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unknownwriting · 3 years

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Hiiiii, can I request of Ace survived b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ f̶u̶c̶k̶ A̶k̶a̶i̶n̶u̶ and his s/o was pregnant with his child then after 2 years of time skip (they don't know Ace survived) can please Luffy & Sabo reunited with Ace, to his s/o and child and having family moments 🥺🥺🥺 👉👈

ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ- requested ^^

ｗｏｒｄｃｏｕｎｔ - 2.9 k, i honeslty could write a whole book

ｓｏｎｇｉｎｓｐｏ- i love you - billie eilish

ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ - Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy

ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ - None :)

ａ/ｎ- my sense of time is fucked. I could’ve swore it was Tuesday...but i still had a lot of fun writing this. I cried half the time but Ace 🥺🥺 so I hope you enjoy

(unedited)

“The weeds!! The weeds Luffy!! Not the flowers!” (Y/n) shouted as she leaned out the kitchen window. Even then Luffy still began to yank out the barely budding roses. For as much as he wanted to do the garden, Luffy sucks at it. (Y/n) eyes trailed over to the small pile of weeds and roses, where Luffy continued to toss the roses in. Let out a heavy sigh, (Y/n) called out to him again, “Luffy! Not the roses!”

“Huh?” Luffy hummed as he looked up and around before finally making eye contact with (Y/n). She scoffed at her absent-minded brother-in-law as she stated again,

“Your weeding the weeds, not the roses.”

“Eh? But they all look the same?” Luffy hummed as he looked back to the pile of weeds and roses then back to the rosebuds in his hands.

“See the little green ball on top of that the stem, those are roses that have yet to bloom. Those need to stay in the ground so they can bloom, what your getting is the other green plants.” (Y/n) explained as she pointed down the weeds that surrounded the roses. Luffy’s eyes followed as he began to finally see the difference between the 2. And with a chuckle, Luffy had gone back to work pulling out only the weeds this time. (Y/n) scoffed once again as she leaned back from the window and turned around on her heel and looked back at her blonde brother-in-law. She was so grateful for Sabo and Luffy. They sat through everything with her and supported her throughout it too. Keeping her safe and healthy when she found out about Ace’s death, being there to help her through her pregnancy even sitting with her through her labor, and even now they still come and visit her regularly, checking up on her and her family. The trio of brothers are the best people she has ever met. Brightening her smile, she shook her head and began to walk past them.

“Ya’know for as much as Luffy wanted to do the garden, you’d think he’s at least how to do it.” (Y/n) sighed as she made her way next to Sabo at the table. She had taken a spot right next to him and picked up the pair of pants she was stitching back together. Sabo continued to shuffle through some paper as he glanced over at (Y/n) and chuckled.

“Well, you pretty much banned him from doing anything else. The garden is the only thing Luffy can do now.” Sabo pointed out, taking the pile of papers in his hands and setting them to the side, then began working on the other pile.

“...It’s his fault for being so reckless. If he’s your brother you should’ve raised him better.” (Y/n) huffed, cutting the string off the pants and tying them up. (Y/n) was currently fixing a pair of Estelle’s pants that were destroyed when he and Luffy were playing. It wouldn’t be a big of a problem if it wasn’t one of Estelle’s good pants. It was one of the best days Estelle had though, so it was easy for (Y/n) not to get too mad.

“Ace was the one who was the closest to him. I lost my memories although that time.” Sabo answered, as his gaze shifted down to the paperwork

“Looks like Imma have to call Ace out on that then-”

“Mama!!” A loud voice had shouted as the door to the small house swung open and a small (h/c) colored child had rushed in. (Y/n) was quick to drop the pants and open her arms to greet home her child.

“Estelle! Welcome back, baby.” (Y/n) smiled brightly as she gave a huge hug to her child. Estelle giggled and happily hugged back. Estelle wasn’t gone for long, only about 3 hours but it was easy to tell that he missed his mom. He definitely takes after his dad, being a very family-orientated person. Standing up from her chair, she pulled away from Estelle yet keeping him on her hip, she smiled, “We’re you nice to Doctor Cherry?”

“Yeah, she even gave me a candy.” Estelle proudly shouted as he stuck out his tongue and showed (Y/n) its blue color.

“Wow, You must’ve been such a good boy. I bet Dcotor Cherry was happy to spend the day with you.” (Y/n) smiled, as she set Estelle back on the floor and looked up at the red-haired lady that stood at the door.

“Of course, Estelle’s one of my best patients.” Cherry smiled as she looked down at Estelle. Estelle giggled loudly as grinned up from his mother's side. Cherry was another person who stood by (Y/n) when she was going through such a hard time, helping (Y/n) nurse back to health and helped a lot with the pregnancy. She was another that was close like family. As Cherry took a step into the house, she had opened her mouth to speak again but Sabo and Luffy were quick to interrupt.

“You’re not even gonna say hi to your uncles. Estelle, you make us so sad.” Sabo teased as he and Luffy walked up to join (Y/n). Quickly turning around to the sound of the voices, Estelle smiled brightly again.

“Uncle Sabo, Uncle Luffy!!” Estelle shouted as he jumped into their arms. The boys were quick to hug back and spoil Estelle in all types of affections. (Y/n) smiled at the view, that's one of the many things that she wants Estelle to learn that no matter what family is always important. With Estelle already being a very family-oriented person, it seemed that (Y/n) didn’t have much of a lesson to teach. Giggling to herself, (Y/n) turned back to Cherry to see what she was gonna say early. Once Cherry had seen that (Y/n) was back on her, she began again,

“Someone was asking around for you early today. I’m not sure who, but he seemed almost desperate.” Cherry explained as she watched (Y/n) face twist into shock and just for a moment, there was a huge flash of hope in her eyes that seemed to cloud her judgment for a moment. It was for a brief moment, but even with that flash of hope Cherry could tell that (Y/n) wants, more like needs, to see who it is.

“Asking for (Y/- Ow!!” Sabo hisses as he quickly pulled his arm towards him and began to rub the red spot that Estelle pinched, “He’s still in his pinching phase? I thought we were over that.”

“With Estelle? Of course not, he still goes around pinching everything and everyone. I’ve been trying to get him to stop but he doesn’t want to. I’m surprised that you thought he grew ou-”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!! My nipples!!” Luffy cried as he pushed Estelle away from him. With the pain still written over his face, Luffy cupped his nipples and hissed. (Y/n) laughed as she watched Luffy sit there trying to soothe the pain running through him.

“Yeah no, he’s still pinching.” (Y/n) laughed before her, and Sabo, both turned back to Cherry and continued to question her.

“Who’s looking for (Y/n)?” Sabo questioned. It was easy to tell that his overprotectiveness was kicking him. The only response that Sabo got from Cherry was a shrug and then slowly walking out of the house as if to lead the others. Sabo then turned to look at (Y/n) asking the same question to which (Y/n) only ended up shrugging too.

“I’m not sure. Sail with Ace and Whitebeard-san I’ve met a lot of people, so I don’t know.”

Sabo hummed in response as he began to follow Cherry outside. Something inside of (Y/n) made her so anxious, but something has her heart racing, palms sweating, and her legs aching. Something about this guest just had her body aching, as if she couldn’t sit still. In the back of her mind, a small voice continued to echo, but there was no way it could be true. He’s dead, he passed away 2 years ago. Last time (Y/n) you can’t raise the dead either. So with one last shaky sigh, (Y/n) began to make her way out the door and towards Sabo and Cherry. Trying to push back her feelings, it’s like this every time, always getting her hopes up only for them to come crashing down. She tries to keep her cool.

“So, does it look like anyone we know?” (Y/n) questioned, as she took a spot next to Sabo’s side. Sabo let out a small grunt as he squinted his eyes to see the figure. (Y/n) had followed suit. Just at the bottom of the hill stood a man with broad shoulders. He looked around confused as he stumbled around the bottom of the hill. A soft laugh left her lips as she watched him, he looks so out of place.

“I-I-I….I don’t wanna jump to conclusions here, (Y/n), but doesn’t that look like-“

It didn’t take long for the man to make eye contact with the 2 at the top of the hill. He starred for a moment as if he was taking in the view before he smiles brightly and slowly began to make his way up. As if the world has stopped around (Y/n). That smile. That was the same smile that started this whole adventure, that made her happy even on the saddest days, that was the same smile that she fell in love with. It was hard to believe. As if time itself has stopped, (Y/n) stood there speechless. She couldn’t even muster a sound or a reaction. Something like this never happens, maybe one in a million but last time she checked the skeleton on Luffy’s crew was the one. This was impossible, it had to be a prank or something. This couldn’t be happening and just as (Y/n) had open her mouth and rat at the person standing below them a laugh echoed through the field. It was real, this is all real. That laugh was one she couldn’t and wouldn’t forget. That laugh belongs to her later lover,

“Ace.” Breathlessly and barely above a whisper was all she could do. She was scared if she said it any loud she would have started to cry right there. (Y/n) began to inch forwards slowly trying to wake her body up and tell it to move. God, if only she could wake it up faster. Soon enough those baby steps turn into bigger ones then fast ones, then finally she was running. She was running as fast as her feet could carry her down the hill. Tears swiftly fell from her eyes as she made her way to her lover. Maybe dreams do come true. After all these days, weeks, months of wishing, her wish came true. And even now it’s better than what she wished for.

Not being able to stop herself and not even trying to, (Y/n) jumped straight into Ace’s warm embrace for the first time in years. Automatically (Y/n) inhales deeply taking in Ace’s smell of burnt ambers and sunk deeper into his strong and warm embrace. By now she couldn’t help the waterworks from coming. Neither could Ace, the 2 of them held each other close, taking in each other scent and loving embrace. As if this moment latest forever, the 2 of them didn’t let go for as long as they could. However, (Y/n) can only cry so much into his shoulder before taking a deep breath. So barely pulling away and with a red-eyed and snot-filled face, (Y/n) smiled as she tried to speak up the loudest and clearest she could.

“Y-y-y-your… you’re alive!! Ace is alive. Your alive!!” (Y/n) cried as she tried to call out to the others however your attention was all on Ace. She was scared that if she looked away he would disappear, so she kept her around him and locked her eyes with his.

“I’m alive. I’m really alive.” Ace sobbed back keeping his eyes locked with (Y/n)’s. She didn’t even care if his voice has reached them, she doesn’t want it to reach them. All she wants is to be with Ace now. Smiling through her tears, she pulled her hand up to Ace’s cheeks and began to rub her thumb against his freckled cheeks feeling his rough skin against hers. Ace, still through his tears, smiled and hummed as he leads into her hand, enjoying the softness and warmth her hands had provided. This moment should last forever, they both wished. Just as (Y/n) has dropped her hand to his chest and was able to lean in to kiss his lips that she wanted to feel and taste once again, 2 pairs of very loud footsteps came behind them. Before the 2 of them could even react, 2 bodies came crashing down onto them.

“Ace!!” The 2 of them sobbed as all of the 4 bodies fell over in the grass. Both Luffy’s and Sabo’s sobs could be heard for miles, like (Y/n) and Ace, they couldn’t hold back their tears. So all 4 of them laid on the ground and just sobbed, they couldn’t do anything else. Each one of them held onto the other with such an iron grip, it was hard to breathe but nobody wanted to move. The only time they moved was when Ace pulled back and started at Sabo for a while trying to figure out who it was.

“S-s...sabo. Y-you’re alive too?!!” Ace gasped as he could feel more tears falling. Sabo looked up and smile at him, nodding. And Just with that simple nod both of the boys began to cry even harder and the hug got tighter. This whole hug was a mess, they were all crying loudly. People in the village soon came to even check on them but none of them cared. After 2 years each of their dreams had come true and nothing else mattered.

“Welcome home, Ace.”

“Luffy don’t-!” (Y/n) tried to protest all she wanted, but as soon as she had put down the food, Luffy was all over it. And taking after his uncle, Estelle was right there digging into the food with Luffy. Let a heavy sigh past her lips as she walked back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food.

“Oi! Luffy save some for us!!” Ace’s voice rang through the house as a loud thump followed along with Luffy groaning in pain. Like music to her ears, hearing Ace’s voice once again causes (Y/n) so much happiness and relief. Having her black-haired lover back is the best feeling in the world.

After all 4 of them had somehow managed to stop the tears, they didn’t spend a moment from each other. Where ever one went the others always followed because they were all scared that if they left then Ace would disappear. Although, out of the whole reunion, being able to reunite Estelle with his father was the best part. Luckily he’s only 2 so things weren’t awkward and he was able to quickly adapt to Ace. Being again to finally introduce Ace to his son and Estelle to his father was by far the best part. It only made (Y/n) cry even more.

“Hey, Daddy you can’t hit Uncle Luffy. Mama will get mad at you.” Estelle laughed as he waved around the bone. Even the word was foreign to Ace, it still took him a while to get used to even being a dad. But after staring at Estelle for a moment, just taking in the fact that Estelle’s actually his kid. Ace chuckled and smiled.

“Oh, will she now? Last time I check, I think I can handle your mother when she’s angry.” Ace chuckled as he leads back in his chair and crossed his arms. She could cry just looking at him. After all these years he hasn’t changed a bit. Messy black hair, freckled skin, a huge smile that could light up the room. The only thing that had changed, was the giant burn mark on his stomach. It was huge and very upsetting but it’s not like Ace didn’t have scars from before. With one last shaky breath, (Y/n) pushed back any sadness she had and quickly replaced it with joy. There is no way (Y/n) was gonna be sad.

“You better think again fire boy.” (Y/n) had stated as she hit the back of his head while she took a seat next to him at the table. Ace hissed at the pain while Estelle laughed in response. Sabo and Luffy were quick to follow in suit. All their laughter sounded like music to her ear. There really wasn’t anything else she could wish for. Ace was back, she’s having dinner with her family, and she was happy. It was all too perfect, it was almost like this whole thing was a dream. God, (Y/n) was terrified that it was all just a dream. The thought of having them go back to a time where Ace was gone and that-

“Ouch.” (Y/n) hissed as she grabbed her arm. Looking over next to her, she saw Estelle gigging up at her. Estelle and his pinches are gonna be the death of her.

“You so deserve that for early. Good job, Estelle, you’re learning quickly.” Ace laughed out loud as he looked over at his son. Estelle smiled bright and laughed along with him. (Y/n) couldn’t even be mad, but she wasn’t about to let Ace get away with it.

“Oh, you watch it, because last time I checked Estelle was still a mommy’s boy just like his father.”

#one piece #one piece x reader #Portgas D. Ace #sabo #monkey d. luffy #portgas d ace x reader

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angloie · 3 years

Text

Charms. 5/10

> Annabeth would rather not have her ordeal with some of the world's biggest malefactors exposed. Not when her multi-million dollar company could be on the line. But a certain sea green eyed assassin had a little thing out for her-- things consisting of attempting to eventually kill her.

> Assassin! Percy x CEO! Annabeth.

> Warnings: angst + fluff, some violence. Mentions of alcohol.

pt. 1 || pt. 2 || pt. 3 || pt. 4

“Percy!”

“Yeah, yeah, hold on!”

A gust of wind howls past the two, lifting the multi-cloloured kite into the air. It whirls, then finds another gust to steady itself on. Estelle giggles.

“Gimme!” She runs up to Percy, chubby arms reaching out to grab the string attatched. He smiles and hands it to her before tying it securely onto her wrist. The four year old dashes around in circles, waving the kite high up in the air along with her.

He'd missed this. Sally, Estelle, Paul- Percy had made a surprise visit to them earlier this day, apparently on a so called -'buisness trip'. Buisness? Well, technically, yes. But the kind of buisness wasn't exactly what people would call legal.

It hurt to see them with unknowing smiles and heartful greetings. They had prepared blue cookies for him as soon as Percy entered too! He had lied to them; something Percy had been doing more often lately.

But what they didn't know couldn't hurt them, right?

It was a foolish saying. It was the only thing keeping Percy from the borders of breaking down.

Speaking of which- Percy had gathered more information about his target. Er- targets.

They all had seemed to have different positions. Thalia: the sharpshooter. Good with guns but even better with bows. He should definitely not underestimate her. Luke: More of a close-range fighter. The con artist. Most likely would be in a disguise role, of some type. Will indefinitely be a problem due to the lack of information on him. Annabeth.

The woman seemed to be the Mastermind of it all, so percy assumed she would be tucked away elsewhere on the night of the heist. Little is known about her fighting style.

One thing that really stood out to Percy was not of their plan, (to which he didn't know. yet.) was their major lack of people. no alliances. allys. partners. (well, not that he or anyone in the agency had known of.)

Smirking to himself, Percy clicks his tounge. This job was almost too easy.

“Let’s go there!”

“Okay!”

It was easy to find the serendipity in moments like these. Stress free. Care free. No life-risking gig he called a job. It was so terribly easy to relax when your mind is off much more worse things.

“I’m getting pretty tired,” He starts, both him and Estelle laying on a grassy hill. The grass tickled their ankles whenever a cool breeze passes. “What about you? Ready to hit the hay?”

“Mmm.” Estelle turns to her side. The warm coloured sky shows bright oranges and pinks above them, setting sun casting a gold glow. Her arms are splayed in front of her. “Can we get Ice cream?”

“Didn’t we, like, have a ton of cookies earlier? So unhealthy.” Percy laughs and rolls his eyes jokingly. Hes made it a point to call her out on such childish antics, but he usually just joins in as well. Hes something of a hypocrite. “From the place nearby?”

“Yeah!”

Maybe he's willing to ditch the whole assasin-thing when he's had his fun.

“One cotton candy and cookie dough, please.” Percy says to the worker behind the glass. Estelle oogles at the ice cream, her face mere inches away from it. The worker blushes at Percy and hands him the two cones.

“Thank you!”

The worker stammers. “N-No problem.” He clears his throat awkwardly, hand covering his face as he returns to the other customers.

“Yummy,” Estelle practically inhales the treat, just like Percy. He smiles to himself. When she pauses to stop, she asks him something. “Do you have to leave, Percy? Why can't you stay with us?”

“We both know I can't do that.” He replies almost immediately. Sadness laces his tone. “But I'll always visit. Like usual.”

“Aww.”

“But I'm just staying somewhere else for now. I'll always visit. Like usual.” Percy pats her on the head.

Estelle clamps her two hands together in a sudden plea. "Let me go back to the hotel with you!"

"No can do, kid."

"Please!"

"Nope."

"Pleaseeeeeee?" She looks like she's seconds away from getting on her knees. "But I'll miss you!"

"And I'll miss you too," Percy shakes his head, brows furrowed. "But you better get up there before mom gets worried."

Estelle scoffs. "Like she's ever worried when I'm with you."

Her words take Percy aback. She should really take that back- considering his little job and all. Right, right. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them. What they didn't know couldn't hurt th-

“Listen,” he kneels down to Estlle's height, a small smile dancing on his lips. “I gotta go. You don't want the scary monsters to get'cha, do you?” Percy wiggles his fingers in her face creepily.

“Monsters aren't real,” She huffed.

“You’re seven. You haven't seen anything yet. Not get your butt inside!” He points to the tall building. She groans, starting to walk.

“Bye! Visit soon!” Estelle waves, a sad pout etching her features.

“Will do!” Percy mock-salutes and waves. He, unfortunately, knows that those odds aren't in his favour. It's not like they ever were anyways.

Taking a car was overrated. Why not a nice, nostalgic walk back to the hotel? He had missed all the urban scenery. Except the rats. Percy hates the damn rats in New York.

It's rather quiet for that night. Usually the sounds of cars honking or the buzz of chatter overtook all times of the day, but certainly not tonight. It's especially true when Percy walks past the dark alleyway on the way back to the hotel.

Well, you know what they say. Alleyways can never mean any good.

“Umph!” Theres a sickening sound of a punch, and then the crunching of gravel. He’s immediately on guard.

As if on que, body comes flying in front of Percy, laying on the dirtied sidewalk. They groan in pain as they look up.

“H-help! Please!” They- He, scrambles up from his spot. There's a forming purple bruise on the side of his face, tears welling up in fear filled eyes.

What he said before wasn't all that true. You know, monsters and all. It just so happens monsters can take much different forms. Human ones, per se.

“Wha-”

Another person comes dashing out of the alleyway. The person looks identical to the other, a deep crimson stream of blood trickling down his mouth. “There’s someone c-chasing us!” He turns back to the dark area. “Please, no-"

“-I know you two got money on ya! Petty kids like you piss me off!” A figure comes from the alley, features shrouded in shadows.

Greedy monsters.

Gods, Percy wished he would stay back in the dark. Pale skin clashes horribly with yellow disgusting teeth, grey stringy hair splayed across his forehead. The man (Can he even be called human even?) Takes another step forward.

Disgusting monsters.

Like smelly Gabe.

“Oh? What's this?” The man laughs, chest heaving up and down. He looks pretty old from what Percy can see. “Running for help?”

“Look old man,” Percy takes a step in front of the two cowering boys. “What do you think you're doing?”

He scoffs. “Stay out of this, prettyboy! Or I won't hesitate.” He reaches for his pocket where there's a small lump. Oh, and is that-

The all too familiar sound of a gun cocking makes itself clear.

-A gun, He wants to finish. How quaint.

“You can't be serious!” One of the boys from behind him harshly whispers.

“We should run, mister!” The other one whimpers.

“You know, old man,” Percy glares from under his brow now, eyes dangerously filled with malicious intent. “If I went back to New York just to be threatened by some old hag, then maybe I wouldn't have in the first place.”

“B-bad idea..” They both whisper.

He swears a vein the the old man's forehead pops. “You little piece of shit-" The gun steadies itself straight in his direction. “I’ll show you-!”

Such a fool.

Such a fool indeed, not getting to finish that worthless sentence.

In a split second give or take, Percy's fist wedges itself into the hag's face. It's music to his ears, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones and who knows what.

It takes one more second for the gun to be kicked into the road. Two more for the man to be completely knocked out, blood staining his face. He shudders.

“Out already?” Percy laughs bitterly. How terribly, utterly weak. And stupid, not knowing who he was.

“Holy shit.” One of the boys mutter under his breath. “That was cool, dude!”

“Yeah! Thank you!”

'Its no problem', is what he wants to reply with. Before that can happen of course, car tires screech on the gravel road behind them.

Uh oh.

That must be the cops. Cops never meant any good, right? Percy can't go to jail! Well, he can, but not like this! Would they take him in a cell now? Would he be locked up for life if they discovered his true identity? Would They-

“Matthew! Bobby!” A voice calls out frantically. Legs sweep out of the modern white car and onto the gravel ground. Shoes click at the impact. “Where have you two been!?” The boys shy away awkawardly, but soon inch their way forward towards her.

They're rather hesitant. “We... um...”

“Oh,” The woman eyes their features as her hands come up to cup their faces. “Who did this? That man?” She fusses over their injuries, hands rubbing against the wounds.

“No! It was another old dude. The one on the ground.” The boy, Bobby, points to the figure laying as he recalls the story of how they got like that. “This guy beat him up for us.”

“And it was totally cool too!” Matthew beams.

“You two will be the death of me!” She pulls them closer. “Iv’e been searching for you two literally everywhere. Don't go dissapearing like that again.”

“kay.”

“What do you have to say for yourselves?” Her voice is dangerously laced with anger and irritation.

“M’sorry.”

“And to the nice man?”

“Thanks, dude- I mean, mister.”

Percy straightens his back. Was he staring or something? He feels like he's not supposed to be there. “I-its fine.” He sighs nervously as he eyes the woman. Sea-green eyes widen in sudden shock.

His throat runs dry. “Its,”

“You!” The woman finished for him. Annabeth... Chase? “Percy!”

“Annabeth?” Percy guffaws in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“These are my step brothers, Matthew and bobby. I-Im sorry for running into you like this!” She apologizes, the anger in her tone washed away. “This is pretty embarrassing, to be honest.”

“Same here.” He shakes his head.

“Um, how have you been?”

He blinks. His targets aren't usually supposed to act towards him in such... a carefree and friendly way. It's almost strange to him.

“I’m doing good. You?”

“Great, great...” She trails off awkwardly. The sudden change of air leaves the two of them tense. Percy especially; a bead of sweat forms on his temple.The blood on his hands must not look very appealing to her. It's not all apealling to him either.

The engine of the car revs.

“You know what?” Annabeth claps her hands together. “Why don't I give you a ride back to the hotel? Assuming your still staying there, and all.”

“Really? You're too generous,” He laughs. This opportunity is golden. But is it really necessary? I mean, Percy's palms are starting to sweat for no reason at all. Not to mention his heart rate's gone up a little. That cannot be good news.

“Its fine. It looks like you don't have much of an option.” She ushers him forward towards the car that sits beside the curb. “Being out late isn't very safe and all.”

“O-of course!” He stutters. Matthew and Bobby nudge each other as they get inside, muttering inconspicuous things.

If you would also Percy what he would be doing at that time of night, he would probably respond with 'eating dinner'.

Unfortunate or not, he was confused on why he was in there. sitting beside one of the wealthiest women in the world. Why was she so persistent on getting him in there, anyways?

And why was he nervous?

Annabeth Chase gave the address to the driver, to which he nodded and started the car.

Silence.

If you disclose the loud talking of her step brothers, that is. Gods, they were really talkative weren't they?

“Percy,” Annabeth starts quietly. Her tone is hushed- like she doesn't want the two boys to hear. “I saw you back there.”

He falters. “Is that so?”

She nods. “They were right. You sure do pack a punch.” Then why didn't you say something back then?

“Thanks. That... Means a lot, coming from you.” Percy dryly replies.

“No unnecessary movents, nor any time wasted.” Theres a lot more things Annabeth wants to add. His form? Flawless. Kunckles aimed right for a key pressure point and bundle of nerves, legs placed in just the spots. Not even a breath wasted. Perfect.

“You ever heard of Kronos?”

“As in that criminal mastermind? Then yes.”

“Good, good. What do you think of him?”

“I mean, he's a crminal. So I guess what he does isn't very good.” Percy tilts his head to the side in confusion.

She stares right at him now, grey eyes clashing with his own. “Please, be honest. I'm not looking for a simple answer.”

He picks the skin at his hands, fidgeting. “Well... I think he carries out his heists quite well. I've seen a few reports about him. The heists always seem to be.. Well thought of. Strageticaly planned.” Percy grins inwardly. He knows exactly what Kronos does. After nights of studying, reasearching, that information is practically ingraved in his head. He knows that it was almost always Annabeth behind the scenes, planning it all out.

Matthew and Bobby sing along loudly to some song.

Annabeth smiles coyly. “Have you ever considered joining him? And me as well, of course.”

“I- What?” This time it's Percy who's shocked. His target, Annabeth Chase, was asking him...

To become one of them.

What the fuck?

“I could never be part of something so.. scandalous, Annabeth!” Oh, Percy can definitely be a part of that. He's just playing the innocent card.

“Don’t be silly.” Annabeth closes her eyes and sighs. “I’m not stupid. Back at the hotel, I saw your little arsenal. You couldn't possibly be involved in such illegal activity, can you?” She chuckles at his slack jaw.

She saw that?

“It isn't what you think! They're just kitchen supplies! Apollo shipped them in from some exotic country, that's all.” Percy 'tries' to reasonate.

Well, he'll be dammed. For a while, Percy had been thinking about their little plan. Turns out, he was going to be part of it.

This'll be fun.

“iv’e seen how you move, Percy! That driving experience. That fighting style. It can't just be for nothing.” She repeats herself. “So, what do you think of doing me and a my two dear friends?”

He gives her a side look. “And what can I gain from this?” His expressions changed again; this time a more cold and calm look.

She knows.

Not the full picture, but she knows.

“Thirty-five million, give or take.” Annabeth yawns. That's a big amount of money. That could be put some down use. Good or bad. “So? What do you say?”

“I...” Percy sighs at the passing scenery. “I’m in.”

She smirks.

“Good.”

guess who defied all odds and updated?

#pjo #percy jackson #percy x annabeth #percabeth #percabeth fanfic #percabeth angst #percabeth fluff #annabeth chase #percy and annabeth

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theartofimaginaryfriends · 4 years

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A Whole Latke Fun (Part 8)

Fic series: Hanukkah Oneshots

Characters: Jewish!Percy Jackson x Jewish!Reader, Jewish!Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis

Premise: Percy celebrates Hanukkah with his partner, parents, and kids.

Masterlist

taglist: @pjsolympians

word count: 768

A/N: I mentioned a show on the first night in my Author's Note, and it's really worth mentioning again. Hunters (Amazon Prime) is about a group of Jews in 1977 that hunt Nazis who are living in America. Logan Lerman plays the male lead, Jonah Heidelbaum, and his performance in the ten episodes that are currently available is his best one yet. There's mixed reviews within the Jewish community, I'm one of the people that praise it. HIGHLY recommend it to everyone that loves PJO and especially Dark!Percy because it's the Dark!Percy content that we barely see in Rick’s books. It’s also the Percy Jackson performance from Logan Lerman we never got from the m*vies. I’ve created a blog dedicated to the show called @simpingforthehunt and will be posting my full thoughts on the show sometime soon! Something in regards to a small bit of this fic: Something From Nothing is a Jewish Children’s book that I absolutely love. On that note, Happy last night of Hanukkah! It’s been a tough one this year. Hope you enjoy this last fic :)

For the Eighth Day: the eighth light is the light of Courage. Let truth and justice be your armour and fear not. Judah Maccabee, the hero of Chanukah, lived by the words Moses spoke to Joshua: "Be strong and of good courage."

While the kids were out of the house for the day, Percy and his partner wrapped their gifts and placed them in two different piles in the living room. While both parties grew up with their parents giving them one present on each day, they had decided to wait until the last day of Hanukkah to open the gifts.

They weren't sure about the new tradition at first, but it ended up being fun. It was entertaining to watch the two siblings searching the house trying to figure out where everything was hidden. One day, Y/N walked into their room to see their kids snooping around and the sight made them burst into laughter. Not only were they trying to be sneaky, but it was also clear that both of them got into their parent's makeup. When Percy came home from work, Y/N rushed over to him to show the pictures they took before removing the makeup off their faces.

Every year was an eventful holiday, and this year was no exception. The adults had just finished tying bows on the final gifts when the kids ran into the house, followed by their Safta and Saba. "Abba! Nibi!"

After having to be reminded to take their shoes off, the kids ran into the arms of their parents. "How was your day with Safta and Saba?"

"It was so much fun!" Their daughter, Silena, gushed on about the day they had. Their son, Jason, added his own tidbits into the story as his sister rattled on but mostly stayed quiet. Sally and Paul had taken the kids to the ice rink for the day and treated them to some sufganiyot from the Kosher bakery nearby.

"Can we open our presents now?" Jason asked, excitedly. While Silena was giving her parents a play-by-play of the day, her brother had noticed the two piles and was itching to get to his.

"After dinner, bud," Percy chuckled. "We made a new batch of latkes."

"Yay!" the kids chorused and ran to the dinner table.

"Apparently lighting the candles can wait," Y/N said, smiling at their husband. Silena and Jason moved from their spots at the dinner table to the two menorahs that were set up on the island in the kitchen. Sally picked up the matchbook and lit the shamash on both menorah's, and the family recited the brachah together as Percy and Y/N lit their respective hanukkiah.

During dinner, the adults had a chance to talk while the kids stuffed their faces with the fried heaven. "Where's Estelle today?"

"Celebrating Hanukkah at Emma's house tonight," Paul explained. "They haven't seen each other much since Grad."

"She said that she'll visit next week," Sally said, watching her grandkids in amusement.

Jason and Silena both opted to put applesauce and sour cream on their latkes and were decorating the food to make it look like a surprised face. Y/N laughed and turned to their husband. "I remember when we did that."

"The only difference is we were twelve," he smiled at the memory. The first latke lunch he joined when Gabe was gone consisted of the B'Nai Mitzvah class fooling around with the food rather than eating it. All of them grabbed three each and arranged them so that they could make emoticons with the applesauce.

"Can we open our presents now?" Silena asked, looking at the living room. Everyone was finished dinner, so they agreed. Deciding to deal with the dishes after the kid's bedtime, they followed and took places on the couches.

There was wrapping paper all over the room in an instant. Silena's eyes lit up at her new American Girl doll, this one with black hair and green eyes just like her. Jason seemed to be itching to open his brand new set of hot wheels and play with them on the racing track he got for his birthday.

As more gifts were opened, a bigger mess was made. Y/N took to slowly cleaning it so that there wasn't much to do later. By the time all the gifts were open, Silena and Jason were tuckered out. Y/N and Percy carried both of them upstairs and waited as they got ready for bed. As soon as Jason sat next to his sister on her bed, they insisted on their Safta reading them Something From Nothing.

When Percy and Y/N made their way back downstairs, they immediately got to cleaning up before wishing Sally and Paul goodnight as they were leaving. This was by far the married couple's favourite Hanukkah.

#jewish!percy #percy jackson #percy jackson fic #hanukkah fic #hanukkah #jewish headcanons

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 14: A Fusion Too Far (originally published on April 19, 2021)

AN: Well, time to get this big elephant out of the room before we move onto the big Part 2 finale. I'll be honest, I was kind of disappointed we didn't get any closure on Jasper and Lapis's relationship and that they'd turn into Vegeta and Goku respectively. But then again, I'm here to fix this myself, so here we go.

Synopsis: Steven helps Lapis and Jasper try to make up for the past.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Zuli, Diopside

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Cherry Quartz

Estelle as Garnet

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon, Diopside

Ian Jones Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian

Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Featuring Esmé Bianco as Malachite

"Okay Gems, Steven left me in charge of his interpretive dance class since he left, so I'm gonna need you all to work hard for him." Lapis ordered a class made up of Zuli, Cherry Quartz, Teal Zircon, Snowflake Obsidian, and Orange Spodumene while she set down a boombox and tightened the sweatband around her head. "Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" the class of Gems shouted with a salute.

"Ooh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Zuli muttered cheerfully.

"I know, right?" Teal Zircon replied just as eagerly.

"Are we ready?" Lapis asked rhetorically as she switched on some music. "A five, six, seven, eight!"

"Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was." The stereo began playing as the class began copying Lapis's moves. When she twirled left, they twirled with her. When she jumped up and landed while pumping her fist in the air, they jumped up too. "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was."

"I'm having so much fun!" TZ exclaimed excitedly as the class began freestyling, but her gem began glowing without her knowing.

"Me too!" Zuli replied as her gem began glowing as well. Suddenly, as the two stood dancing back to back, they transformed into a large mass of light and then, into a massive fusion bearing traits from both Gems. Unlike an average fusion, this one was a lot more deformed due to the accident that caused it.

"Uh, guys?" the fusion of Zuli and Teal boomed nervously as the rest of the class gazed in shock at her. "A little help here?"

"Uh oh, we got another fusion accident." Snowflake declared worriedly.

"I'll go get Amethyst and Pearl, hopefully they'll know what to do." Orange Spodumene stated as she raced to get help.

Lapis was just as stunned at the sight as her students, but for far different reasons than the rest. A Lapis fusing with another Gem that results in a big problem? That seemed all too familiar to her. "Uh, you know what? Class dismissed."

"Wait, Lapis!" Cherry Quartz cried out as their teacher flew away. "What about TZ and Zuli?!"

"Amethyst and Pearl got this covered!" Lapis called back to Cherry. "I just need to settle some problems of my own."

As Lapis continued flying, the fusion of Teal and Zuli continued standing there, contemplating what just happened. "So, anyone want to ask me what the weather is like from up here?"

"Now just breathe in, and out." Garnet instructed Steven as they took a private yoga class at the tower. "Let these troubled thoughts know that you won't let them take you over."

"Don't let them take over, don't let them take over." Steven repeated to himself while shutting his eyes, but he did let one thought take over as he heard someone land behind him. "Lapis?"

"Hey Steven, hey Garnet." Lapis greeted the two Gems.

"Did class end early for you?" Garnet asked the waterbender as she got up to face Lapis.

"Yeah, but there was a little problem." Lapis answered. "Teal Zircon and 2F8D accidentally fused during class, which really reminded me of a certain incident."

"You came to us because that reminded you of Malachite, right?" Steven asked. "You know, I've already made a mental note to get you and Jasper to make up for what happened while you were fused."

"I like that you want to help them amend for the past," Garnet smiled to Steven. "But I feel they won't forgive each other, since their time as Malachite was torture for both of them."

"Yeah, remember?" Lapis reminded Steven. "Jasper tormented me because I forced her to stay fused with me, but then I tormented her because she tormented me, and it was all one big cycle of abuse and toxicity until we were separated. I feel like if I really want to move on, I need to make up for at least some of my past actions."

"I know, no need to remind me of stuff I already know." Steven said. "But I still feel you two can make up somehow!"

"Absolutely not." Jasper declared angrily as Steven and Lapis stood before her in the forest later that day.

"Garnet warned you." Lapis cautioned Steven out of the corner of her mouth, but he didn't listen.

"Aw come on Jasper, Lapis really wants to apologize for torturing you while you two were fused as Malachite!" Steven begged Jasper to listen to him.

"Oh really?" Jasper raised an eyebrow in disgust. "The way I see it, I came out as far more stable once you freed me from her!" she bragged. "But I think a bit of my attitude may have rubbed off on the brat here. I mean, what has she done since we de-fused?"

"That's a bit personal." Lapis replied in shock at Jasper's accusations. "Also, YOU came out a little more stable? The first time we met since the island, you were begging on your knees to fuse with me again AND you started hunting down corrupted Gems just to get that feeling, which led to you getting corrupted yourself!"

"I think that's enough of this kind of back and forth for right now!" Steven got between the two Gems. "Why don't we try some trust exercises, like an icebreaker?"

"An icebreaker?" Jasper replied in confusion. "Well, there sure isn't any ice around here."

"No, it's not that kind of icebreaker." Lapis corrected her ex-fusion partner. "It's like you ask people questions to try and get to know them better. I'll start." She then cleared her throat. "What do you like to do in your free time?"

"Training, brooding, terminating all kinds of Earthlings that try to invade my territory." Jasper responded. "What about you?"

"A lot of stuff." Lapis replied. "I really like making meep morps, collecting leaves, dancing-"

"What on Earth is a meep morp?" Jasper interrupted Lapis. "Sounds like some dumb human ritual."

"It's what she and Peridot call art." Steven informed the larger Gem. "Now Lapis, please continue."

"Gladly." Lapis said. "I also love watching this show with Peridot called Camp Pining Hearts. It's a Great North drama set in a summer camp where all the campers compete against each other in Color Wars."

"Sounds dumb, kind of like you." Jasper rudely declared, which got Lapis mad.

"Now you see here you big lug!" Lapis yelled. "Camp Pining Hearts is good-natured, cheesy dramatic fun! Well, except for Season 5, that was utter garbage."

"Kind of like your attempts to try and "make up" with me." Jasper replied in air quotes.

"Okay, maybe icebreakers aren't working very well but hey," Steven interrupted the bickering pair. "Why don't we try something different, like trust falls?"

"What's that?" Lapis and Jasper asked in unison.

Steven would soon answer that question by having Jasper stand with her back facing towards the edge of a cliff, with Lapis spreading her arms out down below. "It's exactly what it sounds like." Steven explained. "One of you has to fall over and put their trust in the other person to catch them."

"Yeah, I don't buy this." Jasper snarled as she turned around to face Steven and Lapis from above. "I could easily crush her, as much as I really want to."

"For once, I think I'm gonna side with Jasper on this one." Lapis agreed with the larger Gem, making herself sick to her stomach. "I never thought I'd say that."

"Okay, change of plans." Steven suggested. "Lapis falls and Jasper has to catch her, sound good?"

"That makes more sense." Lapis obliged and flew up to the cliff while Jasper dropped down to meet Steven.

"Okay, now close your eyes Lapis, and let Jasper catch you." Steven commanded the ocean Gem.

"Alright then." Lapis replied as she shut her eyes. "Are you still standing there Jasper?"

"Yes, yes I am." Jasper responded with her arms spread out. "Now fall already!"

Lapis did as she was told and leaned off the edge of the cliff, allowing herself to start falling to the ground. But when she came close to returning to solid earth, Jasper casually moved out of the way, letting Lapis instead fall back first onto the grass.

"Jasper!" Steven scolded the bigger Gem.

"What, you never said how to catch her." Jasper grinned nervously, and Steven returned it with an irritated glare. Lapis just facepalmed as she got up off the ground.

"Okay, let's try another team building exercise." Steven stated while walking Jasper and Lapis through the forest. "Here's the deal, one of you has to wear a blindfold and walk through the woods while the other one has to give instructions." He opened up his jacket and pulled out some cloth to serve as a blindfold. "Now who wants to go first?"

"Give me that." Jasper ordered as she snatched the cloth from Steven's hand and tried to wrap it around her head. Unfortunately for Jasper, the knot she tried to make wasn't very good. "Come on, stay on my head you stupid Earth material!"

"Guess that means I'll have to tell her what to do." Lapis realized while Steven tied the blindfold around Jasper's head for her. "For once."

"Okay, are you ready guys?" Steven asked the pair as he finished tying a tight knot on the blindfold.

"Uh, yes." Lapis nervously said.

"Uh, where are you two?" Jasper asked while facing away from Steven and Lapis. "I can clearly hear you, but I can't see you. What kind of torture device is this?!"

"I can see you're already getting the hang of this." Lapis grinned snarkily. "Okay, first, you gotta walk towards those trees over there." She pointed over to a group of trees lined up nearby. "Got that?"

"What trees? All I see is white!" Jasper barked before Steven put his hands on her hips and guided her towards the trees.

"Okay, next, follow the trees until you hear rushing water." Lapis grinned mischievously while Jasper did as she told and she and Steven followed her. "I can see you're getting warmer."

"And I have a bad feeling about this." Jasper muttered while following the sound of racing water. The source of the sound came from a nearby raging river, and Jasper was about to fall over before Lapis gave her next command.

"Okay, stop!" Lapis ordered, telling the big quartz to halt in her tracks before she gave one last order. "Now that we found the source of the rushing water, jump in."

"I don't know where this is going, but if you say so." Jasper obliged and jumped into the river, but she realized too late what she got herself into. "What is this?!" Jasper yelled as she ripped the blindfold off her face and realized she was drifting down the stream. "Lapis, you tricked me! I'll get you for this!"

"Lapis!" Steven scolded Lapis, who just replied with a shrug.

"I punched her sky high and she turned out fine." Lapis responded. "She can survive this." Despite her protests, a disappointed glare from Steven forced Lapis to fly up and race after Jasper to save her from the river.

"If this is payback for letting you fall, I understand why but this is totally disproportionate!" Jasper yelled as the force of the river continued carrying her throughout the forest. "Um, can anyone please help me?"

Jasper's prayers were soon answered, though not in the way she wanted. Lapis soared over the drifting Gem and prepared to pick her up with the river water, but Jasper instead grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down. "Oh no, you don't! You started this, and now you're coming with me!"

"I was only trying to help you!" Lapis yelled crossly. "Though Steven forced me to do it, but still!"

"You help me?" Jasper said before she let out a loud cackle. "Maybe when I get shattered!" The big Gem kept on laughing much to Lapis's irritation, but she was soon cut off when she realized the river was going to lead to a waterfall. "Uh oh.

"Don't tell me, we're going to go over a waterfall." Lapis deadpanned.

"Indeed." Jasper confirmed just as deadpan.

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Lapis then asked.

"No, unfortunately."

"Doesn't matter, bring it on."

And just like that, the bickering pair put aside their differences and came together screaming as they went over the waterfall.

As soon as Lapis and Jasper got out of the mountainside lake that the waterfall led to, Steven stood there with his arms crossed and crossly tapping his foot. "You two are unbelievable!" he chastised the two. "I just want you to forgive each other for Malachite and at least be friendlier to each other! Is that too much to ask?!"

"Steven, you have to learn that sometimes, even when two enemies become friends," Lapis said to Steven. "there's no chance they'll instantly treat the horrible things they did to each other in the past like someone stole forty cakes or something."

"I concur." Jasper nodded.

"See, another thing you two can agree on." Steven nodded in exasperation. "How about this? You say at least one nice thing about each other, and that's it. Understand?"

"Okay, if it makes you chill out a bit." Lapis shivered at Steven's current behavior and turned to Jasper. "Well, I'll give you this Jasper. You may not have wanted to do all those activities, but at least you didn't just give up on them."

"Kind of like how you never gave up on treating me like trash." Jasper harangued in reply, stunning Steven and Lapis. "Just look at you Lapis. Even years after we split, you keep on refusing to treat me with kindness."

"What kindness?" Lapis growled. "You never treated me like that, so what makes you think-"

"LET ME FINISH!" Jasper boomed. "You abused me, and what do you get? A nice life with that Peridot, being a member of the Crystal Gems and living at that stupid Little Homeworld! Meanwhile, I've spent my entire life neglected and tortured on this worthless planet, yet you get off scot-free for all the horrendous things you've done! Let's face it, you may think everything's all okay, but I'm still the only one who's seen you for the monster you are."

Throughout Jasper's furious lecture, Steven stood there in shock at how nothing had been going his way today. All he wanted to do was help two enemies become friends, but nothing had worked. And as Jasper kept on accusing Lapis, he slowly began to turn pink until finally, he snapped. "ENOUGH!"

"Again?!" Jasper yelled at the sight of Steven turning pink again.

"This is new!" Lapis exclaimed.

"I just wanted you to make friends, but neither of you are listening to me!" Steven yelled as the force of his tantrum knocked the two Gems off their feet and back into the lake. "Why can't anything go the way I wanted to FOR ONCE?!"

With a single stomp of his foot, Steven almost caused an earthquake, and the mountain above them began to violently shake until it resulted in a rockslide. As he came back to his senses, Steven realized just how bad he had made things. "Oh no!"

"Steven!" Lapis cried out and tried racing to rescue Steven, but Jasper held her back.

"Leave the kid, he can survive this!" Jasper discouraged Lapis from saving her friend.

"But he's one of my best friends, and your Diamond!" Lapis replied. "You wouldn't want to see him get hurt too, right?"

"Correction, Pink Diamond is my Diamond." Jasper admonished snootily. "That right there is just her son who thinks he can walk around making people do what he wants just because of his lineage."

"But still, you wouldn't want Pink to die again, right?" Lapis said when she got an idea. "Wait a minute! Let's fuse!"

"You're joking, right?" Jasper said in utter disbelief.

"We got no other choice, please!" Lapis begged her ex-fusion partner while reaching her hand out. "Come on, just say yes!"

Lapis was right, they did have no other option, though Jasper believed she was making things up just to make Steven happy. But regardless, Lapis did make a good argument.

"Fine." Jasper finally relented and took the blue Gem's smaller hand. "But we are never doing this again, capiche?"

"You got it." Lapis obliged before she was twirled around and caught by Jasper in a dip, and then they started glowing as their forms began to merge.

"Of course something horrible happens when I try to do good." Steven admitted in defeat as the rockslide began to get closer. He didn't even try thinking of escaping or protecting himself, believing that this was to be his fate. "Lapis, Jasper, everyone. I'm sorry."

Just then, a massive turquoise figure with two sets of arms, one dainty pair and one burly, came flying from the lake and landed in front of Steven. He could see that on her back was Lapis's gem and when the Gem turned to face him, she had Jasper's gem on her face. The more graceful hands picked Steven up while the bigger hands got to work on forcing the rockslide back with a seemingly infinite series of massive punches. "RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Lapis?!" Steven gasped at what he was seeing. "Jasper?!"

"Yes, it's us!" Malachite said. Unlike the last time Steven saw the fusion of Jasper and Lapis, she instead had a British accent of sorts. However, Lapis's softer tone could be heard until she suddenly switched to Jasper's rougher tone. "Now keep quiet while you're being saved!"

Steven did indeed stay quiet as Malachite held him in one pair of hands while the other pair finished punching the last of the rocks away. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Steven panted nervously.

"Good, let's go home." Malachite smiled, when her head suddenly twitched and Jasper started taking control of the fusion. "Seriously, how did he not try to run or protect himself?!"

"Really ruining the mood here!" Lapis's side of Malachite argued as she began to fly away from the lake.

The two halves of Malachite's personality kept on arguing while she flew Steven back to Jasper's cave, until they finally touched down and de-fused.

"I still can't believe it!" Steven exclaimed happily. "You guys fused, and neither of you was forced to do so!"

"Well to be fair, Lapis kind of forced me to fuse with her because she kept convincing me you were her Diamond, like everyone else does." Jasper said as she decided to return to her cave.

"But still, it was nice to have something to work together on, right?" Lapis said.

"Okay, I'll admit, it was nice to have a common goal for once." Jasper agreed. "Look, like you said, the past can never be forgotten. But I think that might be a good first step."

"Yeah." Lapis replied.

"Well, guess we should be going now." Steven said while he and Lapis prepared to leave. "See you again soon Jasper."

"Whatever." Jasper groaned while fully retreating into her cave.

"So, how was it?" Steven asked Lapis while they walked back to Little Homeschool.

"It was real weird at first, especially when we became Malachite again." Lapis admitted. "Even though we still were fighting for control, I think we may have made a breakthrough on Jasper. Who knows, maybe you're right and we could become friends one day."

"Yeah, who knows." Steven sighed happily until he came to a realization. "Hey, speaking of fusions, how are Zuli and TZ doing right now?"

"Uh, still need a little help here." The fusion of Zuli and Teal Zircon, now dubbed Diopside by the other Gems, called out while everyone gathered to gaze at the new fusion. "Is there any way to turn this off?"

I have a feeling this chapter is going to divide people, but I feel like it was finally time to deliver a reconciliation that was as in-character for both Lapis and Jasper as I could, and give us a slightly more stable Malachite that was more Two-Face than monstrous depiction of a toxic relationship. Speaking of which, did you know malachites become less toxic when sealed? But enough talk, next chapter is the beginning of Part 2's big finale, and I am so excited to finally focus more on a certain Rutile and her Topaz.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #lapis lazuli #jasper #malachite

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

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JOY OF LIVING

May 6, 1938

Directed by Tay Garnet

Produced by Felix Young for RKO Radio Pictures

Written by Gene Towne, Graham Baker, Allan Scott, based on an original story by Dorothy and Herbert Fields

Synopsis ~ Broadway star Margaret Garrett (Irene Dunne) has spent her whole life working to support her sponging relatives. When she meets carefree Dan Webster (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.), she learns how to have fun for the first time.

The film was in production at RKO Studios from December 6, 1937 until February 8, 1938.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball (Salina Pine) makes her 36th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933.

“Do you expect me to support this family of leeches?” ~ Salina Pine

Irene Dunne (Margaret "Maggie" Garret) had appeared with Lucille Ball in 1935′s Roberta. Between 1931 and 1949 she was nominated for five Oscars.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (Dan Brewster) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938).

Alice Brady (Minerva) won an Oscar in 1938 for In Old Chicago. This is her only film with Lucille Ball.

Guy Kibbee (Dennis) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Don’t Tell The Wife (1937).

Jean Dixon (Harrison) also appeared with Lucille Ball in I’ll Love You Always (1935).

Eric Blore (Potter) appeared with Lucille Ball in Old Man Rhythm, I Dream Too Much, and Top Hat, all in 1935. He also appeared with Ball in Fancy Pants (1950).

Warren Hymer (Mike) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Kid Millions (1934).

Billy Gilbert (Café Owner) appeared with Lucille Ball in His Old Flame (1935), I Dream Too Much (1935), So and Sew (1936), and Valley of the Sun (1942).

Frank Milan (Bert Pine) makes his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Dorothy & Estelle Steiner (Dotsy & Betsy Pine) were real-life sisters making their first and only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Phyllis Kennedy (Marie) appeared with Lucille Ball in 1937′s Stage Door. She was also Tallulah Bankhead’s maid in “The Celebrity Next Door”, a 1957 episode of the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”

Franklin Pangborn (Band Leader) appeared with Lucille Ball in Stage Door (1937), A Girl, A Guy, and a Gob (1941), and Lover Come Back (1946).

James Burke (Mac) appeared with Lucille Ball in Blood Money (1933), The Bowery (1933), and The Affairs of Annabel (1938). He was also seen on “I Love Lucy” as the owner of “The Diner” (ILL S3;E27) in 1954, and would go on to make an appearance on “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” (1958) as the man who deliver Whirling Jet the racehorse to the Ricardos.

John Qualen (Oswego) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Three Musketeers (1938).

Spencer Charters (Magistrate) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Farmer and the Dell (1936) and Look Who’s Laughing (1941).

UNCREDITED CAST

Richard Alexander (Angry Man in Revolving Door)

Stanley Blystone (Cop at Dock)

Bill Cartledge (Boy at Skating Rink)

George Chandler (Taxi Driver)

Joe De Stefani (Waiter)

Bill Dooley (Courtroom Janitor)

Pat Flaherty (Autograph Hound)

Tay Garnett (Man on Phone in Newspaper Office)

Chuck Hamilton (Court Bailiff)

Al Hill (Look Photographer)

Kenner G. Kemp (Roller Skater)

Fuzzy Knight (Sideshow Piano Player)

Mike Lally (Backstage Photographer) was a background performer who did ten films with Lucille Ball as well as two episodes of “I Love Lucy,” and at least one of “The Lucy Show”.

Charles Lane (Fan in Margaret’s Dressing Room) was a ubiquitous character actor appeared in 7 films with Lucille Ball between 1933 and 1949; four episodes of “I Love Lucy” from 1953 to 1956, all as different characters; two episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”; and four episodes of “The Lucy Show” as Banker Barnsdahl.

Frank Moran (Cop with Gravel Voice)

Clarence Nash (Donald Duck Voice)

Dennis O'Keefe (Man in Building Lobby)

Franklin Parker (Third Producer)

Bob Perry (Seaman)

Russ Powelll (Man Leaving Elevator)

Cyril Ring (Man in Margaret’s Dressing Room)

Bert Roach (German Waiter)

Grady Sutton (Florist)

Frank M. Thomas (Arthur)

Charles Williams (Pitchman at Recording Studio)

Harry Woods (Cop)

JOY OF TRIVIA

“Why do you always smile when I talk to you?” Miss Ball queries Doug [Fairbanks] between takes. "Because I’m a polite little boy,“ he replies. "You Rat” says Lucille coldly.

The film features the hit song "You Couldn't Be Cuter," written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

The working title of this film was Joy of Loving.

According to an October 1937 news item, John Barrymore was set for the lead in the production.

It seems that the entire town of Tulare, California go on board to promote Joy of Living, with a give-away contests and all the local merchants participating.

On April 16, 1942, a tragic car accident happened outside the Tudor Theatre in New York City where the film was playing. A car plowed into a pole by a drunken driver, killing his passenger. The press flashcubes also captured the ironic marquee in the background as the police attempted to cover the body.

Ty Garnett's production budget quickly ballooned out of control, topping out at over a million dollars, an astronomical sum for films at that time. Despite the priceless talent, Joy of Living didn't have a chance at recouping its costs and was a financial failure for the studio.

A publicity photo of Lucille Ball taken for Joy of Living.

Lucille Ball remembered watching the stars and comparing their styles; "Hepburn 'telegraphed,' she said - 'Well, I'm going to be funny' - whereas [Irene] Dunne always surprised, even in repeated takes of the same scene. But I watched her do takes-literally, one day there were thirty-two takes-and twenty-five must have been different. She really worked on how to do that scene. Where Kate would do it the same way every time and telegraph it every time.'"

The film enjoyed a worldwide release. Here are film posters for France (left) and Belgium, which include both the Flemish (”Levens Vreugd”) and French titles.

The film was released on DVD (Warners Archive Collection) on April 20, 2009.

#Joy of Living #Lucille Ball #1938 #Irene Dunne #Douglas Fairbanks Jr.#RKO #Charles Lane #Mike Lally #James Burke #I Love Lucy #The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour #Phyllis Kennedy #Tay Garnett

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gaamagirl565 · 5 years

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Matters of the heart ep 7

Matters of the heart Episode 7 Learning from the best {OPENING CREDITS} {Open to Isaiah playing with Draki on the hay bale} Isaiah: *giggles as Draki slithers over him* Draki! Ah! That tickles! {Draki nuzzles into his neck; Isaiah pets him} Isaiah: Love ya too buddy… {Varian walks out of the house tying up his hair} Isaiah: Dad! Dad! Look at this new trick Draki and I can do! Ready boy? {Isaiah tosses Draki in the air and as he comes back down Isaiah reaches his hand up and lets his snake effortlessly glide from one arm to the other and onto a nearby tree branch} Varian: wow...you two are getting good at that...just...Be careful okay? Isaiah: Daaaaddd...I milk his venom every day plus Draki would never hurt me! Right, Draki?...Draki? {Pan to Ruddiger hissing at Draki and Draki doing the same; Isaiah runs over and picks up his snake} Isaiah: Can you two go one day without fighting!? {Zapada walks into frame} Zapada: Snakes always seem to have a chip on their shoulder in my opinion… Varian: Well hello there… {Varian walks over and kisses her forehead} Varian: Isaiah, aren’t you going to say hello? Isaiah: *rolls eyes*...hello… {Varian narrows his eyes; Isaiah looks away} Varian: Don’t worry...give him time Zapada: E în regulă, iubirea mea...I just came to give you luck for your big day… Isaiah: Big day? Varian: Your grandfather is going to be teaching me the ins and outs of leadership… Isaiah: Can I come too!? Draki and I would love to help! Right Draki? {Draki pops his head out from a bush with a mouse in his mouth} Varian: Well normally this kind of event is for the current leader and the heir...but I don’t see why you can’t ask your grandfather if-? Isaiah: WOOHOO! Zapada: I will come too...If it’s okay of course... I will how you say..S-Spectate… Varian: how can I refuse you? {Zapada blushes and pulls on her cloak; Isaiah gags; cut to Varian walking onto the field with Isaiah and Zapda in tow} Quirin: There are my boys! You ready to get started? Varian: Actually dad...Isaiah has something he wants to ask. Quirin: Oh, Really? Isaiah: C-can I learn too? Quirin: well normally the tests of a leader are for the heir but...I don’t see why not. Isaiah: Yes! {Zapada sits off to the side} Zapada: Go team-...oh my...who do I root for? {cut to a hillside} Quirin: The first test is a test of strength...you must these two barrels must get to the bottom of the hill without damaging the goods inside and load them onto the cart below. It’s a steep incline so all your muscles will be working. Good luck! {Varian picks up the two barrels and slowly makes his way down the hill; Meanwhile, Isaiah has trouble lifting the two heavy barrels} Isaiah: urrgh! This is impossible...Dads lived on the farm his whole life, of course, he’s used to it...hmmm. {Isaiah gets an Idea and put the Barrels on their sides} Zapada: What is he….oh no… {Isaiah ties a rope around them and slowly starts lowering them down the hill; the rope snaps and Isaiah struggles to grab one of the barrels and it pulls him down the hill at a high speed; he zooms past Varian and plunges into the cart turning all the apples in the barrels to mush} Varian: Isaiah! {Varian, Zapada, and Quirn rush over to the cart} Varian: Buddy, are you okay!? Isaiah: *giggling* l-lets do that again! Varian: Phew… Quirin: Well considering you damaged both barrels, Isaiah...Varian wins. Isaiah: But I got here first! Varian: but you damaged the apples… Isaiah: And made a new product!...apple sauce… {Varian has an “are you serious look and we cut to the next test} Quirin: This test is a test of Cunning...you’ll need all your brainpower to figure this out...at the top of this tree is a flag...your goal is to retrieve it by any means. Don’t think you can just climb it. The thorns on this tree are poisonous. Touch one and you’ll wish you hadn’t. Zapada: wait...if you can’t climb it...how did you get the flag up there? Quirin: Not through easy means. Zapada: *gulps* be careful, Varian! Varian: Don’t worry! Your man has got this! {Isaiah examines the tree and gets and idea} Isaiah: Draki! Here boy! {Draki slithers up his arm} Isaiah: Think you can get that flag? {Draki looks up and hisses before slithering onto the tree} Varian: What the? {Draki gets to the top, grabs the flag and come down} Quirin: Isaiah wins! Varian: EYYY! He used a snake that’s cheating! Quirin: nope! I said by any means… Isaiah: Looks like I’m a better leader… Varian: oh ho...really? Zapada: oh dear… Varian: care to place a wager on that? Isaiah: now you’re speaking my language...lets so whomever wins the most cleans the lab for a month. Varian: deal! {they shake hands; begin montage of the challenges} Quirin: this test is one of diplomacy! {shows two sets of kids fighting over and apple; Varian cuts the apple in half and has his two share it; Pan over to Isaiah who is holding each kid back from killing each other} Quirin: this test is one of empathy… {shows a homeless on the road} Varian: here have some coin….

{Varian gives him money} Isaiah: here sir… {Isaiah gives him a cloth blanket and a bag of apples} {Varian pouts; Zapads face palms; fade to the Cult HQ} Noremoth: Come now sweet Vessel you must eat… Cassandra:.... Noremoth: It’s your favorite…please? You need strength! Cassandra: so I can kill my friends and family? I don’t think so! Noremoth: don’t think of it like that! Think of it like...Liberation for the weak! They’re constantly ignored in Corona!...you would know about that...wouldn’t you? {Cassandra lunges forward and grabs him; her eyes glow} Noremoth: oopsie daisy! Strike a nerve, did I? Cassandra: if you want to keep your tongue I’d shut up… Noremoth: or what, Sweet vessel o’mine? Larkspur: Noremoth… Noremoth: M’LADY! I-I…*kneels* Larkspur: Now now Noremoth you should know better than to antagonize our most important asset. Cassandra: I. am. not. Yours! Larkspur: no? Oh your right!...you belong to Zhan tiri. Cassandra: I DON’T BELONG TO THAT THING EITHER! {Magic surges through Cassandra making her scream and fall to her knees; Noremoth cringes and feels sympathy for her} Larkspur:..Zhan tiri seems to disagree… {Cassandra stares on in shock} Larkspur: Listen Vessel...you are no longer whom you were in the past...your past self died the second you stole the moonstone… {Noremoth looks between his leader and Cassandra} Larkspur:...There is nothing but Zhan tiri now...I suggest you make your peace with it… {Larkspur goes to walk away and noremoth follows leaving Cassandra alone; cut back to old Corona} Varian: OW!... Zapada: Sorry! Why on earth did you think using a cactus was a good idea!? Varian: It seemed like...A good idea at the tim-AHH! Zapada: well now you ARE a cactus! Look at all these spines! Varian: ughh… Zapada: is it not quite silly what you’re doing? Varian: huh? What do you mean? Zapada: this silly competition...what is the point? You’re next in line as the leader anyway. Varian: well it’s...fun… Zapada: competing to the point of injury is fun? *plucks a spine* Varian: OWW!...when you put it like that...ah!..it’s just ya know..Father-son bonding… Zapada: This is father-son bonding? Varian:....yes? Zapada: I will never understand Corona… Varian: OWWW! {Cut to the next challenge} Quirin: This next test is one of courage...you will have to face your worst fear. As a leader many things will frighten you but you cannot let it stop you. Especially when people count on you. Isaiah: *winces* Quirin: Your fears are...different...hard to emulate but we did our best… Varian: Deep breaths..c’mon… Quirin: Varian...you are afraid of blood...but you will see plenty of it as a leader… {Varian nods} Quirin: Over there is a bucket of sheep’s blood… Varian: *gags* Quirin: You will remove your glove and stick a hand in it for 60 seconds… Varian: oh lovely… {Varian walks over to the bucket} Quirin: Whenever you’re ready... {Quirin holds up a pocket watch} Isaiah: Too chicken, dad? {Varian growls and shoves his ungloved hand into the bucket} Varian: Uagh!... Quirin: hmm… {Varian is cringing but doesn’t move} Zapada: oh, iubirea mea… Quirin: Alright! Thats a minute {Varian jumps from the bucket and over to a trough of water to wash is hand; all the while gaging} Quirin: Isaiah you’re next… Isaiah: what is mine? Alchemy? A small firecracker? Quirin: Rain… {Isaiah’s eyes dilate in horror} Isaiah: w-what? Quirin: as a leader, you must face all kinds of fear...even past traumas...we’re able to imitate rain by using a rainstick and pouring water into a bucket with holes at the bottom… Isaiah: *wince* Quirin: You will stand with eyes closed under the bucket for a whole minute...like your father… {Isaiah pales and his breathing quickens} Varian: Isaiah..it’s okay you don’t have to- Isaiah: no!..I’ll do it…. {Quirin nods and takes out the pocket watch; Isaiah goes and stands under the bucket; with a deep breath he closes his eyes} Isaiah: I’m ready… {Quirin nods at the two men that were standing by; one man turns over the rainstick making it sound like falling rain; the other pours water in the bucket have small droplets fall out the bottom and onto Isaiah} Isaiah: *whimpers* {Varian bites his lip; Zapada looks on in confused shock; Isaiah opens his eyes and is suddenly on dead mans curve watching his mother and the duke be killed by bandits in the rain} Estelle: Isaiah! Help me! {Cut to reality} Isaiah: *screams and lunges away from the water and onto the ground whimpering loudly* Quirin:....30 seconds…. {Varian runs to his side} Varian: Isaiah? {Isaiah yelps and jerks away from him; Isaiah looks around with panic before running away} Zapada:...What..just happened? Quirin:...Isaiah failed the test of courage…and...I think we did too much... Varian: Isaiah…. {Cuts to sunset and Isaiah is sitting under a tree with Draki in hand} Isaiah: I tried my best...right Draki?...maybe I’m just not a leader… Varian: Isaiah? {Isaiah looks over and immediately looks away; Varian walks over and sits by him} Varian: Buddy?...I’m sorry that happened...you wanna talk about it? Isaiah:.... Varian: Isaiah...I know what you thinking of… {Isaiah looks up at him} Varian: sometimes I think of it too...how scared she must’ve been...I made a promise to protect your mother and I failed her...so maybe I deserve to fail this too… Isaiah: I just wanted to show you that…I’m not a screwup… Varian: What? Isaiah: I keep messing things up...I wanted to prove people wrong and I got a scar! I wanted to impress the princess and instead almost got Akina killed!... I lied to you so I could get revenge… Varian: oh, buddy… Isaiah: I just thought maybe if I could pass these tests I could..I don’t know..show you I’m not a screwup... Varian: ...show me? Or show yourself? {Isaiah buries his head in his knees} Varian: Isaiah you wanna talk about being a screwup? The first time I met the queen I blew up my village with boilers I had underground… {Isaiah looks up shocked} Isaiah: okay..pfft...thats pretty bad… Varian: My point is...People mess up..it’s part of being human...whats important is to learn from your mistakes...and Isaiah...don’t try to make other people proud of you...Be proud of yourself...there is only one of you...and you are amazing… {Isaiah hugs him} Isaiah: I love you dad… Varian: I love you too… {END CREDITS}

#tangled #tangled the series #tangled oc #TTS #RTA #rapunzel’s tangled adventure #Varian #Zapada #Isaiah #matters of the heart #tangled next gen

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crownedbyluke · 6 years

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Long Road Ahead (Chapter Six)

Estelle Finley has been friends with Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings for three years. When the boys bring her along on a jam-packed road trip to Cape Cod with the rest of the band, their adventures are just beginning. Through long hours driving, exploring cities, and hidden secrets, something more is bound to happen on this journey. How will this road trip change Estelle’s friendship with the friends she’s come to love so dearly?

Word Count: 4,500 (she snapped)

{Chapter One} {Chapter Two} {Chapter Three} {Chapter Four} {Chapter Five}

The feeling of my phone buzzing woke me up. The caller ID caused a shiver to run through me. Lance Finley. I quickly got out of bed and ran down the stairs, opening the back door to sit on the porch.

“Hello,” I said cautiously.

“Hello sweet daughter,” he said happily.

“What can I help you with today father?” I asked, his tone alone making me nervous.

It was too happy, almost fake. I felt the slight discomfort and fear bubbling underneath my skin.

“Well, for starters, you can tell me why you’re in South Carolina,” he said, the anger coming through this time.

My pulse quickened, the fear taking over the discomfort in my veins.

“I’m with some friends. They wanted to see some sights,” I explained, purposely keeping the whole truth from him.

“And what sights would that be?” he continued.

“The skywheel, the state parks, the beach. The usual tourist stuff,” I said, again trying to remain vague.

“I presume that you’re all staying at the house I have there?” he asked, the anger rising in his voice.

“No. They found their own house to stay in,” I said, keeping the annoyance out of my voice.

“And how long do you plan on dragging my name around in South Carolina?” he asked, his real point coming out.

“Today’s our last day here,” I said, keeping my tone even.

“Good. Then you’ll be home in Los Angeles?” he persisted.

It felt like I was a teenager on curfew instead of an adult on the other side of the country where he couldn’t parent me.

“Well, we’re going to Cape Cod for a few weeks so, no,” I said, waiting for the yelling that would come.

“Ah, so you’re spending money instead of working? What else would I expect from my reckless daughter? Don’t drag my name down with your pathetic partying,” he said, hanging up before I could respond.

The tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as his words sunk in. I was supposed to be used to this by now. The cycle of being brought up just to be torn down again. It never ceased to break the walls that I had built up. My phone sat next to me, my hands covering my eyes as the tears spilled over. It hurt no matter how hard I fought for it not to, it always seemed to knock the wind out of me.

“Essie?” I heard Ashton from the doorway.

I tried to pull myself together before looking up, but Ashton’s arms were around me before I had to. I cried into his shoulder, finding comfort in the way he held me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, hand rubbing my back gently.

I shook my head into his shoulder, unable to speak just yet. I held onto him tightly, needing me to ground me to the person I’ve become and not the little girl that wanted to be everything her daddy wanted.

“Shh, it’s okay. I got you. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, a few of his fingers playing with the ends of my hair.

It was as if I was falling apart and Ashton was the only thing keeping me together.

“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to,” he reassured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

I clutched him, holding on like I would break if he let go. We sat there for at least ten minutes and when the tears stopped finally, I pulled away. Ashton wiped away some of the stray tears, brushing my cheek lightly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, taking my hand in his.

“My dad called me this morning. He knows that we’re here, said I was dragging his name around with me. H-h-he said that I was still his reckless daughter and I shouldn’t drag his name around with my pathetic partying,” I said, flicking away a few tears that had fallen during my explanation.

“Did he say how he knew?” he asked, squeezing my hand.

“No. I don’t know how he could have known,” I said, picking up my phone.

I typed in my name, thinking that it was a possibility that someone had seen me. There was a picture of me on some gossip website. It was from the trip to the mall. I was walking with Ashton, a giant carefree smile on my face.

“And the headline reads, Lance Finley’s daughter caught on vacation with mystery man,” I read, showing Ashton the article.

He laughed and gestured for me to continue.

“Estelle Finley was seen yesterday with an unknown man out in South Carolina. Lance Finley’s daughter carried multiple luxury shopping bags and flaunted her happiness with this man. Is love in the air for this brand new couple?” I read, rolling my eyes.

“Estelle, how do these people know your name?’ Ashton asked, adjusting how he was sitting so he wasn’t uncomfortable.

“My dad is the CEO of a production company that makes movies and TV shows. Once my parents had me and the press got wind of my education that was beginning, paparazzi started keeping tabs. Once I was of age, they started taking pictures and publishing articles. All eyes on what the great Lance Finley’s daughter would do. How would she act in the world her father so kindly gave her?” I explained, unable to hide my frustration.

“And?” he asked, head tilted to the side.

“And I went to Berkeley for teaching, partied the smallest bit with people I thought I could trust. Some people took pictures, sold them to the press. Once word got to them, it got to my dad. I was told that if I didn’t focus on my studies, he’d pull me from school and send me off somewhere that I wouldn’t cause trouble. I kept my head down, never went out, got my degree and then my master’s. I thought now that I had my own career and hadn’t been seen in a while, they’d leave me alone. I was apparently wrong,” I said, my eyes remaining focused on the water as I spoke.

I felt ashton squeeze my hand, making me look over at him,

“You aren’t just your name. Estelle, you are more than your father’s expectations and the gossip people have said about you. You’re whoever you want to be and I love the person you are. I know how much it hurts to see lies written about you and I know that you have to be stronger than what they say. You’re my best friend and there is nothing that you can do to change that. Screw what your dad says. He doesn’t matter. We all love you okay? Those people don’t know you, we do. Their thoughts and opinions about who you are and what you do don’t matter. Don’t let them bring you down when the person you are is absolutely spectacular,” he said with that thousand watt smile.

I returned it, feeling a bit of relief from his words. I needed to hear his words and as they sunk in, I knew he was right.

“Thank you Ash,” I said quietly, going back to look at the ocean.

“So, when we met and you wouldn’t go out with us the first year of our friendship?” he started, trailing off.

I attempted to stifle a laugh at the memory.

“I was fresh out of grad school when I met you and Luke. I was out with my best friend from college, Aida. We were celebrating my degree when you came over and offered to buy us drinks. You were hitting on her while Luke was apologizing for your behavior. I thought that we wouldn’t see you two after that night, but Luke asked for my number. Aida was far too hungover to join us for coffee which ended up being a good thing because you didn’t remember her in the morning,” I said, laughing again.

“Luke was dating his last girlfriend and I was just having fun. When we met up for coffee, I could tell that the three of us were going to be best friends. Luke and I walked you to your car and now here we are,” he said, gesturing towards the beach and sunrise.

“Here we are and there’s still so much we don’t know about each other after three years,” I said, tying my hair up.

“With a lifetime ahead of us to figure it out,” he said, stretching his arms out so they were on the back of the swing.

“With a lifetime ahead of us to figure it out,” I repeated with a nod of my head.

➢➢➢

“And she returns from her beach stroll,” Calum called, his skin already showing signs of the sun’s effects.

“And he’s still annoying in the mornings!” Luke yelled back, making me laugh.

“My knight in shining armor,” I teased, kissing his cheek as I walked by.

I caught his smile brighten from the small action. I headed up the stairs to change. I pulled on a white tank and shorts.

“So, are you dressing up for someone?” Crystal asked after I pulled on a baby blue cardigan.

“Nope. I was coming to find you though,” I said, bending down to put my sandals on.

“Oh really?” she asked, smiling at me.

“Yeah. Do you still wanna come with me to get that piercing?” I asked, looping a necklace around my neck and grabbing my purse.

“Oh yes I do. Let me grab my purse and put on shoes,” she said, quickly running down the stairs.

I followed after her a moment later, laughing at her rushed nature. It was a new sight to see instead of Crystal’s usual composed temperament.

“Let’s go!” she said happily.

We went down the stairs together, smiling and laughing like we had been friends our whole lives.

“Es and I will be back in an hour! Don’t be stupid while we’re gone!” she called before closing the door behind us.

I caught the keys as she tossed them to me, jingling them in the air.

“Let’s be bad,” I joked, jumping into the driver’s seat.

I drove through the streets, the radio playing whatever hits were currently popular. I parked a bit away from the tattoo and piercing shop.

“You sure you wanna do it?” Crystal asked, taking my hand before we could go in.

“Yes. Absolutely positive,” I confirmed, giving her a smile.

We walked in, seeing a cheery receptionist with very little tattoos and piercings.

“How can I help you?” she asked, a giant smile on her face.

“Is there an opening to get an inner lobe piercing?” I asked, glancing around at the designs on the wall.

“Oh yeah! Let’s see here. E.J. is free until three. She specializes in piercings. Would you like me to bring her up?” she asked.

“I would love that,” I said, twirling the ring around my pointer finger.

“Give me one minute,” she said before walking off.

I waited a few minutes before a woman that looked somewhat my age with tattoos littering her arms walked over to me.

“Hey there. Ready to add some hardware?” she asked, her voice more husky than I imagined.

“Yes. I’m Estelle,” I said while we walked back to her chair.

“E.J. Do you have the earring you’d like to have in?” she asked, pulling out various needles.

“Yeah. Here,” I said, digging the small arrow earring out of my purse.

“It’s very nice. Mean anything to ya?” she asked while prepping everything.

“There’s always something good waiting for you to find,” I said quietly.

She smiled at me before loading the needle and bringing it to my ear. There was a slight pinch and then she was stepping away again.

“Take a look,” she said, holding up a mirror for me.

The gold arrow fit perfectly among the other earrings I had in. It felt almost like adding a piece of armor to my body.

“It looks great. Thank you so much,” I said, shaking her hand.

I paid for it, making sure to leave a nice tip for E.J. before Crystal and I started walking through the streets. We had no plans for the day besides relaxing on the beach so, we were free to wander about.

“Wanna head back?” she asked after a minute.

We were stopped in front of a photo printing shop. There was a golden frame in the window that caught my eye as well as the photobooth advertisement. The frame looked big enough to fit the collage I had been planning for Ashton’s birthday present in it.

“One sec. Can we go in?” I asked, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

“You don’t need to use those on me. Let’s go,” she agreed, gently pushing me towards the door.

“Good mornin’ ladies. How can I help y’all out today?” asked the man at the front desk.

“How much is that frame and what are your printing costs?” I asked, putting on a big smile for him.

“The frame is two hundred and printing cost varies in size. Fifty cents for every four-by-six, seventy-five for every five-by-seven, and they go up from there,” he said, his slight southern accent coming out.

“Do you do mobile print?” I asked, trying to think of the best way to execute my idea the way I had been picturing it in my head.

I had been planning this for months, but hadn’t been able to find a frame that screamed Ashton or a place that would print all the pictures I wanted without costing a fortune.

“No ma’am. We do take flash drives and SD cards though,” he said with a shrug.

I sighed, feeling a little defeated. Ashton’s birthday was in four days and I still hadn’t brought his birthday present to life.

“Thank you,” I said, taking Crystal’s arm and walking out the door.

“What was the master plan there?” she asked while we walked towards the car.

“I was gonna make the collage I’ve been planning for Ash’s birthday, but all of my pictures are on my phone or my computer,” I said, giving her the keys.

“Did you bring that hard drive you had?” she continued, starting up the car.

“No. Although, I should have. I’m filling up my storage with all the pictures I’ve been taking,” I replied, twirling my fingers in my lap.

“Well then, let’s go to the store. You can get a hard drive to free up your storage and I can get some makeup remover since I ran out this morning,” she said, handing me her phone so I could find the closest one.

“Sounds like the best plan,” I said, smiling over at her.

If this worked in my favor, Ashton would be getting the best birthday present ever from me.

➢➢➢

Luke wrapped me up in a hug when we got back, claiming to have missed me in my absence.

“You’re a dork. Where’s Ash?” I asked, looking behind him.

I needed to make sure that Ashton didn’t see what I had and also needed the butterflies from Luke to stop distracting me.

“Kitchen. Why?” Luke asked, confused and a little hurt.

“I have something for his birthday and I need to hide it. Keep watch?” I asked, giving him a small smile.

He nodded and lead me to the stairs, watching every so often to make sure Ashton didn’t see me. I ran up the stairs, quickly going into our shared room and tucking away the hard drive. I stood up to see Luke in the doorway.

“You’re that paranoid that he’ll figure out what you’re doing?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Yes! You know Ashton and how he hates surprises,” I said, pulling out one of the swimsuits I packed.

I caught Luke’s eyes drift to the item in my hands. We had already seen each other in swimsuits, but it was definitely different this time. After nearly kissing twice and admitting our feelings to each other, I understood how seeing me in a swimsuit would make his eyes widen a little. Hell, I wanted to get a look at him in a swimsuit too.

“Yeah he really does love figuring out surprises,” he said, trailing off.

His mind was elsewhere while his eyes scanned over my body, a slight gleam in them as he did.

“I’m gonna change. Are you gonna come down to the beach with me?” I asked, feeling somewhat nervous as he looked at me.

“Yeah sure,” he said quietly.

I watched him close the door and felt the butterflies take over my stomach. The effect he had on me was insane. I changed into my swimsuit, pulling on my cardigan over top. I came down, grabbing my sunglasses before heading out the back door. The boys were playing a round of beach volleyball together when I saw them. Luke’s laugh rang in my ears as I walked down the porch steps. The sand between my toes was warm and the breeze that made my hair fly behind me eased the heat, a perfect balance happening between the two. I put my cardigan down by Ashton’s stuff, knowing he’d be okay with it.

“Incoming!” Michael yelled.

I turned around, seeing their volleyball flying at my face. I barely had enough time to get my hands up so it wouldn’t break my nose.

“Essie! Throw it back!” Ashton called, the ball now at my feet.

I rolled my eyes, not surprised that they didn’t notice how they almost hit me in the face before tossing them the ball. The sound of someone whistling at me caused me to turn around.

“Excuse me?” I asked, hands falling to my hips.

“How’d it feel to fall from heaven?” the guy asked, winking at me.

“Perfectly fine,” I deadpanned, not wanting to deal with him or his objectification.

“You’re a real hottie you know,” he continued, making me roll my eyes.

“Thank you, but I’m on vacation and I’m not interested,” I said, starting to turn around to head over to the boys.

The guy grabbed my wrist, the grip too tight.

“I’m not done talking here hottie,” he growled, pulling on me to make sure I didn’t go anywhere.

“And I’m not interested so let go!” I said, purposely raising my voice so one of the boys would hear me.

“Excuse me, she said to let go,” Ashton’s voice came over me.

I felt the immediate ease run through my body with his presence next to me. The guy was still holding onto my wrist and I was starting to worry that he was going to leave a mark.

“Hey man, you can wait your turn,” the douchebag said.

“If you don’t get your hands off my best friend, I’ll call the cops,” Ashton threatened, broadening his shoulders and standing up perfectly straight.

The guy let go immediately, practically running away from us. My heartbeat slowed a bit, feeling like I was dizzy for a moment after he left.

“Thank you Ash,” I said quietly, still a tad bit afraid that he would come back.

“No problem. Are you okay?” he asked, putting a protective arm around me.

“Yeah. I’m just gonna go back to the house,” I said, pulling my cardigan over my shoulders.

“Estelle, you can’t let that ass ruin your day,” he said, concern evident in his eyes.

“I’m not. I just don’t feel comfortable right now,” I explained, wrapping my arms around myself.

“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked, reaching out to rub my arm.

“No, stay and have fun. I’ll be fine,” I said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

I went back to the house, pulling on my clothes from earlier. The bay window felt comfortable, safe as I picked up my ratty copy of The Great Gatsby. I knew it was stupid to feel ashamed of my body, but no matter how much I tried to think about that encounter in a different way, I couldn’t. If I hadn’t been so stupid, it wouldn’t have happened.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head. What’s going on up there little dove?” Luke asked, bringing me out of my head.

“Nothing. Why aren’t you on the beach?” I asked, noticing the zip up hoodie he pulled on.

“Because you’re not on the beach with me. Why are you in here?” he asked, sitting next to me and pulling my legs into his lap.

I smiled, remembering how we had sat like this last night.

“Just didn’t feel like it anymore,” I lied, not wanting to talk about the guy on the beach.

“You know that your eyes veer left when you lie?” he asked, a lightness to his tone that I hadn’t expected.

“Fine. That guy on the beach just made me feel uneasy and I just didn’t want him staring at me anymore,” I admitted, clutching my book a little tighter.

“That guy comes anywhere near you and I’ll punch him in the face myself,” he said, genuine anger in his eyes.

“Lu, it’s fine. I can just hang in here,” I argued, reaching out and taking his hand in mine.

The touch was electric and sent shivers through my body.

“No. You’re on vacation. You have a right to enjoy it in the sun and on the beach,” he defended, squeezing my hand.

“Lu-”

“Please come back out with me,” he said, biting his lip.

I stared at him, seeing the love in his eyes for the first time. It was a bit of a surprise to see, but after last night, hearing him say those three little words, I was more than happy to notice it.

“Okay.”

➢➢➢

I squealed as Luke spun me around in the water, splashing the other boys in the process. He took extra care to not get my piercing wet. The sun was starting to set, but there was something about being in the water with my best friends that made me never want to leave.

“It’s getting colder. We should head in,” Calum said, starting to head towards the house.

“He’s right,” Luke said, still holding me in his arms.

“Boo,” I whined, but not letting go of him.

“Come on now little dove. This means we can eat and relax the rest of the night,” he said, giving me a smile.

“Ugh fine,” I said, tilting my head back in defeat.

“If you two don’t stop flirting, I’m going to drown myself in the ocean,” Calum said, making me laugh.

Luke set me down, allowing me to run over to Calum. He effortlessly picked me up for a piggyback ride.

“Cheer up Cal. I’ll get you laid in New York,” I teased, his laugh ringing out.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he laughed, putting me on my feet in front of the back porch steps.

“I’ll be the best wing woman you’ve ever had,” I said, wrapping an arm around him the best way I could.

“Oh really Elle?” he asked, tossing me a towel.

“Just you wait and see,” I said, winking at him.

“Alright, alright. Cozy up and let’s have some s’mores,” Ashton said, grabbing a towel.

“Aye aye Captain,” I teased, nudging him a little.

He rolled his eyes before nudging me back.

“Grab your guitar too Luke,” he said before Luke could walk inside.

“Why of course my good Sir,” Luke said, bowing in front of Ashton.

I laughed and followed after him into the house.

“Essie, want a hoodie?” Ashton asked while we climbed the stairs together.

“No. I’ll just put leggings on or something,” I said with a shrug.

“Or are you hoping that Luke will give you one?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at me.

“Ashton,” I warned, taking out a pair of pajama shorts and a navy blue long sleeve.

“What? You both admitted your feelings I don’t get why you aren’t together,” he said, tugging on a hoodie.

“We haven’t talked about that yet,” I said, walking past him to the bathroom.

“And why not?” he asked through the door.

“Because a certain someone interrupted us,” I said flatly.

I opened the door, pulling my hair into a bun.

“I didn’t know that you two were finally talking about your feelings,” he defended, holding his hands up.

“Yeah well, the next time it looks like two people are about to kiss, don’t interrupt,” I said, pulling on a pair of socks.

“Note taken,” he said with a laugh.

When we went back down, everyone was already outside again. I heard the sound of Luke’s guitar and everyone’s laughter. This vacation was already a dream, but seeing all of my friends around a fire with music being played made it even more surreal. It was almost like something out of storybook.

“There they are,” Crystal said, making all of them look at me and Ashton.

I smiled before sitting next to Luke, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Luke, can you play us that song you wrote last night?” Michael asked, his own guitar in hand.

I lifted my head to look at Luke, surprised that he hadn’t told me.

“Yeah, play it for us,” I agreed, smiling softly at him.

I saw him blush before nodding. He adjusted so his fingers were over the frets better. He started playing a riff that Michael copied over time.

“Find me at quarter to three, cigarette in hand,” he sang, a little unsure of his words.

I listened intently, taking in the words as he sang them.

“Darling all of my wrongs, they lead me right to you, wrapped in your arms, I swear I’d die for your love, your love, I’m a better, better man,” he sang, eyes meeting mine with the final words of the song.

It all connected in that moment. He had written the song about me. The words rang through my mind again, analyzing them over again. The love I felt for him became heightened, wishing we were alone so I could tell him.

“It’s great Luke,” Michael said, snapping me out of my Luke trance.

“Thanks,” he said, turning away from me.

There was a bright blush across his cheeks. Without thinking, I kissed his cheek quickly, not caring if everyone saw or if there were pictures taken of the moment. The blush deepened causing me to smile. Luke chuckled, trying to shake off the dumb look of happiness on his face. He started playing the opening of “Gone, Gone, Gone” by Phillip Phillips. I hummed along quietly while he sang, loving the moment we were in. Before long, I joined him, our voices melting into a beautiful harmony. We had never sang together until now, but as our voices hit my ears, I wondered why we hadn’t.

“I love you long after you’re gone, gone, gone,” we sang, our eyes meeting once again.

I felt the mutual love between us blossoming in front of our eyes. It took everything to not kiss him again, but I knew that I didn’t have to. Luke knew, as did I, and it was all I needed in that moment. No words were needed because I was already his and he was already mine.

OH SHIT I HAVE TAKEN IT THERE! ARE THEY GONNA KISS SOON? Who knows? Well I do, but you can’t have that knowledge yet. Also, I know Better Man wasn’t written about Estelle but I thought it would be a good origin for it that held meaning.

tag loves. @24kcalum @thruheavenandhighwater @bbycal @notoriouslyhood @slimthicccal @tommossoccer @cashton-queen @a-little-international @thebookamongmen @jetblackyoungblood @kiss-the-kat @no-guilt-in-living

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wits-writing · 6 years

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The 2018 Unmentioned Movies List

Two weeks into 2019, I’m finally getting around to writing my retrospective of the previous year. 2018 has been a year where I try to figure out some different formats to cover material here. While I try to get at least one piece up a week, stuff still manages to fall through the cracks. So, instead of my usual top 5/10 favorites* of the year, I’m going to cover a few movies I didn’t already cover last year.

It won’t be as in-depth as my usual reviews, just some general recommendations based on stuff I looked over throughout 2018. As always, there’s plenty I managed to not get around to this year. If you have any personal recommendations, let me know.

*For the record, of the films I reviewed in 2018 my favorites were, in no particular order: Annihilation, Black Panther, Mandy, Upgrade, Sorry to Bother You, Into the Spider-Verse, Creed II, and American Animals

The Night Comes for Us:

Here’s one you can watch right now if you have a Netflix subscription. The Night Comes for Us, directed by Timo Tjahjanto, is an Indonesian action-thriller in the same vain as The Raid duology, even sharing its stars in Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim. They’re playing old allies set against each other from the moment Taslim’s character, one of the top assassins in their gang, goes off-mission for an attempt at redemption by saving a little girl from a village he was supposed to massacre. Uwais and Taslim’s considerable skills assisted by Tjahjanto’s direction are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what The Night Comes for Us has under its belt for creatively brutal action sequences. Other highlights go to the three women assassins in this movie played by Julie Estelle, Hanna Al Rashid and Dian Sastrowardoyo. If you can stomach a gorier flavor of martial arts brawls, log onto Netflix and watch this immediately.

Hotel Artemis/Bad Times at the El Royale:

These two come in as a tie for “Best Suspense Movie Set in a Seedy Hotel Directed by a Guy Named Drew” and each deserved more attention than they got while they were in theaters. I regret not writing reviews for each of them when they were new. While I’m lumping them together, Artemis (directed by Drew Pearce) and El Royale (directed by Drew Goddard) deserve plenty of consideration on their own merits. The main difference comes down to how the characters frame the narrative. In Hotel Artemis, the focus is on a day in the life of the nurse (Jodie Foster) running the hotel/hospital for gangsters. If Artemis was only about her, it’d still be compelling but throw in the side characters played by the likes of Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day and Jeff Goldblum in a surprisingly subtle turn and it’s a ton of extra fun.

The respective settings go a long way to set these two apart, while Artemis trades on a “not too distant future” aesthetic, El Royale works its magic as a period piece set in 1969. The dilemmas of the guest in Bad Times as the El Royale’s titular bi-state hotel manage to do a lot more to cross over in interesting ways as the story goes on. While I recommend both movies, especially if you’re into thematic double features, I’d have to call El Royale the better of these two. Artemis has a couple subplot and performances that don’t hold together the whole way through, meanwhile no one in El Royale feels wasted. The three standouts for me were Jeff Bridges as a fake priest, Cynthia Erivo as a struggling soul singer who’s central to some of the movie’s most intense sequences and Chris Hemsworth pulling a wonderfully compelling villain-turn as a cult leader arriving at the hotel in the third act.

Searching:

Searching, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, takes its surface gimmick of being set entirely on computer screens to craft a mystery narrative and character piece based around John Cho’s amazing performance as a worried dad looking through his daughter’s internet history to find clues into her disappearance. Part of what makes the apparent gimmickry so compelling as the movie goes on is how the screens the movie presents are packed to the brim with relevant information that ends up tying into how everything resolves in an immensely satisfying fashion. This movie managed to hide the exact answer to its main mystery in plain sight within the opening minutes and when I made the connection towards the end it hit me how well the movie had been playing its various misdirects up to that point, especially as each misdirect plays into the idea of how strained the relationship between Cho’s character and his daughter has become in the wake of familial tragedy.

That’s it for my brief look at what I hadn’t already covered in 2018. If you like what you’ve read here, please consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

#Wit's Writing #Movie Review #The Night Comes for Us #Hotel Artemis #Bad Times at the El Royale #Searching movie

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kyliejennerpoland-kkjpl-blog · 7 years

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2. Khalid - Location

3. Migos - Pretty Little Lady

4. Russ - Pull The Trigger

5. Russ - Losin Control

6. Gnash - I hate you, I love you

7. Lyfe Jennings - S.e.x.

8. Lil Wayne - Drop The World

9. Rihanna - Consideration

10. Beyonce - All Night

11. Beyonce ft Kendrick Lamar - Freedom

12. Beyonce - Love Drought

13. Drake - Child's play

14. Britney Spears - If U Seek Amy

15. Drake - One Dance

16. Beyonce - Hold Up

17. Jeremih ft Tink - Don't Tell Nobody

18. Dreezy ft. Jeremih - Body

19. Fort Minor - Where'd You Go

20. Harry Hudson - Stop

22. Sorry Not Sorry — Bryson Tiller

23. Come And See Me — PnD ft. Drake

24. Still Brazy — YG

25. One Dance — Drake

26. Work — Rihanna ft. Drake

27. Waves — Kanye West ft. Chris Brown

28. Don't Let Me Down — The Chainsmokers ft. Daya

29. Panda — Desiigner

30. Too Good — Drake ft. Rihanna

31. This Is What You Came For — Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna

32. Sorry — Beyonce

33. Never Be Like You — Flume

34. Needed Me — Rihanna

35. Champions — G.O.O.D Music

36. That Part — ScHoolBoy Q ft. Kanye West

37. LUV — Tory Lanez

38. For Free — DJ Khaled ft. Drake

39. Pick Up the Phone — Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & Quavo

40. All the Way Up"— Fat Joe ft. Remy Ma & French Montana

41. Oui — Jeremiah

42. Born in the USA — Bruce Springsteen

43. American Idiot — Green Day

44. American Woman — Lenny Kravitz

45. Living in America — James Brown

46. American Pie — Don McLean

47. Made in America — Jay Z, Kanye West & Frank Ocean

48. Made in the USA — Demi Lovato

49. Party in the USA — Miley Cyrus

50. American Boy — Estelle ft.Kanye West

51. American Woman — The Guess Who

52. Surfin USA — The Beach Boys

53. American Girl — Bonnie McKee

54. American Girl — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

55. Firework — Kate Perry

56. Born to Be Wild — Steppenwolf

57. God Bless America — Lil Wayne

58. Don't Stop Believin' — Journey

59. Summer of 69 — Bryan Adam

60. Summertime — DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

61. American Badass — Kid Rock

62. "STOP" — HARRY HUDSON

63. "UNTITLED 02" — KENDRICK LAMAR

64. "HOME" — TINK

65. "WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT NOW" — TYLER, THE CREATOR

66. WIZ KHALIFA — "UP"

67. "UBER EVERYWHERE" — MADEINTYO

68. "FADE" — KANYE WEST

69. "BODMON" — RAMRIDDLZ

70. "CIGARETTE SONG" — RAURY

71. "CONSIDERATION" — RIHANNA FEATURING SZA

72. "HOW I FEEL" — ROY WOODS

73. "NO RUSH" — ELLA MAI

74. "MY LOVE (REMIX)" — MAJID JORDAN AND DRAKE

75. "MILEY CYRUS" — FRENCH MONTANA AND FUTURE

76. "REAL ADDRESSES" — TORY LANEZ

78. Kanye West – "Waves"

79. Nicki Minaj – "Truffle Butter"

80. Frank Ocean – "Godspeed"

81. Nicki Minaj – "Save Me"

82. Kanye West – "Famous"

83. Tyga - "Faded"

84. Migos - "Pretty Little Lady"

86. P.I.M.P. - 50 Cent

87. Hard For You - Tyga

88. Rich $ex - Future

89. Do It Again - Pia Mia Feat. Chris Brown, Tyga

90. Fuck Up Some Commas - Future

91. Blow a Bag - Future

92. Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae) - Silento

93. Cha Cha - D.R.A.M.

94. White Iverson - Post Malone

95. The Worst - Jhene Aiko

96. Fun - Pitbull

97. Stick Talk - Future

98. Exchange - Bryson Tiller

99. Party Favors - Tinashe

100. Here (Lucian Remix) - Alessia Cara

101. Ten Nine Fourteen - Bryson Tiller

102. Overtime - Bryson Tiller

103. Come Get Her - Rae Sremmurd

104. No Role Modelz - J. Cole

105. Let 'Em Know - Bryson Tiller

106. Superwifey - Tyga

107. Dope'd Up - Tyga

108. Again - Fetty Wap (covered by Pia Mia)

109. My Love - Majid Jordan

110. How Deep is Your Love - Calvin Harris

111. Take Ya Tights Off - Problem

112. Ice Cream Man - Tyga

113. Drama - Roy Wood$

114. Liquor - Chris Brown

115. Jugg -Fetty Wap

116. Drama - Roy Woods

117. Come Get Her - Rae Sremmurd

118. Come Thru - Drake

119. Thirsty - PARTYNEXTDOOR

120. If I Can't - 50 Cent

121. Exchange - Bryson Tiller

122. Sorry - Justin Bieber

123. Been That Way - Bryson Tiller

124. Say It - Tory Lanez

125. Weekend - Mac Miller

126. IV. Sweatpants - Childish Gambino

127. White Iverson - Post Malone

128. Shot For Me - Drake

129. Been That Way - Bryson Tiller

130. Slum Anthem - K Camp

131. Liquor - Chris Brown

132. My Driver - Skate

133. Antidote -Travi$ Scott

134. F**k The Summer Up by Leikeli47

135. I Won - Future Feat. Kanye West

136. Here - Alessia Cara

137. I'm Yours - Justine Skye

138. Rack City Bitch - Tyga

139. Anaconda - Nicki Minaj

140. I Don't Mind - Usher

141. Drama - Roy Wood$

142. Doped up - Tyga

143. Ice Cream Man - Tyga

144. Right Now - PARTYNEXTDOOR

145. On & On - Justine Skye

146. Sorry Not Sorry - Bryson Tiller

147. So Listen - Cody Simpson

148. Where Ya At - Future Feat. Drake

149. The Hills - The Weeknd

150. The Feeling - Justin Bieber

151. 7/11 - Beyoncé

152. Bartender - T-Pain

153. Skrt - Kodak Black

154. In Vein - Rick Ross Feat. The Weeknd

155. You're A Thot - K.E. ON THE TRACK Understand - Legacy Feat. Tyga

156. Phone Down - Erykah Badu Woosah - Jeremih Love Yourself - Justin Bieber Workin - Puff Daddy Facts - Kanye West Days In The East - Drake Runnin - Kehlani Panic Cord (Hucci Remix) - Gabrielle Aplin Ratchet - Borgore SKRT - Kodak Black Party At 8 - PARTYNEXTDOOR Slow - Lido Feat. Halsey Addiction - Kanye West Real Friends - Kanye West Bad Boyz - Shyne Top - Lil Uzi Vert Like Dat - Kodak Black Woosah - Jeremih Party At 8 - PARTYNEXTDOOR Drunk On The Mic - Mickey Shiloh IN2 – WSTRN

157. Tuscan Leather – Drake

158. King Wizard - Kid Kudi Super Rich Kids - Frank Ocean Bodmon - Ramriddlz Uber Everywhere - MADEINTYO Different Hos - Blackbear

159. Hella Os - Lil Yachty

160. Top - Lil Uzi Vert

161. Just Another Interlude - Bryson Tiller

162. Let 'Em Know - Bryson Tiller

163. Self Righteous - Bryson Tiller

164. Girls Like You - Miguel

165. 502 Come Up - Bryson Tiller

166. Consideration - Rihanna

167. Needed Me - Rihanna

168. Hella Os - Lil Yachty

169. Pilates - DonMonique

170. 1Night - Lil Yachty

171. PILLOWTALK - ZAYN

172. Famous - Kanye West Feat. Rihanna

173. Where Ya At - Future

174. Potty Mouth - Tyga

175. FML - Kanye West

176. Heartburn - Wafia

177. Worthy - Jeremih

178. Yeah, I Said It - Rihanna

179. Ice Cream Man - Tyga

180. Planez - Jeremih

181. Pass Dat - Jeremih

182. Impatient - Jeremih

183. Famous - Kanye West

184. Waves - Kanye West

185. f**k Up Some Commas - Future

186. Make It Nasty - Tyga

187. Highlights - Kanye West

188. Same Ol' Mistake - Rihanna

189. Ultralight Beam - Kanye West

190. Feedback - Kanye West

191. Waves - Kanye West

192. Highlights - Kanye West

193. What The F**k Right Now - Tyler The Ceator

194. Stop - Harry Hudson

195. Panda - Desiigner

196. Men - Tink & DJ Dahi

197. Don't Tell Nobody - Tink Feat. Jeremih

198. Stimulated - Tyga

199. Kylie Jenner - YOG$ Feat. Elwood

200. Come And See Me - PARTYNEXTDOOR

201. Slow - Lido Feat. Halsey

202. Minnesota - Lil Yachty

203. Like A Drug - Ty Dolla $ign

204. So High - Doja Cat

205. Candy - PARTYNEXTDOOR

206. Real Friends - Kanye West

207. Wolves - Kanye West

208. I'm Different - 2 Chainz

209. Drunk on The Mic - Mickey Shiloh

210. Been That Way - Bryson Tiller

211. Deja Vu - TWENTY88

212. Ayy Ladies - Travis Porter Feat. Tyga

213. Work - Rihanna

214. One Dance - Drake

215. Ba-lon - SZA Feat. Kendrick Lamar

216. Baller Alert - Tyga

217. Myself - Nav

218. Birthday Sex - Jeremih

219. Candy Shop - 50 Cent

220. I Know - Big Sean

221. �� Wrist - Chris Brown

222. Top - Lil Uzi Vert

223. Stop B**chin' - Kirko Bangz

224. Yeah, I Said It - Rihanna

225. Down In The DM - Yo Gotti Feat. Nicki Minaj

226. Panda - Desiigner

227. Drama - Roy Woods

228. Sorry Not Sorry - Bryson Tiller

229. Don't - Bryson Tiller

230. Come And See Me - PARTYNEXTDOOR

231. Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1 - Kanye West

232. 6 Inch - Beyoncé

233. Girls Love Beyoncé - Drake

234. Drunk On The Mic - Mickey Shiloh

235. Treat Me Like Something - Tink

236. Love Drought - Beyoncé

237. Without U - Spooky Black

238. Myself - Nav

239. Feel No Ways - Drake

240. Controlla - Drake

241. Shot For Me - Drake

242. I'm Yours - Justine Skye

243. Beautiful Day - Burberry Perry

244. One Dance - Drake

245. No Rush - Ella Mai

246. Don't Tell Nobody - Tink

247. One Dance - Drake

248. Losin Control - Russ

249. U With Me? - Drake

250. Girls Love Beyoncé - Drake

251. Consideration - Rihanna

252. Location - Khalid

253. Heartburn - Wafia

254. Pull The Trigger - Russ

255. Too Good - Drake Feat. Rihanna

256. Pretty Lady - Migos

257. Talk That Talk - Rihanna feat. Jay-z

258. You Was Right - Lil Uzi Vert

259. Mixtape - Chance The Rapper

260. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

261. Back To December - Taylor Swift

262. Boss - Tinashe

263. Vulnerable - Tinashe

264. Ecstasy - Tinashe

265. Too Good - Drake feat. Rihanna

266. Been That Way - Bryson Tiller

267. Rambo - Bryson Tiller

268. Ain't Ready - Tinashe

269. Hype - Drake

270. Circles - Pusha T feat. Ty Dolla Sign & Desiigner

271. Offended - Meek Mill feat. Young Thug & 21 Savage

272. Litty - Meek Mill feat. Tory Lanez

273. Make It Work For You - Juelz Satana

274. Girls & Guitars - Tyga feat. Kirko Bangz

275. source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFnE7p5vkyH9u-5bIz4vQg

276. ♪ French Montana (ft Quavo) - Migo Montana

277. ♪ French Montana (ft Future) - No Pressure

278. ♪ French Montana (ft Travis Scott) - Jump

279. ♪ Playboi Carti - Magnolia

280. ♪ Travis Scott - A man

281. ♪ Rae Sremmurd - Do Yoga

282. ♪ Belly ft Future - Frozen Water

283. ♪ SZA - Supermodel

284. ♪ 2 Chainz ft. Travis Scott - 4 AM

285. ♪ Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own

286. ♪ Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

287. Russ - What They Want

288. Migos - Slippery (feat. Gucci Mane)

289. SZA - Normal Girl

290. Bryson Tiller - Don't

291. Bryson Tiller - Rambo

292. Daniel Caesar - We Find Love

293. Migos - Kelly Price (feat. Travis Scott)

294. Madison Beer - Dead

295. Travis Scott - Butterfly Effect

296. GoldLink feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy - Crew

297. Lana Del Rey feat. The Weeknd - Lust for Life

298. Bryson Tiller - Somethin Tells Me

299. DJ Mustard (feat Quavo & YG) - Want Her

#muzyka

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drabblemesilly · 8 years

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Kris Letang #1

Requested by Anon: Can you do a Kris letang drabble the promo could be what ever you want

*I hope you like this one! Every time I get a request without a prompt, I try to stick as close as real life so it’s more relatable, I guess. AND WHO SAYS NO TO ALEX!!!? Enjoy! :)*

Word count: 1, 139

You looked up to see Kris watching you with an amused smile on his face, “what?” you asked, fixing your son’s beanie one more time, tucking a strand of hair under it… just to make sure that he’s warm enough and that he won’t freeze his teeny tiny butt off in the ice.

Kris dropped beside you and tied the scarf securely around your son, “he’ll be fine,” he smiled at you, “it’s not his first time skating.”

You waved your hand above your head, “it’s chilly out,” you told your husband, “I’m just making sure he’s warm.”

It’s the Stadium Series game and, this year, you are lucky to be in Heinz Field with the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their families for the family skate. Yes, Kris Letang might be right and this is not the first time your son is skating with his Penguin friends but this is the first time he’s outdoors and the wind chill is bad.

Or at least, bad for your standards.

Once you’re satisfied with his beanie, scarf, and coat, you lifted your little boy on the bench to double check his skates, tying and retying like the paranoid mom that you admit you are.

Kris sat beside your baby and hoisted him on his lap, “you know we’re going to be carrying him fifty percent of the time, right?”

You placed the ear muffs on your child, “we both know he’s gonna want to be put down the moment he sees Sidney.”

Your son is nothing if not the biggest little Sidney Crosby fan. He loves Sid so much that if a Pens game is on, he’d cheer for Sidney first before cheering for his papa. If that doesn’t say something, you’re sure the big Sidney Crosby poster in the middle of his bedroom does.

In his defense, you bet he doesn’t realize how amazing a player his dad is because Kris will always be, first and foremost, his father more than anything.

Finally satisfied with how your baby is dressed and protected – with matching knee and shin guards for his little legs, of course – you clapped your hands, “tu es prêt?” you smiled and chuckled when he nodded vigorously, telling you that he is, in fact, ready.

You stood up just in time as Kris rose beside you, leaning down to give you a warming kiss on the cheek, “the question is,” he whispered, “are you ready?”

Chuckling, you lightly tapped his chest, “why won’t I be?”

He bent over to lift your son, “because you know someone’s going to be a loose cannon once we get in there,” he said, looking at his eldest lovingly.

A loose cannon was the understatement of the century.

He was like a dog getting let out from his cage for the first time in three years. One moment, he was swinging in between you and Kris, each of his hands holding one of yours, and the next, he was falling and slipping on the ice like a true blue Penguin.

When you finally skated over to him, your husband sniggering behind you, you offered your hand, “tenir la main de m’man, s’il vous plait,” you calmly said.

“Hold mommy’s hand, bud,” Kris echoed, this time in English, “come on, before she cries,” he sniggered.

You glared up at him, “you’re just making fun of my over-protectiveness.”

“You’re smothering,” he corrected you, “I learned how to skate like that,” he pointed at the baby penguin making invisible snow angels on the rink, “and look where I am now.”

You took the two steps to your husband and squished his cheeks with one hand before landing a swift kiss on his lips, “look where you are now,” you repeated, “not the best skater in the NHL,” you teased, checking his hip before picking your son up and trapping him in your arms.

He wriggled and kicked like the worm that he aspires to be, “down, s’il vous plait m’man,” he whined, looking all sad and upset.

“No,” you shook your head, “you’re going to stay in mommy’s arms or you’re going to get hurt.”

And just like the child that he truly is, he looked at his real true savior, “papa?”

And just like the dad that he truly is, Kris took him from you and put him back on the ice, “it’ll be fine,” he reassured you, putting his hands under your baby’s armpits to steady him as they both glided on the ice, creating circles around you.

You reached your hand and reminded him, “careful!”

Just when you thought you’re gonna lose your mind from sheer paranoia, the voice of Sidney Crosby washed over you.

“Hey guys!”

You didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was because, judging from how your son jumped from his dad to the person behind you, you already knew it was the captain.

You turned around as Sidney carried your baby and asked him, “are you having fun?”

“Uh-huh,” he wiggled in Sid’s arm, grinning from ear to ear, “this is fun!!!”

Sid eyed you before asking your little boy, “wanna see what Estelle is doing?” before promptly skating away, leaving you with the love of your life.

Kris gripped your arm, effectively stopping your from skating towards the Fleurys and their band of girls, “where are you going?” he asked, pulling you into him and wrapping both arms around your waist, your back flush against his.

You turned your head and smiled at him, “no where,” you shook your head, “you’re warm.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, tucking his chin on your shoulder, “you smell nice,” he kissed your cheek.

He shifted until he was in front of you, skating backwards while you were skating forwards, “we haven’t skated with just the two of us in a while,” he said.

You nodded, “do you miss me making a fool of myself in front of you?”

He chuckled, “I particularly miss the way you always seem to fall on your face every single time,” he joked.

You rolled your eyes, “you liked that?”

“Like it?” he asked incredulously, “I loved it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he confessed, “because I get to hold your hand all the time.”

“You’re holding my hand now,” you reminded him, beaming, “and I must say, I like you holding it.”

Suddenly, he stopped skating and pulled you in for a hug, “love you.”

You looked up and kissed his chin, “love you too,” you smiled.

“I wanted to say,” he whispered, “that while you’re busy protecting and keeping our baby warm and all,” he said, taking his scarf off and putting an extra layer on you, “I’ll be here protecting and keeping you warm, okay?” kissing the top of your head.

“Okay,” you smiled, watching him blow warm breath on your hands.

#kris letang #kris letang imagines #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #imagines #drabble #drabbles #my writing #fanfic #pittsburgh penguins

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daleisgreat · 7 years

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Roseanne - Season 5

Time does not stop for the Roseanne marathon. Welcome to my blog covering season five of my all-time favorite sitcom (s5 excerpt). If you missed my past season write-ups, click here to consume the previous installments. As with my past editions, I will continue my format of bullet point highs and lows of the season: -Like last season’s blog, I will kickstart this season’s list with a job status roll call. If you recall, the café in the mall Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) worked at last season closed down in the season four finale, so Roseanne starts off the season jobless. Also as I alluded to season four ended with Dan (John Goodman) not being optimistic about the future for the bike shop, and his worries prove true as the bike shop closes the in the first episode of season five. I loved the bike shop! I was sad to see it go, and the show goes to great lengths to make it feel rotten for a family investing it all and striking out. The first few episodes of the season are pretty depressing for the Connor family as the episodes have a despondent undertone for them as the Connors try to find work and make the most of what they have.

Things take an upswing a few episodes later as Roseanne, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), their mom Beverly (Estelle Parsons) and friend Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) open up their own diner, The Lunchbox. Now this is the restaurant I primarily associated the Conner family working at from what I recalled watching growing up. Things end up going well for the Conner ladies, while Dan struggles finding multiple new jobs throughout the season. I love homey atmosphere of The Lunch Box. Leon (Martin Mull) is not their manager as I recalled, but he does make a cameo as a health inspector in one episode in a scene that he and Roseanne instantly pick up their love/hate relationship where they left off. -The first few episodes of the season have a lot of heavy material. Aside from what I mentioned above of the bike shop closing down and the Conners falling on hard times, Becky (Lecy Goranson) and Mark (Glenn Quinn) elope and move to Minneapolis. There are a lot of intense verbal spats between Becky and her parents where the three really bring it in an explosive first two episodes that saw some of the best acting in the entire series by this point. Becky and Mark are only in the first three episodes this season. This is because Lecy took a break from the show to pursue college, and would explain Sarah Chalke filling in for Becky for the remainder of the series.

-The relationship between Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and David (Johnny Galecki) also escalates. I enjoyed the running gag this season that the two would never have sex. In the latter half of the season, a family blow-up causes David to be taken in and made an official part of the Conner family. This gets thumbs up for me as David seemed like an unofficial member of the family by this point anyways as he was always making himself at home. Darlene and David spend a good chunk of the season debating on leaving town for a writing school, and their relationship is put to the test in the final episodes of the season when only one of them gets accepted to the school. -I was a fan of Roseanne’s new neighbors this season, The Tildens. The daughter Molly (Danielle Harris) is an awesome foil for Darlene this season. Charlotte (Mara Hobel) is the motherly older daughter filling in the mom role for the family since they are only raised by their father Ty (Wings Hauser). There is a fun episode where the Conners and Tildens all squeeze into Ty’s Winnebago for a cross-country road trip filled with nonstop family feuding that brought back countless memories of my family road trips. I was dismayed to find out when researching this blog that the Tildens were only featured in season five of Roseanne as I was a fan of all three by the end of the season.

-Roseanne’s and Dan’s friends are dialed back a lot this season. I was a little bummed by this as I was a big Crystal (Natalie West) and she only appears briefly in two or three episodes. DJ (Michael Fishman) is primarily in the background again this season and completely absent in a couple episodes. DJ primarily is only around to be the weird kid who chimes in with an awkward zinger or two an episode. He does have a couple fun scenes with a really young Joseph-Gordon Levitt in the season finale though. -Other than a couple exception episodes, most of the middle third of this season is kind of a lull. To be honest, the crowd took it away from me with them suffering from cracking up way too much at every joke and one-liner regardless of how funny it actually was. This part of the season had a big reliance on one-liners and cheap jokes, and a good chunk of the middle episodes this season suffered because of it. I got the vibe from the crowd that Darlene’s new emo-character was the ‘hip/edgy’ character of the year as the audience triply reacted to all of her lines. This lead to what felt like all of Darlene’s lines becoming forgettable cheap laughs to give the audience their edgy-Darlene fix. It got to be insufferable halfway through the season, but thankfully Roseanne dialed it back a couple notches in the season’s final episodes.

-Other real quick tidbits to touch on are that I was surprised by the dark twist that transpires with Jackie her latest boyfriend, Fisher (Matt Roth) this season. Props to the show for touching on controversial issues in the early 90s. They also regularly feature a couple gay characters this season which was uncommon among most network sitcoms at the time. I like the 4th-wall breaking scenes where the actors portray themselves in quick little sketches during the end-credits, but I could not help but get the feeling season five jumped the shark on them with a few too many of them this season. I will give DJ props for keeping the Super Nintendo and Game Boy spirit alive in a couple moments again this season. Other notable celebrity cameos in season five include Tim Curry, Chris Farley, Bill Maher and Joan Collins to look forward to. There is only one extra feature on the DVD, but it is a goodie which is a five minute Q&A session with Roseanne Barr where she answers some of her most FAQs concerning the show lore and certain recurring gimmicks that made for a fun little bonus. -That wraps it up for season five! It has a strong first few and final few episodes, but only a few worthwhile episodes in the middle which makes it a bit of a challenge to get through. Only five more months until the new season of Roseanne premieres on ABC this January! Get stoked! Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Angry Videogame Nerd Volumes 7-9 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld Final Season Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television

#TV/Web Series #roseanne #roseanne barr #Laurie Metcalf #lecy goranson #sara gilbert #michael fishman #John Goodman #estelle parsons #sandra bernhard #Martin Mull #glenn quinn #johnny galecki #danielle harris #mara hobel #wings hauser #Natalie West #matt roth #tim curry

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crownedbyluke · 6 years

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Long Road Ahead (Chapter Four)

Word Count: 3,300

{Chapter One} {Chapter Two} {Chapter Three}

I wasn’t sure if everyone else felt the tension between me and Luke on the drive to South Carolina. Luke wouldn’t make eye contact with me the entire time. He had every right to be mad at me, but no matter how upset we got with each other, we still made up that day. He hadn’t even talked to me when we got back to the condo. The car ride to Myrtle Beach was even worse. He would talk to everyone else except me. He wouldn’t even look at me when we got to the house. Ashton has offered to share the attic room with me, knowing that I needed to talk to him. I wasn’t used to having Luke be so hostile towards me and it hurt to know that I caused his pain.

I woke up before Ashton the next day, the sun shining through the port window. I pulled myself from my bed, taking a look at the beach below. A small smile came across my face when I saw Luke sitting on the steps of the porch. He had his guitar in his lap. I didn’t need to be down there to know that he was strumming random chords, lyrics filling his head. Every part of me wanted to go down and join him, but I stopped myself, unsure if he would want that. As I continued to watch him, a song came across my mind. Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met” filled my thoughts, the song holding a significance for me in this moment. As much as I wanted to go back to that moment and change everything, I couldn’t. He changed my life the moment he walked into it and I would never go back.

“Essie, he’s not going to hear you from up here,” Ashton said, snapping me out of my trance.

“Maybe I don’t want him to hear me,” I fired back, giving him a smile.

He rolled his eyes before getting out of bed, revealing his bare chest and gym shorts. Despite Ashton being an attractive guy, he was always more like a brother to me from the get-go.

“Maybe he is conflicted,” Ashton suggested with a shrug.

“Highly possible or he’s pissed at me and won’t speak to me now,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Essie, I don’t think he’s completely pissed at you. He just needs some time. Wanna do some shopping in town with me later?” he asked while pulling out workout clothes from his suitcase.

“Sure. Going for a run?” I asked, glancing back out the window.

Luke wasn’t on the steps anymore.

“Yeah. I need one. Wanna come?” he asked, changing by his bed.

“Sure. Maybe it’ll get some pent up frustration out,” I said, kneeling down to my suitcase.

I changed and threw my hair into a ponytail.

“Are we running on the beach or the sidewalk along side it?” I asked, tucking my dirty clothes into the duffel I brought.

“I say sidewalk so it’s more even,” he said, taking out his running shoes.

I nodded in agreement, pulling out my own and tying them quickly.

“Music or no?” he asked, holding up his armband.

“Music. I’m hoping you have a decent playlist,” I teased before grabbing my bluetooth headphones.

He laughed and clasped his Apple Watch around his wrist. I synched mine up to his and we nodded at each other, an unspoken agreement between us. We walked down stairs, finding Crystal and Michael making breakfast. I caught Luke’s eye as he sat in the bay window, guitar in hand and notepad by him. My heart stopped for a moment when our eyes met, hoping that he would at least acknowledge me. He turned his head quickly, looking back out the window. Frustration boiled just under my skin.

“You two going for a run?” Michael asked, turning towards us.

“Yeah. Be back in an hour,” Ashton said, leading me to the door.

I continued looking at Luke, wishing he would look at me to let me know that we were going to be okay at some point. He kept his eyes trained on something outside. The door clicked behind me and it felt like my heart would break right there and then.

“Hey. He’ll come around,” Ashton said, hands on my shoulders.

I nodded, wiping at me eyes for a moment. Ashton pressed a kiss to my forehead and looks at me to make sure I was okay.

“Let’s see if you can keep up,” he teased before heading down the steps.

I laughed and went to catch up with him, plugging my headphones in. Ashton started playing a song I hadn’t heard before. I glanced down at my watch, seeing “War Paint” by Fletcher flash on the screen. I looked up at him with a smile. We high fived and took off.

➢➢➢

I came down the stairs in my striped joggers and white tee shirt with my swimsuit underneath. My hair was still a bit wet, but when I felt the ocean breeze through the open back porch doors, I didn’t care. I grabbed some breakfast and felt the breeze slip through again. It felt like it was calling my name. The ocean had some small waves and the sun was beating down on the sand. My feet hit the porch, the breeze making the heat bearable. I found myself on the porch swing while I ate, taking in the view. It was so serene that I started to forget about Luke being mad at me.

“The beach really does suit you,” I heard Calum’s voice.

I looked over, finding him coming up the stairs. He was in swim trunks and his black hair was wet.

“It seems to do wonders for all of us,” I joked, taking another bite of my yogurt.

“Luke said that you told him about us,” he said, toweling off a bit.

“I also told him how I feel about him,” I said, some of the tension coming back at me.

“He’d have to actually look at me for that to mean something,” I said, pushing some of my hair out of my face.

“He will,” he reassured.

I gave him a small smile before looking back at the ocean.

“You can still talk to me Elle,” Calum said, making the swing move as he sat next to me.

“I know, but I’ve already hurt Luke and I don’t want him to think there’s something going on between us,” I said, hearing how weird the words sounded coming from my mouth.

“There isn’t anything going on between us. Luke knows that,” he argued, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

“Calum, I know. I’m not saying he does. I’m just nervous,” I said, tipping my head back.

The breeze brushed against my skin as if it was trying to take the stress away.

“And trust me when I tell you that he’ll come around,” he said, hand coming down to squeeze my knee.

It was a kind gesture and it was coming from a place of comfort. It made me ease a bit. I looked back up at him, giving him a small smile. Calum was a great guy and maybe it would have been easier to just go out with him, but by the time he was an option, I was falling for Luke. I heard footsteps on the stairs, causing me to glance over. Luke climbing the stairs, towel in hand, and his torso on display. My eyes raked over his body, a flush coming over me as he walked by. He didn’t look over, but I could tell how stressed he was. His shoulders were tensed, back completely straight, and his hand clenched at his side. I wanted to make it better for him, but I couldn’t. I sat in the swing until he went into the house.

“Wow. You two need to fuck or something,” Calum said once Luke was gone.

“We would need to be on speaking terms first,” I sighed, tying my hair into a bun.

“That would help,” he said, his eyes trained on me.

I nodded in agreement before getting up and stripping down to my swimsuit. I needed to do something other than sit around. I tossed my clothes onto the swing and heading towards the beach.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing,” I heard Calum say before getting out of earshot.

The water was slightly warm and felt so nice against my skin as my feet hit the water. Once my body was submerged, I forgot about the nervous energy that I had. It felt lovely to be in the water and away from everything. It was the perfect escape.

➢➢➢

After a while, I got out of water. Ashton shook his head and handed me a towel.

“What?” I asked, walking with him back to the house.

“Casually stripping off on the porch and splashing around. Are you trying to make Luke miserable?” he teased, nudging me slightly.

“I was enjoying the beach!” I argued, picking up my clothes.

“Yeah and flouncing around while he watches wasn’t on purpose?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

I brushed off my feet so I wouldn’t get sand in the house.

“No,” I said honestly.

We walked into the house, finding no one in the kitchen or living room. Luke was in the bay window again. I still saw the tension in his body.

“Wanna head out to go shopping?” Ashton asked, seeing where I was looking.

“Sure. Let me go change,” I said, heading up the stairs.

“When are you gonna talk to her again Luke? You made her cry this morning,” I overheard Ashton say.

Luke’s response was muffled, but I wanted to hear it so badly. The stairs creaked underneath me, their voices stopped instantly. I ran up the stairs to finish getting dressed. I came back down and saw them hugging, Luke’s eyes red.

“Lu?” I asked, concern taking over whatever nerves and anxiety I had.

He looked up, our eyes meeting for what felt like the first time in days. He was hurt and instead of dodging me, he kept the eye contact. He had been crying and I couldn’t help but think it was my fault. He seemed to move in slow motion as he came towards me. His arms wrapped around me, his cinnamon scent taking over my senses. He was so warm and I missed the way Luke’s hugs felt.

“Go have fun little dove. I’ll be here when you get back,” he whispered into my shoulder.

I nodded into his chest, wanting to stay in the moment much longer than we could. He pulled away, taking the hat from my hands and placing it on my head. The only thing missing from the sappy romantic moment was for Luke to kiss me.

“Come on Essie. We’ve got places to go and random things to buy,” Ashton said, breaking the eye contact between me and Luke.

I nodded again, unable to use my voice just yet. I knew that Luke and I had to talk eventually, but this wasn’t the time. Ashton and I left the house, opting to take the car instead of walking.

We went to the mall, picking stores at random.

“Ash,” I said, stopping in front of a case in Pandora.

“Yeah Essie?” he asked, coming over to me.

I pointed at the case, my eyes fixed on a ring with a wave engraved on it. The silver shined against the lights and the small lapis stone reminded me of Luke.

“Can we see this one please?” Ashton asked one of the clerks.

“Of course sir. Are you two looking for an engagement ring?” the clerk asked while pulling the ring from the display.

Ashton smirked before looking over at me. He winked and turned back to face the clerk.

“Yes. Her boyfriend has no idea what to get her,” he said, nudging me to play along.

I had to suppress an eye roll.

“So his best friend decided to get intel for him. You know how guys are,” I said, laughing a little.

She laughed and put the ring out with an array of sizes. I glanced down to her nametag, reading the name Marie.

“Do you know what his budget is?” Marie asked, directing her gaze to Ashton.

“He hasn’t thought of one yet,” he said, giving her a smile.

Marie blushed before sizing my ring finger.

“Actually, I don’t think this would work for an engagement ring. Can you size my middle finger instead?” I asked, my eyes not leaving the ring.

“Of course. Would you like to see any other rings?” she asked, noting down my size.

“Sure,” I said quietly after trying on the correct size.

Marie went off to grab some more options. It fit perfectly and while I knew Ashton and I were pretending, my love for this ring was real.

“Essie?” Ashton called, bringing me back to reality.

“Sorry. What’s up?” I asked, looking up at him.

“You really love that, don’t you?” he asked, his hazel eyes holding the same light as his smile.

“Yeah, but it would be a financially irresponsible decision,” I said, looking back down at it.

The lapis stone caught the light in the store. I wished that I could allow myself the simple pleasure of buying it.

“When was the last time you really spent money on yourself? You have the money to do so,” he said, watching me a little too close for my comfort.

“Yeah I have the money, but so many people don’t have my opportunities. Treating myself doesn’t feel right most times,” I said, slipping the ring off my finger and putting it back on the feet.

“Estelle, give yourself this one thing. Just once,” he said, putting a hand on my lower back.

“If you don’t, I will,” he whispered, winking at me.

“Here are some other options for you. Did you like that one?” Marie asked after returning with several other rings.

“Yes. How much is it?” I asked, barely looking at the other options.

“A thousand dollars ma’am,” she said, her tone sickeningly sweet.

I looked back down at the ring before looking up at Ashton.

“I’d like to purchase this one,” I said, giving into Ashton’s suggestion.

“Are you sure?” she asked, the clear I doubt you can afford this look on her face.

“Yes,” I said, pushing my visa across the counter.

She looked down at the name, her eyes going wide as she read it.

“Of course Ms. Finley,” she said, taking the card and grabbing the ring to box up.

I sighed once she walked away, unsurprised by her reaction to my last name.

“She recognized your name pretty quickly,” Ashton said, staring at me.

“Correction, she recognized my last name,” I said, not returning his look.

“You never said what your dad does,” he said, hinting at me.

I knew what he was getting at and I wished we could avoid the subject all together.

“Which was on purpose,” I said quietly.

I felt his eyes on me, but I didn’t shrink away from it. I put on my big fake smile when Marie came back.

“Please sign here Ms. Finley,” she said, returning my card.

“Thank you so much for your help today,” I said, playing the part of Lance Finley’s daughter perfectly.

“Of course Ms. Finley. Have a lovely stay at Myrtle Beach,” she said, sliding the box across the counter.

I gave her another smile before Ashton and I left. We walked around for a bit until we decided it was time to go.

“Why haven’t you told us about your dad?” he asked once we got into the car.

“Because you guys don’t need to know him or about him,” I said, wishing we could drop it.

“Why though?” he continued.

“Lance Finley is an asshole to everyone he meets and he puts pressure on those that end up around him. He doesn’t belong in your lives because you’re all too good for him and I plan on keeping it that way,” I said, anger dripping from my voice.

“Okay, hey, take a second to breathe,” he said, taking my hand in his.

The anger was unexpected and sudden, but when it came to my father, it was easy for it to get the best of me. I never wanted that side of my life to collide with the boys and I knew that it meant keeping it from them. It hurt to keep secrets from the people that had become a part of my everyday life, but it was a necessity.

“Essie, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to push,” he said, squeezing my hand.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking up at him finally.

His expression softened when our eyes met. He always seemed to be there during my weakest moments and I loved him for it.

“Don’t be. You’re okay. I won’t bring it up or ask ever again,” he said, bringing his hand up to my cheek.

The slightly forced eye contact made me really look at him. Despite how we looked on the outside, there was nothing but friendship and admiration for the man in front of me on the inside. There was something familial and protective about the way Ashton’s hand was resting on my cheek. He smiled at me and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“Let’s head back and relax yeah?” he suggested, moving back to the steering wheel.

“Yeah.”

➢➢➢

I was putting the stuff I bought away when there was a knock on the door. I looked up and saw Luke in the doorway.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey,” I said, tucking the nylon guitar picks I got him into my pocket quickly.

There was a shyness to Luke that I had only seen a couple times. It usually came out when he was interested in someone.

“How was shopping?” he asked, remaining in the doorway.

“Good. Ashton pushed me to buy something just for me. How was your time here?” I asked, standing up and sitting up on my bed.

“Fine. Played some guitar and sat on the beach,” he said, swaying on his feet a little.

There was an awkward dynamic between us that hadn’t been there before. It was weird and I felt like I didn’t know how to act.

“Luke.”

“Estelle.”

We laughed, the awkward tension breaking. He walked over and sat next to me on the bed. The guitar picks felt like they were burning a hole in my pocket.

“Calum and I are going to the state park tomorrow. Do you wanna come?” he asked, looking over at me intently.

I wanted to, but I was hesitating because of Calum. It was stupid and unnecessary, but there was something about the offer that kept me unsure.

“She can’t because we’re going to the spa,” Crystal said, popping her head in the door.

“Apparently, I’m going to the spa,” I said, laughing a little.

I caught the moment Luke’s face dropped a bit before he nodded. He started to get up, but I reached for his hand.

“Crys, can you give us a minute?” I asked, giving her a small smile.

She nodded before heading back down.

“Yeah?” he asked, curiosity written all over his face.

“Sit down,” I said quietly.

Luke sat a little closer to me. I was suddenly nervous at the prospect of what I was doing.

“Es, what is it?” he asked, turning towards me a bit.

“Close your eyes,” I said, trying to push the nerves aside.

I took the picks out of my pocket, gently putting them in his hand with the almost full moon facing up. My lips pressed against his cheek before walking out of the room, letting him take in the gift on his own. There was a confident smile on my face as I joined everyone downstairs. The ball was in Luke’s court and I was ready for his next move, whatever it may be.

After that cliffhanger I gave you guys, I had to give you a resolution....well a somewhat resolution. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

tag babes: @notoriouslyhood @thruheavenandhighwater @24kcalum @bbycal @cashton-queen @a-little-international @tommossoccer @slimthicccal @thebookamongmen @jetblackyoungblood @kiss-the-kat @no-guilt-in-living

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