ex-NULL go, Beta 74 chose as honest a job as his ilk can manage, given their stigma abroad. And oh, wow, is he wearing a pair of those funky four-eyed night-vision goggles? Look them up, they’re real, and just as absurd-looking.

—

Gamma 5, “Heatseeker” by 6at

Pour one out for another fallen warrior, Gamma 5 (yes, I know there was already a Gamma 5 earlier, won’t be the last time this happens). Five seems more like a tactical fire commander than your average NULL, with actual combat armor and a bubble helmet seemingly inspired by early concept versions of Headhunter’s gear, replete with a digitized HUD; pretty slick-looking, I must say.

Knowing how far far New Mecca went to cover up the NULL program, I’m surprised they let Five live as long as they did, though his hermetic lifestyle likely made him a minimal risk. I’m guessing he was terminated around the same time the government halted the production of Chronos. Coincidence?

Seems like ‘Heatseeker’ attracted a bit too much heat, heh heh.

—

And that was Part 2 of our Katana ZERO OC event. Is your finger tired from scrolling yet? Not as much as mine...

Click here to read ‘Part 3: Was Going To Be The Finale But I’m Drowning’. Thanks immensely to every single artist who’s submitted their characters and expanded the world of Katana ZERO just a bit more!

By @wqwrppwu

#askiisoft #Devolver Digital #fan art #fan art friday #original character #do #not #steal #katanazero #katana zero

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kreekey · 4 years

Text

Hey, You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (Ch 2)

Chapter 1/?: Want to Hear a Secret?

Pairing: John Lennon & Paul McCartney (not romantic at all)

Genre: Drama, Angst

Words: 3461

Summary: It’s the morning, a time of day that’s already always been unsavoury for John. He’s realized the heaviness of the encounter the night before. He’s realized a bit more about himself. This is not the time to have someone visit. It is not the time to have a spat with your best friend. It is definitely not the time to find a mysteriously revealing letter. It’s just the luck of John.

(See the AO3 Post for author’s notes)

John whined from inside his hotel room. Something resembling “I’m coming, jus’ hold on!” rumbled out of his mouth as he struggled out of the sheets. It must be morning now, he thought to his dismay. He must’ve woken up. It’s good that he was disturbed, as John was too annoyed by that to remember the night before. Yet.

The glance at the mirror didn’t help to cheer his mood, but he didn’t bother to change or even ruffle his hair correctly before ripping the door open. It was Paul, already fitted in a modest jumper over a collared shirt. John peered at him, now a bit more conscious of his half-dressed state.

“Mornin’, then,” Paul scoffed in amusement after looking John up and down. He glanced behind him and pushed his way into the room, saying, “Fuckin’ hell, John. I don’t stay for a night and you leave it a mess. You didn’t remember I was coming over this afternoon so we could finish writing the album?”

Grumblings and the sound of a door slamming shut were ignored as Paul began to sort the papers on the writing desk. Various letters, drawings, ideas, and song notes were being put aside. John threw himself on the bed, face first. Right, the bed…

After an incessant series of pokes to his shoulder, John grumbled and flipped himself over. The shades of daylight peeking through the curtains were enough to blind him. Paul stood over him, shaking his head, “You’ve got to get up, John. We’ve got three days to write three songs, and we’ve got to get something done today if we ever want to finish on time.”

“‘m tired, Paul,” John droned.

“C'mon, I stayed at the party later than you, and I’m alright. You’ve got the blonde to soothe you to an early sleep last night, didn’t you?” Paul’s teasing tone gave John a sense of dread.

A sudden warmth spread on his cheeks. John buried his head in his pillow, forgetting the macho manliness he’d like to exhume. “…no. Nothing happened, Paulie,” he lied.

“Not with the charming John Lennon?” Paul headed back to the desk, not bothering to face the bed. John sat up and watched as Paul swayed and hummed one of their new melodies, busying himself with the task of organization. One end of the room was carefree and light. John’s eyes snapped down to the sheets he sat on. They were unmade, dirty, and caused a crude memory to float back into his brain.

“Aren’t I married now, McCartney?” John asked in a low voice, every word feeling stuck to his tongue. He made sure to keep his eyes down.

Without skipping a beat, Paul laughed, “I don’t remember you ever really caring about marriage 'n all the junk like that before. I mean, I know you love her, but when Lennon’s faced with a pretty bird… What, did all the love songs get to yer head?”

A slight scoff came out of John disguised as a laugh. He turned to where she had been on the bed last night, recounting their actions in his head with a thousand-yard stare.

“Are you coming to write with me or not?” Paul called, still occupied with rummaging through John’s desk. “You can worry about your homing bird later. In fact, once we’re done, I’ll walk with you to the office so you can post her this letter you’ve written personally.” He held up an unfamiliar envelope above his shoulder, waving it to catch John’s attention.

The letter was snatched from behind with a strange intensity, almost ripping the paper in the process. Neither had even realized John had leaped out of bed yet. The event didn’t especially surprise Paul, but the appearance of a letter he had no memory writing certainly surprised John.

“This isn’t my handwriting, ye git,” John jeered after taking a moment to turn the sealed envelope over in his hands. It was addressed with exact precision to Cynthia Powell Lennon at their flat back in England. Eppy had arranged the address so all the fans wouldn’t find them. It was their little hideaway, the few moments John could ever make it home. It was one of those things Cynthia could privately have as proof that, yes, she was rightfully John’s. And John was supposed to be her’s at the end of the day, too.

“Well, it isn’t mine. Did you get someone to transcribe for you? You’re illiterate, you know,” Paul answered casually. When another joke was ignored, Paul spun back to his friend, arms crossed, to watch him tear open the letter with his teeth. “Let me see it, then?”

John drew back from Paul’s reaching hands as he processed the written words. “Oh, for fucks sake…” he breathed, his eyes glued to the paper. “Tell me you wrote this, Paul? To fuck with me, right?”

Hearing Paul’s answer of “No, Johnny,” left John feeling the headache and sense of impending doom grow stronger. He went quiet, re-reading the page.

“What’s wrong, John?” Paul extended his hands, gentler this time. “Just lemme read it.”

John flicked his eyes back at his mate, wide and calculating for a split second. His mind turned to static. No need to weigh the options.

The paper was ripped into quarters and it’s bits left on the ground. John wiped his hands on his pyjamas as if he had committed a crime and said, “Forget it, Paul. Just… forget it, yeah?”

“Sure, John. Er, if you’d like. Of course.” Paul answered, feeling in the dark again. He kept his lips shut, watching as John paced up and down the short room and huffed. There was nothing on the bed, yet John would keep sneaking glances at it. Paul’s fingers wavered, and his eyes wandered down to the tattered papers.

“I'll… we’ll write after I go freshen up. Alright?” John murmured before stepping into the bathroom, leaving Paul standing alone in the middle of the room. It seemed barren without John’s muttering. Paul heard the distant sounds of a shower turning on.

John will be back in a minute. And in a minute, John will be calm again. Paul still felt a twinge of uneasiness as he reached down and picked the scraps up.

Paul took care with arranging the four quarters on the desk, wondering if he was missing something crucial. As the paper became readable, it became clear the handwriting was of a stranger. Neat and bold, not the familiar messy informality of John’s. Paul would have no way of knowing this, but it was the writing of a woman who wasn’t even from this time. A character who knew more about them than they knew about themselves.

The letter began,

Dear Cynthia Powell Lennon (or maybe soon it’ll just be Powell?)

I’m sure you’re well aware of this, or you’ve at least heard the rumours, but you won’t allow yourself to believe it. It’s a shame. You deserve better, don’t you know? And John knows this, too. But he can’t stop himself. And he loves you, he loves you. You must know that. You remember that Christmas letter back in '58… “I LOVE YOU CYN, YES YES YES”.

Strange. No explanation for John’s panic. Paul was too engrossed to notice that the shower had gone quiet.

Those were still the good years. Do you believe that it isn’t anymore? That the shaky period right now will soon pass? I advise you to leave before he breaks your heart. He’s already done it, though, hasn’t he? You just wanted to dance with Stu. Your friend, Stuart. His friend, too.

Outside of Paul’s knowledge, John had dried himself off and put on proper clothes.

It wasn’t until Stu spun you around that you noticed John against the wall, watching. That pretty pair, he thought. You excused yourself. He didn’t talk to you for the rest of the night. He didn’t say much when he found you down in the basement, alone, and forced you against a wall. The slap hurt. Your cheek burned for the rest of the night and you went home. You didn’t see him for months.

Paul remembered when, once, he had noticed that John didn’t have that blonde bird with him anymore. He didn’t know Cynthia then. John said that they had a silly spat. It was an empty lie.

Yet he begged for you to come back, and you did so gladly. You remembered the days when you had just met him. He had charmed you out of your engagement with the man in America just by asking you to dance. He sang you “Ain’t She Sweet.” He was yours. But you knew in the back of your mind even then, didn’t you? You knew there had to be something just underneath the surface…

It was hard to imagine John Lennon - the tuff ted who acted as a bad influence for all the good boys in Liverpool - as someone who could romance a girl like Cynthia. John Lennon, who had ridiculed all the lovey-dovey dull romantics, until one day he had found himself in love. One day, he found himself singing for her. One day, he found himself marrying her. That very man was currently stopped in his tracks, just outside the bathroom door, hair still dripping. Every thought turned into a scream as he caught Paul reading the fucking letter…

So, it wasn’t John’s thoughts that moved him to wrangle his friend’s hair in one hand, forcing Paul to snap out of thought. Paul swore he could feel the hair ripping right off his head. John was dragging him, screaming something unintelligible. Paul couldn’t tell what it was, he needed John to let go. So Paul yelped and thrashed and tried to land any hits he could. It was all futile, of course. It was like a little boy holding onto his father’s trouser legs and crying for him not to go. John threw Paul down to the floor. He turned into a trembling slump trying to pull himself up. Gasping for air, brow furrowed, Paul wanted to understand why.

John turned away from the boy on the ground, fuming, seeing red. He was rubbing his face, his eyes, making his hands move in any way that wouldn’t have him beating Paul into the ground. He took a shaky deep breath, wanting to drown out the ragged breathing from behind him.

Paul was on the floor, one arm propped up, red in the face and panting. The papers had flown about in the chaos. There was a pang of shame in Paul’s chest, but he ignored that. The sense of resentment came much easier. It seemed more obvious.

John paced back and forth, not daring to look at the boy who was still on the floor. Fervent, panicked sounds emanated from John, talking to himself. Paul didn’t move a muscle, but he bit, “The fucks wrong with you?”

Without warning, John tramped towards him and for a second Paul braced himself. But if John wanted to fight, Paul wouldn’t shy away. There was still a slight feeling of relief when John only swiped the papers, making a harsh crinkling sound in his clenched fist. His stature towered over Paul, whose face was too blurry to make out. There was nothing that could stop John from howling roughly, “I can’t stand the way you nose your way into my fuckin’ life, McCartney! I never want to see you worm your way into my business again! I’ll fuckin kill you! I can't stand you!”

What could be done but to wince? John stood tall, jaw tense, spitting these horrible things in his best mate’s face. Sometimes Paul forgot he could do this.

“Aren’t you going to fucking say something, you goddamned divvy?” John let his voice go hoarse. “Won’t you at least fucking… say something?” He noticed his voice go off, a decibel softer. “Say something, Macca. I…”

For a second, John looked helpless again. Paul just breathed, already controlling himself. Breathed it all in. John couldn’t stand how Paul could just breathe and not let it get any worse.

“I…” John wheezed. “…Did you read it?”. He clutched the papers harder in his hands, wishing he could make it disappear.

“…Yea, mate. A bit,” Paul responded in a cool voice, as much as he could manage.

“How far did you…?”

“Not much - ” he cut his explanation short. If he said almost nothing, maybe John would calm down.

Stopping to stare at the wall, John’s thoughts went quieter. “Forget it,” he said sharply.

“O-okay.”

“It’s just…” John sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You know what I get up to, don’t you? But, uhm, there are rumours. I think… I think it’s getting out. I get nervous every time Cyn opens the morning paper. Me and some bird snogging on the front page, you know?”

After Paul’s wordless answer, John stretched out his hand begrudgingly, eyes on the carpet but not on the man. They gripped each other’s forearms and Paul was pulled up. As soon as he was standing, Paul tried to shove his arm back to his side. John held on.

“You don’t think that Cynthia, erm, knows, does she?” John’s grip squeezed Paul’s arm, and suddenly they seemed close again.

“…what?” Paul spoke as soft as he could. If John would allow Paul to see him, see his eyes, maybe they’d understand each other. But he didn’t.

“Cynthia doesn’t know, does she? I mean, I love her. I just can’t help it when…” his voice trailed off. “C'mon, Paul, tell me.”

“John, I don't…”

“Just fuckin’ tell me. I mean, she knows I’m a Beatle, right? I can't… I didn't choose… I mean, I can’t help it. She’s the only one I’ve ever loved, Paul.”

“I - I don’t know, John. Honest.”

John paused. His grasp turned too tight for Paul’s ease of mind. “Did you tell her?”

Paul was left speechless by the very implication.

“You’re terribly nice to her, you know? Did you once let slip…?” he strained to say it.

“No!”

“Did you ever let anyone know at the party, though? The rumours spread quick and you know that, don’t you?”

“Course not! John, did you really think - ”

“Don’t you think she notices, though?” John’s eyes stuck to the floor. “How when we’d go to parties - you know, as normal people - that you’d always leave with Jane and I’d let Cyn go home early so she could get some rest… but of course, I never came home till morning, did I?

"She must notice that you… You’re so perfect, huh?” John gave a weak, weary chuckle.

'Johnny,“ Paul half-scoffed, believing none of this was happening. "You know that’s not true.” He stopped himself from slipping out we’re more alike than you think.

“Oh, shut up. Even your face… that’s why every girl wanted you, didn’t they? I thought I was used to that by now. You’re an angel, y'know that? When I stand next to you, even on stage, I just… I’m not as good, am I?” John’s voice almost seemed amused. Broken. “Everyone knows that. There’s a reason you’re the 'Cute Beatle’, Paul. I’m just the bad seed. A bad influence on McCartney’s kid, huh? Remember that?”

If John had braved to look at Paul’s face, he’d see one of concern. One of affection. The rest of Paul stood as stiff as John, not wanting to tell anything more than they meant to. Slowly, in a gentle voice, Paul soothed, “John, I never said…”

“You don’t have to,” John let go of Paul’s arm, pushing him away as he did so. Paul didn’t know why he was surprised when he caught John’s strong glare.

It was silent. What was to be said to help John see, to know that Paul wants him to be alright? There is no conspiracy. And Paul felt his chest twist in frustration because John was still acting like a child.

“I never said anything of the like, so why are you taking it up with me?” Paul said, words growing thick with disdain.

“C'mon, y'think I don’t notice the - the way you sneer at me?” John shook his head.

“Johnny - !”

“Get out,” John said lowly and his fingers began to twitch in his fist, reminded of the stupid piece of paper that started all this.

Paul let the silence hang there. It was suffocating.

“Get out!” John barked, harsher this time.“I can’t stand your bloody presence.”

“…I’m not leaving,” Paul croaked.

“What?”

Paul could see John’s expression clearly as he snapped his head up. It did not reassure him. Yet Paul didn’t waver from John’s fiery eyes, hissing, “You’re acting like a baby - ”

“You’re acting like a snob! A bleedin’ git! Because that’s what you are, McCartney! You’re some fucking idiot from Liverpool who made it to America because you’re the bass player in some dense band and you happen to have a pretty face!”

Paul looked blank, almost softened.

“You should’ve stayed in fucking Liverpool with Ol’ Jim McCartney. Have a happy little family because I think that’s what you always wanted.

"I don’t know why you followed me all the way through college and Hamburg and the fuckin’ Beatles. Like a puppy, infatuated with copying me - even my leather trousers. Picking fights with Stu just to get my bleeding approval, poor bastard. Y'know what? I think you’ll always be little goody McCartney’s kid. I don’t know how you ended up here!”

Paul scowled, “I’m yer partner! I did as much as you did to get here!”

“C'mon, Princess! You wrote some silly love songs and flash a smile and now you’re a king! But to be a Beatle… the people we were supposed to turn out to be… You’re not cut out for it, and you know it! Get back to the sweet little neighbourhood you came from, why don’t you? You don’t even like it here. You think I’m a bloody divvy, an idiot. Leave, then! Leave!”

These words echoed through their consciousness. Paul felt his throat hitch, and John’s eyes burned into his. The room got compact, every breath coming out hot and heavy. Every thought being pushed out by the need to make a mistake.

“Least I’m not fucking around on my own wife,” John heard, and it was like the walls came down. “You don’t even know your kid, Johnny.”

There was a small sense of victory when John’s eyes went helpless and lost. The fire went out for a split second before John realized who he was.

Before he could object, Paul was held up by his collar and knocked against the wall. Paul gasped, focused on John’s face, and neither said a word. Their stares killed each other. John’s lips were pulled into a thin line, and Paul hoped he’d second-guess himself. Still, Paul didn’t even struggle. He took the punch. The punch that was intended to knock a tooth out. It was solid, bony. Both felt the heavy thunk of Paul’s skull and the crack of his teeth. John watched it all unfold, ignoring the fact that he was doing this or that he was doing it to Paul. When Paul only inhaled a cool breath, wincing but keeping a strong face, John dropped him. He fell to the floor like a ragdoll and groaned. It was deep, gravely, and stubborn. Stubborn to make John feel like he just did something meaningless. Stubborn to tell John that it didn’t even matter.

John took control of his breathing again, staring down at the downtrodden Paul. He wished it never happened.

Paul looked up when the door slammed shut and he was alone again. He sat there, docile. If he stayed still, he hoped he could sink back into the ground and disappear. The sterile atmosphere tingled on his skin. His jaw began to get sore and he waited for his head to stop spinning so that maybe he could stand. Things were still fizzy. Anger settled in a pit somewhere in his stomach, not to be lashed out now. Sometime later. Later, perhaps. If the anger stayed. Sometimes it turned into a simple feeling of unfairness, of quiet bitterness. But somehow, right now, Paul worried about his attacker. No. His friend, his partner, who was stumbling through the streets and not thinking right. Who didn’t know what he was doing, who couldn’t control what he was doing. But it’s impossible to hold him back. John Lennon couldn’t help it. Paul felt a sharp pang of sadness for the lot of them.

#John Lennon #the beatles #Beatles #fanfic #drama #angst #beatles fanfiction #beatles fandom #john lennon angst #fanfiction #i dont know why i wrote this #Hey You've Got to Hide #writing #my work #my writing

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raywritesthings · 5 years

Text

Wrong Road to the Right Place 17/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, John Diggle, Ted Grant, Thea Queen, Moira Queen, Alexi Leonev, Raisa, Tommy Merlyn Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: Laurel finds herself curious about the marks Oliver showed her that night in his bedroom - and the tattoo on his left shoulder stands out in particular. When she discovers its meaning, she finds herself questioning everything she knows about the man she doesn’t want to admit she still loves. Additional Note: Lightly Sexual Content *Can also be read on my AO3 page*

When Laurel made it down to the base, John could tell something had happened. “What’s wrong?”

Oliver looked up from the file he was studying of yet another one-percenter as well.

“It’s the Bratva,” Laurel answered. She told them everything about the short phone call with Leonev.

“Did he threaten you?” Was Oliver’s first question.

“Not exactly. I kind of hung up.”

John let out a breath. Not that he had much experience, but he wasn’t sure he would have just hung up on the Bratva.

“I’ll have to talk to Alexi,” Oliver determined. “He’s overstepping, probably wants to know how far my loyalties go.” He leaned his weight on a table and looked down. “This is all my fault.”

“Not exactly. I went to the warehouse and let them see my face,” Laurel reminded him. She stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If I hadn’t been following you, they would have no idea I was involved in any of this.”

“It’s only because you followed me that you are,” Oliver pointed out. “And I- I’m glad about that, but I didn’t want something like this happening to someone I love. You and my family, that was never supposed to mix with the Bratva. You were supposed to be safe.”

“Well, even without the Bratva, that has proven to be difficult.”

They both shared a bittersweet smile at that.

“And who else are they gonna want to borrow, Oliver?” John asked, only a little sorry to break the moment. “You never said that could happen when I walked in there with you.”

He was worried about Laurel, but he also had himself and Carly and AJ to think about. What if the Bratva decided they needed an army man, a driver, anything that require his position or skill set?

“I didn’t think it would.” He could tell Oliver was as angry at himself as John was at him. “The Bratva doesn’t go after family, not usually. They must really need something done, or something a client of theirs needs done. I don’t know.” His hands were twitching at his sides, probably wishing for someone or something to hit.

“Okay, let’s start with some things we can manage,” Laurel suggested. “I think we need to be more careful about our identities. All three of us.” She spun on the balls of her feet to face John. “That means masks in the field.”

He could feel himself shaking his head. “I’m not the vigilante.”

“No, but I agree, John,” said Oliver. “If somebody out there recognizes you because you came to help me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “Look, man, a mask doesn’t work the same for me the same it does for you. If I get spotted in a mask, they’ll see a bank robber. A thug. Or some kind of criminal. They see someone they need to shoot first, ask questions later.”

Both Oliver and Laurel looked down. He knew they probably didn’t like facing that reality, but he was the one living it.

“What if you covered up completely? I know you went out as the Hood once,” Laurel pointed out. “No one noticed he was black instead of white. What if you wore something more like that? It shouldn’t have to be that way, but we all want you to be safe, John.”

He knew that, but he still wasn’t sure he was comfortable taking on the title of vigilante full time the way Oliver did. It was something he’d have to give thought. “What are some of the other things?”

“We shouldn’t use our real names on the comms. Especially you, Ollie. ‘John’ is one thing, but if a criminal heard you say my name…”

“It’s not the most common,” Oliver acknowledged. “So a codename. Did you have something in mind.”

Laurel shrugged, but John smirked as a thought came to him.

“Well, the Russians have one already, don’t they? Pretty Bird.”

“No. I am not going by that,” Laurel protested immediately.

“I’ll start looking at masks,” he offered in deadpan. Laurel crossed her arms, no doubt ready to start arguing why he should be doing that anyway.

What caught them both off guard was Oliver stifling a laugh. “Sorry,” he said the moment they looked at him. John almost wished they hadn’t; it had been a while since he’d seen Oliver laughing.

When he glanced at Laurel, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

“Fine,” Laurel said with extra emphasis after a pause. “It’s a working title.”

He and Oliver shared a grin. As crazy as their lives were, at least maybe they could have this.

John accompanied Oliver the next morning out to the warehouse ostensibly posing as a garage. They were shown right in.

“Welcome, Captain,” Leonev greeted. “What business do you have today?”

“Personal,” Oliver said with a clipped tone. “You’ve disappointed me, Alexi. This is a brotherhood. We do not go after our family.”

“I would not normally, but these are special circumstances.” The mob man didn’t seem in the least surprised that they were here to discuss it. “As I explained, Carnahan’s execution makes things difficult for us.”

“What, was he on your payroll?” John couldn’t help asking. He cursed himself mentally for it; he wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself here. But the thought that the Assistant District Attorney has been Bratva was a little too shocking to process silently.

Leonev made a face. “Not as such. But he knew when best to leave things alone.”

Probably why he’d gotten killed by the Savior in the first place, John noted to himself.

“And you should know to leave my family alone,” Oliver pressed.

“I apologize. But you do not understand pressure we are under. This is below your grade, as they say.”

Oliver exchanged a look with him, and John gave an imperceptible nod. It was better that they hear out Leonev’s information before saying anything else.

“What kind of pressure?” Oliver asked.

“With Hood operating in Starling, many people are angry. They are worried about their interests, and whether he plans to interfere with them.”

“Which people?”

“There is only one name. Tempest. I know nothing else.”

Tempest. John frowned, trying to remember if he’d ever heard of such an organization in Starling City. He could tell from Oliver’s expression that he was coming up empty as well.

“What would Tempest want with a lawyer from a nonprofit?” John decided to ask.

“There is man, named Rasmus. He is having trouble with a family who claim he stole from them.”

Which meant the man probably had, was what went unsaid.

“Should they pursue legal action with the City Necessary Resources Initiative, your woman is to refuse. Make something up, make the case disappear.” Leonev shrugged. “That is all.”

John had a feeling that wasn’t the whole story, considering this Rasmus had an in with the mob, but he could tell asking for more information wouldn’t help them in the least.

“So, we are agreed?” Asked Leonev.

Oliver was staring at the ground, and John realized his friend had gone tense. But he looked up after a moment with a tense smile. “I’ll have my answer for you shortly.” Then he turned and left the warehouse, and John wasn’t interested in sticking around without him.

“What’s wrong, Oliver?” He said in an undertone once they were halfway to the car.

His friend didn’t ask for specifics on what he meant. “Edward Rasmus is on the list.”

“Oh.”

“That family deserves every penny he took from them. But,” Oliver’s frown deepened as he continued, “if the Hood goes after him now, the Bratva will realize there’s a leak.”

“And that the leak is you.”

Oliver nodded.

It was one hell of a choice. Continue to stay on the Bratva’s good side and leave a family to suffer, or do the right thing and put targets on all of their backs.

“Laurel hasn’t been approached by this family yet,” he pointed out. “We’ve still got some time to figure out a plan.”

Oliver glanced at him over the roof of the car as they split up to get in on either side. “Yeah. But how much?”

—-

Ted frowned as he easily side-stepped another quick punch. “Time-out.”

Laurel Lance kept her fists raised but held her position as he’d requested.

“Where’s your head? I can tell it’s a million miles away. You’re stiff as a brick.”

“Sorry,” she sighed.

“We’ll take a break till you’re ready to do this.”

“Ted, I am ready.” She followed him a couple steps when he turned away. “I have to be.”

“Because you’re in some kind of trouble?” He turned back around when she froze. “If I’m gonna help you, teach you, I gotta know what’s going on, Laurel. And don’t think I missed the way your boyfriend came in here casing the place with his eyes when he dropped you off tonight. Who was he checking for?”

Laurel chewed at her lip for a moment or so before she said to her toes, “Bratva.”

“Well, that is a problem.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I don’t doubt it.” He set aside his gloves. “Alright, you help me close up and we’ll talk.”

She eyed him suspiciously but finally nodded, accepting his help out of the ring.

They made quick work of things, and soon enough Ted was getting out a pair of folding chairs that he set a few feet apart facing each other. He gestured Laurel to one and took the other.

“So what is a nice girl like you getting mixed up in the Bratva for? Not to mention those tough guys you already hang around with.”

Laurel stared at him. “You think Oliver Queen is a tough guy.”

“Who said anything about Oliver Queen?”

“My boyfriend? That’s him,” she told him. “You really didn’t recognize him?”

“Should I have?” Ted shrugged. “What’s he ever done for me?” He was glad to see it got her smiling, even if a little grudgingly. “Alright, then. But what’s going on?”

She leaned forward in her chair. “You can’t tell anyone. Especially not the police.”

“I don’t exactly got a client confidentiality clause, but I don’t talk if it’s not necessary.”

Laurel nodded. “When he was shipwrecked, Oliver had to do a lot of things to survive. Not all of them were good. One of those things...got him involved with the Bratva.”

Ted raised his eyebrows but made no comment.

“I was trying to figure out what was going on with him when he got back and walked in on something I shouldn’t have. They now know who I am, and they’re asking me to compromise myself at my job for them. I’m a lawyer at CNRI.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise him. “What have they asked you?”

“There’s a client of theirs, a businessman they’re connected to. He’s done something illegal to steal money from people, and he’s worried about a family seeking legal help,” Laurel explained in the broadest sense possible. Probably to get around legal red tape. “I’m supposed to turn them down when they do.”

“But you’re not gonna do that.”

Laurel didn’t have to answer. He could see it in her eyes.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t want this?”

“No,” Laurel said with a quick shake of the head. “He was furious, but there’s not much he can do without bringing them down on both our heads.”

“So why are you with a guy in the mob?”

“He’s not — I mean, he asked them for information about something. That was what I walked in on. I really can’t say anymore.”

Ted weighed that for a while, gathering everything he knew about his student with everything that had been going on in this city lately. It didn’t make sense for Laurel to be wasting her time on some two-bit cheat with the mob unless…

Ted drew in a breath. “I’ll be damned. He really is the Hood.”

Laurel looked absolutely miserable, but didn’t deny it.

“And I suppose that’s what’s got you in here? You don’t want him out there alone.”

“No.”

Ted nodded to himself. Then he stood. “Come with me.”

He led her back to the office and took out the old folder again. He’d been catching himself flipping through it more often of late, and he watched as her eyes scanned over everything once he passed it to her.

“This was you? You were a vigilante?”

“Something like that. I gave it up a long time ago. Not sure if that was for the best or not, considering what we’ve been seeing lately. But I know what it takes.”

She looked up at him, eyes searching his face.

“I train you, you do it by my rules. That means no killing.”

He was glad to see a ready nod to that. “I’ve been talking to Oliver. Trying...it’s hard for him. On the island, survival of the fittest was the only rule.”

Ted thought he could understand that at least a little. “He needs to start learning he’s not on that island. And that’s what we’re getting you ready for.”

“Alright.” Laurel turned and left the office. When he followed after, he found her already climbing back into the ring. “Let’s get started.”

Ted grinned.

—-

Just as quickly as she’d arrived, Laurel was no longer staying at the Manor. And she’d taken Ollie with her.

Thea was more confused than ever. Her brother had talked to her a couple times since, only saying that he and Laurel had decided it was time to start living on their own like they’d once planned — or Laurel had planned, anyway. But he didn’t give Thea the address. She knew they weren’t at Laurel’s apartment because she’d stopped by there late and no one had answered.

She’d gotten away with being out late because she was once again being left with little to no supervision.

Their mom had taken to working late nights at the company, making the big house seem all the more empty. Thea was half-tempted to see if Roy wanted a roommate, but even she knew it was way too early for her to be moving in with her new boyfriend.

Everything just seemed really tense ever since the attack at Mr. Merlyn’s award ceremony. Ollie and her mom weren’t really talking, Tommy hadn’t been over in forever, and Laurel changed the subject whenever she tried to ask during her community service at CNRI.

Neither Laurel or Oliver attended Mr. Chen’s memorial service, though that wasn’t surprising considering what had come out about his Triad connections. It had been very quick, and his daughter had also been conspicuously absent. Thea wondered what could have kept her overseas for something like this. As weird as her loved ones were being right now, Thea still wanted to be there for them, if they’d let her. Which no one seemed inclined to do at the moment.

Thea left her room and took the long way round towards the kitchen to see if there was anything to snack on. Raisa had been stress-baking lately; even she could tell something wasn’t quite right.

But Thea’s walk slowed as she came up on the door to her mother’s office. There was a bit of light shining out from under the door. She hadn’t heard her mom come in.

Cautiously, she approached and turned the handle silently. She’d taught herself the trick over the years for whenever she wanted to check in on her mom without her knowing. But it wasn’t her mother sitting at the desk.

There was a man in a suit standing behind the desk, peering intently at the computer. His head was down and he wore a hat with a brim so she couldn’t see his hair.

Tea must have let out a gasp, because he looked up — only she couldn’t make out his features. Everything was sort of opaque.

“Please don’t hurt me!” She blurted.

He jerked back, the lamp he’d been reading by falling off the desk and smashing on the floor. Only the strip of light from the hallway illuminated the room, and it didn’t prepare her for when he approached from the side and knocked her out of the way, racing down the hall.

“Hey!”

Thea hurried after, but in her flip flops wasn’t quite fast enough. She heard the front door open and slam.

“Miss Thea?” Raisa called a few minutes later.

Thea met her at the bottom of the steps. “There was a guy, I saw. He- he must’ve broken in!”

Raisa’s eyes widened. “Was it the vigilante?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so.” Thea didn’t know who that had been. “I- I should call the cops, right?”

The front door opened again and they both grabbed at each other in fright.

“Thea? Raisa?” Her mother blinked at them in surprise. “What seems to be the commotion?”

“Mom!” Thea raced forward and buried her head in her mother’s shoulder, squeezing her tight. “You’re okay.”

“Of course I am, sweetheart.” She felt her mom rub her shoulder blades.

“But you- you didn’t see him?”

“See who?”

“Miss Thea claims she saw an intruder,” Raisa said.

Her mom pulled back to look at her in surprise. “An intruder?”

“I swear it happened, mom. He knocked over your desk lamp on the way out. I caught him looking at your computer.” Thea didn’t miss the way she paled at that. “It wasn’t the Hood or anybody the news or police have talked about. But we should call them, right?”

“No,” her mother said with a sharpness in her voice. Thea drew back and watched as she closed her eyes and collected herself. “I mean that, I would like to assess any damage first to see if police involvement is necessary.”

“Mom, he broke in,” Thea began as she followed her mother up the stairs.

“As I’m aware, sweetheart. I’ll have the security informed to be on a more careful lookout.” She paused in the doorway and looked back at her. “I know you’re worried, Thea, but there are other things we have to consider. The company is only just coming back from a vulnerable position after Walter’s disappearance. As we are the face of that company, we have to present a strong, united front. Do you understand?”

“I guess.”

Her mother’s smile was strained. “Thank you, sweetheart. Oh, and don’t mention this to Oliver if you see him? He has enough of his own worries.”

“Okay,” Thea agreed slowly. Her mother nodded and disappeared into her office.

Thea turned back towards her room, her appetite forgotten. The more time went on, the more she really was starting to think there was something more going on with her family, and the city at large.

She just had no idea how to figure out what.

—-

Tommy ran blindly through the trees. Literally blindly. He could hardly see where he was going with this thing over his face. How did Ollie do it?

His breathing was slightly impaired as well. This was not going how he’d wanted it to at all. But he’d wanted even less to be caught by one of the servants of Queen Manor downloading Mrs. Queen’s files onto a flash drive. That’s why he’d taken the precautions with his identity.

He hadn’t been expecting Thea. Why wasn’t she listening to music in her room or out partying, something normal teenagers did? He couldn't believe what she'd said, that she'd thought he might hurt her. A part of him was disgusted with himself that he'd caused her that fear. Why did this have to be necessary?

He finally made it out to the old narrow lane he’d parked his car in, where he’d used to drop Oliver off after a long night and they didn’t want his parents to know. God, he wished that’s what he was doing right now.

Tommy wrenched the door open and climbed inside, tossing the hat he’d bought cheap with cash onto the seat beside him and ripping the pantyhose stocking off his head.

It had been the closest thing to a mask he’d been able to find, probably left behind by one of his rendezvous in the last couple months. All his old ski stuff, like the all-too-critical mask, were at his dad’s house, and Tommy definitely hadn’t wanted to let him know he was sneaking into his good friend’s house to steal files. Even if he was dying with curiosity about his dad’s unexpected convalescence.

If the files he’d found on the Merlyn Global server were to be believed, whatever his father was doing with this Undertaking had something to do with a project being developed by Unidac Industries. Since Unidac had recently been bought by Queen Consolidated, his best bet at learning more was now on this flash drive. He was one step closer to discovering whatever his father was planning in honor of his mother’s legacy.

The trouble was, what did he do when he found it out? He’d set up contact with McKenna at the SCPD, partly inspired by Oliver’s infrequent alliance with Detective Lance. Tommy wasn’t confident enough in his sneaking around to contact an old pro like Lance, though, so he’d picked McKenna for her rookie status. Maybe his hint to her about the Glades would be enough to stop this whole thing. Merlyn Global would be dined for using shell companies to get a monopoly on real estate in the Glades, and life would continue on.

And if it wasn’t? What if he had to reveal what he knew about the Gambit? What if he had to send his own father to jail? And Mrs. Queen along with him, perhaps.

There was one other option, Tommy knew, that wouldn’t involve the police at all. He could take what he’d gathered to Oliver and the others. But what then? Would he be signing his father’s death warrant? Was it wrong of him to care about that when he’d only just sat at Frank Chen’s memorial knowing just who was responsible for putting him there?

He couldn’t decide what to do until he read the information on this flash drive. That would decide everything. Grimly, Tommy put the car in reverse and began the long drive back to his apartment, relieved to run into no police cars on the way.

—-

Laurel shifted around on the mattress, trying to get comfortable. She didn’t need a downy soft bed, but the firmness of this one wasn’t quite to her liking. Only the knowledge that Oliver had to be used to sleeping on hard surfaces kept her from voicing the complaint.

He reached out an arm and pulled her closer to him, offering himself up as a cushion. So maybe he could guess her feelings anyway.

“Did I wake you?” She whispered. It was only them tucked away in this corner of the base, but she still felt the need to be quiet.

“Can’t sleep until you do,” he muttered back, smoothing some of her hair back from her forehead. “What about you?”

She shrugged. “There’s a lot on my mind.” The tips of her fingers tapped the star tattoo on his chest. “Ollie; there’s something I have to tell you.”

His eyes opened and he looked down at her. “Yeah?”

“It’s Ted. He knows the truth.”

She felt him tense up underneath her, and Laurel sat up, pulling the sleeve of her tank top back into place.

“Laurel—”

“He guessed, and he’s not going to tell. In fact, he told me his own secret. He used to be a vigilante, too.”

Oliver’s eyebrows rose. “When?”

“A few years ago. He mostly handled small crime in the Glades and he didn’t have the kind of fancy tech you do, so there wasn’t much media coverage,” she explained. “He wouldn’t tell me why he stopped, but I gather something happened in the field.”

Oliver pushed himself up on one elbow. “Why did he tell you any of it?”

“Because he’s training me. And not just in self-defense.” She fixed him with a look. “We’ve talked around this, Ollie, but someday when I’m ready, I’m going to be out there with you.”

She could see the pain and fear creeping into his eyes, but to his credit he held his tongue.

“I know you’re afraid for me, but I refuse to live like this forever.” Laurel gestured around them. “Hiding in bunkers and constantly looking over my shoulder. This is our fight, together, and we’re going to take it to them.”

“I understand that’s how you feel,” he said carefully. Oliver reached out for her hands, and she let him. “I just worry what this life would do to you. It’s not something I ever would have chosen for myself.”

“I know. And the fact that you took it on anyway shows how much you’ve changed. And that’s not for the worse, Ollie. You are a good person. And I want to help you to be even better.”

“As capable as you are, I’m not sure that’s possible,” he remarked with chagrin. She could tell he still didn’t quite believe her when she said he was good.

Laurel took one of her hands from his grasp and cupped his cheek so he would look at her. “Well, it starts with trust. Here and in the field. A year ago, the idea that I could ever trust you again would’ve sounded crazy to me, Ollie. But I’m ready to take that leap again.” She wondered for a single moment if her mother would be just as understanding with we for following her heart, but she let the residual anger and grief go, stroking at Oliver’s stubble with her thumb. “Are you?”

He swallowed and nodded.

Laurel leaned over and kissed him again, softly and sweetly. “Then it’s not so impossible, is it?”

They left words behind for the rest of the night.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #john diggle #alexi leonev #ted grant #thea queen #moira queen #raisa #tommy merlyn #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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kadtherine · 5 years

Text

Your daughter's dead. This is not your daughter. I'm not your girl anymore.

Voices and words echoed in Bill's mind, each trying to be louder than the other. Each trying to convince him of something he didn't want to believe. Ted had told him that his daughter was dead and yet, here she stood. Paul had told him that she wasn't his daughter but then again, Paul had also told him that he wasn't at fault when he clearly was – thisisyourfaulthisisyourfaulthisisyourfault. Bill was vaguely aware that the singing had stopped, that Paul had a hand wrapped around his forearm and that the rifle Professor Hidgens had given them was in Alice's hands.

Judging by the way his grasp tightened, Paul had noticed it too. Bill's gaze drifted from the weapon to Alice, the latter staring back at him with dull eyes. He swallowed around the lump in his throat as he stared back into her green, seemingly lifeless, eyes – your daughter's dead – and tried not to let his panic show. He didn't grimace at her lack of hesitation as Alice lifted the rifle at eye-level without flinching. He didn't move when Paul tried to drag him back, his pleas falling on deaf ears. Instead, he focused on his daughter and the fact that she hadn't shot either of them.

Bill didn't really know what to expect apart from the singing. Both Sam and Charlotte had gleefully toyed with them before being shot by Hidgens. Unlike them, Alice was eerily quiet and silent. Bill found himself thanking God that none of her organs had been ripped out, her body intact – at least, for what he could see. Alice seemed frozen in a trance and Bill didn't know how to get through her– this is your fault. There were only a few things a night out to see Mamma Mia could fix.

There were fewer things they could do in a week per month – did you know that I wanted to live with you – and there wasn't much he knew about his daughter. This is not your daughter, Paul's words echoed in his mind, this isn't your daughter. Would Bill even be able to know the difference? After all, he had already missed a lot. Bill rubbed his nose, pushing back tears as he allowed Paul to drag him back, eyes still fixed on Alice. That was when he saw it. He saw Alice blink.

Bill saw Alice blink and was reminded of a headstrong little girl refusing to lose staring contests to whomever she locked eyes with. He remembered her green eyes lighting up whenever she'd win, bouncing on the ball of her feet and giggling. You lost, she'd say, twirling in her flowing skirts, I remained the undefeated champion. He saw Alice blink and tell himself that his daughter was still there. You lost, Bill thought, a small smile forming on his face, she remained the undefeated champion.

Bill dug his feet into the floor, halting Paul as he tried to pry his fingers off his arm. The latter turned around with a frown when Bill went to take a step forward.

“Bill, what are you doing? We gotta go-”

Bill shook off his hand and took another step forward. “No, I'm not going anywhere without my daughter.”

“Bill, come on-”

“We crossed this entire town with the intention of saving Alice,” he interrupted again, turning around to meet Paul's eyes. Paul stared back at him, his brow furrowed and gaze drifting back to Alice every two seconds. Bill sighed, squeezing his shoulder. “Now, I can't thank you enough for coming with me and I'll totally understand if you decided to go back . But I'm not leaving my daughter.”

Not again, the thought went unheard and yet, the words seemed to echo around the room. Clearing his throat, Bill gave Paul's shoulder a squeeze before he let his hand slide off. To his surprise – and relief - he didn't walk away, nor did he try to grab and drag him away again. Instead, Paul's gaze focused on something behind Bill. Or rather, someone. Letting out a breath, Bill slowly turned on his heels, his eyes locking on Alice.

“Alice,” he licked his lips, raising his hands to show that he meant no harm, “I know you're in there and I know you're mad-”

“She's gone,” Alice retorted, her tone flat as she clicked off the safety, “you were too late. As always.”

Gritting his teeth, Bill leveled a glare at her. “I'm not talking to you,” he spat, “I'm talking to my daughter. You lost, by the way,” he added as an after-thought.

The corner of his mouth twitched up in a half-smile when he saw her roll her eyes, her fingers twitching around the rifle. There it was. A familiar emotion that wasn't indifference or blatant ignorance. Billy allowed himself to hope and took a couple steps toward Alice, vaguely aware of Paul following him.

“You haven't shot any of us, either,” Bill said, hoping he sounded more confident that he felt. He swallowed a cry of pain when Paul elbowed his side.

Alice tilted her head to the side. “That could be arranged.”

“You haven't shot any of us,” he repeated, slowly closing the distance, “you could've shot us at any moment but you didn't. Something's keeping you from doing it. Someone who's much stronger than you. Much stronger than me. Which is why you chose her, right?” Bill shrugged, “I mean, why wouldn't you?”

Bill noticed her white knuckles, her bent knees and clenched jaw. He noticed more about his daughter in the last five minutes than he had in the last five years. The opportunity was here and he'd be damned if he didn't do anything about it.

“Alice, sweetheart; I know you're in there. I know you're mad at me. You've got every right to be mad, cause I fucked up. I fucked up hard and you might never forgive me for. I'm not asking for your forgiveness,” Bill felt the back of his eyes burn and swallowed a wave of tears, “I don't have the right to ask you for anything. I just need you to know that I see you. I see you as the strong, smart and stubborn young woman that you are. And I know that you're too stubborn to let some kind of alien force take control of your body. I know you can fight it. After all, you're the undefeated champion.”

The barrel of the rifle was pointed to his chest, way too close for comfort. Bill didn't pay it much mind – there wasn't much he could if Alice decided to fire – and instead, focused on the small crease between her eyebrows and the anguish shining in her eyes. Her mouth contorted from a smirk to a grimace, to a snarl. She shook her head, muttering under her breath. As if talking to her self. Bill heard her take a sharp inhale of air, her head bent down. He tentatively reached out a hand and laid it on the weapon, lowering it so the barrel was facing the floor.

Alice collapsed on the floor when he went to touch her shoulder.

Both Bill and Paul knelt in front of her, the latter keeping his distance while he reached for the rifle. Alice's breath came out in shaky exhales, her fingers pulling at her hair as she rocked back and forth. Billy went to brush her hair out of her face before he thought better of it and retrated his hand.

“Alice? Alice, if you can hear me, you need to calm down, babe.”

She shook her head, her body trembling with sobs. “I can't-”

“Yeah, you can,” Paul intervened, sliding next to him, weapon slung over his shoulder. “You're breathing away too quickly, you're gonna black out if you don't calm down.”

Usually, Bill would've berated Paul for his bluntness but sensitivity didn't seem to be appropriate for that particular situation. Without thinking, he took one of Alice's hands in his and placed into on his chest, taking exaggerate breaths. Next to him, Paul began to do the same, surely hoping that Alice would mimic them. Her hand clenched around the fabric of his shirt and Bill had to fight the urge to flinch back

“It won't go away,” she whimpered, gasping for air. She looked up, green eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. “It won't go, it won't leave me alone. I can't get it to leave me alone.”

Bill's heart broke as he listened to her cry. He covered her hand with his and squeezed. “Yes, you can, Alice. Come on, babe. I need you to breathe. In,” Bill took an exaggerated gulp of air, holding it in ten seconds before slowly pushing it out of his nose, “And out. Feel how my chest is rising? Yeah? Come on, your turn: in...and out.”

Alice closed her eyes, her head falling forward, and Bill felt his heart drop at his seemingly unconscious daughter. He gave her hand a squeeze, letting out a quiet sob of relief when she squeezed back. Bill could hear her mumble to herself, frowning when he noticed that her eyes weren’t fully closed but staring at the hand resting on her lap. Following her gaze, Bill realized that she was counting on trembling fingers before inhaling.

“That’s it, Alice. You’re doing great.”

Her brow furrowed, Alice blinked at her hand, counting backward before she breathed out. Clenching her hand into a fist, she looked back up to meet Bill’s gaze. He braced himself as she blinked a couple of times, afraid he’d see the same blankness as before. To his relief, they were not. Much to his concern, they were red and one pupil was bigger than the other. While they were no physical sign of injury, Bill hadn’t worried about the possibility of her having a concussion. Which, from the look of it, was extremely probable.

Alice slowly pulled her hand from his grasp and cradled it to her chest, her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Dad?”

“Hey, kiddo,” Bill cleared his throat, running a hand over his face. “How are you feelin’?

“My head is killing me,” Alice muttered, “I’m tired too. Is that Uncle Paul?”

Bill and Paul exchanged a look, the latter nodding. “Yeah. He helped me get here.”

“Did you eat, drink anything?” Paul asked, “That’s how they got the customers at Beanie’s. Put some of that weird blue shit in their coffee,” he added when met with Bill’s confused look.

Alice shook her head before she groaned, a grimace on her face. “I don’t think so, I can’t rememb-” she suddenly gasped, causing both men to flinch back. Her eyes widened, gaze darting from Bill to Paul, as she pushed herself backward until her back hit the hall. “You shouldn’t be here. You need to go, it’s not safe. For either of you.”

Bill thought she saw her gaze linger on Paul before she focused on her attention on her fingers, as if anticipating another panic attack. Holding out a hand behind him, Bill slowly slid on the floor, grimacing when Alice flinched back, the back of her head hitting the wall. As she looked up at him with teary, scared eyes, Bill felt his heart break once more.

“We shouldn’t be there, none of us,” he corrected, his tone not leaving any room for discussion. “And I’m not leaving you. Not again.”

Sniffing, Alice wiped a tear with the back of her hand. Bill reached forward and brushed her hair out of her face, smiling when she didn’t flinch back. Alice went to open her mouth before her eyes widened, her jaw clenching. She covered her mouth with both of her hands, dry heaving. She, at least, had the decency to wait until Paul had pulled him back by the collar before throwing up the side. They both watched, in disgust and horror, as Alice emptied the contains of her stomach on the floor. Bill almost started to dry heave as well when he saw her pull a familiar blue golb out of her mouth.

He tried not to stare at the bright atrocity as he placed his arms under Alice’s armpits and dragged her backward, the latter coughing out yellow bile. Bill wrapped his arms around Alice, his chin resting on his head and her hands wrapped around his forearms. He watched, weary, Paul walk toward the small glob.

“Paul,” Bill hissed, frowning when Paul jumped at the sound of his name, as if snapping out of a trance.

He looked back at the two and let out a weak chuckle. “Sorry. I guess that,” he pointed to the blob with the rifle, “explains a lot of stuff,” he cleared his throat, “Come on, we should get out of here before they realize something’s wrong.”

Swinging the rifle behind his back, Paul walked to the door and cracked it. He put his foot in the doorway and slipped out of the room, looking down the hall.

“Okay, coast’s clear,” Paul announced, “we need to move.”

Nodding, Bill got up to his feet, dragging Alice up. She winced at the sudden movement, her head falling against his shoulder. It took one look at her to know that she wouldn't be able to take more than two steps out before she'd faint. Bill placed one arm behind her back and another under her knees, cradling her to his chest. He felt a lump from his throat when Alice wrapped both of her arms around her neck.

Bill cleared his throat and looked up at Paul. “Let's get the fuck out of here."

#the guy who didn't like musicals #tgwdlm #tgwdlm au #paul matthews #bill #alice #(they don't have no last names)#also in this au: alice is alone in the school and throughout 'not your seed'#so yeah #jon matteson #corey dorris #mariah rose faith #tgwdlm spoilers #my fic #mine

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matrixaffiliate · 5 years

Text

Patient

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

I apologize in advance if there are awful spelling or grammatical errors, I decided two days ago that I didn't like where I had taken this chapter and basically re-wrote everything. So I've only had a chance to proofread this once (normally I proofread at least five times). I hope it's still fun!

Chapter 7

Engaged… Engaged! She, Ginny Weasley, was engaged!

Ginny honestly wasn't sure how to stop smiling. She was immensely grateful that she was a very organized wedding coordinator because she had been rendered useless for the remainder of Vic and Ted's wedding after Harry's proposal. If it hadn't been Ted she was sure Harry would have simply whisked her home.

Home.

His home was going to be her home. The home he grew up in, the home she had fallen in love with when she first saw it, was going to be her home. And it would be her home in a bit more than two months.

Her lease on her flat was up soon, and she had been meaning to get the renewal paperwork to them, but now she was very happy she hadn't managed that. It was much easier to just let the lease run out than to try and break the lease partway through.

"Stay home," Harry stepped up behind her and pulled her from her musings as she plaited her hair.

"I can't love, not all of us are lucky enough to work out of our home office." Ginny laughed and turned in his arms.

Harry was persistent and went immediately for her favorite spot on her neck, just behind her ear.

"You're going to make me late," Ginny's voice was breathless.

"Now you're getting the idea," Harry's voice vibrated against her skin, making her shiver.

"Don't ruin my hair," and then she kissed him.

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

Ginny walked into work, still unsure of how to explain showing up thirty minutes late. She managed to step into her office unnoticed and tried to get set up as quickly as possible. Maybe she could play it off as though she had just been a few minutes behind schedule and not spending half an hour being ravished by her fiance before work.

The word fiance put a smile back on her face and Ginny looked down at her hand. Her engagement ring sparkled in the light from her window and she let out a happy sigh just as Josh walked in.

"There you are, I was hoping," he stopped mid-sentence and his eyes went huge. Then he rushed her and pulled Ginny into a tight hug.

"You have to tell me everything! I want details! And who are you going to pick to plan your wedding? Oh please let me do it! I've always wanted to put together a wedding for a coordinator! You'll be my solace in the sea of bridezillas, groomzillas, and wishy-washy couples who claim they don't care!"

"Slow down there, Josh," Ginny laughed as she watched Lyndi and Emily poke their heads in to see what all the shouting had been about.

"Everything alright?" Lyndi asked with a cheeky grin.

"Ginny's getting married!" Josh grabbed Ginny's hand and held it up in the air.

And then Ginny was squished between the three of them as they all spoke on top of each other.

"Slow down," Ginny laughed. "We haven't even had a chance to pick a date yet."

"Did he propose at your niece's wedding?" Emily asked as the trio released Ginny.

Ginny felt her smile grow and she nodded. "He proposed in the garden at sunset."

Lyndi sighed happily, "I'll never get tired of hearing proposal stories."

"Of course you won't, none of us will, that's why we work as wedding coordinators." Josh laughed. "Now, who are you picking to coordinate for you?"

Ginny shook her head, "I'll just handle it. It's not a problem."

The room went so quiet Ginny could hear all three of her friends blinking repeatedly.

"You do know that your wedding would be without the coordinator's fee, right?" Emily's voice was careful, like talking to a ticking bomb.

"Of course," Ginny nodded and logged into her computer.

"So, you want to destroy your sanity because…?" Josh held his arms out to each side with his hands up toward the ceiling.

Ginny laughed, "I'll be fine."

"You know," Lyndi's voice was level, like she was explaining something to her six-year-old daughter. "It was a welcome change to let Emily handle my wedding and to just sit back and enjoy it instead of worrying about every detail the way I do for all my clients' weddings."

"I'll just plan it out so that it runs on its own. I've had to do that for corporate events before, it won't be too hard to replicate for my wedding."

Josh huffed, "Ginny I want to be your wedding coordinator and you're being difficult about it. Lyndi did a great job planning my wedding and Lyndi just told you how wonderful it was to have Emily handle everything on her day. You're not a mule so let's set a time to have your Harry come in and we can start laying everything out."

Ginny laughed at her friends' antics. "I appreciate it, really, and I'll let you know if I change my mind, but I'm sure I can handle my own wedding."

"Sounds like a plan," Emily smiled and reached for Josh's arm as she gave Lyndi a shove out the door, "Congratulations, again! We're so excited for you!"

"This isn't over, Weasley!" Josh called over his shoulder.

Ginny shook her head but smiled. Josh was crazy, but she had to admit that she loved him for it. If only he had a bit more faith in her.

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

"We need to pick a date," Ginny was sprawled against Harry on the sofa as he read a draft of a cybersecurity book he was revising for a colleague.

"Whatever you want, love. I'm sure Teddy will be able to make it to anything once he and Vic get home from Provence.

Ginny bit back the sadness that still hit her now that Harry could openly speak about the fact that his only family was Ted.

And you, a little voice reminded her.

The sadness was immediately replaced with the happy smile that bordered on goofy which was more or less her resting face since Harry had asked her to marry him.

"Well, how long do you think we should wait?" Ginny tapped his nose with her finger, before quickly pulling it away when Harry tried to catch it between his teeth.

"Honestly," Harry set the book down and turned to face her. "I'd marry you the day Teddy gets back. Assuming we could pry the newlyweds out of their house for an hour."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "You really got the better end of the deal with being his godfather, you know? Bill gets squeamish if you even mention that his daughter is on her honeymoon."

Harry chuckled, "If I had a daughter, I'd be squeamish too. I imagine Fleur is comfortable with the idea of Vic on her honeymoon, but she might feel different when it's Louis."

"You might be right, but we'll have to wait and see about that one. Now back on topic, when are we getting married?"

"Whenever you want to," Harry leaned in and kissed her softly.

Ginny expected him to deepen the kiss but was surprised when he pulled back.

"Wait, are you asking because the date we pick determines who plans the wedding?"

Ginny blinked as her mind caught up with the question. "Oh! No. I'm coordinating our wedding."

It was Harry's turn to blink.

"What?" Ginny tried to push down the offending feeling that started to tighten in her chest. "You saw Vic and Ted's wedding. It was amazing!"

"It was beautiful, Gin," Harry sighed and looked down at his jeans. "But I was able to spend about 10 minutes with you until I searched you down hours into the wedding and proposed. Would you even get to enjoy our wedding or would you be running around directing everyone and everything, pausing long enough to say 'I do' and then at it again until it's time to cut the cake?"

Ginny exhaled with relief. Harry just didn't know what she was capable of. He'd only seen her at the wedding she had cared the most about.

"I micromanaged Vic's wedding, love." Ginny pulled his hand into hers. "Normally I'm not so crazy and I have time to breathe at the weddings I coordinate."

Harry looked up at her and Ginny wondered if she was ever going to stop getting lost in his emerald eyes.

"My only request is that you're present for our wedding and that you get to relax and not worry about the details."

"I can do that," Ginny pushed forward and kissed him, hoping to reassure her handsome fiance that she did have this. She would plan her wedding out so well it would run itself without any hitches and she'd spend the day enjoying herself as Mrs. Ginny Potter.

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

Ginny waited to pick a day until Ted and Vic returned from France and she'd had time to talk with her mum, who flat out told her she was crazy for planning her own wedding when she worked with three accomplished wedding coordinators.

Ultimately, Ginny decided on the end of May for her big day and began sorting through all her possible venues and photographers and florists and DJs and catering groups within the budget she and Harry had.

"Please!"

Ginny looked up from her computer to see Josh had plopped himself down across from her.

"Please, what?" Ginny sighed, this was starting to get old.

"Please, please, please let me do your wedding! Consider it a wedding gift. Consider it a welcome break from taking care of all your clients. Or consider it an act of kindness and goodness to give me a reprieve from my clients. I don't care how you play it out in your head just please let me be your coordinator!"

"Josh, for the last time, I'm fine." Ginny went back to her spreadsheets.

"Yes, I'm aware," Josh rolled his eyes. "Fine is alright, but I could make it so you're fabulous. Wouldn't you rather be fabulous than boring old fine?"

"Josh…:

"Then let me help!" Josh leaned across her desk to look at her screen. "Let me be your shadow while you plan your big day. I'll stay out of the way, I'll be completely silent, I'll simply take note of everything so that if you come to your senses and realize you jumped on the crazy train before May, I'm prepared to rescue you from yourself."

Ginny laughed in spite of how annoyed she was. "Fine, if it will shut you up then you may be my shadow."

"YES!" Josh shoved his fist in the air and then pulled the chair he'd been sitting in around to her side of the desk. Then he pulled out his tablet and pen. "Now, tell me everything you've figured out so far."

Ginny sighed and opened up her email. "Here," she attached her own wedding document to an email to Josh and hit send. "There's everything I have so far."

Josh grinned, "You put Harry's phone number on here? Don't you have that memorized."

Ginny glanced down at the template Emily had created and chuckled. "I guess I got into coordinator mode and just started filling everything out. I do have Harry's number memorized, or I wouldn't have been able to fill that in on autopilot."

"Touche," Josh smiled broadly and Ginny shook her head. He was incorrigible, but she wouldn't really have Josh any other way.

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

"I don't know how you're so on top of things," Harry chuckled as they moved her boxes down the stairs to the moving van Harry had rented for the day. "I was up late doing some last-minute things to have everything ready for today."

"What on earth were you doing?" Ginny laughed as they loaded the boxes in. The autumn breeze felt refreshing against the weight of the box of books she had carried down.

"Surprises, my dear, surprises," Harry winked at her and Ginny laughed before kissing him, it was her favorite way to try and pull information from him.

"I'm still not telling you," Harry murmured against her.

"Even if I snogged you in the back of this van?" Ginny whispered.

"Tempting," Harry chuckled, "but I think you'll like the surprises better."

Ginny grinned and pushed away from Harry, "Get a move on Potter." And she went jogging up the stairs, making sure to move in all the ways that drove him mad.

Harry caught up at her door and pinned her against it before kissing her again.

"You are a minx." He whispered in her ear and Ginny shivered.

"And you appear to like it," she nipped playfully at his earlobe. She loved the fire between them; it was intoxicating.

"So much," Harry growled and Ginny thought she might very well faint dead away.

"My parents will be here in the next half hour," Ginny fumbled behind her for the doorknob.

"That's plenty of time to tide us over until you're all moved in at home," and his hand closed over hers as she finally turned the door open.

It turned out that those thirty minutes were barely enough time as her mum knocked on the door just as Harry was, most regretfully, pulling his shirt back on.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you!" Molly beamed as she picked up a box. "I always knew you'd find someone, and now you have and now you have a chance at giving me grandchildren!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry, who waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Let us get through the wedding Mum," Ginny followed Molly out the door as Arthur and Harry picked up her old sofa that they were going to drop off at the Salvation Army.

"Of course, dear, maybe one of your work friends can help you with that so you can focus on the more important things." Molly nearly skipped down the hall to the stairs.

Ginny glanced back her dad and Harry, "Mum hates grandchildren, doesn't she?"

Harry shrugged but grinned, "No one's perfect."

Arthur winked at her, "Your mum isn't the only one who's looking forward to more grandchildren."

Ginny laughed and picked up the pace to be well out of the way when her two favorite men started down those stairs with her old sofa hulking between them.

Once everything was finally loaded Harry pulled Ginny aside before she climbed into her car. "You have to promise me something."

"What?" Ginny furrowed her brow.

"Do not, under any circumstance, go inside the house before me."

"Is this part of those surprises you were talking about?"

"Yes, so please, I worked hard on this and all I ask is that you let me see your face."

Ginny pretended to pout, "You ask for so much, how on earth will I survive such a demanding marriage?"

Harry laughed before bending down and kissing her. "So you'll wait?"

"Of course I'll wait," Ginny pulled back and climbed into her car before winking at him, "fifteen minutes. Then all bets are off."

Harry groaned but smiled, "I'll be right behind you, but thank you for the incentive."

"Anything for my fiance," Ginny blew him a kiss and shut her door.

True to his word, Harry stayed right behind her as she left her old flat for her new home with Harry. Apparently, he wasn't kidding about this surprise.

"Stay right there Miss," Harry jumped out of the van and ran for the front door.

"You'd make a decent cop," Ginny laughed, turning to see if her dad had caught up with them yet.

"It was a thought before everything happened," Harry chuckled and Ginny turned to see that he had opened the door and was now approaching her.

"Trust me?"

"With the majority of things, yes," Ginny teased.

"I'm going to pretend I only heard you say yes," Harry laughed and stepped behind her before covering her eyes with his hand. "I'll guide you in."

Ginny relaxed back into him, allowing Harry to guide her up the walk and steps and into their home. She knew that whatever his surprise was would be a good thing, but she still felt butterflies as he led her into the living room before his hand fell from her eyes and she saw something completely different from what she had seen just two days ago.

The furniture that had come with Harry from the home he shared with Ted was no longer present. In their place was a combination of several pieces of furniture that Ginny had been storing up on a Pinterest board for the last few years.

"Do you like it?" Harry's voice held a nervous tremor to it and Ginny realized she hadn't managed to make any sound since he had shown her the surprise.

"It's beautiful! How did you know? How did you manage this?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her. "Amazingly enough, I do pay attention when you're on your phone while we're on the sofa."

Ginny bit her lip and looked over at the new sofas, end tables, chairs, and kitchen table. "They're beautiful."

"And very comfortable too," Harry gave her a gentle push, "Go on, try them out."

Harry was right, everything was not only beautiful

but also lush and soft and made her want to curl up in a ball and sleep away a Sunday afternoon.

"You're a gift from all the gods," she sighed.

"Now you're just giving me a big head," Harry chuckled.

"I'm talking to the furniture," Ginny stuck her tongue out at him, "but you aren't so bad either."

"Well, fine, I guess you'd rather not see the master bedroom…"

Ginny jumped over the back of the couch and bolted for the stairs, "Race you!"

Harry laughed but was hot on her heels, catching her right before she managed to get the door open. "Damn, Gin, you're quick."

"I had six older brothers," Ginny smirked as she searched behind her for the doorknob.

"Let me help you slow down then," Harry's hand grasped hers before guiding it to the doorknob and twisting it open with her. "Ready?"

"Ready," she pushed open the door and turned around to find that Harry had completely replaced the bedroom furniture, along with the bed, and changed the paint color.

"Is it alright?" Harry ran a gentle hand along the small of her back.

"It's perfect," Ginny whispered, too overcome to manage much else. So she did what made sense, she spun around and kissed Harry for all she was worth.

On the rare occasion words failed her, Ginny Weasley could always be counted on to act. And today that action was pulling Harry down to their new bed, which was so soft she moaned when he pressed her into it.

"How far behind us do you think your parents are?" Harry asked against her neck.

A part of Ginny's brain heard him, and even knew the answer was only five to ten minutes and they really should wait for this sort of thing, but that part of her brain stood no chance at getting through the euphoria that had taken over.

Thankfully, Harry had shut the door behind them, and so her dad rang the doorbell.

Harry groaned, "To be continued?"

Ginny snuggled against the comforter once more before signing and pushing up on her elbows.

"The sooner we get my stuff in here the sooner they leave."

Harry laughed as he helped her up, "Now I know how Teddy felt while I was living with him."

Ginny pushed up and kissed him once more at the top of the stairs, relishing the way he immediately deepened the kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered as she pulled away.

"Thank you," Harry kissed her softly before smiling down at her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ginny grinned, feeling her chest burn hot.

"Ginny!" Molly called from the other side of the door.

"Coming, Mum!"

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

"Your friendly shadow has brought gifts," Josh waltzed into Ginny's office with a bag of scones from the cafe down the street.

"Please tell me you didn't walk down there to get these," Ginny's mouth watered at the thought of a warm scone with how cold it was outside.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not walking outside more than I have to when it's 9 degrees outside and raining."

Ginny laughed, "Then I gladly accept my shadow's gift."

"Good," Josh plopped down across from her and opened the bag before handing over her share. "Now, why haven't you scheduled a dress appointment?"

Ginny frowned, "But I did."

"With which boutique?" Josh pulled out his phone, "because the one you said you liked doesn't have any appointments for you."

Ginny felt panic start to build in the pit of her stomach. "I could have sworn I called them."

"Well, I scheduled one for you so that we could at least have a spot to reschedule if needed." Josh tapped on his screen a moment before the calendar invite was sent.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm free then, but aren't they normally booked through to the end of January by now. How did you get me in for the beginning of December?"

Josh winked, "I told them you were the bride."

Ginny felt her cheeks grow hot. Josh seemed to not notice, or loved her enough not to say anything.

"How is everything for your venue? Need any help there?"

Ginny tried to push away the flustered feeling that was tightening in her chest.

"It's good," she pulled up her emails to make sure that she had managed to reserve the venue.

"Good to hear, and remember, I'm happy to help. Just give the word." Josh picked up the bag of scones. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bribe the boss lady."

Ginny barely nodded at him as he left. Panic started to grip her when she couldn't find anything in her email confirming that she had sent the deposit to her venue.

Shite.

How could she have forgotten that?!

A sinking thought started to creep into her mind that maybe she was also dropping the ball with her clients' weddings. Ginny tried her best to push the awful idea from her head and called the venue. Thankfully they still had her wedding day open, and rather than risk it again, Ginny paid the deposit right there over the phone.

Then she started on the long process of making sure that every single client's wedding was exactly as it should be. It took her the entire workday, but she managed to confirm that it was just her own wedding that she had dropped the ball on.

She went home with a firm determination to keep that from happening again. She was going to make sure that her wedding received the same precision that she gave her clients.

Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way.

Ginny forgot to put her appointment with the florist in her calendar and completely missed it. Then she was late to the cake tasting appointment because she went to the wrong bakery for who knows what reason. But with every mishap for her own wedding, Ginny consoled herself that at least her clients' weddings were still going smoothly. Every wedding she'd put on since she and Harry got engaged had been perfect and she'd handled every curve ball smoothly and skillfully.

So why on earth couldn't she take care of her own wedding?

That was the gloom hovering over her as she headed to her dress appointment, along with the heavy gray clouds that had settled over the sky. Josh insisted on driving them there to meet Luna, her mum, and Vic at the boutique. Ginny didn't argue, she owed it to him for catching and saving her mishap. Since he was the only reason she had an appointment in the first place, she could bend and let him have control for a brief moment.

"For a bride about to pick out her wedding dress, you certainly look dismal." Josh turned down his ABBA playlist and glanced at Ginny.

"I'm just thinking," Ginny forced a smile, "there's a lot of work I have to do this week."

Josh tsked, "Put it all on the back burner future, Mrs. Potter. The rest of this afternoon is about you looking fabulous while you try on wedding gowns!"

Ginny felt a tinge of excitement start to return. Josh was right. She was picking her wedding dress today! She should be excited! She shouldn't be fretting over other details (even if they were enormous details - like her inability to plan her own wedding) right now; after all, they were sure to still be there tomorrow, so they could make do without her for the afternoon.

"You're right," Ginny gave Josh a genuine smile, "this is my afternoon to feel fabulous!"

"Damn straight," Josh winked at her and Ginny laughed. This afternoon was going to be fun and exciting, just like it should be.

When they pulled up, Josh stopped her before she could get out of his car.

"Let me give you the full experience, let me treat you like a client, just for this."

Ginny shook her head, "It's fine Josh."

"Harry asked me to make sure this was a good experience for you. He said you've been a little stressed and he'd like you to have a break."

"Oh he did, did he?" Ginny made a mental note to tell her lovely finance to keep his nose out of her work.

"Look, they," Josh pointed at the boutique door, "think you are my client. So if you don't want the full experience of being my client then I have to call them and tell them I lied and have them get rid of all the perks I ask for with my brides."

Ginny glared at Josh, but she knew she couldn't jeopardize Josh's or her own professional relationship with the boutique. The sneak had played all in, and he won the gamble.

"Fine, for the purpose of this appointment and to keep our professional lives less dramatic, I am your client."

Josh's grin looked like the Cheshire cat. "I promise you won't regret this."

Ginny took a deep breath and sighed. "I suppose we'll find out."

Luna, Molly, and Vic greeted then excitedly when Ginny and Josh walked in and Vic rushed to hug Ginny.

"I'm so happy you're letting Josh plan this for you! You'll feel just like the princess you made me feel like!"

Ginny bit back her insistence that Josh was only taking care of the dress appointment and forced a smile as she turned to look meaningfully at Josh.

"Josh definitely knows how to make sure professional bridges don't get burned. I'm sure this will be lovely too."

Vic frowned, "Right…"

"Ginny you remember Marisol," Josh gave a nervous chuckle and turned to one of the associates. "Why don't we get started?"

She hated to admit it, but it only took five minutes before Ginny had relaxed into her new role as simply the bride. It actually felt good to take off the up-teen number of hats she normally wore and slip on the bride's tiara for a few hours. She had fun getting her measurements, talking about the styles she liked and trying on the samples Marisol pulled. It was sort of freeing to have Josh there taking the notes she normally took and answering all the hard questions that she would have needed to pull her tablet out to answer properly.

It was especially nice because when Ginny tried on the dress she wasn't stressing about anything to do with her wedding or any other weddings as she stood on the pedestal and stared at her reflection.

"I guess we can go home," Luna's singsong voice seemed far away as Ginny stood captivated by her image in the mirror. "I think she's found it."

"You're beautiful," her mum's near sob started to pull Ginny back to the present.

"Harry is going to die!" Vic laughed. "I can't wait to tell Ted!"

Ginny smiled, then she felt tears on her cheeks, and as her brain registered that she was crying, Ginny laughed. She laughed and when she turned and looked at her mum crying on the sofa next to her Ginny cried along with her and laughed harder.

For the first time since Harry proposed, Ginny felt nothing but excitement for her wedding, and it felt amazing!

The moment seemed to cocoon her and her little sororitas, and Ginny didn't notice as Josh consulted with Marisol, arranging the details, keeping Ginny focused on what was most important.

When the euphoric fog finally lifted, all Ginny had to do was approve the sale.

Ginny signed on the dotted line and then took a deep breath and swallowed her pride.

"I think I owe you lunch," she turned to Josh, "and a thank you."

Josh shrugged, "You didn't kill me so I say we're even."

"Really Josh," Ginny smiled, wishing her whole wedding planning experience could feel like this, "Thank you."

"Just tell that beau of yours I did my job." Josh winked at her as she climbed into Vic's car.

"I think you have a crush on my fiance but I'll tell him you did fabulously," Ginny laughed.

Josh waved as Vic started the car.

"So, what will we be telling Harry and Ted when we get back to yours?"

Ginny sighed happily, "That it was magical."

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

The magic seemed to fade quickly. In the midst of holiday madness and then the New Year and Valentine's Day, Ginny continued to drop the ball on her own wedding planning.

The last straw was the beginning March when she had to pay an extra 20% to get her invitations printed on a rush order because she had somehow not managed to approve the design when she read the initial email with the proof from the designer.

She came home close to tears that day.

"Hey love," Harry called from his office. "I'll be done in just a minute."

"No rush," Ginny set everything down and moved to the kitchen.

She might as well get dinner going. Maybe she was shite at planning her own wedding, but at least her mother taught her how to cook. She started pulling pans and ingredients down and setting them out on the counter, simultaneously trying to calm the cacophony inside her head.

Why, oh why was she so useless at one of the few things she desperately wanted (and her budget needed her) to be amazing at? Ginny was just grateful she was staying on top of her clients' weddings. She didn't think she could handle it if she was letting her clients down too and not just herself.

She reached into the cupboard for a jar and as she pulled it out, it slipped from her grasp and shattered against the floor.

It was an accident, her logical thinking brain tried to calm the thundering storm of emotion that threatened to spill over with the contents of the jar onto the floor. But the emotional storm only saw the jar smashing onto the floor as some sort of foreshadowing for what she was going to end up doing to her own wedding. That the whole event would be ruined because she couldn't handle planning her own wedding.

"Ginny!" Harry came into the kitchen seconds after the jar hit the floor. "Are you alright?"

Ginny nodded, staring at the mess on the floor as she willed herself to not cry.

"You're not hurt are you?" Harry wrapped a tentative hand around her fingers.

His touch was what did her in. The tears came rushing through the broken dam as she realized that she wasn't just going to ruin her big day, she was going to ruin Harry's too.

"I'm not hurt," she hiccuped as Harry immediately tensed and his face went panic-stricken. "I'm just ruining everything! And I'm going to ruin our wedding and I just want to be able to something right!"

The last words came out in heavy sobs and Ginny collapsed into Harry as he pulled her to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he pulled her away from the kitchen and guided her to the sofa. He held her until the sobbing had receded to simply crying before talking again.

"Gin, love, why do you think you're going to ruin our wedding?"

"Because I keep screwing it up," Ginny felt the heavy sobs threatening to return and tried to swallow them back down.

"You mean the little mishaps you've had with planning it?"

Anger bubbled up at Harry's opinion that her mistakes were minor. "Right 'little mishaps' like having to pay an extra 20% on our invitations today because I'm an idiot and didn't get them approved in time. Harry, I could lose my job for doing that with a client and I'd be the one paying that 20% out of my pocket, not the client. So excuse me for feeling like these 'little mishaps' are more than just grammatical errors in my emails!"

Harry sat in stunned silence a moment before pulling Ginny against him. "I'm sorry. I belittled your feelings and I'm sorry."

Stupid Neville and his stupid psychology voodoo teaching Harry good ways to de-escalate.

"I hate your friend," Ginny muttered as she felt the fight start to go out of her.

"I'll let Nev know," Harry chuckled. "Do you want to talk more about what's wrong and how I could help?"

Ginny heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know what to do."

"Well," Harry furrowed his brow, "When I say that to Nev, he always asks me three questions. First is how do I feel now; the second is how do I want to feel, and third is how do I think I could get there from where I am now."

Ginny huffed, "Fine, right now I feel like absolute shite. I feel like a failure."

"Alright," Harry nodded, "and how do you want to tell feel?"

A very large part of Ginny wanted to answer with some smart remark, but Harry was trying and she determined she could put that effort in too. So she really considered it, how did she want to feel? The answer hit her so fast she laughed.

"I want to feel the way I did at my dress appointment." In spite of how awful she felt, just the memory of her dress appointment brought a smile to her tear-streaked face.

Harry's grin was immediate, "So how do we get you there from here?"

That step felt a bit more like a gut punch. She would have to call Josh and admit that she couldn't do this, she couldn't plan her own wedding.

"Hey," Harry brought a gentle hand to her cheek, "where did that beautiful smile go?"

Ginny sighed, "It got swallowed up in my pride. To get myself from where I am now to where I want to be, I have to admit to my work that I wasn't cut out for planning my own wedding, that I failed and all my insistence that I could do this on my own was me having a big head."

"First of all," Harry shook his head, "I would be willing to bet our house that if your job wasn't coordinating weddings you would have handled ours just fine. Second, you have not failed, you've just made yourself miserable. Third, you had every right to be sure of yourself, every wedding you've ever planned has been amazing." Then Harry guided her eyes back up to his with caressing fingers. "But Gin, I need you to know that I'll marry you right now if that's what you want. If you want to throw the idea of a traditional wedding out the door, then I'm happy to throw the deposits away and go to the register office with your parents and Teddy and Vic and call it done. All I want is you."

And then Ginny was crying again for a whole new reason as she looked into the green, green eyes of the man she loved. He was right. They could just get married at the register office and call it done, forget the money spent and cut their losses. It was tempting, oh it was tempting. But her mother's words of regret echoed in her mind. Words of sadness that she hadn't made anyone take a picture of her and Arthur when they eloped. Regret that she had nothing to show her children from that day. Regret that there would be no wedding pictures to display at her funeral. Charlie had joked that they would just display everyone else's wedding pictures at Molly's funeral. Ginny suddenly wanted to make sure she was one of those pictures. She wanted to tell her children how wonderful it all was, and to have them sorting through wedding pictures when she was long gone.

And she wanted all of that more than she wanted to protect her pride.

"I need to call Josh," she hiccuped.

"You're sure?"

Ginny nodded as she pulled a tissue from the box before slipping her phone from her pocket.

"He's been begging for this since you proposed."

Harry chuckled, "We'll tell him he owes you a favor then."

"I honestly think he's doing me the favor, but he definitely is going to be excited."

Josh cheered so loud when she asked him to take over her wedding Harry heard it from the kitchen as he cleaned up the broken jar, and Ginny had to hold the phone away from her ear.

#hinny #hinny fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry x ginny #harry potter x ginny weasley #Patient #wedding coordinator au #wedding planner au #muggle AU #harry potter #ginny weasley #romance #fluff #tedoire

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rhabakoli · 5 years

Text

Infinite White - 11

It’s kinda all over the place, probably full of typos, but I just want to get this up and then go to bed I think I might just collapse.

Precious chapters here

Taglist: @dreamwritesimagines @i-am-always-famished @marauderskeeper @superwolfchild-fan @m00nlightdelights @cgn-99 @alicedopey @alwaysadreamingoptimist @atlas-of-the-world @finnickfoxes @rmwest9

“Do you have the posters?”

“Yes.” “And your charger?” “Yes.” “Where are the extension cords?”

“Big bag, left pocket.” Fenja sat in the passenger seat, legs dangling out the open door, backpack on her lap and watched Ragnar be a nervous mother hen. Ingrid stood by the trunk, focused on her phone, probably typing an email to some colleague, and answered her brother without even glancing at him. “Ragnar, I think we have everything. You’ve gone over it three times already.” “Yeah, it will be fine, big brother.” He glanced between them, then sighed. “Yeah, okay. I just want it to go over without a hitch.” “It will. And now get in or we’ll be late and all your overchecking will be for naught.” Ingrid just nodded and gave her brother a push, before getting into the back. “Get in, dumbo.”

The drive to the convention hall was not long, but apparently long enough for Ingrid to get nervous. Fenja was turned to her side, talking to Ragnar about the YWA - who still owed her an answer, by the way - and kept glancing back at the teen. She mumbled to herself, going over her presentation one more time. “Sweetheart, you will smash it.” Ragnar was looking at his sister through the rearview mirror. Fenja felt her heart squeeze at their connection, their familiarity with each other. It was stupid, but she still tended to get moody. She didn’t have family like those two did. Sometimes it hurt to be around them.

Ragnar seemed to be super-sensible today; he touched her knee, glancing over at her. “You okay?” Fenja nodded, forced a smile to her face. She’d not bring herself into focus. Not ever, and especially not today. Today was sweet baby Ingrid’s day, and hers alone. So she turned around, peeked at the girl and asked: “Is the rest of the team joining us?” “No, most of them have important plans, some have family outings they couldn’t get out of, and Beatrice is scared of crowds.” “Oh. Well, you’ve got us, at least.” “That I did.” She looked down at her power point again, forehead in creases. Fenja couldn’t let her suffer by herself: “Want me to test you?”

The hall was bustling with con-goers and presenters, all ages and sizes, from big corporations to small one-person businesses. There were booths everywhere, neat and square in rows, the odd food vendor sprinkled into the mix. Ragnar took the bags from the car, not even thinking about letting either of them carry anything heavy - what a gentleman, Fenja rolled her eyes - and was currently looking for their booth. His girls were trailing behind him, elbows hooked together, taking in the loaded and busy atmosphere. Seeing Fenja fit so well into his family, being loved by them, really struck a chord within him, made him feel all warm and cozy inside. He hadn’t yet stopped to think about what it meant, but he knew, at some point he would be forced to. Either by circumstance or Aslaug. He finally found their booth, set down the bags and promptly decided he didn’t like the neighbours. Not even 10 seconds there, and they already were checking out his friend. He tried not to be to obvious about it, but he very much felt like holding their heads under water until the bubbles disappear. Ingrid and Fenja were already starting to empty the bags, hang up the posters, get their setup together. All the while, they were conversing and giggling, and Ragnar forgot all about the neighbours. Those two were important, and that Ingrid’s presentation would go over smoothly, and nothing else.

“Where’s Fenja?” “Spreading the word. Organizers allow posters everywhere, and she’s not going to let that opportunity go.” Ingrid was on her phone, her laptop next to her. Ragnar grinned at her laser-focus as she was typing away, little giggles coming out here and there. “How’s Ginger doing, eh?” “Her internship-mom wants a puppy but Internship-dad doesn’t and now Ging has fighting Internship-parents.” Ragnar halted for a second, blinked and then turned to his sister. “At some point you’ll have to explain the whole Internship-parent thing to me again.” “She lives with them during her internship, and they remind her of her grandparents, just younger, but she already has those and parents, so Bert and Lisa are her Internship-parents.” “Oh, yeah. Sure, makes sense.” He heard Fenjas laugh and turned around, mouth already open to ask something. But he snapped it shut again, eyes squinting and anger growing in the pit of his stomach. She was walking next to a stocky, blond guy, laughing at whatever he said. He was carrying the remaining posters under his arm, hands the pockets of his pants and eyes trained on his best friend like she was a steak. He did not like that. At all.

Ingrid looked up at the deep growl sounding through the booth, eyebrows raised in surprise. Who the hell brought a dog? She searched for the source of the noise, but could only find her brother at the edge of their designated spot, murderous look on his face as he stared off somewhere. Not a dog then. Ingrid took in his tense stance, his white knuckles and flared nostrils, his chest practically vibrating. Concerned, she followed his line of view. Oh boy. She got up, quick on her feet and hung onto Ragnars arm, lest he try to go and kill the guy. Last time she’d seen that kind of a look on a man in her family, her aunt had to haul Bjorn out by his hair. “Rags.” He grunted at her, still squinting at the guy. Very subtle, that one. “Ragnar, wipe that look off your face, you’ll scare Fenja.” His face relaxed at that, but his eyes were still terrifyingly, piercing blue. They came closer, Fenja now grinning at the siblings and bounding over to join their huddle. “Why are we hanging off Ragnar’s arms?”, she asked Ingrid. Ragnar hadn’t moved much, except raising a hand and putting it over Fenja’s on his arm. “Are you satisfied with the posters now?”, he asked her, but still fixed the stranger with a mean look. “Yep..” She pointed at the guy. “Alvin here saved me from breaking my neck or destroying something.” Alvin shrugged, hands still in his pockets.”Thought you could use some help there.” “Yeah, thanks.” Fenja tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, an overly pitiful look on her face, voice dripping with sarcasm. “The world is harsh, when you’re tiny.” Ingrid watched the exchange with worry; how Alvin’s eyes raked over Fenja, and how she was completely oblivious and Ragnar’s barely suppressed anger. This would end badly. She let go of her brothers arm, stepped closer to Alvin and extended a hand to take to posters from him. “Thanks for the help, we’ve got it from here.” “You’re so very welcome. Anything else you need?” “No, thanks, I’ve got my helper.”, she said, and pointed at the tall guy at her back. Alvin was not the brightest, or maybe blind. Ragnar was not someone you’d just overlook. Ingrid took the posters, grabbed her brothers hand and pulled him and Fenja along, while throwing an excuse over her shoulder: “Sorry, we’ve got to go through our presentation again.” Ragnar took a deep breath, as soon as Fenja was out of Alvin’s sight. He blew the air harshly through his nose, making Fenja raise an eyebrow and look up at him. “You okay?” “Yeah.” Didn’t sound like it. Fenja let go of his arm and instead stepped in front of him with her hands up, when he tried to leave. “Are you sure?” She felt his stomach flex under her hands, his eyes trained on hers as he tilted his head to the right. “I’m good.” Then he turned, left the booth and didn’t look back.

Ingrids only response to Fenja’s questioning look was a shrug.

The rest of the day was going over relatively smooth. If one didn’t mind a tall, broad, viking looking guy following one around and growling at any guy coming close. Fenja ignored him for the duration of the presentations, and instead just concentrated on little Ingrid going up there, and looking like she might just vibrate out of her body, mightily terrified and wide eyed. But as soon as she started talking, got to show her know-how, and her passion and telling an interested crowd about the project she had been working so hard for, everything else went away. She stood tall, she walked around the stage, gestured, made the perfect amount of eye contact. “She’s so good up there.”, Fenja whispered at some point, leaning into Ragnar, who was sitting beside her. “She’s got a knack for public speaking.” He just grunted, and nodded, and shifted in his seat, angling his body more towards her. His arm was over the back of her chair, caging her in, and he kept playing with the tips of her hair. “Are you sure you’re okay?” “Yes. And now shh.” He cut her off harshly and pointed to the front of the room. “Pay attention.” Ingrid was at the end of her presentation, her hands clasped behind her back, the presentation on it’s last slide - a picture of the whole team, bunched together in a room, the huge table covered in papers, laptops, chinese take-out boxes. Half of them seemed to be asleep at the desk, one or two were stretched out on couches in the background. It showed the hard work, the close bond of the team and the love that went into developing this programme. It also gave the crowd something to laugh at, so there’s that. The teen smiled at the room, did a little curtsy and raised her voice one last time: “Thanks for coming to my TED-Talk.” Laughter all through the crowd, some amused head shaking here and there. “If you’ve got any questions I couldn’t answer just now, we are at booth 128.” Fenja grinned and clasped a hand on Ragnars thigh, getting his attention. “Let’s go.” He nodded, stood and followed her closely. So close in fact, that she could feel his warmth through her sweater, even though he wasn’t even touching her. “Let’s get out of here.”, he rasped, eyes skipping over the crowd, looking for his sister. She joined them just outside the lecture hall, talking a mile a minute, like a freight train without brakes. Fenja was paying attention to her, just let her rant until they were back at the booth.

Where Alvin was waiting for them. Great. Ingrid tried to keep the mood light, as she could sense her brother getting all tense again. He really didn’t like Alvin. Fenja was as oblivious as ever, telling him about the presentation, how proud she was of Ingrid. She did not notice, that the guy was undressing her with his eyes. But Ragnar did. And he did not receive it well. “If he doesn’t stop looking at her like that, I’ll smash his face in.” His sister blinked twice, then looked up at him. She was honestly afraid he’d do something stupid. And at the same time she was amazed, because he’d never looked more like their father than he did in this very moment. There was a very dark, sinister storm brewing behind his eyes, his posture was coiled, shoulders pulled up slightly as he leaned forward and fixed the guy with a look. Okay, shit. And, of course, before Ingrid could do anything, Alvin made the mistake of touching Fenjas upper arm and leaning in. To be fair, from their angle it did look a bit like he was trying to maybe kiss her? But that was neither here nor there, because Ragnar would have gone off in any case. Fenja was in the process of leaning back - because, wow, personal space much? - when she was pulled back and against a wall of muscles, shaking in anticipation and the effort not to actually do any bodily harm. Alvin looked at Ragnar with such distaste, he might have just bitten into a lemon. Fenja felt it more than she heard the growl rumbling through her friend. “You may want to fuck off, buddy.” “Or what?” In the back, Ingrid groaned. What an idiot. Her brother actually took a step forward, but a hand to his front stopped him. He fisted the material of her sweater, trying to anchor himself, to not attack this sleazy fish physically. “You really don’t want to know, man.” Fenja felt like she had been sucked into some romcom, or a telenovela maybe. Or some best-friend-to-lovers-fanfiction. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure that this was really happening. But even if she was passed out somewhere because she hit her head, she didn’t want Ragnar to get in any fights. So she interfered, pressed a hand against Ragnar, trying to keep him from lunging. Then she looked at Alvin, still standing there, all puffed up and a steely look in his eyes. “Could you please just go?” “Why? Just because some guy says so? He can’t decide over you, he’s not your boyfriend!” Ingrid facepalmed. Yeah, wrong move, man. Fenja straightened, let go of Ragnar and stood in front of him. “Are you serious? Yeah, buddy, you better go now, because if he doesn’t punch you, I will.” “But-” “Shut up and go, Alvin.” She could feel Ragnars hand folding over her hip, holding onto her, and it made her feel more secure, stronger. “Fuck off, beanbrain. I don’t want you.”

Part 12

#iw #infinite white #best friends to lovers #slow burn #vikings #a dreamwritesimagines production #ivars kids #foh #faint of heart #jealousy #no kiss yet im so sorry

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