#yeah i'm not sure what to tag this as honestly

[jetii]

Event Horizon

Chapter Ten: Truth

Chapter WC: 8,808

Chapter Tags/Warnings: none

A/N: Checked the wordcount on the completed chapters doc today and it's over 100k already?? anyway the next few chapters are for real my fav. i live for the drama

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Coruscant, 21 BBY

"I can't believe they gave me Archive duty," Ahsoka groans, rolling her eyes. 

You smirk, turning the page of the dusty tomb lying in front of you. You had managed to escape the ire of the Council thanks to Obi-Wan, but Ahsoka was not so lucky. She was sentenced to "volunteer work" at the Temple Archives indefinitely, a punishment that she seemed to take very personally. 

You had offered to keep her company while you were still recovering, and you had to admit, when you weren’t forced to be here, it was kind of fun. There was something calming about the Archives, the smell of old paper and leather, the dim light, the quiet.

You'd spent more time here than most other Jedi, and even though the work was often tedious, it was something you found peace in. Ahsoka didn't seem to feel the same.

"It's not that bad," you say, your eyes scanning the page. "Besides, if you hadn't disobeyed Anakin, this wouldn't have happened."

"Well, maybe, if he hadn't given the order in the first place—"

"Ahsoka."

"I know, I know," she sighs, her shoulders slumping. She pushes the crate she was organizing to the side and collapses on a nearby bench, her arms crossed. "He's just...so frustrating sometimes."

"Yeah," you chuckle. “He is.”

“Did you ever feel that way about Master Yaddle?"

"Sometimes," you reply. You glance up from your reading and smile at her. "But I’m sure I frustrated her much more. I’m still not sure why she took me as her Padawan, honestly."

"Because you're a great Jedi," Ahsoka points out. She grins and leans forward, her chin resting on her hands. "And, because, despite what you say, you're actually pretty nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah," she laughs. "You're one of the few Jedi I can talk to about things. You listen. Not everyone does."

"You could talk to Master Plo, or Anakin, or even Obi-Wan," you say, closing the book. You look at her, a frown on your face. "There's a lot more Jedi in the Temple."

"I know, but..." Her voice trails off, and her expression grows sad, the humor fading. “You’re the only one who’s not trying to teach me some kind of lesson. Who isn’t expecting something from me. You don't care that I'm young, or that I'm not a real Jedi yet, or—"

"You are a real Jedi," you interrupt. You stand and walk over to her, taking a seat beside her, your hands resting on your knees. "Don't ever doubt that. I don't. I know how strong you are, and I know what you're capable of. And, so does Anakin. Don't let this one mistake define you."

She sighs and rests her elbows on her thighs, her chin cupped in her palms. "I know, but it's hard," she says quietly. "Everyone has an opinion, and they're all just waiting for me to mess up again. To prove that I'm not fit to be a Jedi."

"That's not true," you tell her. "The Council might be a little disappointed with your actions, but no one doubts that you belong here, Ahsoka. No one."

She doesn't respond.

You watch her carefully, your brow furrowed. It isn’t lost on you how similar her words are to your own internal monologue, and how often she mirrors your own thoughts and fears. She’s just a kid, and you remember being her age, the pressure, the weight of expectation, and the struggle to be enough.

While you doubt you’ll ever feel like you measure up, or will ever stop feeling like an outsider, you know, deep down, that no matter what happens, the Order is where you belong. You belong with the Jedi. There is no other place for you than here.

"If it makes you feel any better," you say, trying to lighten the mood. You nudge her shoulder. “You’re only continuing the tradition of disobedience set by your Masters before you. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon—“ you pause and let out a sharp breath before continuing “—and his master have all done their time here. Practically a rite of passage, I’d say.”

She rolls her eyes and nudges you back. "You're not funny."

"Sure I am."

“You can’t honestly expect me to believe Master Kenobi ever had to do this," she scoffs. "I mean, he's like, the perfect Jedi."

"Ha! Well, I guess you'd be surprised." 

You smirk, remembering the many times Obi-Wan had come to your aid during your years as younglings, covering for you and, often, getting himself into just as much trouble as you.

It was always Obi-Wan, with his clever words and quick wit, who got the two of you out of hot water, and you always found it amusing how no one seemed to realize it was him who had started the whole thing. It was like people couldn’t see past the image they had of him, or their assumptions, and it made him the perfect accomplice. 

"We caused plenty of chaos back in the day,” you add with a fond smile. "I can't even begin to tell you all the stories I could share. I have years worth of them."

"Oh really?"

"Yep," you confirm. "Obi-Wan was a terror."

Ahsoka snorts and raises an eyebrow. "Now I know you're lying."

"It's true. He was a troublemaker. Still is, if I'm being honest,” you laugh. "We were the worst influences on each other. That's probably why we became such good friends."

"I can't imagine Master Obi-Wan doing anything even close to disobeying the rules," Ahsoka says. She leans forward, her chin in her palms, a mischievous grin on her face. You smile back and cross your legs, settling into the bench. "I'm going to need proof, or a story. Either will do."

"What do you want to hear?"

"Something crazy," she prompts. "Something he would never tell me. Something wild. And then I'll believe it."

You chuckle and lean back against the wall, your eyes drifting, the memories filling your mind. You could think of a hundred different tales, many of them far too embarrassing to repeat, and most of them you doubted would be appropriate to tell an impressionable teenager. You were not the best storyteller, but if Ahsoka wanted entertainment, you could oblige. If only a little.

"Okay, okay, let's see..." you muse, thinking. "Okay, here's one. When I was thirteen years old, Obi-Wan was a newly made Padawan, and I was still a youngling. One day, we had a day off from training, and, well, let's just say, we weren't exactly sticking around the Temple."

"Where did you go?"

"Well, Obi-Wan had heard about this place," you continue, smiling. "Apparently, there was this abandoned warehouse deep in the lower levels, converted it into a kind of club. It was the coolest thing we had ever seen, and we were determined to get in. Only problem was, we were a bit too young. Not that that stopped us. We had been going to this club, sneaking out, for about a week, before a member of the Jedi Council caught us."

"Which one?"

"Master Plo, actually,” you say, a smirk tugging at your lips. "We got lucky. I think he was more impressed than upset."

Ahsoka lets out a snort and covers her mouth. "No."

"Yes," you insist. "He caught us sneaking out of the Temple and followed us. We made it all the way to the warehouse before we realized he was right behind us."

"How did you get away with it?"

"We didn't," you chuckle. "I think we had a few choice words with the Council that night. But we got to go back to the club a few more times before we were caught again. Obi-Wan managed to get himself banned a few months later, though. Something about trying to fight a guy over a girl."

You look away, biting your cheek. Ahsoka didn't need to know that you were the girl. That it was the first, and the only time that the two of you had kissed. You were both so young, and it was nothing more than a childish attempt at romance. It was a bittersweet memory, tinged with a touch of guilt, and you had long ago buried it.

"I'll have to ask him about that," she teases. "I bet there's a lot more stories he'd never tell me."

"You can try," you challenge. "Good luck."

"What was he like?" Ahsoka asks. She shifts on the bench, turning her body toward you, her eyes sparkling. "Before he was a Knight, or a Master, or...all that. What was he like back then?"

"He was different," you tell her. You hesitate, your brow furrowing, and you shrug. "He was...happier. More carefree. He didn't take things as seriously as he does now."

"He's still pretty carefree," Ahsoka points out. She tilts her head, her gaze growing thoughtful, and a small frown tugs at her lips. "I've never really seen him angry, or upset. Except for when you were in the bacta tank."

You pause. You hadn't thought much about Obi-Wan while you were recovering. Your mind had been a bit preoccupied with other matters, but now, looking back, you had noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and the tension in his shoulders, and the way his jaw clenched every time someone brought up the battle. It had only been a week since your return, and yet, he seemed to have aged ten years, and the worry was still plain on his face. 

Even now, there was still a distance, a coldness, between the two of you. He hadn't been by the Healers Ward again, and he'd avoided you at the debriefing with the Council even though he'd spoken in your favor.

"He was worried," you say simply. You glance down at your hands and twist your fingers, swallowing the sudden tightness in your throat.

"I’m sure you’ve noticed that we share a bond. Something like a Master and Padawan bond. It's stronger, because we were raised together, and because our abilities complement each other, and, well, because we've spent our whole lives together."

"What is it like?" she asks. Her eyes are wide, and she's listening intently, her attention focused on you. "Having a bond with someone? Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes," you confess. You let out a heavy sigh, and you look down, your expression troubled. "When the other person is in danger, or suffering, it can be difficult to deal with. And, sometimes, it can be overwhelming. Obi-Wan is quite skilled at shielding, but...I’m not so fortunate. I’m sure feeling my pain was not easy for him."

It’s an excuse, and you know it. But the truth was much harder to admit. Obi-Wan being upset enough at your injuries that Ahsoka had picked up on it was an uncomfortable thought. The reality of how deeply you had hurt him, and the fact that you hadn’t even considered how he would feel, was not something you were prepared to deal with. Not right now. Perhaps not ever.

"You're close," she comments, her voice soft. She hesitates, and she gives you a sad smile, her eyes searching yours. "I...I don't have a bond with Anakin. Not like you and Master Kenobi. I've always wondered what it would be like."

"It's strange," you reply slowly. You shrug and give her a rueful smile. "It’s been this way for so long, and I just...I don't know. I don't know what it's like not to have it. The closest we ever came to losing it completely was after..."

You trail off, your smile fading, and you turn away, unable to meet her eyes. "After the Naboo incident. Things were never the same, after that."

Ahsoka doesn't say anything.

You can't blame her. You don't have the words. There's so much left unsaid, so much you could tell her, but you know you won't. It's not the right time. Perhaps it will never be the right time. And so, instead, you change the subject, pushing the pain and the regret away, burying it under the weight of a smile. 

"What else do you want to know?"

Ahsoka's gaze grows thoughtful, and she leans back, resting her head against the wall, her brow furrowed. She looks up, and her lips purse, her fingers tapping against her thighs. 

Finally, she smiles, a wicked glint in her eyes. "What about Rex?"

Your eyes widen, and you can feel the color draining from your face, the shock making you speechless. You hadn't expected that question, and it takes a moment for you to regain your composure, your mind scrambling to think of a response. But Ahsoka doesn't wait. 

Instead, she keeps talking, the grin growing. "Rex told Anakin that you had saved his life."

"Yes," you say cautiously. You frown, and you cross your arms, raising an eyebrow. "And?"

"Well," she draws the word out, and she sits up, her elbows on her knees, her hands clasped. "Anakin said he'd never seen you act like that before."

You open your mouth to respond, and then close it, unsure of what to say.

"So," she presses. "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Friends."

"Yes," you snap. "Of course we're friends. He's a friend. We're friends. Is that a problem?"

"No, no," she replies quickly. "Of course not."

"Good."

"But—"

"Ahsoka," you interrupt, and you let out a sharp breath, your fingers rubbing your temples. "There is no but. Rex is a friend. I saved his life. End of story."

"Sure," she agrees. Her expression is far too innocent, and you're not going to play into whatever she's thinking. You stand and return to the table, picking up the book, and Ahsoka follows, sitting down next to you. "I just thought, maybe, there was something else."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," she says, feigning nonchalance. She pulls another book off the pile and begins leafing through the pages, a casual, carefree tone to her voice. "He's been asking about you."

Your head snaps up, and you stare at her, the shock giving way to surprise, and then hope, the flutter in your chest returning. "He has?"

Realizing your mistake, you bite your cheek and look back down at the book, your heart pounding, and your throat suddenly dry. You swallow, and you try to ignore the heat rising in your cheeks,and the feeling in your chest. 

Rex had been asking about you. He had talked to Anakin about you. Those were perfectly normal, innocent, things for him to do. Nothing strange. Nothing to indicate anything more.

"Mmhmm," Ahsoka hums, her eyes flicking up, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips. She looks back down, the grin growing, and she nudges your shoulder. "He was worried the Council was going to punish you for saving him."

"That's it?"

"I'm not sure," she muses. She tilts her head, her fingers drumming against the book, her expression thoughtful. "He seemed pretty concerned. More than he normally is."

You shake your head and lean forward, pretending to be engrossed in the text.

"I'm sure he was just being polite," you mumble. You keep your eyes on the page, but your mind is elsewhere, and the words blur before your eyes. You force yourself to keep reading, not daring to look up. "I doubt he was all that worried."

"Hm," Ahsoka says.

You wait a few more moments, and then, when Ahsoka doesn't speak, you glance over at her. She's looking at you, her lips pursed, a knowing smile on her face. You stare at her, and she stares back, and finally, you roll your eyes, letting out a sigh.

"Fine," you grumble. You shut the book and shove it away, leaning back in the chair, your arms crossed. "We are friends, and I enjoy his company. Is that what you want to hear?"

Ahsoka shrugs and grins, and you can't help the smile tugging at your lips.

"He's a good person," she says. She's not looking at you anymore, but she's smiling, and you can tell she's holding back a laugh. "Very loyal."

"Yes, he is," you agree. You look away, a frown forming, and your voice drops. "And a good soldier."

There's a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, a heaviness, a sudden sadness that you hadn't expected. You're not sure what brought it on, but it's there, a reminder of the truth, of the reality. You swallow the lump in your throat, and you glance down, your fingers tracing the cover of the book, a strange numbness settling in.

"Yeah." Ahsoka looks at you, and her brow furrows, the teasing tone gone. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," you lie. You force a smile and shrug. "Everything's fine."

"You're sure?" she asks. She looks skeptical, her head tilted, and she frowns. "You look...upset."

"I'm not."

"You don't have to lie," she says. She shifts in her chair, and she turns to face you, her hand resting on your arm, her expression earnest. "If there's something wrong, you can tell me. I won't judge."

"I know," you reply softly. "But there's nothing to tell. I'm fine."

She doesn't believe you. You can tell by the way she's looking at you, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed. Ahsoka doesn't press the issue, though, and you're grateful for that. You don't want to talk about it, and, honestly, you're not sure if you can. Or, if, when the words come out, they'll sound as stupid as they do in your head.

"Now," you say, and you push yourself up, grabbing a crate. You walk over to the other side of the room and begin sorting through the books, setting them on the shelves. "Let's get back to work."

"Ugh, not more sorting."

"It's your punishment," you point out. "Besides, I've had enough excitement for one day. I could use some boring, manual labor."

"I guess," Ahsoka mutters.

You laugh, and you return to your task, the quiet settling over the room. Ahsoka sighs and does the same, and the two of you spend the rest of the afternoon in silence, only occasionally exchanging a few words. 

The sun begins to set, and the shadows grow, and soon, the entire room is bathed in the orange glow of the sunset, the warmth filling the air. It's peaceful, and comfortable, and it's exactly what you need. No drama. No complications. No one trying to get into your head, or telling you how to live your life. It's the kind of solitude you haven't had in a long time, and, even if you can't enjoy it for long, it's a nice respite from the chaos.

You're not sure how much time has passed, or how long the two of you have been working, but the silence is broken when the door slides open. You turn and watch as Obi-Wan enters the room, a smile on his face, his hands tucked in his sleeves. He greets the both of you and comes to stand beside the table, his attention focused on you. His expression is serious, his eyes searching, and you avoid his gaze.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he says, his voice polite, and his words carefully chosen. You can tell he's uncomfortable, and it makes you uneasy. "I was hoping I might have a word with you, if you're not too busy."

"Of course," you reply.

You look over at Ahsoka, who’s staring at the two of you, her gaze flicking between you, and she smirks, standing and grabbing the crate she had been organizing. "I'll give you some privacy."

"Thank you."

She leaves the room, leaving you and Obi-Wan alone, the quiet a heavy, uncomfortable, thing. You don't know what to say, or what to do, and it's an awkward few moments before he breaks the silence, clearing his throat, his hands moving to clasp behind his back.

"I was wondering how you were," he says. He takes a step toward you, and he hesitates, his eyes dropping. "I haven't seen much of you these past few days."

"Yes," you mumble. You cross your arms and shrug, avoiding his gaze. "I've been, um, busy. You know. Helping with the Archives. And healing."

"I see."

There's another pause.

"So," he says. "Are you feeling better? Has the Healers Ward released you yet?"

"They released me a few days ago," you tell him as you turn, walking over to the window, your fingers brushing along the ledge. "They were quite happy with my recovery. It didn't take long for me to heal."

"That's good."

"And, I feel fine," you add, turning to look at him. "I've been back in training for a few days now."

"Good."

"Good."

"Well," he says. He steps forward and stops, his hand on the back of a chair, his expression guarded. "I'm glad you're back on your feet."

"Yes," you murmur. "It's, uh, it's good to be back."

He gives you a curt nod, and you nod back, and then there's another long, agonizing, silence. You look at him, and he looks at you, and when it becomes too much, you turn away, your fingers tracing the window frame, the metal cool beneath your fingertips.

"You said you wanted to speak with me?" you ask the window.

"Yes."

You hear him take a deep breath, and when you look over your shoulder, he's staring at the floor, his brow furrowed, his jaw clenched. It's strange to see him so...distraught. So unsure of himself.

"I came to apologize," he says quietly. He crosses his arms, his eyes flicking up to meet yours. "For my actions the other day. I was not myself, and I should not have acted as I did."

"Oh," you murmur.

"I was...wrong to have treated you as I did. You didn't deserve it. And I was out of line."

You let out a sigh and close your eyes. "Obi-Wan..."

"Please," he interrupts, and his tone is pleading, and it stops you. "I need to say this."

"Alright," you say. You move away from the window, and you lean against the table, your arms crossed and your brow furrowed. "Say what you need to."

"I was angry," he admits, and the words hang in the air, heavy and sharp. He pauses and takes a breath, and you can tell he's choosing his words carefully. "I was upset. You have no idea how much it hurt, seeing you like that. Lying there, unconscious. Not knowing if you would make it. I..."

He trails off, and he looks away, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"And I know," he continues. He looks back up, his eyes meeting yours, and you can't help but see the pain, the hurt, the desperation. "I know that you would do it again, if given the choice. And I can't blame you for it. But it doesn't make it any easier."

"Obi-Wan," you murmur. You can feel your eyes burning, and you swallow the sudden lump in your throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"I know," he says. "I know."

"I wasn't thinking. I was acting on instinct, and—"

"I know," he repeats, his voice gentle. "It was not your fault. You did what was right, and, had it been anyone else, I would have been proud. You saved a life. That is something to be celebrated. But...you're not just anyone."

"I can't promise that I won't do it again," you tell him. "If the situation arises, I won't hesitate to save another soldier. Even if they're not a Jedi. Or a friend."

He smiles, a small, sad thing, and he nods. 

"I wouldn't expect any less," he says. He steps toward you, and he takes your hand, squeezing gently. "It is, after all, one of the many reasons I admire you."

You can't help the smirk tugging at your lips. "Well, that, and dazzling personality and my good looks, right?"

"Among others," he teases. His expression grows solemn, and he glances down, his thumb running over your knuckles. "I'm sorry. For everything. I'm sure the last thing you need is for me to be acting as I was."

"Well, with the amount of tantrums Anakin and I have thrown over the years, it's only fair that you get to have one every once in a while."

Obi-Wan grimaces and shakes his head "Please, don't remind me."

"You're not still mad, are you?" you ask. He tilts his head, a faint frown pulling at his lips. "I mean, you're not going to lecture me again, are you?"

"No," he replies, his tone wry. "Not today."

"Good."

"You're not completely forgiven, though."

"What?"

"I'm afraid that, if we're ever in a similar situation," he continues, his voice casual, his eyes narrowing, "and if you ever make me think you're dying again, I will be forced to have a very stern conversation with you."

You roll your eyes. "Obi-Wan..."

"I mean it," he insists. "I'll have no choice."

"Well," you drawl. You pull your hand free and push yourself away from the table, crossing your arms. "If I die, and you feel the need to lecture my corpse, by all means, go right ahead. I won't stop you."

He gives you a flat look, and you hold back a smile, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll see," he says finally. His lips twitch, and he sighs, rubbing his forehead. "In all seriousness, though, I am sorry. For everything. I was unfair, and I shouldn't have blamed you. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you."

"No," you agree softly. "You shouldn't have."

"I know," he sighs. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a step closer to you, his hand reaching out to grasp your elbow, his touch gentle. "I don't want us to be like this. We've fought enough over the years. I want you to know that I trust you, and despite my fears, and the concerns I have, I will always support you. Whatever decisions you make."

You let out a breath, and his hand moves, sliding up your arm, coming to rest on the back of your neck. He gives you a smile, and there's a flicker of regret and sorrow before he pulls you forward, his forehead resting against yours. His grip tightens, and you put your hands on his waist, holding onto him.

"Thank you," you whisper.

"I'll always be here for you," he says softly. "Whenever you need me."

You smile and lift your chin, brushing your lips across his cheek, a fleeting, brief, touch. "And I'll always be here for you. Whatever you need."

He chuckles and squeezes your neck, his breath warm on your skin. "I appreciate the sentiment."

"Now," you murmur, and you pull away, your hands moving to rest on his chest. "What I really need right now is a stiff drink."

He raises an eyebrow. "That is not what you need right now."

"But it would help," you insist. "A lot."

"No."

"C'mon," you beg, your hands curling in the fabric of his tunic. You give him a pout, and he groans, his eyes closing. "It'll be fun. Just like old times."

"You are not getting me into any more trouble than I'm already in," he says. He pulls your hands off of him, and he holds them in his, a stern look on his face. "The Council has already spoken to me about your reckless behavior. I'd prefer not to give them more reason to doubt me."

"They won't know," you promise. You squeeze his hands, your eyes bright. "We'll be careful."

"You don't know how to be careful."

"Then teach me," you counter, a smirk playing on your lips.

He lets out a sigh, and his brow furrows, his mouth twisting. You can see the temptation in his eyes, the desire to give in, and it's only a matter of time before you convince him. He hesitates, glancing over at the door. "It is late. Most people should be gone by now."

"See?" you say. "Easy. Quick drink. No one will see."

"Fine," he concedes. "But we will not be staying long."

"Thank you."

You release his hands and step back, your fingers lacing together, your grin widening. Obi-Wan gives you an exasperated look and gestures for you to go, and you laugh and start to back away.

"I'll meet you at the usual place," you tell him. You turn and head for the door, calling over your shoulder. "Don't keep me waiting."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" he calls out, his tone amused. "Just...don't get us caught."

"Never," you promise.

You're through the door and gone before he can say anything else, and the moment you're alone, you take a deep breath and run a hand through your hair. It's not until you're nearly to your quarters that the nerves begin to settle in, and the excitement gives way to apprehension, a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

You're still a bit wary of Obi-Wan's sudden change in mood. It's unlike him to act like he did, and to be so openly hostile. And, as much as you'd like to believe that everything is alright, that things were fine, there was still something gnawing at the back of your mind. 

The look on his face when you told him how you saved Rex's life was burned into your memory. You couldn't help but be reminded of how he looked at you the day after your knighting, when you'd told him your plan to find Yaddle's killer, and he'd treated you like a child.

It was the same, the same disdain and anger, the same look of disappointment, and the same, cold, distance. The only difference was, this time, you hadn't done anything wrong. You had saved a life. There was nothing for him to be disappointed about.

But the look was there, the same unspoken accusation. And it stung.

It’s only then that you realize he’d neglected to let his walls down during the conversation. There had been no opening, no chance to see into his mind. No moment of vulnerability. You hadn’t noticed, and now, you couldn’t understand why. It didn't make sense.

Obi-Wan had never kept his thoughts and feelings hidden from you before. He had never been afraid to show his emotions, or his pain. It was always you who'd had trouble with it, who'd struggled with letting him see the truth. He was the one who always opened up.

And now, he wasn't. 

You shake the thought from your mind and continue on, ignoring the unease growing in your chest. He'd apologized then, and he apologized now, and he meant it. You didn't need the Force to know that. And he'd agreed to sneak out with you, which was more than he would have done if he was truly upset with you.

You would have a nice evening, and nothing else would happen. And tomorrow, the two of you would move on. Everything would go back to normal.

You reach your quarters, and you let yourself in, making a beeline for the fresher. You don't waste any time and strip out of your robes, stepping under the hot spray, and you wash quickly, rinsing the day's grime and sweat off. The water cascades down your body, washing the tension away, the warmth enveloping you, and for the first time in days, you can breathe, the knot in your chest loosening.

Once you're finished, you dry yourself and step back into the room, rummaging through the pile of clothes haphazardly thrown in your dresser. You pull out a simple shirt and a pair of pants, and you dress, slipping on a pair of boots and a cropped leather jacket. It's been too long since you've dressed so casually, and it feels odd, like you're not yourself. But, it's also a refreshing change from stifling robes.

You comb your hair, pulling the wet strands back into a loose braid, and you're ready. You check the time and grab a few credits from the dresser, shoving them into your pocket, and you're out the door.

You arrive at the bar a short while later, and you spot Obi-Wan sitting in the corner, a glass in his hand and his attention on the crowd. He sees you and smiles, and you make your way through the room, the noise and the heat hitting you. He's wearing civilian clothes, his hair loose around his face, his beard trimmed, and he looks almost relaxed. Almost.

You reach the table and slide into the seat across from him, his gaze appraising. You can't help but blush, and you cross your arms, giving him a look.

"What?" you ask.

"Nothing," he replies. His eyes linger on yours for a moment longer, and then they trail over the rest of your body, his lips quirking. "It's just been a while since I've seen you like this. It's...refreshing."

"Well," you say, leaning forward. You lower your voice, a playful smirk tugging at your lips. "I wouldn't want to draw any attention to myself."

He chuckles, and his eyes sparkle with amusement, a glint of something else in their depths. "I appreciate the effort."

You smile and reach over, plucking his glass from his hand. He doesn't protest, and you take a sip, the liquor burning as it goes down. You set the glass back on the table, and his gaze lingers, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. You raise an eyebrow and stare at him, and he shakes his head, pushing himself up.

"I'm going to get another drink," he says. He nods his head towards the bar. "Would you like one?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll be right back."

He leaves, and you watch him walk away, and the moment he's out of earshot, you groan, the realization of what you'd done, and where you were, setting in. It was bad enough that the two of you had snuck off to a cantina together, and were dressed like this, but it was even worse that it felt...odd. Strange. And you weren't sure why. It was the same as every other time you'd met him for drinks, and yet, it wasn't.

There was something different. Something...off. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but it was there, and it made you uneasy. Like the calm before a storm.

"Hey," someone says.

You turn and see a man standing next to the table, a bottle of something in his hand, his smile friendly. You can't help the sigh that escapes you. It was going to be one of those nights.

"Hey," you reply. Your eyes drop, and you frown, the words on the bottle blurring. It's some sort of liquor, and a cheap one at that. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm hoping I could buy a beautiful woman a drink," he says. He sets the bottle down and pulls out the chair, sitting. You glance around the room, looking for Obi-Wan. There's no sign of him. "And, maybe, have a chat. Get to know each other."

"Look," you begin, and your voice is strained, the exhaustion starting to creep in. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not—"

"C'mon," he insists. He grabs the bottle and opens it, pouring a shot. He pushes it towards you, a grin on his face. "Just one drink."

"No, thank you."

“You won’t regret it.”

“No.”

"One drink," he repeats. He lifts the glass and nods, and when you don't move, his smile fades. "Don't be rude."

"Oh, I'm being rude?" you snap. You stand, and you tower over him, your hand on the table. He stares up at you, his mouth hanging open. "I've had a long week, and I'm not in the mood. Now, leave me alone."

"Alright, alright," he mutters. He stands and picks up the bottle, backing away. "You don't have to get so upset."

You don't reply, and he turns and walks away, disappearing into the crowd. You let out a breath and slump back into the chair, rubbing your forehead. It's not long before you're joined again, but this time, it's Obi-Wan who slides into the seat, a bottle and two glasses in his hand. He notices the look on your face, and he raises an eyebrow.

"Another admirer?"

"Yes," you mutter. You take the glass he offers and down it, and he stares at you, concern flickering across his features. "I guess I'm not used to the attention anymore."

"Hm," he hums. He takes the glass from you and refills it, his brow furrowing. "You shouldn't be out here like this. You're too..."

"What?"

"I just..." he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He looks down and frowns. "I worry."

"Obi-Wan, I'm not made of glass," you snap. "And I'm not some defenseless child. I'm not going to shatter because some idiot tries to hit on me."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

He looks at you, and he sighs, his eyes searching yours. He opens his mouth to speak, and you brace yourself for whatever he's going to say, knowing that it's going to be a lecture, or a reminder of why you shouldn't be out here. Of why you shouldn't be with him. That it's not safe. That it's a risk. 

But, he doesn't say any of those things. Instead, his eyes drop, and his jaw clenches, and when he finally speaks, it's a whisper, the words soft and gentle. 

"You're a beautiful woman. A powerful, intelligent, wonderful, woman," he says. He looks at you, his expression open, and you can't help the way your heart leaps into your throat. "You have an air of confidence and determination, and...you're breathtaking. It's impossible not to notice you. Especially here."

You gape at him, and his lips twitch, his eyes darkening, a hint of mischief in his gaze. "I can't blame him for trying. I would, too, if I were him."

You can feel the heat spreading across your cheeks, the flush creeping up your neck. He's always been honest with you, and open, but this is different. He's never said anything like this before. You feel yourself scrambling, trying to regain your composure, and when you do, you let out a shaky laugh.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," you say. You lean forward, your arms resting on the table, a smirk playing on your lips. "Is that jealousy I hear?"

"Not at all," he assures you, and the sincerity is almost believable. He leans closer, and his gaze drops, his voice low. "If anyone is jealous, it's him. He'll never have you. Not the way I do."

Your smirk widens, and you laugh, taking the bottle from his hand and pouring another shot. "Well, you have nothing to worry about. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are."

You hold his gaze, and you down the shot, the alcohol burning. It's a dangerous game, and the both of you know it, and, as much as you want to keep pushing, and prodding, and testing his limits, you know better. It's best to let it go. It's best to move on. Besides, this was supposed to be fun.

"So," you say, pushing the bottle away, a small smile on your face. "Now that you're done worrying about me, can we finally have some fun? I didn't come here to sit and mope."

"Of course." He raises his glass and tilts his head. "To us."

"To us."

The rest of the evening is a blur. It passes in a haze of alcohol and laughter, the conversation turning to trivial things. There's no mention of the war, or Felucia, or the Council, and you're glad. You need a night off, and a break from everything, and you know Obi-Wan does too. The two of you have had so few chances to relax, and even fewer to spend time together. 

You find yourselves falling back into the routine of years past, and, as the evening wears on, the two of you become more and more carefree. You're laughing and teasing, and Obi-Wan's telling stories about his adventures as a young padawan, and your memories of the past come flooding back. The times the two of you have snuck off, and the things you've done, and the trouble you've gotten into. And it's nice. Comforting. To be with him, and to enjoy his company. Even if you know it can't last.

You've managed to drag Obi-Wan out onto the balcony, and the two of you are leaning against the railing, watching the people below, the wind ruffling your hair. You can feel his warmth, and his arm is pressing into yours, and the alcohol has left a pleasant buzz in your head. You're not quite drunk, but, judging by the flush in Obi-Wan's cheeks, he's further along than you are.

"I have a confession," he mutters. You raise an eyebrow, and he gives you a crooked smile. "I've missed this. Missed...us. Doing this. Being here."

"Yeah," you murmur. You glance at him, and he meets your gaze, his eyes bright. "I've missed this too."

"We should do it more often," he says. He reaches over and brushes a strand of hair from your cheek, his touch lingering, his thumb stroking your skin. "Spend time together. Outside the Temple."

"Obi-Wan."

"What?"

"Don't do this."

"I'm not doing anything," he counters. He turns to face you, his expression earnest, his voice soft. "I'm not saying that we should be together. Or that we should..." He trails off, and his eyes flick down, a flicker of hesitation crossing his features. "But, I've missed this. And, I think you have too."

"Obi-Wan..." You let out a breath and run a hand through your hair, the words slipping out before you can stop them. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're...different," you explain. You shrug and turn away, looking out over the city. "It's not just tonight. You've been acting strange for weeks. Ever since Felucia. I just..." You shake your head sigh, glancing over at him. "Are you sure you're alright? That everything is okay?"

"Yes," he replies, and the reply is quick, and curt, and too easy. You stare at him, and he shrugs, a frown tugging at his lips. "I'm fine."

"Are you?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You tell me," you snap. You turn and lean against the railing, crossing your arms, your glare hard. "Because, one minute, you're angry with me, and the next, you're...this. Tell me what's going on."

He holds your gaze for a moment, and then his eyes drop, his hand coming up to cover his face as a low groan escapes him.

"I don't know," he mutters. He takes a step closer and leans against the railing, his arm brushing against yours. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Obi-Wan..."

"I'm tired," he whispers. He looks over at you, his eyes sad, his voice hollow. "I'm tired of the war. I'm tired of the fighting. I'm tired of losing people. And...I'm tired of having to pretend."

"Pretend what?"

"Everything," he answers. His hand drops to the railing, his fingers curling around the metal, his grip tight. "Who I am. How I feel. What I'm thinking. What I want." He turns and looks at you, his eyes meeting yours, a flicker of emotion crossing his features. "What I want with you."

"And, how do you feel?" you ask softly. "What do you want with me?"

He swallows and turns away, his eyes focused on the skyline, and you can see the struggle in his face. He doesn't speak, and the silence grows heavy, and uncomfortable, and you let out a frustrated sigh.

"Obi-Wan—"

"I care for you. I have always cared for you. More than I should. More than is right."

He turns to face you, and there's a desperation in his eyes, and a longing, and you know where this is going. You know what he wants to say.

But, he doesn't. Instead, he sighs, his shoulders slumping, and he shakes his head.

"You mean the world to me, and I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

"You don't know that," he insists. He takes a step closer, and his hands are on your waist, his touch light, his gaze searching yours. "I'm not the only one who has changed."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're different, too," he says. His hands move, and they slide up your back, his thumbs brushing along your cheek. "The last few months have changed you. And I'm afraid of what will happen. What will change."

"Nothing's going to change," you promise, and your voice is low, and soft. "We're the same. We're just older. And wiser. And maybe a little more jaded. But, we're still the same. You're still the same man who was my first love, and I'm still the same girl who fell for him."

He smiles, a small, sad, thing, and he lets out a breath, his forehead resting against yours. Your eyes close, and your hands move to his chest, the fabric warm and soft beneath your fingers, his heart beating steadily beneath your palm.

The tension in his body melts away, and his touch is gentle, his thumb stroking your cheek. You can't help but press closer, his arms wrapping around you, holding you tight.

"I don't know what I would do without you," he murmurs. He lets out a shaky breath, and you can feel him trembling, the weight of the world, the pain and the fear, bearing down on him. "If anything happened to you, if I lost you..."

"You're not going to lose me," you repeat. You reach up and cup his cheek, your thumb running over his stubble, his beard rough against your skin. "I promise."

Obi-Wan doesn't say anything. Instead, he lets out a quiet, strangled, noise, and his lips are on yours, soft and warm and familiar. 

It's a desperate, needy, kiss, and it's all too easy to give in, to let yourself melt into him, his hands on your face and his mouth moving against yours. You haven't been kissed in years, and you haven't kissed him in even longer, and, despite your best efforts, you can't help but respond, your fingers sliding through his hair, a low moan escaping you.

His grip tightens, and his tongue is in your mouth, his body pressing against yours. You can't think, and you can't breathe, and you can feel his need, his desire, the emotions, raw and unguarded, spilling over. He's shaking, and his lips are insistent, and when he pulls back, his breathing is ragged, his eyes dark.

The two of you stare at each other, the silence stretching between you, and the gravity of the situation hits you. You've been friends for years, and you've been lovers, and now, here you are, on the precipice, and you're teetering on the edge. One more step, and there's no going back. One more step, and everything will change.

A sinking stone settles in the pit of your stomach, the fog of alcohol fleeing, and a wave of regret and shame crashing down. You can't believe what you've done. How far you've fallen. And how easily. After all the years you've spent avoiding each other, and trying to be friends, and now, here you are.

"We shouldn't have done that," you whisper. You push him away and take a step back, and he reaches out, his hand on your elbow. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"You're right," he says. His hand falls, and he looks away, a frown tugging at his lips. "We shouldn't have."

Obi-Wan runs a hand through his hair, his eyes closing, and he lets out a long breath. When he looks at you again, the guilt and the sadness in his eyes is gone, replaced by resignation. He reaches over and gives your shoulder a squeeze, his tone gentle. "Come on, let's go home."

You nod, and he releases you, stepping back. You can't meet his gaze, and you turn, your eyes fixed on the ground, the two of you making your way across the balcony. He keeps his distance, and you keep yours, the silence between you tense and heavy.

You're both back in the Temple a short while later, and Obi-Wan leads you back to your room, his pace quick. He stops outside the door, and his eyes meet yours.

“Will you be alright?” he asks, his brows furrowed.

“Yes,” you mutter. You can't meet his gaze, and you fidget, your eyes on the floor.

He sighs and lifts your chin, forcing you to look at him.

"Look," he says softly. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," you say. "I...shouldn't have let that happen."

"It's not your fault," he assures you. His thumb brushes across your cheek, and he gives you a smile. "We both let it get out of hand."

"Still, we shouldn't have..."

"No," he agrees. His hand falls, and he steps back, his smile turning wry. "We definitely shouldn't have."

You manage a weak smile, and his eyes soften.

"I meant to say this before," he starts. "I didn't want to interrupt the moment. But, I meant it."

"Meant what?"

"What I said earlier," he clarifies. He clears his throat and looks down, his gaze fixed on his shoes, his words hesitant. "I...don't want to lose you. I don't think I could bear it. And...I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You're not going to lose me," you promise. You smile and grab his hand, squeezing his fingers, your voice soft. "I'll always be here."

He squeezes back, his eyes soft. "I know you're still struggling with Master Yaddle's death, and everything that's happened, and, well, I'm here. It's not much, but my clearance can help. If there's something you need, if there's something that would aid you in your search, let me know. I'm not going to ask questions. Just...if there's anything that can give you closure, I'll get it for you."

"I appreciate the offer," you reply. "But, I don't think the Council would take too kindly to you helping me. Especially after what happened. They're probably going to be watching us both like hawks for a while."

"Right." He sighs.

"However," you continue. "I'd appreciate it if you could pull any records regarding the last few months she was alive. Missions. Debriefings. Anything."

"Consider it done," he promises.

"Thank you."

"Of course," he says. "Anything else?"

"Actually, yes," you say. "There is something else."

"Yes?"

You step forward and wrap your arms around him, hugging him, and he hugs you back, his cheek resting against your head. You hold him close, breathing in his scent, his warmth surrounding you, his arms tight around your waist. There's so much you want to say, and so many things you want to tell him, but none of it feels right. Not after what's happened, and the choices the two of you have made. And, for a moment, you just let yourself be, his heartbeat steady against your cheek, the rise and fall of his chest calming.

"I love you, you know that, right?" you say quietly as you pull away.

He chuckles and brushes a stray hair from your forehead. "Yes, I do."

"Good." You step back and turn toward your door, looking over your shoulder at him. "Now, go. Get some sleep."

"You too," he says, his lips quirking. You can't help but return his smile, and he turns, heading for his room. He glances over his shoulder, and he winks. "Good night, darling."

"Good night," you call out.

He vanishes around the corner, and you turn and open the door, stepping into your room. The door slides shut, and you're greeted by the empty, familiar, sight of your quarters. The walls are bare, the windows are uncovered, and the floors are cold. It's not a welcoming space, and it never has been, but tonight, the silence feels particularly loud. You're used to being alone, but, right now, the loneliness is almost overwhelming.

You're not sure why.

Or, perhaps, you don't want to admit why.

Either way, the ache in your chest is still there, the emptiness still lingers, and you know it's not just from the alcohol. You try to ignore the feeling, and instead you settle on the floor to meditate, focusing on the Force and letting the energy flow through you. 

It doesn't work, and you know it won't. But, you have to try. The alternative is too much to bear. You sit for a few hours, your eyes closed, and your hands resting on your knees, until, eventually, sleep pulls you under.

taglist: @baddest-batchers @lolwey @chocolatewastelandtriumph @hobbititties @mere-bear

@thegreatpipster @lordofthenerds97 @tentakelspektakel @notslaybabes @aynavaano

@ayyyy-le-simp @mali-777 @schrodingersraven @megmegalodondon @dangraccoon

@heavenseed76 @dreamie411 @sukithebean @bimboshaggy @bunny7567

@lostqueenofegypt @9902sgirl @jedi-dreea @salaminus @heidnspeak

@ghostymarni @gottalovehistory @mrcaptainrex @burningnerdchild @yoitsjay

@callsign-denmark @julli-bee @moonychicky @captn-trex @feral-ferrule

@webslinger-holland @marchingviolist @cw80831 @chaicilatte @somewhere-on-kamino

@silly-starfish

[aerodaltonimperial]

okay, i am GENUINELY not trying to be patronizing or condescending right now, but the amount of pearl-clutching and freaking out that's happened in the past six months or so about the wrestlers you write about finding your fic has been quite high, and VERY GENUINELY, if you are one of the people panicking: how did you not factor this in as a possibility in the first place? i'm being serious. how did you, when you sat down to write about real people, not think that those very real people with internet connections and a metric fuckton of boring travel time were not going to find fanfics about themselves if they wanted to?

we are in an age where fanfiction is mainstream. back in 2000, when i was in high school, you didn't talk about that shit, but now? people are reccing fanfics on tiktok videos. publishing has figured out that writers here put out good stuff and are repackaging it for profit. ao3 is a hugo award winning fanfiction archive. y'all. it's out there. it's all out there. this is a fan space. it's still our space. you can't stop them from ending up here, but that's on them, not us. if you're freaking out, then maybe this isn't something you want to be doing. i'm being very serious. if this is causing you panic, you probably should not be part of this in the year 2024. but, like, i would bet a fairly substantial amount of money that at least 50% of them are well aware of what their number one pairing on ao3 is.

they're already here. they already know. they have always known lol. i'm, like, 75% sure i've had lines lifted from fics before, and honestly, that's not a panic moment, that's a fuck yeah i really nailed that moment. you're not doing anything wrong. this is a fan space. as long as you aren't putting it in front of them and they came here on their own? besties, you're good. you're great. it's fine. i'm being serious, please stop panicking. you gotta roll with it if you're gonna be here. you gotta assume that, at any point, someone involved could find what you're writing. genuinely, if you are not comfortable with that, then you're gonna have to just keep your fics to some google docs you share with a few friends. i know that not everyone has had a red alert level 5 the call is coming from inside the house moment, but it's one of those things. it comes with the territory.

we gotta stop freaking out every month lol. take the acknowledgements and laugh about them. it's fun when they give shout-outs! they know what's cookin'. it's cute that they keep an eye on fandom and what's hitting with us. don't put it in their faces, don't tag them on social media with it, just keep doin' what you're doin' here in the fan space and having a nice time. i promise you'll be okay.

[anjee0]

My Brother's best friend

Chapter 2 ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

B Rabbit x Female!reader. (Feel free to put an oc insert if you wish as well)

Description - In which Y/n starts to become friends and possibly more with her brother's best friend, BRabbit.

Y/n stood in front of the milk fridge at the supermarket as she pondered which milk she should get. It didn't matter which one she did buy, Jordan would tell her that she got the milk either way. It wasn't even her turn to do the groceries, it was Jordan's, but he made his sister do it. She was already tired from her shift and now she had to do the shopping.

Y/n felt a small tap on her leg and looked down to be met with a little girl. She had short, blonde hair and big brown eyes. Her cheeks were stained rosy pink and she had a small frown on her face.

“Hey, sweetie. You okay?” Y/n asked.

“No, I lost my brother. I can't find him.” The girl responded.

“Oh, what's your name?” 

“Lily.”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows when she heard the girl speak her name. She'd heard that name somewhere before but she wasn't sure when. It took a few seconds for everything to click when she remembered that Jimmy had a younger sister named Lily.

“All right, Lily. I'm Y/n. Does your brother happen to be Jimmy?”

“Yeah! How did you know?”

“I know him. Come on, I have an idea.”

Lily took Y/n's hand as they walked to the checkout area and approached a cashier.

“What are we doing?” Lily asked.

“You'll see,” Y/n responded with a small smile.

Y/n turned to face the cashier at the register and gave a smile. “Uh hey there…” She said, squinting her eyes to try to read the cashier’s name tag. “Rachel. This little girl, Lily, lost her brother, Jimmy. Is it okay if you can use your little intercom thing to call him over?”

Rachel groaned slightly and nodded. “What's the brother's full name?”

“Jimmy Smith Jr,” Lily responded shyly.

Rachel sighed and spoke it to the intercom. “Could Jimmy Smith Jr come to check out number 3? Your sister Lily is here waiting for you.” She said in a monotonous tone.

It was only a matter of time before Jimmy came jogging to the checkout to get Lily. He slowed down and raised his eyebrow when he saw Y/n standing with his sister.

Lily immediately ran over to Jimmy and hugged him tightly, with Y/n walking behind her.

“Hey, Lily.” Jimmy greeted with a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around his sister.

“Hey, Rabbit,” Y/n said with a smirk on her face.

“Y/n… thank you. Honestly. I got so fucking scared.” 

“Hey, language!” Lily called out.

Y/n and Jimmy laughed at Lily's response to her brother swearing.

“Lily, what do you say to Y/n?” Jimmy asked.

“Thank you, Y/n,” Lily responded timidly as her cheeks quickly became red again.

“No problem Lily.” 

“Uh, are you doing anything tomorrow?” Jimmy asked.

“No, I'm free. Why?” Y/n replied, smiling softly.

“Uh, do you maybe wanna do something with me tomorrow? You know, we can get to know each other more.”

“Sounds cool. Where are we going?”

“I'll figure it out. I'll give you my number, hold on.”

Jimmy took a small notebook (about the size of his palm) and pen out of his pocket. He ripped out a page of it and scribbled his number down.

“Do you always just carry a little notebook around with you?” Y/n asked in a teasing manner.

“If I ever get an idea for a lyric randomly, it comes in handy.”

Y/n took the paper from Jimmy before putting it in her pocket.

“Wait, so you saw Rabbit at the grocery store and he asked you out on a date?” Carly asked through the phone.

“Yeah, but it's not a date. He just wants to get to know me.” Y/n replied as she twisted the curly telephone cord.

“That's a date, babe.” 

“No, it's not. We established that over the phone.”

“You got his number?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Well, where are you guys going?”

“He's got the whole day planned out. We're gonna have breakfast at Chin Tiki-”

“Chin Tiki?”

“I know but he said that they have a really good breakfast menu.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I know; I was surprised, too. Anyway, after that we might just take a stroll and then have lunch. Then we might have a little ride around town and I have a feeling we might have dinner as well.”

“Girl, that is a date!”

“He's just being a nice guy.”

“Yeah, a nice guy who desperately wants you to be his girlfriend,” Carly responded sarcastically.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, whatever. Okay, enough about me, what about you? What happened with Wink last night, I didn't get to ask you.”

“Meh, not much. He's cute but not my type. I mean, there's this one guy I'm talking to but-”

“But what?”

“He's really sweet and cute and caring but I have a feeling it might not work out.”

Y/n could practically feel Carly frowning on the other side. “Hey, don't say that. Everything will be fine. Who is this guy anyway?”

“I think it's best if I keep this one secret. I just wanna make sure everything will turn out fine before I say anything.”

“That's fine Carly. I understand.”

“Thanks Y/n.”

“Uh, listen, is it okay if you could do a favour for me please?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“So Jordan is gonna flip if I tell him I'm going out with Rabbit. Is it okay if you can cover and just pretend I'm with you?”

“Of course, girl. I got your back.”

“Okay thank you.”

They talked for another hour or so, catching up with each other and talking about their work before they decided to hang up the call. 

The morning rolled in as the sun's light rays shone down onto Y/n's face. Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes and tried to adjust the brightness. She suddenly remembered that she was going out with Rabbit today so she immediately got out of bed and started getting ready.

She threw on a simple skirt and a crop top, did her hair and makeup and went downstairs. Jordan was sitting at the table, eating his breakfast quickly so he wouldn't be late for work.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“To Carly's. We're just gonna hang out for the day.” 

Y/n tried to remain casual and calm so her brother wouldn't pick up on her lie.

“Okay, don't do anything dumb. I have to go to work.” Jordan replied.

He quickly got up and left the house. Y/n let out a breath of relief she didn't realise she was holding in. 

A few minutes later, Y/n heard a knock on the door as she ran a little bit too happily to open it. She saw Rabbit leaning his arm against the doorpost, smirking.

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Yup.” Y/n replied, grabbing her handbag from the table.

As soon as Y/n stepped out the house, she could feel the cold breeze of the Michigan air hit her face and body. She started to regret wearing a skirt and a crop top but she was sure she would eventually adjust to the cold.

They wasted no time getting into the car and buckling up to leave. 

“By the way, I should tell you something.” Y/n said.

“Sure, what's up?” Rabbit asked.

“I kinda lied to Jordan and told him I'm hanging out with my friend Carly.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Jordan would get mad if he found out I was hanging out with one of his friends.”

“Well then why did you say yes to hang out with me?”

“Because you seem like a nice guy and I'd like to get to know you better.” 

Rabbit chuckled. “I'm not the nicest guy, but I guess it's nice you thought that.”

“So are you okay with me lying to my brother?”

“You can do what you want but it kinda feels wrong.”

“That's understandable. We can cancel if you don't wanna do this.”

“No, no. I wanna do this, it'll be cool. I guess we just gotta be… cautious?”

“Yeah. Cautious. We'll be cautious.”

Y/n immediately noticed how different Chin Tiki looked during the day. It looked like a completely different bar. The atmosphere felt more relaxed and calm compared to the lively and noisy atmosphere during the night. There was no one inside except the people working there and Y/n and Rabbit. 

“It doesn't even feel like I'm in Chin Tiki.” Y/n said as she tried to start a conversation.

“I know. It's strange, right?” Rabbit responded.

“How'd you even find out about this?”

“I was just walking around one morning and saw Chin Tiki open so I decided to go in. The best part is that the food is cheap and tastes amazing.”

A second or two later, a waiter came over to their table and gave them their menus. Y/n could feel her mouth water at the food displayed in the menus. There was a wide range of breakfast items from pancakes and waffles to toast and even cereal.

“Wow, I don't even know what to choose.” Y/n chuckled.

“I normally go for the regular waffles. It's simple but it tastes great.” Rabbit replied.

“Hmm, I think I'll go for that then too.”

A few minutes after they ordered, their food came to the tables. The waffles were warm with a crispy edge and a soft inside and middle. The golden, shiny syrup was dripping off the edges and to top it off a small square of soft butter. The waffles tasted sweet and phenomenal and the syrup just made it all the better.

“Damn Rabbit, this is really good. I should come here often.” Y/n praised.

Rabbit smiled softly, knowing that Y/n was enjoying herself so far. “You work at a diner right?” He asked.

“Yeah. Karl's diner. The one around the diner.” 

“I've never been there before. Is it good?”

“The food looks good. I've never eaten there though. I just wait and make the milkshakes. I don't cook any of the food.”

“Maybe I should visit you sometime.”

For the rest of the day, they spent their time driving around and taking strolls. Rabbit showed Y/n some parts of 8 mile he'd always gone when he was younger. Y/n enjoyed watching him talk about his childhood memories of him hanging out with his friends and writing lyrics with them.

The sun started to set and they found a rooftop to sit on to watch the sunset. The sky was like a canvas of yellow, pink and purple watercolours blending into each other as the sun disappeared into the horizon.

Y/n looked down and saw that Chin Tiki was open. The loud music from the inside sounded muffled from where they sat. Bright lights could be seen from shining through the windows and onto the pavement outside.

“Should we go to Chin Tiki?” Y/n asked, nodding her head over to the building.

“Why not.” Rabbit replied.

When they got in, it was more packed and busy than usual. People were in nearly every corner of the bar dancing, talking or drinking. Off to one side of the bar, there were a lot of people dancing together, laughing and having the time of their life— and it easily caught Y/n's attention.

“Hey, do you wanna dance?” She asked.

“I can't dance.” Rabbit replied.

“That makes the two of us.” 

Y/n chuckled and grabbed Rabbit's hand and dragged him over. She put her hands at the side of his neck while he rested his hands on the waistband of the skirt. They swayed to the music and held each other closer as the second went by. 

What they didn't notice was Jordan and the other guys walking into Chin Tiki and taking a seat at a table. Whilst all the guys were having a conversation, Cheddar spotted two familiar faces on the dance floor holding each other close and swaying. Y/n and Rabbit.

“Hey Jordan, isn't that your sister with Rabbit?” Cheddar asked.

Jordan and all the guys immediately looked up and spotted Rabbit and Y/n putting their hands on each other and dancing.

Rabbit's hand went down Y/n thigh and slowly trailed down it. He picked her leg up and gently brought her knee to his hip. Y/n moved her head back as Rabbit moved his nose along her neck. For a moment, it felt like they were the only ones in the room. When Y/n brought her head back, their noses slightly brushed.

“You're not too bad.” She whispered.

“You too.” Rabbit responded.

Jordan had enough and came storming over feeling engulfed in anger. He pulled Rabbit off his sister and pushed him on a table. Everyone in the club fell silent and turned to watch what was happening.

“What the fuck are you doing with my sister man?!” Jordan shouted angrily.

Rabbit quickly got up and brushed himself off. “I'm just dancing with her, man.”

“Dancing with her, yeah? You're putting your fucking hands all over her!” Jordan quickly turned to his sister and that's when she could really see the anger through his eyes. “And you! You said you were with Carly!”

Before Y/n could say anything, Jordan grabbed her hand and dragged her outside to the parking lot. Rabbit and the guys followed behind.

“What do you think you were doing?! Getting all close with him like that!” Jordan exclaimed.

“We were just dancing! Hanging out!” Y/n replied, even louder than her brother.

“You lied to me! You said you were with Carly!”

“Fine! Yes! I lied! Me and Rabbit bumped into each other at the store yesterday and decided to hang out.”

“Why?”

“We just wanted to talk and get to know each other better after we met the night before. Plus, we had nothing else to do.”

“So you lied to me.”

“You wouldn't let me go. And don't lie to me saying that you would've said yes.”

Jordan stayed silent and kissed his teeth. “Fine. I wouldn't have you let go but that's because Rabbit's my friend! You know how fucking weird it would be if my sister doing shit with my best friend?!”

“We weren't doing anything!”

“That little dance that you had sure proved something.”

“Why are you so overprotective over me?! I'm twenty fucking two, I'm an adult! I can make my own decisions, I don't need you dictating me! Gosh, you are such a bad brother!” Y/n shouted. She could her voice crack as tears slipped out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I'm going home.” 

Y/n wasted no time leaving the car park and walking past the guys. “Show’s over.” She muttered to them.

As she left the car park and started walking on the pavement back home, Rabbit quickly caught up with her.

“Y/n.” He breathed out when reached her.

“Leave me alone Rabbit. I'll just make it worse for you.”

“Don't worry about me.” 

“I just ruined your friendship with your best friend. I'm such a dick. I should've just told the truth.”

“Y/n, don't worry about that. I'll deal with myself. Are you okay?”

“Not really. I feel like a slut.”

“You're not.”

“Really? Because the way I was dancing with you sure said something.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“Me too.”

They both stopped walking and faced each other as they looked into each other's eyes. 

“Look, I had a nice night,” Rabbit began. “And I know it ended really badly but I think I've never enjoyed hanging out with a girl this much until tonight.”

“Really?” Y/n asked.

Rabbit nodded.

“I haven't hung out with a guy like this in ages. I guess I enjoyed tonight too.”

“Can I walk you home?”

“Sure.”

The walk back home was quiet and brought a comfortable silence with it. When they got home, Rabbit gave Y/n a small hug and whispered in her ear:

“Call me if you need anything, you have my number.”

Y/n nodded and shut the door gently. She changed out of her clothes and jumped into bed whilst wrapping the covers around her tightly. Tears of regret and sadness spilled out her eyes and fell onto her pillow. She tried to sleep as soon as she could as she had work tomorrow.

Eventually, Y/n fell into a slumber, her last thought being Rabbit.

[uceyliyahh]

Summary; After her difficult breakup, Tiana wanted to start anew with her life. That's when she realized her life would be better when she met him.

This fanfic is 18+! NO MINORS ALLOWED

word count: 3783

Smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

Jey Uso X Tiana

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

But I’ll be writing along the way since this story is in my drafts on Wattpad right now so yuh 💁🏽‍♀️

TAGS⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tagged 🏷️

@paigereeder @pinkwithhearts @jstarr86

I.

Have you ever thought about running away? And starting somewhere new? Having a fresh start with things, especially having a promising career?

Tiana was doing that, starting somewhere fresh, living with her best friend Bianca in Cali after her messy breakup with Malakai when she saw him cheat on her with someone she knew.

But she wasn't worried about that man. She stood her ground while focusing on her career as a Nail Tech, getting her money's worth so she could have a place of her own.

She did the dumbest thing ever: She got this man tatted on the side of her right ear. Bianca convinced her to cover it with something pretty.

But she didn't know any tattoos around here; only Bianca did. She contacted a tattoo shop near them and scheduled an appointment.

OMNISCIENT

Tiana was finishing up with her last client of the day before shutting down the shop. She had a tattoo appointment afterward, so she wanted to get this done before she was late.

She focused on her clients' nails as she applied the last few bits of gems to their nails while turning on the curing light and placing their hands under the light.

Her phone beeped as she saw Bianca texting her, probably about her appointment at the tattoo shop.

Breezy💁🏽‍♀️: Tianaaaaa wyd girrrl?

Tiana: I'm finishing up my last client before heading to my appointment today.

Tiana: are you sure they're like legit? Bc if I get a fucked up cover-up, I'm going to kill you. 😀

Breezy: yesssss lele they're legit like this man owns the business chile. 😐

Tiana: oh fr?

Breezy: yes T

Tiana: do they have an Instagram page showing their artwork?

Breezy: yeah, I'll send it to you on Instagram.

Tiana: okay, girly, I'll text you later.

Breezy: bye, girl.

She turned off the curing light as her client looked at her nails with a smile on her face; she was satisfied with her results. Her client knew that Tiana was the shit when It came to doing nails.

Tiana instructed her to take a pose with her hands to show off her nails so she could post it on her IG story. She started doing nails when she was sixteen years old. Her mom and stepdad helped her with everything, and she was very grateful for that because look at her now.

biancabelairwwe replied to your story: ouuuuu girl them are honestly cute asf.

sheloveemma replied to your story: BOOK ME NEXT NOW!

ughitsstacy replied to your story: girl, I LOVE THEM! PERIOD!

shelovekai replied to your story: damn, mama, you snapped.

She looked at Malakai's reply to her story as she just rolled her eyes; she could've sworn she had blocked that man she didn't want nun' to do with his toxic ass; her client paid her with an extra tip due to how much she loved the nails as she told her goodbye.

Tiana smiled at the woman as she went to lock the door, getting ready to sanitize everything before her appointment. She was wiping down her equipment and the table with a warm rag, making sure that everything was cleaned and that she wasn't missing any spots.

She checked the time on her Apple Watch, seeing that she had to leave for her appointment to get this nigga name covered up due to the simple fact that she got tired of seeing it every single time she took pictures.

Tiana did one last check around the place, making sure that everything was back to where it was, before grabbing her purse and turning off the lights as she headed back towards her 2017 BMW.

She entered her car by shutting the door behind her, grabbing her keys as she put them in the ignition, and pressing the button to start it up.

She applied lip gloss on her lips and began pulling out the driveway towards the tattoo shop.

✧.*

Tiana pulled up towards the tattoo shop, turning off her car while grabbing her purse. As she entered the place, she looked around the area. She saw the shop's very cultured aesthetic, and the smell of the place seemed so refreshing to her.

She noticed that two other people were sitting at the reception table on their phones. Since it wasn't that busy today, she walked up to them, and they both looked at her.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Kiara. What can I help you with?" Kiara asked.

"Hi, I'm here for an appointment at 3:50," Tiana said as she pulled out her phone to show them her appointment.

"Ah, you're Miss Tiana?"

She nodded her head yes as she patiently waited while clinging onto her purse.

"And you're here for a cover-up?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." She saw the woman nod her head as she looked up at her.

"Okay, you're set, ma'am. Please have a seat. He will be right with you."

"Thank you," Tiana said as she sat down in the chair.

She was scrolling through her IG, seeing people had liked her story that she had posted an hour ago. Replying to people who responded to her story, she saw a text pop up, so she scrolled down to see who it was. It was Malakai from an unknown number since Tiana blocked him.

Weirdo: mamas, can you unblock me, please? I promise I've changed.

Tiana: Kai you finna get blocked again leave me aloneeee

Weirdo: you know that you're mines forever.

Tiana: tuh in your dreams nigga bye.

Tiana rolled her eyes while proceeding to block his new number. She was thinking, 'nigga probably using WhatsApp or TextNow to get new numbers.' While she was doing that, her eye caught something as she saw a man getting his equipment out.

She tried to make out his features but couldn't due to the door being closed. She would have to wait until she got in that chair, but she went back to scrolling through her Instagram.

Breezy: bestieee are you at your appointment?

Tiana: yeah, I'm here.

Breezy: good cuz Ik your ass would've forgot I'm so glad you're getting that shit covered.

Tiana: yeah, me too tired of seeing that shit.

Breezy: do you like the shop?

Tiana: yeah, I love the aesthetic of it, and it smells good.

Breezy: seee I told you I got'chu girl.

As she was texting away, she pulled her head up and saw the same man standing at the door, waiting patiently for her until Kiara said something to her.

"Excuse me, miss, but you can come in now," Kiara said.

Tiana nodded her head yes, grabbed her purse, and walked past the specimen while sitting on the chair. She placed her bag on the table next to her.

She looked up at the fine specimen, finally making out his features, and boy, was he fine as hell. He was wearing some sweats with a black graphic shirt, and his shoe game was on point. Of course, he had a mullet and ear piercings on both sides of his ears.

His toned muscular body, along with his Tanned skin and salt/pepper beard, it wouldn't be rude to her if she kept eye fucking him while he was getting ready.

"You getting a cover-up?" Josh spoke, breaking the silence.

'Damn, his voice was deep as hell.'

"U-um, yeah, I am around my ear, " she said, noticing that she was stumbling on her words.

It caused him to chuckled a little bit while looking at her face, "You ain't gotta be nervous around me, Princess Ion' bite." She was taken aback for a second. 'Princess?' Well, she hadn't heard that nickname before. Is he always like this with his clients?

Tiana shook off the feeling as he pulled out some designs to show her, to see which one she liked better. She looked at his designs and was amazed at his artwork; it was perfect.

But one design caught her eye. It just looked so beautiful: two butterflies with a cross between them.

"I like this one; it caught my eye," Tiana said as she smiled.

He nodded his head as he took the design that she wanted behind her cover-up.

He pulled the chair towards her and reclined it back a bit so that she could be comfortable. He put on some black gloves while grabbing the tattoo pen.

"Can you turn your head for me, mama? " he asked. She nodded yes and turned her head to the side.

He started working on the cover-up behind her ear. He noticed that a male's name was tatted behind her ear. He had a smug expression on his face.

"So you got a name tattooed on you?"

Not trying to be in her business, but was trying to be in her business.

"Yeah, I got this lame ass nigga tatted on me that I was with for a while until he did some messed up shit, so my bestie decided to hook me up." She said while being still.

"Hm, how long was yall together?" He asked while focusing on the tattoo.

"We were together for like two, almost three years, maybe?"

He smacked his teeth and shook his head in disappointment. " That's a horrible mistake to get someone's name tatted on you. I heard it was bad luck." She wanted to smack him upside the head but couldn't.

"Don't put that on me, sir. I want no back luck," Tiana said as Josh snickered at her.

"It's not funny, you bozo." He rolled his eyes at her while continuing to do his work behind her ear.

They were back into complete silence again, and she kept hearing the needle buzzing in her ear like some type of fly buzzing around her.

She kept thinking about her relationship with Malakai. It became so toxic for her that she couldn't even deal with his ass anymore after she found out he cheated on her.

Tiana felt like she wasn't going to find love again because she was afraid of the outcome, so she kept her guard up around men, especially the ones who tried to holla at her.

"Who's your best friend?" Josh asked her.

"Her name is Bianca. She told me she comes here often, " she replied while continuing to talk on her phone.

"Ohhhh yeah I know her, I did some designs on her not too long ago."

Tiana nodded her head, listening to him talk. His voice seemed to soothe her because it was so deep and raspy, almost making her sleepy, as she yawned a bit while rubbing her eyes.

He took notice of that, "Long day, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, I'm just hella tired. I'm not going to lie to you." She said.

He just hummed in agreement as he was finishing up her tattoo while turning off his tattoo pen; Jey had sprayed some alcohol on wet paper towel as he wiped behind her ear, causing her to hiss in pain.

Jey snickered at her reaction as she glared at him, throwing his hands up in defense.

"Aye, you wanted this, not me." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. How much do I owe you?" Tiana responded as she pulled her wallet out of her purse.

"It's on me, ma; don't worry about it." She looked up at him with a confused expression, which had her thinking to herself, 'What does he mean about that?' Tiana put her wallet back inside her purse as Jey gave her a mirror to check out her new tattoo.

She turned her head a bit to see it, moving her ear to the side to see its design.

"Omg, this is really bomb as fuck." Tiana said.

"Thank you. I mean, they say I'm the best, better than my cousin, no shade or nun." She snickered at his comment as he reclined her chair upwards while she stood up to fix herself.

"Lemme get a quick pic so I can post it on my story." He said.

Tiana knew she was good with poses, so she turned her head to the side, showing off her cover-up tattoo. Jey took a quick picture of it before putting his phone down.

"Thank you; I appreciate it. I never got your name; my fault," Tiana said while monitoring his face.

"My name is Joshua, but people close to me call me Jey or Josh for short—whatever floats your boat, mama." Jey replied.

"I'm Tiana, by the way."

Jey thought to himself for a second while looking at her features deeply. she was a pretty girl that's fahso, and her personality seemed bubbly almost?'Whoever fumbled her cute ass is so unlucky now I'm finna be all up in that.'

"Tiana, huh? That's a cute name for a pretty girl like you; lemme me get your number, lil' mama," He said bluntly as she rolled her eyes at him while he gave her his phone.

He watched her type her phone number in while she gave him back his phone. They stood there in silence as they looked at each other until her gaze shifted towards her buzzing phone.

He watched her walk out his suite as he kept stealing glances at her ass; he knew that thang was thang in that one piece that she had on.

It was almost like he was fascinated with her in some way when they literally just met each other today; maybe it was her features that got him feeling like this with her.

But he had shaken them thoughts outta his head cleaning his equipment up.

✧.*

TIANA

I finally made it home. I parked my car in the driveway right next to Bianca's, turned off the ignition, grabbed my purse, and closed the car door behind me.

As I was walking in the house, I heard moaning and groaning upstairs, which made me realize that Montez was taking Bianca to Pound Town, which I personally did not want to hear.

I went upstairs towards my bedroom while shutting the door behind me as I took off my shoes throwing them on my shoe rack sighing in relief I really did hate being on my feet especially sitting on my ass too.

I fumbled onto my nice, comfortable bed and hugged the pillows until I felt my phone buzz. I thought it was Kai texting me again from a different number, so I went to see who was texting me.

'An unknown number ofc.'

Unknown number: did you make it home safe, princess?

Tiana: who dis?

Unknown number: Did you forget already? You were just here a couple of hours ago, girl.

I had to think about it for a minute since I tend to forget sometimes. The caller ID wanted to FaceTime me, of course. I hung up quickly because I didn't know who this person was until that person called again.

I rolled my eyes. While answering the FaceTime call, she saw a familiar face. That's when it clicked to her: It was Joshua from the tattoo shop.

FACETIME

Jey: now, do you remember?

Tiana: yeah, yeah boy now what'chu want?

Jey: I just wanted to make sure you drove home safe. That's all, princess.

Him and these damn puppy names was going to be the death of me; never had I experienced being called princess like I'm some princess from England or sum.

I placed my phone down on top of my dresser while unzipping my one-piece. This shit was killing me today felt like I couldn't breathe. As I was doing that, I proceeded to wobble my ass outta the one piece hearing Josh snickering.

Tiana: The fuck is funny nigga?

Jey: you, you is funny as hell wobbling like that shawty.

Tiana: Man fuck you, it was really tight.

Jey: mhm

I just rolled my eyes at him and gave him the middle finger. Finally, I got out of one piece and threw it in the dirt bin next to my bookshelf. 'Yes, I read, yes, I'm a nerd.' I was in my underwear while digging through my drawer for some comfortable clothing.

I felt his gaze through the phone, but I didn't speak on it, not understanding why I was getting comfortable with being half-naked on FaceTime with this man I barely knew.

Jey: damn, mama, you got a dump trunk back there.

Tiana: are you flirting with me right now sir?

Jey: maybe, maybe not. I'm just calling it what it is, princess.

Tiana: call me that again imma

Jey: or what?

I ignored him while getting fully naked in front of him and grabbing my towel that was nearby so that I could cover my body until I headed to the bathroom.

Tiana: I'm going to go shower, so I'm going to hang up now.

Jey: nooo, take me with'chu

Tiana: why so? Can you look at my ass or what?

Jey: nah I just wanted to stay on the phone with'chu.

Tiana: sigh ight then whatever you want dawg.

I took my phone with me to the bathroom. As I sat down on the counter table, making it look up at the ceiling, I heard him smack his teeth.

Jey: aye, yo ass betta get me up from looking at this ceiling.

Tiana: my fault, dawg. Lemme fix that for ya.

He seemed pretty annoyed when I did that, but I found it amusingly funny seeing him annoyed at my actions. Meanwhile, I unraveled my towel from my body as I headed inside the shower.

Jey: what do you do?

Tiana: I own my nail tech shop, so I do people's nails and get good tips.

Jey: Fr shawty? shi imma have to pull up to get a manicure from you.

Tiana: I can definitely send you the address to the place.

Jey: Bet that up fasho

✧.*

After taking a nice long shower, I was downstairs cooking me something to eat for dinner while still being on Facetime with Joshua. He was playing the game with his brothers, hollering and screaming at each other like some dogs. I noticed that Bianca came downstairs and came towards me to see what I was cooking.

"Ouuu girl what'chu cooking?" She asked.

"I'm cooking me some chicken in the air fryer along with some rice. I made extra for you and Montez, so y'all can eat after that session y'all had." I said while letting the rice sit.

"Omg, I love you so much, bestie, but who's that on the phone?"

"Oh, that's Joshua."

Her face looked perplexed for a minute, then it clicked, so she put a smirk on her face as I gave her a stern expression, thinking, 'I know this girl isn't going to try to hook me up with this man.'

"B, no, I'm not doing this with'chu tonight, chile." I said.

"C'monn, lele Joshua is a really cool ass person, bro, and then he'll be the first Samoan man you dated." She commented.

Jey: I know that's right, what's up Bianca!

Tiana: Shut the hell up sir

Jey: No need to be rude lil' mama

Bianca covered her mouth after he called me that. This girl is so dramatic. I swear. After finishing cooking the food, I sat down at the table while setting up my phone, and I began eating while watching Joshua play the game.

It looked like he was playing Call Of Duty. He seemed pretty good at the game, but his attention was now on me as his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

Jey: What'chu eating, pretty girl?

Tiana: I made some chicken and rice.

Jey: you ain't gon' share it?

'tf he mean was I going to share it?'

Tiana: Um, no, I wasn't planning on it. Also, how the hell am I supposed to share this with' chu, sir?

Jey: never heard of pretending?

'ight he don't gotta be smart about it.'

Tiana: I guess I can share with'chu then you look like you've been starving sir so here boy.

He smiled like a cute puppy as I pretended to give him some of my food while he pretended to eat it. It was kind of cute and funny, and we both chuckled at each other while gazing into each other's eyes. For a second, I could read his facial expression well until Bianca said something.

"Aww, y'all two look cute, girl. Honestly, y'all would be the cutest couple." Bianca said as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Girl, please don't start" I said while continuing to eat.

"Don't be denying it now, lele; you two will end up fucking each other sooner or later and then be a happy couple." I almost choked on my food when she said that, especially while I was on the phone with this man.

I could sense him smirking through the phone as he continued to play the game, and I knew he had just heard what she had said. I'm not going to lie. He was fine as hell, but I don't know where his energy is at right now.

After eating dinner, I made sure I washed my plate and put it in the dishwasher before going upstairs to my bedroom, closing the door behind me and yawning.

Jey: you finna go to sleep?

Tiana: yeah, I'm tired

Jey: What'chu doing tomorrow?

Tiana: I have like four clients tomorrow, then after that, I should be free. Why?

Jey: You wanna go out for lunch or sum

'I don't know where he's getting at with this but I like it.'

Tiana: yeah, sure, that sounds good.

Jey: Ight bet I'll see you tomorrow then.

Tiana: Goodnight Josh.

Jey: Night, mamas.

Under Your Touch.

biancabelairwwe, shelovesemma, shelovekai and 58,999 people liked your post.

tianasworld: he fixed me up quick i love it so much. 😍

biancabelairwwe: that's so cuteee I didn't even notice it I'm so happy you got it covered.

shelovesemma: 🫢 you got his name covered?

tianasworld: @ shelovesemma yeah girl I did got tired of seeing it.

shelovekai: wtf tiana 😠

tianasworld: @ shelovekai don't wtf to me nigga you might as well do the same thing. 🙎🏽‍♀️

A/N: welcome to a new storyyyy I honestly wanted to try something different and I got some inspiration from a story I read on tumblr so I hope yall enjoy this one.

Lmk in the comments below ⬇️ love yall.

Stay Ucey.

[joezworld]

Unheard Prayers (1/2)

Traintober 2022 Day 2 - Breakdown

Hey it's Traintober time again! I absolutely love doing this because it gives me a bit of a challenge to actually write stuff with a time limit. (If you've noticed that I haven't really posted stuff in a bit, it's not because I'm dead, it's because I work full time and usually put hobby stuff like writing off until Later™)

This stuff might be a bit rough around the edges, but I think that slightly rushed product is better than not putting anything out at all. (Yes this whole month will be #NoBetaReadersIDieLikeAMan, sorry)

For the first story of the month:

Summary - It’s the late 1970s, and the first generation of diesels live in fear of their bodies failing them. They know what happens afterwards.

-

Prayers were common in the diesel sheds that dotted England’s rail system. 

In the early days of compression-ignition, the diesels viewed their divinity in the same way that Britain viewed its empire. 

Permanent.

Everlasting.

Their Birthright.

When they rolled out of their shining and new diesel sheds and into the steam depots in the end of the nineteen-fifties, the cold, dirty, coal-speckled yards of steam that dated back to Brunel, their divine origins seemed almost obvious. 

They weren’t merely the future of the railway, nor were they only saviours of efficiency. 

They were Gods.

And the rails were their kingdom. 

They quickly spurned any pretenses that they hailed from that book of the most loving God, the New Testament, and laid down the heavenly law; This was the Old Testament, and they were the Gods of Wrath. Respect was not needed, nor was it given or wanted. Weakness was not tolerated. Fear was expected, and Obedience was found through intimidation and terror. 

For those engines below, the lowly shunters, the mixed goods engines, and (someone help them, for God is not here) the steam engines, they were not Disciples of the new Gods, but were instead Serfs under malevolent masters. 

Service and Obedience were expected. 

Disobedience was punished.

And punishment meant the Wrath of God. 

In the early days of the diesels, Prayers were common, but they only went one way - and the Gods rarely answered, too selfishly focused on the ascendancy of their own personal stars to care for those beneath them.

-

Time passed. 

Steam was exorcised from the heavenly kingdom of diesel traction, its members purged from the land, dragged away to their deaths. For them, obedience and servitude meant that they were given the option to die in a peaceful fashion. For those who rebelled, and tried to tarnish the bright star of their unwanted God, wrath came down upon them in ways that remain unspeakable. 

Wrath too came for their serfs. Those whose star had not reached quite as high, or had never risen at all, were ripped from the earth with a violent fury. Cast aside like Steam, they - the Claytons, CoBos, BTHs, Hymeks, Warships, and so many others - were offered the same horrible choice: obey, and die peacefully; resist, and die screaming. Living was not an option. 

With all challenges to their throne ruthlessly eliminated, the oil-fueled Gods rejoiced, and watched their stars ascend to the heavens. For those few classes at the top, they were the God of Gods - Kronos, king of the Titans; God, directing his Angels; Satan, leader of the Demons. 

Their stars shone so bright it was impossible to believe that anything could change it. 

But, unlike Kronos, and God, and Satan, they were not actually the God of Gods. 

They were a large fish, inside a small, emptying pond. 

The real Gods, as it were, were a group of men, in an office building, on Marylebone Road, in London. 

They controlled the Double Arrows.

And the Double Arrows controlled the Gods. 

The stars were about to go out.

-----------

Prayers were common in the diesel sheds that dotted England’s rail system. 

Gone were the subservient pledges of allegiance, the faltering begs for forgiveness, and the occasional burst of wrath. Now there were only prayers of the most desperate kind: 

please start please start please please start i have to start

don’t break down don’t break down they won’t fix me if i do

c’mon just make it to the station nearly there nearly there

don’t tell them it hurts don’t say anything just keep going

maybe they’ll fix me today maybe they’ll fix me tomorrow

turn over turn over turn over oh why isn’t it turning over 

don’t take me there please i won’t come back from there 

this can’t happen to us we were supposed to be the future

These prayers were directed at the only gods they knew: themselves. 

Unfortunately, they had always been capricious gods. 

help please anyone they’re killing us make it stop please

[saturnaous]

Accidently cooked up a silly little au the other day that I am very much enjoying gonna. talk about it under the cut because4 the FUCKING WORMS

OKAY so basically. literally everythign is the same except for the fact that. Ed got entirely yoinked instead of Alphonse. I dunno why that happens but. It does because I say so. Anyways. So this basically mean that Ed gets bonded to an armor instead of Al, and because I desperately wanted the secondary set of Armor to see some light I thought it would be funny to bond Ed to that instead. I haven't fleshed everything out, but as I'm working on that I wanna add a few of the different things in here just because. And I still might tweak things if I think it doesn't make sense. - Al lost his arm first, then traded his tongue and his eye to bond Ed to the armor, making him effectively mute. He's learned ASL and Ed has to translate for him a lot. Although in my hcs Al is a foodie so like. major bummer for taste buds. He likes fun textures and stuff though. I gotta figure out what problems this poses though so we'll figure that out. - Al most likely is going to go into being a state alchemist just for the fact of staying somewhat close to the storyline and stuff. and I don't know, insert random reasoning in here. Yeah - just a little design note. uhmmmmm I thought the cross thing on Ed's head/helm was cool and I had the bright idea of like "hey what if I put the emblem like. through the cross yk" and I might not do that. But at the moment it looks cool to me. so yeah. I'M STILL TOYING WITH THINGS. . . I have to figure out what happens and designs and stuff. but yeah. I think that covers. what I have for now. p sick. scuttles away

[front-facing-pokemon]

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

[thresholdbb]

You know what I like? Star Trek

[theflyingfeeling]

💖 it's here, it's pink, it's sparkly, and full of fluff 💖

Hiiiiii and welcome to witness my attempt at an Olli/Allu Advent Calendar, in which I'll give you ~a cute little something~ about these two idiots in love almost every day until December 24! My plan is to use prompts from this list to either write a fic based on the prompt or just some good ol' delulu thoughts if all else fails. I cannot guarantee there'll be a post literally every day, but I'm really excited to try this out and I thank you for your support along the way in advance 💝

The biggest thanks and a million hugs go to one of my favourite human beings @kraeuterhexchen for making the adorable banner!! I mean helloooooo?? 😭 Go show them some love ❣️

For December 1, the prompt list is titled One True Pairing Moments, and the prompt I chose was 'calling just to hear their voice' 🥺 You can read the fic below, I hope you like it <3

.

PS. Even though this is an advent calendar of sorts, I'm not planning on making this particularly Christmassy. I hope no one minds terribly!

~

Falling for Aleksi had, in a way, sneaked up on Olli, at least if he fooled himself a little. He could pretend he didn’t feel any different about the man than he did about, say, Joonas or Tommi, but that strategy only worked for so long – that is to say, approximately until Aleksi as much as smiled softly at him from across a room or bumped his shoulder into his jovially when walking down the street and Olli would feel his breath getting caught in his throat or stumble in his words, his tongue tangled like shoelaces, which was so unlike him as well and frustrated him to no end. It really took a special kind of fool to not only develop some level of feelings for a friend, a colleague, a bandmate for Christ’s sake, but also become so hopelessly enamored with him that you rolled awake in bed in the dead of night, grabbing your phone and tossing it back on the nightstand again and again because you couldn’t decide whether or not you should, on some erratic 2 o’clock impulse, call him to let him know he was the very reason for your insomnia. 

Turning on his back, Olli groaned (only a little desperately) as he remembered losing himself in the lingering hug they had shared just before the arrivals lobby at the airport, inhaling Aleksi’s scent and wishing they wouldn’t have to go home just yet, even if Olli was more than ready to finally sleep in his own bed again. Ironically, ever since they had returned home from tour, Olli had spent night after sleepless night missing Aleksi terribly: his stupid jokes and playful banter that bordered on being flirtatious if Olli allowed himself the benefit of delusion; his quick, subtle smiles that probably meant nothing; his little touches Olli hoped meant something; his smell and his touch and the softness of his hair at the back of his neck, compared to which the blanket Olli was grasping in his fist was like sandpaper. (How he had come to know of the qualities of Aleksi’s hair in such detail, he preferred not to dwell on too much to save himself from the heartache, so let’s just leave it at ‘stressful, emotional week far away from home’ and ‘a little too much to drink’).

Above all, Olli missed Aleksi’s voice. He hadn’t even thought that was possible, until the other morning when Olli had woken up to a voice message Aleksi had left just hours earlier, rambling about a song idea he had gotten in the middle of the night – something he did from time to time – and Olli had spent the next several minutes replaying it over and over again as he had lied in bed procrastinating getting up and and instead closing his eyes to better imagine Aleksi lying there beside him, turned on his side to face Olli, talking to him sleepily like they often did when they shared a room on tour and were just too lazy to join others at breakfast. Much like the hug at the airport, Olli wished those moments would have lasted way longer than they did, often ending abruptly when either of their phones would go off with Santeri’s name on the screen, a passive-aggressive interruption to the soft, low tone of Aleksi’s early-morning thoughts. (Sometimes, when Olli was lucky enough, he had been blessed with the bliss of feeling the light touch of a fingertip tracing along his collarbone, cut short just as frustratingly by their well-meaning tour manager politely enquiring whether the two of them had plans of dragging themselves downstairs for some toast and coffee, or if they’d rather starve until lunchtime, for which he wasn’t at all sure they’d even have time that day.)

The lovesick idiot that he was, his thumb hovered over the ‘play’ button of Aleksi’s voice message, probably for the millionth time that week. The chest-carving hesitation turned into a heart flip when he noticed Aleksi was online.

Then Aleksi began to type, and Olli held his breath the entire time until a new message appeared in the thread, anticipation holding him by his throat.

You awake?

Olli exhaled and typed his affirmative reply, leaving out the reason why.

He blinked at the screen, waiting for Aleksi to ask him a random question that clearly couldn’t wait until morning, or perhaps talk about something related to another late-night Twitch stream (from what Olli had gathered, Aleksi had been doing a lot of those recently, and with his last remaining braincell Olli had managed to resist the temptation to watch every single one of them, because he knew that if he did, it would only dig his grave of pining and longing deeper, seeing Aleksi smile and giggle about but not being able to do that with him or snuggle up next to him when he was wearing that flannel Olli often used as a blanket in the tour bus). But instead of another text appearing on the screen, Olli’s phone began to vibrate in his hand, and it took him an embarrassingly long while to understand it was because Aleksi was calling him. 

“Hi,” he sighed when he finally collected himself enough to speak. He prayed he’d be able to hear what Aleksi was going to say from the thumping heartbeat echoing in his ears.

“Hi,” a soft voice said. “Sorry, I know it’s late…”

“No, not at all,” Olli hurried to say, “I mean, I wasn’t sleeping. Not even close, actually.” Part of him hoped Aleksi wouldn’t ask about it, but in some foolhardy way the possibility intrigued him. 

Nothing much, he would have likely said anyway, but what would happen if he told Aleksi how it really was? That he squeezed his pillow imagining it was him instead, or wailed into it because something had reminded him of a moment-that-was-probably-not-a-Moment™ they had shared? What would Aleksi say if he knew Olli sometimes touched himself the way Aleksi had touched him That One Night they never talked about? The only obstacle between Olli and that knowledge was a bottomless ocean of cold sweat and cowardice, and Olli had never been a great swimmer.

“So, ummm…,” Olli said when Aleksi’s end stayed silent. “What’s up?”

A short breath of laughter sounded through the phone line.

“Honestly? I don’t know, I… It’s just been a… weird week, I guess.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, like… my head’s just been so full of… everything and… I’ve been so busy and kinda tense and… fuck, this is going to sound crazy,” Aleksi laughed that brief laugh again, although to Olli it didn’t sound particularly cheerful. Tired, more like. Strained, somehow. Not sad, but definitely a little troubled, and Olli intended to find out why.

“I’m all for crazy, you know.” Olli hoped his sorry attempt to lighten Aleksi’s mood would work, and so he smiled in relief when he heard Aleksi chuckle at his comment.

“I know,” Aleksi said softly, in that tone of voice that had Olli melt against his bedsheets. “So yeah, it’s been a rough week, but… in between all that stupid shit, I’ve been thinking a lot about… umm… well, the tour and– and… about you, for some reason,” (the troubled laugh made its return) “and… yeah. That’s sort of helped me a lot recently.”

Olli listened to the words carefully, not fully believing what he was hearing, yet clinging on to them until they were all but swirling around in his otherwise empty head like dry leaves in October wind.

“And tonight I just couldn’t fucking sleep for some reason and nothing I did seemed to help and so I thought I’d call you. And I’m–” If it hadn’t been dead silent otherwise, Olli wouldn’t have heard the shaky breath Aleksi paused to take, “I’m sorry I’m calling you at this hour and bothering you with this all but I guess I just… wanted to hear your voice. To see if that would help.”

“Does it?” Olli asked. Aleksi’s confession had made him clasp his blanket close to his chest, as if that would do anything about his rapidly beating heart.

“Yeah. It does. So maybe just… keep talking?”

Despite his mind living a life of its own, completely unfit to form a single coherent thought, for Aleksi’s sake Olli tried his best to think of something to say, but everything he came up with was something he was not ready to tell him quite yet. 

“Uuummmm…” he said to buy himself some time, but while he waited for his useless brain and mouth to form any actual words, Aleksi spoke again.

“Fuck, I’m– I’m sorry, this is too weird, I shouldn’t have– I’ll let you go back to–”

“I miss you,” Olli blurted before Aleksi would hang up on him. He squeezed his eyes shut when Aleksi went silent, too silent for too long for it to mean any good.

The line stayed open, however, which Olli took as a positive sign, even if the seconds during which all Olli could hear was Aleksi's quiet breathing seemed endless.

“And I you,” Aleksi finally replied. “A little too much, probably, or at least that’s what it feels like,” he chuckled. Olli almost missed the quiet sniff that followed.

He had to steel himself for his next question.

“What do you mean?”

“Just… forget it.” Aleksi said quietly. Contrary to Aleksi’s request, Olli knew he was going to all but ‘forget it’ for the next 3-5 business days; mentally he booked all his evenings as well as most of his mornings and noons for pondering what exactly had been in Aleksi’s mind in that moment or why he had sounded so sombre, almost disappointed. He’d probably never come to any satisfactory conclusion about it though, at least not without a little help from Aleksi himself. 

A ridiculous idea popped into his head, and before he could stop himself, the words flooded out of his mouth.

“Do you wanna come over some time? To hang out? When your schedule’s a little less tight, I mean.” He sucked on his lips and closed his eyes as he waited for Aleksi’s answer, ready to hang up the moment he’d decline the offer on some obvious and logical reason for why Aleksi couldn’t possibly make nor want to take a trip to the north to see him, such as ‘didn’t we just spend over two months on the road together?’ or ‘damn, buddy, I miss you alright but not quite that much, I’ve done enough sitting in public transportation for one year, thank you very much lol’ or ‘what about Rilla?’

“You could take Rilla with you, you know.” Olli hurried to say, just in case, the deranged part of his brain thinking there might be a chance Aleksi might be at least considering it.

“Oh! Well, umm… I actually might have time next week? If– if you’re actually being serious about this.”

Funny you should ask, Aleksi; I’ve actually never been more serious about anything in my entire life than I am about having you here with me so that I can hold you and be held by you and see your face when I wake up in the morning and say goodnight to your annoyingly cute face instead of via text message and maybe, if the stars are in position and the northern wind won’t discourage me too much, I might actually be brave enough to torment you with the knowledge of just how miserable I’ve been since we last saw each other.

“I think it would be cool,” he said, because he had a feeling what he wanted to say would’ve been a tad too much and sudden. “I mean, if you’re up for it, of course. I understand if you can’t make it though, I know you have all those side projects.”

“No, I think it might actually do me some good to get out of the capital area for change.” Then there was a muffled ‘ouch’, followed by a laugh that sounded much brighter than any of the other ones Olli had heard from Aleksi that night. “Sorry, correction, it might do us some good. Rilla just told me she’s most definitely coming too. Rilla, stop nibbling on my toes!”

Olli smiled tiredly at the mental image that was painted in his mind of Aleksi and Rilla cuddling in bed, both minding their own business from what it seemed while still minding each other as well, very much indeed.

“I’ll be sure to set up a bed for her in the guest room.”

“The guest room? Do you not know her at all? If she’s not getting the master bedroom, she’ll ruin all your rugs and most of your shoes. Probably also gossip about you to all the neighbourhood dogs. And she’s brutal.”

Olli held his stomach as he laughed, tears almost forming in the corners of his eyes. In his defence, it was late and he was finally becoming tired, thus too far gone to help himself, let alone feel embarrassed about being in stitches about something Aleksi had said that was only mildly amusing. (It wasn’t the first time that had happened either, and likely not the last time.)

“So yeah, ummm, I can take a look at some flight options for next week and let you know, alright? I’m gonna let you sleep now and… I should get some myself too.”

Olli wanted to tell Aleksi he’d love to stay up chatting until dawn, but the yawn he let out when he opened his mouth to speak implied Aleksi had a point.

“Yeah, let me know. And… thanks for calling, I… you have no idea how much I needed this tonight.”

That was as close to a confession as Olli was able to get as of now.

“Probably not half as much as I did.”

Olli chuckled at Aleksi’s response, mostly to hide his own agony.

If only you knew. If only I knew how to tell you.

It didn’t take long for Olli to doze off after they hung up, and when he woke up to the kids from next door having a snowball fight under his window in the morning, he noticed new messages from Aleksi, sent half an hour after their phone call had ended, complete with screen captions of airplane schedules.

Would these days work for you? I might be free all week actually 😇

Olli cuddled into his pillow while typing his reply, hoping it wouldn’t wake up Aleksi.

yeah I’m free as well. I’ll pick you two up from the airport 🖤

From then on, Olli started counting the days until he’d see Aleksi again.

[husband]

Hi, im a beginner horror enjoyer and im really disturbed by a lot of gore but i wanna understand the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies bc ive heard theyre hugely influential on the genre (rightly so too)

I figured with all this id ask the foremost texas chainsaw scholar i am aware of

Could you tell me the basics, if its gross (im really bad at tolerating gross out horror and gore played realistic), and any fun tidbits?

If not i thank you for reading and hope you have a good day ^-^

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was hugely influential on the genre and set the standard for low budget horror and inspired future filmmakers to rely more on psychological terror over gore & violence! It was also seemingly the birth of a lot of horror tropes, like big, masked killers and using power tools for weapons.

Texas Chainsaw's story is inspired by serial killers like Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley. The movie’s director, Tobe Hooper, was inspired by the graphic coverage of violence by San Antonio news outlets and based elements of the plot on murderer Ed Gein, who was a notorious serial killer who made furniture out of human body parts and created a mask made of human skin. The movie’s underlying themes are mostly the horrors of isolation, and the dangers of unchecked capitalism. The movie is also a metaphor for the Nixon-era mayhem and the government’s deceit toward the public during the 1970s. Hooper intentionally misled audiences by claiming that the movie was based on a true story to attract a wider audience.

I honestly don't know how to give you the basics aside from a plot synopsis because I would, hand to God, be sitting here for about 12 hours minimum going into every weird little detail, like the intricacies of bubba's mental issues and being forced to take on a female role for his abusive older brothers, or all the absolutely insane shit that happened during filming. And that'd just be me talking about the FIRST film.

But if you want to ask me more questions or see more Texas chainsaw related stuff you can ask/look over at my blog @chainsawhouse. I just hate to gum up my main blog with this particular interest.

Also, my fun tidbit is that they've recently confirmed that there is a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the works, under the title 'Texas Chainsaw Legacy'! Very fun imo.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

"We do want Buddie to be canon, nonny, and in my opinion we are going to get it. All this recent PR supports that, (again: in my opinion)"

Can you go into this if you don't mind, honestly I think Ryan at the premiere all but confirmed it and even now he says so much without saying anything at all. His expressions give away so much lol. He has a terrible poker face. But i would love to hear your thoughts on this if possible.

I'm gonna be honest nonny you really answered your own question there: Ryan's behavior and the fact that they're continuing to let him do press.

As I discussed previously, it's very difficult to promote a couple of characters that fandom ships without falling into queerbaiting. Because of this it would be the smart thing for ABC to keep Ryan and Oliver separate, disallow Buddie or Buddie-related questions, and so on.

Instead they are allowing Ryan to do press, Ryan to do press with Oliver, and are allowing these questions while trusting Oliver and Ryan (on a leash) to handle them. Now, part of it is probably the Barbra Streisand effect i.e. the more attempts you make to hide something the more people notice the very thing you don't want them to notice, but given the sheer AMOUNT that Buck and Eddie's relationship has been put front and center and the fact that Oliver and Ryan have been doing all these interviews together, I am hopeful and see that as a positive sign for Buddie because I trust ABC not to want to shit the bed by being accused of queerbaiting.

I think also as I've mentioned in another ask I answered a week or so ago, Ryan being in PR jail was a joke for a reason. Now, please note, EVERYONE except Oliver was pushed to the side in PR by FOX. FOX seriously pushed Oliver to do all the promo and be the "face" of the show, something nobody in the cast appreciated (including Oliver). So Ryan not doing interviews nearly as much was, in part, this issue by FOX.

However, Ryan also historically is... bad at keeping his mouth shut. He never quite spills the beans but he tends to throw his personal opinion out and hint/tease at stuff he shouldn't be hinting/teasing at. He likes to be goofy, to tease fans, to have fun. Which not only gives public relations managers migraines and anxiety, but in the case of a queer ship can land the show in trouble if Ryan's saying stuff that fans think is hinting at Buddie and then Buddie doesn't happen.

As we have all seen, the second they let Ryan open his mouth on live camera, his cute tipsy little puppy face word vomited all over the carpet. I suspect the fear of god was put into Oliver that it was his job to Make Ryan Behave.

Now, there are actors who have ignored this and enjoyed teasing about a ship anyway and the network has let them because they only cared about getting people to watch the show, they didn't care about being respectful or not. But nowadays that's not something you can get away with and most networks understand they'll get a lot of backlash that's just not worth it. AND most actors understand that even if they personally want a ship to happen, it's only going to hurt the feelings of fans if they (the actor) try to hint at it and then it doesn't happen.

It's more often that an actor will later say after the fact "yeah I would've liked it if X happened, but the writers chose to go in a different direction." Past-tense. They have a lot more freedom to speak on past things than on present storylines or possible future ones.

ABC is taking a risk in letting Ryan do all these video interviews, and to do video interviews with Oliver because the second those two are doing anything together everyone assumes it hints at Buddie. The latter, that's not really on ABC so much as on the fans, but either way, the solution is to keep 'em separate and keep Ryan locked up. Instead, they're allowing the actors to do things they know will get fans excited over Buddie, without crossing any lines into disrespect.

[snazum]

me trying to stroll thru the ted nivison tag on tumblr for some sick art X READER, IMAGINE, OTHER THINGS I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF EVEN THO IT'S QUITE LITERATLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME XDD

[silverselfshippingchaos]

HAAR KISSER???? :D

I mean...

(Twirls hair around finger)

I guess he's an okay guy... (I have a massive crush)

[sysig]

I decided to give a go to @niennanir’s lovely print-your-own-fic recipe on my Inside and Out as a test run and I’m quite pleased with the results as a first pass :D

I wish I’d taken a few more process pictures but there was a slight lull as I had to go shopping for 12x12 cardstock lol, but! I do have a couple closeups/extras that I added for funsies :D

I went with freehanding the title and I think in the future I would opt to not do that lol, at least not without a printed template. That said, both LibreOffice and SAI refuse to recognize my SCII fonts >:0 If you notice on the first page, I used the Ace Attorney font in italic haha, it’s an okay alternative even if it’s not what I actually want |0 I am happy with the gold detailing tho :3c

I did have an unconscionable amount of fun freehanding the ship caption tho ahh <3 <3 Immediate happy stims upon completion, their names together look so pretty ♥ Credit to Zarla’s original minicomic on that one :3

I also managed to get the last sentence of the fic isolated on the last page thanks to the formatting haha ♪

I was also able to add a bookmark! Ma happened to have a couple very thin ribbons to choose from and red ended up complementing the green very prettily!

It reminds me of VUX tongues hehehehe ❤️💕💖💞

[front-facing-pokemon]