#2 minute conversation with your pops buddy

[obsessivestar]

'What If It's All A RomCom?' - a Ted Nivison x Reader.

{{-Story Description: You're a youtuber with a fairly decent following deciding to help your good friend Tanner with a minor film project, with you set as the leading lady. When the actor for the male lead is a no show, Ted takes up the role himself. One problem: This short film's a Rom Com, and you just met the guy.-}}

//18+, Def gonna be some smut. Reader is implied to be afab, under 5'5 and has specifically named friends, all who have no real connection to Ted.

This story will be in multiple chapters. Also gonna post this on Wattpad and Ao3 (when I figure them out LMAO) under the same username: ObsessiveStarla. Hope you enjoy :^)

Also idk how to do all the fancy Tumblr border stuff so sorry if it's all messy :^(((//

Word count: 2.3k

Chapter 1: No Show, No Movie.

I'm keeping my eye on the road, occasionally glancing at the GPS to make sure I can guide my buddy Tanner as he drives. We had quite an early morning to get to L.A., having been on the road for the last 2 hours to get to this airbnb we'll be staying at. Tanner's nearing the end of film school, so he's getting all his classmates and anyone else that's available and interested to help him with his big final project: A legit short film, filmed, written and directed by him. Having some experience with being on camera myself, he elected to make me part of the main cast. I don't mind at all, if it'll help him out. Even if it's a romantic comedy. I'll kiss some dude, get him that 100%. I'm excited for this.

"Has Conner messaged me at all?" Tanner asks, breaking the last 20 minutes of silence. I quit out of my daydream to check Tanner's messages. Other members of the crew have updated them on their location, including a name I don't recognize, but Conner hasn't responded at all.

"Nope. Mostly everyone else is nearly there though." I responded, lightly shrugging my shoulders. A humorous but knowing smirk creeps along the edges of my lips. "Think he slept in?" "I fucking hope not." Tanner huffs, his tone suggesting he's half-joking. "He is literally /the/ male lead. He's like one of the people I need there the most today."

I put the GPS back up on the screen and lay back against the passenger seat, slightly raising a brow to myself. What would happen if he's late, or doesn't show up at all? Could we even get a replacement in time? We only booked this place for the next couple weeks.

As we get off the highway and get even closer to our destination, I see a notification pop up on Tanner's phone, it's the name I don't recognize. Ted. He's not in our friend group and I don't recall Tanner mentioning him from class.

"Is Ted a new guy?" I ask, turning my head to Tanner. "Oh, no, he's like...a friend of a friend." Tanner pauses before reiterating "He's going to be the editor. He's a youtuber, like you; he went to film school as well."

"Oh. He's like the only name I didn't recognize."

"Yeah, he's a cool guy, no worries, he'll probably be there with me to help with the, yknow, directing too."

There's room for a response, but I don't continue the conversation. We don't have a lot of money to put into this, so that airBnb is also where we'll be filming everything. Most of the film crew and extra actors got their own accommodations elsewhere, but some of us will be staying /at that/ location itself. Wonder if that includes the editor? It'd be weird to share a house with a dude I didn't know, but if Tanner trusts him, I will as well. "I know where to go from here, let everyone know we'll be there soon."

I take Tanner's phone and let everyone know we're close by, including Ted, before setting the phone aside. Tanner pulls into what I thought was a street at first, only to notice its the driveway of the airbnb. Wild how we can't afford multiple sets and hotels, but can afford this villa-like estate for nearly a month. Hey, whatever works, right?

Tanner parks by the many other vehicles and grabs his phone before we both hop out. I can't help but look up at how tall the building is. It looks like one of those frat houses an influencer would own, like if you told me this was owned by fuckin' 'disney channel flow' Team 10, I would 100% believe you.

Tanner and I are greeted by most of the cast and crew as we approach the front door of the house, giving the appropriate hugs and handshakes as we head inside. That's when I spotted a tall man in a dark green sweater fixing up some professional looking cameras, dark hair slicked up to add to his already impressive height, with circular glasses to match the relaxed vibe I'm getting from him. To be fair, he only stands out so much to me because I don't recognize him. This must be Ted.

He looks up from his camera when he spots Tanner and I greeting the other crew members. I casually glance away to one of the pictures on the wall to avoid giving the impression I was staring. I have a habit of fixing my eyes onto people without realizing it.

"Traffic?" Is the first word I hear out of Ted's mouth, directed at Tanner. I don't really know what I was expecting to hear come out of this man, but it certainly wasn't a voice like that. It's strong, deep, almost fake sounding, like he's already playing a character, but no, that's just him.

"Dude, we passed by, like, 3 accidents" Tanner shakes his head slightly, putting his hands on his hips. "And Conner hasn't even gotten back to me, It's been an interesting morning."

As they have their conversation, my thoughts turn to a more curious nature as I contemplate what this guy actually does as a youtuber. If he went to film school as well, does he make long video essays? Commentary, like me?

"This is (Y/N), mine and Joe's friend." My thoughts are cut by the sound of my name, realizing Tanner was introducing me to Ted. Makes sense. We don't know each other. "She's gonna be the female lead."

"Ahhh okay, nice to finally meet you. I'm Ted." Ted personally greets me with a gentle handshake and a winning complexion. I return the handshake with a shy smile. "'Finally'?" I repeat to him, raising a slight brow.

"Yeah! Joe's told me about you, 'said you'd be shorter"

A sudden chuckle escapes me. Joe's my best friend and is part of the wardrobe team, of course he'd say something like that. "He's a dick.." I kid, shaking my head to myself. "You, on the other hand, are a fuckin' giant."

"Oh I know. I have to fuckin' duck down to get into any room upstairs. Tallhood ain't what its cut out to be" We both get a laugh out before Ted returns to setting up the cameras. I notice Tanner checking his phone again, visibly both anxious and frustrated.

"Man." Tanner speaks, seemingly thinking aloud. "Still nothing." "Isn't he the other lead?" Ted speaks as he moves to adjust the stand of one of the lights, glancing up through his round glasses. "I figured he'd be here first."

"He should've been here first." Tanner huffs, masking his clear frustration with a chuckle. "I-I don't know what I'm gonna do if he just doesn't show." "What would we have to do?" I tilt my head at Tanner, feeling a little anxious myself.

"I have no idea, honestly" Tanner responds, shaking his head. "At best, we'd have to find someone to take his place within the next, like, couple days. At worst, I'd have to cancel this whole thing."

I frown, trying to think of some helpful alternative in my head, but nothing comes up. I'd hate for everyone to have to go home, and getting the money back for the airbnb would be a hassle. We all pitched in for this place. As much as I've joked about it, it's pretty nice. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, half the place is a giant living room and there's even more outside. I'd hate to leave without getting to sleep in one of those giant beds. All I can do is hope for the best, I guess.

About an hour passes. At this point, everyone except Conner has shown up on set and most of us that will be on camera are fitted and ready. We had already read through the entire script together over Discord prior to getting here, so all we need to do is just start filming.

I'm refreshing my memory with the script when I hear a notification ping from Tanner's phone. It takes him less than a second to pick it up and look at the message, pausing to read it. I see his expression go from relief to uneasy, his thumbs tapping on his phone's keyboard louder than usual as he responds before setting his phone down and taking a deep breath.

"Conner can't make it."

Silence fills the room for a moment as everyone looks up from their tasks. I approach Tanner, script still on hand.

"What? What does he mean he can't make it?" I asked, honestly shocked with what I was hearing. "So, yknow how he's just...not been responding since we left?" Tanner asks, looking understandably annoyed.

"Yeah?"

"Apparently he ate some bad food last night and has been throwing up since 4am. We left at 5."

The only thing I can do is run my fingers through my hair in frustration. Dude probably ordered bad chicken or something. Of course. "So our main dude, THE male leading role or whatever, has food poisoning." I say that as a statement, but I'm honestly just so confused, I don't want to believe it. "What do we do now? Could we hire someone else in time?" "Even if we could, we wouldn't have time to get the chemistry built up between you two." Tanner shrugs. "There'd be no way of knowing if it'll work out."

"I'll do it."

Tanner and I turn our heads to Ted, who's joined in on the conversation shortly after assembling the last light. My first instinct is to let out a sigh of relief, but I steel myself, trying to really process what he's offering.

"You? You wanna be the male lead?" Tanner points at Ted, rather surprised he'd offer. Ted seemed to laugh at the expression on Tanner's face "What's that fuckin' look for? You think I can't be romantic, Tanner?" "No--" Tanner cackles, putting his palms up defensively as he laughed. "That's not it! I just-- you haven't read the script, and, yknow..." Tanner pauses, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head in my direction. "You two just met, you'll have to, yknow--"

"'Yknow? Yknow?' I KNOW, Tanner. I. know." Ted begins to mock Tanner in a friendly manner while pointing at himself, his strong voice easily overpowering Tanner's timid tone. "I've been doin' this since you were in little baby diapers, alright? I can read the script, I can kiss the pretty lady, I got this!"

I suddenly feel a whole lot warmer, resisting the urge to put a hand to my cheek. I mean, I have blush on already, but now I'm definitely blushing. I'll have to kiss this guy?

I mean.

That ain't a bad thing.

That's a nice lookin' dude. I'd be blind not to see it.

But I did just meet him.

"I mean...." Tanner seems to be at a loss for words, glancing in my direction once more. I realize I've been one of the main talking pieces of this conversation, yet I haven't spoken a word. "Ah--I.." I stammer out what was meant to be a coherent response, realizing I'm a bit more sheepish about this than I thought I'd be. He called me pretty. I...don't know what to do with that. I can handle a compliment, sure, but this was...

"Hey, sorry, I don't wanna step over any lines..." Ted's smile faded after my lack of a response, resting his hands behind his back. "Oh no! I-I wouldn't mind it at all." I finally managed to speak up. I swear, I felt like a bashful damsel in those old transatlantic-accent films. "I mean, like, better this than sending everyone packing early, right?"

"Real flattering." Ted responded with a renewed smile and a chuckle, getting another sheepish blush from me. "Whatever works for everyone, I'm down for it."

Based on Tanner's knowing expression, I can tell he gathered something of use from whatever that exchange was. "I mean..." Tanner repeats again, as if to remind us he's also there with filler words before taking in a sharp breath of realization, or maybe it was one of acceptance, I couldn't tell. Either way, he had an idea. "OK, how about this: most of the crew didn't get breakfast on the way up here and we're all gettin' pretty hungry, we could use some caffeine. How about you two head back out and get everyone something from Dunkin' or wherever? Get talkin', see if it works."

"You setting us up on a breakfast run, or a date?" I collect myself fast enough to make a joke, actually getting a decent chuckle out of Ted. Part of me couldn't believe I had even made that joke aloud, I was also kind of genuinely asking. "I am testing the chemistry." Tanner clarified slowly with a half smile. "And I...don't want to do it myself."

Ted and I look at each other, giving me a brief moment to realize Ted's eyes are brown. Don't know why I've chosen to collect that information now. Just another observation I've made for the day.

...Man, I'm hungry.

"Alright, but I'm not driving your car." I agree with a shrug. "No need, I got my Tacoma." Ted responds, making a clicking noise with his mouth and gesturing me to follow him outside.

"You...have your city in Washington?" I ask genuinely, getting another laugh out of him, not intentionally this time. "Toyota Tacoma. My truck." He corrects me, guiding me to an old dark green pick-up truck. "I've had this baby since high school. Graduated with it."

"Ahh, your high school sweetheart. Lovely. Happy to meet her."

"Fuck off" Ted jokingly scoffs, hopping into the drivers seat. I have this big grin on my face as I get into the passenger side. He's giving me this...oddly comforting vibe. I can talk and joke with this guy so naturally, like I've known him for longer than an hour.

Somehow, I get the feeling we'll get along just fine, even if I'll end up having to kiss him once or twice this month....

....That's got me thinking, how many times am I kissing this guy again?

__________________________________

|| Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 (smut) || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 (smut) || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || Chapter 14 (smut) || Chapter 15 ||

[armpirate]

A friend's help || JJK

Part 2

pairing: Jungkook x fem!reader || Best friends, friends to lovers

w.c.: 3k

Warnings: Smut, dom jk, oral sex (male receiving)

Summary: Being friends with Jungkook was so hard, especially when you were aware of all the girls that were running after him. You were trying to get used to the idea of just being a buddy more for him, although it might change after a party.

It was your eleventh time looking around, waiting for the man of your dreams to pop up somehow out of nowhere. Every night it was the same story: you waited for the perfect boy to show up all up in your noses, and shoot his shot, but when that perfect and hot guy never showed up, your self-esteem was too low to care about who you’d end up with. Add to that the dizziness from the few drinks you keep taking for a few hours, and you’d have the most dangerous mix. 

The last time you looked around, your eyes met with Jungkook’s usual doe eyes, which were a bit more fierce and black than the ones you were used to looking at, before he drove his eyes away from you again. He was in the middle of a conversation with -probably- one of the hottest girls in the party. It wasn’t like you were surprised at all either. He was one of the college heartthrobs, and you just happened to be his best friend -so you knew he was walking around this party like a fish in water. Could be it was his sharp jaw, the piercing that adorned his face, his wholesome sleeve tattoos, or maybe his well-crafted physique that he worked so hard for, but he had no problems in finding somebody to sleep with whenever he felt the need to. 

And you were just his best friend.

It wasn’t like it bothered you. Or maybe it did a bit. It definitely bothered you more when you started being friends after being settled for a class project, and being directly friendzoned by him because you were too cool to be just a one night stand -according to him. 

What was that even supposed to mean? Did other guys think of you that way as well?

You gulped on your drink, only leaving the ice cubes and the remaining drops of what was a power drink -that translated into 75% of alcohol and 25% of mix. 

You thought that not coming with one of your girl friends, you’d be able to succeed. But you only replaced the attention most of your friends get, to the jealousy you were feeling of that girl that cockily rested her hand on Jungkook’s chest. It didn’t matter what you did, you’d never win. 

————————》✧《—————————

After the third drink, alcohol was starting to get into your system and throwing the “You're drunk” signals all over your body, when you stopped being able to walk a straight line without stumbling on your own feet. You didn’t know how your voice sounded at that point, because you hadn’t had the chance to speak yet, but you were sure alcohol also took a toll on it when you found yourself struggling to form a proper simple sentence as you tried to walk through the improvised dance floor in the middle of the living room. 

You made your way through it successfully, and just as if your body thought about relaxing all the stress you went through that minute and twenty one seconds, you fell on your knees next to the couch that drew the limits of the “just chatting” space. 

You lost Jungkook a long time ago, so you assumed he was locked in one of those dirty rooms with the girl he was talking to two hours ago. That’s why you weren’t looking for him to get out of there, you just wanted to make your way to the door and get a cab that would take you to your apartment -where you’d suffer the consequences of what was going on in that moment. 

When you looked up to target the wooden door, your eyes found a pair of hazel eyes that fell on you with a twisted look. You actually forgot how drunk you were, and how fucked up it was the fact that this guy was giving you that glance when you were in tha state, and it was obvious by the way you smiled back at him and got ready to receive him and let him help you to stand up. 

At least that was before something pulled from your body up, making you stand on your feet -or, at least, giving you the fake belief that you were. 

When you turned to the person, it was no one other than Jungkook, looking at you concerned while he tried to help you walk your way outside. 

“What the fuck did you drink?” he complained.

You snorted, throwing your head back while one of your arms wrapped around his shoulders, screaming in his ear “What did I not drink you mean”.

It was obvious your conception of reality was twisted because of alcohol. You didn’t drink that much, nor that fast, and he knew it. He had his eyes on you all night, and most of the time your glass was half empty, while you walked around like a lost puppy. The second he lost you, he didn’t hesitate to leave whatever he had going on with that girl and try to find you, making your hardest attempt to push people as you tried to leave. The next second, he saw you on the floor.

It wasn’t a surprise for him either. You both had friends in common, and it wasn’t that unusual to hear Jimin or Tae mention what a party animal you were -although, that night, he was unsure if they meant it in the good sense. 

“I’m okay” you kept saying, dragging every single letter in those two words, while you made your way to the uber he called not long ago.

He knew you weren’t. And if Jungkook was familiar with something was with your calls, late into the night, complaining about how there weren’t any hot guys in either of those parties, and whenever he asked, you’d say you were okay with the exact same tone you’d just used. 

Of course you wouldn’t ever find proper guys in those parties. You never looked in the right places, and he was tired of telling you. 

Shortly after the driver started the engine of the car, Jungkook felt a weight on his left shoulder and your disheveled hair was tickling on a soft spot in his neck, but he didn’t care. He actually liked it. When he bent over to check on you, he noticed you were far gone, trusting him enough to leave you at your place safe and sound. 

————————》✧《—————————

You shut your eyes tight, aware of the squeezing feeling on your temples as soon as you woke up. And still making sure your pupils never met the light, you dragged your body under the cotton sheets until you were finally sitting in the middle of the double bed. 

You weren’t home.

You had been too many times in that same bed, not in the way you’d wished, to be able to recognize it with your eyes closed. The hangover could mess up your space perception and how you could be from the floor, but you were sure you’d be able to recognize your favorite place whatever your state was.

Just like you knew where you were, you also started getting glimpses from last night. How you got so drunk, Jungkook had to give up on his date to take you home so you wouldn’t make any bad decisions.

It was the first party he had attended after the finals, he deserved to have some fun after getting his nose in the books, yet you still managed to ruin it for him. You were like opposites, and Jungkook was the good friend that would give up on anything just to look after you. 

In a hurry, you put on the short leather skirt, holding your boots in your hands so you wouldn’t make a noise. And you were happy for that decision when you saw his clothed feet hanging over the armrest of his couch. 

It wasn’t like you believed it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t see you, but dealing with it later was a better idea. 

“Where are you going?” his raspy sleepy voice made you freeze on the spot, “A bit dumb to do the walk of shame for no reason”.

When you turned on your tracks, you saw his head peeking over the backrest, giving you a squinted look while he just saw your attempt to leave. “I remembered I had something to do”.

“On a Sunday?” his eyebrows arched in surprise, and maybe disbelief.

One thing about you is that you weren’t a good liar, and even less when he looked at you that way. You nervously moved around, finally dropping your boots and walking to the couch, getting a glimpse of his gray oversized t-shirt. It had been years since you knew him, and was aware of everything he hid under those baggy clothes, something that always made it difficult for you to keep your focus every time you discussed a serious matter.

“Why do you care?” you asked, supporting the weight of your body on your hands resting on the backrest.

“Because you’re running away like a thief” he finally sat down on the couch, just to kneel on it so he could be almost at the same height as you. “Now tell me… what’s wrong?”.

One look at his big brown doe eyes, and you knew it was over. There was no way you could spill it all out like a word vomit when he looked at you that way.

“I ruined your night” you confess.

Jungkook’s expression softens a little more after your delicate voice slips out the reason why you were planning to run away. But it turned into a funny and mischievous smile after you continued speaking:

“You were with that girl, and left her because of me”

He knew you felt bad about that, but he knew you long enough to know you didn’t regret that. Jungkook could tell you were burdened because he had to leave the party early to look after your messy and drunk self, but he knew you were also relieved because he didn’t end up with that girl. And it wasn’t like he was planning to either.

“Do you actually feel bad about that?” he challenged, raising his eyebrow.

Silence. You couldn’t say a word, especially not while he walked around the sofa while his eyes were still on you. Of course you felt bad… but not because he wasn’t able to get his dick wet with someone else. You were sure you’d be feeling way worse if you had interrupted one of his video games nights rather than the party.

“Yeah” your tone left your throat doubtful, you weren’t convincing enough. And maybe you didn’t want to sound convincing at all. 

“I don’t believe you” Jungkook stood in front of you, just to remind you how taller he actually was. “You say you feel bad, but I don’t believe you”.

“That’s your problem, then” you tried to escape his eyes, but it was like he had you trapped.

The air seemed thicker every second, and your body had a hard time staying still only for a few seconds. That smirk he was giving you almost made you fall to your knees, and you didn’t understand what was going on, or what he was up to, but you liked the anticipation running through your veins.

“Is it?” he whispered low. “According to you, you ruined my night” he tilted his head, stepping closer to you -as if that was even possible. “If you feel bad…” you gulped hard, sure that he heard the swallowing sound as he bent over to your ear “, make it up to me”.

You were expecting for Jungkook to laugh at any time, or maybe even suggest something random, like paying for dinner or drinks later that night, but he gave you a look you had never seen before as he towered over you. 

“How…?” the rest of the words were stuck in your throat as he pulled you in for a wild kiss. You were so shocked at first, you didn’t think it was real, at some point you dissociated and were making all of this up in your head. At least that was what you thought until you felt his slick tongue trying to make its way in through your lips. Your legs felt weak when your tongues first touched one another, his taste was just so addictive you were afraid you’d feel it in your mouth for hours.  

Your hands moved shy over his worked up body, tangling on some of his locks as you pulled him closer, never wanting that kiss to end, while his hands wrapped around your waist to stick your bodies together. You felt like heaven, and he made sure to show off how good you were actually making him feel. 

He wasn’t joking, he wanted you, and you were ready to give him everything he asked for in a blink of an eye. 

“On your knees” he demanded with a raspy voice when he broke the kiss.

You weren’t sure if it was the harsh tone he used, the way he looked at you or finally being in this position, but your body reacted before you could even question what Jungkook was saying. He smirked, running his thumb over your chin and up to your lower lip, in what seemed the most intimate touch you’ve had in forever. 

“You want this?” he asked, one hand still holding your face while the other had a hard time pulling his pants down. “Want my cock stuffed in that messy mouth of yours?”. Those words, mixed with all the dirty intentions made your core clench around nothing, making you aware of how bad you actually wanted that. 

With your lips parted, you nodded. And he loved that power you were giving him, he knew it when he felt his cock twitch in his pants under your attentive and hungry look, and how you kept licking your lips in anticipation. 

You wanted it just as much as he did. 

A groan left his lips from the back of his throat when your wet tongue on his tip took him by surprise, he thought he’d have to guide you. But it seemed like he was wrong.

You moved your tongue in circles that kept getting smaller until your tip rubbed against his tiny hole, just to do the same movement in reverse until your tongue was at the starting point. The hand on his base kept him up, and close to your mouth, while your thumb kept teasing his balls playfully. 

There would probably be a time when you regret what was happening, but not then. You’d enjoy it like you’ve fantasized way too many times, letting the images reply in your head so they could serve as a small guide for the moment. Moving from his tip, to lick his whole length. He had the best taste you’ve ever felt on your tongue, mixed with a salty flavor that just made everything better -and that kept encouraging you to go further.

Rolling your tongue around his tip after getting him wet enough, your lips wrapped around him gently, ready to take everything from him, inch by inch, until the feeling of his thick tip against your throat made you move your head back a little while almost gagging. But he liked the feeling. His tip touching your uvula, just to get your throat to clench around his tip almost perfectly. He repeated it a few times, holding your head with his fingers sinked in your scalp, while his hips kept moving forward, just to move back after your throat almost closed around him. 

“Will you be able to take a bit more?” he asked, while sucking noises kept coming from your mouth as you sucked him off as soon as he set you free. “Do you want to make me happy?” you nodded fast, too lost in the pleasure of being used to even care about what he meant or what his plans were. 

It was when his cock was balls deep in your mouth, that you were mesmerized by the sudden change. He usually was gentle and nice, but right now he was a beast out of control, and you couldn’t be enjoying it more. The pressure of his hands to keep your head in place, his thick balls hitting your chin while his cock fucked your mouth as if he had been deprived from some good sex for a long while, all of it was sending a needy message to your pussy -that kept drenching your thin underwear, something that made you be grateful of using a skirt the past night. 

“You take me so well. I bet you’ve wanted this for so fucking long, huh?” he moaned, hips rocking against your face, while you were too focused on sucking him to even think about answering. You looked up, finding his eyebrows slightly frowned in pleasure, his lips parted and his jaw clenched as if Jungkook was trying his hardest to keep his dark side under control. 

But you wanted him to show you, you wanted to know how far he could go. 

Desperate for some attention, too, you started moving your legs and hips, creating a small friction between your thighs and your pussy that -at any moment it’d feel like nothing- but right now it felt like heaven. You moaned on his cock, and the vibration that sent through it almost made him go crazy. 

Spit was rolling down your chin, from the speed of Jungkook’s thrusts. Holding your head tight against him, he was fucking himself to reach his high, all that despair perfectly reflected on his face. Being replaced with relief when he slipped a whiny moan, holding your head tight against him until you felt a liquid filling your mouth and falling down your throat. 

That was it. You really thought it was over. But it wasn’t, at least not in Jungkook’s plans. And he made sure to let you know when he got ready to fuck you for the first time that morning.

[in1-nutshell]

Another thought just popped in how about some possible more interaction with old Predacon buddy and the other cloned predacons maybe just predacon buddy just trying to make sure the other predacons don't get into trouble and basically grounding them

More Old Predacon Buddy coming up! Quite the popular Buddy I see.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon with Predaking, Skylynx, and Darksteel

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronain reader

TFP

Buddy needed to take a break.

They had been couped to the base for the last 3 months and hadn’t been able to fly due to the amount of work that needed to get done on base.

The recent Decepticon activity, everyone was on edge.

And Buddy’s patience was running low.

It was bad enough they had to deal with the constant bickering between their teammates over stress, but now they couldn’t even go out without someone telling them otherwise.

Well… Buddy needs their little flight break.

Right.

Now.

“I’m heading out.”--Buddy

Ratchet looks at them.

“What do you mean out?”--Ratchet

“I’m going flying Ratchet.”--Buddy

Ultra Magnus stands in front of them.

“We are to stay in the base until its time to deploy. You especially given your alt mode.”--Magnus

Buddy straightens their back struts and looks at him dead in the optics.

“I am going to go flying Magnus, or are you going to try and stop me? Because believe me, I need an outlet for everything that is being pent up in my chassis. Do you want to be that outlet?”--Buddy

“Let the go Magnus.”--Ratchet

“Ratchet—”--Magnus

Buddy moves past him and runs to the entrance of the base and shoots for the sky.

Magnus just looks annoyed at Buddy’s form.

“Trust me Magnus. You do not want to have Buddy get like that when they are already looking for peaceful solution.”—Ratchet

Magnus grumbles a bit, but silently agrees with Ratchet as he walks back to his habsuite.

Buddy knew better than to go flying to densely populated airspace and areas.

But they did know a place that hardly anyone went to.

To their surprise, someone was there.

Well, more like several bots were there.

It was Predaking and… two other Predacons?

Buddy immediately shot down and surprised Predaking when they landed next to him.

“Predaking.”--Buddy

Buddy walks over to their fellow Predacon.

Predaking nods curtly.

“Buddy.”--Predaking

Skylynx and Darksteel are still tussling around.

“Who are they? I didn’t know there were others like us.”--Buddy

“Shockwave.”--Predaking

“Ah… that explains it.”--Buddy

Buddy tries to introduce themselves but the two are suddenly interested in fighting them.

Predaking is about to lash out at them, but Buddy makes him stand down and dares them to attack them all at once.

Predaking is a bit stunned by the dare but knows full well that Buddy could handle themselves.

“Now boys, on the count of three, I want you to attack me in any way you see fit.”--Budy

“Buddy…”--Predaking

“Its fine Predaking.”--Buddy

“You want us to attack you?”—Darksteel

Buddy stretches out their wings.

“Yes.”--Buddy

“Deal old timer.”—Skylynx

Buddy gets in the ready stance and nods at Predaking to start the count.

“3…”--Predaking

The two Predacons get ready to pounce.

“2…”--Predaking

All their limbs are ready.

“1.”--Predaking

The two Predacons leap at Buddy.

They don’t last 3 minutes.

Buddy standing over them.

“Now, what do you have to say about this old timer?”--Buddy

The two Predacons beneath Buddy are in awe by how this clearly older Predacon managed to handle two younger Predacons at the same time.

They try to edge Predaking to fight Buddy.

Buddy playfully edges him too.

But Predaking already learned his lesson from last time.

The four of them fall into a comfortable conversation before Buddy needs to head back home.

Buddy says goodbye to the others and flies back home.

Buddy lands outside the base entrance panting a bit.

“Buddy!”—The kids

Buddy looks up to see the kids running up to them.

“Why hello to you too.”--Buddy

“You just got back?”--Miko

“Yes…”--Buddy

Buddy takes a sharp intake feeling the dent on their side.

Jack is the first to notice.

“Woah… Buddy are you okay?”--Jack

“I am fine Jack.”--Buddy

“That doesn’t look fine to me.”--jack

“I’m an old bot Jack, I’m bound to get some dents that take longer to heal than others.”--Buddy

“Yeah, but that one looks like someone rammed their head into your side.”--Miko

“…Anyways—”--Buddy

“Don’t change the subject!”--Raf

“…What if I told you tomorrow instead? I’m about ready to drop into stasis.”--Buddy

The kids look a bit unsatisfied but let Buddy go on their way.

They will get the answers one way or another.

[stellayuta]

Love on The Grid - Formula 1 AU! Yuta Okkotsu - Pt 4

Your likes, comments and reblogs really encourage me to write more! So do interact with this post and let me know your thoughts 🧡

PART 1 ||| PART 2 ||| PART 3

synopsis: One-night stands were nothing but a necessary painkiller for your inability to cross paths with true love. Your most recent find at a Vegas Club was no different. He was boring, obedient, SLOW! You leave him high and hanging hoping you'd never see him again until you find yourself gawking at a supersized billboard of him on a Vegas highway with the title 'LEGEND RETURNS TO VEGAS'.

genre: microscopic amounts of fluff and lots of angst

content: 18+ only. Some Verbal Ab*se(read at your own discretion), Formula one driver! Yuta x f! reader, angst angst angst, swearing, mentions of s*x, panic attack description and discussion of mental health <3

word count: 4.6k

a/n: part 4's out buddies. enjoy. For this part i wanted a.n.g.s.t and some necessary conversations. this part made me so sad yuck, i took multiple breaks. hugs for YUTA

*******

The morning sun, a soft orange, peers through the ceiling window and you watch night slowly blossom into day, minute by minute. You are cocooned within Yuta's cage of arms as he breathes deep and quick against your chest, fast asleep. The rest of your body is cushioned by fluffy blankets, pillows and his bare body that glows bronze in the sunlight. You let him have this moment one last time.

You keep watching the sun rise as you have been, staring at the window all night long with barely any sleep, as the sky goes from a deep blue to a pale blue to a bright blue. You didn't get a wink of sleep after last night. Your heart beats steadily as you caress Yuta's fluffy black hair, and he groans in his sleep.

You feel a terrible knot in your stomach for some reason.

Deciding to get some fresh air to treat your anxiety, you try sliding Yuta's arm off, but he only wants to hold on tighter to you, his brows knitting together in what seems like an expression of worry.

You frown at him.

"Yuta, I need to use the restroom..."

He buries himself closer to your chest. "Go later..."

Each time you hear him speak; you feel your heart crack a little in the weak spots. If you could, you would just stay here with him forever. But you need to stick to your decision.

"It's morning, Yuta..." you speak, lips brushing against his soft hair. "Let's wake up."

"It's press day... Let me sleep in, with you, just a while longer." He raises, raising his head a bit and looking at you with puppy eyes. He leans in for a kiss and wants to hold on to it.

You hold on to his face, losing your train of thought as soon as you see his helpless-lover boy eyes. The dumbfounded way he smiles at you like he would kiss your feet.

The heated moment though, just as your fingers find his hair, gets interrupted by a beeping sound coming from your watch.

*New Message*

You check your watch, irritably. And your eyes widen at the name that pops up.

"What's wrong?" Yuta asks, grabbing your wrist lightly.

"I'll have to respond." You state. "It's from work."

Getting out of bed, you quickly put a shirt on, his, and head out the lavish hotel suite. "I'll be back." you leave Yuta in his bed, with a smile.

You take frantic steps as you pace through the lobby scrolling through the messages that were left unread on your watch. There are a good 10 messages from Megumi. You recall that you left your phone with your friends to keep Megumi's relentless contacting at bay while you ran off with Yuta. Now, while unknowingly holding your breath, you open his messages.

"Why won't you answer your phone?"

"Y/N. What's wrong? Are you alright? I haven't heard from you at all. Just tell me if you're okay. I'm worried. Reply ASAP."

Now he's worried? You suppress a chortle.

"Y/N. I just got in contact with someone from your office. Your other friends are unreachable. They said you've taken a personal leave? Where the hell have you gone!"

"... Nobara told me that she heard from a few people at your office that you've left for Vegas. Why the hell did you do that? Pick up my calls!"

You scroll further up to find the latest messages

"Oh, someone sent me these. So that's what you're up to?"

*Attached file* You open it to see a grainy picture of you and Yuta entering the casino from last night.

"Really, Y/N? You had the balls to run away from me, acting like I'm sort of criminal when you were up to this? What good are you anyway? You're no different than me!" Your blood curdles as you keep reading the messages.

"Getting caught cozying up to some strange man? Have you no shame? What am I supposed to tell the people here now when they find out? Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions."

"Hope he fucks you up and leaves you out on the street, naked, for everyone to see."

That was it. That was your last straw. Your hand is shaking so hard, you push the watch off of your hand and it clatters across the floor. You gasp at it but don't make an effort to retrieve it. You look around, suddenly feeling claustrophobic amidst the hotel walls and quicken your pace. Holding your hand to your mouth, you keep pacing till you find an open balcony that overlooks the dusty, morning skyline of Vegas. Your heart thrums against your ribcage loud and wild as you try to reign yourself in. You want to scream out, but no voice would come out. You want to cry but no tears would leak. What are you supposed to do now? What if you go back to the room to find out Yuta has deserted you? What if that was his idea all along?

What if...

"Hey there, miss." A soft, husky voice calls out to you from behind and you turn to look, with bleary eyes. "Um... is this yours?" he holds out your watch to you. You stare at it but don't take it back.

"Are you alright? Do you need help or something?" He asks, concerned. He has narrow, serpentine eyes and beautiful features for his delicate face frame. He has long hair that he ties half-up and let's the bottom half flow free. He's dressed in baggy, warm clothes - dark blue and red. Just like the car from the race.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm alright..." you manage to croak out, with a dry throat.

"Thank you for this. Sorry, again for any trouble." you say, accepting your watch with a tight smile.

"Well, you don't look to good. What's wrong?" he asks with a subtle smile, making his way towards the railing and leaning on it, watching the sunrays illuminate a desert like Vegas.

"I've never seen a girl in distress after being with Okkotsu. So it must be something else." He says, maintaining his gaze at the sky.

"Wh- How do you know about Yuta?"

"That's the shirt I gifted him last year." He says bitterly, pointing at the shirt you're wearing. "And well, I saw you at the party last night. Glued to him. I hate to admit it but I have to keep an eye on his activities since he's the number one competition after all." He says, smiling unconvincingly to the point his eyes crinkle and form crescents.

"Who are you again?" you ask, narrowing your eyes at him.

"Geto."

You raise a brow at him.

"Did Okkotsu say nothing about me? That's offensive. I am Geto from RedBull. Number 2 at the race, remember now?" he gives some more information, and it finally clicks in your brain.

"Oh, I get it." you exclaim. "Why would Yuta tell me about you?"

"He hasn't told you anything? Are you even dating him woman?"

".... I'm not?"

"What?" Now his narrow eyes go wide for a moment. "Seriously?"

"Why, what's wrong?" you prod, curious now.

"Well by the look of it, he seemed to be pretty smitten with you. It's usually the other way around. Girls get smitten by him because they love a Romeo. They love to be pampered and treated with chivalry. But this is the first I've seen him actively trying to woo someone. I thought you two were a sealed deal." he says. It makes pink rise up your cheeks.

"Well, we aren't dating..." you admit to him and he shakes his head.

"That's too bad." Geto smirks. "After years of unknowingly wooing every driver's girl on the grid - including mine and Gojo's, the girl he likes doesn't like him back."

"Well, we're just friends." You try to steer the discussion.

"Friends don't look at each other like they would start eating each other out any minute. Believe me, if there was even a slight chance that you appeared to be available, Gojo would have made his move on you." You wrinkle your nose at the notion and Geto lets out a laugh.

"Why do you care though?" You ask. "I thought y'all are supposed to be enemies or something."

"On the grid, sure." He states. "But we are friends away from it. Plus, we go way back. Trained together, grew up together. Okkotsu had a knack for being the father of the group even back then, although he's younger by a few years."

"He's a good lad." Geto comments, finally looking at you.

"I don't want to hear more about it..." you say. The more you know about Yuta, the harder it will be to let go of him.

"If I start talking about his green flags, we will be out here all day. And I have press to attend to." Geto says, leaning away from the railing now.

"I mean, I don't know much about anything other than cars and race craft. But, yes, get rid of your ex, he seems salty. And don't let go of golden opportunities. That's call stupidity."

Your jaw pops open. "H-How did you know about-"

"You left your watch screen open. Anyway, Ciao." He says, deserting you in the balcony. One thing he did accomplish was completely erase your panic attack. Maybe you will thank him someday, after you punch him for reading your messages.

You hurry back to your room and find Yuta already dressed up in a navy-blue jacket, white tee and jeans. His hair has been gelled to the side again and looks like he took a nice long shower. He's just done applying his intoxicating cologne when you peer through the door.

"Done with your office call, baby?" He asks, fixing the collar of his jacket in the mirror. He looks so good today; you can't help but smile sheepishly.

You remember as if it was yesterday (it was) when you found him all clueless, in that club.

"Yeah, I'm done." You say, keeping your eyes to the ground as you walk in. One of his shirts and pants should do. A bit oversized perhaps, but they will do. You start rummaging through his closet to pick some colors that would flatter you.

"It was your ex wasn't it?" He asks out of nowhere and your hand freezes on one of the cloth hangers.

"W-what are you talking about?" you ask, without turning around to face. "It wasn't him, haha, of course not, Yuta!"

You hear Yuta's bare feet walking towards you as you feel a chill run up your spine. He hugs you from behind and you feel warm and fuzzy all of a sudden.

"I'm not going to make you tell him this since I don't want you talking to him at all, but-" He whispers against your eye. "If he reaches out to you again or says anything that even makes you twitch your eye or crease your forehead, I'm sending assassins after him."

"Or a high-profile restraining order, whichever you pick." He makes you turn around to face him, greeting you with a grin but you are already teary eyed.

"Shoot, did I overstep?" He asks, concerned, wiping away at your tears.

"How did you even know about him?" You ask, half-laughing by how absurdly worried he looks at having made you cry.

"You told me all about him on the first night we met, on the way to our first- ahem..." He says. "Well, you were quite passionate about your hatred about him."

"And you remember all of that?"

"Of course. It was plenty entertaining. Hearing you destroy that git. Plus, you said you wanted a hot hookup to get over it." He smirks at you.

"What!" you scowl at him. "Who said you are hot?"

"Apparently, tipsy Y/N is franker about her feelings." He laughs. "But you immediately started apologizing fervently for making me uncomfortable by making weird remarks. It was cute. Plus, not once did you badmouth the girl, he cheated on you with. It was dignified on your part."

"Wow, I don't remember anything about that at all..." you admit. "But I'm so surprised you remember so much of it."

"It's the first time someone was so raw with me. I haven't felt this human in so long..." Yuta says, pressing his forehead to mine.

"Shut up..." I whisper against his face. "... Or I'll fall for-" you stop yourself in time.

"Hm?" He mumbles, closing his eyes.

"Look at the time, Yuta!" you shriek once your eyes land on the wall clock. "Press conference starts at 11:30. It's 11:10!"

The two of you look at each other, burst out laughing and make haste. You pick out one of his light teal shirts and blue jeans. The two of you hurry down the hotel and as Yuta makes dash for the driver's seat of his lambo, he is pulled away by Toji who stuffs him in the back along with you. The drive is quick and stressless and the two of you get out and separately enter the arena where what seems like a thousand photographers and journalists have gathered. You pull a black cap onto your head to maintain some privacy as you walk twenty paces behind Yuta, having Toji as your company.

You slip through the crowd, feeling the buzz of excitement in the air. The press conference room is abuzz with journalists, photographers, and fans, all eager to catch a glimpse of their favorite Formula One drivers. Toji walks beside you, his large frame providing a sense of protection from the sea of people. You adjust your black cap, hoping to stay inconspicuous amidst the chaos.

As you approach the main stage, you spot Gojo and Geto already seated, microphones in front of them, Geto clothed sleekly in a black suit and his face calm and composed despite the flashing cameras and Gojo decked out in a flashy red jacket and white cargo pants. They answer questions with practiced ease, their camaraderie evident as they occasionally share a laugh. The audience is captivated, hanging on their every word.

You find a spot at the back of the room, not too far from the stage but far enough to avoid drawing attention. Toji stands nearby, his eyes scanning the room with a bodyguard’s vigilance. You shift your focus to the stage just as the spotlight shifts to Yuta, who takes his seat with a confident smile.

The moderator welcomes him warmly, congratulating him on his recent win. The room erupts in applause, and you can’t help but feel a swell of pride. Yuta, your Yuta, is the center of attention, and he handles it with grace. A lock of hair falls onto his forehead, it has a habit of doing that, you adore it.

The questions come quickly. Reporters ask about his strategy, his thoughts on the race, and his plans for the future.

"How's the car doing this season? Do we expect to see any upgrades for the Singapore Grand Prix next weekend?"

"Well Mercedes is planning to test out some new components. The car is quick at the corners but keeps sticking to ground in the straights so we'll have to see."

"Do you see yourself beating the Redbull dominance this season?"

"I think we have a fair shot, yes." Yuta says with a hint of mischief, waving at Geto next stage, who shakes his head.

Yuta answers each question thoughtfully, his charm winning over even the most skeptical journalists. You can tell that the crowd absolutely loves him and you don't blame them. You even see a few of the girls and guys carry hand-made gifts that they'd want to give to Yuta later and it brings a smile to your face.

Then, a question from a reporter in the front row catches your attention.

"Talking about the main event, Yuta, congratulations on your win! We’ve heard a lot about your professional achievements, but we’re curious about your personal life. Aren't we all?" The journalist asks the crowd and recieves a resounding roar.

"Is there anyone special in your life right now?"

You hold your breath, heart pounding. Yuta’s eyes scan the crowd, and for a fleeting moment, they lock with yours. His smile softens, a private look that only you would recognize.

“Well,” he begins, pausing to gather his thoughts. He bites his lip sheepishly.

"There's this amazing woman that I absolutely can't stop thinking about. I don't think she knows it."

"Is there anyone who would ever turn down a driving legend like you? You're quite the lover-boy aren't you?" The journalist comments in jest.

"I hope she doesn't." Yuta admits.

The room buzzes with curiosity, but Yuta doesn’t elaborate. Instead, he moves on to the next question, skillfully deflecting further inquiries into his private life. It’s surreal, hearing him acknowledge you in such a public setting, even if no one else knows it’s you.

But whatever it is, he has now made it public. There's no going back now. If it has to stop, it has to stop here, before any damage is done.

The press conference continues, with Gojo and Geto fielding more questions. They discuss their rivalry and friendship, making the audience laugh with their banter. You can’t help but admire their ease and confidence, traits that Yuta shares.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur. The press conference area is vibrant with activity beyond the main stage. Tables selling F1 merchandise line the sides, displaying caps, T-shirts, posters, and model cars. A photobooth nearby draws fans, capturing moments with fun props and themed backdrops. A meet-and-greet section is bustling, where fans eagerly await autographs and photos with their favorite drivers. Excitement peaks at the game round booth, where fans compete in F1-themed challenges, like tire-changing races and simulator laps.

You find him standing with his team, his expression relaxed but his eyes searching. When he spots you, his face lights up with a smile that makes your heart skip a beat. You walk up to him, feeling the weight of the moment.

[Music Recommendation: ]

“Nice job in there,” you say, your voice low.

“Thanks,” he replies, his smile turning into a smirk. “Did you like my answer?”

You laugh, feeling the tension melt away. “It was very diplomatic.”

He leans in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I meant every word.”

You feel your smile dropping now. You pull him to the side for a bit.

"Yuta, I must leave today. I have a flight. Will you come to see me off?" you say, with an air of seriousness.

The smiles fades away from Yuta's face too as he hears this, but he perks himself right up.

"Gotcha. I'll see you out in a few... Wait in the car."

Sure enough, Yuta isn't late by more than five minutes. He dismisses Toji saying he wants some privacy with you.

"Wow. What a day!" Yuta laughs, running a hand through his hair and seating himself beside you in his car. The two of you start for the airport, having told him that you are to depart for home today and that your friends have already taken all your luggage with them.

Yuta doesn't seem all too worried and drives smoothly, playing with your fingers with his free hand, smiling merrily to himself. He rolls down the window so you could let your hair fly out again at top speed.

You gulp hard as you see the lanes of the road widening and buildings getting sparser - indicating that the airport is now close.

Yuta's shiny Lambo joins the queue of cars waiting to drop someone off and you spot a lot of onlookers whistle at the car.

"So, this is it, then." Yuta says and shrugs his shoulders.

"Mind writing your number on the notepad there, Y/N. I am about to call you every day." He says, lost in his fantasies as he parks on the side of the departure lane and gets out of the car to open the door for you.

He helps you out of the car and your lips quiver in anxiety. There is no point in delaying it anymore. Now is your final chance to do this right.

"Hope you wrote the number right!" Yuta grins at you gleefully, not letting go of your hand. "Oh, and-"

He brings out a card and slips it into the front pocket of your shirt.

"That's my contact info, in case. The Singapore GP is next week, I thought you'd like to come perhaps? You can call me and we can get your tickets book. I will make sure to respond, just-"

"Yuta, I'm not leaving my number with you." you finally blurt it out.

"We're not meeting again after this." you add, your lips shaking. "Ever."

Yuta looks blank for a minute until it suddenly dawns on him.

"Y/N..." He holds both of your shoulders as the cars behind him start honking. The both of you pay no heed to it.

"I don't understand..." He swallows, his eyes glassy. "D-do you not want to? I- I thought..."

You have two choices now. Lie to him that you were just using him as a casual outlet and reaffirm everything Megumi has said about you. Or, tell Yuta the truth he deserves to know.

Instead, you pick the third option.

"You are a celebrity, Yuta. I am a commoner, a nobody. You will be busy, find many, many better people. My life is much more static than your fast paced one." You say, trying to make it sound convincing. He looks far from convinced though.

"If it's just that, you don't have to worry, Y/N... Drivers can have private lives. We can think of a work-around. You don't have to-"

"No, you don't get it, Yuta. That's not all."

I love you.

"I-I... I am still in love with Megumi. I'm not over him yet." you say with a straight face. Mentally, you want to throw up, stab yourself for saying that. Even the mere thought is disturbing. Yuta looks utterly confused now.

"You are not, Y/N. What are you saying!" He leans in, trying to reason with you.

"You don't love that asshole... "

You are right. I love you.

"You don't have to be stuck on him, Y/N. Let go. You will only hurt yourself." He tries to plead but you know where it's going to lead. He asks you one more time.

"Do you... love me, Y/N?"

I love you. But I don't love myself. It will take time. Time for me to put myself together. Time for me to stop having panic attacks. Time to see myself as beautiful, as worthy. Time that you can use to better yourself. Find someone better. You are a champion and I can't be the obstacle on your track. Don't wait for me. I won't make you wait. I love you that much.

The words stay stuck in your mouth for you know that if you were to reveal your feelings - Yuta would convince you that he would wait.

So, you just shake your head.

"I'm sorry. I apologize, I truly do." you say as your eyes go dull, not looking anywhere, not at Yuta's quivering eyes, not at the mob that is closing in realizing that the person in front of them is THE racer Yuta.

You slowly separate yourself from Yuta and purse yourself, stifling a sob as you jog away from him, not looking back.

You choose to go deaf until you are inside the airport.

That is when you finally break down crying.

****

The flight back to your crampy, old town in a remote state is rather suffocating. Your friends are seated together in two rows while you share your row with a knocked out, snoring lady.

You stare out the window and at the clouds, dejected and feeling an empty hole in your stomach that you don't know if it will ever get filled.

You get to your dimly lit apartment complex at around 9 PM, when most of the town has gone to sleep and it's rather dangerous to be out.

You take in a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself for the upcoming altercation and ring the bell.

A very tired looking but equally shocked Megumi opens the door and immediately scowls at you.

"So, you've returned?"

"I have come to take my stuff out, as much as I can for now." you say, emotionlessly. The more to the point this conversation is, the better.

"It's quite late, Y/N." He mentions, softly. You almost see the old Megumi for a second, but no matter which version of Megumi shows up in front of you right now, your heart lies somewhere else. Plus, you'd rather Megumi eat shit then ever smile at him again.

"Stay the night at least, I'll drop you off wherever you want in the morning." He suggests but you remain firm.

"Megumi, I'll burn the house down if you even look at me. Move out of the way."

He doesn't try to engage in small talk after that and scurries out of your way.

It takes some time get all your essentials in place and the minute you leave the door of this apartment that you have lived and loved in for the past three years, it's like your life starts accelerating beyond your control, akin to one of Yuta's races.

One year for the both of you go by fairly quickly and yet at the same time, painfully, torturously slowly.

While the hectic days of your life begin to take a toll on your health - finding a new place, settling for a shitty temporary stay till you get a new lease, constant troubles at work, loss of job, moving around to find work, having to do everything by yourself, all magnified by an immense sense of loneliness have become a cause for you to regret living.

On the other hand, Yuta has become a devil on the track, partaking in dangerous race strategies and putting himself, his car and his team at risk, bringing in tons of negative press for his risky driving. His wins are completely overshadowed by poor sportsmanship and his inability to entertain interviews and questions. He loses out on the championship win that year.

The two of you sleep in each night, shedding silent tears, wondering when either of you will be able to return to normalcy and just why, a fleeting romance of three days was enough to affect the two of you in this manner.

The two of you slept, troubled by the fact that each day you spent without each other, the body's tendency to hold on would only get more stubborn.

He missed you, your softness, your sarcastic remarks, your blatant disregard for his celebrity status and your acceptance for what he is and more so what he is not.

You missed the unconditional way in which Yuta cared for you and listened to you, in the small time you were together. The way that he would look at you like the world revolved around you and he needed nothing else to live on.

The two of you had no choice but to move on though, after all, time waits for no one...

And yet, time has the power to heal everything.

Slowly.

But certainly.

The next time you see dark blue eyes look up at you from the TV screen, your heart has been set free and reborn.

To be continued...FINAL CHAPTER NEXT GUYS, READ HERE!

a/n: stupid ariana, forever making me cry. anyway, how was this? I can't write any fic without angst - key weakness. another weakness - my love for popular songs lmao

[sourw0lfs]

dance with the devil - part six

I've decided this will eventually be available on AO3, but I want to get through some major plots points for everyone following along here before I have to spoil them with AO3's tagging system.

Words: 525 | Rating: E (mostly parts 1 & 2, but also future parts) | CW: dead bodies, Eddie is having a bad time

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || part nine || part ten || part eleven || part twelve

Once the front door of the apartment closes, Eddie spends the first few minutes by himself just staring at it. He isn't sure exactly what he expected when Joyce gave him this assignment, but he's pretty sure what he got isn't even near the list. Having to help cover up a murder definitely isn't on the list. And now that he's done that, Eddie isn't even sure that's what he was supposed to do. The only instructions Joyce gave him before sending him on his way was take care of Steve Harrington. No details, no helpful hint or clues. Nothing but the world's vaguest instruction and a stern warning not to fuck it up.

Eddie's eyes wander to the body still in the middle of the floor and he grimaces slightly. "Guess it's just you and me, buddy," he tells the man as he pulls the fourth angelic miracle of the hour to cover up the murder even further. A pool of ochre colored vomit appears next to the body. Hopefully it's enough to throw off any suspicion of foul play, because it's all Eddie's got left. He's only even had the ability to do things like that for a handful of hours at this point. He probably shouldn't be testing their limit. Or cleaning blood off people with them, but what else was he supposed to do? He can't help a guy that gets slapped with a murder charge five minutes into his assignment.

Sighing and taking one last look around the apartment for anything he missed, Eddie finally lets himself go after Steve. There's a chance it's been long enough for him to have the breakdown he was clearly teetering on the edge of. Or maybe he's actually fine and Eddie's just assisted a psychopath or something. That'll look great on his soul's record. All it takes is a blink for him to find out.

And yeah, maybe he should stop with the magic for now, considering the dangerous wobble to his landing once he let's it guide him back to his charge. And maybe he should have made sure Steve was alone before teleporting to him, because a shrill, frantic female voice is the last thing he needs when his head is already kind of spinning. "Holy shit! Where did you come from?"

Blinking hard to clear his vision, Eddie looks in the direction of the voice. He sees Steve first, looking just as frazzled as he had when he’d stormed out before, but now there’s a girl, too. “You want the long answer or the short answer?” he asks, lips already spreading into a grin to hide his discomfort. “Because short is some guy’s apartment and long is, well, a long story.”

The girl looks at Eddie for a moment longer before glancing at Steve, seeming to have a full conversation with him with just their eyes, before they move back to Eddie again. “Long,” she replies with a smirk of her own. “And it better include how the hell you just popped up in my apartment out of nowhere.”

Grimacing, Eddie takes a deep breath and launches into his story.

Did a quick little Google about why some people might not be showing up, so if you're down below and your tag didn't work, check to see if your blog is searchable in your settings! If it's not, I can't tag you.

If you want added to the list, let me know!

tags: @chaosgremlinmunson @soaringornithopter @hbyrde36 @shares-a-vest @dreamwatch @quevadilla @tboyeddie @penny00dreadful @momotonescreaming @stevesbipanic @dawners @steddiejudas @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @estrellami-1 @vthx @lolawonsstuff @gleek4twd @littlebluejane @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lawrencebshaggoth @sadisticaltarts @queenie-ofthe-void @r0binscript @anaibis @hairdressersdoitwithstyle

[zahmaddog]

The Frat Boy Days - The Bad Batch Workout Split

Hi everyone! I've created a "Frat Boy Days" edition to follow up my first Clone Force 99 Workout Program. This one includes a day for Echo :) I'm also working on a 501st split; but it's taking a while longer to develop, so stay tuned! I wrote more on the fictional side too, so we get a little more insight on how the squad works together in the gym, how they approach the weights, and what their favorite things are. I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun with this.

Wrecker - Quads and Calves

Wrecker outlifts everyone in the squad, for obvious reasons, but his squat and deadlift abilities outshine most large species in the galaxy. It can be challenging to have a lifting buddy that will always be stronger, but Wrecker lifts up the people around him and encourages them to push their limits. It doesn’t matter if he already got his workout in for the day or if he’s busy, he’ll always drop what he’s doing to accompany a squad-mate or friend in the gym.

Warm Up

Wrecker likes to get his blood moving and warm up on the treadmill. He’ll sport gigantic hoodies and sweatpants, often throwing the hood up to keep his head warm too. Often giddy, he’ll use the treadmill next to Tech or Echo for great conversation.

10 minutes walking on treadmill

Pre-Exhaust

The pre-exhaust set is one of Wrecker’s favorites of the day because it warms the body to be more explosive. The purpose of a pre-exhaust set(s) is to bring blood flow to the muscle you’re targeting during the workout session. This will help you target that muscle better (that mind-muscle connection Tech goes on about) throughout the session and warm the muscle for better performance. 

Leg Extension - 2 sets of 20

Core

After your muscles are warmed, it’s time to put them to work. Wrecker focuses up and pops a few pieces of sour gummy candies for a quick carbohydrate source. Just like defusing a bomb, Wrecker recommends that you work methodically and safely. Double-check your stance, don’t work with a weight that is too heavy, and make sure you’re warm. He bundles up in a hoodie to sweat through to stay warm. If he starts to overheat, he’ll throw that sweaty pump cover at Crosshair as a joke, but we all know Crosshair loathes it. 

Wrecker recommends that you pick a weight that you can lift comfortably, but will begin to safely struggle through the 10th rep. It’s okay if you struggle around rep 8, just make sure you can re-rack the weight safely. Wrecker also enjoys lowering the weight down slowly and EXPLODING upwards.

Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 8-10

Superset: Leg Press (Narrow Stance) + Leg Press (Calf Raise): 3 sets of 10-12

Hack Squat (Or Goblet Squat if Hack Squat machine is unavailable): 3 sets of 8-10

Finisher 

Wrecker loves how his legs feel like jelly after the core portion of the workout. Now, it’s time to finish up with a circuit of bodyweight exercises (but Wrecker usually adds weight because he eats pain for breakfast). 

Repeat circuit 3 times:

Walking Lunges: 16 reps

Squat Jump: 8 reps

Side Lunge Stretch: 6 reps

Crosshair - Push

Crosshair’s tendencies to push people away translate quite well to traditional push days in the gym. He pictures the weight coming down on him like Wrecker coming in for a hug and the intense strength to push the weight away flows through Crosshair naturally. Crosshair prefers to work with the smith machine because he doesn’t love asking a squad-mate to spot him, but Tech often inserts himself to spot and info-dump at Crosshair as he works through his sets. Tech’s endless banter frustrates him, but Crosshair knows he can lift heavier with the one-sided conversation in the background.

Warm Up

Crosshair doesn’t enjoy warming up, but he knows it’s healthier. He’s had that lecture from Tech, and Wrecker, and Hunter, and Echo, so he just grits his toothpick and gets through a quick warmup before hitting the weights.

10 minutes of walking on treadmill

Arm circles 2 sets of 20

Pre-Exhaust

Similar to pinpointing a target in your scope before pulling the trigger, your pre-exhaust set should target the muscle before hitting the core section of the workout. Crosshair recommends to really squeeze the pectoral muscles during the chest flys to increase blood flow. The increased blood flow will help you focus on the pectorals during the core exercises.

Chest Fly - 2 sets of 15

Core

Crosshair says to keep your chest proud and pronated as you push the weights upward. Before you grab heavier weights, slow your motion downwards, squeeze the muscles in use, and pause at the bottom/top. This will make each movement more effective and keep your joints healthier. Being the marksman that he is, he’ll record each weight and reps that he achieves to push himself the next time he’s in the gym.

Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 8-10

Bench Press - 3 sets of 8-10

Shoulder Press -3 sets of 8-10

Superset: Delt Raise + Front Raise - 3 sets of 10-12 

Cable Tricep Pull-down - 3 sets 10-12

Finisher

Being the soldier he is, Crosshair enjoys pushups. Being lean and strong, Crosshair can crank out nearly 70-100 reps before he fails each set, but he doesn’t expect that many reps from anyone else because he believes he is superior. In the years after the Republic fell, he has been much more understanding that anyone daring to push to failure is admirable.

Pushups - 3 sets until failure

Crosshair’s bonus tip: Once you’ve pushed yourself to failure on pushups, move to performing pushups on your knees and work until failure.

Tech - Glutes and Hamstrings 

Similar to Wrecker, Tech never skips leg day. He understands that working out legs boosts testosterone and other growth hormones, stimulates full-body circulation, and is great to release stress and endorphins. Crosshair and Hunter sometimes skip leg day and it confuses Tech. He mocks them that they could be in a better mood if they just trained their legs more.

Warm Up

Walking helps warm your lower back muscles and brings blood flow to your legs. Tech will also stretch after walking; he’ll touch his toes, bend in half and let his upper body hang to the floor, and twist to loosen his back up.

10 minutes walking on treadmill

Stretch

Pre-Exhaust

Tech says to use this exercise to not only warm up the muscle, but to also deepen your stretch. Using the weight to help pull your muscle (safely), you’ll be able to lift heavier later more safely.

Lying Hamstring Curl - 2 sets of 15

Core

Tech’s deadlift form is perfect. His main key points are to place your feet shoulder-width apart, pull your shoulders back, and push through your heels as you stand. If you choose to wear a belt, remember that its main purpose is for you to push against with your core as you activate your abdominal muscles. 

Traditional Deadlift - 3 sets of 8-10

Romanian Deadlift - 3 sets of 8-10 Tech recommends to move down slowly and only go up 80% of the way to keep tension on your glutes and hamstrings for the entire set.

Bulgarian Split Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 Tech says to set yourself up parallel to a mirror so you can check to see that the working leg is bending to a 90-degree angle. The 90-degree angle will keep your knee joints safe and target the muscles more effectively. Ensure that your knee does not extend past your foot as you squat down. If the Bulgarian Split Squat is too difficult, a regular split squat will work fine, but be sure to check the angle of your leg.

Sitting Hamstring Curl - 3 sets of 8-10

Finisher

Tech enjoys a challenge after a hard leg day. He’ll take his time with these lunges; meaning he’ll do 10, take a breather and check his data pad, then bang out 12 more, and so on. He knows that the lactic acid buildup the lunges trigger is painful, but he pushes through. Tech says that pushing yourself through painful and tough situations primes your body to push through tough situations when your squad depends on it.

Walking Lunges - 2 sets of 50 reps (25 each side)

Hunter - Pull 

Hunter loves his back days because he can put in his headphones and listen to his “dad rock” without any flack from his brothers. He’ll often pick a time he can go alone because back day doesn’t require any spotting help. He loves his squad, but taking some time to pull away and sort through thoughts and physically work through things is a highlight of his week.

Warm Up

While Hunter is on the treadmill, he’ll build out his playlist for the workout and set his intentions. As a master of visualization, he’ll visualize which muscles he’ll be focusing on and succeeding throughout the workout.

10 minutes walking on treadmill

Pre-Exhaust

In Hunter’s opinion, there’s not a better way to get a pump on than hashing through a few sets of pull ups. Hunter will typically warm up with his bodyweight, but isn’t opposed to adding weight. For beginners, he recommends using the assisted pull up machine and working towards failure, even as a warm up. He’s… intense.

Assisted Pull Ups - 2 sets till failure 

Core

Hunter is all about controlling the weight and not letting it control you. Slow your reps down and create that mind-muscle connection with the different muscles in your back. Squeeze your shoulder blades together like they need to pinch a vibroblade knife between them on each rep. Keep a proud chest, embrace the burn, and use lifting straps if needed. Hunter prioritizes building forearm strength, but he knows his forearm/grip strength will fail before his lats do. 

Cable Lat Pulldown - 3 sets 10-12

Cable Wide Row - 3 sets 10-12

Cable Narrow Row - 3 10-12

Cable Face Pull 3 sets - 10-12

Hammer Curls - 3 sets of 8-10

Finisher

Hunter hits his core after each back workout. His upper body pump afterwards is so intense, he struggles to get his armor to fit. He knows he should just order slightly larger armor from the Republic armory, but he silently loves the feeling. We think only Tech has noticed and he rolls his eyes at the situation and doesn’t give it too much thought.

Leg Raises - 3 sets until failure

Ab Roller - 3 sets until failure

Echo - Shoulders & Arms

Traditional gym and cable machine work has been much easier since Tech developed a few skonk attachments for Echo. Echo’s physical limitations do not limit him on the field nor in the gym. His strength to pull himself up, run, and carry go beyond expectation, but Echo never looks at it that way. He just does what is necessary to get the job done.

Warm Up

If arriving at the gym with the squad, Echo will often find a treadmill next to Tech or Wrecker to chat about the day. He finds their conversations to be soothing and then he’ll feel more positive when heading into lifts.

10 minutes on the treadmill

Pre-exhaust

Echo’s workout today will focus on shoulders and arms. While shrugs are considered more of a back movement, he finds warming up his upper back and focusing on pulling with his shoulders is his favorite movement to warm up.

Dumbbell Shrugs 2 sets of 10-15 reps

Core

Echo has been into supersets (performing one exercise after another in a circuit) lately because they “echo” opposing muscle groups in the same set. He also finds supersets to be very efficient and loves the pump effect it creates, especially in the arms. 

Cable Crunches - 3 sets of 10-12

Machine Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 8-10

Decline Dumbbell Bench - 3 sets of 10-12

Superset: Cable Overhead Tricep Extensions + Cable Bicep Curl - 3 sets of 10-12 

Superset: Cable Delt Raise + Tricep Dips - 3 sets of 10-12 

Finisher

A master of climbing, even with a skonk, Echo will perform chin ups (and sometimes pull ups) until failure and then hang until his grip strength fails. He’ll repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times, nearly daily. He knows it burns, but he says it’s important to build up this strength so you have it when your life depends on it.

Chin ups until failure; then static hang until failure - 3 sets

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (7-13 Apr 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 If This Is As Far As We Go (BeauRadley) - 124K, stucky no-powers AU - after a year of being phenomenal hookup buddies, bucky ends their arrangement & throws steve into a tailspin - slow burn, angsty, oblivious steve slowly realizing his true feelings, good supporting cast

😊 Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid (Ngozi Ukazu & Mad Rupert) - cute graphic novel about art students forming a softball team to exploit a financial aid loophole

😍 Death in the Spires (KJ Charles, author; Tom Lawrence, narrator) - historical murder mystery set in 1905 Oxford - another KJC absolute banger: incredible sense of place, fantastic characters, perfectly done 'whodunnit' tension and a HIGHLY SATISFACTORY resolution. Loved every word

💖💖 +76K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

The Man, the Myth, the Legend (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: gen, 2.9K - Holster's beatboxing skills brings all the a capella groups to the Haus - a short, fun, funny, outsider POV fic

Say it louder for the people in the back (redhook) - MCU: shrinkyclinks, 14K - reread, forever fave - sometimes you just get a yearning to reread the best glory hole fic ever written

In Focus (sparklyslug) - Check Please!: zimbits, 6K - Jack's photography eye knows what's up before his conscious brain does

Entering Orbit (museaway) - Star Trek AOS: spirk, 30K - good post-AOS canon-divergent fic where Jim goes home to Iowa to escape the press & Spock joins him

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Hot Ones - Conan O'Brien

QI - series S, ep 13

Game Changer - s6, e5 {Bingoception}

Um, Actually - s9, e4

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Dawn of Justice" (s21, e14)

D20: Adventuring Party - "We're Running on 200%" (s16, e14)

Death In Paradise - s11, e4-8; s12 e0-8, s13 e0-8

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Working - How to Be Both a Critic and a Creator

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #10: Of the Reaching Green

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep10 "Of the Reaching Green"

Short Wave - How Climate Change And Physics Affect Baseball

Consider This from NPR - Bad Omens Or The Cycle of Nature? How The Ancient World Viewed Eclipses

⭐ Armchair Expert - Anna Kendrick [Rerelease from 1/9/23]

Today, Explained - Is college still worth it?

The Sporkful - Jewish Food Is More Than Matzoh Balls

WikiHole - BEYONCÉ (with Zoë Chao, Nat Faxon and Poppy Liu)

⭐ All Songs Considered - Songs to make you laugh, with 'Weird Al' Yankovic

In Defense of Fandom - Season 2 Episode 2: Putting my theory to the test

Dinner’s on Me - Orville Peck

⭐ Switched on Pop - Chasing old sounds: Djo's "End of Beginning" with Joe Keery

⭐ 99% Invisible #577 - The Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant Persons

⭐ Vibe Check - A Special Conversation with Ada Limón

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Brown Mountain Lights

Short Wave - The Order Your Siblings Were Born in May Play a Role in Identity and Sexuality

⭐ Code Switch - How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

⭐ Decoder Ring - Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?

⭐ Imaginary Worlds - African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate

Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #11: Promises Promises

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat for WWW ep11 "Promises Promises"

What Next: TBD - Does Google Suck Now?

Short Wave - What To Know About The New EPA Rule Limiting 'Forever Chemicals' In Tap Water

Code Switch - Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Atlas Obscura Live: Two Places And A Lie

Dear Prudence - I Lost a Lot of Weight and Now I Enjoy Being a Mean Girl. Help!

It's Been a Minute - The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

Endless Thread - RIP Lil Miquela

Shedunnit - You Probably Imagined It!

Armchair Expert - John Cena

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - [One Shot] A County Affair: Prologue

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Presenting Bonnie Raitt

Lowrider Oldies

Huge House Anthems

Djo

Classic Soul BBQ

A LA SALA [Khruangbin] {2024}

Presenting Khruangbin

Happy Beats

'80s One-Hit Wonders

Feel-Good Classic Rock

[awkward-walking-potato]

Little Dove Pt2

Loki X Reader: Rockstar AU

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4  

My promo was Rockstar AU and Dangerous woman by Ariana grande, I wrote this for @caplansteverogers writing challenge 

Summary: You’re at the height of your career and you were becoming one of the best pop singer in America but what happens when your path crosses with a certain Rockstar.

Warnings - 

Y/N - your name, Y/L/N- your last names

Please leave feedback - 🥔💕

There was a moment when he spoke those eight words that would change your life forever: "Well, aren’t you just the prettiest little dove?"

"Now, Loki, don’t start your games with her. She won’t be your next plaything." You jumped as two hands settled on your shoulders. "Come on, Y/N, you need to get ready for your performance."

As the Grandmaster led you away from the table, you couldn't help but glance back. Loki already had a girl on his lap, kissing his neck, but his eyes were locked on you.

"You see, this is why we have the no-talking rule. You’ll get caught up with people like that. I gave those three everything, Y/N. Showed them my best drummer, Bruce, and how do they repay me? They take him and start up some silly Ragnarok band."

You kept your head down as the Grandmaster rambled, not wanting to provoke him further. He gripped your chin, tilting your head up to meet his gaze. "You’re my greatest champion, Y/N, and I’m going to make sure they never get their hands on you."

The Grandmaster always spoke in grandiose terms, as if you were his warrior. It was probably strange how protective he was, but you assumed it was because you made him the most money. He didn't want any other record labels poaching you.

Thoughts swirled in your head as you were pulled towards the stage. Your performances were never extravagant—just you, a microphone, and a spotlight. The Grandmaster insisted it should be that way, with nothing to distract from your voice.

So here you were, standing in the center of the stage, singing a love song that held no meaning for you. You had never experienced love as the songs described it—exciting, transformative, pushing you to be a better version of yourself.

By the end of the song, your eyes had wandered to Ragnarok’s table. They laughed and drank, indifferent to anyone’s judgment. Loki wasn’t joining in; he seemed mesmerized by your voice. People said you had a voice like an angel, and it seemed they were right. You could make a room go silent and capture all eyes.

Even after you left the stage, Loki’s gaze lingered where you had stood moments before.

As usual, the Grandmaster decided you’d had enough fun and asked a security guard to escort you to a private room in the back.

"Hi, my name’s Korg. I’m one of the security guards here. I heard you singing. I tried to be a singer once, but I didn’t print enough pamphlets for my concert, so only my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate, showed up."

Korg's rambling was oddly comforting. Most guards never even made eye contact, let alone talked to you. The conversation continued even after you got to the room, took off your heels, and settled on the couch. It only stopped when the door opened and Loki walked in, holding a bottle and two glasses.

"Korg, my old buddy, I’m glad to see you. Still living with your mother? That’s great. Could you leave us alone for a minute? I saw a vending machine down the hall. Maybe get my little dove something to eat. I’m sure she’s hungry."

Loki didn’t give Korg time to respond, just placed the bottle and glasses on the table, handed Korg some notes, and said, "Keep the change." Korg glanced at you nervously before leaving.

"Join me for a drink, Dove." Loki sat next to you on the couch, pouring two glasses of an almost red liquid and holding one out to you.

"Oh, um, I’ve never drank before, and I’m sure the Grandmaster wouldn’t be happy if I did, especially with you." Shaking your head, you pushed the glass away.

"Come on, Dove. One drink won’t hurt. Maybe I’ll even show you some other things you’ve never done before."

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend and I'm glad I got my rage ask out yesterday because there is soooooo much good OG stuff to talk about!! Never thought these are things i'd get to say but Buck getting lightninged and Eddie screaming his name as he climbs up the fucking ladder to save him feels like fucking Christmas (bonus if he does it over Bobby's orders)!! We are gonna live on Monday, i can feel it. I scheduled my check-up that day so I have an excuse to be useless, no idea what I'll come up with for

Tuesday yet. And apparently I'll need a plan for the next week too since we're then getting coma!Buck imagining he was never a firefighter!! So here's some hopes/speculation on how this plays out. I definitely feel like we're going to get an appropriately traumatized Eddie in the first of these episodes (especially if he has to tell Chris), but maybe not as much in the 2nd (though if they don't take this chance to finally work in a Eddie and Maddie talk I'll riot) since it's KR, who the aftermath of Eddie's shooting was a perfect time for BT to get together (meaning I'm keeping my Buddie expectations tempered). But that doesn't mean there aren't other things I hope for. First, we can FINALLY get Maddie out of dispatch and interacting with the firefam. Even better if the Buckley parents are there and everyone just glares at them. As for the coma dream itself, i'd love it if this became a chance to refocus on Buck and Bobby's relationship. Hear me out, Buck might change his dream career but he can't change his childhood or how his parents act. So i'd love to see moments of Buck's dad being proud or giving advice in his dream it it comes out wrong, or goes against the things Bobby would say and Buck pauses and feels it's off somehow. Hell i'd love for the dream to have weird funhouse mirrors of everyone (like Maddie has a not-Chim husband who everyone says is funny but Buck just doesn't get why) but i'd really love to take the comparison between Bobby and Buck's dad specifically. And if this isn't what finally gives us some realization for Buck about happiness, and what that really means to HIM, I'll declare the writers and KR incompetent because the setup is RIGHT THERE. I won't speculate about how this could tie into that other thing, we are taking the next two episodes as a win!! Plus we have some new SaL songs coming and I can't wait to see if we can use them so good luck to us surviving!

Me, seeing your ask pop up and getting ready to indulge in some good old fashioned 911 feels:

Like, what is even happening right now?! We are getting fed?! So well?! I don't even know what to do with all the excitement! I am going to be distracted Monday but I know I'm gonna be absolutely USELESS on Tuesday. If I was working at home at least I could pretend I was getting work done and not on my phone all day. No such luck anymore! 😭 At least my data will be back and I won't be yelling "let me iiiiiiiin" to my phone screen as ever screen takes 10 minutes to load.

So I'm also trying (and failing, badly) to manage my expectations re: Buddie because we KNOW KR hates those on-screen interactions and conversations and the 2 that came out of the shooting were not her idea to include. And honestly we have been begging for a Maddie/Eddie conversation since s2! It's tiiiime! If not now, then when?! I'm ready for it!! I'm also ready to see the firefam at Buck's bedside FINALLY which we haven't gotten since Bobby in s1 and even that had really weird "are they gonna put Bobby and Abby together?!" vibes. Still eternally baffled at what TF Carla was doing there to talk to Maddie instead of literally anyone else in the firefam who just rescued Buck. ANYWAY. Moving on.

I am DYYYYYYING for some Buck/Bobby father/son goodness and this whole situation better fucking deliver. That dynamic has always been one of my favorites and I HATE that s5 told us Buck called Bobby to watch Eddie but didn't SHOW us a single instance of Buck and Bobby talking about what was going on with Eddie. Jail. So I'm also hoping for some Bobby stuff around this whole situation and if it can contrast Buck's own parents? Even better. And I know we're all talking about Bobby but whooo boy do I want to see a reaction from Athena too. GOD if we get coma dream mixed with present day and get to see each of the firefam talking to Buck at some point?! Hearing them all call him "Buckaroo"?! I'm going to eat DRYWALL.

I'm resolutely NOT thinking about that other storyline because that does not spark joy, but I'm VERY interested to see what Buck learns about his life and the secret to happiness through all this. As for songs, I'm begging for "In Another Life" to give us the Learning Curve discussion of our dreams because it's RIGHT THERE. And as low as I'm trying to keep expectations, they cannot have Eddie screaming for Buck and putting himself in danger to rescue Buck and NOT give everyone ideas so.....*manifesting 6b 3rd party confession*

Cheers my friend, we are not ready for this!!

[revilen]

on more weird ass roommate stories: his dad just called him to tell a story of a friend of his. so apparently his dad’s friend was hit by a car and couldn’t walk anymore. doctors couldn’t do anything. he’s at his farm and is stung by a shitton of bees. a few days later, voila, he can walk again. roommate’s father’s advice was to take a bee periodically and let it sting him.

where do i even begin.

because it’s his dad, he’s believing this shit. it took me several moments to process this. so i search up what bee venom can do, and it turns out that it can actually possibly cure some shit like arthritis and cancer but nerve damage?? 

who knows maybe all of this is true but i’m gonna need some hard ass proof buddy. if the friend was hit by the fucking car so that he couldn’t walk anymore, and then weeks later poof magic cure by bee venom, i need fucking proof man. i quickly looked up if nerves could heal, cause i’m always hearing that nerve damage is permanent and shit, and wow, it can heal itself! did the venom even do fucking anything? i don’t even fucking know!!

[thegeminisage]

one of many reasons castiel spent the first year of knowing dean trying not to strangle him: dean's weird little winchester-only dialect

i’m fucking obsessed with this right now, so buckle in for a meta. a cool fun (horrible) thing about dean's dialogue is that a good 90% of what comes out of his mouth is:

a pop culture reference ("you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and shazam, you're roma downey?")

references to real life phenomenon ("i don't wanna wake up missing a kidney in a bathtub full of ice" "try new mexico, i hear he’s on a tortilla")

these also often take the form of nicknames, and dean has a tendency to give people nicknames in general or call them something besides their given name, whether it’s affectionate or rude ("easy there, van damme" "so i’m girl interrupted" furthermore castiel = cas, ezekiel = zeke, etc, see also frequent use of "chucklehead" "asshat" and on the nicer/endearments end "buddy" "pal" "sunshine" etc)

an idiom ("a snowball's chance" "if it smells like a duck...")

slang ("drinking the koolaid" "jonesing for some hooch" not to mention the literal endless amount of words dean uses to refer to killing - gank, waste, juice, ice, etc)

a metaphor ("power up your batteries" "fly me back to my page on the calendar")

a euphemism ("cloud seeding" "i'd have given you an hour alone with her first")

sarcasm (his habit of replying "peachy" or "super" when asked how he is)

wordplay (see: the entire "vampirate" and "werepire" debacles)

completely nonsensical (guessing what happened to a magical artifact: "it was dug up by tomb raiders? it was seized by the king of the dead by warlords?")

said at lightning speed - if you pay attention, dean actually talks a LOT, usually a mile a minute (this makes me feel a way when you recall him being nonverbal for a year at age 4 but that’s another post)

slang IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (casual usage of “guano,” etc)

a lie, a deflection, a joke, etc

or worse, something dean’s NOT saying, deliberately, because he’s one of the most repressed people on earth

the end result of all this being:

dean winchester is utterly infuckingcomprehensible. 

think about this. there's an ENTIRE SECTION on EVERY SINGLE EPISODE PAGE of the spn wiki devoted to JUST explaining dean's pop culture references, because the average viewer won't have seen everything he's talking about either. they have a whole page for this called “hunter’s lingo,” but honestly, it’s not all hunters, just sam and dean’s fucking batshit communication style. even i don't understand dean half the time. SAM gets it, sam speaks it back to dean a lot in the early seasons, but that's because sam and dean are 1. practically two halves of the same person 2. FREAKS. every time we get an episode that involves outsider POV is devoted to them going "what the fuck is WRONG with them?"

enter castiel. technically speaking, the show implies that angels are omnilingual. castiel should understand every language known to man, but knowing the meaning of words doesn't help him understand the following:

pop culture references

references to real life phenomenon

nicknames

idioms

slang

metaphors

euphemisms

sarcasm

wordplay

you get the idea.

listen to me. look me in the eyes. castiel cannot understand a single fucking word that comes out of dean's mouth. my guy laid a hand on dean winchester in hell and immediately fell in love with him and has no fucking idea what he's talking about ever. because not only is dean winchester's way of speaking CLINICALLY insane, and sometimes incomprehensible even to other human beings who are not sam, castiel is an angel, and someone prone to taking things even more literally than other angels do

go back and watch and watch seasons 4-5 especially. the reason cas does so much squinting and head tilting is because every time dean opens his mouth castiel has to open up his mental "dean winchester dictionary" and translate entire paragraphs on the fly, because again, dean never shuts up!

what makes this extra hilarious to me is this gem:

this line is from 5.13. at this point cas has known dean for AN ENTIRE YEAR AND A HALF. what you see here is my guy SNAPPING. cas made an EFFORT in this scene. he asked who glenn close was. he's telling dean that he can't understand him. he is doing his level best to have a normal conversation with this guy he has a crush on and for the life of him he cannot do it (equal but opposite energy to cas blowing up the gas station and motel room in 4.01, tbh)

yes, cas can understand dean's tone. he can use context clues, and he usually gets the general idea. and when cas DOES understand dean's jokes, he laughs at them. the first time we ever see him smile is during their 4.07 heart-to-heart when dean says "it was a witch, not the tet offensive." since cas has knowledge of human history, he knows what the tet offensive is; he got the joke, and he laughed.

but as far as actual dialogue goes, he consistently struggles to keep up. even after metatron gives castiel the pop culture knowledge in season 9, cas struggles to put it to put it to proper use (dean: "you wanna just walk right into the death star?" cas: "what does a fictional battle station have to do with this?"). whenever he asks dean to clarify it's always when he’s most annoyed, like most of the time he knows it would be futile but he's too annoyed to care. (dean: "i don't know who's on first, what's on second!" cas: "what IS second???") i’m pretty sure he spends seasons 4-6 wanting to shake dean by the shoulders and ask him why he is LIKE THIS. 

it takes cas - who, again, is omnilingual - YEARS to begin to acclimate to dean’s speech and start speaking that language back to him. it's season 8 before we start really hearing him use slang, season 9 before he begins to understand wordplay, season 10 before he starts using pop culture references (to other angels, who immediately fail to understand him, which disappoints him immensely), and season 11 before he really gets into metaphors. i don't remember what season he started using "yeah" instead of "yes" but i do know it took a really damn long time. 

and honestly, i don't think cas truly got the hang of it until at least season 11-12. that's something like 7 or 8 YEARS. it’s more than half the time they’ve known each other at the point of the series finale. 

so what's true romance, fellas? it's falling completely and totally in love with the most inexplicable person you will ever meet in your whole 4.5 billion year life, even though you have yet to understand a single thing he's ever said to you. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[spn masterpost]

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC is Half Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar

(Lessons 1-5!)

Part 1 Part 2 Lessons 5-6 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

So we obviously know that things would run a little differently with L!MC instead of a normal human MC, but just how differently do things go?

No Mammon, you are not allowed to babysit!

Unlike in canon, Mammon needs to be kept away from MC at the start. Why? He’s known this kid for less than a day, he’s gonna try and use them for scams.

Everyone else in the house? Well, they’re of... observing MC. This is a first, a half human kid just wandering around the house...

MC and Lucifer, despite their amicable meeting, were in this really awkward beginning stage where they didn’t really know what to do with each other.

“So...” MC resisted the urge to twiddle their thumbs as they followed their father through the halls of the House of Lamentation. This was their home for the next year. It was very grand... and also very creepy in some places. “Where’s my room?”

“Right here.” Lucifer stopped suddenly in front of a door in the hallway, nearly causing MC to crash into him. He opened up the door, the room was very very pink. “Asmodeus decorated, you can redecorate as you see fit.”

MC popped their head in and looked around, there were approximately a thousand pillows scattered around the bed. It was the perfect amount! The very pink colour scheme was... okay. Maybe they’d be able to switch some of it out for a nice blue.

“It’s nice! Thank you,” MC was about to say Lucifer, then father, then just shut their mouth. What were they supposed to call him? They had known each other for like... an hour. He seemed like the type to want to be called father, he was too posh to be ‘dad’ or ‘pops’, and calling their father by his first name seemed way too casual as well... Parental Figure..? Guardian? Sir..? Should they call him sir???

The fact that MC ended their sentence like they were going to continue it left the two in a very awkward silence. A+ job at conversation.

“Anyway,” Lucifer finally broke the silence. “If you need time to settle in, we can pick up the tour later.”

“N-no, it’s okay! I didn’t really bring anything so...” MC was in the middle of mentally cursing themselves out, they thought they had successfully avoided falling into the awkward middle schooler stereotype! “We can keep the tour going.”

“Alright then.” Lucifer turned and motioned for MC to follow. Wow... he was very... curt? Was that the right word to use? MC hoped this was as awkward for him as it was for them.

The next stop was the portrait staircase, Lucifer explained each one down to each minute detail, MC listened in rapt attention.

“We received that one from a painter from the sixth layer of the Devildom, it was quite a rare find.”

“How many layers are there?”

“Nine, we’re in the centre most layer. This is the most highly defended part of the Devildom.” Lucifer explained.

“Oh,” MC smiled. “Cool, so it’s like how Dante described it in the Divine Comedy?”

“Mostly, some changes have been made since that time.”

“Ah, okay.” MC nodded, a thought came to them which made them clear their throat to suppress a giggle. “May I ask a question that might bother you?”

Lucifer turned and raised an eyebrow at them. “You may ask one such question.”

“Why did Dante say you were frozen in an ice lake?”

Lucifer looked around, once he was sure that no one was listening, he turned back to MC, his voice was slightly lower when he answered. “I was ice skating with Lord Diavolo, I fell through the ice and into the lake right as Virgil and Dante arrived. Of course, Dante had to embellish or I’d smite him, if only he left out the ice part.”

To MC’s credit, they didn’t laugh, but they weren’t doing a very good job of hiding how hard it was to not burst into laughter. “Oh my... how upsetting...”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I’d tell you not to tell anyone but,” his lips quirked up into a smile. “No one would believe you if you said anything anyway.”

MC gasped, but the gasp ended up releasing the laugh they were holding in.

The half demon noticed some of the other portraits on the wall, each of the brothers had a portrait, there were two demons that MC didn’t recognize. So that was their family... they wondered if their picture might be on that wall one day...

“Who’s he?” MC pointed at the portrait between Mammon’s and Satan’s.

“That’s Leviathan, the third eldest, the Avatar of Envy, and the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy.”

‘Oooo, so he’s a military guy!’ MC thought to themselves. ‘And the third most powerful brother? Wow... he must be crazy scary...’

“What about him?” MC pointed at the seventh and final portrait.

It may have just been MC’s imagination, but they swore they saw Lucifer’s expression sour slightly.

“That’s Belphegor, the youngest and the Avatar of Sloth.” Lucifer explained. “He is currently in the human world as an exchange student.”

“Oh,” MC studied the portraits a bit more. “Cool! I hope he’s having a good time up there.”

“As do I.” Lucifer replied. “Now we should move on to the Underground-”

“LUCIFER!” Asmodeus cried. “MAMMON’S BEING STUPID AGAIN!”

Lucifer sighed and dragged a gloved hand down his face. “We’ll continue this tour later, MC. Feel free to explore some more, try not to break anything.”

“Because the things might be cursed?”

“That and the things are old and expensive.”

MC spends the rest of the day chilling in the house with Asmo, who peppers MC with ALL the questions.

They does their best to answer... but it’s clear Asmo was hoping for something a little more interesting.

“So, do you run the human world?”

“No. No I do not.”

Finally, Mammon escapes whatever punishment Lucifer’s got him caught up in and tried to get MC involved in something that’ll probably make them lose their money.

Mini HC! A demon’s wings, tail, or horns might pop out randomly if they aren’t paying attention! The demon doesn’t even need to be in their true demonic form for this to happen. It happens more often with younger demons like MC!

Mammon stops his little scheme when he notices that MC’s wings have popped out and left a few stray feathers lying about... he can hear the CHA CHING sound already.

Our favourite dummy tried to Mission Impossible his way into MC’s room but MC caught him trying to make off with some loose feathers after they came back with a dustpan to clean them up.

Eventually, it was dinner time, and Levi was still camped out in his room. Mammon got sent to get him out, and he decided to drag MC along with him.

“I don’t think we should bother him-”

“Sh! We gotta get him out of his stupid room or he’s gonna stay in there until the exchange year’s over.” Mammon snapped, stopping in front of Leviathan’s door.

“I still don’t think we should-”

Mammon rudely interrupted poor, aghast MC by slamming his fists against the door. “LEVI! GET UP! DINNER’S READY!”

The only response was someone increasing the volume on whatever show was playing behind the door. Wow, petty. MC suppressed a snort until they realized exactly what they were hearing.

Was that...

“Is that the Sailor Moon theme?” MC turned to Mammon and asked. The moment the question left their lips the pair heard someone practically bolt to the door. It swung open and hit Mammon right in the face.

“MOTHER FUCKER-”

“You!”

Ah, so this was the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy. MC didn’t know that track pants and headphones were a part of the uniform.

“You like anime?!” Levi asked, MC slowly nodded.

“Y-yeah..?”

Quick as lightning, MC was pulled into the room, and Levi slammed the door shut, tragically, the door hit Mammon again.

“LEVI YOU ASS-”

Leviathan didn’t seem too interested in Mammon’s chorus of curse words and angry knocks, he was grabbing some figurines off shelves and showing some to MC.

“Do you know who this is?!”

“That’s White Blood Cell from Cells at Work. What about Mamm-”

“How about this!”

“Violet Evergarden from the show of the same name, now Levia-”

“Whose this?!”

“LEVIATHAN!” MC stomped their foot and pointed at the door. “Mammon said we need to go eat dinner.”

“Don’t interrupt me, human!” Levi hissed, MC rolled their eyes and snorted.

“Nice to meet you, by the way.” MC crossed their arms and let their wings appear and puff up behind them.

“...w-whu-WHAT?!”

“We have to go to-” MC was cut off yet again by Levi passing out. Wow... what a day...

Mammon was still pounding on the door, MC rolled their eyes and opened it.

“He passed out, can you carry him?”

Mammon was decidedly not careful with his dear little brother when he dragged him out of his room and into the dining room. When Levi finally woke up, he got an earful from Lucifer, and tried to kill Mammon.

Apparently money was owed that Mammon wasn’t about to pay.

So yeah, MC and Levi’s alliance did not stem from desperation, it stems from otaku-camaraderie.

MC and Levi planned their credit-card hostage situation over a fun evening of watching anime.

Mammon never knew what hit him...

“Okay Mammon, pay up or your credit card gets cut up.” MC playfully opened and closed the scissors before poising them to cut up the helpless credit card. Mammon let out a shriek and shook his head.

“NONONONONO- don’t do that!” Mammon put his hands up and let out a nervous laugh. “MC... wh-what’s with all the animosity..? We’re buddies, right?”

MC snorted and rolled their eyes. “Buddies don’t try and make money off each other’s feathers.”

“You heard them, Mammon.” Levi snickered. “Pay me back the money you owe me!”

“I don’t have the money right now!”

MC shook their head. “Pity... oh well, bye bye Goldie-”

“The money’s in my sock drawer- just please put the scissors down!”

They slowly lowered the scissors. “What do you think, Levi?”

“Hmmm... you have two minutes.” Levi said, Mammon took off in a sprint out of the kitchen.

“Nice job Agent L!” MC chirped, holding their hand out for a high five, Levi looked positively elated and gleefully hit his hand against MC’s.

“We did it! I’m finally going to have enough money to go to the live show! Couldn’t have done it without your help, Agent Near.”

“Wait- why am I Near?” MC asked. “You get to be L and I have to be Near?”

Levi crossed his arms and huffed. “Would you rather be Mellow?”

“No! I want to be Light! We agreed that I’d be Light!” MC hissed. Levi, literally hissed back.

Rude.

Anyway, Levi got paid, and everyone had a very entertaining breakfast. Well, Mammon didn’t have a very good time, but boo hoo he should have paid Levi back sooner.

I think MC felt legitimately bad for Mammon, all the insults and jabs being aimed at him made MC feel a little guilty...

MC took care to be extra sweet that day, and it made Mammon feel a bit better. You know what made both of them feel amazing?

Screwing with the dipshits that were talking crap about the two of them.

MC didn’t need super-hearing to notice that some of the demons at RAD found it to be peak comedy that Mammon got slapped with babysitting duty.

“...do you want to mess with them?”

“What?”

“Too late, I’m doing it with or without you.”

Mammon was totally in, obviously. A little magic to move some of the lesser demons’ things around and voila! They were all at each other’s throats and Mammon and MC got to enjoy a fun lunchtime show!

The Purgatory Hall crew got to meet MC too, of course!

“And this,” Lucifer gestured to MC. “Is the other human exchange student.”

MC popped up from behind one of the rows of desks and gave the three newcomers a toothy grin. “Nice to meet you!”

Simeon’s calm and serene expression dropped almost immediately as he quickly looked from Lucifer to MC. The latter just gave him an innocent smile and tilted their head.

“Is something the matter?” MC asked, through the corner of their eye they saw Lucifer smirk slightly.

“N...” Simeon snapped back to reality. “No, nothing’s the matter, it’s nice to meet you, MC.”

“You awful demons!” A much younger voice yapped. “You brought a human child down here?! Shame on you!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I’m overwhelmed with guilt, put me out of my misery.”

“Oh!” MC gasped. “You’re the chihuahua!”

“Wh-what?!”

“What?” MC shook their head and shrugged. “What’s the matter with me being a kid? You look like you’re ten.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m well over-”

“Am I just going to go ignored?” The third and final stranger asked, a cheeky/very suspicious looking grin on his face.

“Right, you.” Lucifer sighed. “This is Solomon, another human exchange student.”

“It’s nice to finally meet the other... human exchange student.” Solomon offered a nod.

“Likewise.” MC pretended not to notice the pause before he said human.

The first bell that meant “haul your ass to next period because if the cleaning staff finds you skipping class you will be maimed” sounded. MC slung their bag over their shoulder and brushed past their fellow students.

“Have a nice rest of your day, everyone!” MC chirped as they and Lucifer headed off to their next class.

“What do you stand to gain by pretending you aren’t my child?” Lucifer asked.

MC snickered. “It’s funny! Didn’t you see their faces?”

Lucifer half smiled and shook his head. “Perhaps.”

—————

“That kid is Lucifer’s.” Solomon said the moment Lucifer and MC were out of earshot.

“Oh thank heavens someone else saw too... I thought I was going crazy...” Simeon sighed in relief.

“Hey! We’ll be late to class if you guys don’t hurry!” Luke called from down the hall.

Solomon chuckled under his breath. “This whole year just got way more interesting...”

A lot of MC’s time got devoted to getting to know their newly found family.

Satan was proving to be very... polite? Almost weirdly so? He’d address MC like he would address a formal acquaintance, not like one would address a family member... or even a roommate.

MC tried the delicate dance of trying to respect his boundaries and trying to get him to like them...

Once the glasses incident happened everything kinda caved. MC had been quite rudely shunned by Satan and they were quite done trying to be his friend! Hmph!

...hmph :(

At least Beel was nice... despite MC being a little intimidated by his size and resting bitch face, MC soon found out that Beel was a massive cinnamon roll.

In return for all the snacks Beel shared with MC, they introduced him to at least five human world cooking shows.

“MC, why is the music so dramatic? They’re just revealing the cooking supplies.”

“It’s a reality TV thing... everything is 10 times more dramatic than it needs to be. The music’s doing its job though, I’m very impressed by that pie dish.”

Overall, MC’s first week at RAD was pretty decent! Until... well... until Friday.

MC could only hide their demonic side for so long...

“That’s them?”

MC slowed their steps and turned to look for the source of the voice.

“Yep.” A second voice confirmed. “Human kid, like I said.”

Ugh... of all the times to have needed to stay late after school... the hallway MC was in was completely empty and they had no clue where anyone they actually knew was-

“Boo.”

MC whirled around to see the two gossiping demons standing right behind them. They instinctively took a few steps back before the taller of the two demons grabbed them by the wrist and yanked them forward.

“Geez, are all humans this tiny?” The taller one asked as he slowly lifted MC off the ground. MC fixed him with the nastiest glare possible, he tried to scowl back, but ended up looking away and laughing to the shorter demon. “Look at them, barely enough for a snack, no wonder Beel hasn’t eaten them yet.”

Turning to the shorter demon, MC gave them a similar glare. “Put me down.”

“Tsk, quiet.” The taller demon snapped, he turned back to the shorter demon. “So if we just nab them now, how much do you think someone’ll take for their soul?”

“I-uh...” the shorter demon couldn’t pry their gaze away from MC’s as they tried to sputter a response. “I don’t think we should...”

“Why not? The exchange program’s still in its trial phase anyway, we kill this human and they’ll just bring in another one.”

The way he was speaking about them made MC’s skin crawl. How dare he? How dare he talk about them like they were just common trash? Who did this... person think he was?

An old familiar feeling bubbled beneath the surface. It had always been there, the intense, sometimes overwhelming desire to let the whole world know that they were better. The feeling coiled its way up MC’s spine and wormed its way into their head where it settled.

“You can’t be spoken to like that.”

Every single time this feeling had flared up, MC had done their best to suppress it. They didn’t know what would happen if they gave in, and frankly, they didn’t want to know.

“Let them know you’re not to be trifled with.”

The burning desire to crush the two demons like ants was almost impossible to ignore. MC felt their hands twitch and sparks snap between their fingertips.

“I’m not going to tell you again,” MC growled. “Put. Me. Down.”

“Human,” the taller demon turned back and cooed, his mocking tone made MC want to rip his throat out. “I said be quiet.”

His grip on MC’s wrist tightened until a sickening crack echoed through the empty hallway.

Bile immediately rose in MC’s throat as they let out an earsplitting scream. Their wrist seared in pain and their heart began to race hammer against their ribcage.

The desire to give in only grew and became harder to control, MC could feel themselves slipping. The feeling only had one simple question to ask, one that MC knew the answer to.

“Are you going to let them get away with that?”

Their face morphed into a cheek splitting grin despite the pain, their head tilted to the left as they stared down the two demons.

“No.”

Horns twisted and burst out of their skull as they dug their rapidly sharpening nails into the demon’s arm. Their teeth grew and sharpened while formerly hidden fangs burst through their upper gums. The agonizing pain of their bones growing, snapping, and shifting in and out of place as their demonic form took hold for the first time numbed as MC revelled in their new power.

Through the reflection in the taller demon’s horrified stare, MC could see their pupils stretch into almost catlike slits. He dropped them onto the floor while he and the shorter demon backed up. MC’s impossibly wide smile only grew as they watched the realization dawn upon the lesser demon as he stitched together what he had just done. The human he had decided to bother wasn’t quite so human after all.

“Oh?” MC cooed as their wings split through their back and unfurled behind them. “Where do you think you two are going? We haven’t even gotten started yet.”

—————

Lucifer was jolted from his conversation by a sharp blast of blue light and the sound of screams from a nearby hallway. He instinctively rolled his eyes.

“Lord Diavolo, pardon me but I need to go deal with a disturbance in the halls.” Lucifer said, Diavolo sighed mournfully on the other end of the call.

“Alright, if you must, but make sure to come over later! There are events that need to be scheduled.”

Lucifer knew full well that Diavolo was making half of the school events up as an excuse for basic social interaction. Oh well, it wasn’t the time to think on his prince’s social woes, he had a problem to solve.

How many times did he have to tell some of those idiotic students to take their petty squabbles outside?

Lucifer made his way over to where the fight was happening, he wasn’t walking with particular urgency, a fight on school property wasn’t too unusual, until a massive shockwave spilled through the hallways and slammed into him.

The Avatar of Pride felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, that was his magical signature... wasn’t it? No, it was just different enough...

“Dammit.” Lucifer doubled his pace, when he reached the end of the hallway, the sight was just what he feared.

MC stood straight in the middle of the hallway with their back to him, two other demons were lying in crumpled heaps on the ground, one was next to an incredibly dented row of lockers while the other was lying next to an almost completely broken drinking fountain.

Lucifer’s own true form was out in a flash as MC turned to look at him. their eyes glowing a shining blue. Their lips curled into a snarl as they let out an otherworldly growl.

“Go away.”

“MC, calm yourself down.” Lucifer said slowly as he approached them. “Return to your normal form.”

The half demon bowed their head slightly and took a few steps back as he stepped closer. Lucifer almost patted himself on the back for such a show of authority, until MC paused and looked up defiantly. The glow in their eyes doubled as any sense of fear left them completely.

“I said, GO AWAY!”

They lunged at him, which he easily sidestepped, only for MC to quickly turn and latch their claws into his arm.

The child packed a surprising amount of force into their strikes, but he was able to block and redirect almost every single one. If this were any normal fight, Lucifer would have just swatted them away and have been done with it, but this wasn’t any ordinary opponent.

MC was his child, the exchange student, and going through their first transformation. They weren’t exactly rational or directly responsible for any of their actions at that moment.

During a first transformation the demon is almost completely relying on base instincts to function, they’ll go completely ballistic for a while, trying to tear through anything in their way until they run out of energy and pass out. Which is why during a demon’s first transformation usually happened much earlier in their lives under the watchful eyes of parents or guardians.

It was clear to anyone with even casual knowledge of demons that MC had fully given themselves over to their pride and wouldn’t stop trying to prove their superiority until they passed out.

Even though Lucifer was blocking and avoiding most of the blows, MC had managed to get in a few good scratches.

They snapped at Lucifer’s right hand, narrowly missing it and aimed their elbow at his jaw. Almost casually batting the hit away, he hissed in frustration.

“Damn it... MC, control yourself!”

MC snarled and sloppily lunged forward, only for Lucifer to use his wings to bat them to the side. They slid across the floor, their glasses falling off and skidding away from them. MC lay still for a few moments, their chest rising and falling rapidly.

Lucifer stood in place, waiting for any sudden movement. For a few moments, the hallway was quiet, save for the massive gulps of air MC was taking and the occasional groan of pain from one of the demons on the floor. MC slowly sat up and blinked a few times, then looked from side to side.

Something important dawned on Lucifer, he didn’t know just how blind MC was without their glasses.

MC’s rapid breathing began to slow as they continued to squint and search the area around them for their glasses. Lucifer almost audibly sighed in relief as the blue glow in his child’s eyes began to dull.

“MC.” Lucifer allowed his demon form to disappear as he slowly moved towards them, making sure MC could hear him approaching.

The half demon stopped scanning the area for their glasses and looked up at him, they awkwardly covered a yawn with their hand as their wings sleepily fluttered behind them. It would have been much cuter if MC wasn’t spattered with blood.

Lucifer slowly offered his hand, which MC eyed suspiciously. “Come on, let’s go.”

MC blinked a few times, then yawned again and awkwardly accepted his hand. “Mmph... m’tired...”

“That’s good,” Lucifer said quietly. “Everything’s okay.”

MC half nodded and awkwardly stumbled as they tried to find their footing. Lucifer tried to help steady them, but it proved ineffective as MC collapsed into his arms. Sighing, he picked them up and began to walk back to the House of Lamentation.

Just before leaving the school, Lucifer passed by Simeon and Solomon, who looked from MC, who had curled their wings around themselves and was sleeping soundly, to Lucifer, who had a few scratch marks on his face and whose hair was a complete mess.

“Ah, you two, one of you do me a favour.” Lucifer said as he brushed past them. “One of you go to the biology hallway and pick up MC’s glasses.”

Simeon and Solomon nodded and mumbled out an affirmation as Lucifer left the school with MC. Hmph, it seemed MC was right, their confused/shocked faces were quite funny.

MC woke up the next morning with the worst muscle pain they had ever and hopefully would ever feel. On the bright side, their wrist wasn’t broken anymore :D

They had literally built their true form. Their skeleton just stretched and rearranged itself, horns grew out from their cranium, their wings broke through their back and a new set of fangs decided to break through their gums... and then all of that new stuff was gone as MC lay in bed in their normal form like a deflated beach ball.

Not wanting to seem like a wimp, MC dragged themselves to breakfast, and everyone was all: “MC, go back to bed, you can’t do anything when you’re like this.”

“Quiet, I’m fine.”

“MC, if you’re fine, then give Beel a high five, make sure it makes the slap sound.”

“Alright then, Beel, come here.”

Beel didn’t exactly think to take MC’s shorter stature into account when holding up his hand for a high five. He’s tall, okay?

MC then proceeded to grit their teeth and try not to scream as they lifted their arm to weakly hit their hand against Beel’s.

“It made the noise..!”

“No it didn’t, I didn’t hear it.”

“Fatherrrr!”

“Couldn’t hear it, go back upstairs.”

When MC trudged upstairs, Asmo practically squealed and pointed out that MC had called Lucifer father for the first time. It’s a shame no one took a picture of happy/surprised Lucifer.

Side note: after the whole event calmed down, Lucifer was crazy proud that his kid kicked the asses of two grown demons.

Funnily enough, this incident is what kickstarted MC and Luke’s friendship! Luke heard MC got into a fight and brought over get-well cookies! Sure... Beel, Mammon and Levi stole most of the cookies but they were still good!

At school on Monday... hooooooo boy... the two demons that tried to kill MC had lived to tell the tale thanks to MC getting distracted by Lucifer, and now the entire student body knew NOT to fuck with MC.

A few weeks into the exchange year, things had settled into a somewhat normal routine... until one really shitty night in particular.

MC was curled up in bed, their new comforter and sheets were a pain to put in, but they suited MC’s taste much better than the pink that had been there previously. Sighing in contentment, MC felt themselves drifting off to sleep-

Mother fucker who was texting at the ungodly hour of 10:30 pm on a Sunday? ‘Twas the lord’s day and the lord of the house stated that everyone needed to get their asses to bed at a reasonable hour.

MC picked up their phone and put on their glasses. After being blinded by the light of the phone for a brief moment, MC read the text.

Not-Rich Uncle Pennybags 💰🕶: Oi! MC! U want a snack?

Not-Rich Uncle Pennybags💰🕶: I’m in the kitchen! Get down here!

After debating whether or not to throw Mammon to the wolves and rat him out, MC decided that they did in fact want a snack and hopped out of bed to go to the kitchen.

“Hey kiddo!” Mammon said through a mouthful of something in a container, a loose note hung limply from a piece of tape that was stuck on the Tupperware. “Next time, hurry it up, got it? Ya can’t keep me waitin’ like this!”

“Mm...” MC grumbled, rubbing their eyes and looking around the kitchen. “What are you eating?”

“Custard!” Mammon smiled brightly. “Ya gotta try this!”

Oooo, custard! MC grabbed a spoon and practically skipped over to try some. Right before they were about to try a bit of the heavenly deliciousness, MC paused and finally caught a glimpse of what the note said.

‘Property of Beelzebub, you eat it, you die.’

Uh oh-

———————

Okay, the next few bits of this WILL come out in order, I promise! Kinda... not really... eh... but it matters not! I hope you all enjoyed this! I didn’t leave you with a cliffhanger this time considering Lessons 5-6 are already out ^_^

So uh- wanna fight the demons that tried to hurt MC? I’m bringing the pitchforks, who’s driving?

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Rules of engagement the love affairs are over...

Wow nearly all of the season 2 love affairs are over...

Julio finally loses it on Emma. She automatically thinks the case is about gangs. If that's one person who would know gangs its the guy who grew up in gang shoot outs and solved gang related crimes for 15 years.

Rusty does not want to have dinner with Chris' parents and is trying to feign being sick.

And then they're Sharon and Jack. Sharon makes the mistake of asking Jack for a favor. Which I'm sure for her has literally never worked out.

It's so weird seeing Andy and Jack be so buddy buddy in these episodes.

I love this wordless conversation that Andy and Provenza have at: Provenza to Julio: "And you knock it off you understand? Andy's like what's up with Julio, Provenza is like don't ask. Andy looks at Julio's as he walks it off. Then Andy gives Amy the loudest shrug face. 🤷🏽

The fact Jack is telling Sharon to keep it processional. Him of all people to Sharon Rulebook Raydor. I know this is just him trying to throw her off her game.

The look that Mike gives at that is sending me! 👀

Jack to Sharon: "And I told you when we were finishing breakfast. That I would get the relevant information. It's what I've done." For the record Andy has never used their relationship against her in a case.

That look on Emma's face! She completely believes they are sleeping together which is exactly what Jack wants her to think.

Emma: "Javier's attorney says that he was having breakfast with you this morning and to keep things professional. I hate to ask this but are you sleeping with this man?"

Sharon: "of course not. He's my husband." Has got to be one of the most hilarious conversations on the entirety of the show. Sharon gets so flustered here. It's great!

Also for the record when Deputy Chef Winnie Davis was gunning to get rid of major crimes and was reaming Sharon out about the teams tests. Andy pops into the murder room to tell Sharon that the interview is getting good. He very deliberately calls her Captain instead of Sharon. This is highlighted when Andy tells her Davis wants to speak to her only a few minutes before. He calls her Sharon instead of Captain. Why am I mentioning this? Because my boy Andy respects the fuck out of Sharon and would never use there relationship against her.

Emma: The defendant's lawyer is your husband. The material witness in another murder is your so called soon. Is the judge going be your brother? Look Emma is a bitch about it but Sharon does have a habit of making family members from cases/squad.

Provenza telling Rusty that it's not right to ghost Chris by comparing it to his mom abandoning him is... Not exactly the same thing but it does get him to think. He needs to stop being a wuss and actually tell Chris he doesn't like her like that.

This game of how stupid do you think I am is hilarious.

I love how Amy takes charge of this interrogation and is angry AF at this dude who probably killed his fiance.

Sharon also finally telling Jack off!

Sharon dumps Jack as an attorney the way he dumped all over their relationship by using it against her. She plays him at his own game.

I love Provenza! He's the only squad member that always saw right through Jack. I love how he calls Jack out. That he doesn't really care about his clients rights.

javiar: "I strangled her with the necklace she was wearing." That must have been some strong necklace! 👀

Taylor is such a press whore! That guy is literally on the phone with the press while they are arresting Ron.

Also let's point out that since Rusty gets a giant dose of reality when it comes to ghosting Chris. He is the bigger/better man than Jack. 25 years later and Jack is still ghosting his wife after one little fight.

Jack's words hold some serious weight: funny who we really are always shows up in the end.

Yes Jack that includes you. Your an asshole who never deserved your wife and kids. You just kept leaving them and only came back when you wanted something.

Unfortunately for Rusty he also takes Jack's advice and it fucks things up. If Jack really cared about Rusty he would tell him to just let Chris down gently. But then again this man is still married to a woman he hasn't lived with in 20 years so.

And this brings the Sharon/Jack relationship to a close and opens the door for Sharon/Andy. Jack has once again proven unreliable and leaves in the middle of the night like a ghost in a very similar way to the way he arrived. Completely unannounced.

I love how Sharon just shreds that letter from Jack. He has left her one too many times. This was Jack's last chance. I love that you can see she's clearly upset but doesn't shed any tears. I'm sure she's shed too many of them over the years. She doesn't care what he has to say. She's already heard it... What's the point? He's not going to change as much as she might want him to. She's been spinning her wheels over him for 20 years now. Since her kids were kids and the responsibility of being a parent was too much for Jack.

Anyway I love episodes with Jack. He's chaos in Sharon's worlds of order.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (13-19 Oct 2024)

this show is so, so dumb and so watchable (gifs by @livelovecaliforniadreams)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍 Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (dorian_burberrycanary) - final in A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy) series (111K out of 151K total); a marvelous stucky post-EG/TFATWS fix it (knowledge of TFATWS canon not required) - this one is an exquisite road trip fic

🥰 we shut ‘em up, and then we shut ‘em down (greatunironic) - 41K, Steddie, street racing AU - absolutely in love with this version of babygirl Steve Harrington. a very fun street racer AU. Steve's lewk is impeccable; he is 'street racer Barbie'. filthy in the best way, makes me understand the appeal of spit kink (tho not bringing me into the fold entirely)

😊 ice cream before dinner (cloudydaisies) - 58K, buddie - cute, fluffy, very domestic Eddie-POV getting-together fic

💖💖 +71K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

No Vacancies (darter_blue, the1918) - MCU: stucky, no powers, 6K - reread - co-working annoyances-to-lovers, only one bed, very hot

Complications (LearnedFoot) - Suits: harvey/mike, 12K - different meeting AU with fake dating

Carried Away (LearnedFoot) - Suits: harvey/mike, 9K - canon-divergent, sort of 'didn't know we were dating' vibe

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Dimension 20: Behind the Scenes - Starstruck Origins with Elaine Lee; Starstruck Post Season Talkback with Elaine Lee

Seas The Day: Life Lessons From Cephalopods With Dr. Sarah McAnulty - Part 1

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #9; Nikki Glaser asks about compliments

D20: Misfits & Magic 2 - "A Place of Knowing" (s23, e3)

D20: Adventuring Party - "You Had a Bad Day" (s18, e3)

D20: Misfits & Magic 2 - "A Change of Plan" (s23, e4)

D20: Adventuring Party - "The Funny Season" (s18, e4)

Elementary - s2, e20-24

Dr. Odyssey - s1, e4

Only Murders In The Building - s4, e1-4

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

The Allusionist - 201. Singlish

⭐ 99% Invisible - Brilliantly Boring

⭐ Imaginary Worlds - To Seek Out New Life

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - The Sound of… BLUEY!!!

Hit Parade - With or Without U2 Edition

Morning Edition - Going deeper into some claims in legal filings against TikTok that NPR uncovered

Morning Edition - The U.S. gets a new national marine sanctuary, the first led by a tribe

Throughline - The Union That Shook New York City

The Sporkful - Ed Gamble Is More Than A Diabetic Comedian (Live)

Shedunnit - Book Club Fact File: Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert

Shedunnit - Book Club Conversation: Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert

The Curious History of Your Home - Wallpaper

Short Wave - 5-Year-Olds Asked Us Science Questions. We Answer

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - A Visit to the Reptile Super Show with Jacob Wysocki

Re: Dracula - October 15: Hear it in the Shrouds

All Songs Considered - The most terrifying film scores of all time

Switched on Pop - The last decade of pop explained

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society - The REAL Charles Dickens with Miriam Margolyes

Welcome to Night Vale #256 - The Book of Lost Things

It's Been a Minute - Sasha Colby takes us to Drag college

Outward - What Arabic LGBTQ+ Slang Tells Us with Marwan Kaabour

Outward - Bonus: New Additions to the Gay Agenda from Marwan Kaabour

Outward - Bonus: New Additions to the Gay Agenda from Frankie de la Cretaz

Vibe Check - If You See Us, No You Didn’t!

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Skinny Houses

Re: Dracula - October 16: We Shall Be Ready

Short Wave - Europa Clipper And The Search For Life In Space

Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Pop Culture That Scared Us As Kids

⭐ Song Exploder - Pharrell Williams "Piece By Piece"

Shedunnit - Mysterious Knitting

99% Invisible - Trompe L'oeil

The Curious History of Your Home - Laundry

Happy Place - David Tennant: Internal voices, LGBTQ+ activism, and 80s nostalgia

Ologies - Momiology (MUMMIFICATION) Part 2 with Salima Ikram & Kara Cooney

Re: Dracula - October 17: Fall Into Dust

Monét Talks - Orville Peck Talks Shortening His Masks

Short Wave - New Frogs Just Dropped

Dear Prudence - I Love My Family. My Husband Doesn’t. Help!

Dear Prudence - Prudie Plus: Am I Toxic?

It's Been a Minute - The false promise of climate havens; plus, the 'help' in horror

Morning Edition - A company says it created a milk protein that could revolutionize dairy-free cheese

⭐ The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Hogs of Ossabaw Island

Today, Explained - Reconsidering the Menendez brothers

Storylines - Hana's Suitcase

99% Invisible - The Power Broker #10: Clara Jeffery

Welcome to Night Vale - Bonus Episode: Behind the Scenes (October 2024)

The Sam Sanders Show - Pop Culture Can Help the Climate w/ Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

The Curious History of Your Home - The Fridge

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Soundtracks Radio • Upbeat

Teenage Werewolf Rock

'90s One-Hit Wonders

Duran Duran

Presenting Bruce Springsteen

Stereophonic (Original Cast Recording)

Soft Rock Ballads

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

Honestly, controversial opinion, but Crowley arguably does move pretty fast, if you look at it from a celestial perspective.

“But they were friends for 6000 years!” No they weren't.

I mean, headcanons can vary, but if we're going purely by the text then they don't appear to have met up at all in the 1000 years between Eden and Noah's Ark (Crowley has to ask about the aftermath of the Flaming Sword Incident) and it's not clear how many times they encountered each other in the 3000 years between that and the crucifixion.

They don't go out for lunch together (that we see) until eight years after that. Once again, I've seen lots of excellent headcanons and fics about how they might have spent that intervening time together, but from a strictly canon perspective, Crowley and Aziraphale being basically just friendly colleagues for the first 4000 years of their relationship is a totally valid interpretation.

And then, of course, Crowley probably has to leave (he's “just popped in for a quick temptation”, remember) and the next time we see them is 500 years later. Which is a super long time for a human— and I'm not going to argue that they didn't meet up at all in the intervening time, since at this point I don't think it's implied one way or another— but for an angel or a demon?

They've both been on Earth for well over 4000 years by this point. How long is 500 years relative to them? Fifty years? Fifteen? Five?

Anyway, it's at this point— 500 years after what was quite possibly their first lunch together— that Crowley turns to Aziraphale and is like “hey? Want to commit literal treason?”

And make no mistake, that is what he is asking. These two are enemy agents, and Crowley is asking to exchange information about the secret plans of their respective sides. This would require Aziraphale to

a) trust Crowley not to take advantage of this information for the benefit of Evil

b) consciously choose not to take advantage himself of the information Crowley gives him, for the benefit of Good

c) accept (even just a little bit) the idea that the activities he's just spend the past >4000 years on don't make any difference at all in the grand scheme of things, and Heaven doesn't really give a shit about him.

… And he does it. He rejects the idea initially, but just over a thousand years later we see them together at the Globe, and the Arrangement is not only established, but clearly has been so for some time.

Long enough for Crowley to decide it's time to bend the rules. Not only are they arranging secret meetings and tactically keeping out of each other's way, but they've already done the 'taking care of each other's blessings and temptations' trick “dozens of times”. Aziraphale is still nervous and shocked when Crowley suggests it, so he's probably used to only doing it as a last resort in emergencies, but he knows exactly what Crowley is suggesting the moment he comments on what a shame it is that they both have to go to Edinburgh. This is not a new thing.

Aziraphale at this point still believes that angels and demons are fundamentally different. For all he knew, the first time he performed a temptation he would fall instantly and the first time Crowley performed a blessing he would… explode, or something. But still, at some point during the last thousand years, Crowley persuaded him to do it.

And then, just over 200 years after that (and how long even is that? It's ~4% of the time they've spent on Earth so far) Crowley asks for holy water, Aziraphale thinks he's going to kill himself, freaks out about how much he cares and brings out the Heaven Party Line to cover up his real feelings. Crowley takes it as a personal insult and they fall out for a century— according to the script, Aziraphale is convinced that they're not friends anymore.

100 years after that, and Crowley's back again, and he's just saved Aziraphale from discorporation (… by threatening him with worse discorporation, but still) and thought to rescue his books. Aziraphale has his big moment of 'this demon is the only being who truly cares about me, and I truly care about him' and then literally like 20 years later (which would be what on the celestial timescale? Two weeks?) Crowley's after the holy water again, and Aziraphale has to choose between letting his friend almost certainly die through inaction, or making him slightly less likely to die right away but ensuring that if/when he does die later down the line, it will be All. Aziraphale's. Fault.

He chooses option 2 and in the process has to admit— maybe not out loud, but definitely through implication— that the initial refusal to hand it over was never about Heaven, because Aziraphale couldn't give a toss about what Heaven thinks compared to what will ensure the safety of one incredibly irritating demon. Probably crossing his fingers that he's not going to Fall the whole way through, because that is a bloody extreme thing to admit given the circumstances.

And Crowley's response? “Cool, so we're now going to go off together and start hanging out like normal people who don't have the threat of each other's horrific destruction hanging over their heads every minute of the day? We're going to drive off in my car and just be openly BFFs forever now?” No Crowley.

In the past just under 2000 years you've gone from work aquaintances (which was already illegal! Literally every conversation you two have ever had could have resulted in your deaths!), to treason buddies, to Aziraphale fully admitting to himself that his loyalty to you is more than his loyalty to Heaven. That his loyalty to Heaven does not in fact play into it when it comes to your safety. Even though he's an angel, and that sort of thinking is exactly the kind of thing you Fall for.

And like less than thirty seconds after you've both come to that realisation, you're turning round and asking him to give up all plausible deniability and attempts at secrecy and just start openly hanging out together where Heaven and Hell could just stumble upon you at any time.

Like yeah he turns you down, what with finding out you're about to risk killing yourself, and handing you a suicide pill, and finally admitting his ultimate betrayal of Heaven in his heart, this has been a rough past few hours for Aziraphale. He's probably not ready to be making those kinds of decisions.

But he says he's willing to give it a try. Not yet— give him a minute Crowley— but he's willingly acknowledging that there is a Next Step to this relationship and he wants to get there.

And then the next time we see the two of them, in 30-40 years time, Aziraphale has made the step. They're going to the Ritz together and getting wasted in the shop afterwards. They seem to have done this before. Crowley now wants to form an allegiance and deliberately work to circumvent the Great Plan that Aziraphale believes was set out 6000 years ago by God Herself, and it literally takes an afternoon for Crowley to talk him into it.

Like, I see a lot of posts about the holy water scene where people are blaming Aziraphale or joking about how Crowley couldn't possibly go any slower than he is already. And yeah, from a human perspective, they're barely moving. But from the perspective of millennia old beings whose existence predates the Earth itself? And for whom literally every step in their relationship was utterly revolutionary and completely unprecedented?

To Aziraphale, it probably felt a lot faster.

[fruitcoops]

Could we please have a prequel to the praise kink fic? Because i really want to know why were Sirius and Remus not together and what did Remus send him. I really need context

I was hoping somebody would ask for this!! The aforementioned fic is here for any curious souls (18+ please) and SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for spicy texts (not exactly nudes), and smutty feelings with nothing explicit

The bus went over a bump and Sirius winced as his shins knocked against the back of the seat in front of him, connecting with the metal brace inside. “Fuck.”

“You sure you don’t want to switch?” James asked next to him. Sirius glanced down at the veritable wall of gear and empty snack bags between them, then back to James in disbelief. He shrugged, then set his headphones back over his ears. “Worth a shot.”

“Merde,” Sirius hissed as a pothole nearly took off his kneecap. He gritted his teeth and readjusted, drawing his legs closer to his chest. I want to be home, he thought, allowing himself an internal moment to whine.

He checked his phone—not even ten in the morning. It was a Saturday, so Remus would probably just be rolling out of bed, still sleepy and soft with his hair sticking up like a disgruntled cat’s. Sirius sighed heavily and stared out the window at the small town rolling past in the distance; there was little he wouldn’t give to be back with him instead of on the way to a full week of conferences.

“Why did we have to win the Cup?” he grumbled.

James lifted one side of his headphones. “What?”

“Nothing.”

It wasn’t like they had had much time to themselves before that, either—Sirius’ schedule was packed with interviews that felt more like interrogations, and Remus had been running the PT department mostly by himself while Moody took a well-deserved vacation. They were dead on their feet every night, worked to the bone with little energy left to do more than cuddle and fall asleep. Still, Sirius was grateful for every second of it.

He waited ten more minutes before giving in.

New Message To: Re

Bonjour mon loup <3

There was no immediate response, which made sense, though he was a little bit disappointed. Sirius closed his eyes and tried to make himself relax; it would be at least another six hours before they arrived at their destination, and the bad weather gathering overhead didn’t bode well for quick travel.

His phone buzzed gently and he scrambled to answer. Don’t be Reg, don’t be Reg, don’t be Reg—

New Message From: Re

Morning love!

Thanks for the bagels <3

“Fuck yes,” Sirius said under his breath. The bagels had been a last-minute decision as he crept through the house in the early hours of the morning after carefully detaching himself from Remus with a final half-asleep farewell kiss. There was no guarantee he would remember breakfast with everything going on, so Sirius figured it was a safe bet to toast them and leave them on the countertop before heading out.

Message To: Re

Pas de problem

Sleep well?

Message From: Re

Decent

Missed you :(

Sirius rested his temple against the cold window with a soft sound. He hated leaving at different times, but that was just how their life worked at the moment.

Message To: Re

Missed you too <3

Three small dots appeared for a long moment before vanishing without a trace just as his heart rate began picking up. Where’d you go? he almost wondered aloud. Something bumped his arm and James raised a quizzical brow. “Loops,” Sirius said by way of explanation.

“I figured. He okay?”

“I think so? He just…disappeared on me.” Sirius was well-aware of how plaintive he sounded—James’ teasing smile was completely unnecessary.

“Aw, Cap,” he laughed, reaching over to mess with his beanie until Sirius slapped his hand away. “It’s alright, buddy, it’s just a couple days.”

Sirius jammed his hat back on his head and flicked James on the unprotected bit of his ear, making him yelp. “Fuck off, I know you’ll be a mess as soon as Lily FaceTimes with my godson.”

“He has a name, you know.”

“Sorry. You’ll be a mess as soon as she FaceTimes with Pocket Pots, who happens to be my godson.”

James rolled his eyes. “I regret giving you that title.”

“Nah, you don’t.”

As if on cue, his phone lit up again; Sirius ignored James’ snickering as he quickly unlocked it.

New Message From: Re

When will you be at the hotel?

“That’s it?” he muttered.

Message To: Re

That was a lot of typing for one sentence

6-7 hrs, if the weather holds

Why?

Message From: Re

Sorry lmao Reg came in for a bit

Just curious :) Keep me updated?

Message To: Re

Will do <3

Tell Reg he needs to wash his sheets. It’s been over a month.

A small thumbs-up emoji was his only answer, and he tried not to be too bummed. Remus liked having things to do; sitting there and texting Sirius while he slowly got further and further away was probably not his preferred way to spend a morning. With a sigh that was likely a bit too dramatic for the situation he was in, Sirius faced the window once more and buckled in for a long ride.

He chatted off and on with the others when they stopped for lunch, but everyone was exhausted from the combination of a packed week and an early morning. Even Talker stayed fairly quiet, and James kept his headphones on for most of the trip.

Sirius finally succumbed to his tiredness and put some music on, then dozed for an hour or three while they traveled through yet another field. A few halfhearted calls of “cows” made their way around the bus, though nobody seemed particularly enthused about being packed in with double the gear due to a broken storage compartment. Donuts and gas station coffee could only do so much.

“Just crossed the state border,” Arthur called from the front of the bus as Sirius tried to ignore the cramping in his thighs. Three hours. Just three more.

His music was interrupted by a soft jingle alert and he pulled his phone out, hoping against hope that Regulus hadn’t caused a fire anywhere. It was unlikely given the…well, everything about him, but with Sirius’ luck it could happen.

New Message From: Re

How far?

Message To: Re

About 3 hrs. Ran into some detours

Good day?

Remus remained silent on the other end and Sirius frowned. That was rather rude, and highly unusual. Between the two of them, Remus was the one who kept conversations going past the initial question to be answered.

Message From: Re

Attachment: 1 Image

Love you! Call me when you get there : )

Sirius opened the attachment and almost threw his phone in utter shock. Skin. Bare skin everywhere, its smooth edges broken up only by tight black fabric that may as well have been painted onto the curve of Remus’ ass. “Oh my god,” he whimpered, voice barely audible even to his own ears. It had been taken in their bedroom mirror; Remus looked over his shoulder, and Sirius caught the corner of a devious smirk on his lips. “Oh, you fucker.”

Message From: Re

Thoughts? They’re cozy

Message To: Re

Did you miss the part where I said three (3) hours

Message From: Re

Nope

Second one is a guessing game and u get a prize if u get it right : )

The second photograph was more zoomed-in than the first and Sirius wracked his brain, running through his mental catalogue of Remus’ body to figure out the answer. It did absolutely nothing to calm the situation in his pants.

He had no idea what the promised prize was, but anticipation made his hands shake slightly as he carefully scanned the picture. The shadows caught it at an odd angle—it wasn’t the steady slopes of his face or neck, nor was it the strong curve of a shoulder. Not enough freckles, either, he thought.

A lightbulb lit in the back of his mind.

Message To: Re

Right hip

Another thought connected half a second later.

Holy fuck you took them off

Is that my prize?

Re?

Remus Lupin I swear to god

TEXT ME BACK

Message From: Re

Bingo!

Christ you’re impatient, I was gone for like 2 mins

He chanced a look toward Pots, whose head lolled to the side as he snored.

Message To: Re

Hey quick question why are you like this

It’s a good thing Pots is out cold bc this bus is too small to hide anything

Message From: Re

Haha sux to be you

Sirius’ cheeks heated with a whole cocktail of different emotions as he furiously typed a response.

Message To: Re

‘Sux to be you’???

Are you 13 yrs old????

Message From: Re

Do you want your prize or not u horndog

Message To: Re

YOU MADE ME THIS WAY

He took a deep breath through his nose and flexed his fingers.

Yes please

A simple smiley face—Sirius would never see those things the same—popped up, followed by an audio file. He triple-checked that his headphones were plugged in before tapping ‘play’ with an unsteady thumb.

His face went very, very hot before all the blood went straight to his groin and he closed his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand. Breathy sounds came through the heavy earphones, a little more crackly than they would be in-person; he heard Remus’ gasp catch in his throat and crossed his legs as best he could in the too-small seat, torn between thanking and cursing any higher power. He could practically see Remus’ face in his mind’s eye as the noises continued, intermixed with fragments of desperate words.

The file came to an end after what felt like the blink of an eye and a hundred years, and Sirius did not look away from the violently red seat cushion in front of him for a long moment as his brain came back online. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so turned on.

He took a few deep breaths, though it did nothing to erase the poorly-muffled whines that still rang between his ears like church bells. Sirius huffed and turned to grab his waterbottle out of his duffel, only to make direct eye contact with Finn across the aisle.

Sirius froze.

Finn grinned.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he hissed, too low to wake James but just loud enough to carry over the four feet separating them. Finn’s smile widened. “Stop it. Stop it right now.”

“How’s Loops?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“That good, huh?”

“O’Hara, I swear to god—”

“Oh, is Cap spilling secrets?” Kasey asked, poking his head over the back of the seat.

Finn opened his mouth, but the force of Sirius’ glare must have been enough to at least intimidate him a little, because he shook his head. The smug Cheshire grin remained. “Nah, just having a chat about our plans when we get home.”

Kasey groaned. “You’re a lucky man, O’Hara. Both your people get to come with you. Nat sent me a promise, like, twenty minutes ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I won’t be available tonight from six to eight if anyone was wondering.”

“Did she really?” Finn looked back to Sirius, who bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep his cool. Two and a half hours, and then he would be safe. Just two and a half more hours.