#DAMN WE ONLY JOKIN' STAY BROKE THEN!

[pardonmydelays]

IN THE HEIGHTS countdown: 17 DAYS!

song for today:

it's silly when we get into these crazy hypotheticals you really want some bread? then go ahead create a set of goals and cross 'em off the list as you pursue ‘em and with those ninety-six i know precisely what i'm doin'

[please-buckme]

A Broken Heart.

Lee Bodecker x fem!reader

Chapter 4

Chapter warnings: none.

Chapter summary: You and Lee try and hash things out but there’s more to Lee than meets the eye.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 3 // Chapter 5

The drive started off very awkward and completely quiet. You both cleared your throats from time to time to defuse the tension, which didn’t make a lick of a difference. It’d been years since you rode in Lee’s cruiser and the last time you sat in that very seat he’d broken up with you. Your chest heaved at the memory. You still felt the phantom tears against your cheeks when he drove you to your house. Never would you have guessed you’d be right back here at his beck and call. You thought you were stronger than that, clearly not.

You thought Lee’s hold over you had disintegrated a while after you left town, but clearly it hadn’t. He says jump and you say how high. Your breath hitched in your throat at the thought of it. He looked over at you which made you look over at him. His eyes were still that piercing blue that always left you speechless. His teeth were just as white as you’d remembered as you watched him toss a piece of candy in his mouth and grin.

“What’re you thinkin’ about, girl?”

You swallowed hard, “Heard you ain’t drinkin’ much these days. That why you’re eatin’ t candy now?”

He scoffed, “How did you get from drinkin’ ta candy? I can’t just have candy for no reason or just because I like the sweet taste on my tongue?” He smirked and suck the piece of candy into his right cheek. You watched him toss it around cheek to cheek before he spoke again, “And who told you that, anyway?”

You followed your arms and turned your gaze out the passenger side window, unable to answer him while watching him seductively eat a piece of candy, “I have my sources and I don’t ever remember you keepin’ a whole fuckin’ bag of candies in your car, is’ll.”

“Fuckin’ Karl.” He mumbled under his breath, trying to stay out of ear shout but you still heard him, “I stopped by Sandy’s on my way in and she gave me the candy, happy?” He asks rhetorically with a hint of sarcasm.

“Elated.” You answer him dryly anyway, “Why’re we goin to Ruby’s when there’re plenty of diners in town and are you even allowed to take the cruiser this far outta town, Bodecker?”

He sighs, “Why so many questions? I feel like I’m being interrogated.” He asks, already knowing the answer. When you’re nervous you can’t stop anything that passes your lips. You don’t like awkward silence and you’ll do anything to not have to sit in it. He always found that kind of annoying but aslo adorable at the same time. Eventually you’d start messing with his pens and steal a piece of his candy.

“Because I don’t trust you and I sure as hell don’t believe that bullshit about us ‘talkin things out so we can live in the same town again.’”

“Well, can you believe that maybe I just wanna catch up?” He asks, becoming a little frustrated.

“Why Ruby’s?” You repeated, stealing a piece of candy as Lee predicted. He missed having you around, he just wished it were under different circumstances.

“Because it’s your favorite.”

“Am I supposed to be flattered or something, that you remember my favorite diner?”

“Okay, you win. I officially regret this.” He sighs, slapping his hand down on the steering wheel. He seems annoyed but not angry. You watch his annoyed expression fall on you as he sighs. For some unknown reason you burst out laughing, leaning against the passenger door.

He laughs, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing it’s just.. you’ve changed so much and yet not at all. I still know every look and every sigh and.. every move you’re gonna make before you even do it. It’s kinda refreshing.. but I still hate you.” You watch his face turn up into a smirk, displaying his gorgeous teeth. He almost looked pained as if he hadn’t smiled in decades.

“God, I missed you.” He admitted, immediately clearing his throat. He didn’t mean to say it aloud but it clearly wasn’t up to him anymore, his heart was speaking for him too. He watched you fiddle with the candy wrapper as you processed what he said.

You could feel his hesitance. Did he really miss you or was it just him trying to make you feel comfortable? You didn’t know how to respond, so all you said was, “Okay.”

//

Once you got to the diner, Lee rushed you to the back booth. You knew why, of course. Everyone in town seemed to be appalled with your very existence, as if you’d done something. You wondered if they actually knew why they didn’t particularly like you or if they were just following the crowd. Like if one person were to speak on your behalf and say you’re a nice girl if people would treat you differently. You just have to find that one person.

Lee sat across from you in the sparkly red, plush booth, you thought he looked kind of silly, big, professional man in a tiny glittery booth, but you kept that to yourself. The waitress came by and gave you both a menu, taking your drink orders before walking away. You scanned over the many different food items, suddenly remembering you hadn’t had anything to eat all day. It was eight in the morning and all you could think about was the pancakes.

You eyed the pancake special, becoming a bit more giddy than expected and Lee noticed.

“What’re you so happy for?” He asked with a goofy smile of his own.

“Nothing, I just haven’t had breakfast and the thought of pancakes excites me, is’ll.”

Lee chuckled, “You can get whatever you want, doll. It’s on me.”

“Damn right it’s on you. This was your idea.” You remind him just before the waitress comes by with your drinks; two waters and a coffee.

“What’re we havin’?” She asks.

“Just coffee for me and pancakes for this one.” He says with a tilt of his head towards you.

“S’at all?” She asks, both of you nod. She takes your menus and walks away again.

“So, what did you wanna talk about, Bodecker?” You ask, taking a sip of your water.

“First of all, you’re killin’ me with this ‘Bodecker’ and ‘Sheriff’ shit just say my goddamn name.”

“Hmm, remind me what it was again?” You pretend to think, tapping your index finger against your chin.

“Lee!” He’s genuinely annoyed now.

“That’s right. Um, no. I think ‘Bodecker’ and ‘Sheriff’ work just fine, more professional, if you will.” You begin to fidget with the straw in your water, twirling it around in the ice. You didn’t like how this conversation started, you felt suddenly pressured to do something you didn’t wanna do and that made you nervous.

“Why are you bein’ like this?” He asked with a confused expression on his face.

“You wanna know why?” You came on a little stronger than expected as you felt your cheeks heat up. For being the one to cause your awkward situation, you didn’t think Lee would need an explanation. You were a little applaud he’d even ask for one, especially knowing what a touchy subject it is for you.

“Well, if you’re gonna get all pissy, then no.” He put his hands out in protest, giving you a bewildered look, wouldn’t wanna upset the Sheriff, now would we..?

You sighed, “I’m sorry, it’s just- I haven’t said your name once since.. the last time we..” you trailed off.

“’The last time we’ what? What do you mean?”

“Can we just drop it? I wanna talk about how we’re gonna deal with me living in town. You gotta get people to stop ignorin’ me or actin’ like I’m some exotic animal they ain’t never seen before.”

He chuckled, “what do you mean? How they act like you’re ’some exotic animal’?”

“They stare at me in awe, mouths wide open, along with their eyes. You’d think I’m famous or somethin’.”

“Well, I guess in Knockemstiff, you might just be famous.” He grinned.

“Thanks for that. Just put on my tombstone ‘here lies the girl who got dumped by the Sheriff’... that’s my legacy.” You fade off, thinking of how tragic that actually sounded. You suddenly felt a burning in your chest. Your anger was building and you knew just who to let it out on.

“No, that’s not your lega-“

“Why me, huh?” You ask before letting him finish. “Outta all the girls to torment, why me?”

“Because I loved you.” He said with glossy eyes as if he’d wanted to say that to you in particular for so long.

“You sure as shit coulda fooled me. I’ve wasted a lot of time on you, Bodecker. I mean when we dated and after we broke up. I was a mess and the only person to make it better was you and.. and you never showed up.”

“You don’t think I wanted to?” He asked, losing his temp on you.

“No, I don’t, not because you loved me, anyway. If anything you only would’ve showed up as a way to forgive yourself.”

He scoffed, “How could you possibly think that?”

“Because.. you gave up on caring about me and my feeling the second you chose her. The second you agreed to be with her, behind my back, and dump me, is the second you lost the privilege of being my person.”

“If I could go back in time and undo what I did, I would. I’m sorry, y/n. I really am.”

“For what? For what you did or for how it turned out?”

He sighed, “Both.”

“I know you’re miserable and I know you don’t love her. So, did you really give up on us because you were power hungry? Being Sheriff meant more to you than our future together?” Tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to fall.

“Yes, but I regretted it the second I saw the first tear you cried that day. I wanted nothin’ more than to take it back, say I was jokin’ or somethin’ but I couldn’t. The look you gave me in that moment.. I knew I’d already lost you. And yes, I think about where we’d be if I didn’t completely ruin us.” He faded off as he told you the daydreams that never leave his mind, “I picture us renovating your momma’s house, puttin’ up a white picket fence, havin’ a couple babies on your hips, my babies. Everyday I imagine it’s you I drive home to, not Laura-Jean. Sometimes I just picture you sittin’ on the porch with me on a hot day drinkin’ your momma’s famous sweet tea. And if I close my eyes I can see you laughin’ and with sun shinin’ right down on you, kissin’ your beautiful skin.”

You look around awkwardly, trying so hard not to make eye contact. If you make eye contact you’re done for, he might as well take you out of the diner that second because you’re good as fucked. You wanted to believe every word Lee said, you wanted to chop them up and eat them with your pancakes, but you can’t. He did you so wrong in the past that you just don’t think you’ll ever believe him or trust him in the future.

Lee looked at you pained but you couldn’t see it.Your eyes counted the speckled dots on the table in front of you, desperate not to look up, until. “Y/n, look at me.” And you did. Why did you look up? “You loved me in a way no one ever had and I fucked it up. I’m truly, deeply sorry for that, y/n. Whether I’m sayin’ it more for me or you, I don’t know but just know that I live with this mistake everyday of my miserable life. But, hey, at least I’m the Sheriff right?” He joke, giving you a sad smirk.

The sadness in his blue eyes made you want to crumble, get up from your seat and wrap him in your arms, but you don’t. All you can think about is how he reacted when you wore the same except look.

“Yeah, at least you got what you wanted, besides the picket fence and two healthy boys to call your own, and me. Happily married and sun kissed” You brushed it off as if his daydreams of you being married with children meant nothing to you, when really your entire body was buzzing. “And, just so you know, I’m way past needing to hear your apology. Right now I wanna eat my pancakes and work this shit out. Being gawked at like an exotic animal has gotten old. I’d like to be invisible again.”

He gave you a weak smile, “Okay.”

“Alright, here’s your pancakes and syrup. Can I get you anything else?” The waitress asked after handing you the warm plate of pancakes.

“You chocolate milkshake for the road, Doll.” He smiled up at, making you miss the loving smile he used to give you.

“Comin right up, enjoy.”

You talked, well, Lee talked while you ate and came up with a plan. Anytime he heard someone in town gossiping or spreading rumors he would interfere and steer the conversation in another direction. He said he couldn’t exactly defend you because it would look bad, especially during the campaign season and word would get back to Laura-Jean.

“Has she asked you not to talk to me yet?” You asked, stuffing your face with the last bite of pancakes.

“How’d you know?” He wondered.

“I was her best friend for 15 years, I know how she is.”

“You know about her crush on me when we was datin’?”

“Nope.”

“I can’t believe you never saw it. I knew she liked me before I knew you liked me.” He admitted.

You felt a blush creep across your cheeks, “Why not date her then? Woulda saved us a lot of heartache, don’t ya think?” You grinned but felt the pit in your stomach expand, again.

“Girl, I knew I loved you the second you said my name. That’s why I wanna hear you say it so badly. It sounds so sweet comin’ from your lips.”

You cleared your throat, desperately trying not to fall for his games, “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Sayin’ your name is like a sin to me.”

“You never minded sinnin’ a little when you were with me, what changed?”

“Check please!” You motioned for the waitress. “I’m not feeding into this, Bodecker. I’ve played your mind games and I lost. You just worry about gettin’ everyone off my back and Laura-Jean won’t ever hear of us speakin’ or seein’ each other again, because we won’t be doin’ either.”

“You’re no fun.” He frowned.

“I used to be and look where it got me; Heartbroken and alone.” The waitress brought the check and the chocolate milkshake to go, “I’ll be in the car.” You said before standing from the booth and leaving the Diner.

The car was locked when you got there, so you stood and waited, twirling the straw around in the shake. You could help but think about Lee. How could he be so nonchalant about your past relationship?

Yours and Lee’s relationship meant everything to you. He was your first serious boyfriend and the love of your life. You felt like that meant nothing to him. Like you were some chick he had on the side for those 3 years y’all dated.

You sighed, taking a sip of your milkshake. Even with how angry he makes you, your mind slips away to the daydreams he has about you. He pictured y’all being married, which was no surprise to you because you guys talked about getting married all the time when you dated.

You closed your eyes, picturing it all. Two rowdy, little boys playing in the front yard, Lee sitting next to you on the porch swing with his arm wrapped around your waist. You could hear his boyish life ringing in your ears.

You were so lost in the daydream you hadn’t heard Lee walk up. You didn’t even know he was near you until you smelled his familiar musk and felt his hand touch your waist. Now you knew he was close, but before you could even think to open your eyes, Lee gently pressed his lips to yours in a quick peck, resting his forehead against yours when he pulled away. You hadn’t reacted the way you thought. You thought you’d recoil, spit in his face or throw your milkshake in his face. Instead, you felt the milkshake slip from your fingers, falling to the dusty ground as you grabbed his face, bringing him in for another kiss.

This kiss was deeper. You both felt every emotion you’d had bottled up for so long. Every tear that you shed and every crack in your heart was being mended just by the feel of his lips. You missed the feel of his freshly shaved, aftershave covered skin against your hands, the feel of his lips and how ridiculously plump and pink they were, or the little grunts he makes when you scratch at the nape of his neck.

You felt his protruding belly press against yours, pinning you up against the cruiser. The kiss became deeper once his tongue entered your mouth, causing you both to moan at the familiar tastes you both shared.

“T-take me home.” You pant against his lips.

“I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go.”

Dividers by: @firefly-graphics

Taglist: @haydens-moles , @c00lkidvibes , @tcc-gizmachine , @buckysm3talarm , @gogolucky13 , @cryptidcasanova , @heavenlyseb , @writersbuck , @teddy-bearbaby , @bbmommy0902 , @sweetllamaparadise , @thereblogcrusader , @aleemendoza2425-blog , @frostbytebaby , @jessyballet , @emotionallyandphysicallydone , @sarge-barnes-sir , @generalbagelcookieslime , @lady-loki-ren , @dime-piece-xo , @greeneyedblondie44 , @cherryblossomskye , @amelia-song-pond , @thedaughterofwandavision , @vghz82 , @vintagepigeon , @bxmaaa @steverogers123-blog , @quxxnxfhxll , @rhislean , @pinecrest , @jackiehollanderr , @girlfriday007 , @fanofalltheficsx , @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable , @krazykatkay456

Dm to be tagged :)

[tacom-literatureu-blog]

"If I win the lottery you'll never see me again."

"Damn we only jokin, stay broke then."

Grian and Wilbur

[carcinized]

IF I WIN THE LOTTERY, YOUD NEVER SEE ME AGAIN (damn we only jokin.... stay broke then)

[notthe-latte-hottay]

“If I win the lottery, you’ll never see me again.” “Damn, we only jokin’. Stay broke then!”

Is one of the funniest musical moments of all time and I do not take second opinions on this.

[artificialqueens]

Couples' Therapy : Chapter one (Branjie) - BlackHighHeels

AN: This is a ‘kind of 'sequel to “For they know not what they do”.

Actually it’s just a way for me to have fun with this idea of therapy and Branjie combined ;) I am not sure however how much sense some parts make, if you don’t know the the first part.

(Read on AO3)

Chapter 1: Mommy Dearest

"Hey, you look nothing like Dr. Phil, mama,“ Jose greets their therapist when they walk into her office. His charm is coming across and it hits Brock once again how incredibly charismatic his boyfriend is, even when he is nervous.

"I’d hope so,” the small blonde woman replies, with an amused smile on her face. “My name is Dr. Bernard, but you can call me Laurie. Most of my clients do.”

“I’m Brock,” he introduces himself as they shake hands.

“Jose.” Another handshake, then they both take the offered seats on a couch opposite the chair where the therapist sits down.

“I hope traffic wasn’t too bad and you found my office alright.”

“It was fine,” Brock replies politely.

“It was the usual rush hour nightmare, bitch, that’s why you made us leave an hour earlier than necessary and we been hanging out at Starbucks round the corner for the last forty minutes,” Jose snorts with amusement, teasing Brock. He, however doesn’t find it too funny and gives the therapist an apologetic look. This is just about a bit of small talk and not about recounting every detail of their drive.

“Still fine. We got here on time, found everything alright.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Laurie intervened. “So, how can I help you?

"We here for the couple’s counselling therapy stuff. We thought maybe you could fix us so we won’t break up again. 'Cause it fucking sucked.” Jose mumbles more than he speaks, the longer he talks.

“Is this your first time in therapy?”

“Yes,” Brock nods.

“No,” Jose says at the same time.

“You’ve been to couples therapy before?” Brock is more than surprised.

“Huh? No, no. Not Couple therapy. Just therapy. Feels like I spent most of my damn time at school in some sort of therapy.” That is also news to Brock, but he decides not to get into that here. He will just ask him once they are back home. Jose looks really uncomfortable and shy now, so he’ll need a moment anyway.

“So, seeing as neither of you has been to couples therapy before, I think we should start with the basics, so you can decide, if you want to really do this. First, everything you say is absolutely confidential. I understand that the both of you are in showbiz, so I want to point that out that this is a safe place.” They both nod and Brock feels himself relax a bit, even though the whole thing still makes him anxious. The fact that Jose is so unusually quiet and shy forces him to remain calm though. They can’t both lose it.

“As for the rest, I will usually give you some sort of homework. And I also want to point out that therapy only works if you are honest, but also respectful with each other. So, no yelling, no insults  or threats.”

“You did good when you researched the shit for our big talk, boo” Jose whispers, meaning Laurie can still hear it. Brock just smiles at him when he feels his hand slide into his at the same time.

“Also, I don’t know if that’s an issue here, but no drugs or alcohol while your are here. I know these talks can be tricky, but I can’t really work with you if you are under the influence.” They both nod, knowing that this wouldn’t be an issue for either of them.

“Soo, shall we start?” Laurie smiles and grabs a notepad from the table. Brock feels Jose tightening his grip on his hand. “How about you tell me a bit about yourself and the relationship? Brock, why don’t you start?”

He takes a calming breath before he starts to talk and laces his fingers through Jo’s to make the physical connection tighter.

“Uhm, we’re both working as drag queens and met while filming Drag race. We got together in front of the camera’s and then dated for a while afterwards. After couple of months we broke up, because it wasn’t working for either of us. But, like…. we remained friends. At some point I moved here to L.A. and Jo moved in with me for logistical reasons. We became closer again and finally got back together. We’re here now so the issues we had back then won’t break us up again.” It is the best he can do for now. He knows it is a very brief version and a lot of details are missing, but he doesn’t know this woman yet. And the fact that she’s taking notes doesn’t make it any easier.

“Jose?”

“Uuhm… what he said. I agree,” he mumbles. Brock gets the impression that if he could, Jose would hide behind him or underneath the table. Brock has rarely seen him this shy and intimidated. Where is Miss Vanjie when he needs her?

“Can you still tell me your own version of events?” Laurie’s smile is friendly and open. Brock really likes her. She reminds him of his best friend in South Africa.

“You a Emeli Sande fan?” Jose asks, suddenly a bit more himself. The therapist just laughs and looks expectantly at him. “So, uhh… I fucked up the first time I was on Drag Race, but then became a meme and they called me back for another season. He was on there as well. We started jokin’ and flirtin’ from the get go and then suddenly we were kissing. We couldn’t talk for shit or do anything more, 'cause of the cameras. He kicked my out by winning the lip-sync against me and Miss Vanjie had to go home for a second time. Once he was done filmin’ we spent some time together and dated for 18 weeks. Then we broke up, cause he wanted his freedom and my clingy ass was travelin’ all the time because of season 10. After filmin’ the reunion and the finale and all that shit we went on tour and started hanging out again. Then started doing more than hanging out.” Brock does a double take when Jose actually blushes.

“Were you back together or were you just having sex?” the therapist asks.

“We were just hooking up. I knew he didn’t want me back, but I couldn’t stay away. I mean, look at him, he cute right?” Jose smiles and slowly relaxes. “We lost contact after the tour for a while, then bumped into each other. And again, I couldn’t resist him. But, uhm, he… did what he did and I dated someone else and then after the break-up he asked me if I wanna join him in his house to look after the kitty cats and 'cause I was looking for a new apartment. And then… yeah… we started talking, started flirting, started hooking up again and then got back together. And now, four months later, here we are.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me, both of you. That was very interesting. If each of you could name one thing that you think is the biggest problem in your relationship, what would it be?”

“I start again?” Brock wonders.

“Whoever wants to go first.”

“I’m fucking scared all the time,” Jose suddenly blurts out and Brock’s head whips around to face him, mouth hanging open.

“What?” he gasps. He is truly shocked by Jose’s choice of words. Why is he scared? Not of him, right? And why all the time? What is going on?

“What are you scared of?” Laurie speaks out loud what Brock also wants to know, but she is a lot less panicked than he feels.

“One of us gonna fuck up. He gonna leave. We gonna fight again and I’m gonna get so fucking mad again I wanna hit him again,” Jose takes his hand back and leans forward, both arms resting against his upper thighs, head hanging down. “Me being too much. He wanting his freedom again.” He shrugs but doesn’t look up.

“So, is it ok to say you’d think 'trust’ is an issue? Trust in the relationship and in your partner? Maybe in yourself?”

“Yeah,” Jose nods and finally raises his head. Brock reaches over and rubs his back encouragingly. The slow movement calms him as much as his boyfriend.

“Brock, what do you think?”

“I agree,” he says and takes his eyes off Jose to look at the therapist. “Although I think that the reason why we have trust issues is because of our communication problems.”

“Yeah, boo, we really suck at it most of the time.” Jose’s hand is back in his, gives it an encouraging squeeze.

“Do you think you don’t communicate well because you don’t trust each other, or you don’t trust each other because you don’t communicate adequately?” Jose looks at him helplessly and Brock gets that he doesn’t understand the last word, but doesn’t want to ask.

“I think either, both. I don’t like talking about hard things, it gives me anxiety. But if I have to talk to someone, I know I can talk to him, better than to anyone else. Just when it’s about us, it gets hard. He doesn’t trust me being committed to the relationship or him. But he usually tries to communicate with me. I just don’t always wanna talk to hear it.” He doesn’t really know how to explain it. It’s like a vicious circle and he doesn’t really know where it starts or ends. It’s like the question with the hen and the egg.

“Jose, you agree?”

“Yeah, sounds right.”

“Ok, then I think we should stop here for today and I’m going to give you your homework for next time. Do you have any questions before then?”

“We not gonna get graded, right?” it bursts out of Jose and Brock has to laugh. The panic on his boyfriend’s face about possible grades is simply too cute.

“No, you won’t,” Dr. Bernard smiles as well. “Any other questions?”

“Actually, Doc, I think I do,” Jose says and surprises Brock once again. “I think maybe you could help us with a real communication issue we having right now.” Brock groans loudly, because he suddenly knows what’s coming.

“Jo, this is really not Dr…” he tries to stop him.

“No, it’s ok. You can ask and I’ll tell you if it’s too much,” he is stopped by the doctor.

“Imma be real quick,” Jose is looking smug now and continues. “This morning we had a fight cause my man thinks it’s my job to tell my mama and aunt that they shouldn’t hang by the pool all the time and shouldn’t come in with their own key whenever they like. Now, I know they’re my family, problemo is, that he the one who gave them the key and he the one who said, and I quote 'You can come over any time’. What do you say to that, Dr. Laurie?”

“Why don’t you want to be the one who talks to your mother?"

"She’s gonna whoop my ass and think I don’t want her no more. Also I don’t care if they hang at our place.”

“You do care! You’re as annoyed as me,” Brock interrupts.

“I am, but I told you before: you fucked up. You fucked up when you gone and said Bienvenido and gave them the key, so you fix it, boo,” Jose leans back against the couch.

“Why don’t you talk to them together and explain that you need your privacy and agree beforehand on some rules for the use of the key?” The therapist proposes.

“She’ll whoop both our asses!”

“Don’t you always say that we’re in this together, papi?” Brock laughs and bumps his shoulder against Jose’s.

“You suck!” Jose huffs, but smiles.

“More questions? About the sessions? Anything?” the therapist asks again.

“Nope,” Jose shakes his head this time and Brock does the same.

“Good, then I want to start with a small exercise for next week. I want each of you to write down three small things in your relationship that annoy you about the other one. And three small things you love about each other. For now I don’t want you to talk about any of this at home, because we will talk about it here. Ok?”

“Dully noted,” Jose nods as they both get up. With another handshake they leave the office and Brock takes a deep breath when they’re outside. Although it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, he is still glad he has another week until they have to go back. If only the talk to his mother in law wouldn’t await in between now and then…

TBC

[princehec-tor-kur]

Entrapdak Human AU

"He's totally real!" Entrapta shouted back, although every statement from her was a shout. A loud, excited shout, that pierced everyone's ear drums. Usually in a joyful and positive manner. But this time she was annoyed, frustrated. In a cute way.

"Sure he is En." Catra sarcastically sneered, attempting to hide her face behind Adora's arm. Adora inturn attempting to support Entrapta, but sucuming to a slight giggle. Entrapta's story couldn't be true. She's just too embarassed to admite it.

"He is!!" The dwarf woman yelled with a nervious blush. Glimmer was indifferent of the far feched story, she was simply hungry. It appeared that Bow and Scorpia were the only two who had any ounce of belief in the purple haired woman. It was ironic in a sense that even though Entrapta was the oldest of the group, she was the one who acted like a diffencive child.

"I'm telling you we met up before the Con and he got a call to work. I was going to introduce you guys, I swear. It just turned out that way!" The pigtailed lady stomped furiously.

"We believe you, 'Traps." Scorpia gave her a reasuring smile. Bow nodded with her.

"No, we don't." Catra cackled.

"Yeah, well.... hmmm..." Scorpia's smile faded and her prostetic hand began to scratch her head, "I mean... you said he was, what, 6,5?" Dought and werry crept into her voice.

"Yeah, and he's ex-military. They threw him out when he disobeyed a suicide mission to the front lines."

"Uh huh."

"He lost both his legs, up to the knees, so he started his own science branch in his brothers company."

"Uh huh."

"That's were we met. He also has second degree burns all over his body."

"He also wears a backless black dress with side slits and a virgin killer?"

"Yes! That's right! Wait... did I say all this before?"

"Yep. And no one here believes in your fantasy, wet dream anime boy, En."

"But it's true! Fright Zone Consolidated look it up-"

"En... you're a games developer..."

"I work around... Oh come on guys! Catra, nobody believed you when you said you asked Adora out!" Entrapta waved her hands furiously.

"That's because she didn't I did." Adora stated, undermining Entrapta's response.

Entrapta's arms flopped and dangled to her sides, defeated. Her head down, pouting saddly. It seemed like Glimmer had enough of the conversation as she grabbed Adora and Bow's arms and began to drag them forward with a grunt of annoyance, "God, I don't care! Look, I'm hungry, so let's go to the new She-Bucks café down the street."

Entrapta sighs, "Fine." She kicks a stone of the pavement slotting her fingerless gloved hands into her pockets, her purple hoodie tied around her waist bellowing in the wind.

"Great. I've been looking forward to it. I heard old lady Razz and her wife work there." Scorpia informed.

Catra wrapped her arm around Entrapta's shoulders, "Hey relax, 'Traps. I know plenty of people who'd hit you up." She said tapping her 'This shirt is made out of gamer material' shirt. "It's the least I can do for ya for getting us those game turniment tickets."

"You can buy me a milkshake." Entrapta ignored the offer with a faint smile.

"That's good too." Catra gave her a palyful push forward to catch up to the rest.

The gang entered to the café at the climax apparently, were was some sort of arguement at the case register and some one was throwing a tantrum. The trio didn't play much attention and focused on the what to order. Scorpia followed suit and then came Catra and Entrapta.

The arguement had quieted down with, "Fine, keep the damn change." And what followed was a string of grumbling and mummbling. Entrapta's head perked up. She could've recognised that deep, iritated voice anywhere.

"HECTOR! HEY!"

The group turn to the yelling woman, excitement in her eyes once again. The man at the counter immediately recognises the voice, the man let out a sigh, not of annoyance, but rather uncertainty. The man did not turn he just tapped his black painted nails on the wooden counter nerviously.

"Hector! Buddy! Partner! It's me!" Entrapta continued, this time moving closer to the mysterious towering figure. If Catra had to guess, probably around 6 feet... wait.

The man finally turned around, the expression on his face indescribable. A combination of anger, concern and embarassement. The man lifted down his red tinted shades, his arms Catra noted, were covered in scares or... burns. His eyes an unnatural red, which stood out amoung his dark skin. Another detail worth of note was his legs, both prostetics, visible thanks to the black dress he was wearing. Catra could not believe her eyes.

The man opened his black lipstick leased mouth and out came a deep, cold, smooth voice that fit perfectly with his appearence. Every word like an iceicle. "[Sigh] Hello Entrapta. What are you doing here?"

Entrapta gives off a playful cackle and gives the man a playful slap, "Hehe, ordering dumbdumb. What else?" The man's expression shifted once again, still uninterpretable, although a slight hint of confusion pulled through.

Entrapta then turned around to the group, and Catra knew this wasn't going to end well. "Oh, right. Hector, these are my friends. The ones I've been telling you about. And guys this is Hector, my uh... my lab-partner." The crew stare in amazement at the almost inhuman human. Hector was it? A long awkward gaze at the threatening figure. On the other hand, Hector gave a simple quirked brow and turned back to the counter.

"H-He's real?"

Was all Catra managed to muster out. Which unfortunetly for the teen girl attracted his attention back. "Excuse me?" He questioned the half heard remark.

"He's not fake."

"Shut up, Catra." Adora shushed her.

"You thought I was... imaginary? Entrapta these are your friends aren't they?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah! They're just jokin' around."

"Uh huh, and I persume these are the same 'friends' that left you behind for the police when you broke into that corporation building?"

"We thought you bailed on us. Nothing happened. I thought you said you were over it." Glimmer stated.

"I-I am... sort of..."

"Plus! HordeWorld-Wide is the number one pollutor in Etheria." Glimmer continued.

"Little eco-terrorists in the making." Hector half-joked, every word seemed like a threat.

"Look guys, that stuff's history! I am over it! That actually led to me being hired at Fright Zone Consolidated. A few months later I met this guy!" She playfully patted Hector's black shirt with a red winged design.

"I-I thought you were... you are a games developer right? How did you two- I mean how would you- does he know?" Catra stumbled, still confused.

"Like I said, I work around."

"That's why you never have time to hang out. And why you're never in your apartement." Bow indicated.

"I actually don't even think it's mine anymore, stopped paying rent for that places. Stopped doing taxes too."

"I do her taxes for her." Hector interjected.

"And I'm thankful." Entrapta grined.

"Where do you sleep?" Adora asked, concerned at what she was hearing.

"At the lab- I call it the Sanctum sounds classy, sometimes I stay at Hector's place, the back of the Kiosk down the street. I get around."

"Oh........ what?..." Scorpia scrated her chin.

"Leo's Kiosk? Why is this the first time I'm hearing this?" Hector raised his brow in disapproval. Perhaps a protectivw nature.

"Didn't want to bother you." Entrapta states nonchalantly.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting, sir. Your tea." A woman on the opposite side of the counter stated.

" 'Bout time." Hector turned around ready to leave when Entrapta marched infront of him still with a beaming smile.

"Entrapta, I have to go. I'm busy."

"I know, I know, you're always so busy, bbbbbbbut today I thought, maybe-"

"No."

"You could make an exception-"

"No."

"For someone special to you-"

"No."

"Like your partner in scientific crime."

"Entrapta, I said no. That's it. No more debate. This conversation is over."

"No it's not."

"What?"

"It's never over when you say it's over. You know you always cave and you know I always win. So, how about we skip this part and have a nice time together. You're always so grumpy all the time. I'm good for you."

At that point Entrapta gave off a smile so warm everyone in the café stared at Hector with peer-presuring intensity so powerful he caved before she even pouted. She did so anyhow, because she knew Hector loved it. "Fine." His cheeks teasing a slight tint of red.

"Yeah!!!" She jumped into the air grabbing and tugging at his arm to pull him to a table near were the group was standing. All still wide eyed.

Naturally, Scorpia was the one who initiated the awkward conversation, "So how long have you two been together?" She asked actually intrigued.

"What, lab-partners? Four months. Roughly." Hector stated sipping on his warm beverage, oblivious to the meaning of the question.

Scorpia looked puzzled, "No, like how long are you... a couple." The girl specified.

"A COUPLE OF BEST FRIENDS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The short woman gave a waving gesture across her neck to signal the overly friendly giant to stop talking. Hector just seemed confused.

"Oh, yeah. That makes way more sense." Catra mentioned from the side. Hector clearly didn't know Entrapta's extensive rumour mill. The purple woman was now turning into a tomato, keeping up a quivering smile, druming on the table rapidly.

Hector did not catch on until months later when Entrapta asked him out on date to the Princess Art Centre Gala.

[stilloutofmyvulcanmind]

New Beginnings Part 2

Fandom: Love/Hate

Pairing: Darren Treacy x Female Reader

Characters: Darren Treacy, Reader, OC

Word Count: 2623

Warning: Some swears, reference to past violence, nightmares, and discussions of violence

Summary: It’s been years since the Incident. Years since you moved out of Dublin and started a new life. Years since you last saw your childhood best friend Darren Treacy. One day that all changes and the two of you find each other again. Darren claims he’s done with his old life, but will it really be that simple?

Author’s Note: So here’s Part 2! Thank you to those who read it and liked it!

Part 1 

It was a slow week of work and studying, but having Darren back made it all seem less mundane. You didn't get a chance to see him again, between your schedule and his, there had simply been no time. But you'd been able to text still, and that was enough to keep you going. You learned that Darren had gotten work in a factory making small parts and the such. He found it dull, but it was honest work and kept him out of trouble. You were proud of him, he'd only been out of Dublin a few months and he was doing well for himself.

Apart from his sleeping arrangements. Those you weren't happy with. What money he'd had he'd given to Mary, which left next to none for a deposit on a flat for himself. So he'd been crashing on the couch of someone looking for a little extra cash. Far from ideal, especially when they kept him up most of the night with their parties. You didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much you could do about it either. You didn’t have the money to rent your own place, let alone help Darren out, and after everything, your mother would not want him in the spare room.

It wasn’t until you saw him again, when you met outside the church, that you decided to say screw it to anything else and get him out of there. The bags under Darren’s eyes looked painful; it was obvious he’d barely gotten a wink of sleep since the previous Wednesday, and your heart broke for him. He was never going to get himself straight if he didn’t have peace to at least try and sleep.

You waited until the group was done, and you’d managed to get Darren into a small cafe for something to eat. “I’m gonna talk Ma into letting you have the box room,” you said once you were both halfway through your burger and chips

Darren paused, ketchup covered chip halfway to his mouth. “What?”

“You can’t be stayin’ where you’re at, and we have the spare room, so why not?”

“There’s no way she’s gonna say yes, Y/N, not after what happened.”

“She will once I talk to her! Once I explain everything, that you’re out of all that business, she’ll come around. Trust me, yeah? When have I ever been wrong?”

“In fairness, you did believe you could get pregnant from holding hands for a solid year.” Darren laughed, quickly bringing his arms up to block the chip you flung at him.

“I was eight!” You laughed too, waiting for him to lower his guard before chucking another, this one finding its goal that was Darren’s face.

“Still wrong!” Darren winked, plucking the food from where it had landed on his shoulder and munching it with a shit eating grin. The smile softened after a few moments into something more genuine. “But thank you. I do appreciate it.”

“Anything for a friend,” you smiled back, taking a bite of your burger. Now you just had to hope that convincing her would be as easy as you made it out to be.

~

“Are you out of your damned mind, Y/N!? That criminal, under my roof? You’re jokin’!”

“He’s done with all that now, Ma! He’s trying to get himself sorted and he can’t do that where is right now!” You argued back against your mother, leaning against the kitchen counter while she glared at you from the table.

“I don’t bloody well care! After what he did he can sleep in a bus stop!”

“He was a stupid kid back then! He deserves a second chance!”

“A second chance!? Don’t you remember the last time you give a man a second chance?”

You flinched at that and took a moment to turn away and take a breath. “It’s not like that with Darren. We aren’t together, I just want to help a friend!”

“A friend who’s a criminal!”

“Was. Was a criminal, Ma. There was a time when you liked him, you know,” you said turning back to face her.

“That was before he got involved with Power and his lot.”

“And he shouldn't have, I’ll admit that. Now he just wants to put it all behind him and make amends.”

She looked at you for a long moment.  “Does he at least have a job?”

“Yeah, at a factory downtown. So he can pay rent.”

She pinched her nose and let out a sigh, still not looking entirely convinced. “One shot, and that’s it. If he as so much as steals a piece of gum, he’s out, I swear.”

“He won’t, I promise.” You crossed the kitchen to the table, bending down to hug her and kiss her cheek. “Thank you, Ma.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go tell him to get his things over here before I change my mind.”

~

“Thank you for lettin’ me stay, Mrs. Y/L/N. I appreciate it.” Darren spoke from where he stood next to you in the kitchen, both facing your mother. You’d just helped him carry the few things he had upstairs to the box room, and now you were here, helping him get through the first face to face meeting he’d had with her in years. “Um, I brought this too.” Darren pulled an envelope from his jacket and set it down on the table, sliding it across so your mother didn’t have to stretch. “An advance on the rent. It’s not much, but it’s the most I could get for now.”

You watched as she pulled the dozen or so ten-pound notes from the envelope and counted them before tucking them back away safely. “Now you listen to me Darren Treacy, I don’t give a shit about your money and I’m not gonna kick you out if you need it more for something else. A deposit or lessons or whatever. But if I even hear a rumour that you’ve gotten yourself in some kind of trouble, you’ll be out on your ear faster than you can blink. You understand?”

“Of course. I’ll be no trouble.”

Your mother glared at him for a few moments longer, waiting until he was suitably nervous before nodding. “Good. Now bugger off the pair of you while I cook. I expect you both at the table.”

Both of you scarpered, the feeling reminding you of being dismissed after a telling off when you were teens. You would’ve laughed if you had wanted to risk an actual telling off. You reached Darren’s room and stepped inside, shutting the door behind you.

“Gettin’ shot was less scary than that,” Darren laughed once you were no longer at risk of being heard.

“You shouldn’t be making jokes!” You slapped his shoulder lightly, moving to flop onto his bed. “Not unless you want to see her really mad.”

“Heaven forbid.” Darren sat next to you, the two of you quiet for a few minutes. Faintly, you could hear music drift up from down below as your mother switched the radio on. “Thank you. For doing this. I’ve missed having a room.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled, propping yourself up onto an elbow. “Now, here’s all the TV shows you need to avoid talking about….”

~

The meal went well, and Darren even managed to get through a couple of hours of TV watching with you and your mother without starting an argument. You caught the side eye your mother was giving him on occasion, but everything was civil and pleasant, and better than you could have hoped for.

It was so nice that you really shouldn’t have been surprised when you were jerked from your sleep that night with cold sweat running down your back, and gasping for breath. It had been months since you’d had a dream as bad as that, and of course, it had to appear the night things were finally fully feeling right again. Rubbing the tears and the last remaining images from your eyes, you pushed yourself up out of bed. The old scar on your side twinged in pain as you did, but you ignored it, not needing any more reminders of events past.

A trip downstairs and a glass of water later, you almost felt human again. Enough to at least try and go back to sleep. You were about to enter your bedroom when you noticed that there was a light on in Darren’s, barely visible, yet there as it creeped out from under the door. Approaching slowly, you listened. From the other side, you could hear the tell-tale signs of ragged breathing and quiet sniffs.

“Darren?” You called quietly, tapping the door gently as you opened it and peered around. “You okay?”

Darren was sitting on the edge of his bed with his back towards you. In the light of the bedside lamp, you could see his skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his shoulders rising and falling as he caught his breath. He glanced at you over one of them. “I woke you?”

“Nah. Bad dreams are going around tonight I guess.” You slipped into the room fully, closing the door behind you. “Wanna talk about it?” It was a bold choice to just come in with no invite, but you knew Darren well enough to know that he’d never ask for help first. He watched you as you walked across the room, noiseless on the soft carpet, and sat next to him.

“I don’t know where to start.” He looked at you sadly, the remnants of tears still lingering in his eyes.

“Wherever. It doesn’t matter,” you said softly, taking his hand. “It was about the shooting?”

Darren nodded, “Yeah. It always is,” he sighed, using his free hand to run his fingers through his hair. “It varies what happens, but it always ends the same. I’m on the side of the road, bleedin’, hurtin’, terrified. And I...I can’t breathe. I know I’m dying, but I can’t do anything to stop it. I want to see Mary again, I want to see her girls, but I can’t move. I’m just...lyin’ there, choking on my own blood, staring up at the sky for eternity, just...just waitin’ to die.” Darren had been looking down as he spoke, but suddenly he looked straight up at you, eyes meeting your own. “But then...but then it starts to get dark, and it’s even scarier. Because I know that’s it. It’ll all go dark and I’ll be dead. And always, just as it does, I wake up. But I’m not really awake. I’m stuck, frozen and I realise I’m looking down at myself and I’m dead. I’m looking down at my dead body. It’s too much to take, and soon as I think I’m about to go mad I properly wake up. “

“I’m so sorry. Jesus, Darren, that’s awful. I’m sorry.”

He looked for a moment like he was going to cry, but then he turned away and pressed his hand over his eyes. His other hand was still holding yours though, the grip tight. He took a steadying breath and opened his eyes again. “I’m an idiot.”

“No, you’re not. You’re brave. Really brave,” you whispered. “I think...I think maybe you need some help for them though.”

“That’s what the Doctor said at my check-up. They wrote a prescription for some happy pills and recommended your group, but I never went and got the pills.”

“Maybe you should give them a go. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Darren laughed weakly. “Nidge and the others wouldn’t say that. They’d say I’m a fuckin’ pussy if they knew about any of this.”

“They aren’t here. You are. And I am. And there’s nothin’ wrong with having some help. It’s the strongest thing you can do.”

“Did you? Take them?”

“Still do.”

“Oh.” He glanced away for a few moments, and you let him have them, giving him a chance to think. When he looked back, he smiled. “I’ll try them. I’ve still got the paper, so I’ll get them tomorrow.”

You smiled. “Thank you. I think they’ll help. And the group is good for getting stuff out in the open. Once you get used to it, I think you’ll like it.”

“I’ll try.”

Smiling again, you nudged his shoulder with your own. “That’s all I ask.”

Darren shifted on the bed, turning to face you a little more. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“You said bad dreams were spreading tonight so what was yours?”

In the wake of Darren’s nightmare and learning what it involved, your own had completely fled your mind. Flashes of images came flooding back at the memory making you cringe. Closing your eyes and sucking in a breath, you calmed yourself. No more of that. Not tonight. When you reopened your eyes Darren was watching you still, eyebrows furrowed together in concern. “It’s complicated.”

“By complicated do you mean it’s about what happened and you don’t want to hurt me?”

“No! Well, yes. Kinda? It...it was about that, but...there’s more to it. Stuff you don’t know and stuff that’s happened since. A complicated kinda complicated.”

“Try me?”

You chuckled tiredly. Darren was being sincere, you could see that. And it wasn’t that you didn’t want to tell him, you just didn’t want to dredge up so much of the past, not tonight. “Another time, yeah? When we’re not exhausted.”

Darren nodded. “Okay. You know you can tell me anythin’, yeah?”

“Yeah. It really is nothing to do with you. I just need to be able to get my thoughts straight.”

Darren nodded again, and the two of you fell into silence. You should probably go, you thought. You didn’t want to overstay your welcome, but you didn’t want to leave either. It was comforting to be around Darren. He maybe knew better than anyone what it was like. You grew up in the same place, around the same violence. Both been victim of the same violence. And if the way Darren was still holding your hand was anything to go by, he felt the same.

“You know, sometimes it helps to have another person with you when you go back to sleep after a nightmare. For me, it helped anyway. It’s...comforting to know there’s someone there with you,” you suggested after a minute, looking over at Darren.

In the soft light, you saw him smile in what looked like relief. “I’ll give anything a go right now.”

Somehow you managed to both move in sync, each climbing back onto the bed without need for words or discussion, and lying on your sides facing each other. Darren was on his right side which let you see the scars marring his chest properly for the first time. They were so close to heart...how easily things could’ve been different.

“Hey, I’m fine, Y/N,” Darren said when he spotted you looking. “I am.”

“I know,” you said on a sigh, meeting his gaze again. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“So am I.”

You smiled and closed your eyes, relaxing into the comfy mattress. It could’ve been awkward, lying as you were with someone, with another it probably would’ve been. But not with Darren. It was intimate for sure. There wasn’t a great deal of room so you were close together, foreheads almost touching, yet it wasn’t awkward. Honestly, it was the best you’d felt in a very long time.

Felt so good that as you fell back into sleep, you didn’t even think about how you’d tell Darren about what had happened since you left, or how he’d react if he ever found out the real truth about the night of the Incident.

Tagging: @dyll-pickless

(If you’d like to be tagged in future parts, let me know!)

[pitofghosts]

This is me experimenting with writing first person. I decided to go with Illarion first because I find he has one of the most distinct voices of any of my characters. This was a lot of fun to write. If you read it and have any feedback I’d love to hear it. 

The most startlin’ part of going from boat to land is the way the land stays sturdy under your feet. You think that’d be the most normal part, having your legs bein’ on something solid, but your knees get used to havin’ to adjust all the time. When they don’t got to no more, when there’s no more sway to bend and buckle to, it’s like when you think there’s one more step than there is and your foot comes down hard. Only it’s with every damn step you take.

The second most startlin’ part is realizing how much you smell like fish, salt, and sea water. It’s easy to forget a smell when you’re surrounded by it, when everything’s coated in the same slime, but the second you take yourself out of it you realize it’s stuck to every inch of hair, skin, and cloth. Now, I’m a clean person. I like keepin’ my skin and hair free of dirt, and I like smellin’ good. I took this cologne from some college brat vacationin’ last summer and let me tell you that it’s done wonders.

I maybe should’ve stopped at the public bath house. I passed it, with all its arched entryways that have the doors removed in the warm months, and I should’ve gone in. But I hardly noticed it. I’m not usually so one-track minded (gotta keep my wits about for any opportunities, can’t afford to focus on just one specialty, y’know?) but all’s I could focus on was gettin’ across Zalizinch, walking passed the damn temple that took up a block and a half on the second tier, and climbing up all those damn stairs until I was finally, finally, finally at the right apartment building.

It was leanin’ west now instead of east. I’d managed to miss some killer storms.

I unlocked the door to the front, went up the rickety stairs - skipped the ones that looked more rotten than the others, I’d broken one too many - and ducked at the hallway so I wouldn’t knock my head. The door to the place was unlocked, somethin’ I wasn’t expecting. That meant Nessa was home, which wasn’t what I was expectin’ on a workday afternoon. It was possible her schedule got shift, I was gone a whiles, but it still wasn’t what I was expectin’.

Went in anyway. Was nothing I could do bout it now.

I especially wasn’t expectin’ to see Viktor sitting on my couch, smoking from that pipe of his. We had a matching set, only difference was he actually used his. Mine was for show, for the aesthetic, for the status symbol of bein’ a man who could afford ofha. Course I wasn’t, not yet, but I would be.

Viktor wasn’t a man who could afford ofha either, but he smoked it anyway.

His eyes flew wide open when he saw me, and I took off my boots while I waited for him to finish coughing. I sent him a bit of a warning and he nodded, made what I’m sure was meant to look apologetic, and put his mouth into his arm.

I might’ve been a clean person but a lot of the company I keep sure ain’t.

“Illarion!”

I made my way to the little kitchenette, bent down to look through the pantry. “That is my name, dear Torya.” Looks like I’d be eating stale crackers. “What are you doing in my house, huh? Nessa here?”

“At work,” he wheezed. Fool was still coughing. “I came over this morning, she said I could stay until she came back if I wanted.”

I brought the paper bag of crackers wth me over to the couch, where I flopped next to Viktor with complete disregard for whether I made him uncomfortable. This was my place that I paid for filled with my things and if Viktor wanted to be here he knew I’d welcome him, but he had to put up with being at my complete mercy. He pulled himself closer to the arm, the couch sunk in the centre like one of Nessa’s deflated breads.

I threw some of the crackers into my mouth. Awful flavour. I couldn’t help but curl my lip at it. “Should I be expectin’ a summer romance between you two?”

“Ilya, we broke up. You know that.”

“You’ll be part of this family some day.”

Viktor snickered, and I knew that sound. I looked at him out the corner of my eye. He took his glasses off - probably most expensive thing I ever spent money on and it wasn’t even for me (least it wasn’t my money) - and cleaned them on his untucked shirt. I knew he was gonna say something punchable. “Maybe we’ve been going at it from the wrong angle.”

“That better not be dirty talk ‘bout my sister.”

“Vikwo, Ilya. It isn’t. Spent a few months at sea and your brain goes straight to the dirty.” Viktor sighed and put his glasses back on. Some of his hair got caught in the arms but he didn’t notice. That was gonna bug me for the rest of the conversation. “No. What I meant was that maybe you trying to get me with your sister is you projecting.”

“Projecting?” I never had half an idea what the hell he was on about. “This isn’t a damn theatre, I’m not yelling.”

Viktor looked at me over his glasses, all fake-annoyance, then he leaned into me and batted his eyelashes. “You sure you aren’t the one who wants to be with me, dear Ilya?”

“You got some pretty rosy cheeks, but that’s ‘bout the only you got.”

“I didn’t know you thought about my cheeks.”

We went on like that, Viktor stupid on his ofha and me tired from working and glad to be home, jokin’ about things that really didn’t matter or even made sense. It was good to be home, good to be back to Zalizinch. I hate this stupid town, city, whatever it is, but the are people. I’m picky with them but there are a few that make this place worthwhile, and being around them is the whole world. 

Viktor asked what I’d been doin’ and I was happy to tell him all about my adventures at sea. I talk with my hands, really get the story going, and Viktor got himself invested. He laughed at the jokes, nodded along. I’m a good storyteller, I know how to grab attention. I talked until I noticed Viktor’d fallen asleep on my arm.

I let him stay there, and once I was done with the disgusting crackers (I’d have to get on Nessa’s case about what she’d been eatin’ while I was away) I decided I should try and sleep, too. I tried not to get too worried about whether or not rent was overdue, whether the Echyet had gone and made more regulations that only equaled more lines and paperwork, whether the markets were still the same or if they’d been gettin’ more scarce. I couldn’t do anything about any of that shit, and eventually I managed to join Viktor in his sleep.

Nessa would be home in a few hours. Time couldn’t go quick enough.

[19mrs-barnes17]

♾

I hit shuffle and got...

96,000 (In the Heights)

Favorite line: Damn we only jokin stay broke then

I love the way its delivered and the multiple parts singing at once that follows it.

~

Send me an ∞ and I'll put my music on shuffle and tell you my favorite line of the song it lands on

[fgodestinyawakenings]

Romani: 96k; go!

David: If I win the lottery, you’ll never see me again!

Romani: Damn, we only jokin’, stay broke then.

[flicksnfilms]

In The Heights (2021)

Lights up on Washington Heights... The scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community. At the intersection of it all is the likable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi, who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better life.

TL;DR: Do I recommend it? > Yes. Especially if you love musicals.

The long of it:

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Jon M. Chu Writer: Quiara Alegria Hudes (screenplay), Lin Manuel Miranda (musical) Music: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Lacamoire, Bill Sherman Cast: Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera Runtime: 143 minutes IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Official Site

Watched: on HBO Go, July 16th

Reaction: ± It's not as sung-through as Hamilton --although very few musicals are-- but it's bright and effusive and enjoyable. Each song is a spectacle and a vibrant expression of the community and likely echoes the experiences of many originally-immigrant neighborhoods. While the characters do have some problems communicating, it's not in a convoluted forced-for-the-plot way.

Memorable aspect of the movie: + The musical numbers. Gorgeous. A beautiful quodlibets that LMM does so well. <3 + "96k, go" "If i won the lottery, you'd never see me again." "Damn we only jokin'. Stay broke then." :))))

[incorrectocquotations]

Character A: 96k; go!

Character B: If I win the lottery, you’ll never see me again!

Character A: Damn, we only jokin’, stay broke then.

(submitted by softcandelight)

[rayne-the-neutrois-nerd]

(God this is longer than I thought it was gonna be...)

Okay so since a couple of people actually want to hear about what I have to say about this, I guess I’ll go ahead and do this... Mostly bc I just wanna rant I guess. So, if you want to watch along to see what I’m talking about (i’ll add time stamps to make it easier don’t worry) here it is. 

Please note, my opinions are probably based off the fact that I know the Broadway version, my opinions are based a bit off of comparison in some places. ...And yeah... I’m gonna be nitpicky and critical, be warned...

Let’s breakdown 96,000, Korean production. 

...I’ll be honest I forgot all the dialogue until the song actually starts so I can’t comment much on that..

I do know that Usnavi just realized there is a winner to the lotto in the neighborhood and is telling Benny and Sonny about it, I just don’t know the details of the convo whoops...

....And Benny and Sonny are really... shocked... Actually I’m not sure why the hell they’re having a heart attack over this... (I would time stamp this but they’re honestly doing this through the entire hook)

00:48 Kibum we don’t need to see the ticket we’re not part of this story

00:52 “Damn!” *faints*- Overreact much..?

Okay but honestly that whole hook should have been played more as bewilderment and less... excitement? Basically, too much... It’s too much...

Things I do understand: the flow of the rap being different. I’m not gonna put this as a bad thing because I get it, with the switch in languages, you can’t always say everything the original does in the same amount of syllables, and you can play around with this a lot more with a rap verse than a melody. 

....I think they’re saying completely different things though.... Because I’m not getting some of this body language with the original lyrics... (i don’t understand Korean though, so I don’t know what they’re saying...)

1:40 Okay.... I liked how Kibum reacted... The sass is strong. He is taking NONE of his bullshit pfft

Okay going back to the body language not matching the original lyrics, 1:49 is a great example... Kibum... wtf are you saying?? Bc the line in the original is “96 Gs ain’t enough to retire” and that with how Kibum is emoting is... odd....

2:07 Why are they dancing already?

I mean, the dancing isn’t bad, they’re all good dancers and the choreography is nice, but... It’s just unnecessary until the end..

2:35 YOU’RE HAVING A CONVERSATION WHY ARE YOU DANCING????????

2:48 No “Brand new lease” = boob job joke?? ...okay

Okay another thing I noticed... It seems that they’re too focused on dancing and singing at the same time, which is hard and they’re doing well don’t get me wrong, but it just makes it feel stiff and like it has no emotion... They’re either over-reacting or under reacting... There’s no... balance. It doesn’t feel realistic...

That being said tho Kibum does seem to be the only one doing all of those three things, and that’s not me being biased, I’m being honest here. He’s still overreacting a lot tho...

I’m still confused why they’re dancing.

4:17 AH! NOOO NO NO! KIBUM WHAT ARE U DOIN!? SOrry, I know that sounds so strange but AAAH!! Okay, background, Usnavi (Kibum) has a crush on Vanessa (The girl he’s gesturing to.) ...The thing is, around her, Usnavi turns into a shy mess... that was the opposite of shy... Kibum, buddy, you just broke character...

4:28 This is more of a me being a fan thing but, I don’t know if he just said it quietly or the camera didn’t pick it up but... did they cut?? “Damn, we only jokin’, stay broke then?” Because that’s my favorite line in this number and asdfghkjgfd if they cut it-

The girl who plays Vanessa is very stiff... and repetitive in her motions... This may be just me but I don’t like it...

5:28 tbh from here on out it’s actually pretty good, I like it, especially since the dANCING ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE NOW

The Verdict: It’s... alright... most of the stuff I picked out are minor dumb things that get under my skin as a fan, y’know? But at the same time, the overreactions and unnecessary dancing... I don’t like it. I read or watched something where they were talking about Korean acting and how they do tend to use overreactions a lot, but from what I’ve seen that’s mostly used for comedy. Yes, there are funny bits in this, but it really should be more “People are shocked and bewildered that someone in the neighborhood won the lottery, and start wondering and talking about what they would do with the $96,000, and by the end, the entire neighborhood has heard and the place starts to bussle with talk about it.” ...This is why I don’t like how there is group dancing so early in the number, at least not so much in the forefront. If it was more in the background, I’d understand that, it’s the news passing around and more people getting excited, but not up close to Benny fantasizing... 

Basically, I just wanna talk with whoever directed this...

[mettaton-appreciation-station]

Muffet: If I win the lottery you’ll never see me again

Mettaton: damn we only jokin’ stay broke then

[snickletastic]

A Proposal {Dick Grayson x Kara Danvers Imagine}

warnings- purse theft, homeless

a/n- i’m so so sorry this took so long! i’ve been super busy this week. thank you so much for the request, they’re a cute pairing!

                                      written from Dick Grayson’s pov

I’ve been in Bludhaven for a year now, and the crime just won’t die down. The thieves keep stealing purses, kingpins are at large, burglars still setting off alarms. I thought Gotham was bad, but this is practically a duplicate of that damned city. The lights seem to shine brighter here, though. Civilians tend to be kinder and more forgiving. I don’t know what it is about this place, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I looked down upon the dark city, scanning the area from a rooftop. A tall man with a black ski mask on ran past a woman who was holding hands with her child, and snatched her purse. Ugh, another thief, when will they learn? I flip off of the roof unto the lower one next to it, then off of that one and onto the street. 

“Please! Please, Nightwing! He stole my purse!” The woman shouted and pointed in the direction the man went. I ran towards the man, who turned into an alleyway. I sped up and turned, but I didn’t have to. Supergirl got the purse, tied the man up, and was standing there with a giant smile on her face. “Hey there, Nightwing.”

“Wh-what are you doing in Bludhaven? I had this guy, you didn’t need to step in.”

“Gee, no ‘Thanks for getting the thief’ or ‘Hello, how are you, Kara? I haven’t seen you in forever.’“ Kara said sarcastically as she tossed me the purse.

“Sorry, I’m just surprised to see you here. You’re far from the West Coast. Thank you for the help, by the way.”

“I actually came all the way here to give you a proposal,” Kara rubbed her bruised fist. 

“Huh? What? A proposal? I like you and all, but we would need to at least go on a first da-” I said anxiously.

“No! No, no that’s not what I meant!” Kara interrupted, “A proposition! An invitation!” She laughed.

I could feel my cheeks turn red and the awkwardness in the air, “Oh, pfffft, I knew that, heh. I was just jokin’ around with ya. Ahem. So, what was the invitation?” 

“The proposal was about the D.E.O.”

“The D.E.O? What does that have to do with me?” 

“We want you to join us, Nightwing. Ever since,” Kara hesitated for a moment, “Ever since Mon-el had to leave...we need someone to fill his position. Someone who’s good at what they do, someone who knows a hell of a lot about extra-terrestrials...” She trailed off.

“That’s an amazing offer, but I can’t just leave Bludhaven, I can’t leave the East Coast. Can’t you find someone else to fill the position?”

“I want you. I mean- We- We want you.” Kara stammered, “We thought about other people, but you’re the absolute best choice for the department.”

“What? How the hell do I qualify for extra-terrestrial monitoring?”

“Your girlfriend, Starfire,” she frowned.

“Ex-girlfriend. And how does having some alien girlfriend make me the only one who can handle this job?”

“You know firsthand what aliens are like. It will help you in the field. Besides, you’re a genius, good fighter, hot, master detective, speak over ten languages, and even led the Teen Titans for awhile.”

“Fair enough- wait, hot?” I quickly looked over and flashed her a smile. 

“What? I didn’t say hot. Did I? It doesn’t matter. You should accept the deal, Dick. At least come work for us for a year, and if you don’t like it, you can come back here and live out your life as a vigilante.”

“I’ll think about it.” With that, Kara flies away into the night, leaving me in the alley with a bright red purse in hand and a petty thief tied up and knocked out at my feet. As I walk back to return the purse to the woman, the cars on the road honked at eachother aggressively, people argued on the other sidewalk, stray dogs chased after one another in front of a nail salon. A homeless man sleeps in my path, and I stop and study him for a moment. The cardboard sign leaning against him says; Served In The Army For 10 Years, Please Spare Change So I Can Have A Meal. God Bless You. His soup can had a couple dollars and some quarters and nickels in it. I wish I had my wallet. I wish I could help him right now. What’s the point of being a superhero if I can’t help a poor man on the street? 

“Hello? Sir? Are you alright?” I knelt down next to the man.

He coughed and looked at me with pleading eyes, “Please. Please don’t take my money. I need to eat, please?”

The passion in his words broke me, “I’d like to offer you a place to stay for the next year, sir.”

----------------

I entrusted John with my identity. He has no reason to tell anyone who I really am, especially after I offered him my apartment for the next year. I’m taking the D.E.O job, its an opportunity I’ll never get again. I packed up all my bags, gave John my apartment keys and some money, and set off for California.

-----------------

I’ve now been working with the D.E.O for 9 months, and it has been an adventure. From the extra-terrestrials to the investigations, it’s hard to catch a break. Kara and I hit it off immediately and started dating after the first month. I was living with her in her apartment, after all. Tonight I climbed the fire escape to the roof to watch the stars. The city lights here are alright, not very remarkable. Sirens of cop cruisers and ambulances race in different directions, making light shows on the walls of buildings. 

“Hey dick, what’re you doing up here?” Kara’s gentle voice broke me out of my trance.

“Just watching over the city.”

“Is it alright if I join you?” Kara sat next to me and swung her feet off of the side of the skyscraper.

I nodded and put my arm around her as we watched cars honk at eachother. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Kara was staring at me. “What is it?” I finally asked.

“Do you miss Bludhaven? Are you sick of National City?” 

“I miss Bludhaven all the time. I miss chasing down the bad guys and interrogating them. I miss saving individual lives one at a time. I miss crime fighting. But I’m not sick of National City. I love working with the D.E.O, I just get homesick at times,” I stated while watching a family walk by down below.

“You know, if you ever wanna quit and move back home, you can. I won’t hold you back,” Kara assured me.

“Would you come with me?” 

“I can’t leave the D.E.O. They rely on me.”

“Then I’m not going home,” I squeezed her tighter with my right arm.

“Are you sure, Dick? We can try a long distance relationship. Skype, facetime, all that stuff.”

“I’m sure. In fact, I’m so sure,” I reach into my pocket and dig around, “that I think it’s time for me to give you a proposal.” I pull my legs back up onto the building and sit on my knees facing Kara with the ring in hand. “Will you marry me?” I say confidently as the sirens below us echo throughout the city and the lights from the building across the street illuminate our faces.