#(And it doesn’t matter is he means football or soccer ‘cause they’re about the same)

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

Hi hello, you ever think about how in the very beginning, Freddie and Brian were ~300 yards away from each other yet didn’t meet and then in the end, Freddie and Roger were ~300 yards away from each other and didn’t m-[GUNSHOT]

[hargrove-mayfields]

the tags on your football Billy story about autistic kids not being allowed to play sports, gave me the idea of Steve with autism not being allowed on the basketball team and how Billy and maybe Tommy if you want since you write kegboys sometimes would react

It doesn’t take Billy long to notice him, the benchwarmer boy who sits on the sidelines, never getting his shot in a single game, just riding the bench with a smile on his face.

At first he sort of pegs it to mean the kid is just really not good, maybe riding the tails of his daddy’s sportsmanship legacy, but then Billy realizes something, that this kid doesn’t even get to play at practice.

He shows up and he sits there like being excluded is the happiest he’s ever been, and the only time he ever has the ball in his hands at all is if it’s to toss it to one of the boys on the court when it rolls to him.

Despite this though, he has his very own jersey. Number zero. Harrington.

Billy asks Tommy after practice once who this mysterious jersey kid is, and he smiles sort of tight, like maybe Billy shouldn’t have asked him that, and tells him, “I’ll introduce you.”

Tommy walks over to the kid and tells him something that makes him light up, jump to his feet and follow Tommy back over, “Billy, this is my best friend, Steve Harrington.”

Steve just sort of waves, so Billy jumps straight into it. This kid intrigues him and he wants to know more, “There a reason you don’t play, Harrington?”

In response he shrugs his shoulders, hands stuffed in the pockets of his way too big basketball shorts, “I’m not allowed.”

“Why not? You fail some test or something?” Billy tries to ask lightly, not noticing the way Tommy’s face scrunches up before Steve drops a bombshell on him instead, “They don’t let special ed kids on the basketball team.”

And if that’s not bad enough, Tommy then adds, though significantly more bitter than even Steve is, “Or on any team for that matter, whether it’s sports or clubs or debate, you name it. School board denies every last application.”

“Oh.” Billy frowns, totally dumbfounded, his school in California never had any issues with that, “Oh that- that’s bullshit.”

“I know.” They say at the same time, prompting Billy to ask, “They don’t even have like, a separate team?”

“Not enough kids would do it.” Tommy says, and he gets a sharp look from Steve, who corrects him quickly, “Not enough kids could get permission to do it.”

“But that’s such bullshit.” Billy repeats, not very helpfully.

“Nothing we can do about it. We’ve tried everything. Not even momma Harrington could convince the school board, and let me tell you, that woman is scary.”

Steve elbows Tommy for that one, and Tommy laughs softly, throws an arm around his shoulder, but Billy is thinking, biting the corner of his nail in concentration, “Why don’t we start our own team?”

“I don’t know.” Steve’s face scrunches up, and he turns to Tommy, like he doesn’t trust what Billy says, so Billy continues, “No, I’m serious. School says you can’t play for them, so fuck ‘em. There’s courts in the park, I have a ball, and I’m out there half the time watching my little sister anyways. Let’s start our own team.”

Tommy answers for him, “Practice takes up too much time. We’re not gonna be much of a team unless we’re going to be playing at night or in the winter.”

“Then we quit the tigers.” Billy shrugs, like it’s obvious.

Instantly Tommy narrows his eyes, “Very funny, man.”

On the other hand though, Steve looks at him with awe written all over his face, eyes wide and spelling, “You’d really quit for me?”

And Billy, he plays it off like that look doesn’t make his heart melt, claiming, “For you and for Max who’s been talking my ear off about how much she wants to play soccer and whose heart is going to break when she finds out she can’t.”

Convinced, Tommy looks over at Steve, “If you’re in Stevie, I’m in too.”

Steve seems like he’s considering his options, drumming his fingers on the outside of his thigh, occasionally humming softly in thought, and it’s making Billy impatient.

“So?” He asks, to which Steve nods a confirmation to his offer, his hair bouncing with his enthusiasm.

Tommy cracks a crooked smile, holds out a hand for Billy to shake, seal the deal, “You’ve got yourself a team, Hargrove.”

They decide not to give their little team a name, the idea of being called something feels too exclusive, which was the reason they’d all quit the school's team in the first place. Billy had gotten in big trouble when his dad found out he quit for wasting their time and money on basketball, but that was all bullshit anyways, games were only usually a half hour long and were free to get into for the players family, and the school paid for the uniforms.

But that was what he said and what he’d been going to punish Billy for until they found out about the reasoning behind quitting, after which Susan was flattered he cared so much about his little sister, and he got his permission to freely go down to the park and play with the “special” kid.

Neil of course didn’t care about him doing it for Max, he was just concerned with Billy’s public image. Playing ball with the richest family in town's dopey son did nothing but good things for the way their neighbors saw him, so he’d allow it.

A few weeks into their games though, which are mostly just playing HORSE or teaching Steve how to do trickier shots since no coach ever would, Billy has to bring Max along because nobody was going to be home and she wasn’t allowed to be by herself. It’s a dreary day so there aren’t many people around at all, so he decides he’s going to loosen her leash, and walks her over to the playground (that they can see clearly from the courts, he’s not that irresponsible.)

He teasingly offers to push Max on the swings or lift her up to the monkey bars, making her roll her eyes and proudly declare that she’s not a baby anymore, so he chuckles and leaves her be, walking back to the basketball hoops.

Tommy and Steve are just sitting on the old wooden bench just off to the side of the court, waiting for Billy to get back because he’s their little impromptu coach and they can’t start without him, but he notices that they’re sitting awful close together, and between them, Tommy’s hand sits slightly on top of Steve’s, pinky fingers linked together.

Now he knows these two are affectionate, he couldn’t even count how many times Tommy picked Steve up after he made a good shot or ruffled his hair and smiled at him when he messed up, but that was all just friendly affection.

This was different though, he could tell it was from the way Tommy’s eyes snap up and he pulls his hand away, the both of them looking away from each other guiltily.

He feels a little something like jealousy in his chest, or maybe it was just anxiety at the fact that they’d been so obviously holding hands in the public park, but either way, he just kind of freezes up, looking between their two terrified faces until Tommy’s turns angry, standing from the bench so fast the old rusty things creaks loudly and Steve has to cover his ears.

He grabs the front of the baggy jersey Billy wears from his old school's team, the bears, and gets right up in his face, sneering, “You gonna say something, Hargrove?”

And Billy’s not afraid of Tommy, he might be mean, but he’s on his toes to threaten him, and he’s pretty sure they both know Billy would win the fight anyways. He’s not going to fight him though, and he makes that clear, putting his hands up as a clear sign of not going to sock Tommy for yelling at him, “Secrets safe with me, dudes. You go down, I’m going down with you.”

Tommy doesn’t get it though, because he growls, “Right. ‘Cause all that matters is what will happen to your reputation after giving up your precious sport just to hang with a couple of fags, right?”

“Tom.” Steve snaps, but he gets ignored, Billy arguing over him, “Actually, no. You know all that talk about queer kids flocking together without even knowing? That doesn’t come from nothing. I out you, it’s putting a target on my back, and from there it won’t be not long before a little birdie tells the wrong person the right rumor and we’re all dead.”

“Oh.” Tommy says softly, his face falling.

Billy nods sarcastically in response, “Yeah, oh. So let go of my damn shirt before I find a reason to punch you in the face.”

“Can we just play basketball?” Comes a timid request from behind them, so Tommy lets go, wipes his hands on his shorts, and answers him, “‘Course we can, Stevie.”

It doesn’t take long for them to get bored though, none of them are really in the mood to play after that. They play a small game that’s pretty much just Tommy blocking Billy the whole time, but after he shoots the ball they all just let it roll, none of them caring enough to keep the play going. So instead, Tommy offers up his place to hang out there.

It sounds at least better than this, so Billy drops Max off back at home, making her promise not to do anything stupid to get them in trouble until he gets back later that night, and heads straight to Tommy’s like they planned.

The whole drive he’s worrying that they’re gonna pissed at him and beating himself up for not just pretending like he didn’t notice, to the point where he almost just drives right past, but Steve waves at his car from the front window, and he can’t do all this petty angry shit to him.

Tommy’s house is empty for the night, so that means two things, that they’re free to drink as much as they want, (smoking’s a no go though, the smell is too strong and makes Steve upset), and that Steve sits right on Tommy’s lap like it’s nothing.

Which, it is nothing. Billy just told them he was gay too, and now they don’t have to hide from their best friend, so it’s common sense that they wouldn’t.

But Billy, well, he wouldn’t say he’s jealous watching the two of them together, it just makes his chest burn every time they touch or laugh at some joke and whisper amongst themselves like he isn’t even there, or when Steve kisses Tommy’s cheek.

Yeah no, there’s no pretending, Billy is totally jealous. He’s had a thing for Tommy since like, day one of practice when he bounced a basketball back in his own face trying to show off, and Steve for just as long, yearning to know more about the pretty faced mystery kid who turned out to be a total sweetheart and won him over. It’s tearing him to shreds watching them just being happy together without being a part of that.

He wonders if these small town boys have ever even heard of having more than one partner other than like, mormons, and if they haven’t, how is he supposed to bring it up without sounding like a total weirdo. Maybe he could claim that he was just trying not to be left out since they were probably the only queer kids in Hawkins. Or maybe not and Tommy would try to kick his ass again for even trying.

He doesn’t have to do much wondering though, because as pointedly as he’s trying to ignore them, Steve keeps getting closer to Billy on the couch until he’s sitting in his lap, and Billy has to ask, blue eyes going a little wide, cheeks flushing red in a way that had nothing to do with the sunburn he’d gotten at the park earlier, “What’re you doing Steve?”

“You included me. Now I’m including you.” Steve hums and leans his head on Billy’s shoulder, holding eye contact with Tommy.

To say that Billy is flustered and doesn’t know what to do with himself is more than an understatement. He'd like to say he’s not the most inexperienced one here, but it’s not looking good, because he’s flushed as red as a tomato, and the only thing he can think to say is just, “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Tommy says and smiles that big goofy smile of his, a playful imitation of their little argument from before, “And I’d much rather you kiss me than punch me.”

[sapphiics]

All I wanna get is(just a little more closer)

a/n: I listened to Nights by Frank Ocean for a good two and a half hours straight writing this.

dt: @ellesgreenaway india you are the sole reason i finished this I really needed the encouragement thank you so much babes

word count: 1.7k

content warning: none! it’s barely angsty and includes a happy ending

———

“You didn’t have to walk me home.”

 “I mean I’m pretty sure you were invited to at least three different after parties.” JJ continues, turning towards Elle. The two of them were walking home from the last football game of the season. Their last one ever, senior year finally upon them.

“Parties that I’m not even remotely interested, seeing as how you’re not gonna be there.” Elle’s hair tossing over her shoulder as she looks at JJ. Her silky brown hair, curly and damp after tonight’s game.They’re natural, sitting just below Elle’s shoulders, framing her face perfectly. JJ’s always liked the curls.

Truth be told, JJ’s liked just about everything concerning Elle Greenaway, since the day she looked out her bedroom window to see a U-Haul truck parked outside, a young girl moving boxes into the house across the street in November of junior year. It didn’t help that Elle happened to be a star soccer player at her old school, and their similar interests meant JJ and her had 5 classes together. Or that she wore the same vanilla perfume single day, a scent JJ couldn’t get out of her head.

But it was when Elle really started being close with her, the two of them practically joined at the hip, that JJ’s innocent infatuation turned deeper. When they started going to practice together, getting lunch, meeting up outside of school. Sleepovers in JJ’s bed, their legs intertwined under the heavy quilt she uses as a comforter. She can still remember the first night the two of them shared the same bed, facing each other with their hands folded under their heads. The following morning brings the brutal news to JJ’s heart, that she has the biggest crush on her best friend. A crush that’s only intensified as the months go by, to the point where JJ finds herself both wanting to be around Elle constantly, and wishing the brunette was far away from her as to prevent further heartbreak. But Elle was irresistible, and JJ couldn’t avoid her even if she wanted to. So she shoved it down, deep down into her stomach, convincing herself that she and Elle could be friends. Just friends.

Only ever friends.

The ever so prominent fact that Elle still thought JJ was dating somebody only made matters worse. 

She wasn’t wrong to think so, considering up until three days ago, JJ had been in a steady relationship with Will Lamontagne. The charming country boy, Will came to their school just a couple months before Elle did, and him and JJ hit it off like nobody else. He was sweet, unassuming, and treated her with nothing but respect. From the moment he met her parents, Mr & Mrs. Jareau have been daydreaming over their future wedding. Everybody expected them to make it, the one couple from high school to go the distance, stick it out to the inevitable end. Half the town’s got bets on them getting married right after graduation.

But Will wasn’t clueless, and JJ had never been the best at hiding her emotions. After all, there was a reason they worked so well together for so long. He may not be her great love, but he knew her and her feelings, a fact that kept JJ with him for almost a year. Despite how much he loved her, and he did love her, Will knew it wasn’t reciprocated, and JJ was never going to break his heart. Nothing surprised her more than to see him at her doorstep that Tuesday afternoon, a medium-sized cardboard box in his hands.

Her volleyball sweatshirt hanging over the edge, a picture of the two of them at homecoming sticking out of the box. The overwhelming sorrow she could feel radiating from him as he broke up with her already made her feel awful, but it was the sincerity in his voice when he told her to be with who truly makes her happy that broke her. A pointed look ,silently telling her that he knows, brings tears to her eyes and forces her arms to wrap tightly around his neck. Twisting her hands in his shirt and breathing in the smell of aftershave and pine that always came Will, JJ loved him more in that moment than she ever could remember in the 8 months they’ve been dating. 

Which brings her back to the present, where she finds Elle looking at her strangely, a nervous yet curious look on her face. Which unnerves JJ, considering Elle isn’t nervous about anything. She’s always been the more confident, teetering on brash, one of the pair. “I found out something interesting today,” Elle starts, “Apparently somebody broke up with their long term boyfriend this week and neglected to tell me.” Her mildly accusing tone caused JJ to stop and turn fully towards Elle. “I figured it wasn’t important,” she shrugs, “ I wasn’t heartbroken and we had a busy week to focus on anyway.”

“You guys dated for nine months, this is practically a divorce.” Elle laments, looping her arm through JJ’s and leaning into the blonde, “Obviously you’re feeling something about this, and I want to be there for you.” Her voice turns soft at the end, and JJ finally meets Elle’s eyes, the care and love in her face shining.

The love JJ can see Elle has for her is almost stifling, stealing her breath and making her heart ache. What she would give to have that love mirror hers, for Elle to want the same things JJ’s wanted for the past year. The two of them stare into each other’s eyes, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and JJ can smell the strong scent of Elle’s trademark icebreakers. She could've sworn Elle glanced down at her lips when her tongue poked out and swiped against them, glossing over the cracks caused by the impending winter. Whatever was happening between them ended almost as soon as it began, a fleeting moment that passed far too quickly for JJ’s taste.

“So don’t bottle it up and tell me next time,” Elle says, giving JJ an exaggerated eye roll, following up with a large grin across her face as she starts to pick up speed. JJ lags behind her, not ready to go home just yet. They still reach her house in no time, and JJ finds herself desperate for more time with her, just the two of them in their own little bubble separate from the world. She gradually slows as they approach her walkway, JJ hoping she doesn’t have to say anything, that Elle will just know what she wants.

“You wanna go to the park?” Elle suddenly says ,the words ones that JJ desperately wanted to hear. She nods feverishly, her cheeks heating up as Elle slides her hand down her arm, grasping JJ’s. The pair walk in relative silence, Elle’s soft hands fitting perfectly into her own, their shoulders pressed together as they march towards the tiny playground in their cul-de-sac. It’s only when they’re sitting side by side at the top of the slide when Elle finally spits out what JJ can tell she’s been waiting to say all evening.

“ Why are you so okay about this?” At JJ’s surprised face Elle backtracks, “ I mean if you dated for so long and you loved each other then how are you so okay about it? It took me a good month to get over my last girlfriend, and we weren’t half as serious as you and Will.” 

JJ sighs, the words on the tip of her tongue since the breakup really settled in, “ I guess I just wanted something more, I mean Will is a great guy, but I want to feel more than just complacent in a relationship, you know?” JJ lets out a small huff at the end, her breath clouding up in front of her. “ I felt so guilty about it, but I never,” she pauses, an odd sense of vulnerability she’s scared to give in to settling inside of her, “ I never yearned for Will. I mean, he was there and he made me happy, but I would be completely okay without him.”

“I just want someone I can’t live without, someone who I want to be with always.” Finally letting out what she’s been thinking this entire week, she’s surprised to see Elle sitting closer, her hands in both of JJ’s.

“You want passion.”

Elle turns her entire body towards JJ, keeping their hands intact as she stares into the blonde’s eyes.

“You want someone who can’t be replaced.” JJ can’t look away, even as she feels Elle’s hands slide up her arm. Her breath starts coming quicker, and she can feel her hair getting pushed back by Elle’s slender fingers as they get impossibly closer.

“You deserve to be completely in love with whoever you’re with JJ. You deserve the best.” Elle sliding her hand closer to the back of JJ’s head, their noses grazing each other. “You think so?” JJ’s voice a small whisper she slides her fingers towards Elle’s waist, her heart near beating out of her chest. The insecure part of her brain convincing her that this was a dream, one of the many she’s had about her best friend.

But then Elle leans in that last inch, cradling JJ’s head in her hand, and there was no doubt in her brain that this was real. Cause Elle’s lips were just as soft as they looked, and they moved against JJ’s in a gentle yet all-consuming way that wiped away everything from her mind except this moment. JJ could taste the fruitiness of Elle’s raspberry gum, and the peach slushie they shared during halftime was still faint in her mouth. It’s like everything she was missing out on, all the emptiness she felt when with Will, was getting filled to the brim by Elle and her kisses, overwhelming JJ in the most addictive way.

When they finally separate, small pants the only sound they can hear as their foreheads touch, something akin to fear strikes through JJ. The knowledge that nothing is ever going to be the same between them hitting her like a freight train.

“ I do,” followed by a chaste peck, “ Of course I do.” And Elle’s grinning at her, trailing her long fingers through JJ’s hair, easing every single worry she could possibly have.

taglist: @greenaway-lewis @scandinavian-punk @ssajelle @morcias @suburban--gothic @jemilyology @rosesblueviolets @willlemonheadsupremacy

[excitedlysuffering]

Can you do that headcanon collection thing for Kiba please? Thank you very much

I’m so sorry for the wait I’m really struggling with inspiration rn like I have all the words but I just can’t write?? Anyways I hope you like nonnie❤️✨

Kiba Headcanons Collection

What He Looks For In An S/O~

Someone who appreciates animals. Of course, dogs are his favorites, but he doesn’t hate animals at all, not even cats.

Someone wild who knows how to have a good time, just like Kiba. He won’t enjoy dating a square, just being honest.

He wants a woman who’s not afraid to stand on her own two; the Inuzuka clan is primarily a matriarchy, meaning he’s used to strong-willed women.

He’s going to need an emotionally open person, he pretty much wears his heart out on his sleeve, so Kiba needs someone who can articulate their feelings.

He’s a possessive person, it’s in his nature, so a patient s/o would suit him best.

The saying ‘she’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll kick you in the face’ is literally everything he’d ever want.

I can see him with someone smaller than him just because he has a thing for size differences.

He loves confidence and would swoon if his s/o took charge sometimes, in daily life, and in the bedroom.

Kiba is big on physical affection, so someone with the same love for touch is preferable.

Kiba leaves constant hickeys and you can’t convince me otherwise, so they’d best be used to it.

Akamaru has to like you. Period.

Relationship With Kiba Stuff~

This boy loves HARD, like with his whole heart, and he’s not afraid to show it either.

He’ll love taking you out on adventurous outdoorsy dates, usually, Akamaru will come with but every once in a while it might be the two of you.

He likes games and challenges. I could definitely see him turning a treasure hunt into a date.

He actually loves going on missions with you (there’s nothing sexier than watching his girl kick ass) and will let you do your thing without unnecessary worrying.

He’s not huge on giving gifts all the time, but he does enjoy treating you to nice places and dates.

He has the nose of a dog. So he can smell your… week before you even know it’s there.

“Hey, (Y/N)... I, uh, thought you could use this!” *shoves snacks, a heating pad, ice cream, and a teddy bear in your arms*

He’s not the greatest at picking up on moods, but once he figures it out he’ll be all over it.

You’re probably good friends with Hana and Tsume, which Kiba appreciates, even though he hates sharing you.

He definitely takes you to see the dogs and the puppies, especially when one is just born.

He’s unashamedly sensitive like just love him, please.

How To Annoy/Lose Him~

First of all, if Akamaru and you don’t get along. Akamaru was there from birth so, you know, if he doesn’t like you, sorry hun.

It’s one thing to be appropriately possessive, like not letting girls walk all over you to your man, but he does have female friends and he does not want to be caged.

If you’re not family-oriented. The Inuzuka clan is very much a pack family and everyone is very close.

Don’t ignore him or neglect him, he will be hurt.

Kiba enjoys playful banter, but he also knows where the line is and he expects you to as well

Being a genuinely rude person. Okay, yes, Kiba has anger management issues, but he’s not a mean person.

Not having compassion/empathy for others. It’ll disturb him, I promise.

Arrogance and vanity. Kiba knows he’s the shit alright, but he’s not a total jerk about it, and he expects the same from you.

Soft Kiba Things~

He’s actually pretty good at remembering things like important dates (thanks to his trusty calendar) so you’ll be hard-pressed to find him forgetting things like birthdays or anniversaries.

He has a dog plush toy that he will give to you when he’s off on missions. But when you’re off on missions, he’ll use your pillow since it smells like you.

He’s a huge cuddler and the position doesn’t matter as long as he’s close to you. (makes an adorable little spoon btw)

He definitely has a secret photo album/box full of candids, drawings from Sai, and little things that reminded him of you (i.e. a pretty flower, a quote, or a trinket) but he’d rather die than let it be found, it would ruin his bad-boy persona.

I feel like Kiba would like to feed you every once in a while. Like not in a weird, fetish way (iykyk) but a romantic thing that was rare?

He would love to train with you, like wow that’s my s/o and they’re so strong?

Kiba genuinely melts inside when he sees you and Akamaru interact. Like that’s his life long companion and the love of his life being friends? Woah.

He’s touch starved but for no reason at all except for the fact that he loves physical affection so please give him all the cuddles.

Random Kiba Facts~

His love languages are physical touch/quality time.

He’s not scared of thunderstorms in a traditional way, but just like dogs, the sounds and lightning are overstimulating and he’ll usually spend it with ear canceling headphones and in the basement.

Since everyone has a unique natural smell (he really liked yours) he’ll most likely complain if you wear heavily scented perfumes/body wash.

He knows he’s not naturally responsible so he creates detailed lists and schedules for himself.

Kiba has a perfectly working bed, but he always ended up on the floor so that’s where he sleeps now.

Contrary to popular belief, he likes to go as vampires for Halloween (he says he’s a werewolf 364 days of the year let him have one day) because of his fangs and ‘drop-dead beauty’ (his words).

He radiates heat like a furnace but somehow still finds a way to be cold at night?

Kiba has a good singing voice. It’s deep and melodious and no one can tell me differently.

He’s alright at regular cooking but amazing at gathering spices because he can smell the combinations and stuff so he’ll help you season things, but that’s about it.

He’s a huge overthinker please help him

Little Things~

Favorite:

Place to kiss: The space where your neck meets your shoulder, something about it just really riles him up.

Way to hug: He loves lifting you up so your legs wrap around his waist. He loves holding you and being able to kiss your neck.

Thing to do with you: He loves hiking or going on long walks, especially at sunset or sunrise.

Cuddle position: He actually loves to lay on your chest and listen to your heartbeat with your arms wrapped around him.

Type of date: Basically anything that includes physical activity or adventure.

This or That:

More of a spring person, a lot of new puppies are born then and the weather is finally nice again.

Morning kind of guy, he loves to go go go and his activities usually require daylight.

He likes to cook, even if he’s not that good at it. He’ll enjoy helping you in the kitchen.

Rarely reads for any reason. Don’t read to him either, he’ll be super bored.

Conflict Happenings~

The two of you will probably have more stupid ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ type arguments, more than real fights tbh.

That is not to say that Kiba won’t participate in a fight. Cause he will.

The both of you are probably screaming so loudly no one knows what anyone is saying it’s just loud.

You getting mad will turn him on tbh (and vice versa too tbh)

Depending on how bad the fight is, he might just start making out with you or yell at you more for distracting him with your hotness.

You’ll be hard-pressed to make him back down during a fight if he’s truly heated, so pick your battles wisely hun.

He really can be sensitive, especially since he will value your opinion so much, so be careful with your words.

In general, he’s not really focused on hurting your feelings, more on winning the argument.

Will probably storm off for a while to calm down, but he is always back before the day is over.

The two of you are used to having fights like that, so a big cuddle session is in order when it’s all said and done.

Modern Kiba~

He’s definitely the sexy bad boy you couldn’t bring home to mother and he both owns and rocks his persona.

He secretly (not so secretly) likes dogs more than his peers, even if he is usually very social.

He’s the one who always manages to bring alcohol to the parties.

I could see him on a football or soccer team, and being really good too.

He’s charismatic, funny, good looking, street smart, and has all the It Man™ qualities and I know he’s the captain/president of some club or team.

He’s not naturally super smart but his mother ingrained good habits into him so he’s generally pretty good at studying, probably still has a tutor though.

He’s a very subtle F-boy, has a few girls he does regularly that don’t know about each other and that’s that.

He probably has a part-time job at a shelter, since he’s not big on working.

Always at parties and is always the center of attention. Everyone loves him.

The red fangs were a result of him being absolutely hammered yet everyone seemed to find them incredibly hot.

He’s a loyal friend, but he also won’t hesitate to cut you off if you wrong him (he liked his dog better anyway)

He’s so messy it’s up to his roommate to keep him in shape, and thankfully it’s Shino, who somehow manages to keep it a decently tidy living space.

Has the worst hangovers ever but still never learns??

He’s the wild friend that spices up everyone’s life and knows that you need his craziness.

Bite me, Kiba, plz

[honeypiehotchner]

Alone Together part one -- Bucky Barnes x Reader (College AU)

Fuck it, quarantine short story. This is part one. I don’t know how many parts exactly this will turn out to be, but my estimate is around three. (It’s for real a short story, I swear.) Oh, and the gif is the headcannon of what college Bucky looks like in this story (hot, to be brief).

Summary: COVID-19 caused your college campus to shut down, forcing everyone to return home. You have to stay on campus, and you assume you’re all alone, until you run into the school’s biggest flirt.

You practically float down the staircase to the kitchen on the first floor. The entire building shares one kitchen — one stove, one sink, one giant ice maker, but no fridge since you’re allowed a small one in your dorm room. It used to annoy the living hell out of you, sharing this small kitchen with a hundred other kids. But now that you’re alone, you almost love it.

You just wish that there was still a fridge. Now your only annoyance is having to carry your refrigerated ingredients down from your room in a bag. 

You want macaroni and cheese. So bad. 

Because of the lockdown, practically every restaurant is closed. And if they are still open by some miracle, they’re doing orders online or from your car. That’s nice and all, but you don’t exactly feel like interacting with anyone — period. 

Which might be a problem for you. It’s been days (maybe a week?) now since you’ve interacted with another human being that isn’t the police officer that paroles the building once or twice a day. He does so to check on you, but also to make sure no undocumented students are still here.

The officer is nice. His name is Clint. He’s friendly. He reminds you of your dad, what little you remember from him before he passed away. 

You carefully set out your ingredients and start the process of making your personal recipe of macaroni and cheese. It’s something you’ve perfected. 

Just as you’re stirring in the cheese with the cooked noodles, you hear footsteps on the staircase. Thinking nothing of it, you continue stirring, waiting for Clint to come in and ask what you’re doing. He always does that — asks what you’re doing. Even when you’re clearly doing nothing, because what else is there to do?

“That smells good.”

That’s not Clint. Your eyes snap to the stranger’s voice, only it’s no stranger at all. “What are you doing here?” You ask.  

James Barnes leans against the doorway, stupid smirk on his lips and arms crossed over his chest. “What are you doing here? I thought I was the lone survivor hanging around here.”

“Me too,” you mumble, not caring at all about hiding your disappointment. Sure, being alone for a long time might not be entirely good for your mental health, but it’s something you were looking forward to. And it’s just the fucking cherry on top that James Barnes is the one to ruin it for you. 

“What are you cooking, Red?”

“Red?” You question, raising an eyebrow.

James shakes his head. “Just a nickname.”

You roll your eyes. “Whatever.” 

The last thing you need or want is to be the target of James Barnes — the biggest fuckboy at this college. You’ve successfully avoided him all year by being yourself, hanging out in places he’d never be caught dead in, like the library. But of course, now that a global pandemic is on the rise, this is when you’re cornered. 

“You know, I think we’re the only two people here.”

You scoff, turning off the burner underneath your small pot of mac and cheese. It’s finally done, meaning you can escape back to your room.

“Listen,” you start piling your unused ingredients back into the bag. “We might be the only people here, but I’d like it very much if we could go back to the way things were, I don’t know, yesterday.”

James raises an eyebrow as you swing the bag over your shoulder. “Yesterday?”

“When I didn’t know you were here,” you reply firmly, picking up the pot. You step forward, but James doesn’t move an inch. You glare at him. “Do you want me to burn you? I will.”

“No, no,” he steps aside, holding his hands up in surrender. “By all means.”

You decide not to “accidentally” burn him and instead keep your distance as you bound up the stairs. You take them two at a time, glancing behind you once you’re on the third floor to be absolutely positive he isn’t following you. And he’s not.  

You let out a sigh of utter relief when you close your door behind you, clicking the lock into place. All you wanted was some mac and cheese. 

Now you have to deal with the realization that you’re not actually alone. And to make matters worse, you’re stuck here with James Barnes. Of all people, it just had to be him.

+++

“I told you, I’m not having a good time right now.”

Your best friend frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“I was doing so good alone. I was excited, actually, to be alone. But now I have to live here knowing I could run into him around any corner.”

“Well, maybe not any corner,” your best friend slows down your train of thoughts. “He wouldn’t roam around the girl’s floor.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Seriously? This is James we’re talking about.”

“Yes, I know,” she chuckles. “But he isn’t all that bad.”

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything!” She protests. “All I’m saying is that yes, James is a fuckboy. Absolutely no doubt about that one. But he’s...I don’t know. He’s a gentleman. He’s a player, but he’s respectful. He wouldn’t do some of the things I know you’re worried about.”

You chew on the inside of your cheek. “You’re sure?”

Your best friend nods seriously. “Come on, you know Steve?”

“Rogers?” He’s on the football team with James, you’re pretty sure. Or is it baseball? You honestly can’t remember. Hell, maybe it’s soccer.

“Yeah,” she nods again. “They’re best friends.”

“I knew that.”

“My point is, Steve keeps James in check a lot. I’ve seen it, trust me. James might be a player, but if he ever goes too far, Steve is there to get him for it.”

“Well I’m glad someone at least reins him in,” you breathe. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now that he’s here.”

“Stop worrying! You didn’t know he was there two days ago and you were fine.”

“He didn’t know I was here, either, that’s the thing,” you remind her. “But now he knows.”

“Yes, and I’m sure he’s super interested in you, a girl who wants nothing to do with him.”

“I told you how he stood in the doorway.”

“So? Friendly conversation.”

You give her a look.

“Like I said, he’s a gentleman. Besides, he only really goes after girls he knows he can get. He understands messages pretty quickly. So I’m sure he’ll leave you alone. And if you’re that worried, threaten to burn him again.”

You roll your eyes, remembering. That was ridiculous. “Not my finest moment. I wish I had thought of something more clever than that.”

“You will, don’t worry,” your best friend laughs. “I’ve gotta go, I think mom needs help with dinner. I still wish you would’ve come here instead of staying there all alone.”

“I told you, I don’t want to get anyone sick on accident. I’m better here.”

“But James is there.”

“And it would be my honor to get him sick,” you joke. “Go help your mom. Tell her I say hi.”

“I will,” your best friend sighs. “Bye. I love you.”

“Love you too,” you smile sadly, ending the call. 

Well, that didn’t make you feel better like you had hoped. 

+++

Two days pass without a single sighting of James. You call it a win. You almost want to put a little sign on your door that says “Days without an incident” that you can keep track on every time you come back to your room from doing something.  

Currently, you’re doing laundry. Normally you’d retreat back to your room while your clothes are in the washer or dryer, but since you’ve been in there all day, you decided to bring your laptop with you to the laundry room and watch Netflix. A small change of scenery, even though you’re still in the same building. 

It does have you on a bit of high-alert, though. Like the kitchen, the laundry room is shared throughout the entire building. Males and females. 

Which means you’re putting yourself in the position to run into James again. 

You ignore the nerves, trying to focus on the movie you picked to watch.

You look up abruptly when you see a figure skid to a stop in the doorway. James. Of course. You must’ve jinxed yourself by thinking about running into him. 

You press pause on Netflix, looking expectantly at the boy standing before you. “Can I help you with something?”

“Sorry, I…” James pauses, running his hand through his hair. “I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

You stare at him in shock. That’s not at all what you were expecting to come out of his mouth. 

“It’s hard enough right now to be here alone, and I didn’t mean to make it worse, so I’m sorry if I did.”

You nod slowly. “Thanks. Apology accepted.”

He deflates, flashing a small smile.

“Oh, and uh, sorry for threatening to burn you the other day,” you blurt, not giving yourself a chance to think. “That was uncalled for.”

“Thanks,” he shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I kinda deserved it.”

“I wasn’t gonna say that,” you chuckle awkwardly.

“But you thought it.”

“Oh, definitely.”

James rocks back and forth on his feet, his smile fading extremely slowly. “I know you probably want to be left alone, but if you ever want some company, uh, I’m in 245. We can...watch TV or something, or whatever, you know.”

You don’t know that you can ever recall a moment seeing James this flustered. It almost warms your heart. “Sure,” you smile softly. “Thanks for the offer, really.”

“Yeah, of course,” he shrugs. “I’m gonna,” he nods his head backwards. “See you around.”

You nod. “See you.”

Without another remark or any protests, James leaves you alone. You press play on Netflix, but you hardly pay attention to the movie. You’re too busy trying to process what the fuck just happened.

[senotsuri]

Way back when, I posted an image of an OC, who fairly recently got a full name (she only had a surname back then.) So, with Eliza’s name finally figured out, I realised I hadn’t actually given my overview of the game that spawned her; Champions of Vestroia.

Time to lose my mind, I guess.

Some fore-knowledge before we get into this.

I am, by all means, a legacy bakugan fan, not a reboot fan. I’ve only seen one double episode (the become-smaller-child episode, which was cute, and Outer Demons, which has a super good premise, but the execution is. something.) By all accounts, CoV is essentially my introduction to the world of the reboot, and I’ll come to this later.

I played both the first game (Bakugan Battle Brawlers, specifically the Wii edition), and the... third game (Defenders of the Core, shortened to DOTC, also for the Wii. The second game, for anyone curious, is Battle Trainer, a DS exclusive.) This will come up later, of course, but I want to point out these two as they’re basically my control group for the quality here (not for the battles though; different battle system and all.)

I am incredibly stay-at-home. A lot of people I know irl I don’t have contact with, and most of them don’t live in my city. This is only important when it comes to the protagonist and literally no one else in the game, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

So the game begins with the character creator. This is pretty standard stuff, honestly. My one issue with it is just-- this is probably my fashion sense speaking, but the fashion in the game is very... for lack of a better term, naff. There aren’t many options that look good, personally speaking. This is ignoring the issues where the protagonist loses their name, mid conversation, or is referred to as if I chose the male option instead of the female option. These issues are likely just oversights, by all accounts, but talk about jarring.

The first time you see your character is where 3. comes in. The protagonist, no matter what you chose (I have two save files, in case there was a difference. There isn’t), will always be a football/soccer player. Are you one of many, many people who isn’t sporty, who is trying to play as themselves? Sorry, your character is sporty, and you can’t do anything about it.

In the legacy games, this was never really a problem; your character was never seen doing anything other than brawling and interacting with other characters. Whether they played sports, or stayed indoors and wrote fanfic, the game let you decide on that for your character, by not having them do either of those things: your character only battled, or snuck around in DOTC’s case.

Once you stop playing football, you get to run to your best friends, and I guarantee you, you won’t immediately guess who they are unless you somehow already knew.

I mentioned BBB and DOTC being my control group on quality. Bringing the character creator back into this, the NPCs are laughable in quality. Any character who has the same model as you (older child. There are only two other model types: adult, and younger child) will look like a remixed version of your character. Had it not been for some characters having special eye shapes, you could practically cosplay any character in the game, because they were made the same way you made your character.

This includes your two best friends.

You could easily make the same character (minus clothes) as one of your best friend characters, without knowing it until you saw them.

While, yes, BBB and DOTC had the characters from the legacy anime in them, the fact that your best friends are nigh indistinguishable from any other character in the area, because you could easily make any of them in the character creator, isn’t... great.

Speaking of that. Characterisation is questionable, to say the least. Whatever bakugan you have in your first slot will answer to you the same as any other bakugan you have in your first slot. If you started off with Howlkor in the front of your party, and you replaced him with, say, Barbetra, Barbetra will act the exact same as Howlkor did, and it’s really something.

There’s only (?) Armoured Alliance bakugan in the game, other than Dragonoid, Pegatrix, Trox, Hydorous, Nillious, and the afforementioned Howlkor. That’s a small roster, by all accounts, so having varied dialogue depending on the bakugan would make sense.

The characterisation of the other characters is also a little funky in places. Your best friends don’t brawl, and I honestly forgot about them for a portion of the game. The tournament brawlers are practically as faceless as the villain minions, and the villains- oh the villains...

Preston. I don’t like Preston, at all. He’s a villain from the moment you see him, and the whole “try to find Preston” section in Helena Heights makes me want to punch someone. When you fight him in the Parasol HQ, his dad being the CEO, it’s fairly clear that Preston is little more than a tool for him. Sometime later, you fight Preston again, this time as the final tournament’s final battle, and he’s laughably weak compared to the other challengers. Remember, this kid fights you with Leonidas.

You’d think Leo would be good, but I’ll get into the butchering that happened to my death dragon later.

Anyhow, he fights you, assuming his dad will enjoy him defeating you. With the power of you’re the player character, you beat him, he hands all of his bakugan to you, and gives up on brawling for good. Kinda.

The next time you see him... hoo boy. In Old Town, on the way to defeat dear detestable dad, you come across Preston. He offers you help, and when player character is understandably suspicious, Preston complains that... one of his toys was taken away because you beat him, and now he wants Revenge On Dad.

I wish I was joking. His revenge, by helping you defeat his dad, isn’t because he’s obviously neglected by his dad (company taking priority over him, the CEO’s son), and then is used as a minion to try and get rid of you. It’s not out of bitter feelings because his dad doesn’t care about him, no, it’s because his dad took his ball away.

What’s worse is how player character reacts: “Oh! :) You’ve learned that bakugan aren’t just tools! :) Yes you can help me, despite the fact that you learning this sounds less than genuine and definitely not last minute! :)”

This is a level of stupidity I’ve only seen in DOTC Mira when Spectra tricks her into giving him Drago. He’s literally sulking and moping about over his ball, and then he sees the player character, immediately being manipulative so that player character can take down his dad for him. 

Leonidas also forgives him, and has the same reaction as the player character.

Speaking of Leonidas! I think everyone’s been excited for Leonidas in general - we all love a shark headed death dragon, and we wanted one in the reboot for ages.

I refuse to call reboot Leonidas Leonidas. This is like the Shun Kazami debacle, but one I’m substantially more angry about.

Leonidas, in BBB, was untrusting of everything, wanted to throw down with everything in sight, had no fear of anything because “I don’t fear weak [humans]”, and literally came from hell. He eventually grew to trust you and others, to calm down and enjoy himself at his own pace, and was willing to have help from others, showing anyone around him that his origins aren’t the be all and end all about him.

Leonidas, in CoV, is immediately trusting of the first human who showed a hint of kindness, has a weakness to all attacks in the game, comes from Vestroia (not the Doom Dimension), and forgives the human who threw him away when he didn’t win the battle against you for him.

Ignoring the fact that Leonidas just doesn’t look good in CoV, I’d say he got bastardised. That’s not Leonidas, it’s just a dragon with the same name.

The main villain is the CEO of Parasol, an energy company that, assumedly, used to use solar power. Upon finding out that bakugan battles give off incredible levels of power, they turned to using bakugan, forced to battle, to generate power. These guys literally dug into someone’s house to try and get Leonidas. They’re evil.

On the topic of the battling for power generation; this has a decay effect on Vestroia, as it happens, as battling energy would usually go back into Vestroia, which would be recycled and reused.

The CEO doesn’t bend the knee to you until you break him, which is undoubtedly nice for a villain; I was honestly expecting him to give up, but he doesn’t. You beat him into a corner.

But as my introduction to the world of BP, through CoV, is lackluster at best. Obviously the game is meant for those who have seen the reboot, and don’t mind being completely disconnected from the story, because CoV is self contained, and Dan only shows up to be the tutorial giver (as a jpg, no less).

From what the game tells me about the setting; bakugan are often exploited by adults, bakugan do not like adults because of this, but can’t tell when a human child is manipulating them, unless another child removes them from that situation (the lack of agency here is somehow worse than in the legacy series, who knew).

Despite bakugan being around for 18 years in the setting, no one seems to be aware that they’re living beings, other than the main charcter, as if BP humans are equivalent to Legacy’s Vestals. I was already aware of Vestroia and Earth sharing a location in space, but the fact that drilling deep enough causes bakugan to appear on Earth seems... really weird? Schrödinger’s Bakugan Summoning Pit, but they exist on every digging site possible. Bonus points to all bakugan being able to speak, and they do speak a lot, but only to the player and whoever is around the player in a cutscene.

I’m missing a lot of things, such as battle items being the worst sometimes, I’m aware, but at this point I’m tired of rambling, so let me end off in a comparison.

CoV has, in my opinion, the same replayability levels as Pokemon Shield; I couldn’t replay either game to the end, and I wouldn’t recommend either to anyone unless they were desperate for a new game to play, and had nothing else to chose.

[deanstop13billyjoeltraxx]

Superposition

a deancas college roommate au :)

Chapter 8 is up on AO3! Chapter-by-chapter masterlist here. 

CW: mentions of verbal abuse, homophobia, alcoholism, jail time. instances of smoking. 

some notes: I usually go through and italicize as necessary when I’m posting on tumblr because it doesn’t copy over from my og text, but this chapter is like 6200 words and i’m just not gonna do that. recommend reading on AO3 for the best experience!!

An Exercise in Futility

Three Years Earlier

Castiel was convinced that his life was one massive, cosmic joke.

He’d been considering the possibility for some time. Being the gay son of a homophobic pastor does that to a person. When he discovered, sometime around the age of twelve, that the girls in his Sunday school class were far less interesting than the boys, he could practically feel God laughing at him. Then there was high school, where the religious prattling was replaced by what felt like endless torment at the hands of his peers. 

He felt like college was quickly becoming the third punchline.

Not that things were bad. Things were good, actually, better than they’d been in years. He was learning about things he cared about. He passed his midterms with flying colors. He even had friends. He spent a weekend watching all of the Lord of the Rings with Charlie. He had switched seats in accounting to sit next to Meg.

And, of course, there was Dean. Dean, who dragged Cas to a football game and didn’t drink a sip of alcohol the whole time in solidarity; Dean, who, after Tombstone, insisted on movie night every Tuesday; Dean, who, demanded that Cas print out a copy of one of his short stories and sign it (“When you’re a famous douchebag, this is gonna be worth so much money”).

It seemed that, on all fronts, Castiel had finally capitalized on the collegiate promise of a second chance. 

But by his own estimation, he was doomed.

Because sometimes, his palms started sweating when Dean stood too close. Sometimes, his heartbeat skipped when Dean threw an arm across Cas’s shoulders. Sometimes, Cas woke up from a dream so vivid, he was disappointed to find himself alone in his bunk bed.

He could see how easy it would be to fall in love with Dean Winchester, what with the blond hair and green eyes, bright smiles and southern lilt, funny jokes and considerate actions. The prospect was utterly terrifying, and Castiel was doing everything in his power to stop dwelling on it.

He’d been down the “falling in love with your straight best friend” road before. AP biology class brought Cas a lab partner in Ben Wright. Soccer team captain, A-student, all around nice guy. Maybe Ben didn’t do anything to stop the constant verbal torment, but he never took part in it. At first, being around him was exhilarating. Sharing looks, catching smiles, trading inside jokes; Cas was intoxicated. He was so high on first love that he made the mistake of confiding in Bartholomew. Cas had always considered him to be a role model, friend and brother at the same time. But that night, when Cas came out, Bartholomew looked at him like one might look at spoiled food. He’d agreed not to tell their father, on the condition that Cas never speak about the matter again, that he figure out some way to “cleanse himself.” They hadn’t spoken since that night.

And so the feelings that once propelled Castiel to school with anticipation suddenly made him dread it. Not only did baring his soul to a brother get him a one-way ticket to estrangement, but Ben started dating someone else, a girl from his English class. Now every shared look was painful, smiles were false, inside jokes stopped being funny.

It was somehow worse, knowing Ben could never feel the same way. It certainly didn’t help the feelings of guilt and shame brought by his family.

Cas would do anything not to feel that way again. 

He started by insisting that Dean invite Benny and Charlie to more of their nightly dinners. And while he honestly liked the both of them, he would be lying if he didn’t admit that their presence was, first and foremost, a distraction from Dean. He took up running again, as a way to get himself out of the dorm when Dean decided to stay in. He spent more time studying with Meg.

Meg was shockingly easy to befriend. She wasn’t nice — Cas had watched in shock when, once, she dumped a hot coffee on a skateboarder who had knocked her down on accident — but she never said a mean thing to Castiel. She was like him: a black sheep, the child everyone wished they could forget. Only, where Cas had become an agnostic and gone to college, Meg had become a Satanist and gone to jail for arson.

But this was her new leaf, she told him. Maybe it didn’t matter why someone needed a second chance, only that they were willing to take one.

They had been working for an hour when she threw her pen at his head and said, “Cas, you should come with me to Sig Ep’s Halloween party tomorrow. Be my date.”

Cas took a moment to process the meaning of party + date + with Meg. “Uh, I don’t — well, um, parties aren’t really —”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re allowed to say no, hun.”

Cas panicked. Meg was looking at him expectantly, her resigned smile making it clear she was prepared for rejection.

“Well, I… It’s not because of you — you’re very beautiful, and smart. Actually, you’re one of the most wonderful people I’ve met here.” She grinned at that. “It’s just, I don’t really… Go on dates. With girls.”

She studied him a moment before understanding lit up her face. “Oh.”

Castiel fidgeted with his pencil, refusing to meet her eyes. He’d only ever done this once, and it hadn’t gone well. But he liked having a friend, and more than that, he liked having Meg as a friend. He didn’t want her to think he wasn’t interested because of any fault of her own.

“Cas,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she poked him in the arm. “Castiel.” He raised his eyes. “It’s cool. It’s not like you can just choose to like girls when a pretty one asks you on a date.”

“I… Understand, if you would rather not be friends,” Cas said, cautiously.

“What?” Meg’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about? Why would I not want to be friends?” She laughed a little. “That would be super ironic, considering I told you I went to juvie and you didn’t bat an eye.”

“Because I’m gay,” Cas said quietly, looking down again.

Meg grabbed both his hands. “Cas, hun, there’s nothing wrong with being gay.”

He looked up again, eyes wide. “What? I mean, I know that, I just… Not everyone does.”

Meg smiled sadly at him and gripped his hands a little tighter. “Well, I do. No biggie. We’re going to be iconic together, you and I. Sexiest gay-straight alliance of all time.”

Cas smiled weakly, relief flooding his entire body. “Thank you, Meg. I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to make any judgements on your character. It’s just… This,” he motioned at the air between them, “has never gone well for me.”

Meg shook her head. “That’s a shame,” she said. “I haven’t known you that long. But I think I can tell that you — all the parts of you — are awesome.”

“You can still come to the party,” she added after a moment.

Cas shook his head, capping and uncapping his pen repeatedly. “Parties… They’re not really my scene.”

“All right. You know who to call if you change your mind.”

                   On Halloween, Castiel returned from his nightly run to find Dean pulling on a flannel. He checked his watch — he had barely made it. 6:57 pm.

“Right on time,” Dean said. “I was about to leave without you.”

“I would have never forgiven you if you did,” Cas joked. Then, “Are Charlie and Benny coming?”

“Nah, they’re both busy tonight. Halloween parties, you know.”

“Oh.” Castiel took a large sip of his water. “You’re not attending a Halloween party?”

Dean shrugged. “Wasn’t really feeling it tonight. Plus, I have a feeling you’ve never seen The Exorcist?” When Cas shook his head, Dean rubbed his hands together. “Oh man, we are totally watching it tonight. Unless you’re busy,” he added, raising his eyebrows at Cas.

“I’m not,” Cas replied. Dean knew this already, of course, otherwise Cas might have made something up. The waters in which he tread got more dangerous each day. He couldn’t escape the warm feeling flooding his chest at the idea of Dean ditching the parties for a movie night.

It was precisely that feeling that caused him to hurriedly ask, “Would you mind if I invited Meg to dinner?”

“Who?” Dean asked, lacing up his boots.

“Meg Masters. She’s the friend from accounting that I told you about.”

“Ah,” Dean said. “Right. What, just me isn’t good enough anymore?” Cas thought he was joking, but it seemed forced.

“Dean —”

“I’m kidding, man,” Dean said with a short laugh. “Sure, she can come.”

Castiel hurriedly splashed his face with cold water and shed his sweaty t-shirt in favor of a hoodie. Dean feigned a sniff in his direction and made a face, to which Cas replied with an eye-roll. As they left their dorm, Cas sent a text to Meg.

CN (7:02 pm)

Would you like to get dinner with Dean and me?

CN (7:02 pm)

Unless you’re already at your party, in which case, be safe.

MM (7:03 pm)

Party not til later. hot roommate dean?

CN (7:04 pm)

...Is that a yes?

MM (7:04 pm)

Yes please ;) shocker dining?

CN (7:05 pm)

Yes. We’ll meet you there.

Dean grabbed a burger and an inordinate amount of fries while Castiel loaded his plate with spaghetti and a salad. Meg walked into the dining room just after he and Dean sat down, and Cas waved her over.

“Meg,” he said, offering her the seat next to his, “this is Dean Winchester. Dean, this is Meg Masters.” Dean smiled at her with a mouthful of french fries. Cas dropped his head in exasperation.

“Pleasure,” Meg said with a half-cocked smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Dean shrugged. “I am pretty awesome. Can’t say the same about you, though.”

Cas went bright red. He shot Dean a glare, then turned to Meg. “He’s joking —”

Meg’s grin only widened, and she giggled. “It’s all right, Cas, I’m not very interesting.” She raised an eyebrow at him. He became extremely intent upon eating his dinner.

Dean stared at her for a moment, chewing a bite of burger. “So,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You know Cas from accounting?”

“That’s right,” Meg said brightly.

“So he’s your tutor or somethin’?”

Cas interjected. “Actually, Meg is far more capable than I am. She essentially taught me everything about liabilities.”

“Adorable,” Dean grumbled.

“Isn’t it?” Meg asked sweetly. “And you’re his roommate.”

“Yep.”

“Lucky you.” She gave him a wink. Dean choked on his diet Coke, and Castiel prayed to whomever was listening that he might cease to exist.

“Meg,” he said, giving her a pointed look, “did you finish the homework?”

She pulled her eyes away from Dean. “Yeah, I did.” She dropped her voice. “Did you want to go over it? At my place?” She winked at Cas, who stared at her in horror. Why was she acting like this? “You know,” Meg continued, “We can do other things too. Besides accounting.”

Dean cleared his throat loudly. “I’m gonna go grab some more fries. Do y’all want anything?” 

Cas and Meg shook their heads. When Dean had left the table, Cas gave Meg a death stare.

“What’s wrong with you?” He hissed. “I thought we covered this —”

“Yes, Cas, hun, I know you’re extraordinarily gay,” Meg said with an eyeroll. “I’m not actually interested. I’m just conducting an experiment.” 

Cas narrowed his eyes. “What ‘experiment’—”

He closed his mouth abruptly and leaned away from Meg when he saw Dean returning from the buffet line. He returned to his seat, looking between Cas and Meg suspiciously. Cas downed his water in one swift action.

“So, Dean,” Meg said after taking a bite of her pizza. “I hear you’re educating our friend here on pop culture.”

Dean didn’t bother to look up at her while he swirled a fry in ketchup. “Guess so.” 

Cas cleared his throat to interject. This direction of conversation was much better. “Meg asked what my favorite movie was,” he explained to Dean, who still hadn’t looked up from his plate. “I told her about how much I liked Back to the Future when we watched it last week.” 

Dean gave him a small smile. “Yeah, that movie’s friggin’ awesome.”

Cas turned to Meg. “We’re watching The Exorcist tonight.” 

Meg gasped dramatically. “So that’s why you blew off our date?”

Dean sputtered into his drink. “Date?” He said through a cough.

Cas looked helplessly at Meg, who unhelpfully smiled back. He was going to have words with her after this. 

“I asked him to come to the SigEp party, but he said he was busy,” Meg said, feigning a pout. “But I get it, parties aren’t really Cas’s thing, anyway.”

Dean’s eyes flickered quickly between Cas and Meg. “All right, am I missing something?” He asked. His leg was bouncing against the table leg, hard enough that Cas’s plate was vibrating. 

Cas looked at him, panicked, and stuttered out, “I don’t —”

“Like what?” Meg asked, sipping on her water.

“You his girlfriend or somethin’?”

This question delighted Meg. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Dean turned to Cas with an exasperated look. “Well?” He prodded.

Cas was sure he was about three different shades of red at this point. “What — I — no,” he sputtered.

Dean seemed to relax a little. Meg was still grinning like a madman. “There you go,” she said.

Castiel could not formulate a single coherent thought. He was confused as to how they even ended up here. The silence between the three of them was thick and awkward. Meg paid it no mind, just popped a strawberry in her mouth and gave Dean a sickly sweet smile. Dean excused himself to use the restroom, hitting his leg on the table and nearly tripping over his chair. Once he had left, Meg turned to Cas, her eyes sparkling.

“You are so in,” she said.

“What the hell was that?” He asked her. “What just happened?”

“He thinks I’m into you,” she explained. She took a bite of her pizza, then continued, “And he thinks you might be into me. And he hates that.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Cas scoffed.

Meg laughed, throwing her head back. When Cas fixed her with a glare, her eyes widened. “You really don’t see it?”

Cas pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s nothing to ‘see’. I already told you.”

“Yeah, right. Whatever, you’ll thank me later.”

“For creating what is perhaps the most awkward dinner I’ve ever had in my life?”

She waved him off. “Don’t be such a baby, it wasn’t that bad.”

Cas gave her a look that suggested otherwise. She sighed.

“Look, the way you talk about him…” Meg grabbed Cas's hand when he rolled his eyes. “I’m serious. You like him, and now you know he likes you too.” She sat up proudly. “I just did all the heavy lifting for you.”

“Right,” Cas said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Obviously, this interaction points to an inevitable romantic encounter. Except, and I think this is important, Dean is not gay.”

Meg raised an eyebrow. “Well, the way he looks at you, he’s not straight either. Plus, he apparently still thinks you’re straight, so you two haven’t had that conversation yet. He could be flamingly bisexual and you would never know.”

“This conversation is exhausting.” Cas felt like he was watching a Disney Channel Original Movie, and Meg was a fifteen-year-old matchmaker.

Meg laughed. “I’m sure you’ll survive. By the way, did you actually want to go over the homework this weekend?”

“Yes,” he said, relieved at the change in subject.

Dean returned then. “Are y’all done?” He asked, pointing to their plates. Cas and Meg both nodded, offering “thank you’s” as Dean took their plates to the dish rack. They followed him to the exit, the crisp air sending a chill through Castiel.

“Did you want me to walk back with you, Meg?” Cas offered.

She beamed at him. “You’re so sweet, but no. I’m getting an Uber to Sig Ep, anyway.” She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out something small and black. “Plus, if anyone tries anything, they’ll find themselves electrocuted. Just a little bit.”

Cas grinned. Dean raised an eyebrow.

“See you on Monday, Cas,” Meg said, giving him a hug that lasted just a touch too long. “It was good to meet you, Dean.”

“You too,” Dean muttered.

They watched her walk away for a moment. Cas wanted to avoid looking at Dean for as long as humanly possible. He had no idea how he was supposed to explain the previous interaction.

“So,” Dean said, clearing his throat. “She’s… Nice.”

“She is,” Castiel agreed earnestly. “Dean, I’m sorry, Meg can be a bit…” He struggled to find an adequate descriptor. “I think she enjoys others’ discomfort a bit too much, sometimes,” he finished.

Dean let out a short laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. It’s not a big deal, man.”

They stood in silence, Dean looking at the ground intently, Cas tugging on the strings of his hoodie. Dean kicked a rock, then sighed. “You, uh, you ready to head back?”

“Yes,” Cas replied.

The walk back to their dorm was quiet. Castiel couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought Dean looked bothered. He felt bad — he had honestly expected for Meg and Dean to get along. He had thought them to be similar in their confident and boisterous personalities. Now, he wondered if that was precisely the problem. Too much personality at the same dinner table. He winced internally at his own poor judgement. Meg obviously took no issue with the encounter, but he worried that Dean might hold it against him.

Dean let them into their room, then wrinkled his nose at Cas once more. “Dude, seriously, go take a shower. You’re gross.”

“Actually, I enjoy the feeling of my sweat drying all over my skin. I was thinking of going straight to bed like this. It’s not as if I didn’t take a shower because of your constant insistence upon eating meals at the same time every day”

Dean made a gagging motion. “Hey, we had an appointment, and you were almost late. How is that my fault?”

Cas just rolled his eyes and gathered his things to head to the showers. He let out a muttered, “Crap” when he realized nearly all of his laundry was dirty. He’d been busy this week, and running every day tended to render his clothes unwearable after a single use. He made a mental note to do laundry first thing in the morning. He was able to find an old pair of gym shorts, but not a single t-shirt remained in his closet. Cas groaned inwardly. So he would simply have to sit next to Dean for approximately two-and-a-half hours, shirtless. Fantastic.

When he returned from his shower, Cas found Dean cooking two bags of popcorn, the title menu of The Exorcist already on screen. Dean stood up from the microwave when Cas entered, and was halfway into a thumbs-up when he did a double take.

“Uh… We goin’ shirtless tonight, Baywatch?” He said, tugging at his collar.

Castiel tilted his head. “I don’t understand that reference.”

“Of course you don’t,” Dean said with a chuckle. “Seriously, though, dude.”

Cas sighed as he sat on their beanbag. “I have a lot of laundry to do tomorrow,” he said by way of an explanation.

Dean didn’t respond, but made his way to his own closet. He ruffled through it for a moment before Cas was hit in the face by a t-shirt.

“Here, just wear one of mine,” Dean said. He coughed and crossed his arms over his chest. “‘S kinda cold in here, anyway.”

Cas held up the shirt. It was a Led Zeppelin graphic tee, vintage, from their tour in 1977. Cas raised his eyebrows at Dean.

“It’s pretty awesome right?” Cas donned the t-shirt. “Sammy got it for me from a Goodwill a couple years ago. Another of my prized possessions.” He looked at Cas with feigned scrutiny. “Looks good on you,” he said.

Cas played with the hem as he said, “Thank you.” Dean coughed again and walked back to the microwave to retrieve their popcorn. The air was palpable with awkwardness.

Dean turned out the lights. They settled onto the beanbag, as had become custom in the last few weeks. 

Not even thirty minutes in, Dean’s phone began to ring. “Hey, my brother’s callin’, can you pause it?” Dean said.

Cas obliged, and Dean stood as he said, “Hey, Sammy, how’s it goin’?”

Cas sat awkwardly with his hands in his lap, doing his best not to eavesdrop on Dean’s conversation. Though, he supposed if it was private, Dean could have moved to the hallway. Instead, he leaned against the door, twisting the beaded bracelet on his left hand. 

“He did what?” Dean suddenly yelled, and Cas jumped. Dean shot him a quick apologetic look. “

“Sammy, calm down, it’s okay,” Dean said, and Cas couldn’t pretend to not listen anymore. He looked at Dean with a silent question, but Dean was staring hard at the wall, his free hand balled into a fist. 

“Put him on the phone,” Dean said in a low voice. A pause. “What, so now he’s allowed to treat you like shit whenever he wants?” Another pause. A slow exhale from Dean. “No, you’re right. I don’t… I won’t make it worse.” Pause. “Do you want me to come down there? Because I will, you know I will.” 

Dean was silent for a long moment before asking, “Are you sure?” He sighed at whatever his brother said on the other line. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything, I guess. And Sam? I’m really fucking sorry. I should’ve stayed, I don’t…” He trailed off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I know. Yeah. Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” 

Dean lowered the phone from his ear. He stood silently for a moment, angry gaze directed at the floor. Then, causing Cas to jump once more, he turned and hurled his fist at the door. 

There was a loud thud upon impact, and then Dean was yelling “Fuck! Goddammit!” as he cradled his hand. Cas stood abruptly, but had no idea what to do. He walked toward Dean, cautiously.

Dean’s eyes were closed, and he was heaving deep breaths. Cas put a hand on his shoulder. “Dean?” He ventured.

“Sorry,” Dean mumbled, still not looking at Cas. “I just — Fuck, that was so stupid,” he said, shaking out his affected hand. “Sorry,” he repeated to the wall. 

“It’s fine,” Cas said, even though he thought it definitely wasn’t. “What happened?” 

Dean just shook his head. Cas’s hand remained on his shoulder. He tightened his grip, a little nervous that Dean might shove him off. “Dean,” he persisted. “You can tell me.” 

Finally, Dean looked at him, and Cas thought if that level of rage was ever directed at him, he would promptly die. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. “Are you all right?” 

“No,” Dean growled. “I gotta — I don’t know, I need to calm down. I don’t actually want to break something,” he said, motioning to the door. “I’m gonna go for a smoke.” 

Cas dropped his hand and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll go with you.” 

“Cas —” Dean started, but Cas silenced him with a look. He grabbed one of Dean’s flannels from his desk chair and threw it at him. Dean caught it with a cross between surprise and irritation. Cas grabbed his own windbreaker and put it on, looking expectantly at Dean. 

“Are we going?” He asked. 

Dean looked at him as if he was trying to decide whether arguing was worth it. A sigh confirmed that it wasn’t. He silently pulled on his flannel and opened the door, ushering Cas through before exiting himself. 

They walked in silence, despite the fervor of Cas’s concern and curiosity at Dean’s outburst. Dean’s jaw was set, and he took a long, slow breath when they hit the crisp fall air. When they reached the Impala, Cas silently moved to lean on the hood while Dean retrieved his lighter and a cigarette. 

Dean joined Cas as he took a long draw. He exhaled the smoke upwards, his eyes closed. His face was still turned to the sky when he asked, “This really doesn’t bother you?”

“What?”

Dean brandished his cigarette in answer, turning to raise an eyebrow at Cas. 

Cas shrugged. “It’s not particularly comforting. But, there are worse things.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up thoughtfully. “Besides, you’ve been smoking for years. If anyone could convince you to quit, your random college roommate isn’t the most likely option.” 

Dean gave him a strange look before exhaling another plume of smoke. He coughed a little. “I think you have long passed the line between ‘random roommate’ and ‘new best friend.’”

Cas gave a little chuckle. “That’s good to hear.” Inside, his world was falling down and rebuilding itself anew. Dean thought of Cas as his best friend. Cas had never known that feeling, to have someone care about him like that. Cas wondered if that could be enough, being Dean’s best friend.  

He didn’t say anything more, though, just let Dean finish his cigarette. After throwing the butt on the pavement and stomping on it, he heaved a sigh. 

“My dad…” He started, but paused. “He, uh, he said some stuff to Sam. My brother.” 

Cas nodded, doing his best to keep his face neutral. Talking things through wasn’t Dean’s strong suit, and Cas didn’t want dramatics to make it more difficult. 

“What did he say?”

Dean shifted and rubbed his hands together. “Bunch of bullshit. ‘It’s your fault your Mom’s dead, it should have been you instead of her.’” Dean rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I mean, he used to say that to me. He gets into these moods when he drinks, says a bunch of shit he doesn’t mean.” 

Dean shoved himself off the hood and began to pace in front of Cas. “But I could take it, you know? Sammy’s just a kid. He doesn’t need to hear that.” 

“Your father says things like this often?” Cas asked, a tinge of horror in his voice. 

“He used to. But only to me. Never to Sam.” 

Cas took a deep breath, trying to discern how best to proceed. “Dean,” he said slowly, “he shouldn’t say those things. Ever. Not to Sam, and not to you.” 

“I’m just confused,” Dean said. “And pissed. Sam and him are usually okay. I mean, they’re not buddies or anything, but Dad leaves him alone for the most part.”

“I don’t want to overstep,” Cas said, “But it seems like your father used you as an outlet for misplaced rage. A punching bag, if you will. And now you’re gone, so Sam is the next best thing.” 

Dean met Cas'seyes with a horrified look. “God. I didn’t… You’re right. Shit, this is my fault, I can’t believe I —”

“No, Dean,” Cas growled. He stood and grabbed Dean by both shoulders. “This is your father’s fault. Not yours.”

“But I left Sam, alone, with him,” Dean said, and Cas could see panic rising in his eyes. “How could I do that, why —” Cas interrupted him again. “Why did you decide to attend college, Dean? What’s the real reason?”

“What?” Dean gave him an incredulous look. “I don’t know.” 

Cas tilted his head down, skeptical. 

Dean let out a long sigh. “Okay, all right. I went because Sam is smart, and he needs to go. But we don’t have any money. So I figured if I came and got a degree or some shit, I could make enough to throw him some cash while he goes to school. Get some summer internships and save up for his college fund. He’d probably still have to take out loans and stuff, but if I got a good job, I could help him pay them off.” 

Cas wasn’t sure what answer he had expected, but it wasn’t that one. He felt his heart break for the man standing in front of him, who did everything he could and more for the people he cared about and never felt like it was enough. 

“Would Sam ever hold that against you?” When Dean didn’t respond, Cas continued. “I know I wouldn’t. I have four older siblings, and not a single one of them has ever done something like that for me.”

“But—”

“You’re making yourself miserable over something that isn’t your fault,” Cas said. “Did you have anyone protecting you when your father went on a tirade?” 

“No, but—”

“Is Sam incapable of handling himself?”

“No, but Cas—”

“He’ll be alright, Dean,” Cas insisted. “You can’t live your whole life as his shield. You’ll break yourself trying.” 

Dean was silent, and wouldn’t  meet Cas's eyes. Cas dropped his hands and leaned back against the Impala. “Did you ever think that Sam might have wanted you to go to school simply so you could get yourself out? Did you ever think that Sam hates the way your father treated you as much as you hate what he did to Sam tonight?” 

Dean pursed his lips together, but his jaw relaxed slightly. Finally, he muttered, “I guess I never thought about it like that.” 

Cas felt relief wash over him. He’d never seen Dean like this — angry and frantic. Cas wondered if Dean always did this, shouldered the blame for every bad thing his brother had to endure. The thought made his chest hurt. 

Dean’s hands were hanging limply at his side. He looked exhausted. Against his better judgement, Cas grabbed Dean by the forearm and pulled him into a hug. Dean was still for a moment, but then sighed and rested his head on Cas's shoulder. 

“Sorry, man,” he said. “I didn’t mean to act like that, punching things and shit. I just get so angry, and I don’t know what to do with it.” 

Cas was trying very hard to form a coherent thought. “There’s no need for apologies. I understand.” 

A chuckle escaped Dean’s lips. “You must think I’m a complete nutjob, huh?” 

Cas tilted his head in consideration. Dean’s hair tickled his cheek. “No. I think your father spent years verbally abusing you, and you’re doing your best in spite of that.” 

Dean broke the hug abruptly. The sudden space between them felt criminal. “I mean, I don’t know if it’s abuse…” He started, but, at Cas's look, he trailed off. Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, Cas,” he said quietly. “Honestly, dude, I don’t know what I would have done without you.” 

Cas's cheeks warmed, and he shrugged. “You would have done the same for me.” 

Dean gave him a small smile. Cas’s heart nearly broke with relief. “I’m beat,” he said. “Bed?” 

Cas nodded eagerly. “Bed.” 

When they reached the stairs, Dean broke the heavy silence.

“So…” He began. There was a false brightness in his voice; he was obviously searching for levity. “You hanging out with your girlfriend tomorrow?” 

“If you’re referring to Meg, she’s still not my girlfriend,” Cas replied vacantly. “And yes.” He suddenly felt exhausted. First the mortifying dinner with Meg, then the heavy conversation with Dean. He hardly had it in him to field jokes about Meg being his girlfriend.

“She’s not your girlfriend yet,” Dean amended, giving Cas a smirk that didn’t meet his eyes. 

And what was Cas supposed to say to that? Meg was funny and smart and beautiful. She and Cas studied together on the regular. There was absolutely no reason he shouldn’t be interested in Meg from Dean’s perspective. 

Of course, if Dean knew he was gay… 

Cas didn’t know if he could face the consequences of coming out to Dean. Would he be upset that Cas hadn’t told him earlier? Would he be uncomfortable with a gay man as his roommate? As his friend? Cas may have expanded his social circle, but he still couldn’t bear to lose Dean. 

But, then again, Dean had defended him once already, without knowing whether or not he was gay. He’d sounded indifferent to the possibility then. And just tonight, he’d called Cas his best friend. Dean cared more deeply for his friends and family than anyone Cas had ever met. Cas was in that group. Dean wouldn’t shove him out of it because of who he loved.

Right?

As they reached the entrance to their hall, Dean poked Cas in the shoulder. “Hey, Earth to Major Tom,” he said. “You okay over there?” 

Cas realized he hadn’t said a word since they started their ascent up the stairs. He sighed heavily.

Perhaps this was as good a time as any. 

“Dean,” he said, but closed his mouth. He should just say it. He had nothing to worry about. This wasn’t Bartholomew. He knew that, but the words remained stuck in his throat.

“What?” Dean said, eyebrows raised. “Cas,” he prodded, waving a hand in front of Cas’s face. 

“I’m not…” Cas swallowed. “I will never date Meg,” he finished, with a pointed look. 

Dean side-eyed him as they walked to their door. “What, she’s not your type?” 

Cas gave him a lopsided smile. “You could say that.” 

“I dunno, man, maybe you should reconsider, you two are pretty adorable, in a gross way —”

“Dean.” Cas was about to rip his hair out. He wasn’t taking the hint. “She’s not my type. She’s a girl.”

Realization dawned on Dean’s face. “Oh,” he said.

“I apologize for not telling you sooner,” Cas said, bracing for the worst. “If that makes you uncomfortable, I understand —”

“What?” Dean practically shouted. At Cas’s look of surprise, he lowered his voice. “No, Cas, are you kidding? I thought I told you, after all that shit with Cole. It’s not a big deal.”

“Knowing your roommate might possibly be gay and knowing he is, indeed, gay are two very different things.”

Dean looked at Cas like he had just made the worst joke in the world. “I’m not gonna, like, try to move out.” As they approached their room, Cas stared resolutely ahead, walking with purpose. But Dean jumped out in front of him, a hand on Cas’s chest to stop him in his tracks. 

“Dude, it’s gonna take more than that to get rid of me. I lost my shit and punched a door, like, an hour ago, and you barely even blinked.” Dean crossed his arms over his chest.

Cas met Dean’s eyes and found unparalleled sincerity.

“I don’t… You’re not the least bit upset?” Cas asked, slightly incredulous. 

Dean shrugged. “You’re my best friend, Cas,” he said as he straightened. “Nothing’s gonna change that.” He pulled on his bracelet. “I do feel bad though, for making you feel like you couldn’t tell me. Not that you had to, or anything,” he added in a rush.  

Cas shook his head vigorously. “It has nothing to do with you, Dean. I’m… I’m new at this,” Cas explained. “The first time, with Bartholomew… I believe he was, as you would say, a dick about it.” 

Dean’s eyes turned stormy. “Bastard,” he said. “I’m sorry, Cas. You shouldn’t have had to deal with that.” 

Cas nodded. “You’re right. It was rather unfortunate. I haven’t spoken to him since the night I told him I was gay.” 

Dean moved back to Cas’s side and slung an arm around his shoulders. “His loss,” he said. “You’re friggin’ awesome, dude.” 

Cas smiled. Dean patted him on the back and let the two of them into their room. 

Cas brushed his teeth and climbed into bed. Dean returned minutes later from a shower, and he flipped off the lights as he made his way to his own bunk. 

Cas pulled off Dean’s shirt and threw it across the room. Dean’s head caught it, and he yelped.

“Thank you for the loan,” Cas said, smiling. 

An odd expression crossed Dean’s face before he threw the Zeppelin shirt back to Cas. “Keep it,” he said. When Cas gave him a confused look, he put a hand on the back of his neck. “I meant what I said. Looks good on you.” 

---------

tagging @nguyenxtrang :)))

[aion-rsa]

Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon

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If you haven’t tuned into Money Heist yet, you’ve been missing one of the hottest series on Netflix right now. It’s sexy, absurdist fun, an action soap opera like no other, so addictively bingeable that it has stolen the hearts of a worldwide audience. But it’s more than escapist fare. Money Heist has also become a rallying cry of resistance that is changing the world. 

It almost didn’t happen. Netflix picked up Money Heist entirely by chance. If they hadn’t, the original series might have easily vanished into obscurity for English-speaking audiences. Once Netflix got it, it blew up and became their most watched non-English series.

Money Heist was originally broadcast on Spain’s Antena 3 channel in 2017 under its native title La Casa de Papel (The House of Paper). The first season was 15 episodes, told in two parts. The initial part garnered a healthy 45 million viewers but viewership plummeted when the second part was broadcast. With only half the audience remaining and the story complete, the show seemed at its end. Netflix acquired the series as part of an international catalog of titles, re-edited it into 22 shorter episodes, re-released it internationally later that year. The streamer didn’t even bother to promote it when they added to their queue. Nevertheless, it found a huge audience outside of Spain and viewership skyrocketed.

Season 1 is about a meticulously planned heist of the Royal Mint of Spain. The Professor (Álvaro Morte) is a criminal mastermind who assembles a gang of thieves. Each thief adopts the name of a city to conceal their true identities from each other, akin to the robbers in Reservoir Dogs. The story is told from the perspective of Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), a brazen spitfire femme fatale who steals every scene she’s in. The thieves capture the Mint, taking dozens of hostages. Their plan is to print millions in unmarked bills. Meanwhile, the Professor plays a cat-and-mouse game with Inspector Murillo (Itziar Ituño) who is hot on his trail. 

Don’t Fall in Love During a Heist

Through Tokyo’s narration and copious flashbacks to the planning of the crime, Money Heist tells a gripping story of the ultimate anti-heroes. As tensions mount, the gang is at one another’s throats while navigating the Professor’s deceptive instructions. The Mint is surrounded by cops and time is running out. Gratuitous shots of ticking clocks increase the pressure, the same device deployed by original Mission: Impossible TV series to heighten suspense. Stockholm syndrome takes hold as the hostages fall for their captors. In classic Money Heist style, the main hostage who joins the gang adopts the name “Stockholm (Esther Acebo)”. The Professor and the Inspector engage in a deliciously dysfunctional romance. It’s all exceedingly sexy with the beautiful actors often scantily clad, and has a subversively sharp sense of humor. 

Despite its ludicrousness, Money Heist is so addictive in many ways. First off, it masters the cliffhanger. The suspense is relentlessly palpable and no matter how ridiculous some of the deus ex machina resolutions are, they’re still great fun to watch. Just like Game of Thrones, this show is merciless. Beloved main characters die in shockingly poignant death scenes. This keeps the suspense very real. You never know if your favorite character is going to make it. Of the seven thieves that enter the Mint with Tokyo – Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Helsinki (Darko Perić), Moscow (Paco Tous), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Oslo (Roberto Garcia Ruiz) and Rio (Miguel Herrán) – three don’t make it out. 

Secondly, it’s about those characters. The ensemble cast delivers great performances across the board. Every role is rich, complex, and well-developed. Everyone has his or her strengths, weaknesses, and back stories and their emotional journeys resonate deeply. No one is entirely innocent. You can’t help yourself from rooting for them, even the villains. 

And third, Money Heist has style. Its passionate soundtrack has captured the ears of the world. The use of color, particularly red against darkly composed frames, is exquisitely captivating. Money Heist is a thrilling roller coaster ride that just has to be experienced. 

Enjoy It Until the Party is Over

The global following shocked the cast and crew. After season 1 wrapped, the show seemed finished. As the cast watched their social media following grow exponentially (an experience catalogued in Netflix’s documentary, Money Heist: The Phenomenon), they knew something was up. By 2018, Money Heist garnered several nominations and wins across the European awards circuit and even won the coveted Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmys.

Consequently, Netflix reassembled the cast and crew for a second season, this time with a much bigger budget. Even though season 1 was self-contained, the show’s creator Álex Pina dreamed up a second season, one that was on a much grander scale, thanks to Netflix’s backing.

The second heist is in four parts. That may sound confusing because the upcoming season 5 will be split into two parts as well. Season 5 is actually parts 3 and 4 of the second heist story arc. “Heist 2” is already 16 episodes deep and it’s only the halfway point. 

For the second heist, the gang must reassemble to rescue one of their own after Tokyo makes another grievous mistake. And that rescue hinges upon robbing the Bank of Spain. New gang members join the survivors of the first robbery, and another more ruthless adversary, the pregnant Inspector Sierra (Najwa Nimri). Sierra is a more ruthless opponent than Murillo was for the first heist. When it comes to the Professor’s psychological chess game, Sierra flips the chess board upside down. Season 3 (Part 1 of the Bank of Spain heist) debuted exclusively on Netflix in the summer of 2019. Season 4 (Part 2) was released almost a year later in April 2020, and it was seen by 65 million households. That’s a million more viewers than watched Tiger King when it ran around the same time. 

Realizing they had a bankable hit, Netflix released Money Heist: The Phenomenon. The documentary showcases the astonishment of the cast and crew as they navigate their new found popularity from a show they thought was done. A season 2 opening scene, filmed in front of the historic Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, Italy, was almost ruined when rabid fans rushed the crew. However, do not watch Money Heist: The Phenomenon before seeing the show because it drops some major spoilers. 

We Are Dali

To hide their identities, the gang wears masks based on the famous Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, replete with a red hooded jumpsuit. They force their hostages to wear the same costume to confuse the police. This Dali mask has become a new symbol of international rebellion, supplanting the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta on a global scale. Beyond Comic-Con cosplaying, the Dali mask has been appearing on protestors and in effigies around the world. Footage from these real life demonstrations appear in the show. 

Money Heist has had a profound effect on international football (“soccer” for we Yanks). Massive displays of Dali mask banners appeared at Saudi Arabia soccer stadiums. At the Karaiskaki Stadium, Greek soccer fans unfurled a huge Dali banner too. After their team won, they rushed the field wearing Money Heist costumes. Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar de Silva even makes a cameo in season 3 as a monk who wryly comments about his disdain for soccer. Silva claims Money Heist is his favorite show.  

There were even real life copycat heists. France fell victim to a shop hold-up and a hotel robbery where the perpetrators wore Dali masks. A 2019 daylight heist of the Mexican Mint was thought to have been inspired by the show. Perhaps the best one was when Justin Bieber’s five-billion-view music video ‘Despacito’ was hacked on YouTube. The hackers replaced it with an image of Money Heist in full Dali regalia with guns pointing out, accompanied by a call to ‘Free Palestine.’ 

Consequently, there has been some backlash. Cyprus banned Dali costumes for Carnival. Turkish journalists and politicians have admonished the show, describing it as rebel propaganda. The Professor describes it best in season 3. “The mask has become a symbol throughout the world of resistance, of indignations, of skepticism. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it has inspired many people.” 

Ironically, Money Heist pilfered Dali’s image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation never gave the show its blessing for the use of the artist’s likeness. There’s no doubt that Dali is spinning in his grave for not getting paid royalties, but he must appreciate the surrealism here. 

Bella Ciao!

Beyond the now iconic Dali mask, Money Heist also revived a rebel ballad, the Italian protest song Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao means ‘Goodbye Beautiful’ and it was the anthem of anti-fascists of the Italian Resistance during WWII. Originally about toiling in rice fields under an oppressive boss, the lyrics evolved to describe the Resistance’s commitment to the cause with their lives. When translated from Italian, the lyrics end with “This is the flower of the partisan who died for freedom.” 

The Professor’s grandfather fought in the Italian resistance so he sings it with Berlin, his older brother, and teaches it to the gang. The song is frequently reprised throughout the series, most tellingly during the season 1 part 1 finale end credits. A montage of black-and-white footage decrying the evils of money fades to red as Bella Ciao plays.

Since Money Heist, over a dozen new versions of Bella Ciao have climbed the charts across Europe, with the Professor’s rendition placing first in Austria, second in Germany, and in the top twenty in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. It’s been covered by several EDM DJs like Steve Aoki and Hardwell. Bella Ciao has become a common chant at soccer matches, and was heard at the 2019 World Cup. When Open Arms rescued a boatload of fleeing immigrants docked in Lampedusa, the refugees sang Bella Ciao to celebrate their newfound freedom. 

The Last Times are Beyond Comparison

What might the finale hold? When we last left the gang, they were reunited in the Bank of Spain and determined to win ‘the war’ in honor of their latest fallen comrade. But Inspector Sierra got the drop on the Professor. With a gun to his head, she declared “Checkmate, son of a bitch.” Anyone who knows the show understands that it is volatile and unpredictable so it’s anyone’s guess what happens next. 

It’s clear that this is the end. When production wrapped on May 14th, Netflix tweeted “Thank you to all the fans for being part of La Resistencia! We can’t wait to show you how this story ends.”  However, Netflix is never one to kill a goose that lays golden eggs. 

Money Heist creator Álex Pina already launched another Netflix series, Sky Rojo. Season 1 premiered back in March 2021 and season 2 is slated for July. It’s the story of three women on the run, somewhat reminiscent of Thelma and Louise, only the threesome are prostitutes. It’s stylish and sexy, and received some critical acclaim. But it has nowhere near the impact of Money Heist. 

A Korean adaptation of Money Heist is in the works with Kim Hong-sun directing. Cast as the Professor is Yoo Ji Tae, who is most remembered for his mastermind role in Oldboy, and also had a part in a Korean TV adaptation of The Good Wife. Playing Tokyo will be Jeon Jong Seo, aka Rachel Jun, a newcomer with two feature films under her belt. 

This summer, an immersive event “Money Heist: The Experience” is set to tour London, Miami, Mexico City, New York, and Paris. Each city will get a different version of the experience, adapted to the venue, and the venues won’t be announced until just prior to the events open. This is another collaboration between Netflix and Fever, who previously staged “Stranger Things: The Drive Into Experience” in Los Angeles. 

Most of the cast of Money Heist were too engaged with filming the final season under pandemic restrictions to take on any new projects. The notable exception of Úrsula Corberó. Corberó is cast as the Baroness in the upcoming G.I. Joe Origins film, Snake Eyes. 

Money Heist held the title of Netflix’s most watched non-English series until a French show, ironically also about a heist, stole the crown. Lupin robbed Money Heist of the title in January 2021 racking up 76 million views. Lupin Part 2 debuted on June 11. When Money Heist returns, will it steal back Netflix’s most watched non-English series crown? Hopefully so. For Nairobi!

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Money Heist, Parts 1-4, are available on Netflix now. Season 5 Volume 1 debuts on September 3, Volume 2 arrives on December 3, 2021. 

The post Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3yesomz

[lennydaisy]

EPIPHANY SERIES // OUTER BANKS // CHAPTER THREE.

(n.) a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand. or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you.

              “Care to seize the day, my friend?”

Outer Banks                                                                                                                  Season 1-                                                                                                                      FEM OC! and ?

Here’s the link to Chapter Two in case you haven’t read it already <3 Check it out!!

Babysitting isn't for everybody. And at the beginning, I didn't think I was for me either. They say every child is different and this job has proved that couldn't be more true. Call it delusion, but I thought babysitting would be the easiest job on the planet.  Getting paid to look after someone's kid for a few hours whilst they run for the hills for a sliver of free time.  Sounds easy enough right?

Wrong!

You need to have thick skin when it comes to babysitting. No matter how much the parents reassure and praise their kid for being a literal angel on earth. That said angel will call you a do-do head at least once whilst simultaneously having a tantrum because you told them no, despite how much they promised that their parents allow them to climb onto of the refrigerator.

The first time I babysat it was actually a baby I was watching. The mom wanted to get out of the house and away from the responsibility of her 6-month-old. She had graciously written up any and every scenario that could play out in the few hours she was gone. And I was feeling confident. Until I wasn't.

They wouldn't stop crying. And their special lamb, that the board told me to give to the baby when they were upset, ran out of batteries, and I couldn't find new ones anywhere.

They refused to eat, just spitting the pureed food back in my face. They also wouldn't keep their socks on and that was the last straw for my sanity. I understood now why the mom had been quick to run out the door.

I ended up calling Kie, begging for her to come and help. I don't know how she understood a word I said, I was practically hyperventilating over the line, staring at the baby who was crawling around in a fit of rage.

Kie was truly a godsend. She somehow fed the baby and managed to get them to sleep before the mom came back. It did result in me splitting my first wage with Kie, but I wasn't complaining, I was just happy that I made it out of that house with just a headache and not an external crisis. Though that did come later.

I've babysat an 8-year-old boy, who ran away from me in the park. I did find him eventually. After giving myself a hairline fracture in my right wrist from climbing the tree he got stuck in.

I've babysat animals before. That wasn't part of my non-existing contract, but the way they spoke about their pets was very humanlike. It didn't end well for me, it never does. It resulted in me holding four leashes of four overly excited Komodo Dragons. Just kidding. The refused to move and lacked any type of emotion.

'I took you guys to the beach, be grateful.'

Now, I know what you're thinking, Komodo Dragons? Aren't those Illegal to have as pets? The answer to that question is yes! But I didn't know that. Just imagine Shoupe's face when he saw me practically dragging not one, but four, exotic animals across the boneyard. It looked suspicious is all I'm going to say.

Turns out the two guys who asked me to babysit their dragons for them we're smugglers who purchased and sold exotic animals. Not good. Apparently, they were already under the police departments radar and the pair planned on legging it to the in-country hoping to change and clear their names.

That worked out well for them, I think? Nothing else was really mentioned of it after my dad collected me from the police station. They're still on the radar, I hope. If not then there are two brawny men out there that could come and kill me in my sleep for ruining their very illegal business. Look, If you are up to some suspect things, my dumbass is the last person you'd want to be involved. I will unironically get you caught.

That's how Ward Cameron had heard about my very pristine babysitting service. Noticing the little bit of trouble that always seemed to shadow me, he offered to hire me permanently as his youngest daughter's babysitter.

That was three years ago, and here I am still babysitting Wheezie.

"This is stupid," Wheezie complains, trudging behind me, pushing forward the shopping cart filled with lost items that we found on the beach.

Since there is no internet in Kookland, in other words, Wheezie's heart line is currently in critical care. I decided to venture outdoors with her for a change. Instead of just sitting around her three-storey clubhouse or in her four-acre backyard, I thought it would be nice to comb the beach of any debris that the hurricane brought along.  

There was a lot of personal items that washed up on the beach too. Wallets, bags, photographs, books, clothes, wine bottles, footballs, toys, you get the gist. Most of them were ruined, either waterlogged or just completely useless. However, somethings just needed a good clean, and that's what we are going to spend our day doing. There is no way of telling what belongs to who, so we'll just turn them into the lost and found and hope they'll check there if it was important enough to them.

Our two trollies worth didn't even make a dent in the rubble that litters the beach, but it was a start. Say hello to a summer of hard labour.

"There was a hurricane Wheezie, have some sympathy" I roll my eyes at the girl who was less than thrilled about today's plans.

"I do have sympathy," she claims defensively, "It's just pointless.  No one's gonna come looking for this junk," eyes flickering through the findings in her trolley.

What we found isn't pointless. They belong to someone. I think about it the same way I did as a kid when I wanted every single teddy bear in my bed at night so none got left out, so I didn't hurt their feelings. A ragged old soccer ball might look worse for wear, but it has a home and I going to get it back there.

"It's not junk," I object, stopping momentarily, waiting for the stroppy pre-teen to catch up. "Say you lost your phone and someone found it, and returned it too you. You wouldn't be grateful?" I theorize in terms that I know she would understand.

"My dad would just get me a new one," she shrugs nonchalantly, not missing a beat.

"Well, not everyone's fortunate that way," I remind her, blinking suddenly as the sun shines on something reflective in the cart, blinding me.

Reaching towards the sparkling object, I realise that it appears to be quite expensive. It's a glass ashtray. Rubbing the damp sand off the surface, my thumb feels an engraving. In swirly calligraphy, reads the initials:

'S.G'

"I'm sorry," Wheezie apologizes, wincing when she heard my comment, "I didn't think-"

"-It's okay," I smile at the girl. It's not like I don't understand my current life situation. It's pretty shitty, I know, but I live with it. I was born a Pogue for a reason. I wasn't supposed to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth, though that doesn't mean I hate those who are. They have it easier than me and my family, sure, but that's just how it is in the Outer Banks. Some are more fortunate than others. It does, however, leave a sour taste in my mouth that Kook parents will just throw money at there children to get them to shut up, but that's just a Pogue's opinion.

The generators haven't kicked in yet, seeing as though the Camerons security code gate is bouncing loosely against its unlocked hinges. Holding the gate open for Wheezie to push by with her cart, I catch a glimpse of their usually perfectly mowed lawn. Instead, I see plenty of fallen trees and scattered branches, broken plant pots, and ruined garden monuments. It’s not a good look, especially for the high-class Camerons.

That just goes to show, hurricane's don't show mercy on anyone, Kook or not.

As a wise man once said; 'Thanks Agatha, ya batch.'

Parking our carts beside the Cameron's private pool, away from the workers who are just trying to do their jobs. I turn to Wheezie saying, "You go get some soapy water and gloves and I'll empty the carts."

Nodding her head, she rushes into her house, leaving me slightly confused, 'Where did the sudden enthusiasm come from?'

Emptying the carts, I lay out what needs to be cleaned the most: from a bronze candlestick holder to a old, yet unique, shoe buckle, and everything in between. And of course, the ashtray. 

Holding it gently in my palms, legs crossed against the cold slabs, I couldn't help but feel hypnotised by the intricate marks that littered the tray. It truly was a lost treasure.

"I'll take that," announces a voice from behind my hunched figure, jumping when a hand snatches the tray from my grip.

Coming to my feet, I'm ready to snatch the tray back from the sudden thief, but I stop when I realise who it is. Why am I not surprised, I am on their turf.

If it isn't dumb, dumber and dumbest.

Throwing the delicate glass from hand to hand, Rafe lets out a low whistle, "Check the weight on that," he tosses it to Kelce who was standing tall behind him. Kelce nods his head in approval, of course agreeing with what Rafe has to say.

"Who did you steal that from Pogue?" Rafe smirks thinking he has me sussed out. Not wanting to give the satisfaction that him lobbing around the ashtray is causing me heart amputations, I stare him in the eye, "I didn't steal it. I found it."

"You did, did you," he utters pushing past me, his head low with a sick smile, taking in the view of the tressures that I had laid out, "And what about all this? Did you just find that too?"

I say nothing. He knows the answer to that question. I already told him. I don't need to explain myself, especially not to Rafe Cameron.

His eyes flicker over Wheezie and I's findings, taking in each and everyone with a curious eye,  before he cracked, "Bunch of junk," kicking some of the items into the pool.

All I could do was stare. Stare as someone's possessions sunk to the bottom of the marble pool, clashing and crumbling at the foot of Rafe. I fell sick.

His friend just laughs, egging him on. Kelce patting him proudly on the back, handing him back the ashtray. Rafe turns to face me, that smirk never leaving his face, but I can't look at him. I refuse to.

"-Hey Rafe, dad's looking for you," a soft voice breaks the harsh glare that Rafe was sending my way. Nodding his head at the voice, he holds the ashtray out for me to take.

It was too good to be true.

Gullible enough, I reach out for it, only to have it slip through my fingertips. Unable to hear the shattering of the glass as it hits the red slab, my brain refuses to accept fate as I stare down at the shards.

Laughing lightly, I bite my lip, nodding my head understandingly, not expecting anything less from Rafe. A sharp grip on my wrist snaps up my damp eyes, "See you later, Pogue," he hisses in my numb ear, before marching away as though nothing happened.

Sensing a presence, I meet eyes with the 3rd and final member of Rafe's crowd.

Topper.

Smiling lopsidedly at the well put together boy who hasn't moved or spoken since showing up, "Nice friends you've got there Topper," I say monotoned, watching as the boy snaps out of his trance-like state before following Rafe with a blank expression and his tail between his legs.

Shuddering out a breath, I unclip my waist bag and begin to pick up the chunks of glass. Pausing when a pair of clean, white shoes entre my line of sight, "Careful," she crounches down, picking up a shard, placing it into my bag.

A few minutes of picking up the sizable pieces, all that was left on the slabs was a glittering shimmer. Satisfied with what was salvaged, we stand back up to our full height. It was silent. Awkwardly silent.

"Thank you," I shyly say, not at all pleased that the Cameron girl had caught me in a moment of weakness, but at least she didn't mock me for it.

"Your welcome," she smiles before reaching for the tennis rackets she had thrown on the ground before coming to help me. Certain that was the end of the exchange, I turned back to the pool where pieces of metal and loose book pages float carelessly on the surface.

It was just a bunch of junk anyway.

"Hey," Sarah turns, rubbing the back of her head subconsciously, "I'm going to save mice from the birds," she says, pointing out to the bottom of her garden where the surge has blown over, waterlogging the grass.

I just blink at the girl, confused as to why she is even telling me this. Letting out a gentle huff, "I have a spare racket," she offers, holding out one of the two rackets she has in her hands.

Finally catching what she's throwing, I look anywhere but her direction, "I can't," hoping to find a legit excuse as to why I don't want to help her be a hero for mice. Then it hit me, "I'm supposed to be babysitting Wheezie."

My triumphant smile fell as fast as it came when Sarah says, "The powers back on, Wheezie will not willingly come outside again," still holding out the bat for me to take, "Also, my dad's back, so your shift ended about 20 minutes ago."

The more reasons she adds, the more difficult she is making it to say no, and she knows it as well. Her eyebrows dancing lightly as she waves the racket around like a tempting treat.

Giving in, seeing as though I have run out of excuses to give, I grudgingly accept the racket. Maybe her being the sworn enemy of my best friend would have been a good excuse, but I didn't think of that at the time. And what would I of said:

'Oh, I can't help you, even though you selflessly helped me, because my best friend hates your guts.'

What are we, middleschoolers?

I can't help but feel wrong about it though. Like I'm betraying my role as a pogue, as a best friend. But if I feel that way about just being near the kook princess, that doesn't make me any better than her brother. A judgmental prick.

Let's call it paying back a debt. She helped me, now I'll help her. Tit for tat. Anything to make my mind feel at ease.

Walking behind the women who seemed to be on a mission, I'm met by the shrieking flock of overhead seagulls, each nosediving into the burrows, hoping to catch their next meal.

"Operation ‘Save The Mice’ is a go," she announces, holding out her racket waiting for me to tap mines against hers, declaring our battle. I couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Why does this concern us?" tapping my racket unsurely against hers.

Nodding her head in confirmation, she takes her stance, eyes now set on the sky. "You have about as much compassion as a rock," she focusses her swing, untimely missing by a long shot. It was entertaining to watch, I'm not going to lie.

"Tell me something I don't know," I reply, leaping back as the girl swings her racket with vigour and fury at the diving gulls. I can't help but laugh at her attempts.

Having enough of my laughter she turns around, a challenging look flaring in her eyes, "Think you can do any better?"

I just shrug my shoulders, twirling the racket around my fingers, smirking at my trick, but Sarah just looks unimpressed. Watching as a flock of gulls take their position to dive,  I jump as high as possible hoping to swat them away.

At that moment I learned something about human capability. Humans shouldn't jump. Like ever. It's embarrassing. What do we expect? To touch the stars? It's nice to dream and imagine that when we push both legs of the ground, arms reaching high, that we are close to flying. Let's just say my non-existing dream to become an Olympic long jumper has just flushed down the toilet.

Another thing I learned is that when you swing a racket, with force, at a cluster of hungry Seagulls, you will get attacked. The only thing between them and they're next meal is me, and they didn't hesitate to remove me from the situation.

Letting out a shriek, I run away from the burrows, hands protecting my head as the birds swoop at me. Without a second thought, I run behind Sarah, using her as a shield to protect my crouching figure from the diving gulls.

After two minutes of fearing for my life, I can't help but chuckle at myself. And Sarah joins in, shoving my arm lightly, pushing me away from hiding behind her. The sudden shove causes me to stumble over my own feet, falling back on the grass. I couldn't help but laugh more, seeing stars as my stomach cramps in pain.

Sarah holds out her hand, trying her best to keep her balance from laughing, offering to help me up. I accept without a second thought, allowing her to pull me to my feet. Both smiling widely at our stupidity.

"Let's get these birds," I smirked at the girl who nodded her head in agreement. Both of us taking a battle stance, ready to defend our people. Or well Mice. They attack us, we attack them.

A cold shadow suddenly covers the setting sun that was shining against us. We let out another shriek, holding each other as we attempt to duck from the relentless gulls, running away from the burrows.

"Sarah!" I hear someone shout over our screams. Too busy protecting ourselves, we didn't even register the voice, "Mason?!" They ask in confusion.

Finally feeling safe enough from the killer birds, I look up to see Mr Cameron making his way towards us with Lana Grubbs at his side. 'Why is she here?'

"We're busy!" Sarah exclaims, picking up and tossing me the racket I had dropped when I fell, going back to swinging at the birds. She takes one side of the burrows and I take the other, waving around my racket. At this point I don't even care about the mice, those birds attacked me! So, I'm attacking them!

"What are you two doing?" Mr Cameron asks, not understanding why his daughter and his hired babysitter are running around like headless chickens.

"Saving mice," I reply, flashing my eyes over to the man, who stands with an ever so slightly amused look. "The birds are having a field day," Sarah adds, pulling me with her, chasing after the devils in the sky.

"Girls, the birds have to eat too," He implies, but we didn't hear any of it, still aimlessly swinging. "No, it's a mouse genocide out here," Sarah states breathlessly.

"It's the circle of life," Mr Cameron's patience was running thinner, "Now come on, I have a human being-" finally introducing the other presence in the garden. This pauses our attack, both looking apologetically at the lady, "-I'm so sorry. I'm Sarah."

Shaking the ladies hand, "This is Lana Grubbs, Scooter's wife," Mr Cameron introduces, "You were storm prepping with him, right?" he asks his daughter.

"Yeah," she answers, still breathless, "He helped me latch the cabin to the Druthers," nodding her head in the direction of the docked boat at the end of the pier.

'It's a nice boat,' I thought taking in the beauty of the three-story yacht, 'You can't hide money, huh.'

"Last night?"

"Yeah."

"And did he go out after that?"

"From here?"

"Yeah."

"No. Are you crazy? There was a hurricane," Sarah laughs lightly at the thought of someone willingly going out during a storm.'I could think of a few people,'  bringing my attention back to the two adults in front of me.

"Well, did he say where he was going?" Miss Lana asks, her eyes erratic, "Get a phone call or mention anything?" The desperation lacing her voice makes my heart stop with sympathy for the woman.

"He didn't say anything to me," Sarah shakes her head, her tone not hiding her pity for the lady.

"What about you Mason?" Mr Cameron asks me, "Have you seen Scooter recently?" his questions sparking Miss Lana to look my way, her eyes glistening with withering hope.

"The last I saw of him was when Pope and I delivered to your house," regret instantly hit me, as I had to be the bearer of bad news. It was true though. The last time I saw Scooter was earlier this week when he opened the door for his groceries. I've seen him at Save-A-Lot a few times, but that was months ago when I had to tell him to leave because other customers were complaining that he was bothering them for money.

"I'm sorry," I apologise to the lady who just shakes her head, looking at the ground.

"Is he okay?" Sarah asks her dad who just nods, wrapping an arm around Miss Lana, "He's absolutely fine," he reassures Sarah, before guiding the dazed woman back towards the house.

"Oh!" I hear Mr Cameron exclaim, spinning round to face me, digging through his pockets, "Thank you for watching Wheezie today," he says, placing a brown envelope in my hand.

"Thank you, sir," I smile with gratitude as he makes his leave again.

Sighing, I slap the envelope a few times in my hand, turn back to a Sarah. I go to snap her out of her daydream, but get interrupted by a distant voice, "Hey Sarah!"

At the top of the disarranged lawn stood a scornful Topper, hands in his pockets as he looks down on us, making his way over at a snail pace.

"You better go," I flick my head in the direction of her boyfriend whose eyes are slitted with distaste. Holding out the racket for her to take, she nods her head and makes her way over to Topper, not even sparing me a glance.

I get it.

"I want you to stay away from that pogue, alright?" I hear him utter not so quietly under his breath, knowing fine well that I'm still able to hear him. I pay him no mind, finding my own way out. That's what he wants. Attention. That's always been what Toppers wants. And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction. Not anymore.

Humming a gentle tune under my breath as I make my way towards the gate. I double-take when I spot a hunched figure sitting by the pool, "Wheezie?"

My sudden appearance spooking her as she ripped the earphones out from her ears, the buds projecting a catchy pop beat. The girl sat on the cold slabs, clad in yellow rubber gloves and safety goggles, surrounded my various cleaning tools: a basin of soapy water, a toothbrush, a blow torch?

"What are you doing?" I ask sceptically, making my way towards her as she stuttered over her words before giving up with a sigh.

"I heard what Rafe said," she admits, her voice low as though afraid to speak out against her brother. That's the Rafe effect. He gets off on it. Knowing that everyone around him, his family included, is too scared to tell him he's a mess with even messier opinions. "And it not true," she adds.

Wheezie walks over, holding out the shoe buckle that we found on the beach. The once rusted and unrecognisable buckle now sparkled a blinding silver, and despite its eroded corners, it was still in great condition, "Pretty, right?" she notices my expression, "That's not the best part," she claims, turning over the buckle,  holding it out of me to take.

Engraved on the silver base scribed, 'Made in Occupied Japan.'

"I couldn't save everything, like books and stuff, but I tried my best. I even made a box and everything," She rambles, rushing over to pick up the homemade box that read, "Lost and Found," painted in bold, pink lettering. In the box sat: a polished pin, the candlestick holder, a handful of leather wallets and all the other salvageable treasure that we found. And now the shoe buckle.

"It's not junk," she says, passing me the box, "They belong to someone and I hope they find them," she says, rubbing the back of her tinted red neck, finally understanding why I had her help me in the first place.

It's not junk.

I'm not great when it comes to other peoples emotions. They make me want to shrivel up and go invisible, but I can't help but admire the girls change of heart, but I'm still awkward so, I just ruffle her hair, hoping the annoying act conveys my gratitude.

Having enough of me for one day, Wheezie pushes me toward the gate, practically kicking me out. "See you next time kid," I shout over my shoulder, smiling as her face grovels at the word 'kid'.

Basking at my long journey home, I give up attempting to balance the light box in my arms. I place it on the sidewalk, unzipping my waist bag wanting to tuck the brown envelope, that I was struggling to hold, away. 

The clattering of glass pauses my actions. Reaching in, I pick out a small piece, watching as the setting sun danced across the surface, shining every colour of the rainbow onto the tarmac.

'S.G'

Chapter Three: FIN!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, even though it’s kind of filler. Kie would be proud of Mason for beach combing, her tendencies are rubbing off on her.

I choose for Mason not to go to the motel because that’s just what I choose, I don’t really have a reason why. Well I do, but I can’t tell you yet. You’ll find out eventually, if my idea goes to plan...

So we learned about Mason very perfessional babysitting service. Also I know that Rafe is, y’know bad, but I’m excited to explore Mason’s relationship with him. It will be interesting to write!

What did you think?

I’m really excited to write the next chapter. Mason is going to get buzzed.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3

Also, if anyone would like to be tagged in future chapters, just let me know and I’ll for sure do that!

*TAGLIST*

@xshinytrashcanx​ @prejudic3​ @annoylinglyaries​

[unloveable-unreachable]

You’re the One My Heart Wants- Chapter 2

Word Count: 2,034

Warnings:  I’m just giving out a warning before you read this chapter. There’s a lot of sensitive topics being talked about, especially family problems. If that can be triggering to you then please don’t read this chapter. & Swearing

Author: Me

Y/N POV

“Y/N!” Ali calls from the top of the trail with Logan, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Come on sleepy head. I bet you’re regretting some of those drinks by now,” she laughs, “Catch up, Ash found a spot and has lunch ready.” I will never understand why they enjoy doing this every weekend and on their off days. I’d rather be at the gym working out than being out in nature with the bugs. I have nothing against bugs really, it’s spiders that I have a problem with. Fuck spiders. I hear Ali threaten to send Ash down for me, and if there’s one thing I know better than anything- don’t piss off Ashlyn Harris. I love both of my moms equally, but Ash just scares me when she gets pissed off (so does Ali, but don’t tell her that). I pick up my pace, but if I’m being honest I can’t shake what’s taking up my mind.

“Can I sleep with you?” Alex asks with puppy dog eyes that could sway Thanos himself. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. How could anyone tell this angelic being no?? It seems absolutely impossible for me. “Um, yeah. Of course, no problem,” I manage to get out even though I’m still completely breathless from the sight of her. She smiles brightly at me and steps in my room. I shut the door, take a breath and finally turn to face her.

“Hey Y/N, are you okay?” Ash says before biting into her apple. Ali looks at me with concern, normally I’d joke with her and tell her that her mom was showing but I refrain from that joke just for the moment. “Yeah mom, I’m okay. I just have a lot on my mind right now,” I respond. They take that as a good answer even though I know I’m hiding something from them. But what was I even hiding? I didn’t understand it enough to explain it, or even remember the whole thing fully. “Was that Alex’s car in your driveway when I came to pick you up?” Ali asks while watching Logan chase a squirrel around a tree. Ash looks at both of us a little confused she wasn’t informed beforehand. Ali just gives her a small smile before focusing all of her attention to me. I freeze at the mention of Alex. “Uh, yeah it was. She and Kelley came over last night for drinks and they just stayed the night. Kelley left right before you got there,” I say as Ash passes me a bottle of water. “What about Alex? Where was she when I got there?” Ali asks with confusion clear on her face. “She was still passed out upstairs when I left,” is all I answer.

“Aren’t you gonna get in bed?” Drunk Alex asks. I’m literally so nervous, I still haven’t moved from the spot by my dresser. “Uh, yeah. Hold on,” I answer as I step into my bathroom. I hear Alex call out my name as I splash a shit ton of water over my face. Why am I freaking out? She’s straight. I never considered her before, even though I’m sure as hell doing it now. “It’ll be fine,” I state to myself in the mirror before opening the door. As I step out, all I see is her sitting up, staring at me with her ocean eyes.

After finishing up the hellish hike, that’s just my opinion, I follow Ali back to her car. But not before telling Logan bye and giving Ash a big bear hug, since we’re practically the same size except I’m just slightly taller than her. She pats the top of my head before I jog over to Ali’s car, and we head back to my house. For probably the first time ever me and Ali sit in awkward silence. She breaks the silence first, “So just to be clear, you are gay. Right?” I’m caught by surprise by what she says, not offended just surprised. I look up at her and I can immediately see the concern in her eyes. I sigh. “Yes I am, but not openly with my family,” I say as I look down at my hands. Ali is silent for maybe two minutes before she lets out a long sigh. She pulls the car over in a parking lot I don’t recognize. I’m in a state of confusion, while Ali looks like she’s trying to figure out what exactly to say. “I support your life choices. I know how hard it was for you to leave Portland, mostly because you would call me or Ash every night crying. And that broke our hearts, and we were happy knowing that you would be coming here where we can be there for you no matter what. The team is happy you’re here, especially me and Ash. We’ve loved you since 2015, back when you were still our little rookie,” she stops trying to compose herself. “Can you tell me why your family doesn’t know?” Ali finally finishes with a shaky voice.

As she spoke, I just looked at her, studying her face. She wasn’t just a teammate to me, she’s someone I looked up to when I made my way up to the professional level. This was Ali Krieger for god’s sake, I’ve never seen her get this emotional, ever. She, along with Ash, is someone I look up to in my career and my personal life. She was more of a mom to me than my own mother ever was. She’s been there through everything, my wins and loses and my injuries at the start of my career. She and Ash are the family I never knew I could have, or even deserved. But I’m glad I have them now. So after all of this, why had I waited so long to tell her the truth about my family, and why I never really talked about or to them? Would that change her view of me? I didn’t want pity from anyone when it comes to my family, and I know she wouldn’t give me any. This was the best time to tell her, especially since she’s being so open with me.

I swallow hard before blurting everything out to her. “My family is a difficult one to understand. My grandfather is a football coach and a hateful man. He never supported me when I started playing soccer. My grandmothers are homophobic, and when I say that I mean they are hateful towards them like you’ve never seen. And my mom didn’t hide her view on gay people either. I’m the oldest sister of three girls. Ever since I can remember I’ve been expected to be great, no excuses. They forced me into sports I didn’t like, so when I went into soccer I became the disappointment of the family. I don’t know what they have against the sport, or why me playing it was such a big deal. I thought they would support my choice in playing the sport I loved like they supported my sisters in the things they did. No matter what I do, or how successful I am, it’s never enough for them. I’m the most successful out of my sisters. They’re praised because they have husbands and children, fulfilling their ‘birthright’. And through all of that, I’m left in the background. My family’s view on gay people hasn’t changed since I was young enough to know what they were talking about, and I realized how wrong they were even back then. I figured out I was gay when I was 13, and any sign of that had to be hidden away or I’d be punished. If they ever found out that I’m gay, I wouldn’t just be the disappointment. I would be completely disowned, meaning no contact ever again from anyone. I can’t lose my family,” I say through the tears that started at some point.

Ali was crying, too. Like uncontrollable sobs were coming from both of us. She reached for me, pulling me into a tight hug. This caused me to cry harder into her shoulder, and I could feel her physically shaking from her cries. We both comforted each other until Ali finally spoke up. “I’m so so sorry, Y/N. That should never be something you should have to worry about. If they can’t accept you for who you are, then you don’t deserve them and they definitely don’t deserve you,” she says as she brushes a tear from my cheek. “You have a family. Me, Ash, and Logan are your family. Hell, even Kyle’s your family,” she laughs, “And we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, I promise.” That last sentence hit my heart so hard it made me cry even more. I pull her into another hug, only this one much tighter. “I love you, Ali,” I say through my soft sobs. “I love you too, kiddo.”

Ali finally gets me back to my house after our heart-to-heart. Our car ride home let me think over all of the shit my family has put me through and how my family, that was Ali and Ash, treated me with more respect than my actual one ever did. I think I’ve come up with my decision about how to handle my family, finally. We pull in the driveway, and Alex’s car is gone. “So about Alex…” Ali starts to say as I go to get out of the car. “Yeah?” I asked confused. “She’s been through a lot, just be careful,” Ali says knowingly. I roll my eyes and say, “Careful Ali, your mom is showing.” She lets out a small laugh but goes back to a semi-serious look. “We’re just friends. Don’t worry so much, mom,” I say with a little smile at the end. I manage to get another laugh from her before we say our goodbyes.

I walked into my now empty house, besides Luna of course, and I keep getting flashbacks from the night before. A lot of them are of me dealing with a very drunk Kelley, a few are of me getting more alcohol, and a very select few have Alex in them. I move throughout the house fighting with the flashbacks while I try to clean up our collective messes from last night. When I make it up to my room, I notice that the bed is made and the room seems cleaner for some reason. I lean against the door, trying to piece together everything that happened and trying to figure out if I did something wrong. I look over at my bed, and suddenly I’m pulled back into a flashback.

“Alex, go to bed,” I whine as Alex keeps moving the bed. “I need to get comfy,” she says, giggling at the last word. I turn towards her and give her a serious look. “What do I need to do to get you ‘comfy’?” I ask as she starts giggling at that damn word again. When she finally stops she asks “Can we cuddle?” I roll my eyes, although she’d never notice because of the darkness and her drunkness, thinking that I could be asleep right now. I open my arms, inviting her in. She lets out a small squeal as she accepts my invitation, which was adorable. Just stating facts. She wraps her arms around my waist and snuggles into my chest. We lay there long enough for me to start drifting off to sleep, just to be woken up by Alex propping herself up on my chest. When I look up at her, even in the darkness, I could tell our faces were inches apart. And I could feel her breath on my lips.

I come out of my thoughts with Luna bringing something to me. “Whatcha got, Luna?” I ask as I lean down to take whatever it was from her mouth. It’s a note with my name on it. I make my way to the bed, sit down and open it. I sit in a frozen state as I read the seven words on the page.

“I can explain, can we please talk?”

To Be Continued

[artemismoon12writes]

Title: Five Meetings

Daltonfic Big Bang; Week 2, Day 6- Met as Kids  The First Time the Serendipity Hill Hunters met Dwight, and the first time he met one of them. 

March 3rd, 1995

Dwight was the first person Lucas ever met. Well, the only one that mattered. Great Aunt Ingrid doesn’t count as someone worth meeting. Lucas knew he met Dwight before he could even remember what remembering was. He was smaller, fluffy haired, and was fussy. Lucas’s mother told him he had never been a fussy baby; he even shared his toys! Dwight shared as well, but he made sure his stuff didn’t get broken- keeping a sharp look on it, fascinated with every bright colour and shiny edge, wailing when it was out of sight. Lucas simply marvelled when it was reintroduced. The difference in philosophy made games more, creative.

Picture two babies, too early to even speak, simply throwing rocks at each other until they realized maybe that might hurt. That was Dwight and Lucas.

The two of them seemed to take great pleasure each time they drove an adult up the wall. Agatha and her cousin drove themselves to distraction trying to keep their sons entertained and alive. Mostly, they succeed. Each time the boys found a new hiding spot, the nannies and their mothers searched frantically for the babies. Often times, Lucas led Dwight into fruit baskets, cupboards, and a notable incident where they hid in the washing machine for two hours- giggling and passing a bowl of cheerios.

Their mothers couldn’t help but love them. Their nannies asked for a raise.

September 1st, 2001

Sadie knew lots of people. There was Steven from the grocery store; Yolanda delivered the paper; and Carlson Mackenzie was the security guard at the edge of Serendipity Hill who let them in and out to go to school. Knowing lots of people didn’t mean she could not be fascinated by the boy next to her in St. Ignatius. Mrs. MacPherson sorted boy-girl-boy-girl seating; which got her next to the boy with the pencil case covered in lightning bolt stickers. He looked like the type of boy her mama would pinch sharply, and order to eat three extra empanadas before he fell over in a stiff breeze. What a stiff breeze was, Sadie’s mama would not say.

“I like your stickers Tommy.” Sadie said, treating the boy with a curious look.

“My name’s Dwight.” He said, huffing.

“You’re lying.” She said, pointing. “The name tag on your desk says Thomas.”

“Only my mom is allowed to call me Thomas. I like Dwight better.”

“You can’t just rename yourself!” Sadie said, leaning back scandalised.

“Can too! See?” He said, proudly flipping the pencil case around to show his name in (presumably) his own shaky handwriting. “Besides, it’s my middle name anyways. When we get confirmed I’ll choose an even better third name so no one will ever remember I was a Thomas.”

“Okay then.” She said, contemplating. “I guess that makes sense.”

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Sadie.” She said, sticking out her hand. “You’re going to tell me where you got those stickers, and then I’m going to find you an even better-even better third name.”

He shook it. They hadn’t learnt about cooties yet, and by the time they did they’d already be friends.

 September 4th, 2004

New neighbourhood, new school, new day. Morgan ran his hand over his freshly shaved hair, no more letters home about ‘inappropriate’ school attire. He didn’t want trouble. If everyone would just leave him alone and let him read he’d be fine, but it was always them who seemed to find things wrong. He didn’t want to play soccer, or football, or four square; he didn’t want to learn about histories of evil people; he didn’t want to sit through liars in front of the chapel, when his grandmother had told him the only reason he was here with the nuns was the other private school was a ‘bad school’- public was even worse. He had to believe they were worse.

Every new grade was more of the same mean kids forcing their mean opinions onto him. Taking his glasses, stealing his books, calling him a nerd. It was tiring. He lost half a binder of rare Digimon cards to that stupidity (if his mom could read his mind….) 

Well, luck would happen that he found someone even more troublesome than him. 

“We’re friends! I was helping her with her sweater!”

“Sister Cathy, he’s telling the truth!”

“Missy, you’ll be thanking me when you’re older. Boys only one thing, and before you know it they’ll have you ruined!” One of the staff had a white- and god was he white- boy by the ear, intent on dragging him away. A darker girl with brown hair stood next to the row of lockers, her school sweater rumpled and backwards. “You’re coming with me to the Chaplin’s office to reflect upon your behaviour!”

The girl looked around, frustrated and angry as the plain-clothesed nun dragged her friend away. Her eyes met Morgan’s; she was asking for help. He sighed. Hopefully this wouldn’t backfire.

“Um, Sister? I saw the whole thing. They’re telling the truth.” Morgan spoke up, raising his hand like he was still in class.

She whirled about. “What?”

Morgan stepped back, looking back to the girl. Her eyes were wide and expectant.

“Um, he was just helping her with her sweater. It’s not anything bad.” He paused. “And I’m not lying about it, because if I was then I’d go to hell right? I don’t want that.”

She paused, releasing her grip on the boy’s ear. She looked between the three of them. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you Thomas Perry.”

The nun stalked off, leaving the girl to sigh in relief. The boy only rubbed his abused ear and mutter, “Dwight! My name is Dwight.”

“Thank you!” The girl said, turning to Morgan. “It means a lot! His mom would kill him if he got sent to the Chaplin on the first day of school.”

“Um no problem.” Morgan said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond as the two of them went right back to pulling at the girl’s sweater. “Uh, was I really lying then?”

The two flushed. “NO!”

She dug up under the sweater, seemingly finding what she was looking for and just tearing the fabric. Her hand reappeared with a safety pin which let the slack back into the sweater. “I put it on wrong when I got it out of my locker and it snagged on the pin. Dwight was helping me without ripping it.”

“But you just ripped it, the ribbon charm only works if it stays pinned.” Dwight complained, leaning back against the lockers.

“We’ll redo it.” She assured him, patting his shoulder. “Hey, new kid what’s your name?”

“Morgan Powell.” He found himself saying. “I just moved into Serendipity Hill this year.”

“Oh no way!” She said excited. “I’m Sadie Moore, this is Dwight Perry. We live in Serendipity Hill as well. You must be the new kid in the old Richards house! I knew I read the cards right last week!”

“Cards?” Morgan asked.

“I’m learning Tarot. I’ll teach you!” She said excitedly. “Do you want to sit at our table at Lunch? We’re planning how to get Dwight’s cousin Lucas to tell us all about if the Grade 6 Class really is haunted by Father Rodriguez’ ghost.”  

Morgan smiled. “I’d like that.” He meant it.

 February 14th, 2011

Laura Bancroft didn’t have time to glare at Dwight Houston; she was worrying about bigger things than a boy who couldn’t even apologize when he ran into her.

“Did you see that?” She hissed, nodding to the pair she’d been following around. Justin said he was one of their new Hanovers. She didn’t trust him. She’d heard rumours about Houston, he had to sense something wrong with the kid.

“Yeah.” Dwight sounded unsure. Not helpful. “Do you know him?”

“Julian Larson, if the talking fangirls are to be trusted.” She zeroed in on her target, hiding behind the table to avoid detection. “That boy over there, he’s Adam. My brother says he’s a Hanover like him.”

“Well don’t you think he’s a little strange, that Adam guy…” Dwight started.

Laura could have cheered. Yes! Excellent! He got it. Dwight glanced back to her, “And I don’t expect you’d understand, coming from Windsor we-”

She cut him off. “You don’t know many Hanovers do you?”

This just might work.

 July 23rd, 2001

“Tommy, sweetie, do you want to hold him?” His mother whispered, holding the bundle in her arms.

Dwight looked at the baby, then back to his mother. “Can I?”

He didn’t know if he could. He was so small. What if he broke him?

“Go on kiddo,” his dad said, patting him on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Just support his head…”

Dwight felt nervous. This was his baby brother. Brothers were special, babies were special- especially little ones. They would look up to you, and love you, and everything you did was supposed to make sure they didn’t have a bad life ever.

His father helped his mom reach out, placing the bulky blankets into his arms. She was tired, but Dwight wasn’t. Maybe he could help by holding the baby?

His brother was tiny. He didn’t know anything could be this tiny. He had wide eyes the same colour as Dwight’s. Other than that, he couldn’t see much of the baby, making gurgling noises up at him.

“Hi Alan.” Dwight said solemnly, remembering his dad was there and he expected him to be a big boy. “I’m your brother Thomas. It’s good to meet you.”

“You don’t have to be so serious sweetie.” His mom said, hair stuck to her forehead even as she laughed softly.

“He’s being responsible Agatha, I think it’s precious.” His dad said, sitting on the end of the bed; a fond expression at the group of them.

Dwight held on, not allowing his arms to tire even though Alan was heavier than he looked. “I’ll teach you all the best games, and Luke and I will show you all the best hiding spots, and oh! I’ll never let anyone hurt you ‘cause that’s what big brothers do. They protect their little brothers.”

He pressed a kiss to Alan’s forehead, “I promise.”

[alarriefantasy]

Do you have a footie!louis rec?? I really love ones where he is a professional player. Thank you!!

YES, I DO! Here you go, darling!! :) :) :)

                                      Football Louis Fic Rec

I made a map of your stars by brightbluelou

Words: 5k

or, Harry is the shy boy in the back of the class that no one really notices. Louis is the loud, outgoing football player that everybody likes.

I Long For You by itsprobablylarry

Words: 6k

Harry gets hit in the head by various objects and falls for a boy with blue eyes.

say i hate you but i always stay by clicheanna 

Words: 8k

Or the one where Harry hates Louis, he's almost sure Louis hates him, and they live together. Driving him to football practice everyday is not apart of Harry's plans, but Louis is pretty adamant if it means annoying Harry.

Satan's Got a New Headscarf by larryscape

Words: 9k

Louis: senior captain of the uni football team, president of the literary magazine club, possible theatre major, official loather of anyone who acts a certain way just to fit the theme of their Tumblr

Zayn: senior, does not understand sports, claims to not be addicted to cigarettes, is addicted to cigarettes, proud roommate and bestfriend of Louis

Liam: junior, best friend of Niall Horan and also spell-check, shows up at literary magazine club but has yet to publish anything that does not look like the twitter page of a twelve-year-old

Niall: junior, famous for sonnets about bacon and other breakfast-related items, says he is on the football team, is not really on the football team

Harry: sophomore, wearer of headscarves and skinny jeans, apparent fan of 20th century poetry, unsurprisingly dabbles in the ukulele

we're the new romantics by lovefern 

Words: 16k

Alternatively, a high school au where Louis pines and Harry is not who he seems to be. Featuring peanut butter banana milkshakes, motorcycles, and first times.

say that you can see me (i'll speak up i swear) by coffeelouis 

Words: 20k

or, the liberal arts COLLEGE AU where Harry knows Louis as the best friend of the boy he has been hopelessly in love with for years now and Louis knows Harry as this boy he wished would look away from Zayn long enough to notice him.

Monsters at Home by theteapirate

Words: 21k

High School!AU. Everyone's eyes are on Harry, the beautiful, charming new student. Harry's only got eyes for the school golden boy: football captain Louis Tomlinson, whose homophobic father complicates matters a bit.

Ain't That A Kick In The Head! by lesbianharrie, wreckingtomlinson

Words: 22k

In which Harry’s a disaster gay who doesn’t know shit about soccer, Liam drinks too many blue raspberry Coolattas, Niall knows everyone, Zayn looks dead, and Louis is Not Happy about sharing his breakout moment with “Drunk Hawaiian Guy.”

Barefoot in Blue Jeans by indiaalphawhiskey

Words: 24k

AU. Louis Tomlinson is trying desperately hard not to fall for his son’s au pair, but he can’t, for the life of him, remember why.

Find Another One, Cause She Belongs To Me by AFangirlFantasy, larrysfootballfairy

Words: 25k

or a Girl Direction Uni AU, where Louis is desperately in love with her best friend Harry, who might not be as straight as she thought, Ziam can't fool anyone, and Niall is just happy with football being her only relationship.

You Make Me Want To Sin by lonelymisfit

Words: 28k

Or the very bregruding college AU where Louis is a bad ass frat boy and Harry is a shy and conservative catholic boy who wants to know whether Louis can show him what else he can do on his knees besides pray.

so grab your passport and my hand by infinitelymint

Words: 32k

The one in which Louis plays football and Harry sings a lot, and somehow that means they're meant to be. They'll figure it out soon enough.

Galileo by 13ways

Words: 63k

Louis was captain of the state championship high school soccer team. Harry was that gorgeous, scarf-wearing, long-limbed British kid in his art class. They weren't supposed to be friends.

But somewhere along the line, Louis Tomlinson opened the locked mystery that was Harry Styles.

I hear you calling in the dead of night by Thelonelycoast

Words: 72k

No one really notices Marcel Styles. In fact, Marcel’s so invisible that if his teachers don’t call on him in lessons - and they rarely do - Marcel can go whole days without speaking to anyone other than his mum, his sister, Gemma, his cat, Dusty and the school librarian, Alma. And if he just so happens to have a tiny, miniscule crush on the footie captain, Louis Tomlinson, well, that’s no one’s business but his own. Until Louis notices him back...

This Offer Stands Forever by Tomlinsontoes

Words: 78k

Harry is who high school kids would define as a nerd, he loved going to class and studying, he was just good at school work and saw nothing wrong with liking it. He signs up to tutor students at the middle school down the road where he ends up helping Lottie Tomlinson, younger sister to the ever popular and gorgeous Louis Tomlinson who is also a senior and in a few classes of Harry's. Harry might have a crush on him and not so sure how to act around Louis but hopes he can get close to the other boy and learn everything about him.

i want you so much (but i hate your guts) by becauselarry

Words: 83k

AU in which Louis gets accepted to play for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta Football Team. The only problem: Louis is actually an Omega. He is determined to make it big in the football world, though, and he can't do that bound to an Omega team. With the help of a faked doctor's certificate and some pretty strong suppressants he is ready to fight for his dream.

That Harry Styles (Alpha, second year and youngest football captain of the A-B team in ages) doesn't seem to like him complicates matters, though.

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by 1Diamondinthesun 

Words: 84k

Harry spends most of his time in an empty house or a lonely darkroom, dreaming of leaving his small town for art school. He's invisible to most people. And then Louis Tomlinson sees him. Life will never be the same.

Or, the American high school AU loosely inspired by She's All That.

Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame)by theboyfriendstagram

Words: 84k

A self-indulgent AU that takes place over the summer of 2015. 18 year old Harry hates pining after people he can't have, and 23 year old footballer Louis loves flirting with people even though it never means anything.

For Reasons Wretched and Divine by indiaalphawhiskey

Words: 94k

Ten years ago, Harry Styles was just a nerdy kid with one friend and a debilitating crush on the captain of his school’s football team. He thought the stars were smiling down on him the day he and Louis Tomlinson were paired for their end-of-term Literature project. But because Harry’s life is decidedly not a fairytale, the budding friendship quickly leads to the least happy ending of all time.

Now, Harry Styles is a household name. Barely twenty-seven with two Grammy nominations to his name, the singer-songwriter is poised to take the music industry by storm with his highly anticipated third album. So, what happens when the best producer in the business is also the only person Harry’s vowed never to speak to again?

Learning to Breathe by youcomecrash

Words: 110k

He’s playing football at one of the top universities in England and he should love everything about his life right now, but instead he’s moving backwards. How does your past fit into your present? Louis is still figuring it out.

Now In A Minute by thealmightyavocado

Words: 150k

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was.

More than anything in the world, Louis Tomlinson dreams of growing up. Simply skipping over all of the awkward, embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life. Real life.

So when thirteen-year-old Louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected everything in his adult life to be picture perfect. And maybe it is. He has it all…or so it seems.

Except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, Harry Styles, is totally missing from the equation and Louis doesn’t understand why. He has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, Louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feels so empty.

Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

Unbelievers by isthatyoularry

Words: 136k

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

Pull Me Under by zarah5

Words: 140k

AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake. (Featuring Niall as Louis' favourite teammate, Liam as Louis' agent, and Zayn as Liam's boyfriend, who just happens to be good friends with one Harry Styles.)

You've got to see yourself from far and wide by Emm77

Words: 286k

No Summary

[brightly-painted-canvas]

for the series ‘fic I think about all the time but I’ll never be able write’, I’m honoured to present you:

Band of Brothers’s High School Football (and I mean soccer!) Team AU

featuring:

- the team’s name is Currahee Easy of Toccoa High School (I don’t make the rules... I mean yes I do, but you know...) and they’re basically shit at playing football/soccer - it’s not that they don’t have good individual players or don’t train hard enough, it’s that their coach, PE teacher Sobel, doesn’t know shit about tactics and theory and he’s just too much of a dick to admit it - so the team trains hard everyday under every weather condition, but they still suck in championship games - (it’s by then a well known thing in Toccoa High School) - except this year is senior year for a big chunk of the team and most of them really really want to win at least one game before parting ways and going to college - so some of them basically mutiny against Sobel and go beg Principal Sink for a new coach - (he’s easily convinced after he sees the disgraceful row of defeats the team managed to string in the past three years) (it’s disgusting) - he calls in his office the other PE teacher, Richard Winters (who’s in fact already the coach of the baseball team) and gives Winters the responsibility of coaching the football team as well - thing is: right until that moment Dick Winters knows nothing about football, but he’s not a bitch about it so he buys a lot of books and watches a lot of youtube videos and drags his best-friend-and-maybe-also-more Lewis Nixon (history teacher at Toccoa) to a bunch of games to study - he’s a good student because when he meets the team for the first time and they try some of the tactics out, they seem to work - (he goes with basic 4-4-2 formation but his full backs are fast and both his side midfielders can shift to the attack on the occasion) - so the championship starts and the boys are for once both physically and tactically ready (mentally not so much, but hey can you blame a rowdy team of 20 teenagers?)

- so the team is composed like this: - D. Hoobler as the keeper (2nd keeper: D. Webster, although everyone is secretly glad he never plays because last time he did he was reading books during the game when the ball was on the other side of the field... at least on the bench he can read as much as he wants and pretend to be too precious and literate to play sports) - “Buck” Compton and “Bull” Randleman as center backs (reserves: “Tab” Talbert and “Pat” Christenson) - “Babe” Heffron and Frank Perconte as full backs (reserves: “Popeye” Wynn and A. Blithe) - center midfielders: Joe Liebgott and Johnny Martin (reserve: D. Malarkey) - side midfielders: “Shifty” Powers and “Skip” Muck (reserve: A. Penkala) - forwards: Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye (reserves: “Chuck” Grant and P. O’Keefe) - coach: R. Winters; coach’s alcoholic husband: L. Nixon; 2nd coach: C. Lipton; manager: H. Welsh; assistant and medic: “Doc” Roe; referee: R. Speirs - (everyone is scared of the local referee as there are numerous rumors circulating about him, like the one that says he once stabbed a protesting player in the eye with the red card) - Toccoa also has a student radio broadcast and the designated sportcaster is George Luz, so he also follows the team in away games (and having him around helps with the team’s morale) - the first match is a draw, which is neither a good or a bad thing, but Winters is still kinda proud of the guys and buys ice cream for all of them and says inspirational things like “the best is yet to come” - the second match is a whole struggle against the defending champions of the previous year, which makes the opposite team’s players a bit too arrogant and which causes yellow cards to fly around - to the surprise of absolutely nobody Liebgott is the first to get a red card and gets sent out. To the surprise of everybody except his teammates, he’s double booked because he picks a fight not with the opposite team but with his own (specifically: Guarnere asking for more forward passes and Webster, still on the bench, for seemingly no reason at all). Luz announces that it’s probably the first time in the history of football that this happens (yay for a new embarrassing record for Currahee Easy!) - Easy loses in the last minutes after a struggle to maintain the 0 - 0 and Lipton has to intervene before the whole team riots against the referee (not Speirs this time) who also gives a penalty to the opposite team in recovery time. It ends 2 - 0 for the defenders and in the brawl that follows the three final whistles Heffron loses a shoe, Toye gets a bloody nose and Liebgott sneaks out from the locker room just to throw a few punches - they win the third match. The opposite team never shows up at Toccoa High School so it’s a forfeit win - (rumors say the opponents didn’t want to attend not because they were scared of Easy, but because they were scared of Speirs, the designated referee for the game) - after the sixth match they start to win for their own merits and everyone is ecstatic. The whole school gets involved (all thanks to Luz’s enthusiastic commentaries and sport-related news) and there’s suddenly an high attendance of audience at their games - some of them even gets fans, like some guy starting to admire Guarnere’s technique and some girl suddenly making banners for Christenson or even Webster (though that must be less for athletic merits and more for aesthetic reasons, much to all the other player’s displeasure)(and Liebgott’s absolute rage, though no one gets exactly why)(c’mon guys...) - they manage to end the championship at an average position in the chart and with enough points to access a row of head to head games - the last match of the season is one of those direct clashes and becomes very important not only because it’s the last match ever for the senior students, but also because winning would mean getting an access to summer play-off - everyone is super nervous - coach Winters makes another one of his nice motivational speeches which leaves almost everyone near-tears (even the tough ones)(and especially Lew, who still gets free access to the locker room despite not being directly involved with the team) - things turn bad real soon real fast because during the first half within minutes both Guarnere and Toye get a leg injury and need to be substituted by Grant and, to the whole team’s horror and desperation, sweet innocent O’Keefe - Doc Roe gets helped by Lip and Welsh to get Bill and Joe out of the pitch and most of all to placate their rage and frustration (my poor boys...) - despite the injuries and early substitutions, Shifty manages to score an outside the box stunning volley for the 1 - 0 that makes everyone in the audience literally freaks out - the opponents equalize right at the end of first half with a goal following a contested free kick right outside Easy’s penalty area - the second half ends on a draw despite the team’s best efforts in maintaining their shape and positions as well as their nerves (and everyone is extremely proud of them, but most of all surprised by Liebgott)(considering he’s not even being supervised by Martin, who had been substituted by Malark at some point) - after the first extra time Dick is already thinking about the penalties: to the sudden shock of everyone present at the game (and the delight of his hardcore fangirls), Hoob gets substituted with Webster - (all of Easy, as one man, think they’re doomed) - the penalties are a matter of even more nerves and sweat and tears, but the five kickers get chosen (Grant, Buck, Skip, Heffron and Shifty) and after that, everything is in their preferred foot (and in Web’s hands) - Web saves the first penalty and the whole school gasps in disbelief - (while Dick and Lip share a knowing smile on the bench) - Grant scores, Buck scores, Skip’s shot unfortunately gets saved and they’re back to equality - no one speaks (Luz included!), no one even blinks - Babe manages to score a stunning lob penalty that has the whole field freaking out again - (Bill from the bench points at him and screams: ‘That’s my boy!’ jumping on his uninjured leg) - Shifty scores with cynical precision (and Winters almost sobs out loud) - as Webster takes his position between the posts, silence falls again all around the pitch and tension is so thick it feels like it could be cut with a knife - right before the opponents fifth kicker positions the ball on the penalty spot, everyone takes a deep breath and holds it for seemingly endless minutes - Webster saves - everyone screams - chaos is everywhere - Lieb kisses Web on the mouth - someone cries - (probably Web’s fangirls) - (and also mama!Lip since he’s so proud of his boys) - after that everything is a blur of celebrations and tears and hugs and also other less celebrated kisses (but Babe gets one from Doc and Dick gets several ones from Lew and, to be fair, no one is really that surprised) - Luz loses his voice at some point and completely forgets being on air on the school’s radio as he runs down to the field to celebrate with the team (which results in long minutes of radio silence he’d be scolded for the next day)(and, for what is worth, he does not give a single fuck) - Easy chases coach Winters across the field and lift him in the air to celebrate, then they do the same for Lip and Welsh and (surprisingly?) Nixon - (Doc Roe refuses and hides behind Babe and Bill and everyone loves him too much to force him anyway) - more chaos ensues and rumors say the celebrations went on for weeks - (also some rumors say referee Speirs took part to the celebrations as 2nd coach Lipton’s date, but no one present ever confirmed or denied that) ...and that’s basically it. Sorry for any mistake: I typed this all in one go and my football terminology is strictly Italian-based (just as much as my football enthusiasm lol) so I may have got something wrong. Thanks a bunch to my sister @gaiayukari85 for having helped with the plot (as often happens when we create silly stories)

[wild-untamed-heart]

Vday from a Water Giant 2020!

Hello hello! You know the drill, this can be treated as a standalone drabble that you can do whatever you want with! You can hoard it away like a dragon, or you can reply to it as you see fit! Thanks for requesting~ [please let me know if it doesn’t submit correctly and i’ll try to fix it]

Mizumachi was no stranger to being called out by people for whatever reason. He was a sociable guy as much as he was personable, so his networking of friends was by no means small. Of course, there were people that he tended to hang out with more than some others, but that didn’t mean he appreciated them any less.

Kajika was a friend that he liked to play with quite often. Both were active people who loved to do… ANYTHING! Playing Volleyball with a ping pong ball was ‘weird,’ but it’s so much fun! It’s also a lot harder too, he thought.

It’s such a small ball and its light, so it takes some getting used to.

“Hey, Kajika-chan! What’s up?” Mizumachi greeted her with a beaming smile as per usual.

Whenever she called him out, he went to their decided upon meeting place. There, she gifted him some chocolates! Being the ever-popular guy he was, he’d already received some chocolates early that morning from some friends of his.

“Hm? These are for me?”

Right, today was Valentine’s day! Kajika was giving him chocolate and that could only mean one thing… these were Valentine’s day chocolates he was getting from his friend! Probably tomo-chocolate, if he had to guess.

After asking if he could open the gift, he saw that she’d gifted him mini chocolate shaped soccer balls? They had a caramel center as well!

He tilted his head to the side with a moment of confusion before glee appeared on his face. “Mhaaa~ It’s a soccerball, thanks!” He was born gifted with a strong body, fast reflexes, and good intuition. In most sports he tried, he quickly found himself being one of the core players on any team.

As one could expect, this meant that he essentially appreciated any and all sports that he could throw himself into. American Football held a special place in his heart, but he did dabble with other sports every now and again.

It’s like that, you can have a favorite food, but you can’t eat it for every single meal. It can get boring, and that’s not healthy! Switching things up is fun, and it’s like taking a break! Gifting anything sports related was a good choice.

“Is this a pun?” He asked, referring to the chocolate soccer balls.

In many countries, ‘Football’ referred to ‘Soccer,’ and that’s why the sport he played had ‘American’ tagged in the front of it for differentiation. American football was different from what most other countries thought it was.

American football was similar to Rugby, but even then, there were some differences.

He was wondering whether she gave him soccer ball chocolates to make a pun off of the two sports. “Ah… maybe it’s not a pun? Do words have to rhyme or sound the same to be a pun?” Mizumachi tilted his head again, thinking hard about it.

The guy wasn’t very smart so he didn’t have a good idea, but surely Kajika would know? She was the smarter one of the two of them!

Alas, in true muscle-headed fashion, he soon gave up on thinking about it. Thinking… wasn’t his strong suit, and he didn’t do it every often. It was truly a miracle that he somehow made it through highschool and got into college. It was likely his sports credentials that mainly got him accepted though.

Taking one of the soccer balls, he balanced it on his thumb, flicking it up into the air. Being that they were shaped like a soccer ball, you must eat them as dynamically as you can! He flicked one into the air and he positioned himself so he could catch it in his mouth once it descended.

“I got it!” He happily chewed on the chocolate, appreciating its sweet flavor. “I bet I could play trick shots with these.” He’d seen all sorts of videos of people bouncing things like ping pong balls off walls to get them into cups.

Obviously, the chocolates wouldn’t bounce quite like a ping pong ball, but that didn’t mean he could give up so easily! He could just do something else! Maybe… yeah! Those things! “Hey hey, you got some dominoes and stuff? Wanna do those things? Yanno, the ones with the dominoes and the strings, and the metal balls.”

He was referring to those contraptions people rigged for one simple action to cause a chain reaction of other things to move to end in one result. “We could line up some dominoes and when the last one drops, it can push a toy car that triggers a zipline. We could make it with some string and a clothes hanger or something. Basically, it will be a trick shot kinda deal.” The end result?

He will get a chocolate ball at the end of it! Maybe the final thing would be that a chocolate soccer ball will go flying and he has to catch it!

Yeah, you shouldn’t play with your food, but the chocolates were begging to be played with because they’re shaped like soccer balls! How could you ever expect a sports maniac like him to not want to play with them when they are shaped like they are?

“Mhaa~ It will be a lot of fun! I’m sure with my reflexes and your smarts, we can figure something out! We can film it and share it!” That way, other people can enjoy their ingeniousness. Maybe, it could even go viral! Wouldn’t that be fun?

Basically, doing anything with Kajika would be fun, and he thought that enjoying the chocolates this way would truly put into the spirit the way their friendship was found- on weird ideas. Of course, he couldn’t force her to do anything if she didn’t want to.

Many people would scold him by saying not to play with his food, and he’d listen (no promises he’d remember, however). “If not, we can have a competition to see how many chocolate soccer balls we can catch and eat.” Just like he had done earlier, they could see how many chocolate balls one can flick into the air and subsequently catch in a row.

No matter what, the heat of competition would never die in his heart!!

_____________________________________________________________

Many took Valentine’s Day as a day for confessing feelings and Kajika was no exception, although her take on it pertained more to the love she had for her friends. This year however was the first time she was including Mizumachi in her friendship line-up.

The young heiress fondly recalled the day they had met, that unexpected landing of a ping pong ball in her tea and the subsequent volleyball game. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and so she figured it shouldn’t hurt to show her friend her appreciation of their bond with the traditional chocolate. Perhaps she could have gone with sporting gear of some kind considering how much her friend enjoyed sport but after spotting the interesting shaped moulds in the store she had wanted to give handmade chocolate a try.

The notion that other people might also have gifted chocolate never really crossed her mind but he seemed pleased enough with her present and so she was happy.

An amused escaped her at the interesting ideas proposed for the chocoloate balls and Kajika she really shouldn’t have been surprised with this outcome. One of the things that enchanted her about Mizumachi was his ingenious ideas of making any game a lot more fun, no matter how unconventional.

She took a moment to consider the proposed plan before giving her friend a cheerful grin.

“Well, I don’t know about dominoes but I’m sure we could make a good enough contraption with whatever materials we manage to find~”

Operation build a launching contraption was a go and she knew that they would have a lot of fun whether they succeeded in building something that worked or not. 

[fearnyas]

TAGGED: @etoilenyas​ bc we love to suffer! TAGGING: i don’t even remember who’s active in my following man just steal it from me

▌𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 : Oliver Quincy Issac Wright.  ▌𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 : In an established relationship with Dmitry Jones. The state of their relationship varies throughout their canon. They’ve been dating since high school: for four years by the time the Vegas Arc takes place, and they’re engaged in the NYC Arc after Ollie proposes. Post-NYC Arc, they get married. ▌𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 :

Uses a magical bell to transform into Nyan Diamond, defender of love & justice and second-in-command of The Cat’s Nyas. His bell when not in use is often worn as a choker.

Thanks to the contract, Oliver has cat-like senses. Meaning, his eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, etc. are all heightened even outside his transformation. This effect is permanent so long as the contract is enforced. Better vision at night. Includes cat-like reflexes, flexibility, quicker speed, and the ability to still land on his feet were he to fall from a great height. He may still obtain injuries, but is objectively safer than an average human might be.

Additionally, in the early years of his contract, under intense emotional stress (whether that’s positive or negative) he may sprout a cat ears and tail, or completely turn into a cat temporarily. (His particular breed is a Scottish Fold!) How long these consequences last varies on how much stress he was under, but he will eventually return to normal. He can still talk normally even in his cat form, which is...distressing...so any meows around non-Nyans are entirely fake. Eventually, the Nyans gain more control over this, and it becomes less of an inconvenience. 

When transformed, he has the ability to use water magic to attack his opponents.

The strength and usage of these attacks vary. Typically, he’ll summon blasts or waves of varying temperatures and strengths, but the possibilities are only as limited as his imagination is. However, everything new takes time to practice before he can use it to its full potential. Not limited to exclusively water, but anything liquid. 

This eventually extends to manipulating ice states, but the element itself is not something he can control outside of what he’s summoned. Pre-existing resources in this instance are of no use to him.

Water that he summons, if paired with another Nyan’s element, is beneficial. For example, combining his abilities with Nyan Clover’s vines/plant magic, Clover’s plants grow stronger, and Diamond’s water magic serves as a boon.

Most if not all of his summons come directly from his staff. The crystal embedded within it serves as a way to store his magic, and it makes any attack easier to control. His weapon-of-choice makes it so he’s more effective at a distance, but he’s comfortable taking enemies on close range if he has to.

After the Nyans defeat Oleander, the vice that Oliver forms in the middle of the Vegas Arc, he gains luck magic. Rather, the ability to manipulate luck itself. At its best, this is a major boon for the team if it works in their favor. However, when first obtained, it isn’t something he can predict accurately, and poses a high risk if used improperly. Has to rely on intuition and chance, luck and probability can be shifted at a price. It’s something he needs to be incredibly careful with.

▌𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 : Naturally violet as a civilian. | As Nyan Diamond, the color shifts to light blue with purple and pink hues throughout. ▌𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 :   Light honey brown as a civilian, has natural red highlights. | When transformed as Nyan Diamond, his hair is light blue. ▌𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 : Scarlett Wright, often goes by Carly or Carla - mother. She primarily works from home as an accountant. Prior to moving to America, he saw her the most often, so he was naturally closer to her. She was the first person he confided in about his sexuality and both her and Samuel have been incredibly supportive. | Samuel Wright - father.  Works as a sports coach and physics teacher, the main influence on a lot of Oliver’s interests and hobbies. When he wasn’t busy helping the local secondary school teams, he’d spend a majority of his time planning short family trips or trying to bond with his son. Oliver and him have a positive relationship, as far as families go. | Oliver doesn’t keep in contact with his extended family due to a variety of factors. He uses the distance as an excuse, though it’s an obvious lie. His relationship with them has always been incredibly strained, particularly after he realized his sexuality. As a result, he’s never come out to them, and he doesn’t intend to. ▌𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒 : Presently, he helps take care of their contractor, Lucky, with Dmitry. Prior to his move, he had three dogs. All border collies, Lexi, and two of her twin puppies that his family grew attached to. Their names are Parsley and Sage! | While not pets that he owned, when his family was able they also fostered a variety of animals. As a result, it’s something he wants to take up again in the future. ▌𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 : People who are unnecessarily cruel for no reason. He doesn’t personally like swearing, and quit himself ages ago, he’s willing to overlook it for other people. Doesn’t really like religion as a whole, or people who force their beliefs on others (especially unprompted! The kinds of people who assume you’re just like them and share the same mindset, that kind of thing.) Not necessarily fond of himself, or how easily he cries; doesn’t like being overly sensitive. Absolutely hates being lied to, or people who skirt around the truth; thinks its easier to hurt temporarily than to hide something, which is...terribly ironic. ▌𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒 / 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 : Gambling and cardistry. Sports, both playing and watching--likes playing soccer, rugby, swimming primarily. Watches national games for the former two, as well as American football, albeit with less interest. Cooking, baking, trying to figure out recipes for both himself and Dmitry with varying degrees of success. Binges of romcoms or trashy ‘dating’ shows. Violin. Most outdoor recreational activities--primarily hiking, fishing, or camping. Studying. Logic puzzles. Taking care of animals. Sewing. Playing video games casually, usually popular titles. ▌𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 : Not intentionally! His vice caused a lot of harm, but it was mostly contained within its own realm. Doesn’t get into fights otherwise. ▌𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 : No, keeping his vice contained + it’s own abilities (ironically) helped prevent casualties. There were cases of severe injury though, although not many. ▌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 :  Scottish Fold cat. ▌𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒 :   He second-guesses himself a lot, rather than listening to his gut, as a result--this tends to backfire. (Vegas Arc) He’s meek, and doesn’t stand up for himself or speak his mind. Bottles up more of his feelings than he actually expresses, which leads to...some more than unsavory situations.  Has a tendency to doubt other’s intentions and feelings towards him, making assumptions of what they feel towards him even without provocation. Pretty petty and passive-aggressive, especially on shift, it’s rare this is directed towards his friends. Tendency to isolate, or at least makes attempts to. Assumes the worst of most every situation. Extremely self-depreciating, will find a way to shift the blame to himself if something goes wrong. Apologizes for literally everything. Hypocritical in the sense the advice he’ll willingly give other people is the same kind he knows he should take, but doesn’t. ▌𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐒 : His best friend, Lacey. His boyfriend, Dmitry. The other Cat’s Nyas, his friends. (Jules and Romeo especially!)   ▌𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 : Homoromantic homosexual. For a while, especially when he was closeted, he dealt with varying degrees of internalized homophobia not aided by the influence of his extended family, which fed into his worsening mental health. At home, he was selective and hesitant with who he came out to as a matter of safety. This is no longer an issue. ▌𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄 / 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 : He didn’t think much of marriage prior to dating Dmitry. Mostly, he didn’t think he’d be able to, or that he deserved to. That being said...he does think highly of it, and absolutely wants to. He thinks its sweet, and by the time they’ve graduated high school he would have already brought up the idea of it. When he eventually proposes, he already has a vague idea of what he wants in his vows and the ceremony he’d like. Isn’t sure about children due to a small degree of self-doubt, but isn’t opposed to adoption. No opinion on how many kids he’d want to adopt, as he hasn’t really thought about it. ▌𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 : Dress casual and light colors. Button ups and cuffed jeans, muted or slightly pastel-leaning colors, he likes loose t-shirts and jackets/cardigans, anything that looks nice but too flashy. Doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry outside of his piercings and the trinket. ▌𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 ����𝐎𝐕𝐄 : Dmitry, first and foremost. He’s his first and only boyfriend and he’s honestly never been happier with someone. Didn’t buy into love at first sight until he met him, and even then, he only found more reasons to fall harder. He loves his childhood friend, current friends, and his parents too of course, and would do anything for them, but his feelings for Dmitry are notably stronger. ▌𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒 : Tries his best to be amicable, albeit, he’s extremely shy. He grows out of his shyness by the time the NYC Arc is in place, but he’s still pretty soft-spoken and is inclined to let them lead in conversations and plans. Relatively warm and easy to get along with, and likes hanging out with the friends he has when he’s able. Goes out of his way to try and talk to people who seem like they need the company, and is deeply empathetic, willing to lend an ear to those who need it. Although this doesn’t go both ways. He doesn’t want to burden them, so he often overextends himself with making others happy at the expense of himself. ▌𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐊 : Alcoholic, he likes beer most, particularly lagers or ale, but isn’t opposed to anything else. Non-alcoholic, black coffee or fruit-based teas are an immediate go to. Doesn’t drink a lot of soda. Should drink more water. ▌𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐓 : The easy answer is anywhere his boyfriend might be. The more in depth answer is anywhere outdoors; he likes to sight-see and experience new things. Favors beaches or local parks. Likes hanging out at the casino he works at as well, even off shift; it’s lively and he has a good time actually placing bets of his own, he knows a few of the regulars by name. ▌𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐌 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 : Ocean, no questions asked. History aside, he enjoyed going out to local beaches a lot as a kid, and swimming in the ocean was something he really liked. Give him directions to the nearest beach please and thank you! ▌𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄 : Romantically, someone who’s self-assured and knows what they want in life. Someone with a good heart who does good things, or at least tries to. Someone patient who won’t judge him for his seemingly-endless list of fears and is willing to help him as he tries to ‘get better.’ Someone who takes the time to understand him, just as much as he does them. Brave, beautiful, and willing to set aside time just for the two of them. Basically, everything Dmitry is, thanks, he thinks he’s perfect and this has never changed. Platonically, he just likes people who are kind, funny, and humble--he doesn’t like braggarts or anyone with a huge ego--the most important thing is just being willing to understand him and not judge him for what he perceives to be his many, many flaws. ▌𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒 : Camping, absolutely. He’s a surprisingly outdoorsy type, and he has gone on a few family camping trips before. Not to mention, stargazing is kind of romantic if you think about it...he’d really like to do that at least once with someone he really, really loves. (Hey? Dmitry? Are you listening?)

[maximvms-blog]

HEY HOW’S IT GOIN’ GUYS. it’s ya girl aura and i’m back for veritas: quarter quell edition ! i’m a 20 year old garbage can ( she / her or they / them pronouns plz ) from pst timezone. as you can clearly see, i am a mess, but i’m here to have fun and get to know all of you guys !! i can’t WAIT to unlock the mysteries of this rp, and i know for a fact its going to actually destroy me, so heads up: i’m diagnosed babey and cry over everything all the time. that being said, i also love pain so while i may be crying, i am also THRIVING !! i’m also an artist so i hope ya’ll are ready for me to occasionally draw the shenanigans that happen here. it’s gonna be a TIME !

anyway, enough about me ! click the neat little read more button to get to know my baby boy, maxi-pad. if you like what you see, also feel free to hit that ♥ and i’ll pop into your tumblr or discord ims to aggressively keysmash a plot out. sounds good ? GREAT !! can’t wait to talk to you all asfkalsdjfasfd i’m so excited !

skeleton: the ace faceclaim: froy gutierrez name: max thomas gender & pronouns: cis male ( he/him ) age: twenty-two major: zoology clubs: captain of the track & field and football team ; student government secretary living arrangement: auberlin apartments / apartment 01 employment: unemployed, but occasionally volunteers places & does odd jobs for those that need it

[ GENERAL ]

first off, some links. you can find his dossier HERE ( featuring a bio / some stats ) & his pinterest board HERE !!

his name is maximilian anthony thomas ( if he turns out to be the killer i’m gonna laugh because i really did give him 3 first names ) but honestly just max is fine ^^

he’s the child to two ABSOLUTE UNITS of women. both of them are olympic medalists in the athletics category. even his sperm donor dad ( who, yes, also helped raise him ) was a big time baseball player who now coaches one of the best international teams, so to say that he is SPORTS BOY would almost be an understatement.

his sport of choice is easily track, but he also really enjoys baseball, basketball, soccer, and, later on in life, football. if it’s got a ball or allows him to run, chances are he plays it.

he was winning medals as early as 7 years old and had enough for a full wall by the time he was 10. boy is a legacy and it SHOWS.

he doesn’t like it when people try to give him things just because of his name or who his parents are. he would much rather get things through his own hard work. at the same time, he hates losing and is willing to do not so great things in secret if it means he’ll win.

captain of the track & field team during the spring / summer and captain of the football team during fall / winter. he also might be in the student government too so rifp his schedule. boy is ALWAYS busy.

LOVES HIS TEAMMATES SO FUCKING MUCHHHHH !!!!!! they’re his family.

he also does a lot of charity events cuz his parents raised that shit in him ( they literally met at a charity triathalon ), so he goes to quite a view galas and whatnot. LITERALLY HE’S SO BUSY THIS BOY NEVER HAS FREE TIME.

is surprisingly really well versed in art & art history due to one of his moms being a HUGE art history buff. literally his family did an art tour vacation once where they just went across europe & went to a bunch of galleries. basically he may seem like a dumb jock, but if you mix up a renoir & a monet, he WILL call you out on it.

absolute sunshine boy !! loves to smile & laugh & love !! is so passionate about everything !

however, he has some really bad jealousy and pride issues, as hinted at earlier. they’re easily his greatest vices in equal measure.

he’s emotionally fragile so if he snaps, it can get pretty scary, but he’s really good at hiding that side of him. granted, bottling it all up probably isn’t the best either . . .

THAT SAID, HE’S STILL THE TOWN’S GOLDEN BOY !! his coach keeps talking about the 2020 olympics and he’s SO PSYCHED !! everyone in town knows his name bc he really out here being nice to everyone he meets & helping little old ladies cross the road on top of everything else he does. he’s just That Guy.

[ DAISEY ]

he had known her since they were wee babies, and they were definitely friends first. whenever they played house, he was always the dog looooong before he played her husband.

the two were always real & honest with each other, and it’s safe to say that he knew the true her before she got all caught up in her loneliness and secret hoarding.

SHE was the one to ask HIM out not long after starting middle school, making them each other’s first like . . . actual relationship. ( though tbh, she moreso DEMANDED he be her boyfriend, rather than properly asking him aslkfjasdf he could never say no to her though so it didn’t really matter )

they wound up having an off-&-on relationship for SIX YEARS. in late-ish high school, he could feel her drifting away so he told her his secret, thinking it would stop her from being bored of him. unfortunately she ended up breaking up w/ him the next day.

[ STALKING TW ] before long she was already seeing someone new. that triggered his jealous streak, and between that and his fear that she was going to tell someone his secret, he started stalking her. at first it was just lining up their schedules so he could always keep an eye on her, but eventually he got access to her social media logins and started keeping tabs on her private conversations. she’d shown him some of her own hacking tricks when they were still together, so even when she changed her passcodes, it was a simple crack before he was snooping through her shit again.

eventually she confronted him about the fact that she was constantly seeing him everywhere, though still unaware of the fact that he was the one that was hacking into her accounts. he played it off, and while she did tell the authorities about it, that was about the end of it. he stopped stalking her for a couple of years after following her to st ettienne, and things mellowed out between them.

he joined student council that year, and after that him and daisey started to talk a lot more again. they even kinda became friends again. one night, she was having a rough time so she called him. after a quiet night of talking and looking at the stars, she kissed him. it was really great, up until she shoved him away and said it was a mistake, going right back to ignoring his existence the very next day. this caused him to fall back into his stalking habits, finding them a comfort.

this time, she finds out that its HIM going through her social media, and she pulls him aside privately at the homecoming party to yell at him. she even says that she’s going to expose his secret for being such a creep. it’s then that he sees her for what she really is, rather than the rose-colored image he’d been seeing before.

that’s the last he ever sees of daisey rutherford, and he can’t tell if he’s grateful or heartbroken for that.

[ WANTED CONNECTIONS ]

okay listen i’m . . . honestly garbage at coming up with wanted connections because i genuinely want everything. friends, lovers, enemies, family — the whole shebang. i’m always down to brainstorm, so if you’ve got any ideas, even if they’re whacky, hit me with them and we can come up with something phenomenal and unique, yeah ? yeah !

the biggest actual idea i can think of is like . . . half siblings through his biological father. i think the dichotomy of that could be fun since his dad is still VERY MUCH in his life along w/ his 2 moms. TAKEN BY CASSIDY

rivals in sports could be fun ! as w/ rivals in general !

people he tried hooking up w/ to make daisey jealous when they weren’t together ? maybe ??

he doesn’t drink or smoke or do anything fun so like ?? a bad influence type connection mayhaps ?

HE NEEDS A TUTOR !!!! HE NEEEEEDS A TUTORRRRR !!!!!

bro squad bro squad bro squad bro squad bro squad. did i mention bro squad ?? ( ed is his best fucking friend so any mutual friends,,,,,, let’s squad it up )

maybe i’ll edit this later if more come to me, but for now that’s what i’ve got !! hmu if anything strikes your fancy or if you’ve got any other ideas !