#which is good because patrick finds it very sexy :)

[crplpunkklavier]

sometimes i get embarrassed about how much i know about america. a nyt crossword clue was "chicago newspaper" and i cringed at myself for instantly filling in "tribune." i don't read the chicago tribune. ive never been to chicago. i don't know anyone from chicago. i haven't been to the states in a decade and the last time i did go i just hung out at a friend's louisville alpaca farm. i can't even remember where i heard "chicago tribune." i must not let the internet turn me into an american

[bettyfrommars]

Video store Eddie? 👀

Mel I'm going to break the rules of this weekend WIP game and just post the whole thing instead of a snippet. It's a very short part 1, and I'm not sure if I'll continue it, but I do love the vibe. I have so many finished WIPs I'm holding onto for whatever reason. @the-unforgivenn was also wondering about this one.

Eddie x older!Reader

This takes place in late 1987 - early 1988, Eddie is...however old he would be, and afab Reader is in their mid 30's. She/they pronouns. Would Steve and Robin still be working at Family Video at that time? Probably not, but I love the idea of visiting them there, infinity. Smut in other parts, if I ever write them.

Word Count: 1.3k

No major warnings but my blog is 18+Only

“Excuse me, do you work here?”

Eddie was squatting down looking through the horror section of Family Video with his butt crack peeking out from the waist of his belted denim when he first heard your voice.

“Sorry,” he sighed as he stood, wallet chain and a set of keys jangling at his hip. Once he saw you, his breath caught, and his brain shifted gears.  “What I meant to say is sorry, it’s my day off but yeah, I work here.  How can I help you?

He ran a flat hand down his chest a few times, eyes darting around to see if Steve or Robin were anywhere near enough to hear it and call him out.  

You weren’t ready for the guy to be so cute when he turned around, or for his eyes to be such a deep velvet brown.  If you had to guess, you'd say he was in his early 20's. Had you ever been that young? If you didn’t have the 1975 Led Zeppelin tour ticket stubs at home as proof, you might’ve believed you’d skipped those years entirely. 

That was the second time you’d spotted him at the video store, and you’d frozen in place, mind flustered to think of some excuse to talk to him.

“I was hoping for an opinion, if you have a second?”

Eddie shuffled around so that, when one of the other two actual employees noticed them, they wouldn’t see who he was talking to right away.

“That’s what I’m here for,” his tongue flicked out to wet his lips before a grin.  “I mean, I do other things around here too, but opinions are sort of my thing.”

You had two tapes in your hand, both new releases, and you held them out to face him.  One was Dirty Dancing, and the other was Evil Dead 2.

“Gun to your head, which one would you choose?”

“Gun to my head? Damn,” he chuckled, rubbing the palm of one hand with his other thumb. “Well, we’re talking about two vastly different films here.  What’s the occasion?”

Shit, you were sexy.  You were beautiful, sure, but it wasn't just that. You made him curious; he wanted to open up the top of your head and see what was inside. You smelled good too, like those spicy essential oil blends they sold at that mystical shop downtown.  The place with all of the incense and gemstones and shit. 

Obviously he’s choosing Evil Dead 2, but he wants to give you the most helpful, educated answer possible.  Patrick had moves, he’d give him that.  

“If it’s like, a girls night thing, definitely go for Swayze,” he pointed at the vhs.  “But if it’s a date or something, nothing says romance like Ash Willimas with a chainsaw.”

Please say it wasn’t for a date.

“It’s not for a date,” you muttered, looking down at your choices.  You held up Evil Dead 2.  “This is the one I want to watch,” you switched and held up the other. “And this is the one I feel like I should watch because it’s all anyone is talking about.”

Eddie put his hands on his hips authoritatively.  “Well, I think you have your answer.  Have you watched The Lost Boys yet? Prince of Darkness is a bit of a sleeper.  Not sure if that’s your speed but—”

Robin came back to the floor wiping tzatziki sauce from the corners of her mouth.  She saw you talking with Eddie, but knew it was in her job description to give you a proper greeting regardless.

“Hello, welcome to Family Video.  Can I help you find anything today?”

Your gaze flicked from her to him and back again, framed by an awkward silence.

“It’s okay Robs, I’ve got it,” Eddie gave her a thumbs up, hoping she didn’t decide to blow his cover right then and there.  

Robin raised a single brow, watching him suspiciously as she scooted behind the counter.  

“What if you got both? Rent three, get one free,” Eddie reasoned with a shrug.  “It’s Friday, live a little.”

“You’re right,” you cupped both tapes in one hand.  “I watched Lost Boys in the theater when it came out, but maybe I’ll check out Prince of Darkness, if you think it’s good.”

“Hey, me too,” he popped up on the balls of his feet.  “Saw Lost Boys in the theater, I mean.  It was badass.”  He might not have gone on opening day, but for the double date Steve had begged him to go along with. It was a disaster.

Steve’s head shot up from the far corner of the store where he’d been stocking shelves.  “Are you back on the floor?” He asked Robin.  “I need to run to Melvalds.”

She gave Eddie a pointed look when she said, “yeah, we’re fine. You can go.”

Eddie’s fourth movie recommendation was Legend.  “Darkness, my man,” he clapped the cassette to his chest when you said you’d take it, and then led you up to the checkout counter as if he really knew what he was doing.  There were grease smudges on his jeans, and the Bark at the Moon shirt he had on was ripped wide in the arm holes, enough to show his ribs and the lines of a tattoo under there.

You wondered about all of his tattoos, even wished he’d take off his shirt and explain them all to you, but perhaps you were getting ahead of yourself. It was his job to be so attentive with you, he probably wasn't flirting.    

Robin eyed him steadily before giving you her best customer service smile.  “Did you find everything okay?”

“He was a big help,” you put the tapes down on the counter.  “I’m sorry, what is your name?”

“Eddie,” he stuck a hand out, the one with all of the metal rings on it. He had calluses on the tips of his fingers and pads of his palm.  “Eddie Munson, at your service.”

“If you work on Sunday when I return them, I’ll let you know how they were.”

“I–I—” he stuttered, sweating under Robin’s stare.  “I don’t work on Sunday, but I should be around, so, yeah.”

“He’s here pretty much every day,” Robin said with a snide edge to her voice as she put the videos in a plastic bag.  It’s true, Eddie had been hanging around an awful lot after work at his actual job slinging wrenches at the garage.  Ever since he’d saved up for a VCR, there were a lot of movies he wanted to catch up on.  

That and he loved being a pest.

After you were out the door, he watched you walk to your car through the window.  You got behind the wheel of a station wagon, and he wondered if maybe you had a family and shit? Kids? You didn’t seem to care about the films you’d chosen being family friendly, but maybe they were away for the weekend? A divorce? Maybe they were at their dads place.

He was thinking way too much about your living situation and relationship status.  

“Okay, mind telling me what that was all about?” Robin put her chin on her fist.  

“She asked me if I worked here and I got nervous and said I did,” he admitted, watching you go until the car was out of sight.  “I wanted to keep talking to her, so I lied.  Now I feel stupid as fuck.”

“You’ll probably never see her again, anyway,” she shrugged.  

“Don’t say that,” he frowned.  

“If she asks about you on Sunday and you’re not here, I’ll just tell her you got fired.”

“You won’t have to, I’ll be here.”

Robin gave a snort.  “You don’t even know what time she’ll come by.  We’re open till—”

“I said I’ll be here,” he stared out into the parking lot space where your car had been, patting the counter with each word.  “Yep, yep, yep, this is where I shall be.”

Robin rolled her eyes so hard they went white.  

[reasonandfaithinharmony]

2023 writing gif-making round up

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about. Thank you for the tag, @thisbuildinghasfeelings!

January

Um. Coming to terms with the idea of 2023? I dunno. But certainly nothing creative happened here.

February

Boyfriend → husband (Schitt's Creek) — A side-by-side comparison of how David refers to Patrick in season 4 and season 6. (Brought to you courtesy of a lovely text post by @jesuisici33.)

David questioning Stevie's motives (Schitt’s Creek) — A fun look at David's expressive face. 😄

March and April

An existential crisis. Or two. Or five. 🙃 Managed to finish absolutely nothing.

I did come in contact with a lot of 911 Lone Star content, however. Which explains everything that follows. Oops?

May

Marry me. (911 Lone Star) — Ah, my first gif set for this show. A parallel of TK referring to Carlos as his husband when he proposes, and then during their wedding ceremony.

Wedding → honeymoon (911 Lone Star) — Holding hands right after they first kiss as husbands. (Promo footage that didn't actually make the final episode cut). And holding hands poolside on their honeymoon.

Note: From here on out, everything in this list is for Lone Star, unless otherwise specified.

June

TK and Andrea helping Carlos get ready — A parallel set highlighting similar moments from Best of Men and a deleted scene from In Sickness and in Health

We almost forgot. Your boutonnière. — In which I attempt to put a couple pieces of unaired footage back together: the deleted scene with Andrea and Carlos + promo footage of what must be the same scene

Heart tutorial — Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato teach Rafael Silva how to make a heart sign with his hands at the First Responders Reunion 🫶

July

🤨 (affectionate) — Listen. I love this dynamic. Had to do the parallel set.

Nothing ever stays the same, Carlos. — A look at TK and Carlos' conversation in 2x04 in parallel with Carlos' wedding vows. The first set I wanted to do for Lone Star. Took me a while to get to it because I wasn't sure how to put it together.

August

TK needs you all to RSVP — My first attempt at this type of post. Incorrect quotes? Text post memes? I don't know what to call them, really. But it was definitely fun. And then it became the thing I did most often. Lol.

And if it never changes? // What if everything changes again? — A parallel set for me and ~5 other people, putting Tarlos in 2x04 side by side with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

September

You're a menace to society *smooch smooch smooch* — My next incorrect quotes/meme post. And my contribution to ascribing cat-like behavior to TK.

I like him a normal amount — A fandom reaction gif, essentially. Courtesy of Joey Tribbiani on Friends.

Love is stored in humans finding out we can make heart shapes with our hands — Had to revisit the heart tutorial for Rafa. This time as one of the incorrect quotes/text posts.

When you can be silly and slutty with them — Oh, I had fun with this look at TK and Carlos' relationship. 😍

Pretty sure this happened at least once — In which we learn TK was seen trying to catch a frog outside the firehouse. Obviously.

October

Carlos is lit like an angel — Commentary on that beautiful moment from 2x02 where TK falls into Carlos' arms.

I put my emotions into my cooking. // This tastes… horny? — A playful and sexy look at Carlos in the kitchen with TK, and then heading upstairs… 😏

I adore you. Why are you like this? I’m going to kiss you with such fervor… — Oh, just exploring the Tarlos relationship dynamic with a text post and a scene from 3x18.

November

Unedited Gif Game (26 entries so far) — This has been very fun. I think it was good for me to have a bunch of low-stakes gif projects where I was not in charge. Lol. I will spare you individual links to each of them. But they should all be in the tag linked here. I will probably make this an ongoing thing, as long as it's not annoying everyone.

December

Episode vs. Promo: Yee-Haw (1x02) — Let's start diving into some more unaired footage, shall we? And let's start with some alt takes on that first make-out scene.

Missing moments: then and now — From an almost-kiss in 1x02 to an alt kiss from their wedding.

You're a miracle, TK Strand. My miracle. — A rather large close-up gif of that alt wedding kiss. Why? So we can see the teardrop that beads up under Carlos' eye.

Tags below the cut…

Tagging: @rmd-writes, @reyesstrand, @strandnreyes, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @carlos-in-glasses, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @birdclowns, @welcometololaland, @lizzie-bennetdarcy, @rosedavid, @heartstringsduet, @noxsoulmate, @chicgeekgirl89, @paperstorm, @tailoredshirt, @guardian-angle22, @swearphil, @carlos-tk, @three-drink-amy, @orchidscript, @danieljradcliffe, @lightningboltreader + open tag!

[overheaven]

🍕🎹🎯❤️✂️💚🧠 for Everett please! 💜💜💜

THESE ARE FUN QUESTIONS LET’S GOOOO (sorry for the delay lol had my surgery as u know xD) 💗💗💗

under the cut since i got a little rambly!!

🍕 — What is their favorite food?

I haven’t been able to nail down a FAVORITE-favorite for him yet! But I do know he likes meat & rich foods. He’s really not afraid to get messy with some saucy barbecued meat which is kind of a charm point for him imo >w>

🎹 — Do they have any hobbies?

He has a few! Some are really dry, like reading medical journals and other professional development. Other are more lively and less focused on his field of study— collecting records and oddities like taxidermy pieces, reading fiction & poetry. He also really likes going to concerts or seeing live music, and visiting art galleries and museums. and of course then there’s the casual sex and the killing and the necrophilia :yikes emoji:

Bonus: I have an AU where he’s a musician, he plays bass guitar (which Lucy also picks up later)!

🎯 — What do they do best?

His job! He’s chief medical examiner for a reason. :> That title is a recent achievement at the time of his ‘canon’ story (2008-2009ish), but overall he’s been in the field and climbing the ranks for about 19-20 years by then. He sincerely likes figuring out the puzzle of a death and is very articulate in presenting his findings.

❤️ — What is one of your OC’s best memories?

Cheating a little bit on this one because he doesn’t have a singular best memory. Some of his most treasured memories are Lucy visiting for summers & then eventually getting full custody of her! He’s very fond of watching her grow into her own and bonding with her over music; taking her to concerts is something he recalls fondly often. ;w;

He also holds memories of his teenage sweetheart dearly, but that’s part of his esoteric history that he doesn’t share with anyone else. ;)

✂️ — What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Cheating again because the years he wasted being married are all a miasma of ennui and frustration. 😬 He did love his ex at one point (at least, he thinks he did), but their relationship soured pretty quickly and both of them resented each other a LOT by the end of it. The silver lining is he got Lucy out of it all, at least.

💚 — What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

He’s a cis man and like 99.9% straight lol. he’s experimented sexually with men (and maybe he’s kind of still open to that?), but yeah overall he’s attracted to women.

🧠 — What do you like most about the OC?

This is tough because I like everything about him xD I guess a good answer to encompass that feeling is: I like how indulgent he is! I made him & Lucy because I wanted to find a very specific flavor of a dark setting & taboo relationship, and I thought, “Holy shit I know how to write and draw. I can just make what I want myself!!” And I did! I’m giving myself everything I want with him!! So I’m ESPECIALLY happy that others enjoy him too ;w; I’m always thinking of new things about how his brain works and how he moves through their world, he’s challenged me to be creative but also trust my own process!

Part of that is also being proud of his design & personality, without trying to hold back on making him a really attractive character— sometimes I second guess character design because I don’t want to be corny or ‘mary sue’-ish with someone who is TOO attractive or perfect, but… no, we’re going balls to the wall and making a really fucking hot goth dad who is really smart and dangerous and it’s so sexy of him to be so fucked up LOL. I wanted to make a serial killer character who has babygirl sexyman vibes (think like, how fans lust after Hannibal Lecter or Patrick Bateman lol) as a sort of cheeky way to honor that type of fan xD Everett is my love letter to slasher fangirls, yandere fanatics, bad end lovers, people who understand the eroticism of sleazy horror movies, and so on. 🫶

[queermccoy]

tagged by @newtkelly (100 years ago, sorry!!)

How many wips do you have currently?

three 911 fics, seven (ish) original work projects, technically one IT fic that i haven't updated in years (patrick/richie...im so sorry)

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish? Why do you think that is?

other than the abandoned IT fic, the eddie finds buck and tommy's joint dating profile for casual thirds fic. eddie's pov is...not coming naturally to me (virgo on virgo violence)

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

you can tell i think i stumbled on something good because i get unbearably smug and wriggle my fingers like the deer from adventure time

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

sometimes! i do sometimes make playlists if i'm feeling especially invested but most of the time i just throw on an album with a similar vibe to what i'm going for and call it a day. for example, i've been blasting chappell roan while working on the trucker au

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organized?

i only outline if it's going to be a more involved process, like more than a few thousand words and even then it's like. okay. i outline like i'm cher from clueless trying to describe a scene in my notes. it's so so so helpful to hear your idea with a valley girl vibe. especially when i'm working on something dramatic like, "okay so mitch burns lee's body after they break all of his ribs in a very like, sexy and manly way and then tear out his heart and then annie eats it. which is like, way gross but she doesn't throw up because she's a girl boss and a hero and maybe a witch"

tagging @buddiekinard @lurkerdelima @hearthouses @unprepossessed @augustmourn @ladyculebras

[thegeminisage]

ok ok ok it's star trek update time. last time we watched tng's "liaisons" and ds9's "the circle."

liaisons (tng):

the summary of this one put me off soooo bad but i actually give it an enthusiastic pass because i loved the b plot but conned myself into also liking the a plot. allow me to explain

the b plot of this is of course the fantastic riker e worf e deanna showing the ambassadors a good time on the enterprise. this arc satisfied me from start to finish because it started with riker telling worf he looked good in a dress and finished with worf beating that annoying guy's face in, and in the middle there was also a poker game and whatever the FUCJ was happening in their little meeting room which was extremely fun and flirty

i have not forgotten btw that worf e deanna is supposed to happen in s7. im so sorry the actors hated it but rn it is Fueling me. bring it on.

the a plot is more complicated and the summary of this plot is what initially put me off

like, of Course it's picard and a woman. again.

here's what i didn't know: one, this woman was batshit insane and not to be trusted, and 2, she wasn't real but a fake roleplay character made by this alien. who is a man

THAT MEANS. NOT ONLY DID PICARD FINALLY GET HIS OWN CLOSE ENOUNTER

BUT IT WAS WITH A MAN

picard has canonically kissed a man. or um been kissed by one i guess

and all of that would have been just borderline and barely ekeing out with a pass EXCEPT

i had the thought near the end of this episode: q would be absolutely SICK

as we know. the funniest thing about q and indeed perhaps his only redeeming factor. is how bad he wants to fuck sir patrick stewart. which gets ONLY FUNNIER the more that sir patrick stewart is like, i would fuck literally anyone else in the galaxy first

and now here picard is, having liplocked with another guy, and he STILL hasn't fucked q. i spent so long giggling about this that i simply must give the episode a passing grade

also, i would like to note i figured out they were the same person before the episode told us. i am JUST that good

the circle (ds9):

KIRA MY BELOVED.....................................

absolutely tickled to pieces with the ensemble scene at the opening. first we had this nice little prolonged kira and odo moment 😍 which was so wonderful because of their like general dynamic and history being hinted at and then EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE CAST SAVE SISKO got their sitcom intro. it was the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. they were like, you simply cannot be dismissing major kira unfairly. so true. once again it is so cathartic to see them rallying around her whether they're federation or not. literally treating her really niceys

AND SISKO! his little scene with her in the garden down on the planet...wah. he's literally constantly trying to get her back. his support even when she's no longer technically working for him...EVERYBODY treats her really niceys

um except that vedek guy...idk whether he's on the level or not and i DID NOT like whatever sexy stuff was going on in that orb vision. putting aside the hilarious reality of orbs in general for a second are the prophets saying she has to fuck that guy? not my beautiful queen.

um and also except the circle. i didnt actually see the plot twist coming this time about that minister guy being in on it which is very fun. also i'm sooo glad they staged a speedy rescue

ODO THE RAT! i love when he turns into stuff

also odo blackmailing quark into being his deputy lol i LOOOOVE what they have it's SO funny

anyway i hope vedek winn chokes on her oatmeal when she finds out the cardassians are funding her little r*n d*santis campaigns. i thought that was a fun plot twist if not very surprising ultimately like of COURSE they are. it's crazy how relevant some of this still is

and on a final note, i like that sisko has chosen to Rules Lawyer his way into disobeying the prime directive because it is the right thing to do here. GOOD FOR HIM!

tonight: tng's "interface" and ds9's "the siege," finally concluding this little three-parter.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What are your thoughts on the Phantom of the Opera movie?

Uhhhh they're complicated. I just rewatched it for the first time in many years (introducing it to my youngest sibling who was born three years!!! after it came out!!!) and idk. I definitely don't think it's a super solid movie, but I also think it got shit on in a way that I find extremely dated--it's too campy! It's too gaudy! It's too over the top! Like, I'm sorry, have you even vaguely heard of the musical? Even the original source material. This is the story of a middle-aged virgin who groomed an opera singer into loving him while he desperately tries to get up the courage to hold her hand. Also murder.

If anything, I think it could have been more over the top. I enjoy the visuals of the movie (the golden opera music, the wintry scenes, the Sissi dress) but honestly? I'd love to see what the fuck Baz would do with the source material. Phantom should've, imo, gotten something bombastic and bigger and more impassioned, like Moulin Rouge.

I think that Schumacher's directing issues were like, less about the *look* and more about some of the direction I think he gave the actors, a general staticness at points--I think The Point of No Return is one of the better parts of the movie, but when you compare it to how some stage productions have done it, it just doesn't go hard enough. He should've been groping her more.

Buuuut lol he couldn't have, because Emmy Rossum was underage. This is where I go to another issue, which is casting. Now, to be clear, I love Emmy Rossum, and I don't think the general flatness of her performance entirely unintentional or really her fault. She was a baby here, but I don't think the script had a very good handle on how to take Christine from the stage to the movies, and flattened her out a lot more. I do think about what Anne Hathaway, who auditioned for the role as well and is 4 years older than Emmy, who would've been able to embody the burgeoning sexuality in Christine a little more explicitly, would've done with it.

Patrick Wilson is another actor I like and he did well as Raoul, but I think there was again an issue with translating the character--Raoul is not a super popular guy, but I like him, and I actually appreciate his efforts being bigger in this movie, but! I do feel like it felt at times like the script was overly aware of Raoul not having a lot to do. And it's like... if you're padding out a character for the movie... you pad out Christine lol........... not her boyfriend................ Christine is heroine..................

And Gerard Butler... Generally, I'm not a fan, but he does have a couple movies where I think he does a good job. I love P.S. I Love You. That's the best I've ever seen him in anything. I also enjoy 300, for very different reasons. I get why the impulse was to cast a guy who was seen as "sexy" at the time, and I don't think that's a bad impulse. But like, aside from the acting, which I think could've been like... again, hornier, but that's not really his fault, but also just more volatile and vulnerable and weird............ like I'm not suggesting Adam Driver for this role lol, but I'm saying whoever tries this again should really be giving the kind of performance that actors like Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield give, is what I'm saying... Aside from all THAT lol--Butler obviously didn't have the singing chops. And I don't even think his singing was as bad as I remembered, though he does totally shout some lines and his "soar" hurts me. He's just not where he needs to be in that kind of role. He can't put the type of subtleties of emotion in his voice that he should, and tbh, very few actors who haven't done bIG musical work on the stage could, I think? It's a refined skill.

Also, Erik's makeup sucked. Like, it's very funny and adds something to watching this with others, because my sibling did go "where is it?" when he's unmasked and looks in the mirror after Music of the Night. But it's not what it should be, lol.

So yeah. I think it didn't go far enough and it didn't serve its actors well enough, and there were casting issues aside from that, but I like the camp and the extent to which it went gaudy, the gaudiness, and I have a fun time watching it. Especially when I'm drunk or stoned or both.

[zero-insignificance]

DND Recap: Hide and Seek

Cast Includes: Rose the DM, Bob (yours truly), Patrick, Truk, Zara, and Lanwel

We open in the nap sack. And Patrick realizes that we have no idea where we're going to find the two people we need to kill, cuz they're reverse horcruxes.

Now he has to get everyone together and relay this information to them. Bob is already awake and having a breakfast burrito and a caramel frappe.

Zara is asleep. Truk is asleep in his new goblin shark onesie

At 7 am a rooster appears in each sleeping party member's room and

COCKADOODLE DOO-

Truk grabs the Rooster by the throat. "No."

Zara casts a firebolt at the rooster. Counter spelled. "Understandable"

Everyone heads to the kitchen. Zara grabs a breakfast burrito.

Truk walks in with his rooster, holding it by the throat. Bob: Noooooooo! Don't hold him like that! You gotta support him like he's a football! And Truk set the Rooster on his head, sits down and starts eating his breakfast as Patrick relays that we don't know the names of the people, what they look like or where they are.

I ask Rose if I can try to make a police sketch of the two of them based purely on the silhouettes we saw on the seals. Bob is an artsy guy. He's a drag queen and knows how to draw and paint. I'm told to roll performance. I get 17 so it's pretty good but the details are a bit muddled.

Lanwel casts scrying on the drawings of the two and she sees and island far across the ocean. Before the session we were chatting about headcanons about the other player's characters. One of which is that Truk has Thalassophobia. And that is canon. Lanwel projects what she's seeing on the wall cuz light magic and Truk is like "No... no no no- Fuck the ocean-"

Lanwel tries to teleport us all there but fails. Meanwhile Bob is making a phone call cuz he's got connections. Bob: Hey man. So I need a boat... mhm. uhuh. Dude. You owe me. I'm collecting on that debt! Much appreciated. The party: Is it Jack Sparrow? Me: Please tell me it's Jack Sparrow. Jack Sparrow: How's it going, Savy? The Party fuckin loves Johnny Depp. Bob: I take it you brought the Pearl? Jack Sparrow: That I did. Bob is suddenly wearing this

Me: Jack Sparrow doesn't question Bob's wardrobe. Rose: He's used to it. Me: Nobody ever sees when Bob does his costume changes. He's just suddenly wearing something else. Patrick's Player: Patrick just thinks that Bob was wearing the whole time, but just thinks he was misremembering it.

Everyone boards the Black Pearl and Jack Sparrow is being dramatic and Bob is making sure that everyone that need sunscreen has sunscreen (He makes sure that Zara puts it on her nose and toe beans) Truk denies it because he has VERY dark skin.

Zara makes him put a broad brimmed hat on and makes sure everyone is hydrated. Zara's player: Are we all going to have to roll for scurvy? Me: Bob loves citrus. He is scurvy-proof. Rose: What causes Scurvy? Lanwel's player: Lack of vitamin c.

Truk goes below deck cuz Thalassophobia. Zara is in the crows nest

And we are told to do a perception check. There's a hurricane. Bob does arcana and it's a regular hurricane. Lanwel calls upon Emere. No response. She snaps her fingers a few more times. From what we know about Emere, he was close to Iana so he is likely really feeling grief. She calls on Ecastrial and he responds. He does control weather and we start carving our way through the hurricane. Everybody rolls dex.

Zara fell from the crows nest. Truk, Lanwel and Bob go to catch her. Dexterity check. Bob and Lanwel got a 29

Rollies. 13 and 17 and Bob catches Zara. She gives him a fistbump.

And then we hear sirens. Everyone is told to roll constitution except for Truk and Bob (asexual) who cannot be charmed. Patrick is in his fey form so he can be charmed. Zara sees Hot Sexy Women™ Siren: *to Patrick* Hot men? Patrick: Nah. Siren: Hot women? Patrick: That's better but... nah. Siren: Massive plate of food? Patrick: I'M SO HUNGRY- *jumps* Truk: PATRICK NO- *grabs ankle* Patrick's player: You kust keep reeling in more ankle. Rose: Truk, you see a bunch of twinks but you resist their allure. Truk: Oh that's tempting-

At first Bob sees a massive can of baja blast. He gags cuz shortly after he first went cold turkey he relapsed and had so much that he frew up so he's turned off of baja blast. Then Bob sees Alfie on a rock with a rose in his mouth without a shirt on. It isn’t actually an illusion. It’s Alfie from the future who shoots him a wink. 0////0.

Bragar comes out of the Nap Sack and has to roll con. He succeeds but sees a 9-foot-tall beefy orc. He starts sweating. Bob has Zara restrained. Zara tries to break free scratching and biting “THE WOMEN-” and she's screaming about what she wants the women to do to her and vice versa. Zara does a claw attack but fails to hit. Bob: Bragar, can you help me tie her up? Bragar: Of course, bestie.

When Lanwel looks over the ship she sees Nothingness. Eternal Nothingness. Her one true desire is her wife. La'far. The Goddess of Darkness. She flash boils that one section of the water dealing a decent chunk of damage. The real Alfie teleports as a reaction. He's gone.

Bob casts Witch Bolt into the ocean. 87 lightning damage. All the sirens die He fishes a bunch of bodies out of the ocean and harvests the Siren Song for Cafae Latte cuz he's franchising.

Zara’s player: My mom just came in and said that she could hear me. The Call: *cackles*

We're told to roll dexterity cuz we're still in the hurricane. Bragar fails the save and tips over the railing. Falls flat on the ocean because Lanwel cast water walking on the party. Zara goes after him. She falls flat on the ocean.

The Pearl is going 13 knots so their being left behind.

Bragar sprouts wings and he and Zara fly

With the new dnd rules Bragar can sprout wings. And so can Zara since she switched to sorcerer.

Aaaaaaaand Bragar crashes into the main mast of the Pearl, cracking and breaking it. Bragar is okay and Bob immediately jumps into action, using his telekinesis to keep the mast up. Truk physically assists, helping hold it up that way Bob can cast multiple mending spells to fix the mast. Zara makes sure Bragar is okay and Bob finishes the spells and wobbles slightly but stays upright. Zara runs over and makes sure that Bob maintains his footing asking if he's okay. He's fine but has a monster headache so he sits down and pulls out a juice box and the FAE STRENGTH fantasy advil which could definitely kill a human.

If Truk didn't step in Bob would've passed out when he finished the mending spells.

And we see the island!

Bragar tries flying to the dock cuz he wants to test out his new wings. He is shot down with a net.

We port and step onto the dock and run over to Bragar.

And we are struck by how quiet it is. It’s very quiet. Bob checks is Jack is staying on the ship "SOMEONES GOTTA CHECK ON THE RUM-"

We're walking and see a net gun. Bob pokes it with a stick and it points at him charging up. Bob puts his hands in the air and says "I'm not going to hurt you" and takes a step back and Zara tackles him and uses her grappling hook to get the to a tree.

We hear a mechanical sound Bob: Oh shit this is westworld! Zara: IT IS. Shiba inu gives Bob his first cease and desist. Bob gives the Shiba a pat on the head.

Bragar is tinkering with the gun to disable it.

Me: Bob currently looks like a gender bent Indiana Jones Rose: Of course he is. Me: So basically, he looks like Lara Croft.

Zara examines the tree. It’s metal. There's paneling on the tree.

She opens it and severs the wiring with her knife at the same moment Bragar disables the gun.

The net gun is actually an elevator, and it starts to descend. Truk tries jumping down. Lanwel grabs him. On her way back up Bragar jumps. She grabs him then Zara jumps but her arms are full, and Zara is a cat, so she lands on her feet. Bob: Guess we're going down. And those who can't fly or negate fall damage (Truk and Bragar since Bragar used his wing slot for the long rest) go in the nap sack

And at the bottom we see a long mechanical hallway and it is clearly a factory. In the distance we see an office with the lights one.

[triviareads]

Do you have e any recs for pet play book apart from minx by sophia Lark. Do you also have any recs for books on the same smut level as minx because those parts were just mindblowing

Pet play recs:

Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert: The pet play in this was on about the same level as Minx (if not lighter) except the intent unlike Minx was to humiliate and allow Orpheus to perform penance after hurting Eurydice in the past. So there's a lot of "crawl to me like a good dog" and that sort of thing.

The Shame Game by Hannah Murray: Hannah Murray writes relatively short erotic romances/erotica and this book is about a kinky married couple who want to step up their degradation game I think. So a component of that includes pet play (puppy play), but I ended up dnf-ing because I couldn't read that part. Hannah is a good writer so if this is something you want to read, then I'd definitely recommend. it's just, it was not my thing.

As for books with the same heat level as Minx, here's what I would recommend:

Priceless by Miranda Silver: One of my favorite erotic romances because I love the idea of two people sort of discovering each other through kink; this one's set in it feels very natural if that makes sense; you don't get the feeling you do in a lot of kink-forward romances where there's some super naive girl who neeeeever thought she was into BDSM (because it's always BDSM lol) until the right guy, possibly a billionaire, spanks her lol. Patrick offers to pay Christina money to sleep with him, which she accepts because she's short on cash due to dumb decisions on her part. There's a good amount of degradation (along with the inherent degradation, to Christina at least, of having sex with him for money) and praise stuff as well.

Misadventures with a Professor by Sierra Simone: This is one of Sierra's less intense books (I'm holding off on reccing her other stuff bc I'd say they're higher heat) but one of my favorites; it's a relatively short story about an aspiring librarian going to England to be her dad's professor friend's assistant. She has a one night stand with a man with a huge professor kink (so he likes the teaching part, the disciplining stuff, and a lot of "fuck you until you're a good girl again"s) and as luck would have it....... he's her boss for the summer.

I think the Harlequin Dare imprint has books along similar lines- classic billionaire stuff you'd find in Harlequin Desires or Harlequin Presents but ratcheted up a notch. Unfortunately the imprint was discontinued :( but ik some libraries still have their stuff, and I believe they're available for purchase as ebooks.

The Risk by Caitlin Crews: She's a ballerina who performs a strip tease at an exclusive club and is "bought" by a billionaire for the night for a night of anonymous sex to fulfill her fantasy.

Just One More Night by Caitlin Crews: MY FAVORITE HARLEQUIN because where else will you find a romance that starts with a flashback of the hero killing a guy trying to harm her in an alleyway, bringing her to his car, having unprotected sex with her, and then going "eh you American girls are always on the pill". Where, I ask.

Sexy Beast by Jackie Ashenden: Friends to lovers; she asks him to help her achieve orgasm because she never can either a partner and he dominates her into orgasming in a corner of a gala. Immediately.

Dirty Devil by Jackie Ashenden: She's a thief who's trying to steal a priceless necklace he owns, and is caught out so she seduces him instead

[mercy-burning]

Fake Fiancée - Part 2

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Reader becomes rather possessive over Spencer when she learns he’s been been with someone else since they hooked up four months ago. Category: SMUT (18+) Content Warnings: Language, mutual masturbation, oral sex (male and female receiving), penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, hand-on-neck (no choking), praise, degradation kink, possession kink, dirty talk Word Count: 7.1k (I didn’t mean for it to get this long I swear aldjfsdlfksk)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 

MASTERLIST

NOTE: HERE IT IS!!! 🥰 Thank you all for showing so much love to Part 1, I seriously wasn’t expecting all the requests for more of the story, so it was fun coming up with ideas! I’m still not sure if I want to do 3 or 4 parts yet, but I’ll let you know soon! In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy reading this second installment! ❤

***

He's been a ghost in my head for four months.

Everywhere I went I could hear his voice, hear the way he whimpered out my name and how cries got higher and higher as I clenched around him. I felt the rough grip he held on my hips as I rode him, the pads of his fingertips leaving behind faint bruises that I currently wished I still had.

And more prominently, I saw his face. It was always in the back of my mind, burning into me with lust-drunk eyes and a pouty mouth in the shape of an O. It sizzled into my brain, the sound definitely sounding more like raindrops than fire, but I was more than okay with that.

Though, every time it rained, I couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same— if he stood outside or watched from the safety of wherever he was and replayed that moment over and over again until he was aching to be in my presence once more.

I also had to wonder if he knew about the ring I'd left in his front seat.

Did he leave it in his car, perhaps in the glovebox or on a string that he tied around his mirror? Or did it fall somewhere between the seats? Maybe he found it and did what I never could, pawning it off for some happily-accepted cash while he laughed at how careless I was to take a stranger's virginity and then leave my expensive diamond ring behind like a fool.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the means to find out.

It's not like I could have wandered up to the FBI building and ask to meet with a Dr. Spencer Reid... Right? Because that as absurd. I'd only met the guy once, and he'd probably think I was crazy for trying to track him down.

It was a whole ordeal that I'd mulled over again and again, and I ultimately decided that it was ridiculous.

If anything I was happy to be rid of the ring. I could move on with my life, and maybe Spencer sold it for money or he's held on to it as a souvenir for a special night.

Win-win.

It didn't dull the small ache I felt for him, though. Every once in a while I found myself remembering how great that night was... I hadn't felt that way—sexy, confident, fun—in a long time, and as much as it sucked that he was getting picked on by some drunk idiots at a bar, I was glad it led me to him.

Some nights, when I was missing him significantly more than usual, I even went back to Waterson's in the event that I'd run into him again, hopefully under better circumstances.

Tonight was one of those nights.

This time I didn't have a ring to keep most of the men from hitting on me, but now that I was well and truly over my ex-husband, I was glad I didn't use that as an excuse to keep the ring around anymore. As annoying and painful as the drunken flirting was, I was way better equipped to handle it and truthfully somewhat relieved that I could get back to normal.

You know, save for the fact that I was only at Waterson's in the first place to maybe see some guy I hooked up with four months ago and still haven't stopped thinking about...

Because that was totally a normal thing to do.

I was on my second beer of the night when I felt a presence behind me. And even though I was pretty sure than I'd be able to tell if it was really Spencer, a part of me still buzzed thinking of the prospect of seeing him here again.

I turned around though, and was met with an entirely different person. I tried not to look disappointed, but it must have shown because the man who'd caught my attention gave a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, are you expecting someone?"

I liked to think that I had a good read on most people, especially when it came to men in bars. This man was someone I looked at for a few seconds and immediately knew that he wasn't looking to make me uncomfortable. He had come over to flirt with me, no doubt, but the difference here was that where most men would have gone straight into it, this man genuinely looked like he was willing to haul ass if I really was waiting for someone and didn't want his company.

That alone made me willing to entertain him a little, even if I was disappointed that he wasn't who I desperately wanted him to be. But it certainly helped that he was attractive.

The first word that came to mind was smooth. Even as I laughed back at the man and answered him, my eyes did some wandering of his figure and admired what I saw. A crisp, tight grey tee shirt that hugged some rather nice muscles, and brown skin that was just a few shades lighter than his eyes, which were kind and a little playful. His smile was stunning, sharing that same playfulness that his eyes held as he practically sparkled to life at my answer.

"Oh, no, I'm not... But I certainly wasn't expecting you..."

I made sure to smile at him, a little smirk that complimented the admiring eyes I was offering him and a little laugh that never failed to get me what I wanted.

He gently leaned into the bar, one of his hands coming to rest of the cool wooden surface. "I'm Derek."

"Y/N."

"Pretty name."

I don't know what made me so bold, but I nodded and shot him a wink. "Not as pretty as you."

We shared another laugh, and then I took a swig of my beer, finishing the last of it and then sliding towards him. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"We just met and you're already stealing from me... That's my line."

"What can I say, I'm quick... Hey, Carla! Can I get two more for me and my friend here?"

The bartender—and my longtime friend—laughed a little, taking my empty bottle. "Sure thing."

The look she gave me right before turning away practically yelled, I thought your type was helpless skinny white guys who can barely look you in the eye without creaming themselves...

Yeah, well, you worked with what you were given. And besides, my type was practically anyone with just a shred of decency.

Real high bar, huh?

But after Patrick, I couldn't complain. Derek seemed like the type of guy who would flirt with you at any given chance, but respected your boundaries all the same. Unfortunately that was hard to find nowadays, especially in bars like Waterson's.

So, yeah, he wasn't the man I was naively wishing to see here tonight, but he was into me, he was decent from what I could tell, and he was hot.

So we had a drink and spent a good twenty minutes chatting it up. Since it was my third beer of the night, I was accumulating a pretty steady buzz, and the longer I talked with Derek the more I opened up a little. I found myself leaning into him and finding excuses to lightly touch his arm, but I kept noticing that he was glancing down at his watch occasionally.

"Are you expecting someone?" I asked, playfully.

"Right, uh... Yeah, I was supposed to be meeting a friend here. He's usually early, but I think we got our times mixed up again..."

"Again, huh? You two aren't very good coordinators?"

Derek laughed, the sound making me feel all warm. "Well, for FBI agents you'd think we'd be better at it."

"O—Oh," I said, my heart stopping for a beat. Had I heard that right? Was I more tipsy than I thought? "FBI?"

"You seem stunned," he said with another laugh. "What, you're not a criminal, are you? Do I have to take you in?"

I laughed, albeit nervously, but decided that this all had to be pure coincidence. If I didn't, I would have gone insane. Even still, it was difficult for me to sit here and openly flirt with this man when I knew he just confessed to having the same profession as the literal man of my dreams— and as of late that also included daydreams.

In fact, I was positive that's what it was when I saw Spencer approach us— a daydream.

Derek was calling my name, I knew that much, but I couldn't do anything but look over his shoulder where Spencer's ghost practically froze in place when he spotted me.

"Y/N?"

That wasn't Derek's voice. Spencer's mouth moved in time with the calling of my name, and it even sounded like him. I blinked rapidly, hoping that I could snap out of it and excuse myself for the rest of the night, so I could go home and sleep it off.

But even when I finished blinking, expecting Spencer's figure to be gone, he was still there.

At this point Derek had turned around, and what he said next snapped me out of it pretty damn good.

"Reid? You know her?"

"You're real," I said, speaking for the first time in a while. My throat felt dry, and my heart came alive at the sight of him.

Spencer stared at me, his eyes softening after I spoke to him. I saw his lips twitch into a shy smile before his hand came up in an equally shy wave. "Y—Yeah, I'm real." What followed was a huffed laugh that cemented his nervousness at seeing me again for the first time in four months, and it was the most refreshing thing I'd heard in a while.

"Oh my God," I said, a smile of my own starting to creep up.

I'd completely forgotten about Derek being there until he spoke up, snapping us out of our reunion, his voice conveying every range of confusion.

"What the hell is this?"

***

I knew there was always a minor chance that I'd run into her again, but it still rendered me utterly still and practically useless when I spotted her across the bar with Derek.

She was just... there. After months of debating whether or not I should send her a letter with the ring mailed back or stopping by to see her, or even using Garcia's help to find where she might have been so I could 'surprise' running into her... It happened to chance that I didn't need any of that at all. Because she was really there.

And she was flirting with Derek.

I'd have been lying if I said that didn't really bother me, but truthfully I'd always felt a bit insecure around him, mostly when it came to being surrounded by women who were most likely fawning over him instead of me.

Not that I particularly wanted or even needed them to fawn over me in the first place... It was just... Telling.

And it's not like I knew or thought I wasn't at least somewhat attractive. But seeing the one and only woman who'd ever made me feel very good about all of that for probably the first time in my whole life openly flirting with my best friend? It stung. It felt like now that she'd seen me and him in the same place, she'd decide that she'd made a mistake before and that she'd be better off with someone else— someone who was stronger and more skilled and probably easier to look at.

Even when the three of us sat at a booth and Y/N decided to sit next to me, her proximity dizzying after all this time apart, the first thought that came to my mind was, She doesn't want to see me. She'd much rather sit across from Derek so she can look at him instead.

I was starting to think maybe I should have stuck to mailing her a letter...

"So... Are you gonna tell me how you two know each other?" Derek asked, leaning back and easily amused.

Y/N seemed to be amused by all of this, too, because she answered immediately, a tone in her voice that I'd only dreamed about for four months and nine days straight.

"Oh, we were engaged."

If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Derek's eyebrows were going to fly straight off his head. "Engaged? Like... Engaged?"

"I—It's not what you think," I jumped in, suddenly a little embarrassed. "Not really engaged, but... Y/N pretended to be my fiancée once... There were, um... There were these guys who wouldn't leave me alone and she came over and told them off."

I hoped he wouldn't piece it together, but it was inevitable, and the look of realization that crossed his features made me feel extra warm with embarrassment.

"Oh... Is she the reason why you actually said yes to that date last month?"

Y/N turned to me, an eyebrow raised. "A date? Because of me? I don't... I don't follow..."

I was going to explain, but Derek beat me to it.

"I've always tried to set Pretty Boy here up for a date, but he's always said no, and then out of the blue I ask him and he agrees. Which was a shock in its own. I knew something was up, something had to have given him the confidence to go on the date... And all along its been you, hasn't it?"

"Well, I... I don't know, I guess so?"

They both looked at me then, and I stared down at my hands, unwilling to look either of them in the eye. "Y—Yeah... I don't know, I guess Y/N just... helped me see something in myself I hadn't seen before."

I half expected them to think it was silly, but Y/N's hand dropped down onto my knee and I stared at it for a moment before flitting my eyes up to meet her gaze. It was soft, and a small smile grazed her pretty features.

"Oh, Spencer, I'm so glad I could do that for you... How was the date?"

"O—Oh, it... It was fine. Not... I'm not seeing her anymore, but it wasn't bad... Just, um... There wasn't much of a connection, that's all."

In simpler words, She wasn't you.

But I couldn't tell her that, not when she was staring at me again with those sparkling eyes and her hand burning a hole through my pants with her electrifying touch, and most certainly not with Derek sitting right in front of us.

"Hey, whether it worked out or not, whatever you did to get him out there, it must have been one hell of a job," he said as if he'd been reading my thoughts.

Y/N gave me a knowing look, though, and suddenly I was transported to my car, feeling her hand explore my body as she showered me with filthy words and names that set me alight and cemented something about myself that I'd never known. Since then I had dreams about her, telling me how much of a 'good little whore' I was for her, and I always woke up from those dreams clutching her ring around my finger.

"Well, like I said, I'm glad I could help. Your boy here is one in a million."

It was awkward. This was all very extremely awkward. And even though I knew that, I still couldn't bring myself to stop it. I couldn't bring myself to stop staring at Y/N, soaking her all up like she was going to leave again at any given second. I couldn't stop thinking about her, our predicament, what we did and what I discovered about myself back then...

God, I was talking like we hadn't seen each other in years. It was only four months and yet I was acting like she'd left me alone after years of being together. This was ridiculous, right?

Thankfully Derek's phone rang, snapping us all out of the bubble of silence we'd been in for what seemed like forever.

"Uh, I'm gonna... get this. Be back in a few."

I expected Y/N to drop whatever act it was she had going on with me after he left the table, but her hand remained firmly on my knee. And then she moved a little closer, turning to me completely and tilting her head with a smile that only meant mischief.

"So... Looks like we have some catching up to do..."

***

I was practically giddy when Derek excused himself for a "Garcia Emergency". Though, I was concerned until he assured us that it wasn't anything bad, and by the look on his face as he quickly talked things over With Spencer, I got the feeling he was expecting his friend to 'have some fun' tonight. And that's what truly made me giddy.

We sat close to each other again, a few drinks between us and only a few booths away from the one we sat in the first time we met. If it weren't for the rock missing from my finger, I would have been convinced we'd actually transported back to that exact moment.

"You getting Deja vu, Doctor?" I asked with a smile, watching as he swallowed.

"Y—Yeah, kinda. It's great seeing you again, I... I really didn't think I would."

I laughed. "You know where I live, and you're an FBI agent... I'm pretty sure you could have saw me again if you wanted to."

"Well... Yeah, but I didn't want to be creepy or anything..."

"Trust me... If you randomly showed up at my door, I'd be anything but creeped out. I missed you..."

Spencer looked up at me for a moment, his eyes shifting before he seemed to relax. "You... did?"

"Of course... I haven't stopped thinking about you since we met. And I hope that's not creepy," I added in a laugh.

"No, not at all," he reassured with a nervous laugh of his own. "Actually, um... I've been thinking about you a lot, too..."

"Even on your date?"

I'd only meant it as a little joke, maybe another conversation starter, but at the mention he seemed... embarrassed.

"Oh, no, that was... That wasn't really... I—I only really did it to get Derek off my back, it—"

I rested a hand on his arm and smiled gently. "Hey, it's alright... I didn't really mean anything by that, I'm just... I meant it before, I'm really glad you did it. I know you said it didn't really work out, but did you have some fun at least?"

He laughed again, but this time there was hardly any humor in it. "Well, she wasn't you..."

I smiled a bit, but immediately following his words was a wide-eyed terror and instant regret. "Oh, I didn't... I'm sorry, I—"

"So, you did think about me on your date, huh?"

He froze then, presumably at the low, seductive drawl I blanketed over my words. His mouth slightly hung open, tongue flittering behind teeth as he tried to find the right words.

I smiled at him, and then he settled on, "Yeah. I did."

"It's not very polite to think of other girls while you're on a date, you know..." I made sure to let him know I was only teasing, and that I just wanted to know what his reaction would be.

Still, he surprised me when he said, "It's not my fault you're impossible to forget..."

He flashed me a smile then, and my stomach twisted deliciously at the little dash of confidence he'd grown in the past minute.

Maybe I could bring more out of him...

"Okay, fair... But it is your fault that you didn't come find me."

"Also fair... But... You're here now..."

Spencer inched closer to me, and I smiled, taking my bottom lip gently between my teeth before leaning in, too. "How about that..."

Our lips brushed for a second, so gentle it was like being tickled by a feather, and then he spoke again, his breath hot on my mouth. "I've... dreamt about seeing you again for so long now... Kissing you..."

"Me, too," I responded, bringing a hand down to graze the inside of his thigh. "Guess it's a good thing I'm a firm believer that dreams come true."

"Yeah," is all he said before he finally took the initiative to finally kiss me.

I sighed, melting into his touch and tightening the grip I had on his leg. Meanwhile his hands rested at my forearms, fingers dancing experimentally over my skin and making me tingle in their wake. And once I parted my lips, he took his shot and gently brought his tongue out to meet mine in a collision that quite frankly made me throb.

He'd been a decent kisser before, but... It's obvious he's had a little practice since then. Not that I'd have minded either way, but damn if this newfound experience didn't give me the most sinful idea.

I felt him whine as I pulled away, and that made everything even better.

"You wanna get out of here?" I said in the cheesiest way possible. But he didn't seem to mind.

In fact, he nodded rapidly and took a quick drink of his beer before following me out of the booth and towards the door.

***

Leading Spencer up and through the doorway of my house was probably the most electrifying 'date' experience I've had... well, ever. I'd been excited to sleep with people, sure, but with Spencer I found something greater. I wasn't entirely sure what that was, yet, but it was definitely good.

He reiterated that thought nicely once the door was closed and his hands were on my face, bringing my mouth to his again while I dropped by keys and haphazardly threw my phone and wallet on the side-table next to us in favor of gripping his shirt.

Just through his kisses I could tell how much he'd longed for this moment. I know he told me, and I'd certainly understood the feeling, but when it came down to actually acting it out in the flesh, I was much more in favor of that method of communication.

I gladly accepted his wordless confessions, through every groan and gentle graze of his tongue that he offered to me. And in return I gave him sharp tugs of his shirt and hair, conveying my urgency and the need to be closer to him.

When my legs started moving, his did, too, and we reluctantly pulled apart in favor of not tripping up the hard wooden staircase on the way to my bedroom. Though, I was thankful he was in just as much of a rush as I was, because otherwise I probably would have gotten embarrassed.

And that didn't happen easily.

I fumbled for the light switch once the door shut and our mouths connected once again, and I could have sworn it was like something out of a trashy TV show. The thought almost made me laugh, but I held it in in favor of moaning when Spencer lowered his hands to my ass and squeezed, pulling us closer together. I finally hit the light switch and then flow both of my arms to wrap around his neck and draw him even closer.

He was everywhere all at once, and it fueled me. I'd come to miss physical human interaction, but I hadn't realized how badly I craved it until he was right there, taking up all of my personal space and aiding me in creating this perfect recipe of frantic, glorious electricity.

It was going to kill me, and I would have gladly let it.

I experimentally rolled my hips forward and felt him gasp into me, and it wasn't long before he started growing hard.

Good... Now I could set the plan in motion.

"Remember what you told me?" I asked breathlessly before our heads switched sides and leaned in for more kisses.

In between them, he returned, "When?"

"The first time we met..." I trailed my lips down the column of his throat as I continued. "When you said you edged yourself..."

"O—Oh... Yeah, I remember."

"Mmm," I hummed, sucking a mark into his neck for the time being. As I did it, the grip he held on my ass tightened a bit, and I laughed lightly over his skin, slowly licking my way up to his ear. "I wanna see..."

The trembling he provided under my influence was a good sign. And then another came when he whispered. "Y—You want to see... me? Touching myself?"

"Mhmm..." I planted kisses all along his jaw before pulling back to look him in the eye, making sure he knew I was serious when I told him, "But only if that's okay with you."

He didn't even take a second to think, nodding rapidly once more and giving me a flash of a smile. "It's okay."

I hummed happily, leaning forward to give him one huge kiss, long and hard, before pulling away from him completely and nodding towards the bed. "Clothes off..."

Our hands got to work as soon as the words left my mouth.

And it wasn't until my shirt was on the ground and Spencer's eyes remained glued to my chest with trembling hands that I realized, even though we'd slept together before, our clothes had never actually come off. Tonight we were completely baring ourselves to each other, and that was somehow more intimate than the idea of taking his virginity was.

I reached out and grabbed his shirt, gently assisting him in removing it, and it must have snapped him out of wherever he'd gotten trapped because he shook his head and let out a nervous laugh, averting his eyes from me and staring at the ground.

"S–Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for," I reassured, throwing his shirt to the ground next to mine and bringing his hands to rest on my bare stomach, slowly sliding them up. "I like when you look at me..."

His eyes reached mine once again, breath hitching as I guided his hands to cup my breasts over the bra. "Well, I... I like looking at you."

I kissed him again, hoping to bring forth some familiarity to our current routine, and it worked like a charm. Our movements were slow and steady, each article of clothing joining the floor one by one until we were down to nothing but my underwear.

I led him to the bed then, breaking us apart and making him sit. Now that I was taller than him, I gripped his chin in my hand and tilted his head up to look at me.

"Lay back for me?"

He scooted further along the bed until finally he leaned back, his head resting nicely on my pillows. I climbed up after him, kneeling at his feet and bringing a hand down trace lines along the inside of his thigh. Meanwhile I looked him up and down, finally getting a decent look at his full, bare form.

"Ohh, so pretty... And I bet you're even prettier when you're touching yourself... You wanna start?"

He reached out for his dick in answer, wrapping a delicate hand around it and slowly stroking up and down as he looked up at me with the stars in his eyes. "Like this?"

"However you normally do it, baby. Just relax. Make yourself feel good..."

After a slight nod, his hand picked up a little speed. He swiped his thumb over the tip to gather some precum for lubrication, but as hot as that was, I had a better idea.

"Here, let me help," I offered with a smile, leaning down and bracing my hands on his knees. I let spit gather on the end of my tongue before allowing it to drip down and land right on the tip of his cock. The sound he let out, broken and dripping with want, sent a jolt of electricity through my blood, only amplified by how wet he sounded once he started moving his hand again.

I let my eyes roam all over, taking in every heave of his chest, the veins in his arm and hand as he worked himself, the soft fluttering of his eyes as he lost himself in the moment... At the risk of sounding absolutely cheesy, it truly was a magical sight. I felt entirely lucky that I got to see him again at all, and now like this, bare and vulnerable and exuding lust while I was left to my own devices.

All that to say, I hadn't realized I was touching myself as well, until a whimper came from my mouth, my clit gently throbbing with stimulation at the hands of... well, my hand.

Upon seeing me, Spencer let out a whine of his own, picking up speed with his hand and throwing his head back onto the pillow.

"Y/N..."

He wasn't addressing me, wasn't asking me anything at all... My name on his lips was more of a declaration, like some type of chant, a string of letters and syllables formed specifically to bring him closer to the edge he knew he'd have to resist falling from.

"You getting there, baby?"

"U—Uh huh..."

"You better hold it," I drawled lowly, bringing myself into the more strict persona I wanted to bring out tonight, given that's still something he was into. "Just like you promised."

After a few more hard strokes of his hand, Spencer leg to quickly, bringing his hand to rest on his chest as his mouth let out the most delicious whines and grunts of determination to keep it all in. Without the stimulation, I noticed his dick slightly twitching over his stomach, glistening and  hard...

Fuck, if it wasn't the hottest fucking thing I'd ever experienced with my own eyes and ears...

I pulled my hand out of my underwear, too, still a little shocked that I hadn't realized before that I was doing it to myself and a little turned on at the fact that it had that big of an effect on him.

"I—I would have been able to go longer, but... But you were there, and you were... And I only ever have you in my head, not right in front of me..."

It was obvious that he was probably afraid he'd let me down somehow, and that was definitely not the case. So I leaned down and dragged my hands over his lower stomach, feeling inch of skin while my mouth came down to press featherlight kisses to the base of his dick. "Spence, that was hot as fuck... You really think of me when you do that?"

"Mhm," is all he offered, currently reveling in the way my tongue darted out to explore the lines of his cock.

"I think of you, too," I admitted, pausing to press a kiss to the underside of his tip. "When I touch myself... I think about how pretty you were the first time I called you a slut... Tell me, baby, you still like that?"

"God, Y/N, yes..."

I sucked gently on his tip now, watching as he watched me, his bottom lip occupied between his teeth and his eyes on the brink of closing.

He was getting close again. So I stopped, pulling off of him with a soft pop and smiling as I crawled up his body and planted a kiss to his cheek. My legs straddled his hips, and I got close to his ear.

"Tell me, what about this... other girl you went on a date with... Did you sleep with her?"

"Um... Y—yes..."

"I'm willing to bet she didn't make you feel half as good as I do..."

"She didn't..."

I smiled against his jaw, bringing one of my hands to stroke his hair. "Was she mean to you? Did she make you her dirty little whore?"

I could feel him let out a trembling breath as he answered, "No."

"That's right," I said softly, right before switching gears and tugging on his hair, pulling back to look in his eyes. "Because you're my dirty little whore."

His cock twitched along my ass at my words, and it made me smile. But before I could speak again, he did it first.

"I'm all yours, Y/N... No one else's..."

I couldn't help it then. His words, our position, the needy look in his eyes as he confessed this to me... All of it was enough to make me snap.

So I leaned in and kissed him, hard. My hands tangled in his hair while his flew to my waist, sliding down to play with the hem of my underwear as his tongue slipped into my mouth and against my own with ease. I swallowed each whine with the greatest pleasure, my hips involuntarily grinding down and spreading the evidence of my arousal along the fabric of my panties. I wondered then if he could feel how wet I was, how much I wanted him.

I didn't have to wonder for long though, because he slipped one of his hands around front and dipped into said fabric, finding how wet I was and groaning into my mouth at the feel of it.

"You've been dying to get another try at this pussy, haven't you?" I whispered into his mouth.

Unsurprisingly, I was met with a whine in return. "Uh huh... I missed you so much..."

I ground down into his hand, nipping at his lips a little before giving my next demand.

"Then prove it."

Rather than fingering me like I expected him to, Spencer rolled over and straddled my legs, tearing my panties down and leaving me with a smile.

"I love the confidence you've grown, baby boy... Proves how dedicated you are... to being the best little slut you can be."

"Yes, Y/N," he responded, leaning down and kissing the inside of my thigh. "I wanna be good for you... Let me show you, please..."

"Show me..."

His tongue came in contact with my pussy, and it immediately sent my head flying back into the pillows, a low whine escaping my throat. He flicked it over my clit expertly a few times before going down and licking a broad strip up the entire area. Vibrations flittered along his path through his groans, and just hearing how much he enjoyed it had me clenching the sheets for stability.

"Ohh, what a good boy," I praised, bringing one of my hands to stroke his hair back. "Who's my good little whore?"

He grumbled into me, but I tugged at his hair.

"Say it."

He pulled away briefly then, still in contact with my pussy as he breathed out, "I'm your good little whore..." And then he promptly got back to work, devouring me with a hungry precision that made me laugh.

"Needy, too, I see... So desperate for that cunt..."

"Yes, " I heard him mumble into me. He repeated it a few more times, chanting it as his tongue flicked through me and tasted every last drop of my impending orgasm.

I sat up a little and held his head to me, his tongue moving at a quicker, more relentless pace. My stomach started to twist and my legs clenched, holding Spencer firmly between my legs as my hips rolled forward and met his every movement. Moans fell sweetly off my lips with every second, getting higher and higher until I finally held myself still and let the high take over. His tongue drew out one of the sharpest orgasms I'd ever had, the fervor he delivered making me see stars for a solid twenty to thirty seconds before it finally subsided and my muscles started to relax.

"Fuck," I breathed, almost whining when he removed his mouth from me and just kneeled there, studying my form as I tried to catch my breath. "Get up here," I asked more than demanded, though it might have been hard to tell what with my head spinning.

Spencer climbed over my body and I pulled his face down into a warm, wet kiss that had me tasting myself and growing wet again at the taste. I pulled away then, looking into his eyes and playing with his hair.

"I can't believe you didn't come see me sooner... Depriving me of that pretty fucking mouth..."

He kissed me again briefly, whining into my mouth before I continued. "But no... You were busy going on dates..."

"I'm sorry, Y/N," he said, kissing my cheek softly, over and over as his lips made their way down to my neck. "I'm so sorry, I... I wanted to see you, I just..."

"I know, I know," I cooed, closing my eyes and relishing in the feel of his lips on my skin. "But tonight you're gonna make up for lost time, got it?"

"Yes... Yes, I'll do whatever you want..."

I hummed, bringing his head back up to meet his gaze, and my thumb stroked over his bottom lip. "I want you to put that pretty cock to good use and fuck me like the desperate little slut I know you are..."

I kissed him then, gasping out once he shifted his hips and entered me slowly— I knew he was going to get to it quickly, but I guess I'd underestimated his need to please me.

The sentiment had me curling with want, more of it coming when he bottomed out inside me and trembled. Really, I could feel him shaking as he started to pull out and then back in, setting a steady pace that would surely become more erratic once I started talking to him again.

"Shit..." Spencer cursed, shifting up on his arms for more leverage as he steadily drilled into me. "I m—missed this... Missed you..."

"I know, baby, I know... I missed you, too... And you know what else?"

I drifted one of my hands down in between us, spreading out my fingers so that his cock fit nicely between them as he fucked me. The added friction of my fingers had him whining out, dropping his head down so that his ear was right by my mouth.

I whispered. "So did my pussy... So you better fuck her good..."

The sudden brutal velocity in which he slammed his hips against mine felt like a strike of lightning, and the loud groan he let out against my neck was the thunder. Everything shifted then, Spencer lifting himself up and holding onto my legs as he drilled into me at full force, his body glistening with exertion and my own succumbing to his wind.

"Yeah, that's it," I cooed through a laugh of pure pride. "That's a good fucking whore... Giving me that cock like I own it..."

"Y—You... do," he stuttered through a broken whine. He was getting close again, and I knew just the thing to do the trick.

I reached my hand up to hold his neck, not applying any pressure, but just holding as I forced his eyes down to look at me. "That's right... That slutty cock is mine... Now give it to me..."

The end of my sentence was punctuated with a sharp cry out as another orgasm tore through me. I shouted Spencer's name into the abyss as He fucked me through it and started twitching inside me, signaling his end as well. And the added warmth from his cum as it coated my insides well and truly marked me as his, despite the words we'd just exchanged.

I belonged to him just as much as he did to me, and I wondered if he knew that. If he knew just how much he inhabited my every thought.

I wanted him to know that I was practically infatuated with him.

But that conversation could wait until after we were... settled down.

He was still inside me as he slumped forward, laying his head on my chest and rubbing lines into my forearm.

"You okay?" I asked gently, combing through his hair with my fingers.

"Most definitely... Just... tired."

I smiled, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "You're welcome to stay here for the night..."

He was silent for a long while, almost so long that I thought he'd actually fallen asleep. But then he said, "Right here? With you?" and my heart soared.

"Of course."

Truthfully, I'd have let him stay forever.

But when I opened my eyes the next morning, the other side of the bed was cold, and his body was nowhere to be found.

***

Dear Y/N,

I'm sorry for leaving you alone last week. I know you must be a little hurt and confused, but if you aren't, then just forget I ever said anything.

Nonetheless, I regretted leaving you behind last time without at the very least sending you a letter, so I hope this one finds you well. After all, you have shown me experiences I never could have imagined enjoying as much as I did, so I should thank you for that.

But that's not all that this letter is for.

I also want to invite you out to dinner some time. I know this might be a little unconventional, but given how we met and also how we reunited, I figured this would be a fun, romantic way to ask you out. I understand if you don't feel that way given that I've more or less abandoned you twice now, but I promise it was all for good reason.

If you'd like to talk more, about anything I've disclosed in this letter, I've attached my phone number below, otherwise I'd love to hear back from you. I know this sounds strange, but I've been dying to know what your handwriting looks like. I bet it's pretty, like you.

Once again, I am truly sorry for leaving you behind without a word, but I want a chance to make it up to you. Please say you'll reach out. Otherwise, I know where to find you if you'd rather I make some cheesy romantic comedy—esque gesture of affection that either makes you fall in love with me or hate me.

Yours, Spencer Reid

***

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[calzona-ga]

In her unauthorized book, Lynette Rice explores the stories behind some of the ABC drama's biggest moments, including — in this exclusive excerpt — the factors that led to McDreamy's shocking death.

In How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy, author Lynette Rice recounts the ABC medical drama’s eventful 16-year history, revealing new details behind some of the show’s biggest departures. Included in the unauthorized, 320-page oral history (St. Martin’s Press, Sept. 21, $29.99) is a chapter that offers new insight into leading man Patrick Dempsey’s shocking exit in season 11 of the Shonda Rhimes-created drama. In the chapter, Rice speaks with Dempsey’s co-stars and exec producers who were present during filming of his final days on Grey’s Anatomy, and reveals claims of “HR issues” that contributed to the death of his alter-ego, Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.

“There were HR issues. It wasn’t sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorizing the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him,” recalls exec producer James D. Parriott, who was brought back to the series to oversee Dempsey’s exit.

In more than 80 interviews with current and former cast- and crewmembers, Rice, an editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, also explores the show’s early days, recounts the thinking behind some of its more polarizing storylines and offers exclusive details about the show’s behind-the-scenes culture.

“After 17 seasons, fans still can’t get enough of Grey’s Anatomy,” Rice tells THR. But what went down behind the scenes was just as dramatic as what viewers saw every Thursday. I’m excited for fans to read what I learned about those early days, along with what it was like to work for Shonda Rhimes, and why the drama was so freakin’ headline-prone.”

Below, The Hollywood Reporter shares an excerpt — the full eighth chapter — from How to Save a Life, and tune in Friday to TV’s Top 5 for an interview with Rice about her book and the other big reveals she uncovered in her reporting for it.

(Reps for ABC, ABC Signature, Shondaland, and Dempsey declined comment on the reveals in Rice’s book.)

“He’s Very Dreamy, but He’s Not the Sun,” Or, How Grey’s Anatomy Loved — Then Learned to Live Without — Patrick Dempsey Ellen Pompeo may have played the titular role, but for many fans over many years, Patrick Dempsey was the real draw to Grey’s Anatomy. Some of it had to do with his celebrity: Dempsey was the most famous member of the original cast at the time of the pilot and brought with him quite a cult following from his 1987 movie Can’t Buy Me Love. But a lot of it was due to the way Rhimes wrote her McDreamy and how Dempsey depicted him. James D. Parriott I would say, “The guy would never say that,” and Shonda would say, “He’s McDreamy. He’s the perfect man. He would say that.” I’d say, “Okay. It’s your show.” Eric Buchman Shonda had a very clear idea of how important it was to keep Derek as this almost idealized love interest, not just for Meredith but for the audience. Naturally, the writers—especially writers who had been working on one-hour dramas for a while—were like, “Well, maybe have McDreamy make a big mistake in surgery and kill somebody. Or he develops an addiction of some kind. What is his deep, dark secret?” Shonda was very insistent: that’s not the character we do that with. Even when you find out he’s married, that was done in a very sympathetic way that kept him being a hero. He was wronged by his spouse and in spite of it all he was still gonna give his marriage a second chance. Stacy McKee Shonda was protective of McDreamy, but it was really with an eye toward being protective of Meredith. I don’t think the two were separate from one another. I don’t think she wanted to put something out there that maybe on the surface might seem a little frivolous. At its core, there was something really substantial that she wanted to say. She wanted to be very specific about the type of relationship values that she put out there. Tony Phelan I was in editing with Shonda once, and it was the scene where Meredith and Derek had broken up. He comes over and she’s like, “I can’t remember the last time we kissed.” And he says, “I remember. You were wearing this and you smelled of this …”

Joan Rater “Your shampoo smelled like flowers, you had that sweater on …” He described their last kiss. Tony Phelan Typically in editing you start on Derek, then you cut to Meredith for a reaction, and then you’ll go back to him. I noticed that we weren’t ever cutting back to Meredith. I asked why. Shonda said, “Because the woman in Iowa who’s watching this show wants to believe that Patrick is talking to her, and if you cut back to Meredith, it pushes them out of it.” In those special moments, we would just lock into Derek and let him do his thing. Joan Rater And he was a master at it. Patrick Dempsey He’s the ideal man, and that’s what Shonda constructed. There’s a projection [of him] onto me when you come in contact with fans, certainly with the younger and older fans. There is a certain amount of expectation. There is a responsibility to it. It made me grow, too. There were good qualities [of his] that you work on to obtain. Off camera, Dempsey was equally as charismatic to his fellow actors, crew members, and anyone who would come to visit the set. Lauren Stamile I was going in to meet him, and I remember I had this little cardigan sweater on and I took it off before I got into the room. Dempsey is one of those people—it’s almost like there’s a light shining around his body, and you feel like you’re the only person in the room. I got so hot and I remember saying, “Gosh, I would take off my sweater if I had one on because I’m so hot, but I took it off.” I was just babbling. He said, “You look nice,” and I said, “You look nicer.” I felt so awkward and he was so gracious and lovely. I was having a nervous breakdown. It’s like this “it” factor. I was like, God, whatever he has, I wish I had. I think it was very obvious how nervous I was, and he went out of his way to make sure he introduced me to everybody and made sure I felt comfortable, which he certainly didn’t have to do. But he did. Joan Rater He knew I had a giant crush on him, and he loved it. And when we’d go to table reads—I was an actress at one point in my life—they would always give me Meredith if Ellen wasn’t there. And I’d be getting my chicken tenders at craft services before the table read and he’d come up behind me and say, “Are you reading Meredith?” in my ear, like, so sexy. I’d be like, Oh my God. I mean, I could barely … I could not look at him. Tina Majorino I worked with Patrick a ton. I love him so much. We had a really great time working together. I think he’s such a great actor and he really made me laugh a lot. I feel like we had a good dynamic in scenes together, and it was always fun to play opposite him. Yes, he’s that charismatic in real life. Yes, his hair is that awesome. Yes, he is dreamy up close.

Chandra Wilson Patrick Dempsey will forever be known as Grey’s Anatomy’s McDreamy. Derek Shepherd is a permanent part of television history.

Norman Leavitt He is a big, personable guy.

Jeannine Renshaw We all love Patrick. Patrick is a sweetheart. If I saw him on the street, I’d give him a hug. I love the guy.

Mark Wilding I’ve always had a soft spot for Patrick. He really does try to do the right thing. Brooke Smith, who played Dr. Erica Hahn, remembers how Dempsey defended her when the decision was made to fire her from the show in 2008. Brooke Smith I remember calling him and saying, “Oh my God, they said they can’t write for me anymore, so I guess I’m leaving.” And he was like, “What are you talking about? You’re the only one they’re writing for.” Which at that time, it kind of did feel that way. But I guess someone didn’t like that. They gave me a statement [to release, about her departure] and I never said it. Patrick said that he actually took it out of his jacket on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and read the statement. He won’t let me forget it. He was like, “I defended you, see?” And it was true.

By season eleven, however, fans saw a disturbing break in MerDer’s once unbreakable bond. Six episodes had gone by without a peep from Derek, who was supposedly in Washington, D.C., where he had apparently made out with a research fellow. Fans began threatening to bolt if their hero didn’t return soon to Seattle. “I have never missed one episode,” wrote a fan on Dempsey’s Facebook page. “But I swear if [Rhimes] kills you off I’m done.” But there was a critical reason for Derek’s strange absence: behind the scenes, there was talk of Dempsey’s diva-like fits and tension between him and Pompeo. To help manage the explosive situation, executive producer James D. Parriott was brought back in to serve as a veritable Dempsey whisperer.

Patrick Dempsey [That] was the first year that I haven’t been in every episode. I [was] in every episode since the pilot— close to 250 episodes. That [was a] huge run. James D. Parriott Shonda needed an OG to come in as sort of a showrunner for fourteen episodes. There were HR issues. It wasn’t sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorizing the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him. He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people. The network and studio came down and we had sessions with them. I think he was just done with the show. He didn’t like the inconvenience of coming in every day and working. He and Shonda were at each other’s throats.

Jeannine Renshaw There were times where Ellen was frustrated with Patrick and she would get angry that he wasn’t working as much. She was very big on having things be fair. She just didn’t like that Patrick would complain that “I’m here too late” or “I’ve been here too long” when she had twice as many scenes in the episode as he did. When I brought it up to Patrick, I would say, “Look around you. These people have been here since six thirty a.m.” He would go, “Oh, yeah.” He would get it. It’s just that actors tend to see things from their own perspective. He’s like a kid. He’s so high energy and would go, “What’s happening next?” He literally goes out of his skin, sitting and waiting. He wants to be out driving his race car or doing something fun. He’s the kid in class who wants to go to recess.

Patrick Dempsey It’s ten months, fifteen hours a day. You never know your schedule, so your kid asks you, “What are you doing on Monday?” And you go, “I don’t know,” because I don’t know my schedule. Doing that for eleven years is challenging. But you have to be grateful, because you’re well compensated, so you can’t really complain because you don’t really have a right. You don’t have control over your schedule. So, you have to just be flexible.

Longtime Crew Member Poor Patrick. I’m not defending his schtick. I like him, but he was the Lone Ranger. All of these actresses were getting all this power. All the rogue actresses would go running to Shonda and say, “Hey, Patrick’s doing this. Patrick’s late for work. He’s a nightmare.” He was just shut out in the cold. His behavior wasn’t the greatest, but he had nowhere to go. He was so miserable. He had no one to talk to. When Sandra left, I remember him telling me, “I should’ve left then, but I stayed on because they showed me all this money. They just were dumping money on me.”

Patrick Dempsey It [was] hard to say no to that kind of money. How do you say no to that? It’s remarkable to be a working actor, and then on top of that to be on a show that’s visible. And then on top of that to be on a phenomenal show that’s known around the world, and play a character who is beloved around the world. It’s very heady. It [was] a lot to process, and not wanting to let that go, because you never know whether you will work again and have success again.

Jeannine Renshaw A lot of the complaining … I think Shonda finally witnessed it herself, and that was the final straw. Shonda had to say to the network, “If he doesn’t go, I go.” Nobody wanted him to leave, because he was the show. Him and Ellen. Patrick is a sweetheart. It messes you up, this business.

James D. Parriott I vaguely recall something like that, but I can’t be sure. It would have happened right toward the end, because I know they were negotiating and negotiating, trying to figure out what to do. We had three different scenarios that we actually had to break because we didn’t know until I think about three days before he came back to set which one we were going to go with. We didn’t know if he was going to be able to negotiate his way out of it. We had a whole story line where we were going to keep him in Washington, D.C., so we could separate him from the rest of the show. He would not have to work with Ellen again. Then we had the one where he comes back, doesn’t die, and we figure out what Derek’s relationship with Meredith would be. Then there was the one we did. It was kind of crazy. We didn’t know if he was going to be able to negotiate his way out of it. It was ultimately decided that just bringing him back was going to be too hard on the other actors. The studio just said it was going to be more trouble than it was worth and decided to move on.

Stacy McKee I don’t think there was any way to exit him without him dying. He and Meredith were such an incredibly bonded couple at that point. It would be completely out of character if he left his kids. There was no exit that would honor that character other than if he were to die. Patrick Dempsey I don’t remember the date [I got the news]. It was not in the fall. Maybe February or March. It was just a natural progression. And the way everything was unfolding in a very organic way, it was like, “Okay! This is obviously the right time.” Things happened very quickly. We were like, “Oh, this is where it’s going to go.”

So that was that: McDreamy would die in episode twenty-one of season eleven, even though Dempsey was in year one of his recently signed two-year contract extension. Rhimes wrote a script that was befitting of her lead’s heroic persona: she began “How to Save a Life” by having Derek witness a car crash and helping the injured. Once it appeared everyone was out of harm’s way, Derek continues on his road trip but is suddenly broadsided by a truck.

Rob Hardy (Director) The paramedics leave. He’s there by himself. He’s having a moment. The nice music is playing, and all of a sudden, bang. It comes out of nowhere, which, you know, is how accidents happen. So as opposed to watching it as a viewer, we saw the accident happen through Derek’s perspective. Derek ends up at Dillard Medical Center, a hospital far from Grey Sloan and the talented doctors who work there. His eyes are open, but his brain is severely damaged. No one hears his plea for a CT scan; he can’t speak. To help keep the episode a secret, the scenes were shot in an abandoned hospital in Hawthorne, California, about twenty-two miles from the show’s home studio in Los Feliz.

Mimi Melgaard It was really hard on all of us because it was so secretive and we had so many different locations. We shot at this closed-down hospital that was absolutely creepy haunted. All the scenes there were so sad anyway, and in this yucky-feeling haunted hospital? It was really weird. His whole last episode was really tough. Patrick Dempsey It was like any other day. It was just another workday. There was still too much going on. You’re in the midst of it—you’re not really processing it. Rob Hardy Here’s a guy who’s immobile. Now you’re inside of his head. We were trying to make that feel scary from the perspective of a person who’s used to being in control, from a person who usually has the power of life and death in his own hands. But now he doesn’t have the ability to speak on his own behalf.

Samantha Sloyan When I went to audition, I didn’t recognize any of these doctors’ names. I assumed they were just dummy sides so people wouldn’t ruin the story line or anything like that. All we knew is that we were dealing with a man who’s been in a car accident. I had no idea that it was going to be Derek. I just figured I was going to be a guest doctor and that whoever this person was who was injured, was going to be just a character on the show. Once it became clear what we were working on, I was like, Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe this is the episode I’m on.

Mike McColl (Dr. Paul Castello) I signed an NDA before they would release the script to me. I was reading it in my house, and I was like, “Oh, my God.” I didn’t tell anyone, including my agents. I just said, “This is a really great booking. It’s a great role on Grey’s.” And they didn’t know anything until it aired.

Savannah Paige Rae (Winnie) The first scene I shot was actually the sentimental scene when I’m saying, “It’s a beautiful day to save lives, right?” I’m in the hospital room with Derek and talking to him. Even though I never watched the show, I recognized the value of the episode I was in and just really took it to heart. It was so special that I got to be a part of it.

Rob Hardy [Patrick] had a lot of emotions during the whole shoot, which evolved. I think when we first started, he was very calm and cool … the same Patrick that I remembered when I worked on the show a year or so before. With each passing day, he was a lot more emotional. A lot more was on his mind, and that would show itself in different ways. The finality of the episode and for his character was setting in. You’ve become a global icon on this show and then in five, four, three, two, a day … it’s over.

James D. Parriott Patrick was very cooperative and good.

Mike McColl When I met Patrick, he’s lying on a stretcher and we’re rushing him into the ER. I just introduced myself, shook his hand, and was like, “Man, I cannot tell you what an honor it is to be the guy to take you down.” He loved it. He could not have been nicer to me and was funny through the whole shoot. He was on the table in front of me there when I cut his chest open and all that stuff. He gave me a hug at the end. It was a real privilege to be a part of TV history in that way.

Samantha Sloyan I remember him being incredibly kind. They had his neck in a brace, and he’s strapped down to the board, so there wasn’t a ton of chatting. I remember him being really kind, but it was clearly intense for him.

Stacy McKee It was such a beautiful piece of storytelling. I knew this event was going to be a really sad, horrible event for Meredith, but I also knew it was going to be the beginning of such an incredible chapter for Meredith.

Dempsey completed his final hours of shooting on a rainy night. There was no goodbye party, no goodbye cake. Maybe that’s because some cast members were left out of the loop. James Pickens, Jr., told ABC News that the cast “didn’t know a whole lot. It was kind of on the fly. So whatever information we got, we pretty much got it kind of right before it happened.”

Caterina Scorsone (Dr. Amelia Shepherd) I didn’t get to say goodbye to Patrick when he left. I do think that helped, because I’ve been using the character of Derek in my internal landscape since Private Practice. Derek was the stability in Amelia’s life. He became a father figure after they watched robbers shoot their father. When he was suddenly gone from the show, we didn’t have that closure, so I got to play it out. She’s about to use drugs again before Owen confronts her in a way that she finally talks about her feelings about losing Derek. She doesn’t end up using.

James D. Parriott The day he left, that was my last day. There was a certain sadness to it, but I think he was relieved. I mean, I think it took a toll on him, too.

Rob Hardy I didn’t see other actors showing up and saying, “Hey, it’s the last day! Wanted to come and wish you well.” I didn’t get that. It was more the Patrick show. We were in the Patrick world, and then Ellen came, and there was definitely a lot of emotion that both of them had individually … not necessarily together. It was more so her being there on the day that he died. He had his own way of being with that, and the same thing with her. It was like two people who grew up together and … here we are. They had their own way of reflecting.

Patrick Dempsey I very quietly left. It was beautiful. It was raining, which was really touching. I got in my Panamera, got in rush-hour traffic, and two hours later I was home. Big news like this doesn’t stay quiet for long. Both Michael Ausiello—who left EW in 2010 to launch the news site TVLine—and Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter learned two weeks prior to Dempsey’s final episode that he would be leaving the show. No reporter worth their salt wants to sit on a scoop—least of all one as huge as this—but Ausiello and Goldberg didn’t want to spoil the outcome for fans, so they agreed to hold the story until after the episode aired. I eventually found out, too, but in the nuttiest way imaginable: I was standing on the set of CSI: Cyber, watching Patricia Arquette talk about some droll techno-criminal. Unfortunately, the publicist also cc’d Dempsey’s manager and ABC publicist while trying to give me a major story, so I couldn’t immediately report the scoop. But I did use the information to successfully negotiate the one and only exit interview with Dempsey. Two weeks before his final episode, I met him and his publicist at Feed Body & Soul in Venice, California, for a story that would hit newsstands on April 24. He seemed a little shell-shocked and at one point choked up, but at the time he said nothing about how his on-set behavior may have contributed to his ouster. My editor, Henry Goldblatt, wanted to put him on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, but he couldn’t guarantee to ABC that no one would see it before the episode aired. Good thing we didn’t: some subscribers got the issue on the morning of Dempsey’s final episode— and one actually tweeted the story. Our PR department tried to get the tweets removed, but the cat was out of the bag: some fans found out early that McDreamy was about to be McHistory. Outlets like Variety reported how the story got out early, while our PR department released this statement: “We are surprised that an EW subscriber may have received their issue a day earlier than planned. We always try our best to bring readers exclusive news first. We would like to apologize to fans of the show that learned the news ahead of time.” Dempsey’s final episode was watched by 8.83 million viewers—the show’s largest audience since the premiere that season. Variety even pontificated whether the ratings boost was due to my exclusive with Dempsey.

Lesley Goldberg (The Hollywood Reporter) I’m used to working with networks to hold news as part of their efforts to guard against plot spoilers. But the way Patrick Dempsey’s exit was handled involved a layer of paranoia and secrecy that has been unlike anything I’ve seen in my reporting career. News that he was leaving, and his character being killed off, would have been a major story considering how big the show is domestically and internationally. However, it also would have meant spoiling the episode and, more important, damaging key relationships I’ve worked hard to build. At some point, publishing the news of Dempsey’s exit before the episode aired became an ethical question of what was more important—a big story and its subsequent traffic, which would have come no matter what, or the relationships and trust that it took years to craft. Ultimately, I still published early because EW subscribers received the issue with Lynette’s Dempsey interview before the episode aired.

Mike McColl The morning after Derek’s last episode aired, my daughter sent me a link that was on YouTube or Facebook or something. I actually pulled it up to look at it, and it was a Grey’s Anatomy showbiz cheat sheet. It asked the question “Who is the attending doctor who killed Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd?” It included a photo that I posted from the set. I had on a bloody rubber glove and was in my scrubs and mask. I never obviously would have posted this before it aired. I posted it well after the episode aired, and I [captioned it] “McDeadly.” This writer said something like, “Kill McDeadly.” Maybe that’s why the producer didn’t choose a big-name actor to be the one who killed our beloved McDreamy! I want to be ultrasensitive to these hard-core fans because it means so much to them, and I certainly didn’t mean in that case to make light of it. It’s just, I’m an actor, and I recognize it for what it is. Is everybody clear on the fact that this is just pretend and Patrick knew he was going to be leaving the show? It was just like, “God. He’s okay. He really is okay.”

Peter Horton Derek was going to be there forever with Meredith because you went through a whole journey with them. That was incredibly fulfilling. So even if he’s not there, he’s there. I don’t think any of us really worried about that going away because by then you were so invested in it. The show can last as it has for years.

Patrick Dempsey Lots of people [miss him]. “It’s good to see you alive” is the comment I get. I’m like, “Yes, I’m very much alive in reruns.” People were really invested in that relationship. I knew it would be heavy. Very happy to have moved on with a different chapter in my life.

Samantha Sloyan The montage just killed me, when Meredith says, “It’s okay, you can go.” God, I’m getting choked up just thinking about it. The chemistry they have as a pair and the way they were able to build that and sustain it! So many of these relationships are, like, “Will they, won’t they,” and then it wears thin. They sustained it for the duration of their relationship on the show, and it’s just, I think, a testament to what those two created. It was just unbelievable.

Pompeo addressed Dempsey’s departure with a tweet that focused solely on his character, not on how she spent eleven years working side by side with him: “There are so many people out there who have suffered tremendous loss and tragedy. Husbands and wives of soldiers, victims of senseless violence, and parents who have lost children. People who get up every day and do what feels like is the impossible. So it is for these people and in the spirit of resilance [sic] I am honored and excited to tell the story of how Meredith goes on in the face of what feels like the impossible.” Meanwhile, fans futilely created a Change.org petition to reinstate McDempsey, while other, more desperate ones simply tweeted “We Hate You” to Rhimes.

Shonda Rhimes Derek Shepherd is and will always be an incredibly important character—for Meredith, for me, and for the fans. I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our McDreamy. Patrick Dempsey’s performance shaped Derek in a way that I know we both hope became a meaningful example— happy, sad, romantic, painful, and always true—of what young women should demand from modern love. His loss will be felt by all.

Talk about the mother (father?) of all postscripts: In November of 2020 Dempsey reprised his role as McDreamy in the season opener—but only in Meredith’s dreams. Stricken with COVID-19, an unconscious Meredith “imagined” reuniting with her husband on the beach. After talking exclusively to Deadline and saying how it was “really a very healing process, and really rewarding,” Dempsey would return for more beach-based episodes that would ultimately stand out as the best moments of season seventeen. “It was a second chance thing,” one ABC executive told me at the time. “Shonda likes a comeback. Also, they wanted him in their last season.”

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (February 7/2021) - End of Week

I hope you all are caught up on your Tom Gravy hotdog-eating Olympics lore.

Also, the server’s first attempt at a prison break...? I guess??

---

VOD LINKS:

HBomb94

Foolish Gamers

Tubbo

Ranboo

Nihachu

GeorgeNotFound

Captain Puffy

---

- HBomb explores the SMP mainland and looks at the L’manburg Crater, wondering if he should build a house there. He runs a poll and it’s 50/50.

- H runs back through the Nether. Sam asked him if he wanted to visit Dream at some point and H said yes.

- He discusses the possibilities of future catmaid bits. Would Sam let him be a prison maid?

- Foolish asks H for 16452 sandstone. Unfortunately, HBomb doesn’t have it.

- H gets filled in on all the SMP lore and figures out the ultimate truth:

Sapnap wrote the books in the Inbetween.

Sapnap can time travel.

Sapnap is the answer.

- H speaks with Foolish, and H mentions the gold bar labelled “HBomb’s maid service” that he got from Fundy...

- Foolish says he does need some sandstone...

- Dream logs on the server. He dies in lava and leaves.

- H tells Foolish the story of how he killed Technoblade 27 times, and asks if he knows about the obstacle course.

- H and Foolish meet near the Community House and Foolish is...surprised...by HBomb’s skin.

- Foolish brings HBomb to the Temple of Undying.

- Then they go to Snowchester. 

- Later, Foolish continues work on the Temple.

- Tubbo speaks with Scott Smajor.

- Ranboo goes mining while Tubbo makes a sandwich.

- Niki shows off her secret city. It’s been coming along well!

- Tubbo is just trying to get Ranboo DMCA’d at this point.

- Niki starts working on building the secret city some more.

- Niki’s character still deals with night terrors and isn’t sure what to feel about Wilbur. She sleeps in her own chamber and writes in a diary about what she’s going through.

- George has woken up!

- He comes onto the SMP after speedrunning and wonders what to do. He needs new supplies, because he has absolutely nothing now.

- He asks if Sapnap has his stuff, but Sapnap says no. He gave it all to Karl. George calls Karl. Karl can’t give his stuff back at the moment.

- Dream and Quackity fill him in on how Tom Brady got a home run and won a gold medal in the Olympics World Cup.

It begins.

-

--- THE FOOTBALL LORE ---

-

Gronk, Greg, and Tony Romo all pulled their weight as well. One got bronze in the Grand Prix. They also talk about how Tom Gravy’s been doing. There’s also Tony Gravy, who is Tom Gravy’s brother, but they mean to talk about Tony Romo and how many laps he finished.

The football stans took over the trending tab with their profile pics.

- Bad joins the call and they start filling him in on the Olympics. Bad mentions the Superb Owl.

- Tony Romo is the 11th time gold medalist of the Grand Prix who is going to retire soon to become an announcer for the Bikini Bottom competition. 

- Tom Gravy never dies. Well, he said that he might in a couple years, but by then he’ll have won several more medals. His goal is to eat 10,000 hot dogs by 2022. He burns off calories by running around the Grand Prix track. Tony Romo gives him all the advice.

- They have different maps for Tony Romo and Tom Gravy, one of which is in Russia. Change of scenery.

- Tony O’Brown got one of the goals and that was it, but the real dagger was by Patrick, who threw an interception. 

Tony Romo ran a red light in Alaska, having won the Grand Prix with 21 laps, and got a mugshot for it, but got a medal for Sexiest Mugshot so it wasn’t too bad. His goal is 22.

- They also have a pizza restaurant called Tom and Tony.

- Wait, Patrick got the mugshot gold medal for running the intersection. Tony Romo went to Russia.

- Gronk faked his retirement, then lied and showed up at the Olympics, won anyway and got a gold medal. He was pretending to train but he never actually trained. He took different videos with different shirts to pretend that he was training on different days.

- Gronk wanted it to be surprising when he won. Him and Tom Gravy were very good friends. They met before the first Olympics while training together.

- George asks if there’s a Wiki to learn all this lore from. Dream says there is, but it’s on the Dark Web.

- Though Patrick had the sexiest mugshot, there were plenty of others that weren’t so sexy.

- Tom Gravy is now trending.

- George has just been mining throughout all of this.

- Karl joins the conversation. Tony Romo retired because of the money but also because he had a kid, according to Quackity. 

- Taylor Swift named something after the number of hotdogs Tom Gravy had to eat daily last year, which was 22. They call him “The American Patriot” for all the hotdogs he eats, but this year he was more of a Pirate. 

- During the Olympics recess, Tom Gravy was sponsored by Hard Mikes. 

- Greg is in his flop area at the moment. He was a Patrick fan, actually, but then the whole incident happened with the intersection.

- Out of the last 20 Olympics, Tom Gravy’s won 7 and been to 10. This is the Hotdog-Eating Olympics, though, not the world Olympics. The Hotdog-Eating Olympics happens at the rate that the Grand Prix happens divided by 2.

- There was a cheating scandal where he was accused of inflating his stomach. “Inflate-Gate.” 

- Tom Gravy ate 200 hotdogs in 12 seconds, which is called a “Scarf Ace” in the contest.

-

--- THE FOOTBALL LORE IS OVER ---

-

- Foolish gives George Netherite.

- Ponk attempts to kill George. George escapes to the Holy Land.

- Bad points out that because the enforcer of the Holy Land’s neutrality rules is in the prison, they’re free to kill Ponk. Dream says no, they’ll get punished if they do. He also asks why there’s a turtle in the Holy Land, and asks to delete it.

Callahan, Bad and Foolish all come join them in Church Prime.

- Ponk steals Oogway and a fistfight breaks out. Captain Puffy arrives.

- George tricks Puffy into killing him in Church Prime. Dream says that George’s stream was conveniently blacked out for some reason. They start talking about pictures.

- Callahan kills George in the Holy Land. Dream says it was blacked out again.

- Ponk kills George in the Holy Land. Dream saw that one and Ponk falls out of the world.

- Dream finally reveals the truth behind the old Bedwars clip after several months of mystery.

(It was porn)

- One thing leads to another, Dream drops some glass water bottles and sings “Mad World” in the background after being rejected by George for Valentine’s Day.

- They start leaking Rat pics.

- George is preoccupied and doesn’t notice as Ponk boxes him in with obsidian. Puffy arrives to help him out.

- Foolish shows George his summer house and gives him supplies.

- Quackity tries to insist that he’s not a competitive hotdog eater, but everyone already knows the truth.

- Karl comes online and gives George the Netherite.

- The chaos continues as they pass it back and forth. Callahan joins in.

- George goes to the prison and tries to break in. GEORGE LORE STREAM?? NOT CLICKBAIT??

- He finds a very secret and important area. 

- (It’s a lightswitch)

- George starts breaking a blackstone block in the wall to rescue Dream. 

- Dream tells George to keep trying to break him out, saying it’s been long enough. Karl says that, in his very canonical opinion, it has not, in fact, been long enough yet. 

- Dream warns George that he actually has to hurry, in case Awesam logs on.

- George sits there mining for a good few minutes. One block between Dream and freedom! Callahan comes to watch.

- He finally breaks the block!

...

...

- Aaaand behind it is obsidian. 

- George immediately ends stream.

---

Later, Awesam places the single block back...

...And threatens to take all of George’s canon lives if he ever messes with the prison again.

---

Upcoming Events:

- Many, many visits with Dream

- Many meetings with Technoblade, with Puffy’s specifically happening very soon

- Prison guard introduction stream this week

---

END OF WEEK RECAP:

2/1: Ponk’s dream, Ranboo speaks with Awesam

2/2: Ponk reads Jack’s Journal, Tommy takes a piece of the Crimson, Awesam and Fran

2/3: Puffy attempts to destroy the Crimson, Tales From the SMP: “The Masquerade”

2/4: Nothing much happens

2/5: Jack Manifold becomes the main character

2/6: Puffy searches for parrots

2/7: The 5-Hour Tom Gravy Stream

[proto-language]

Top 5 historical fiction!

Ooh, shit, that's a hard one! Thank you!!

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. I can only imagine that everyone saw this one coming, but O'Brian just writes with such an authentic voice that I regularly forget that I can't take his novels as evidence from the period. His character work is wonderful too: Jack and Stephen and their relationship obviously steal the show, but the supporting characters are all also excellent in their own ways, and I find that (so far in my reading, at least) none of them are ever overused in a way that makes you grow bored of them. Killick's a delight to be used sparingly!

Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series. I recently saw physical editions of some of these books for the first time after reading them all as ebooks, and I realised that reading all 16 of them in one month may not have been my sanest move. In my defence, the month in question was May 2020. Roman Blood is fun as a self-contained little murder mystery tying in with Pro Roscio Amerino, but I think the series really gets good (for me, at least) from the second book, when the familial dynamics are introduced. Saylor's takes on the historical figures involved are great fun too, and the sexy naked moonlit walk with Catilina will live on in my heart forever <3

Rosemary Sutcliff's Dolphin Ring cycle. I've only read three works of this so far (The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, and Frontier Wolf), but all three have touched me deeply and rank among some of my favourite books of all time. Her prose is absolutely gorgeous and I love the idiosyncratic little phrases that mark it out as being hers ("it is in my heart that-" being the most iconic of all, naturally). Her themes of love and friendship and loyalty are so beautifully handled, and I really enjoy the way that she explores cultural dynamics in Roman Britain (particularly because multilingualism and cultural contact in the Roman Empire are the Things that make me vibrate like a fucking insane person and to which I would quite happily dedicate my life.) I'm interested to see what'll happen in her novels as they move out of the Roman period, but I'm sure they'll continue to be brilliant

The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco. I only read this for the first time last summer, but it very firmly earned its place on my all time favourites list! It starts off slow (which put me off of it for a couple of years after my first attempt at reading it when I was 13) but it veers into proper thriller territory by the end, as well as being a good mystery. Eco's recreation of the time period (and the narrative voice of a medieval monk) is masterful, and the philosophical elements which touch on his work on semiotics are very interesting, but it surprised me by also being a pretty emotionally touching novel - Adso's admiration for William, and William's desire to instruct Adso intellectually and spiritually but also to care for him as a person, were very nice.

Of Strangers and Bees by Hamid Ismailov. I really didn't expect to love this one as much as I did when I first read it. For me, it's historical both in the medieval sections, and in the sections set in the 80s - I can't recall when the sections from the bee's point of view are set! Now that I'm trying to write about it, I honestly can't remember the plot that well, I just remember that it was beautiful and incredibly interesting, and I really enjoyed hearing about history and the world from an Uzbek perspective, as I hadn't read any literature from there before. I really need to pick up another of Ismailov's books soon.

Honourable mentions also go to Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller, and Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault.

[youareinlovees]

Rep Tour Metlife Night 3 (submission)

The roar of the stadium fills the atmosphere like a thunderstorm as the expectators anticipate the start of the show. Though this isn't the first time he attends one of her concerts, the massiveness of the crowd and of the performance itself is still quite astonishing to him. It just wasn't the type of thing you got used to after a few times. Not to mention that this is the third consecutive night she fills out this stadium, which was impressive and a rather unheard of situation. 

"Are you ready for it?"

The crowd screams even louder as Taylor appears on stage with a black hood. For him, it's genuinely entertaining to see just how much the fans in the crowd love her, shouting out every single word to the songs. The impact she has on these people is really intense, some of them even crying at certain parts of the show. There's others that you can tell came as a group of friends for a good time and they hug, jump, and laugh together throughout the show. There's people of all ages, from couples in love to families that came together with little kids and grandparents, and every single person looks happy and excited. Truly a phenomenon.

But the most powerful phenomenon is the woman on stage on whom everyone's attention is focused. She is so beautiful and wonderful it almost feels like she's some sort of mythical creature. The passion she puts in her singing and dancing is endearing and at the same time very attractive to him. How did he even manage to have her love him? She's fucking gorgeous and perfect in every way. Her legs are just unbelievably hot and he knows he isn't the only one in the crowd having that thought. When she dances to Gorgeous, it makes his brain feel numb because all he can think of is the things he wants to do with her as soon as he gets her to himself after the show. But it's only the beginning and he knows the wait will be painfully long, so he tries to divert his thoughts elsewhere. As if reading his mind, she winks in his direction as the song ends, licking her lips and smiling cheekily. Warmth floods his insides in response to the gesture. Man, he'd really really missed her. They'd been apart from each other for some days because he had work things to do away in London. Though it was only a few days, he had ached for her company every single instant.

Apparently, she has similar feelings because she can't stop looking in his direction throughout King of my Heart. He remembers very vividly the first time she played him that song, some days after they'd made their relationship official. At the time, he couldn't believe she'd actually written that about him. He couldn't believe he inspired those feelings in her because she sure as hell inspired that and so much more in him. She fixes her gaze on him hungrily as she sings "we rule the kingdom inside my room." Oh shit. Her bum looks so good in that outfit. How is he gonna survive what's left of the show? Luckily, he's good at keeping it cool on the outside. He has no choice anyways because his mum and Patrick are right there beside him. He knows his face probably looks all giddy and lovestruck regardless, but he doesn't mind. She points at him in circles suggestively as she says "never took me quite where you do." Urgh she knows what she's doing and he can't help chuckling at her teasing. It's torture though. The fact that she's doing this in front of thousands of people is extra sexy. It's interesting because a part of him feels possessive and wants to snatch her from the stage and not have anyone look at her in a "she's MINE" sort of way, but at the same time it's satisfying to know that she's doing all this sexy shit and making everybody desire her, yet he is the only one who gets to have her. He's the only one who gets to love her and enjoy her, and a lot of what she's doing up there is directed specifically at him even though the whole stadium's watching it. Besides, he just knows that she loves having those secret moments with him, as she sings in Dress. So cruel of her to put literal moans on that song and blast them on stadiums. Her antics as she performs it are driving him crazy. Tonight, he feels particularly deprived of her and desperate for her touch because he's been away for what has felt like an eternity.

The crowd bursts into loud screaming one last time as the show ends. Everyone looks giddy and happy, as if they'd just gotten off a spiritual experience, which isn't that far from the truth, he thinks to himself. His mum and Patrick stay chatting with some people and he makes his way towards the dressing room. He says hi to Tree and the staff briefly and walks further down the hall until he reaches it. The door is open and there's no one else but her inside, with her back facing him as she looks in the mirror wiping herself with a towel. She's still sweaty and flustered from the show, and her hair is a bit messy, but she's the most beautiful creature he's ever laid eyes upon. If she looked stunning on stage, she was even more drop dead gorgeous up close.

"You look breathtakingly beautiful this evening, Miss Swift. I heard your boyfriend is out of town, may I take you out for a drink?," he says in a flirtatious tone.

She hadn't realized he was standing there at the door. She immediately looks up at him when she hears his voice and smiles at him through the mirror, her whole face lightening up as she turns around.

"Is that what they told you?", she says playfully as she makes her way towards him. She kisses his lips excitedly. He smiles against her mouth at her enthusiasm.

"Hello, love," he greets her softly when she pulls back for air. They embrace each other tightly for a few seconds, his hands caressing her hair. 

"How did it go in London? How was work?," she asks, resting her head on his chest.

"Work was alright. The rest was awfully dull because you weren't there," he answers.

She chuckles softly and looks up into his eyes. "I missed you so much."

"I did, too," he says, staring back. She puts her mouth onto his again, this time more passionate and hungry, her tongue going inside him desperately trying to saviour as much of him as possible. He welcomes it eagerly, her sudden aggressive desire catching him a bit off guard. He responds to her kiss with the same energy, biting her lower lip a little and devouring her delicious taste. His hands rub down her back, pulling her waist towards him. Meanwhile, her fingers snake into his hair as she pulls herself deeper into his mouth. He feels his crotch tighten as he becomes inevitably aroused with her body rubbing against his. His mouth finds her neck and she moans as he pulls her head back gently to get a better angle. 

"Shut the door," she pants in between kisses. They'd forgotten that there's people walking by in the hallway.

"Wait, don't you have to meet your fans in the other room?", he remembers, pausing for a moment, which results in a complaining grunt from her.

"I'll have them cancel it," she says decidedly, impatiently pulling him in again, "Most of them came the other two nights anyways."

He pushes her back. "Are you really sure about that?", he questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you really want me to answer?", she ponders back desperately, still insisting fiercely on kissing him.

"Fair enough," he chuckles as he gives in to her needs. What Taylor Swift wants, Taylor Swift gets.

She grabs her phone and sends a quick text to Tree telling her that Rep Room isn't happening tonight while Joe shuts and locks the door. He sneaks up behind her and wraps his arms smoothly around her waist, kissing her shoulder as she hits send. "Done?", he asks. She puts the phone on the table and closes her eyes. 

"Mmhmm", she moans as he runs kisses up and down her neck. Her skin is so soft and healthy. He grunts a little when her ass grinds against his crotch as she leans back into him. 

"You pulled some interesting bits up there tonight."

"Mmhmmm, did you enjoy them?", she says with a small smile, her eyes still closed. 

"I certainly did." He starts to unzip her glittery dress to bare her back. Her body is still warm from the physical exertion caused by the almost two hour long show. A shiver runs down her spine when his cold fingers brush against her skin, peeling away the dress as his mouth runs soft kisses behind her neck and shoulders. A loud moan escapes her, the sound making his erection feel even harder in his trousers. She finishes taking off the dress and turns around to face him, her naked breasts against his chest. He grabs one of them as his mouth finds hers once again, his tongue pushing inside in rhythmic movements. Then, he makes his way from her jawline to her neck, shoulders, chest, until he finally puts her other breast in his mouth, sucking and licking her nipple while massaging the other one with his thumb and index finger. She gasps in response. "That feels so good, baby," she whimpers in between moans.  Her breasts are a work of art in his eyes, everything about them is perfection: their size, their softness, the hardness of her nipples when she’s aroused, as it was the case right now. 

She pulls at the hem of his shirt, aching to feel more of his skin against her. He briefly releases her to quickly take off his shirt and disregard it on the floor. Immediately she pulls herself against him, her hands around his neck as their bare torsos collide heatedly and their tongues dance together. She runs her warm hands over his chest and his abs, sending electricity waves through his body with each touch. The sensation of her hardened nipples against his naked chest was too much to handle and so he dives down to put her breasts in his mouth once again. She moans loudly. "Joe, I...I want you so much," she says, almost in anguish. He licks and bites her nipples hungrily and then, he starts to make his way slowly downward, kissing below her breasts as his hands slide down her sides until he reaches her tummy. She inhales deeply. "Tell me, baby, what do you need?", he says against her skin as his mouth moves further down to her lower stomach. Her body trembles involuntarily in response and he can see her wetness through her panties. She’s very wet, he realizes with a grin. "You," she groans in response, holding onto the table for balance as his hands go up and down the insides of her thighs, "I need you, Joe." He teasingly pulls down the edges of her panties and kisses directly on top of her pubic bone. Her hips thrust forward. "Fuck, I need you now," she blurts out.

"Let’s take care of that, shall we?", he whispers in her ear as he picks her up and carries her towards the comfy couch in the dressing room, her legs wrapping themselves around his back. He throws the cushions to the floor with one hand and places her gently on the couch, kneeling in front of her on one of the cushions. He slides her panties down her legs and onto the floor, so that she was now lying completely naked on the couch. Such a gorgeous sight. "You are so beautiful, my love," he says looking up into her eyes. Her belly moves up and down with her quick breathing, her cheeks flushed slightly. He takes off her shoes and massages her ankles and her toes, releasing the tension on them from wearing tight heels for hours. Then, he starts to kiss his way up her left leg, gently pushing her knees apart to open her legs as he approaches her inner thigh. Finally, his mouth reaches her most sensitive organ and he licks and sucks on her clit, enjoying her delicious taste that he’d missed so much. She arches her back as the waves of pleasure penetrate her. His tongue continues to move around expertly as he digs into the corners of her walls and sucks and bites her clit. "Fuck," she moans, her fingers aggresively digging into the edges of the couch. He slides two fingers deep into her core, his mouth still working on her clit, and starts to thrust in and out. She tangles one of her hands in his hair and pushes him deeper inside her, his tongue joining his fingers inside of her. He gradually quickens the pace of his fingers as her walls contract around his hand and her hips push into him, until eventually she can’t contain her orgasm and comes loudly, screaming his name.

He licks his lips in satisfaction, savoring the fluids from her insides as he moves towards her face to kiss her gently, his fingers still inside her. "Did you like that?", he mumbles against her face. "It was so good, baby," she barely pants in response, "so fucking good". Hovering over her as she recovers, he takes his fingers out and licks them. He could never get enough of her wonderful taste. "I’m glad you liked it, because I’m not finished yet," he informs her.

However, her hands are reaching towards his trousers, where his erection is bulking out, attempting to unbutton them. "No teasing," she pleads. 

"What’s that?", he asks instead, deciding to mess with her a little regardless. He’d had to survive her teasing on stage for two hours, it was only fair that she endured something similar after all. He licks the outline of her areolas with the tip of his tongue as slowly and scarcely as he could master, forcing her to lay back, his fingers brushing lightly against her sides. "Joe," she complains, shifting and trying to pull his body closer to her. But Joe holds himself up firmly in a hovering position over her, his skin brushing only ever so slightly against hers every now and then, while his mouth was busy planting the softest of kisses all around her face, occasionally brushing her neck and behind her ears. "Please," she begs, still trying to pull him down.

"Please what? Say it to me, baby. I can’t guess what you want unless you ask for it," he responds calmly while continuing his slow torture on her sensitive spots. He wanted to hear her say it out loud. He wanted to hear her scream how much she wanted him.

"I want you inside of me, Joe. I want all of you inside of me now," she nearly cries out in desperation.

He nibbles on her neck one last time before unbuttoning his trousers. "Is that so?", he says mischievously as he finishes taking off his underpants and shoes. She breathes deeply in anticipation when she sees him completely naked in front of her, her insides feeling overwhelmingly empty without him. He leans towards her mouth once again and she kisses him with hunger, a small gasp escaping her lips when his dick rubs against her clit. "What do you want me to do inside you?", he whispers hoarsely into her ear. "I want you to fuck me, baby," she pants.

"As you wish," he says, staring deep into her blue eyes as he enters her wet insides slowly, groaning from the pleasure of feeling her warm core around him. She gasps and moans, her small fingers digging into his back as she hugs his chest towards hers. He thrusts in and out with slow movements, going inside deeper and deeper each time until he pushes against her cervix. She arches her back and responds moving her hips upwards, moaning and closing her eyes. He goes forward with a bit more strength, pushing her against the couch and touching on her G spot. "Yes, baby, fuck me," she whimpers, her breaths small and quick. Still deep inside of her, he sways his hips rhythmically, rocking their unified bodies back and forth. 

"I love you so much, Taylor," he says with adoration. Every inch of skin on his chest was in contact with hers, her soft breasts deliciously cushioned below him. "I love you more, baby," she says back breathlessly, running her lips across his neck and shoulders. He starts thrusting again, gradually picking up the pace. He holds onto the back of the couch and thrusts faster and faster, feeling her walls contracting against his cock. She moans as he goes even faster until she finally comes, another orgasm running through her body as she cries out.

The sight of her body squirming in pleasure almost makes him cum as well. But then, she unexpectedly pushes him to the side, switching their positions so that she was now on top of him. She kisses him and starts riding him energetically, her hands resting on his shoulders and her knees on the couch on either side of him. He grunts and caresses her breasts as she bounces on top of him, eventually placing both hands on her hips to hold her down, until the sensation and the sight of her with her eyes closed and her boobs bouncing as she fucks him become too much and he cums inside of her.

She collapses on top of him and the two of them lay in silence for a few minutes as they recover and stabilize their breathing, their bodies warm and sweaty. When he’s back to his senses, he notices her bathrobe is on the side of the couch and he reaches for it with one hand. He spreads it across her back to keep her warm. Covered with the bathrobe, she cuddles into his lap with her legs on one side and her head resting on his chest as she breathes in and out slowly. He caresses her head with one hand and rubs circles with the other on top of the robe on her back.

"That was a nice surprise there at the end," he says, kissing her forehead.

She smiles smugly. "I thought you’d like it," she mumbles against his chest.

"Did you kick out all the staff before I came in here?", he asks curiously. Usually there were stylists and make-up people inside the dressing rooms with her.

"Maybe," she answers with a smirk, looking up at him playfully. He chuckles in amusement, but secretly he’s glad that she did because he doesn’t know if he would’ve actually been able to wait until they got back to her apartment.  

It was hard to believe that this was the same person that had a whole stadium submitted to her performance less than an hour ago. This beautiful creature bundled in his arms was the same powerful force that gave around orders to executives, dominated enormous stages, and attracted followers from all over the world with her songwriting. Yet at this very moment, she’s just another vulnerable human, her blue eyes glowing like a curious child’s as she stares into his lovingly. She reaches up to caress his cheek softly with her hand, scanning his face with wonder. "You’re so gorgeous," she admires quietly. "That was amazing, babe. Thank you."

He leans down to kiss her gently. "You are the most stunningly beautiful creature inside and out that I’ve ever laid eyes upon. I am just fortunate enough to get to be yours," he says sincerely. He touches his nose to hers. "I love you, baby." And he truly loves her so much to the point where it feels like an unexplainable supernatural phenomenon, larger than life itself.

"I love you, too," she says warmly, her face shining like sunlight.

[flowerfan2]

Good Things... Small Packages

A night at Stevie’s apartment fic with a little (haha) twist.  Happy holidays, everyone :)

1800 words, E, David x Patrick.  A03.

Summary:  Going slow has allowed David to put off the inevitable... David has a small dick.  (Surprise - so does Patrick).

*****

David bites his lip as Patrick rolls them on the bed, straddling David’s body with his hands on either side of David’s shoulders and his knees just outside David’s thighs.  Patrick smiles as he leans down to brush a kiss to David’s lips, the rest of his body hovering just out of reach.

“I’ve thought about this so many times,” Patrick says, kissing him again, harder this time.  David lets out a little sigh, and Patrick presses back, slanting his mouth against David’s, dragging his tongue along his lower lip.  “I can’t believe we’re finally here,” Patrick murmurs against David’s mouth, cupping his jaw and tilting his head just right for another kiss.

‘Here’ is, at least in the literal sense, Stevie’s apartment, while Stevie is off running through the woods with Jake.  But David knows that’s not really what Patrick is talking about.

They have been going slow, at Patrick’s request.  But ever since Stevie offered them her place for the night, there’s been an unspoken agreement that tonight things are likely to accelerate.   As a result, ‘here’ probably means Patrick’s first orgasm with a guy, and David and Patrick’s first time together.  No pressure.

David hasn’t minded going slow, as it turns out.  He kind of loves it.  He’s about ninety-percent sure that Patrick didn’t suggest it for his benefit, but it turns out that slow is incredibly sexy.  No one has ever seemed so happy to flirt with him.  Patrick may think he’s hiding it with all those teasing smiles, but David can tell how much Patrick is enjoying this, and the feedback loop is incredible.

Their days at the store are now filled with casual touches, no less meaningful for their family-friendly nature.  Patrick brushes his hand down David’s arm as he passes by; David lavishes Patrick’s shoulders with affection.  They share heated glances across a crowded floor.  It’s Some Enchanted Evening fused with every rom-com David has ever swooned over, and it’s really, really good.

The contrast between this and David’s past experiences, which generally went from zero to sixty in the time it took him to stumble from the bar to the men’s room, is so stark that it gives him whiplash.  It’s frightening, frankly, because the better something is, the more likely David is to screw it up.  But David is resolved not to let his fears stand in the way of doing right by Patrick, assuming he can tell what that even is.

Going slow has also allowed David to put off the inevitable.  Patrick has been pretty clear that he would very much like to have sex with David, at some point, and David agrees with him wholeheartedly.  David likes sex.  The physical act can be fantastic, and there are so many ways to make your partner feel good.  It’s just there’s always that moment… and while David doesn’t think Patrick will react the way so many others have, he has been perfectly okay with waiting a little while to find out.  Just in case.

Patrick slides his hands down David’s chest and then up under his clothes.  “Okay to take this off?”

David nods and lifts up a little bit, letting Patrick carefully pull his Just Cavalli sweater over his head; he notes that Patrick gives it the respect it deserves, and his heart swells.  “Now you,” David says, walking his fingers over Patrick’s chest - Patrick smirks and pulls the whole baby blue sweater/t-shirt combo off like the bro he sometimes pretends to be.  

They come together and kiss some more, but this time with all that bare skin to touch, their chests pressed close even as their hips are still slightly angled away.  David’s hands are free to wander the sturdy stretch of Patrick’s arms, and stroke up and down Patrick’s warm back.  They’ve done shirtless making out before, for a few stolen moments in the back room at work. It’s been wonderful every time, and it’s even better without having to worry about customers knocking at the door.

Tonight Patrick shifts after a few minutes, kissing across David’s jaw and along his neck, and proceeding to work his way down his body.  Patrick’s hand slides down as well, his fingers exploring ahead of his lips, and David is lost to the sensation of Patrick paying particularly skilled attention to his nipples.  

Then Patrick’s thumb slips into the waistband of David’s pants, and David reacts without thinking, pinning Patrick’s hand in a vice-like grip.  Patrick lets out a surprised noise, looking up at David with concern on his face.  “I’m sorry,” Patrick breathes out, immediately moving away, “I thought-”

“No, it’s okay, I…” David presses his eyes together, he can’t look at Patrick’s big brown eyes and get the words out.  I need to warn you, he thinks.  “I…”

“What is it?”  Patrick eases himself down next to David, and for moment David’s afraid he’s going to get out of the bed.  Maybe leave town.  But Patrick stays close, a hand on David’s shoulder providing reassurance even through David’s approaching spiral.

“I don’t want you to be disappointed.”  It rushes out of him, but it’s all he’s been able to think about, since Patrick said “my first time… with a guy…”

“I’m not going to be disappointed,” Patrick says reflexively, stubbornly, and David shakes his head.

“You can’t say that until you-”

“I don’t care what’s in your pants, David.”  Patrick finds David’s hand and grips it.  “And if you want to stop right now, or just cuddle, or - sleep - all of that’s okay.  Any of it.  Whatever you want.”

David opens his eyes, biting his lip and trying not to smile.  Sometimes he thinks that Patrick is wasted on him - David Rose, who has been treated like dirt so many times he’s accumulated a laundry basket full of ways to try to cleanse the mental stain it leaves.  Patrick should have fallen for someone who deserved this kind of gracious treatment.

“We don’t have to do anything,” Patrick goes on, and David has to put a stop to this now, or he’s never going to be able to go any further than second base with Patrick, and baseball fan or not, he knows they both want more than that.

“No, that’s not what I mean.”  David tilts his head back and covers his face with his hand.  He doesn’t even know what Patrick’s imagining, but it’s probably not worth going down that road.  It’s David’s fault he’s not making any sense.  “It’s silly-”

“It’s not silly if it’s bothering you,” Patrick interrupts, his eyes high beams of earnest appeal.

All right, David.  Stop stalling.  Out with it. “I have a really small dick.”  Humiliating, but true.

There’s a moment of silence and then Patrick laughs, just a small, stifled burst of air, and David is about to be affronted and haughty and destroyed but he doesn’t have time because Patrick dives in and kisses him like he’s Patrick’s true love about to go off to war.  It takes David a second to respond to Patrick’s welcome but baffling enthusiasm, and he wonders if maybe he got it wrong, if Patrick is relieved that David doesn’t have a big dick.  If maybe given his inexperience with men, a tiny dick is less scary.  Or less gay.

But then Patrick is sitting up, grinning from ear to ear - that troll - with his hands on the waistband of his horrible jeans.  “Can I show you something?” he asks.

“Sure, yes, of course,” David babbles, his head spinning.

Patrick undoes his jeans and wiggles out of them, sliding off the bed to complete the process.  He’s adorable, David thinks, and so hot, and oh god, his ass is amazing - and then Patrick climbs back on the bed, kneeling by David’s side, thick thighs on display.

David sits up, keeping determined eye contact with Patrick as his hands flutter to Patrick’s shoulders.  Patrick inclines his head, as if giving David permission, and David lets his eyes drift down Patrick’s body, past his appealing chest and sweet belly, all the way down to tight curls of auburn hair and… a David-sized dick.  And not in the sense that it’s a perfect size for David, although it is - any dick attached to Patrick would be - but in the sense that Patrick’s dick is pretty much the same size as David’s.  

“Are you disappointed?” Patrick asks, a smile in his voice, and David knows his question isn’t serious.  The fact that David is practically drooling over Patrick likely took care of any doubts.

“No,” David says, shaking his head.  “No, nope, no.”  

Patrick smirks, satisfied, and wraps his arms around David, pressing his hot, naked body to David’s still half-clothed self.   Bizarrely, David is somehow now annoyed that Patrick doesn’t want to see his dick.  “Wait a minute.”  His pants come off a lot easier than Patrick’s, and it takes him only a moment to strip his briefs off as well.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Patrick says, his eyes staring at David’s dick, which, small or not, is extremely excited by the proceedings and putting on its very best show.  Patrick lays on the bed and reaches for David, tugging him down to lie next to him, and David happily complies, letting Patrick twine his legs around David’s calves and nestle them close.  

David does not miss the fact that their dicks are now trapped between them, and Patrick winks at David - winks - and then gazes down between their bodies.  “Looks like a dead heat.”

“Is that a sports reference?  Because I don’t appreciate the use of the word ‘dead’ in connection with my genitalia.”

Patrick shrugs and squirms against David, his hips hiking up.  He frowns and readjusts, and David hisses at the sensation.

“Are you actually trying to compare them?  Do you have a ruler hidden somewhere you haven’t told me about?”

Patrick grins.  “Just curious.”

“Oh my god,” David says, laughing, the last of his worries dissolving in the face of Patrick’s ridiculous, fond affection.

Patrick twists away and then back, the bottle of lube in his hand.  “For closer inspection,” he explains, and David wants to respond with a witty quip but then Patrick takes hold of him and all the breath rushes out of his lungs.

David reaches down, wanting to get his hand on Patrick.  It’s hard to line them up, but they make it work, laughing and stroking and panting and generally making a mess with too much lube.  There’s nothing small about the way Patrick yells when he comes, or how he gentles David and peppers his face with kisses after David does.  Whether or not good things come in small packages is still up for debate, but David sure as hell isn’t going to worry about it tonight.  

[hugheshoe]

travis konecny // tell him to fuck off (part two)

part one

description: you wake up in tk’s apartment after last night’s date with him

word count: 950 words

a/n: a part two was requested! so here it is! let me know what you think and feel free to send in requests or feedback! it’s encouraged :)))) stay safe <33

- - - - -

After admiring TK while he sleeps, I try to wiggle myself out of his arms. When I am nearly out, TK starts to stir in his sleep and then I hear a groan. 

“Don’t get out of bed. You keep me warm.” He pulls me towards him again and wraps his arms around my bare body even tighter.

“Teeks, I gotta pee!” I giggle quietly. He huffs and lets go of me. I whisper thank you and turn around to give him a kiss on his forehead. 

I hop out of the giant bed and find a random t-shirt to throw on my body to prevent myself from hypothermia because Travis keeps his apartment very cold. I wander out of the bedroom and walk around the apartment to explore because I didn’t do much exploring last night.

I notice how nice the apartment is decorated and I am honestly shocked. I never pictured Travis Konecny as having an apartment by himself that looks like it belongs on Pinterest. In the living room there are giant windows that overlook Philadelphia.

I’m admiring the view when I get interrupted. The front door swings open and someone yells, “Travvvvvis! How was the date?”

I recognize the voice immediately and turn around. I shriek, “Nolan!” I jump behind the couch so Nolan can’t see the bottom half of my body that is completely naked.

“Oh. My. God.” Nolan responds and his jaw drops to the floor. My face goes beet red.

Travis strolls out of his bedroom while rubbing his eyes. He is shirtless but wearing baggy grey sweatpants and his hair is all out of place. It’s pretty damn sexy honestly.

“What’s up, Nol?” Travis asks causally without noticing me behind the couch.

“Hi,” I say sheepishly. 

Travis’s head turns and his eyes go wide, “What are YOU doing?”

Nolan starts laughing uncontrollably.

“Shut up, Nolan! Can you turn around for a minute so I can get back to the bedroom and get dressed properly please?” I start to get a little annoyed due to my total embarrassment.

He turns around while he continues to laugh and Travis gives me an apologetic look. I don’t move until Travis turns around, too. It would be too embarrassing with him watching me awkwardly shuffle to his room.

When I get into the room, I shut the door quickly and slide down the door. I sit on the ground for a minute just soaking in the embarrassment. I realize I cannot change what just happened. Nolan would have found out eventually...right?

I put my bra on under TK’s shirt I’m wearing and throw last night’s jeans on. I look at myself in the mirror in the closet and fix my hair as best as I can. I decide throwing it in a bun would be best. 

I take a deep breath in order to muster up the courage to face the boys in the kitchen who are probably giggling about the events that took place last night. I walk out of the room and head to the kitchen. Nolan sees me first and a giant smile grows on his face.

“Good morning, again.” I say to Nolan who is sitting on the kitchen counter. 

Travis gives me an awkward yet cute smile and asks if I would like any coffee.

“Yes! Please!” I say and I sit down on the couch, but position myself to be able to see both boys in the kitchen.

“Where did you two even go last night?” Nolan asks both of us.

I get butterflies in my stomach at the thought of last night. “It was really cute, actually,” I start, “TK got all dressed up and looked very handsome. He took me to a quiet Italian restaurant. It was a surprising choice. It made more sense when he brought me to Karaoke night at the bar next door. We ran into Carter, too, and he bought us a round of tequila shots. Bonus points because tequila is my favorite.” 

At this point, I notice Travis smiling, and I continue detailing our festivities, “Travis originally brought me back to my place. The plan was to drop me off and I would sleep by myself in my own apartment. Butttt….I got a little too drunk and I snapped my apartment key in half while trying to unlock my door. Instead of waiting for someone to fix it, we came back here. We had a bottle of wine while watching Spongebob for like an hour. It was quite hysterical. It was the best date I’ve ever been on.”

“Really?” Travis asks very excitedly. I nod my head and smile at him. He winks at me, but not very well which gives me a good laugh. 

“Ok lovebirds! You are going to make me throw up. Y/N, remember when you refused to date one of my teammates?”

“Yea…”

“Well can you go back to that? I am tired of this already!”

Travis and I both look at each other and laugh.

Nolan hops off the counter, “That’s it! I’m out of here! I can’t take it anymore! Travis, I will see you at the rink later! Y/N, I will text you after I go scrub my eyeballs out! Goodbye! Wear protection! Thank you!” 

And suddenly the door is shut again.

Travis runs over to me and tackles me which sends me into a fit of giggles. He gives me a million kisses on my face while we are both smiling and laughing.

Thank god for Nolan Patrick.