#I just honestly hope she can land an acting gig

[stellarhoxy]

not part of kpop fandoms, but i'm gonna keep it short and sweet.

If Garam goes to acting and never returns to Kpop, please still support her. After that horrendous mental beating anyone would be hesitant to rejoin the idol industry. She might not be ready or have lost passion or become too traumatized to develop further as an idol, or she could merely be enhancing her acting skills. Don't smear her if you want her to become an idol. Don't smear her if you want her to come back to LE SSERAFIM instead of acting. Don't join smearing her for any reason. The rumors have proven to be false. Believing in them now is just enjoying drama and refusing to see the truth.

Let a kid pave her own dream to her best effort. She will be struggling enough as-is. Don't make it harder.

[fan-tav-stic]

For the Tav questions: 2, 8, 16, and 25 for Kairius? (And if you wanna do those same ones for Valexi I'd love to hear about him, too!)

Thank you again for asking Tav questions!!! I love talking about my boys sm!!!

Kairius

2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside?

On the outside is pretty barebones. It’s decently small with a deep violet cloth. He’s got a small plush stool for sitting on to write his music and a rack that houses his sword

On the inside however!! He’s got STACKS of books that he’s picked up over the course of the game, papers crumpled and scattered everywhere from discarded song writing attempts, a small plank of wood behind his bedroll that houses a bunch of little carved figurines Halsin has made for him, his quill and ink, some home made horn oil + home made shampoo, and a small hand mirror + brush.

His bedroll is simple with a few luxurious pillows that he’s “borrowed”, one of which keeps his song journal safe.

8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

BUCKLE UP THIS ONE IS LONG!!! Also to preface this: I have NOT finished the game and have only done Astarion’s quest in ACT 3 but i no longer care if its canon compliant or not LMAO.

So he, Shadowheart, and Halsin get a little plot of land on the outskirts of Baldur’s Gate with a decent few acres of forest land beyond the house. They adopt Umi, Ide, and Yenna (+ Grub of course). He and Shadowheart get married a few years after (Halsin didn’t want to officially get married but he’s still very much on the same level in the polycule.) and then a few years after THAT they have Dahlia.

Dahlia is 1/2 tiefling, 1/4 elf, 1/4 human. She and the rest of his kids become his EVERYTHING. He used to do late night gigs but once she’s born he retires from that and focuses on his song writing since he can do that from home. He loves his kids with his entire fucking being.

Once she’s old enough Kairius teaches her the violin and lute, Shadowheart teaches her some basic healing and other cleric spells, and Halsin teaches her druidic magic. She ends up following in Halsin’s footsteps and becomes a druid. Her first wildshape is a bear cub to match her papa and Halsin calls her “Little Cub”. (I WILL die for Dahlia. I have never actually made a serious fan kid before and I love her sm.)

(I have not gotten to the reunion party so idk how to answer this yet lmao)

16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies?

He’s a song writer and also knows how to dye hair. He’s actually the one who cut and dyed Shadowheart’s hair! (Though he DID fuck up her bangs a little). One of his many hidden talents is being able to bleach any kind of hair into a perfect blonde without frying it in the slightest.

25. What is something they would die on a hill over?

Honestly? I don’t know. Getting into a characters head to talk about their trauma and stuff is easy but getting into their head to get basic stuff like strong opinions makes my brain hurt lmao. It’s like every piece of information i have about them evaporates as soon as i try.

Valexi under the Read More!!!

Valexi

2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside?

His tent is smaller with a orange-red cloth. It’s pretty barren on the outside, no real personality or trinkets.

On the inside is also pretty barren. He’s got his bedroll, the necronomicon from act 1, a few charcoal drawings hanging up on the inside walls, a box of charcoals and tools, and his daggers in arms reach of his bedroll. Under his pillow is his large leather bound sketchbook.

8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

I also haven’t finished the game with him so this is just spitballing or how i hope it goes.

He and Gale move in to Gale’s tower back in water deep. They are INCREDIBLY domestic and sappy. He’s a bit of a house husband, cleans and stuff while Gale is out teaching. They take turns cooking and on a couple nights a week they cook together like they did back in camp.

I don’t think they have kids, but if they did it would be until they were married for a WHILE.

Oh yeah, they get married obvs. I like to think Gale plans to have a big proposal and a ring but Valexi just kinda slips it into daily conversation by accident. Like they’re just talking and someone references something to do with marriage and Val goes “we should do that!” “What?” “Get married, of course. Would you want to marry me someday?” And breaks Gale for a while before he quickly agrees and that’s it, they’re engaged.

They are such fucking dorks.

(No reunion still sowwy lol)

16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies?

He draws! It was originally for fun pre!game but during the game it becomes a coping mechanism for him. It still is a little but it becomes fun again after the game.

His drawings are all related to the memories he can’t remember and can only grasp after nightmares or sometimes when the urges take over enough that he blacks out a little. They’re all done in charcoal and are VERY fucked up in nature. Like I’m talking gruesome bodies, distorted faces, etc.

He also learns to cook with Gale! Another coping mechanism turned passion. He found that the urges could be sated by driving his knife into meat and vegetables rather than people. Gale teaches him every recipe he can remember off the top of his head as well as in cookbooks they find while adventuring. The first ever dish he made was rabbit stew! Gale thought him the proper way to cut veggies and that’s how he found out that chopping up the rabbit helped clear his head.

After the game he keeps learning and actually gets REALLY good and Gale is so fucking proud of his husband.

25. What is something they would die on a hill over?

Again, brain is currently too small to answer this kind of question lol. Maybe I’ll edit this one day and put ‘em in once I figure it out <3

[twistedmusings]

Doing Anything for Heat

“Do you always refer to yourself in third person when writing these up?” 

“Legalities, Prefect, although I do not expect you to know anything about that.” 

Guess who can’t write as much anymore because she got a nasty bite at work! So yes, I was working on requests so diligently and then bam--this happens. 

As an apology for my late ass writings, please take this mini scenario for the Octavinelle Trio! Azul’s SSR card got translated and I just...god I love these boys so much q wq  Reader: [G/N]  Warnings: Casual flirting, possessive thoughts from all the boys and just MC striking up a contract with Azul and taking a very creative approach towards it~ 

“[Y/N]!!!!” Grimm pulls at your arm as you sit down across from Azul, the man holding out a contract to you as he tilts his head with a smile. “What will it be, Prefect?” 

Your hands sweat as you rub them on your legs. “Hehe~ Little Shrimp looks so scared~” 

The contract is placed in front of you slowly, Azul taking care of minding his manners as you lean back and go over the simple specifications. Made simpler, of course, since Azul had ‘such’ a kind heart. 

What a con artist. 

Winter was hitting Night Raven College hard but was hitting Ramshackle even harder. 

How many blankets had you bought from Sam’s shop? Ten? Twenty? You honestly didn’t know but you and Grimm were close to freezing some night and you had just about enough of living in an ice cube for a dorm. 

You were acting out of desperation. 

And, ever the businessman, Azul had stretched out his hand for your unfortunate soul. 

“Bring sixty customers during our lunch rush tomorrow and Azul Ashengrotto will personally see that a heater is installed in Ramshackle the same day.” 

You put the contract down and look him in the eye. “Do you always refer to yourself in third person when writing these up?” 

“Legalities, Prefect, although I do not expect you to know anything about that.” 

Great, more insults towards your intelligence. 

Sixty customers. If you were to break that down it would be ten from each dorm not counting Octavinelle. You could rope Ace and Deuce to come, guilt trip Jack for not helping you with that assignment due last night, kindly ask Epel to make his way over here and maybe if you promised Sebek that you would listen to him rant about his dorm leader he would reluctantly agree. 

But that wouldn’t be near enough. 

Azul clicks his tongue while Jade speaks up, “We will have to take that answer today, [Y/N]-san. If not, I guess maybe we could let you take some blankets from Octavinelle--” 

“Fine! Fine.” you sign your name on the dotted line and hand the contract back to Azul, the other grinning as he handed it towards his right-hand man. “How wonderful! I’ll be waiting with baited breath to see what you bring us tomorrow~” 

You give Azul the fakest smile you can muster, waving goodbye to the twins as you make your way out of the lounge with Grimm by your side. “Fgnaaa~! We are screwed! [Y/N] how could you! We are going to be stuck waiting tables for ETERNITY now!” 

“Not if we bring them what they asked for.” you bite your bottom lip as you look at the Monstro Lounge, your eyes falling on the small stage. 

Oh right. Some students played here. Well, students deemed worthy enough to play. You remember the Music Club trying to do a gig here but failing miserably the moment Lilia opened his mouth. Despite the failure, it did bring some people in to get Azul over the red. 

A floorshow. 

That’s right! A floorshow! 

“Grimm!” you grab the cat and bring him close as he freaks out. 

“What--what!” 

“I got it!” you hold him out in front of you, “We are going to have to let go of our pride a bit and this experience might humble us but...we will have heat!’ 

“[Y/N] you are scaring me--” 

Grimm barely gets to say what he wants as he is dragged back into your arms, your feet running as fast as you can into Mr.S’s shop for the stuff that you will need.

--------

“Ah! Little Shrimp!” 

Jade looks up from the numbers he was crunching, smiling as he sees you approaching the table. You wave at Floyd and nod politely towards Jade, sitting down and tapping your fingers against the bar. 

“You are here rather late, [Y/N]-san. We have two hours until closing time.” 

“I’m just…putting my plan into action. Azul said he wanted sixty by tomorrow, after all.” Floyd grins as he finishes cleaning up the remaining glasses. 

“Eh? You are doing something tonight, little Shrimp?” 

“...yes.” 

He leans close, smiling wider as he sees a certain change in your appearance. The Monstro Lounge was always dark in order to provide a more atmospheric mood at night but with the little light he had to work with he could clearly see traces of makeup all over your face. “Little Shrimp looks so shiny...just like a pearl.” You pull away as he tries to get closer, putting your hand out to stop him and turn your attention towards Jade. “Right. Do you have a backroom next to the stage? I just need to get some things ready--” 

“Go into the kitchen, farthest door to the back. There should be a door that leads you towards the back of the stage.” “Do you guys have a light booth--” “Next to the stage.” Jade’s eyes shine, interested in what you are about to pull off, “Do you need our help--” 

“Nope that is alright I can take care of this myself thank you.” 

Both twins watch you trot towards the kitchen, Grimm following close behind and about three ghosts ‘matching’ his step. 

“...Floyd.” 

“Yes?” 

“Call Azul. I think he’ll be interested to see what is going on.”

--------

“For heat. For heat. For heat!” 

You were doing this because of your situation. The situation was desperate so you had to take desperate measures. 

Grimm clears his throat as you finish fixing his bowtie, the transparent fabric looking beautiful with the stitched shells all over it. 

“Are the ghosts ready?” you ask. 

“Just waiting for the curtains to close.” 

The crowd goes quiet as you press a few buttons and close them, hushing the late night crowd as you step onto the stage. You try to step softly so that the click of your heels won’t be heard while Grimm opens up the rather large shell in the middle of the stage. This was usually used as a promotional device, customers taking pictures inside it to promote their visits to the lounge. It had a soft cushiony seat inside and could fit a whole student. 

You give a thumbs up to your other roommates, the ghosts smiling as their instruments manifested in front of them. 

Spectral instruments really came in handy in these situations. “Breathe...Breathe…” you sit down inside the shell and pull your legs up with you, fixing the train of your dress and touching the small shell tiara on your head. It was fashioned after King Triton after all, maybe Azul would get the reference?

Or rather, you hoped Azul wasn’t watching at all. “Okay...close it, Grimm.” He nods and brings the top of the shell down slowly, trapping you both inside as he gave the cue to start up the lights. This was all for a heater...and maybe some tuna. 

-----

-At first he wanted to laugh as he saw the curtain slowly being drawn back, when was the last time they used this stage? Student players just weren’t ‘in’ as much anymore and he had to keep up with the trends. What were you planning to do with this? 

-Yet his mouth clicked shut as the lights landed right on the shell, the music starting as your voice rang out softly from inside. 

-He barely paid attention to the band as the shell slowly opened, Grimm flying out elegantly as he opened it while your frame was slowly being revealed to him as every student’s jaw almost hit the floor. 

-Azul clutched his cane as he watched you cradle your legs close to yourself, the lyrics completely blowing past him as you stretch yourself out to show off the outfit you had on. It seemed to shine like a pearl under the lights, your chest being accentuated by how snug it fit against your frame. 

-He licked his lips when his eyes landed on your undecorated neck. It was as if you were begging for it to be decorated with bites. Surely he could make a nice necklace for you. 

-Dammit he should have sat closer, students were actually getting up from their booths and moving to any tables that were closer to the stage as you start getting up, the train of fabric in your outfit resembling the top of a shell as it brushes across the ground as you make your way to the floor. 

-He bites his bottom lip as he sees you making your way around the tables, your voice soft and melodic as the students watch the performance flabbergasted. You are letting your fingers glide against the tables, winking at some of the more bold students who put out their hands so they could touch yours.

-If you were to look at his face you would see no trace of emotion but inside his head he was screaming at you to pass by his table already don’t you know anything about customer service? 

-You finally make eye contact with the table he was sitting at, Azul feeling a shiver go up his spine at how your flirtatious eyes suddenly turned nervous. Nobody else had gotten that look.

-Again, he needed to see you looking at him like that again. 

 -So this is what you were planning. How interesting~ 

-He watched from behind Azul, taking off his coat and laying it on the back of the plush booth as he took in your form. Where had you gotten such a cute outfit, he wondered. The color made you shine like the rarest pearl and every time the light hit you just right he could see the glitter in your eyelids as you started to approach their table. 

-You made eye contact with him, clearly trying to keep up the act of ‘mysterious’ floor show guest but failing as his eyes took you in the closer you got. 

-The students groan when they see you sit right next to Azul, pressing close to him as he dares to put an arm around your waist and squeeze. Oh he could bet Azul was happy with how jealous all the students looked. 

-Jade couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him when you took Azul’s hat and shoved it in his face before pulling away as quickly as possible. 

-He follows your movements as you walk behind him, the sudden hand on his back making him hum in thought as the idea of pinning you right to the back of the booth so you would sing only to him suddenly seeming like the only thing to do in this situation. 

-You really had no idea what you could awaken in him if you kept playing around. 

-His eyes meet yours as you start walking away but his hand catches your wrist as he tugs you back to him--!

-But Jade, ever the unpredictable man, only presses his lips to your hand before letting you go.

-You were doing a floor show for the customers after all. Didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be talking to you later~ 

-Floyd had moved himself to the table closest to the stage, tie undone and smile wider than anyone had ever seen as he watched you pay attention to almost every table. The table he was sitting at had been filled with students who deemed themselves rather lucky to get so close only for them to scram when they saw who was approaching it.  

-He waves at you when you finally make eye contact with him, licking his lips and smiling as he sees your reluctance to get near him. 

-Which he didn’t mind, the fact that you were so wary of him made you all the more adorable. 

-You try your best to be as flirty as you had before, merely touching his hand as he holds it out to you but for Floyd that is not enough. The moment your fingers pressed against his palm, he snatched your wrist and brought you to his lap, students gasping as his hands landed on your sides. 

-Oh the material was so soft! He ran his fingers up and down as you press hand to his chest while you sang the last few notes of the song. 

-Floyd couldn’t help the little giggle as he saw the embarrassment on your face, your hand clearly pushing on his chest but his hands clearly weren’t letting you go. What were you going to do, little Shrimp? 

-His eyes widen at your sudden improvisation, your hands taking his and pressing them to your face so he could cup your cheeks. Instinctively he pulled you closer as the song suddenly stopped---

”Floyd-senpai, I have to go.” 

-The whisper is only for him to hear as you catch him off guard with that soft look and pull away, you holding out the last note of the song as if you had planned to be caught by him all along. 

-He clicks his tongue and leans back, eyes watching you go back up the stage and sitting inside the shell as you pull your legs closer to you before blowing a kiss to the now applauding crowd as Grimm closed the shell. 

-Surely the kiss had been for him, right? If it had been for any of these other bottom feeders...well no matter. Even if it hadn’t been for him, Floyd would make sure to squeeze you real tight the moment you got off stage. 

-----

You lay down on the cushion as you put your arms over your eyes, groaning as you tried to get your thoughts together. 

If this worked out the way you thought it would, word of mouth would get around and you would bring around sixty customers so that they could partake in what they had missed tonight. 

Has it cost you your dignity? Yes. 

Was the outfit embarrassing? Yes. 

Did you have to flirt with all three Octavinelle members so they would see that you were serious about finally going to sleep without shivering? Yes and yes. 

At least it was over. 

“Yo Grimm. Can you open this? I want to change!” 

Your hands tap the top of the shell, sighing in relief as it slowly opened. 

Only for you to yelp as hands pin you down to the cushion, a very familiar face grinning down at you as Floyd laughs merrily. 

“Ahaha~! Nee, that kiss was for me, right Little Shrimpy? You blew that my way, right?” 

Jade sighs and steps behind his brother, pulling him up by the collar so that you could get your bearings. 

“It was at the customers, Floyd. I believe [Y/N]-san wanted this to be spoken about tomorrow, correct?” 

You nod as he lets go of Floyd and holds out his hand for you to take. 

“What an interesting plan...right Azul?” 

The Octavinelle dorm leader isn’t really looking at you, he is still staring at everything that you had on taking it as much as he could before your voice brought him back. “So...how did I do?” 

Azul blinks before smiling as he steps close and holds out his arm for you to take. 

“I have yet to see the terms of the contract be met but...we can discuss how you did in my office. Mind telling me how you came up with this plan? ” 

“Y--Yeah! Sure!” 

You take Azul’s arm and speak about your thought process, not noticing the grins on the eel’s faces as they hold themselves back until they reach Azul’s office. 

How nice, it would be the first time you would be staying over at Octavinelle, even if you didn’t know it yet.  

[ageoffeet]

My Heart, Your Hands - A Jake Kiszka Fic

A/N: So I'm going to be adding parts to this and I'm honestly excited to see where it'll go! I've had this idea for a while and I'm finally writing in down. This first part doesn't contain a whole lot of gvf, it's more of an introduction of what's to come.

synopsis: slow burner fic with Jake Kiszka x fem!reader. Greta Van Fleet invites your band to open for them on tour.

word count: 1.2k (short and sweet to start off)

content warning: mentions of alcohol, cussing, brief mentions of sex, sibling bickering.

taglist: @way-to-go-lad @flowervanfleet (if you want me to add or unadd you from my taglist just let me know!)

Your fingers plucked the strings of your bright yellow bass and your foot tapped along to the notes that came pouring out of the amp.

"Hey, can you help with my drum set?" Jack sets down his snare and walks away, not giving you a chance to answer. Not your fault he has to put his set together every gig, especially when he acted like an ass in the van on the way here. You reluctantly swing your bass strap over your head and set your pride and joy on the stand.

"Y/N!"

"Oh my god, I'm coming!" You set off into a half jog towards the back exit where you parked the van. Miles gives you an equally frustrated look and continues helping Jack lug the pieces of his set out of the back of the van.

You just landed in Nashville, the last stop on your little America tour. This little band you started with your brother (Jack) and mutual friend (Miles) really started taking off after Miles graduated from high school so you all planned a "tour" which was more of a road trip with gigs at bars along the way. It had gone surprisingly well so far with more and more followers finding your socials and Spotify every week.

"Hey, are you guys MHYH?" You look toward the voice at the same time as your bandmates and nod. You guys thought your band’s name was cool but people hardly ever said the full name, preferring to use the acronym instead.

"Yeah, you coming to watch the show?" Miles turns away from Jack handing him another part of the drum kit to engage with the olive skinned girl standing at the opening of the alley.

"For sure! I was wondering if I could request a song of yours that might not be on your setlist." Miles smiles and walks away from Jack and I and towards the pretty girl. Jack lets out a loud huff and rolls his eyes at Miles' back.

"Fuck boy," he mutters. You laugh at his annoyance and pick up where Miles left, grabbing cymbals and stands and bringing them inside.

"I'm serious. He better be back in time for sound check." You set down what you're holding and turn towards Jack.

"You're just jealous you couldn't go talk to her first."

"Well I was crouched in the back of the van like a cave man." Jack was used to getting all the girls since Miles had been in a serious relationship but in the past month, things went sour between Miles and Katie so now Jack had some competition.

"I'm sure there will be plenty more at the show you can talk to." As much as Jack's banter was entertaining you, you couldn't get the sad thought out of your mind that this was your last show on this tour. With all the money you guys spent on gas and food, you barely broke even with tips and your share of ticket profits. It would be a while before you guys could afford to do this again.

Instead of watching Jack put together his drum kit, you decide to pick up your bass again and start plucking out the beginning notes of your most recent song, singing along in your head.

“I told you I had to leave this town

heaven knows you'll be alright

need to get away from here

start focusing on my own life”

"So Denim Dreams has been requested," Miles hopped up onto the small stage and started taking his guitar out of its case.

"Ew dude," Jack pauses setting up his snare to reply. "That's our worst fucking song."

Miles just shrugs with a ghost of a smile on his face and Jack sighs.

"If you make me play that song you better at least be getting laid tonight." You laugh at the two boys and turn to face them fully.

"We need to make our setlist." The three of you always waited right before a show to make the setlist but with thirty minutes to go before the doors opened, you were pushing it tonight.

"Fuck, I forgot we didn't do that yet. Y/N you're the lead singer, it's your job." You roll your eyes and grab your phone from your back pocket to make an impromptu setlist in your notes app.

"Make sure Denim Dreams makes it on there for our beloved fans," Jack replies, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. Miles flips him off and they both laugh at their bickering.

After you're happy with how the setlist looks, you pass your phone to Jack and then Miles to get their approval.

"Looks good, y/nic." Miles goes quiet for a moment. "Let's make this a show to remember, it'll probably be a while before we get to be on a stage again." You note the sad look in his green eyes and solemnly nod your head in response.

Your manager, aka another one of your mutual friends with a degree in business, hops on the crowded stage and hands you a beer.

"Thanks, Kay." After promptly taking a long gulp from the cold bottle, you give her a smile. She was the first one to suggest you guys needing a manager and she handled everything off of the stage, which you were very thankful for.

Miles motions for you to pass the bottle to him and you do so, earning a grossed out look from Jack. He wasn't much of a drinker, but what he didn't indulge in alcohol-wise he certainly made up for in dope.

"You guys got the setlist and everything?" Kay continues to take the bottle from Miles and chugs the rest of the amber liquid. After deciding nods were a good enough answer, she continued, "Hope you guys are ready because there's actually a crowd outside."

You can't hide your shocked expression and she laughs.

"How many are here for us and how many are just here for the booze?"

"That I do not know, Jack, but I guess we'll find out," she winks and walks down the wobbly stairs to the main floor.  "I'll tell Bill you guys will be ready in ten. Make it happen."

"Shall we check our sound?"

--

You could feel the sweat dripping down your brow but that didn't matter in this moment. What matters is the screams and the yells from the crowd as you finish your song.

"This next one is called Denim Dreams," Miles speaks into the mic which elicits a scream from the left side of the bar, no doubt from that girl from earlier.

You turn and watch Jack for his cue to start when he gives you a nod. You pluck out the familiar riff of the song you had written about some guy you met years ago, Miles following with the strum of his guitar, and finally Jack with a few stomps to his bass drum.

As you started singing the lyrics, making yourself sound as if you were still in love with the man you had written this song about, you didn't notice the door to the bar open. You certainly didn't notice four boys walk in and make their way to the bar, their eyes on your band the whole time. In fact, it wasn't until you finished with Miles’ solo that you spotted the members of Greta Van Fleet clapping along with the crowd and smiling at you.

[entertainment]

Entertainment Spotlight: Gerald Isaac Waters, All Together Now

Tennessee-native Gerald Isaac Waters portrays Chad in All Together Now, Netflix’s film adaptation of Brett Haley’s book Sorta Like a Rock Star. Gerald is known for his role in TBS’s Angie Tribeca, has modeled for campaigns with Target and Zappos, and has also featured in New York Fashion Week. In 2015, Gerald had an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down, which confined him to a wheelchair. Despite being told by his doctors that he was unlikely to regain movement, he has regained most movement in his upper body and continues to progress. Aside from his acting and modeling career, Gerald’s interests include surfing, boxing, baseball, and wine. 

Can you tell us a bit about your character Chad in All Together Now? What drew you to the role?

My character 'Chad Fox' can be described as a devout friend, charming and determined. The thing that drew me most to this role was the message of friendship. I personally cherish my friends deeply, and I saw that in Chad as well. I knew I could bring parts of myself into this character and bring him to life.

Do you have any fun facts or funny stories about the making of the film?

There is a fun fact I can share!! There is a certain upbeat song from one scene that got stuck into EVERYONE'S head for days after we finished the scene! It is so catchy and repetitive that you catch yourself humming it or singing aloud before you know it! So, needless to say, our lunch breaks were quite musical.

What inspired you to get into acting? Were you ever part of a drama club at school?

My first intro to acting was the church Christmas play my mom was directing. I was 12 years old, and my best friend's mom played my mother in the play. She shared some great advice I’ve taken with me to every acting gig I’ve gotten since. To this day, every role I land, I call her, and we talk about where it all began! 

The first drama club I was a part of happened in my senior year in high school. I joined my town's community theatre in a production of Bye Bye Birdie. That’s when I knew I wanted to pursue acting wholeheartedly!

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life this far?

The most important lesson in life I’ve learned this far is that a determined mind, body, and spirit can conquer even the most difficult obstacles! There’s something so rewarding about setting a goal, big or small, and seeing it through at all costs.

Is there anyone in the industry right now who you look up to or whose work you particularly enjoy?

I definitely look up to Neil Patrick Harris. From his work in television to film, Broadway, and an all-time host, he is a person I can inspire to be. Whenever I put on a show he is in, I know that I’ll end up laughing and feeling a little better than when I started watching. That is something I would love to be able to do; give people a sense of relief from whatever they are going through.

Do you have any advice for young wheelchair users who hope to have a career in acting?

My advice for young actors in the wheelchair community is DO NOT GIVE UP! Keep pushing and striving toward that goal. Don’t listen to your inner saboteur. Keep following the dream and make your voice heard!

If you could change anything about the world right now, what would that be, and why?

If I could change one thing about the world right now, it would be our lack of empathy. It is unfortunate that we are still treating human beings differently solely on the facts of race, origin, and religious beliefs. As a people, we find ourselves now with a bigger voice and platform to raise awareness and keep people accountable for their actions. Using our voices, I believe we can start practicing love and acceptance and build a bridge that can connect us all as equals!

If a theme song played whenever you entered a room, what song would it be?

Trying to pin down one theme song to play every time I entered a room is tough.  I think instead, I would settle for having a 90’s theme laugh track for every entrance. How fun would that be!

What’s next for you?

What is next for me is a question I love because, honestly, the sky’s the limit! I do have a couple of projects coming up that I cannot wait to discuss. But an immediate goal of mine is to be a series regular on a show, just so I get to say “Previously on...” I can’t really explain why but that’s something I’ve wanted to be able to say for quite some time!!

Thanks for taking the time, Gerald! All Together Now is now (all together) streaming on Netflix. 

Photo: Kelly Balch

[jarofstyles]

Fan Club

A/N: This story.... it’s very near and dear to our hearts. We have a total of 7 parts written, 80k words total. It is our take on the PR relationship trope, mixed with Harry gets with a fan trope. It’s full of angst, full of sweet moments and smutty moments alike. We LOVE these two, they are quite literally our children. It is a bit more personal for the reader in some aspects, we know we have all imagined what it would be like to be with Harry at some point, so this goes out to you. We made Y/N of Russian decent in this one, just to make things fun ( and because we wanted some representation for our Russian babes out there 🤧). All in all, we are extremely proud to present Fan Club to you, we hope you enjoy ✨✨ - n + d

send feedback and requests here 

masterlist

pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

warnings: angst, glimmers of fluff

word count: 11.2k

It was hard for Y/N to explain how she ended up in this situation. Fake Dating international popster, Harry Styles. To be honest, it was all a bit of a crazy story even for Y/N. She couldn’t believe it either. Y/N was a simple girl with simple taste. Her older sister, Katya, owned a bakery called ‘for goodness bakes’ that’s been open for about 5 years, Y/N has been working there alongside her. She spent most of her time at the bakery, having just graduated with a degree in business marketing. She liked doing things most 22 year old girls liked doing: fun makeup, nights in with wine and romcoms, and of course being a fan of Harry Styles. 

Since she was 12 years old, she had been a fan of One direction and well... Harry was always her favorite. She initially fell for his preppy appearance, but ultimately fell for his charm and quirkiness once she fell deep into the fandom. And she did fall deep. She had a stan account on every social media platform, she bought merch and multiple copies of albums, and even wrote fanfiction on wattpad. To say she was a big fan was an understatement. 

About a month ago, Harry’s team had reached out to her via the email of her bakery. They had seen the post that she made, a picture of herself with a kiwi tart with the caption, ‘it’s none of your business.... unless?’ and had asked if they could have a meeting with her at their headquarters. Obviously, Y/N agreed to this meeting, thinking that they might want her to cater an event or something. But no, they wanted her to be his ‘girlfriend’. 

They had explained to her that they had been searching for the perfect candidate who was not only a fan, but was also just a regular everyday girl. They said they liked her aesthetic and felt like she would suit Harry well. Her background in business marketing meant that she would be good at knowing what to post and her being a fan meant her love for him would be believable. The fans and media would eat this story up! It took Y/N a moment to comprehend what they were asking her to do, but they started bringing up numbers and Y/N couldn’t say no. This would get her and her sister out of debt and could pay for so much new equipment at the bakery. This sum of money could change her life. Plus, she’d get to fake date her idol? It seemed like an offer she couldn’t pass up. So she signed the contract. 

That’s what landed her here, waiting patiently at the door of Harry’s secret London home where his manager Jeff said to meet the two of them to discuss the plan from here on out. Her heart was beating extremely quickly, wanting to keep things cool. She didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, she wanted him to like her and trust her.

Harry hadn't started off jaded. Granted, most didn’t. They had the sparkle and excitement. But Harry had lost it. Years and years in the industry, from when he was a teenager to present, it had ruined it for him. That excitement he had previously had been watered down immensely. A lot, actually. But he was mostly tired of the things that came with the job— not music itself. 

Harry loved music. Making it, writing it, performing it. He loved his fans. But he hated what came with if. The people who constantly wanted things from him. Not a moment of privacy when he was out and about— though that had gotten better as his fans grew up, honestly. The media blowing up and twisting every bit of his words to fit their own wants. The fact that anyone he was seen with was a potential love interest in the eyes of the media. How they scared off and ruined good things for him because of it. He was tired of that. Every person who came to him made him wary. What was the motive? What was the reasoning behind them coming to talk to him? Fan or someone wanting a photo just for their Instagram? He wasn’t sure. 

Relationships had been hard and for now, he’d basically sworn off of them. After the bad ending with Camille, he had decided to take a long break. Until the label said he should probably have a PR move, one unlike his previous ones. One involving dating someone posing as a fan. A regular person, without his level of fame. Someone relatable to fans. Or that’s what Jeff has said to him. At this point, Harry was used to being tugged around with his dating life so he agreed. Did he want to? No. But he was under contracts and he wasn’t going to fight something so stupid. It would be a few dates, hanging out. Right? He didn’t even have to talk much to her. 

He was far too aware they probably offered her a good amount of money. Most likely why she was even there. So when he let Jeff open the door, he was annoyed with himself. 

She was pretty. Fuck off. That’s how he felt. A lackluster wave was given to her, a nod as well as she sat down across from him at his oak dining table. Cute. Pretty hair, soft cheeks. Petal pink lips. If this wasn’t a stunt he would probably think she was a lot cuter, though. 

A wave. 

Years worth of build up for this moment and all Y/N had gotten was a wave? She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Y/N offered him a smile, a shy but genuine one before looking over at Jeff. Obviously she had known who Jeff was, how could she forget the iconic ‘help me Jeffrey!’ Quote. The hundreds of photos of them together. It was surreal, but her shock surprisingly helped her stay calm. 

“Alright! Harry, Y/N. Y/N, Harry.” Jeff smiled at her, knowing Harry wasn’t happy about being here. “So have you been properly briefed about what’s required? It’s a lot more than we would usually ask of a project like this, a while longer.” He said. Harry looked at him in question. What?

“Yes, they gave me a brief outline at the meeting I went to but nothing too specific. They said you’d go over that here.” Y/N answered, pushing a few pieces of hair behind her ear. “Oh?” She asked, knowing she had signed a contract for a year. It was a long time but she assumed everyone was in it for that long. Y/N really didn’t know how PR relationships worked, she just assumed things about them through what she had seen on the internet and what all the stans were saying. She never really believed that people did things like this, but clearly, they did. 

Y/N looked over at Harry once again, taking any spare moment she could to really take him in. He was just sitting there looking so fucking perfect. An angel in the flesh. This was the man who had sparked her sexual awakening, who had taught her to be a badass bitch and to be kind to everyone she met. She knew she wasn’t his type and that this wouldn’t really end up like a fan fic, but she couldn’t wait to at least become his friend.

“Wait— how long?” His voice was deep and rather cold, but he wasn’t aware it was longer than usual. Granted— his own fault. Jeff said to look over the contract and he had just signed. It had been so many years of reading contracts he was tired of it. 

“A year. There’s a clause to extend it if need be, or shorten after 8 months.” Jeff shot him a look. “But that’s only one of the differences. I know you’re tired H, but get it together.” He sighed, rubbing his temples. “Y/N here is the perfect girl next door. We found her to be perfect to do this with you. But it’ll be different because it’ll be a confirmed relationship. All other stunts, they’d been left to interpretation and never spoken about them. Blacklisted questions in interviews, etc. but we’re going with the narrative of you both being quite comfortable talking about it. Y/N won’t have to admit much considering she has her own life and job outside of this, but you’ll be talking about it in interviews. About this lovely girl who made you rethink how you went about relationships.” It was odd. A whole storyline for their relationships. 

“We know how to work this. You’ll both first be photographed together downtown. Harry holding your hand, Y/N. And then we will plant things in each of your social media posts to hint at it. Seemingly innocent but, a tattoo of his in the background. Wearing a shirt he has recently worn. His journal. All of those things.” Jeff explained the beginning of it. “From there, you’ll be more open. Post photos or do those Instagram stories your bakery is good at, Y/N. Have his voice in the background. Be photographed out and about. Simple things, grocery shopping. Y/N will come to your small gig, Harry. Hang around with your mum, and wear one of your rings on a necklace.” He would buy one and wear it for a bit before giving it to her so there was proof it was his. “When we get into it... we’re thinking cute Instagram posts from both of you. Open. Affectionate. A bit of an acting job. You’ll both be good at it though. I am confident you both can handle it.” He wasn’t sure how nonchalant Harry was seeming, though. Y/N seemed uneasy with how out of it Harry seemed to be and he didn’t blame her. 

“That’s quite a lot more than I bargained for.” Harry spoke again, sighing. “I suppose if it’s necessary for the numbers. I don’t know why I can't just do a meet and greet or something but. Okay.” He muttered.

Harry’s voice didn’t sound like the Harry Y/N knew. It was rather rough and not in the way she had grown to like it. It made her look away from him quickly, not wanting to piss him off. Maybe he was just having a bad day? She couldn’t really blame him. She was sure having all these fake relationships probably sucked. The tasks seemed fairly easy. Y/N knew that the team would be there to remind them about things and well, if she got to hang around Harry all the time, it really couldn’t be that bad. She really wanted to get to know Harry and hoped that he wanted to do the same. It would be more fun that way.

“You know why. Y/N is perfect. The fans will love her. She’s gorgeous, but has the girl next door stuff about her. Plus, she’s very nice. You’ve been lovely, Y/N.” Jeff turned to her, attempting to comfort her.

Y/N really needed to stop giving Harry the benefit of the doubt. He just kept proving her wrong. The tension between Harry and Jeff showed that Harry really wasn’t on board and it made Y/N feel strange. She thought that Harry had agreed to this and knew all the conditions, she didn’t think this was something that was sprung on him that he didn’t really get to think about. She smiled shyly again at Jeff’s compliment, looking back at Harry to try and read him. 

“I’m sure it’s weird having some stranger come around to be your girlfriend and all, but it’s just as new for me if that makes you feel better.” Y/N really wanted him to like her. Like really wanted him to like her.

Harry wasn’t sure what she was playing at. What she wanted. If it was more money or fame or whatever. He wasn’t sure exactly why she was doing this either besides for money. Whoever wanted to do this for fun would be absolutely crazy. 

“Thanks.” Harry nodded stiffly. Half of him didn’t like treating her coldly, but the bigger part was terrified of getting hurt. If she was using him for more money. Going to ask him to introduce her to someone else. No one ever liked him for him. They liked the things that came. The attention and money, luxury that was thrown at him. It was never for him or his love or jokes or interests.

Sure, people pretended to care but he knew far better than that. People didn’t care. They used him as a step stool to get what they wanted. Means to an end. Just like his last relationship that had really hurt him. 

Okay so he didn’t like her. Cool. Y/N couldn’t say it didn’t hurt because it definitely did, but she couldn’t sit here and cry about it. Y/N had come to this meeting and signed a year long contract and there was no getting out of it. So she sucked it up, looking back at Jeff who had explained what he wanted them to do. 

“So what we’ll do is have you both take photos of things today. Harry, you take a photo of your new guitar and have the flowers in the background. Y/N, you’ll take photos of the flowers and have just the bottom of the guitar on the counter.” It must be shocking for someone who wasn’t in the industry to see how this was so calculated.

“Would you want us to post them at different times then?” Y/N questioned, assuming hers would be uploaded first. If she posted it before Harry people would be more likely to connect the dots that the two of them were together. Well, that’s what Y/N would think as a fan. Being a fan and having a fan’s perspective would really help her in these situations because well, she knew what they wanted to hear and what they would think based on what she posted. Y/N felt like she could fully manipulate the fans to think whatever. It was quite simple really.

Y/N’s main account proved that she was a normal girl who also happened to be a Harry stan. She followed Harry on all the socials, but he probably would wait to follow her until they were public. That would make more sense. They needed to build up the story.

See. Harry wasn’t aware that she was a fan fan. There were plenty of people who went to his shows and shit for Instagram photos and videos. He didn’t even know her socials though so he didn’t check. It was maybe a little shitty of him to have a preconceived notion about her when she hadn’t barely talked to him, but he knew so many people who wanted to be in her position. Wanted to ‘date’ a celebrity until they found out that they have to travel with them and have to deal with fans and other people wanting your significant other. 

“I’m thinking not too far apart. Take the photos today but... hm. You post first. And then Harry will later. It’ll have people looking later on when they see the flowers. Fans are so insightful and research thoroughly.” Jeff was sure she knew that though. She’s had a fan account. “I have to go take this call— Harry, why don’t you tell Y/N about the album?” He excused himself then, going out and into the other room. 

No, no, Jeff, don’t leave. Y/N sighed to herself, nervous as all hell to be in a room with Harry alone when he had made it clear that he didn’t really want anything to do with her. But maybe they could talk about his album like Jeff suggested? Y/N loved his music, she often played it at her bakery. She was excited for the new album to drop and had genuine questions about it. 

Harry felt a bit on the spot but he just shrugged. “S’almost done. Don’t have a title yet. Choosing the singles soon I think.”

“That’s exciting.” Y/N smiled, “would you say it’s within the same vein as self titled or did you go in a different direction?” She asked not wanting to sound like an interviewer but this was a genuine question. God this was so uncomfortable for her, she wanted to run away and cry. She never thought that her idol would make her feel so uncomfortable in his presence. She was in his home and he clearly didn’t want her there, clearly didn’t want to have a fake girlfriend, and he was letting her know that pretty obviously whether he knew it or not.

The thing is, Harry knew he was making her uncomfortable but he didn’t really know how to stop it either. It wasn’t like he wanted to be fake. He didn’t want this. He wanted to be left alone with his music and his fans. Not a pretend fan posing as his girlfriend. That wasn’t ideal. No, he would much rather have real conversations with fans that weren’t paid to sit in his house and pretend to be interested in his music. He knew that Jeff wanted him to play nice though, so he answered the question vaguely. As always. 

“Different. A lot of different influences I guess. A lot of different things I wanted to make. It’s fun to do it.” God, Harry was being bland. But his fears drowned out the guilt he felt. Yeah, maybe it was harsh. He knew that. But he also knew that he would regret it if he didn’t. Who knew what this chick would spill to the press later on? What she would want from him! What else she would ask Jeff for.

“Well that’s good. I’m glad to hear it was fun.” Y/N nodded at his answer, feeling discouraged because he really didn’t seem like he was going to warm up to her no matter what she did. Y/N didn’t want to ask anything too specific in fear that he’d think she was a crappy fan, and well, she didn’t know how else to get him to warm up to her. These tricks usually worked on grumpy customers at the bakery. 

She wanted the earth to swallow her up. She was so embarrassed. She was just sat there, praying that she could leave soon so she could lock herself in her room and cry. The worst part was, no one, literally no one, could know about this relationship being fake. There could be no loose ends. 

“Again, I’m sorry about all this. Can’t imagine being in your position...” Y/N showed genuine empathy for him, attempting to get him on her good side one more time. Y/N wouldn’t give up on being kind, after all, he was the one that taught her that. It was just strange that he was acting this way towards someone he was going to be working closely with. Maybe this was just how he treated people professionally. He wasn’t mean, but he was cold. Y/N was still a fan at heart though and despite how he treated her she still would give her life for him. She loved him, cared for him, and would genuinely support him. It made her wonder if his whole nice guy persona was even real.

The hell? Why was she apologizing? Harry thought. She was the one getting paid for it. If he wasn’t in this position she wouldn’t be getting paid well. He wasn’t sure why this Y/N girl was trying to be so nice to him. No way in hell she could possibly imagine his annoyance. Perhaps she was a nice person or something, usually. But he was pretty positive she wasn’t rich and definitely did it for the money. It made him wary of being close to anyone when they were in this situation. Any time he had made friends with past stunts, they’d faked being truly wanting to hang out with him. Once it ended, they weren’t interested in hanging out when people couldn’t see them. It had hurt when he realized it was a pattern. 

Jeff came back in with a smile, but not oblivious to her sad face. Harry would get chewed out after, for sure. “Alright! I need you both to exchange numbers so you can communicate about meeting up. It’ll be pretty frequently.”

Y/N looked at Jeff with a small smile, nodding her head before pulling her phone out and handing it to Harry. She had changed her lock screens to something a bit more ordinary. After all, she didn’t want Harry thinking she was creepy or anything. Hanging out with Harry is something that she should be excited about, but suddenly the idea of it kind of scared her. Being alone and struggling to make conversation because she was just that intimidated by him. It was making her rethink all the years that she had spent fangirling over him. He didn’t know she was a fan, maybe that’s why he treated her the way he did? If he knew would he be fake and all over it? She didn’t want to know. 

“My days off from the bakery are Mondays and Wednesdays. But I know you probably have a set schedule so just let me know and I’ll work around it.” Y/N offered, genuinely wanting to show both Harry and Jeff that she was more than willing to cooperate. She wasn’t sure how she would get herself out of this one.

Harry sighed as he put his number in. God, he hoped she didn’t sell it. He didn’t want a new number. Someone had sold his number to fans before and it had sucked. As much as he adored his fans? He didn’t want them calling him every second. He was hesitant in handing her his phone. It was something he didn’t trust many people with but she tenderly took it and typed her own number in. Didn’t even try to snoop which was good— but then again, he was looking at the phone in her hand. 

Y/N was gentle with Harry’s phone in her hand, typing in all of her information into the contact so he didn’t have to ask. Something told her he would be annoyed having to asking her for her address if need be. So she just put everything in there, her birthday, her email, her phone number and the bakery number, as well as her address. 

“Monday’s and Wednesday’s work with him. He’s recording Thursday Friday and Sunday to give the voice a rest. Has some writing sessions he will take you to.” Jeff was annoyed as hell at Harry’s lack of kindness. He’d have to give him his own brand of talking to, but wasn’t sure if it would do much good. He was quite a stubborn person. An Aquarius at heart.

“That’s good. Yeah, I don’t know if you’re a morning person or if you like getting your sleep so um.. yeah just text me.” Y/N spoke kindly, still trying her hardest to be as accommodating as possible. To Y/N it wasn’t about the money, sure the money helped, but it was about giving Harry fans someone they could genuinely look up to. Y/N was a normal girl. She had normal sizes, normal tasks, normal likes as a human. She was a kind person. The fans would quickly find her information, quickly find out that she is a fan and would quickly see that Harry was finally dating someone that represented them. They had wanted someone like that for years, but too bad it was all fake.

Harry understood the context of it. He was going to date someone ‘normal’. Not in the world of the famous. Which in some cases, Harry wouldn’t mind. But there would be tons of things Y/N wouldn’t understand. What to be quiet about. Who to talk to and who not to. Privacy. Things she wouldn’t just... get. He had been in this life for 10 years now. It was his normal. And Y/N would have to learn it all and keep her mouth shut. 

“I am. I get up at 6.” He usually did. He could sleep in but he wasn’t the type of thing he did often. What she didn’t know was he had an awful time sleeping and needed to take stuff to help him. His mind never stopped, was always going. There was a lot Y/N didn’t know about him. He would do his best to make sure she didn’t find out.

It was hard for Y/N, continuing to be kind, but to keep herself from crying. She felt so out of place and so unwelcome, god she hoped that he would warm up to him. Maybe this was a terrible idea? Too bad she was in it for the long haul now. 

“Jeff, I have a question.” Y/N spoke up shyly, “obviously people don’t know anything about this yet, so there isn’t a microscope over my life just yet. I want to make sure I take all the precautions I can to keep my privacy to an extent, but also don’t violate Harry’s.” She genuinely was worried about that. She didn’t want to say too much or do the wrong things, she also didn’t want people finding out where she lived. Where she worked, sure, well... she probably would have to stop working at the bakery if things got too hectic. Y/N looked at Harry once again, a soft and gentle expression on her face. She wondered what it was about her that was making him act this way because this wasn’t the Harry she knew, not at all. All she wanted to do now is go home as quickly as possible and cry. She really wanted to take her posters down, really wanted to hide everything but frankly, everyone would question why she suddenly took things down. Y/N had to continue to keep her cool.

Jeff’s face softened. they’d lucked out with this one. Harry was an idiot when it came to things like this, put his blinders on— he knew well enough. But Y/N would help his career. Hell, maybe she could be his friend and help him come out of the funk he had been in with trusting people. 

Harry didn’t let it show on his face, but he was impressed with what she said. It didn’t change much, but he had it on the back of his mind. No one else had to think of these things before because they’d just known, but the fact that she had asked was nice. Time would only tell if it was genuine, though. 

“That’s a good question— I was actually about to ask about your social media. You’re going to need to change passwords. Verify everything twice. Take any potential tracking information away like the whole location finding on your phone so your friends can find you. Any social media accounts not reported to us originally in our first meeting would need to be shown. I suggest doing a deep clean and moving things out of it, as much as you can. Not enough to make you look like you did it on purpose. But... think of what you’d look for.” Jeff knew Y/N was a fan so she would have a similar brain.

“Okay yeah, I’ll need some help with that.” Y/N blushed, looking down at her hands. She had reported all her socials to them, yes, all of them. All her fan accounts and her main accounts. She wasn’t sure how to turn off all the tracking things or what to take down. She wasn’t problematic in any sense, so it wasn’t like she had any content she needed to delete. But it would probably be things like taking locations off of photos and turning off her location on snap map and for any of her friends that had her on there. She had actually done the latter this morning. 

“Also, I really don’t intend on telling anyone about this unless you give me the go ahead. So please, if there is anything you need me to do, let me know?” Y/N really was trying to think of everything here. She wanted to make sure this was seamless because she knew the fans would be like hawks over another fan being Harry’s girlfriend, if they found out it was PR they’d be crushed. Their whole image of Harry would be ruined. They needed to make this as real as possible. Y/N had so many suggestions, so many insights on what it was like to be a fan. She definitely wanted to speak up about anything that could potentially ruin this because well, this was Harry’s career and they couldn’t be caught doing this.

“Perfect! You’re going to do well with this, Y/N.” Jeff had been the one to find her so technically, this was his finding. He hoped that she could get Harry to realize how weird he was being. Because ultimately? He was a nice guy. He loved his fans, his friends and his family. Strangers scared him. He didn’t know who to trust and that made him act strangely. His team knew it. He was always polite to people he worked around but when it came to people invading his personal life, getting close? He said, no ma’am. “I’m happy that you’re aware of how it works a little. It makes it a bit easier. Harry here has had a few almost disasters with these types of things.” Jeff smirked at him, making Harry grumble and blush a little bit. Fuck. That wasn’t something he liked talking about too much. “Anyways... Y/N, we need you to be yourself. That’s why you were chosen, yeah? Just continue on. Be less active on that other twitter account of yours for the moment.” He had a whole plan for that. “Don’t stop completely but... I’ll send you ideas of what to tweet. Keep it vague but that you’re excited.” 

Harry didn’t know about the fan account. He would have, if he had read any paperwork, but right now he didn’t have a clue. 

They wanted her to be herself, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem. She just had to be aware that Harry was in her life now, consistently. He was her ‘boyfriend’ now. That’s something Y/N never thought she’d say. But here she was. 

“Okay, can do.” Y/N nodded, already knowing not to tweet as much on the fan account because well, she wouldn’t be doing that if she was hanging out with Harry. It would be hard for her not to tell anyone but she knew she had to do it. This was her duty as a fan to the fans, to make them feel represented and loved. “And what’s the story? Like how we met?” Y/N asked, feeling like that was important to know as well. She mostly asked for Harry’s sake because he clearly didn’t read the contract or the emails that had been sent around on the topic. This was an important first meeting, she assumed Harry wouldn’t want to hang out with her today but they probably would sometimes next week.

“Well, we wanted to leave that up to you. I had the idea of you both frequenting the same coffee shop— and before you both roll your eyes, I know it’s a fan fiction trope and I know that. But it’s believable considering Y/N doesn’t have any true connection that would be explainable to the music or entertainment industry.” Jeff explained. “If you have better ideas, Y/N, please feel free to tell me. However— we are trying to show this as you both fell for one another quite quickly. You both are very fond of one another and are around each other quite a lot.” He knew that Harry would be hard to deal with so he was definitely going to be offering Y/N some sort of bonus. “I think after the photos, we will have you both photographed leaving a dinner together next week. You’ll go with both myself and my girlfriend so it won’t be just throwing you two into the water.” Plus, he didn’t want her to be alone with Harry like that out in public without experiencing it first with him there. Jeff felt slightly protective of her, too. Like a little sister. “Also, I know you already said he’s but being clear— you’re okay with hand holding and physical touches in public with him, yeah? And for photos?”

Y/N laughed at the idea, “I mean that does work.” She said shrugging to herself. “But do we have anything to back that up? Have we ever been to the same coffee shop at the same time where someone who works there can confirm?” Y/N was really thinking about every detail here. “Jeff you’ve been to my bakery before haven’t you? Could just run with the fact that we became acquainted and you introduced us?” She felt like that was far more believable and paps wouldn’t have gotten photos of Jeff anyway so the story was contained between Harry’s team and her bakery. Her coworkers wouldn’t know who Jeff is, it was really fool proof. Also, did he say dinner next week? Wow, that was fast but she would be ready. “Where is dinner going to be? Just want to think about what I should wear.” Y/N blushed, wanting to make sure she looked nice for their first encounter together. Something very her but very consistent with something Harry would like on a girl. Y/N had been following Harry for ages, she knew what kind of outfit to wear based on what kind of restaurant it was. A casual dinner outfit for Harry was quite dressed up, so she’d probably end up doing a bold trouser, heeled boot, and plain blouse combo.

“Actually— that’s a good idea. I didn’t think about the staff thing. This was definitely done at the last minute so I’m not on my A game right this moment. Wonderful— lets do that.” 

Harry didn’t know anything about her, he realized. She worked in a bakery? He did when he was younger. He wasn’t sure if she knew that or not but it did make him a tiny bit more interested in her. Why would she do this? There had to be a real reason. He was positive. 

“Actually— Harry, go in there a few times this week. Make it somewhere people know you go. It’ll be believable that you found a new place and love it. And some of her coworkers will catch on, so on and so forth. I can call a tip, perhaps tomorrow? I know it’s starting early but we are on a schedule.” Jeff noted.

Harry was going to go to write tomorrow, but that obviously wasn’t about to happen. “I guess so. I can make time.” He had a pretty free day otherwise but it still annoyed him. However he was hoping there were good treats. Harry was a good actor when it came down to it. He hoped she could tell— didn’t want to thrust her about with his actions. In public was acting. All of it.

“And yes, about the touches and stuff. As long as it’s something Harry would actually do in public, yeah.” Y/N explained, knowing Harry was relatively private when he was in relationships. He didn’t do much PDA and she’d be okay with anything he was okay with. “Just um, let me know what’s okay.” It was a bit nerve—wracking, having to do all of this and make sure everything was sorted. Y/N knew a lot about Harry so she was positive that it wouldn’t be a problem, she’d only learn more. It was Harry that had to do a bit of learning about her. He would find out most things about her fairly quickly, she was an open book. 

“What type of baked good do you like?” Y/N asked, genuinely curious. “I’ll have some for you come around, pack you a little box.” She blushed, expressing something to him that she had always wanted to do. She knew he was a baker back in the day, maybe they’d bond over it?

Her coworkers would be shocked that Harry would be there considering Y/N was a massive fan and they knew that. But that’s when Y/N would tell them about it all. “You want me to tell my staff what exactly?” She wondered, “that we are kinda sorta seeing each other? Or that we’re just seeing how things go?”

“Uh— I like lemon things. Ginger cookies. Scones.... anything really.” Harry said quietly. It wasn’t said as coldly as the last couple words had been. Maybe it was because of baked goods? Regardless.... he was hoping that said bakery was good. He was obviously going to pay for them. 

“He also loves red velvet cupcakes.” Jeff piped up. “But I think that it’s a lovely idea, being familiar with what he likes... you’ve been so smart.” She really was. It was almost scary. Jeff approves immensely. Even Harry had to admit it was surprising to see her full of good ideas. “I think you should say you’ve been seeing one another. Not sure about where it will go but you really like him. Trust me— Harry here will be able to make them believe he’s very into you. His ability has made it so we’ve never been caught doing this thing. Not like that Camila and Shawn couple. They’re having leaks all over.” He winced. Their poor PR.

Y/N smiled and nodded at him, already having in mind what she would have ready for him when he came. She had an incredible lemon bar recipe and some other bits. Of course red velvet cupcakes. “Red Velvet are my favorite too. And carrot cake.” She commented, blushing once again. It’s true, Harry had been very good at all the PR relationships. She’d soon find out which ones were and which weren’t. She was determined to be the most coveted of them all though, the one that stuck out and actually stuck around hopefully. But she was positive that she’d fall for Harry’s act, hell, she’d fallen for him a long long time ago. “My staff is really tight knit, my sister runs most things actually. I trust they’ll keep things on the down low if I ask them to.” Y/N nodded, knowing that nothing would slip past her team unless instructed. She had a good feeling about all of this, they seemed to have most things under control. Y/N would help tie up loose ends that fans might think of and as long as they followed her lead, it would work.

“If you feel as though your sister can truly hold a secret, you can tell her. It wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t have someone to lean on.” Jeff said. He trusted her enough. Harry looked at him suspiciously. 

“Wait— hold on. What about an NDA?” Harry asked hurriedly. “We can't have any bit of this shit going out.” He was scared. So scared of someone finding out and thinking he was some damn fraud. 

“Harry— it’s fine. I’m sure she had enough sense to judge that a sister would tell or not. It’s up to her, anyways. Just remind her of the immense legal action that could take place if someone were to talk.” Jeff shrugged, knowing that Y/N really did know. “But we’ll have a tip called in about a bakery he’s been rumored to go to— no way that they’ll know if it’s true— and they’ll probably take shots through the window. We can escalate later during the week to him picking you up from work to bring you home. Something like that before the dinner.” He thought out loud. “Thoughts? Y/N?” Harry has been quiet. He didn’t like these things so he didn’t say much. Just let them plan whatever and wing with it later on. He was kind of shut down internally.

“I’ll think about it. But I’m still apprehensive to tell anyone. I wouldn’t want this getting out regardless... I wouldn’t want fans to lose trust in Harry just because I decided I wanted to tell my sister.” Y/N explained, knowing she’d probably tell Katya if it got too intense, but for now, she wasn’t saying anything. “Seems fine. I think once a week or maybe twice a week is more than enough. Don’t want to over kill either. Essentially, if he’s in the area he can pop by.” Y/N explained, thinking that was the best way to go about it. “I know you said we are on a schedule but you don’t want it to look unnatural either.” She said and sighed as she looked over at Harry. 

He really didn’t seem to like this and she understood but she hoped that he would loosen up even a little bit. She wasn’t a terrible person, all he had to do was ask. Y/N was pretty much an open book. “Is there anything else?” Y/N asked, eager to get things done and maybe chat to Harry a bit if he was willing before going home.

“I don’t think so. We’re going to try and take it as it comes so we don’t overwhelm you.” Jeff was the main talker and Harry was kind of just sitting and watching. Trying to read her. Either she was a very good hiding person, or she was good. Either way, he didn’t trust her. Lots of people had seemed sweet and generous and fun when he had first met them only to turn out to absolutely wreck his fragile heart. He knew he was fragile that way and he had given people the benefit of the doubt one too many times. He didn’t trust his own radar anymore. The more Harry looked, the prettier Y/N got— which was infuriating. It pissed him off internally because she had the type of lips every man wanted wrapped around their cock, and beautiful legs he had seen when she walked in. He never took women for granted, would never disrespect them, but his initial reaction was arousal and that made it even worse with his trust issues. Her eyes were soft and doll like but had a sharpness to them that he was far too aware of. She was smart. Incredibly so. And she was curvier than he usually dated— or was seen with, actually, because he had a few one nighters with girls that was far bigger than Y/N and he had loved it. He liked her body. It was a perfect mix, he thought. And then got annoyed about even thinking about it. Damn it.

Y/N nodded, “Alright, thank you very much. I’ll um... I’ll take the picture of those flowers and I’ll get out of your hair.” She chuckled apologetically, sensing that Harry really just wanted this to end and she would give that to him. He made her so nervous, now more so because she was scared of making him angry with her. Harry had always been someone she didn’t want to get on the bad side of. Harry was so nice to everyone that it really made her upset that for some reason he had singled her out and not liked her. It was disappointing. But I guess people were right when they say, never meet your idols. In many ways, Harry was Y/N’s ideal man. She liked how driven he was, how multi talented he was, how charming he was, how he was unapologetically himself. Plus he was scientifically proven to be one of the most attractive men on this planet next to ryan gosling. It was a shame that a lot of the things she had thought about Harry originally would slowly crumble as she got to know him better. It hurt, but she’d keep that hurt to herself. Just because the illusion was ruined for her didn’t mean it was ruined for everyone.

Harry felt bad, because she seemed to be in a hurry to leave. It was what he was supposed to want, so why did it make him so uncomfortable? He hadn’t wanted for her to be upset. Just... to keep her distance. She had these baby eyes and soft cheeks that looked sad and he wanted to give her a reassuring smile but he was trying to remind himself that there was potential danger here. Most likely she was a wannabe actress. Testing it out on him. Made sense. 

“Okay.” He nodded, standing up. When he did so, he realized he was quite a lot taller than her. Usually, he had models who matched his height. But she was smaller. Cute. He hadn’t experienced that before. Knocking that thought out of his head, he took the photo of his new coke bottle green acoustic, letting the flowers show in the back before he rested it back up against the counter. Y/N took her turn with her picture, taking a bit more time than Harry. Probably a better result too, and he wished he had patience at the moment.

A ping of sadness spread over her, she thought maybe he’d pretend to try and get to know her a bit but nope. All hope was lost then and Y/N went to take a photo of the flowers in a way that would fit her personal Instagram aesthetic. She usually posted shit like this so it wouldn’t be too out there. Once she was happy with the photo she had slipped her phone back into her pocket, looking at Harry and Jeff with a small smile. 

“Well, um, thanks for having me.” Y/N started off, pulling on her jacket. “And I’ll see you tomorrow?” She asked Harry with a small tinge of hope. He had said he would visit her bakery but she was still worried he wouldn’t show up. She felt so small. Being who she is, she went in for a hug anyway. Both figuratively and physically, Harry had intimidated her and she was weary about every move around him at the minute. Maybe she’d get used to it. “It was nice to meet you, Harry.” Y/N gave him a genuine smile, feeling even more shy now that she was so close to him. 

This would be torture.

Harry was a bit startled, but relented and hugged back. It was a bit weak, but he gently patted her back. God damn it. Why was she acting so sweet and nice and innocent? He would almost rather her be truthful about her wants of money and fame. It would be a lot more tolerable. 

“You as well.” He pulled back, face neutral. Thank god he had gotten his hard on down a decent amount. Never would he live this down. He didn’t just get hard for no reason. That girl had bamboozled him and was trying to trick him and wouldn’t let it happen. When she left, Harry continued to stare at her back before the door shut. And then he was promptly slapped upside the head by Jeff. 

“Ow! What was that for?” He hissed, rubbing the spot he had been smacked. Jeff Gave him an incredulous look, shaking his head. 

“You idiot. You’re going to scare away someone who will ultimately help your career and relationship with your friends.” Jeff scolded. “That girl is nothing but sweet. She’s doing this for you, and you know why. She’s a kind person and you better not make her run on us early. Do you want the press to get wind of it? She could talk, if you really treat her poorly. Looked like a damn kicked puppy when you wouldn’t talk to her.” He got his dad face on, crossing his arms. 

“You’re going to have to suck it up. Regardless if you actually like her or not, you’ve got to be decent to her. She’s stuck with you for a year.” Harry was irritated with that. Stuck with him? Although... maybe he was accurate with that.

Y/N tried her best to keep her tears at bay, putting on some music that would keep her energy up until she was in the comfort of her own home. She had been as discreet as possible leaving Harry’s secret London home. To the public, he lived somewhere in Hampstead which was actually closer to where Y/N lived in Camden.

After about an hour on public transportation, Y/N had finally made it back to her cozy flat. Tears immediately began to form as she unlocked the door, sniffling as she took off her coat and threw it to the ground with an absent mind. She ran to her room, storming to the bathroom to grab a roll of toilet paper. She needed to be prepared. How could someone she looked up to so much been such a dick to her? She could understand he didn’t trust strangers, but he truly made her feel like she wasn’t even worth basic human respect. Y/N was trying to be as kind as possible to him despite him being such an asshole to her and even still, he gave her a weak hug and response. As if she was a chore. It made her feel sick to her stomach. So she cried for a while, showered, got cozy in bed and went to sleep. She had early mornings at the bakery seeing as everything was freshly baked. So she was up at 3:30 every morning to make sure she was ready for their opening at 7.

----

‘Hello. I am coming in at 9:30. H.’

Harry looked it over. It wasn’t too friendly but wasn’t too rude, right? He was overthinking. Y/N had made him think last night. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her too badly, because while he did see her sad eyes he thought he was making it up in his head to try and feel bad for her. Jeff has confirmed it and made that ugly feeling in his stomach crawl into his throat. He sat and thought about how to make it so they were at a distance, but she wasn’t too hurt. Every part of the scared side of him said to continue his actions, though. He wasn’t being mean. Right? ‘Wrong. You dick.’ The other side of him told him. Conflict was something he saw all too much of in his life. He knew too well about the issues at hand. But he had always taken it so he wasn’t sure how not to prepare for it. 

Pulling up to a quaint little bakery, Harry smiled to himself. It was cute. A punny name. He liked it. Somewhere he definitely could see himself going randomly if he had seen it. Parking his car across the street, he sat for a moment and gathered himself. Now to prepare for being cute to her.

Y/N would be lying if she said she didn’t smile at the text. She had always imagined getting a text from Harry and here she was getting a text from Harry. It wasn’t anything special, but it was to her despite how sad he had made her yesterday. She had dressed herself in a baby blue sweater and overalls, putting her hair up into a messy yet contained bun. All that crying yesterday made her eyes fairly puffy so she made sure to do some fresh, no makeup makeup look. She wanted to look cute if he was coming. 

“What’s gotten into you this morning?” Katya asked, seeing Y/N’s giddy mood. They were currently baking everything they’d prepped yesterday, putting out all the freshly baked breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, and donuts. 

“Dunno, just... happy I guess.” Y/N smiled, saying it in a way that would raise questions. Perfect, get her thinking. Her excitement was genuine. He was going to come and see her and be sweet to her, it was like a whole new interaction between the two. Best part was, she could just play out everything she imagined in her head. It was a perfect set up. Jeff was so smart with getting a fan to do this.

“Hm. We’ll see. That looks like a boy smile.” Her sister really had no clue. Everyone knew she was a big fan, and would be absolutely floored when he came in. 

Harry sighed against his steering wheel, he put on his big boy pants and decided to get a move on. Today, he wore a loose white button up with a few of the buttons undone, black trousers and red boots with ‘sucker’ on the back of them. He had been sent the whole collection and did quite like it. But his pea coat was unbuttoned, car keys stuffed into the coat pocket after locking the door. The little bells chimed as he walked in, and he took a look around. It was very cute. Instagram worthy, some would say. It smelled really good too, which was a plus.

The earlier morning rush had passed, kids now at school and parents now at work. The rest of the day really consisted of prepping more goods and serving whoever came in. Y/N really liked working at the bakery, it was her safe space to be creative and feel good. She liked to spread the message of kindness she had learned from Harry into her store everyday. 

There were a few people in the bakery when he came in, sitting drinking coffee and doing work. They hadn’t really noticed who it was, and even if they knew they didn’t seem to care too much. Y/N popped her head from out the back and smiled widely when she saw him, walking over to the register so she was closer to him. 

“Good Morning, how can I help you?” She asked in a teasing tone, that giddy grin still on her face. Y/N was going to let him take the lead, letting him choose how this interaction would go but of course Y/N was going to turn up the flirt factor so that anyone surrounding them could tell there was something going on between the two of them. “You look nice.” She hummed.

“Hello, love.” Harry felt a weird gushy feeling in his stomach when she had smiled so widely at him. Fuck. Y/N looked so pretty. Hair perfectly messy, lashes long and eyes wide and glittering. Her lips had a bit of gloss or something along those lines and he wondered if it was flavored for a moment. “You do as well. Like the color.” He did, and that wasn’t even a lie. He loved the color and how it complimented her skin and hair. Made her eyes pop out. “I would really love a cup of coffee... and a hug.” 

Though she was surprised, the look didn’t stay long on her face. Instead, he was met with a gushy smile and a crinkle of her nose, “can do, yeah.” Y/N hummed as she rounded the corner to come give him a proper hug. Closing her eyes as she snuggled into his chest for that brief moment.

God. Harry was fucking himself over with this, and he didn’t even know why he suggested that but his heart twinged when she looked surprised for a moment, but beamed like a ray of sun before rounding the corner. Her apron was taken off and he decided to take the initiative and hug her. It was a friendly hug, held for a bit too long. Her body was warm, warming him from the cold he had felt outside. Her cheek pressed against his chest which had been bare since he had forgone a few buttons, and his mouth felt dry. He hadn’t had a decent hug in months by anyone but his mother. Pulling back, he brushed a tendril of hair away that had escaped. 

“I came to see if you’d be so kind and give me some pastries.” Harry spoke quietly, making the moment look private— even though he had heard the choked gasp and the whispering going on behind them— her coworkers. It was sweet really, the two of them clearly excited to see each other, but also not wanting to draw too much attention to the fact that they were like that. It was perfect acting. 

Well, she wasn’t acting. Y/N looked up at him with enamored eyes, the smile never leaving her face as he even spoke quietly to her. 

“Of course, how many are you thinking?” She asked just as quietly, biting her lip a little as she hesitated to move back behind the counter to get his coffee going. “Black coffee yeah? For here or to go?” Y/N confirmed, knowing that he didn’t take cream or sugar in his coffee from being a fan. She’d just say Jeff told her. 

Her coworkers were bewildered, Katya’s eyes nearly popping out of her socket as she watched the interaction unfold. Y/N giggled at them, shaking her head as she went to get a box for Harry’s goods. 

“What would you like? Anything you’d like, on the house.” Y/N told him, standing behind the massive glass cases full of baked goods. “Lemon bars, red velvet cupcakes, and anything else?”

“Absolutely not on the house, I’ll be paying. Nice try though, pet.” Pet was a good nickname for her. She was a responsibility— but a cute one. Even if it burned his ass to think about her like that. But right now? Y/N was plenty cute— and she acted very, very well. Harry almost believed this true excitement. Thankfully, he found that he fed off of that energy from her acting. “You already know? Impressive.” Harry looked at her with a gentle smile. “Yeah, the coffee black. Lemon bars, the cupcakes. Hm. Throw a few random cookies in there too. I’ll be going to write for a little while.” That was good to do, right! Throw in a daily activity. He felt his mind was off when he was around her. It went a little crooked, was the best way to say it. He got distracted and honestly? It was kind of infuriating. He supposed it wasn’t her fault, unless she was secretly a siren and singing a silent song. Or had a spell attracting him to her, even though he was fighting it hardcore.

“Hey.” Y/N pouted when he refused her offer, “let me do something for you.” She said firmly because she meant it. A few baked goods and some coffee cost her nothing in the long run, but she wanted to do something nice for Harry because all the fancy dinners and experiences about to come were something she’d never be able to repay him for. Y/N packed everything up in the box, even adding a cute little note that said ‘tell me which was your favourite — Y/N ❤️ xx’. She put it into a paper bag and set it on the counter next to the cup of coffee. She was actually quite excited for him to try them, she wanted his opinion and frankly she knew they were damn good. 

“Long day ahead of you then?” Y/N asked, referencing him writing. She was genuinely asking because she cared, wishing that he was comfortable enough with her that she could come and give him a cuddle when he got home. What was she thinking? This isn’t real, he’s acting. And she’s meant to be acting as well.

It did strike him off that she didn’t take the money. Or the offer of paying. Usually people say that when they want it anyways and just expect you to insist, but she really didn’t seem to care about it. Which... was suspicious. While the bakery was very cute, it definitely wasn’t high end. He could tell they needed some new chairs and definitely some updated paint but he thought it added to the charm. Maybe they truly couldn’t afford it? He was curious as to what the hell she spent the money she was going to get on. 

It was true that the bakery was a little bit worn, but with the money she’d be getting from this contract halfway through? They’d be able to afford closing for however long they needed to renovate. Y/N has even wanted to buy the space upstairs as well and host small acoustic gigs for local musicians. 

“Uh.. I mean, a little bit. I’ll be writing a bit and then going to a very boring meeting.” It was the truth. God, how was he going to be able to focus? Harry was fighting a battle internally with how it was with her, trying to read things and find warning signs but it was hard. She was scary. Not in an outright way— but the way that. If this was real! If he had just walked in and met her at the coffee shop and didn’t think this was acting? He’d give her his number. She had an amazing charm around her that he was positive she had to know about— though acted as though she didn’t. “I hate to cut it short, pet. But I’ll talk to you soon, yeah?” He took hold of her smaller hand and squeezed it, before stuffing a hundred pounds into the tip jar. He turned around before she could protest, only turning when he got to the door to shoot her a wink. And as soon as he was out the door, he heaved a heavy breath. Christ. Why?

“Aw well, text me if you get too bored.” Y/N gave him a cheeky smile, leaning on the counter a little bit so she was closer to him. “Have a good day, pet.” She teased right back, smirking as he started to walk off. He really didn’t have to put a hundred pound note in there, that was flexing a bit, but it was very nice. It would go straight towards the bakery as it normally did.

3..2..1…

“What the actual fuck was that?” Her sister came storming over with wide eyes. “Y/N— that was... he's all over your walls. He has been on them for years and now he’s callin’ you pet?” She was shrieking but for good reason. Harry bloody Styles came in and hugged and flirted with her sister, they seemed to know each other well enough. It was incredibly shocking and Y/N hadn’t said a damn word to anyone. She used to stay up to watch his tv show appearances— hell, Katya was 99% sure she still did. But now? “You guys have each other’s numbers.... Y/N, you can't be for real.” Her eyes were wide as she looked at her blushing sister. Anyone would be just as freaked out. Harry was not only a celebrity, but she had seen the times she spent hundreds on tickets and had photos of him as her lock screen— which had mysteriously disappeared.

“Yeah, yeah he is.” Y/N giggled, blushing deeply as her sister looked at her in awe. Her sister knew first hand how much Y/N loved Harry. She had watched how Harry single handedly saved her from the darkest of times, how genuinely happy he made her. Hell, she even went to a show with her once just to see what all the fuss was about. Y/N wrapped her arms around her sister in a hug, squeezing her tightly because she really appreciated how excited she was. Her poor sister was convinced it was real and Y/N couldn’t break it to her. Couldn’t tell her Harry was actually really cold to her and not anything like that. 

Truth is, Y/N had a really shitty love life. All her ‘boyfriends’ weren’t really boyfriends and Harry was sort of the one thing that kept her going. She just dreamed about what she wanted, dreamed about how Harry would treat her better in hope that one day maybe, she’d meet someone like him. 

“His manager, Jeff. He comes here a lot you know... and he um, he introduced the two of us.” Y/N explained, being her shy and coy self. It was 100% believable.

----

Harry went to the writing session and found himself writing about her eyes. Bright eyes and lush thighs and every bit of silky hair he wanted to wrap around his hand. He had very dirty thoughts about this girl and it translated in to paper. 

Harry had to go home and jerk off. And it was embarrassingly quick. He thought about how her sweater had dipped down and he’d seen the swell of her breasts, imagining taking her back behind that counter and fucking her sweet cherry mouth and watching his cum drip from her lips down to her tits. Knowing that in his fantasy world, she’d be walking around with his cum on her— and that was quickly done. 

The guilt he felt after though? It was annoying. He was so cold to her but wanted to fuck her raw. So in that guilt, he went up to the kitchen and tasted a lemon square— nearly fucking moaned. It was so good. He knew it was part of the whole thing to go there, but he wouldn’t be complaining because if he got those every time? He would be set. 

‘Lemon square is good. Thanks. H.’ 

It was dry but also a compliment, so he didn’t feel so bad for using her face in his dirty mind.

Y/N was about half way done with her day when she got that text from Harry, smiling a bit because he actually decided to text her. Sure she left a note, but he didn’t have to text. That was a private thing that they did after all. 

‘glad you liked them 🍋’ 

She wondered why on earth she felt so fucking happy. He had just popped in for a brief interaction but it made her whole day fly by. Before she knew it she was closing down the store, locking up to head home. “You going to see your man tonight?” Katya asked curiously and Y/N blushed. 

“No, unfortunately. But we’re going for dinner next week with his manager and his wife.” Y/N told her, knowing stuff like that she could tell her. “Might hang out tomorrow though cause it’s my day off, but he’s a busy man so I’m not sure yet.” Even hearing herself speak about Harry like this was so strange, but she’d get used to it for sure.

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

[part 2]

A/N: Harry :( why he have to be like that?? better hold on tight for this one - n+d

let us know what you think!

masterlist

[noladyme]

My Only Sunshine - Chapter 1

Liv is as human as they come – faults and all. After a dark experience in her past, she is determined to live life on her own terms, and never let anyone claim her as theirs again. This becomes an issue, when she meets a 1000-yearold vampire, who is dead-set on claiming her as his own.

TW: Blood

It was a warm night, and I was wearing my favorite summer dress, seated on a velvet couch, in an old house.

“Well, miss Sunday. Thank you very much for coming all the way out here to speak to me. I’ll go over your resumé one more time, but I think I’ve heard all I need”. The dark-haired, pale man gave me a friendly smile. I knew better than to reach out my hand for him to shake, and simply got up to stand, and nodded at him. “Thank you, Mr. Compton”, I smiled. “Just let me know if there’s anything else you need… So, interview over?”. “Interview’s over”, he said. “Good! Calling you Mr. Compton was getting weird!”, I laughed. “Well, you did insist”. “It was a job-interview. It was only proper”, I shrugged.

Bill Compton walked me to his front door, and I was about to say goodbye, when he halted, just before going for the doorknob. “There is one thing, I wanted to ask you; and seeing as you’ve been so forthcoming with me, on everything else…”. The vampire narrowed his eyes at me. “What?”, I said. “Why did you decide to apply for the position as my day-person?”, he asked. I smiled embarrassedly. “Honestly… I need the money”, I said. “I’ve been hoping to pay down my student loan, but taking up extra shifts down at Merlotte’s just isn’t cutting it”.

“That’s not what I meant”, he said. “You just don’t strike me as the type of person to take a job for a vampire”. He raised an intrigued brow at me. “Not enough fang marks on me?”, I chuckled. The vampire chuckled, and it seemed that if he’d been able to blush, he would have. “You’re offering a good salary for what seems like an easy job; and one that I can do while still staying on with Sam. The fact that you’re a vampire doesn’t really matter to me”. “Why not?”, he asked. “Why should it?”, I retorted. “Some might say it’s dangerous to work for one of us”, the vampire said. “You’re no more likely to hurt me than any other vampire around – or human for that matter”, I said. “Besides; Sookie speaks highly of you, and I trust her”. “Well, she speaks highly of you as well”, he said.

He seemed to think for a moment, before coming to a conclusion. “If you want this job, it’s yours”, he said. My jaw dropped. “Really?”, I asked. The vampire confirmed it with a nod. “Thank you, Bill. You won’t regret it…! One thing, though… Day-person? Can’t we call it… secretary? Or assistant?”. He chuckled warmly as he opened the door for me to leave. “Please come by tomorrow. I’ll have a list for you with some things I need handled”, Bill said, as I went down the steps of the porch. “8 pm?”, I asked. “That sounds perfect”, Bill said. “See you then”. He handed me back the “resumé”, which I’d written on the back of a paper placemat from Merlotte’s. As I took it, I got a slight papercut on my finger. “Shit”, I muttered. Bill smiled slightly. “Would you like me to fetch you a band-aid?”. “Nah…”, I said, and looked at the trickle of blood. “You hungry?”, I teased. “I think Sookie might have a problem with me feeding from a friend”. “Alright”, I shrugged.

I began fishing my car keys out of my bag, and cursed to myself, as they fell from my hand, and landed in the gravel on the ground. I was about to crouch to pick them up; when I felt a gush of wind, and suddenly stood nose to chest with a very tall man. I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. They were bright blue, and had a sharpness to them. “Hello”, he said, a cheery mischievous tone to his voice. “Hi”, I said, and went to pick up my keys again. The man – vampire, I realized – held them out to me, before I even so much as bent over. “Fuck, you’re fast”, I gasped. He put the keys in my outstretched hand, and grabbed my wrist, to look at my bleeding finger. “When I want to be”, he smiled. “Bill, who is this? Introduce us”.

Bill stepped of his porch, and walked warily towards us. “Eric Northman… This is Liv Sunday”. I found it hard to break eye contact with the tall vampire, mostly because he was one of the most handsome people I’d ever met. “Liv”, Eric said. He dragged out the sound of my name, pronouncing it Leev. “Yours…? She smells… pure”. I managed to look away, and turned my gaze to Bills face instead. His jaw was clenched. “My assistant”, Bill repeated, put a hand on my arm, and went to stand half way in front of me. The tall vampire let go of my wrist. “Off limits”. “I’m a big girl, Bill", I said. “I can speak for myself". “Yes, she’s a big girl, Bill", Eric smiled. “Let her speak for herself". I frowned at the tall vampire, and shook my head. “That means you too, Vlad", I said. A grin ghosted his face.

Eric leaned his head forwards, and burrowed his eyes even deeper into mine. “Liv… You’re interesting”, he said. “Please. Tell me more about you”. “Eric!”, Bill growled. “Why have you come?”. “To discuss matters surrounding the conference. It is election year, after all”, the other vampire replied, never taking his eyes off mine. “Now stop interrupting my conversation with… Liv”. The vampire-testosterone was heavy in the air, and I swallowed hard. “Maybe some other time”, I said. “Oh come now…”, Eric smiled, his eyes digging even deeper. I frowned at him. “I said no!”, I sneered. The tall vampire seemed taken aback, and Bills eyes widened. “Ok… I’m just gonna go”, I said.

Bill followed me all the way over to my car, and held the door for me as I climbed in. I opened the window to let some air into the cabin. “Drive safely now”, Bill said. “See you at 8 tomorrow. I’ll give your regards to Sookie”. Eric smiled at me. “It was nice meeting you, Liv”, he said. “Until next time”. His intense gaze made heat pool in my lower stomach, and I had to consciously tell myself to put the key in the ignition.

I drove home to my one-bedroom rental feeling happy that I’d nailed my job interview; and stirred from meeting Eric. I supposed he always had that influence on people; Bill probably just turned his mojo down, because he had Sookie, and didn’t need to impress people in the same way. Bill was the second vampire I’d met that I’d actually spoken to, since they came out of the coffin. Eric was the third, so I didn’t have much to compare him too; but I read magazines as much as the next person.

When I got inside, I took a cold shower; trying to shake the meeting out of my system. Before I climbed into bed, I checked my messages, and saw that Sookie had sent me a text, congratulating me on my new side-gig with Bill. I sent her one back, thanking her for hooking me up with the interview.

Sookie had been a good friend every since I got to town. I’d been down on my luck since leaving San Diego; but Bon Temps had been good to me so far. I had a waitressing job at Merlotte’s, on top of the one I’d just gotten with Bill – taking care of the things he needed done during the daylight – and some good friends in Sookie and Bill; and even my other boss; Sam. I’d even go so far as calling Sookies brother, Jason, a friend – even if he did try getting me into bed with him, whenever he could. I think the fact that I was so fervent in my dismissal of him, made him have some weird kind of respect for me. I was happy – settled, even. The last thing I needed was some blonde hottie trying to get in my pants; it didn’t matter if his name was Jason Stackhouse – or Eric Northman for that matter.

---

I slept in the next day, as my meeting with Bill had been quite late – or should I say, early, as I’d not been home until 3 am. My shift at the bar was a slow one, which was good for Terry, who was having one of his bad days in the kitchen. All 6 hours dragged along in a manner so boring, it was a relief when 7 pm. came along, and Arlene came to take over from me.

Arriving back at the Compton house, I was met in the door by Sookie. “Hey, Liv! Come on in!”, she grinned. “Bill’s in the living room”. “Is it your night off, Sook’?”, I asked. “Uh huh”, she said. “Bill’s taking me to dinner”. We walked into the living room, where Bill was waiting, with a somber look on his face. “Liv… I would like to apologize for Erics behavior last night”, he said. “He didn’t do anything wrong”, I said. “It’s not the first time someone’s flirted with me”. “Eric Northman flirted with you?”, Sookie chuckled. “And you didn’t end up with your legs around his waist?”. I mock scoffed. “I am a lady”, I said. “I tend to throw them around a man’s neck first”. Sookie punched my shoulder. “Slut!”, she grinned.

Bill looked very seriously at the both of us. “This is no laughing matter, ladies. Eric glamoured you!”, he said. I shook my head in confusion. “He didn’t…”, I said. “I saw him… He was using his glamour on you”, Bill repeated fervently. “I really don’t think he did. At least I didn’t feel anything happening”, I tried again.  “Jeez… I worked for you for five minutes; and you’re already acting like my daddy”, I said.

The vampire looked confused, but Sookie broke the tension, by reminding him they had reservations. “You’re right, of course; sweetheart”, Bill said, and took a piece of paper from the coffee-table. “I made this list for you. On the top here is making an appointment with an electrician. I’ve been having some flickering lights in the kitchen. Of course, I don’t use it much, but I do want it working… Then there’s this case of TruBlood O-neg. The all-night supermarket won’t be getting another shipment for at least a week, and I can’t…”. “Honey? We’re late!”, Sookie sighed. “Where are you going?”, I asked. “A place in Shreveport. Ky-auntie”, Sookie smiled. “Chianti”, Bill said. “And you’re right. Let’s go”.

We all left the house, and walked to our respective cars, when I remembered something. “Hold up!”, I called out. I ripped some of the paper from the list, and quickly wrote down my phone number with an eyeliner from my purse. I ran over to Bill with it. “Here. You never got my number. Just in case anything else comes up”, I said. “Thank you”, Bill smiled. “Any big plans for you tonight?”, he asked. “I have a date with my neighbor’s cat. At least I think he belongs to my neighbor. He might be a stray… We eat tuna together on Thursdays”, I sighed. “I thought you were allergic to cats”, Sookie said from inside the BMW. “Our love is complex… and I take pills”, I said. “Go on now. Have fun”.

I waved them off, as they drove away; and got into my own car. It stalled a few times, before finally starting up, and I could drive home – just in time for my date with Mr. Whiskers. He was only mildly annoyed when I came out the back door 3 minutes late, with his bowl. “Sorry I’m late, honey”, I said. “I had a vampire to tend to”. The cat wailed at me, and attacked the tuna like it hadn’t eaten in weeks.

I lit a cigarette, and sat down on the steps, leaning against the screen door, reading a magazine. Some of my neighbors were having a party, and I enjoyed the music coming out of the window. It was a warm night, but not many mosquitos around. I was happy to be left alone from the little bloodsuckers, when my phone vibrated, and I found myself summoned by a large one. - Need you in Shreveport asap. Bill

I frowned at the phone. - I’m your day person. Nights are off limits.

- Fangtasia. Be there in an hour.

- Remind me to ask for a raise BOSS!, I replied; stomped out my smoke, and went back into the house to look up the address of whatever the hell Fangtasia was. Google let me know it was a vampire bar. Dinner must have been over quickly, and Bill had probably taken Sookie for a drink. I looked down at the attire I was currently wearing, and decided that if Bill insisted on being a jerk-boss, I’d be a jerk employee; and show up in cut off shorts, and ABBA t-shirt – that was fifty sizes to big, and hung off my shoulder – hopefully embarrassing him in front of his friends.

I cursed at Bill all the way to Shreveport. “Stupid vampire, ruining my date with Mr. Whiskers”, I muttered to myself, as I parked my rusty car next to a flashy convertible on the parking lot of the bar. There was a line down to the door, going all the way around the corner of the building. A blonde woman with a bored expression on her face stood at the entrance, turning away anyone she didn’t see fit for entry. I sent Bill a text, letting him know I was outside, and had no intention of waiting in line. He’d have to meet me in the lot.

I leaned against my car, kicking at a stray paper cup on the ground, when a cold finger poked my shoulder. I looked up into the face of the blonde woman. She was striking up close. “Liv Sunday?”, she said, sounding as bored as she looked. “Yeah?”, I said. She gave me an insincere smile. “Follow me…”.

She led me to the entrance of the bar, and a burly doorman lifted the red rope for us so we could walk inside. A song with heavy bass was leading some scantily clad dancers on podiums, and the air was heavy with cheap perfume and sexual frustration. The blonde led me to a table, and waved over a black clad waitress. “Order whatever you want on the house. Ginger will sort you out”, she said. The waitress smiled brightly at me. I shook my head. “No, I’m here to meet Bill”, I said confusedly. The woman rolled her eyes, and walked away. I would have given her the finger, if I wasn’t worried, she’d bite it off. “What can I get you?”, the waitress, Ginger, asked. “The most expensive thing you have that isn’t blood”, I sighed. “Long Island Ice Tea, coming right up!”, she grinned, and walked away; tugging at her tiny top as she did.

I took my phone out of my pocket, and saw I had a new text from a number I didn’t know. - Hello Liv. This is Bill Compton. I would like to extend my gratitude to you for accepting the position as my assistant. I’m writing this as Sookie is powdering her nose; as to not interrupt our evening together. Could I please ask you to add to the list, that I need to get in touch with a florist who knows where to get some sunflowers? Sookie likes them. Thank you very much.

I was deeply confused at this point, and not a little worried. If Bill hadn’t been the one to summon me to Fangtasia, then I was currently in a strange bar, surrounded by vampires, without a companion; just sitting around like a delicious crab leg on a buffet table. Sure, there were humans around, but they all seemed more focused on getting the attention of vampires, than helping me out, if needed be. I texted Sookie. - What’s Bills number? I think someone texted me, pretending to be him.

She responded quickly. - Who? Are you ok? Where are you?

I wrote back. - No idea. I’m in some place called Fangtasia.

I was still holding my phone, when Ginger returned with my drink, and set it down. She seemed about to say something to me; when suddenly she bowed reverently. “Master…”, she said, sounding like she was having a strange sort of orgasm.

I looked up, and saw that Eric Northman was standing by the table, with the blonde female vampire next to him. He gave me a slight smile, and sat down across from me; relaxing against the backrest of the chair. “Jag är inte din budbärare, bare för at du vil knulla en liten människa!”. The blonde seemed annoyed, but I didn’t understand her words. “Slapna av, Pam. Det här är annorlunda”, Eric said. “Fika på hende, då. I don’t give a shit. Just don’t ask me again”, she snarled. ”Pamela!”, Eric said firmly. “Leave us”.

“What’s up her ass?”, I muttered. “Pam doesn’t take it up the ass; she gives it”, Eric said matter-of-factly. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You texted me…”, I said. “I did”, Eric said. “Go away, Ginger”. The waitress backed away, her eyes still on the floor. “Master. Yes, master”. I raised my brows. “Wow…”. I met Erics eyes hesitantly. “Why am I here?”. “Because I wanted to see you…”, he said. He dipped a finger into my drink, and licked it. “Don’t drink this. Someone put drugs in it”.

I swallowed hard – a sudden flashback striking me, taking me to a place I didn’t want to go. “Liv?”, Eric said. “What?”, I snapped. The vampire seemed taken aback. “You’re very brave”, he said. “I don’t know what you mean”, I muttered. “Speaking to me like that… and the text you sent me back, when you thought I was Bill. You obviously don’t know a lot about vampires”. I shrugged, trying my best to seem at ease with the conversation.

“How did you get my number?”, I asked; pushing the drink away gingerly. “I’m not listed”. “I flew over Bills house, as you wrote it down”, Eric said. “I have very good eyesight. You used a .01 Ultra Black eyeliner”. “That’s kind of creepy”, I said. “You’re a flying, creepy guy”. Eric laughed heartily, the sound coming from deep within his chest. “You’re funny”, he said. “It’s like you have no sense of self-preservation”. “Well, I figure you didn’t go through all the trouble of flying over Bills house to get my number; just so you could kill me”, I said. “At least… I hope you didn’t”. Eric looked towards the bar, at the tender behind it. “Chow, get her a fresh one. Make sure it’s drug free”, he said, so quietly, I almost didn’t hear it. I realized the bartender must be a vampire as well; that was the only way he’d be able to hear him. “You don’t have to… I’m fine, really”. “It’s no trouble", Eric assured me. “This is my bar after all. It’s in my interest to keep the patrons happy". “I’m not a patron…”, I said.

Eric ignored my words. “Your t-shirt… I like it”, he said. “I’m related to the blonde, you know…”. “You’re Swedish?”, I asked. A fresh drink appeared in front of me, and I looked at it hesitantly. “It’s safe”, Eric said. “Yes, I’m originally from Sweden…”. “So, you were speaking… Swedish, before?”. Eric nodded. “You name, Liv; it’s actually the Swedish word for life”. “Huh…”, I muttered. “I always thought it was kind of geriatric”. Erics eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. “Quite the opposite… It suits you. You seem full of life”. I cleared my throat uncomfortably, and took a sip from the straw. The drink was delicious. “And… when are you from? If you don’t mind me asking”. “Are you asking how old I am?”, Eric smiled. I blushed, and took a second sip. “I am a little over 1000 years old”.

I choked on my drink, and suddenly, Eric was next to me; gently patting my back with one hand, and holding mine with the other. “Are you alright?”, he said worriedly. “Yeah, I’m fine”, I croaked. I looked up into his eyes, and saw true concern. “Really”, I smiled. Eric sat back down on the chair opposite me; still holding on to my hand. His own was cool, but not cold. I guessed he’d recently fed.

I bit my lip. “Are you really 1000 years old?”, I asked in a whisper. “Yes”, Eric confirmed. “I was a Viking”. My eyes widened. “Like with the… pillaging, plundering and… raping?”, I said. Eric smiled smugly. “I didn’t need to rape to bed a woman; or a man for that matter”. “Huh…”, I said; and took a deep sip from my drink. “Well, you do have that tall, blonde and handsome thing going for you”. He ran his thumb over my knuckles. “You find me handsome?”, he said. “Every person in this room finds you handsome”, I retorted; rolling my eyes. I looked towards a nearby table, where a young woman with obviously dyed black hair was starring at us. When her eyes darted towards me, she looked like she wanted to scratch my eyes out.

“Tell me about you…”, Eric said. “Why?”, I asked. “Because it’s only fair”, the viking-vampire said. “In the last ten minutes, I’ve told you my age, occupation, sexual orientation; and I’ve saved you from getting drugged". I was painfully aware that Eric probably had a million different ways of getting what he wanted from me, but for some strange reason, I didn’t think he’d use any of them. Not yet anyway. None the less, I still didn’t see his reason for wanting to know. “I meant, why are you asking?”, I said.

Eric played absentmindedly with my fingers – or maybe not so absentmindedly; as he seemed to know exactly where and how to stroke my fingers in a way, that sent signals straight to my core. "You’re interesting“, he said. “And Bill interrupted me before I could finish my glamour on you, to get you to tell me". I chuckled softly. “You didn’t glamour me", I said. “Of course I did", Eric retorted. “Sorry, but I think you have little too much faith in your own abilities“.

He let go of my hand, and sat back straight in his chair. For a long time, he didn’t speak, just starred at me, before his pupils suddenly dilated, and a tranquil and yet almost flirtatious expression spread over his face. “Liv…”, he said softly. “Tell me; what’s your favorite sexual position?”. My jaw dropped. “That’s absolutely none of your business!”, I growled. Eric looked completely confused, and even paler than his usual pasty shade. He furrowed his brows, and moved his head forwards; almost crouching in his chair, as to reach my eye-level. “You want to tell me, Liv", he said, his voice alluring. Abso-fucking-lutely I wanted to tell him; but not under our current circumstances. As it was, Eric was being completely inappropriate, and I had no intention of continuing our conversation. I stood up. “Thanks for the drink. Now, if you don’t mind, please go to hell".

I walked towards the door, and made it halfway through the crowd, when suddenly, Eric was standing in front of me. He looked almost enraged, and towered over me menacingly; starring into my eyes so hard, I could almost feel it physically. “Liv. You want to tell me about yourself", he boomed. “I want to go home!”, I hissed, trying to pass the imposing vampire. He moved slightly, making me have to brush against his chest with my shoulder. Eric’s hand was suddenly on my upper arm. I froze in place, as he lifted my hair slightly, breathing in my scent. “What are you?”, he asked in a low voice, his cool breath sending annoyingly pleasurable shivers down my spine. I looked up into his eyes again; and jumped a bit, when his fangs popped out. The deepest, darkest part of me wanted to put my finger to one of them, and see how sharp they were.

“Eric!”, Bills voice boomed over the music. Sookie came out from behind him, walked straight up to the 6’4 inches vampire, and hit him over the shoulder with her purse. “Looks like that’s two dates you’ve ruined tonight”, I said. Eric smiled. “But ours was going so well”, he said; his fangs retracting again. “This wasn’t a date…”, I said. “This was you tricking me into meeting you”, I hissed. “You had another date tonight?”, he asked, darkness ghosting his face. I gave him a sarcastic smile, and pulled my arm out of his grasp, stomping out of the club, past Pam. She looked amused at the situation, and stepped back to let me get to the parking lot.

With shaking hands, I opened my car door. Bill and Sookie weren’t far behind me. “I am very sorry, Liv”, Bill said. “Had I known there was a chance Eric would…”. “Forget it, Bill”, I said. “I’ll take care of the things on your list tomorrow. Right now, I just want to go home… I’m sorry I ruined your date”. “It’s not your fault”, Sookie said earnestly. “Do you want us to follow you home in Bills car?”. “No, I’ll be fine… Just, go salvage whatever you can of your night”, I said. I gave Sookie a half hug, and nodded at Bill.

Eric was staring at my car, as I drove away. I saw him exchanging a few words with Pam, before he went back inside Fangtasia.

---

I had the next day off from Merlotte’s, and after I – once again – slept in, I had plenty of time to take care of my errands for Bill. When I got back home from having dropped of a case of O-neg on his porch, I texted him the info of an electrician and a florist who could help him out with his other requirements.

My mail had arrived while I was gone, and as I got ready for a night of serving beer, I looked through the bills and catalogues; finding among them an envelope without sender. Inside was a picture of a young woman in a seductive pose, wearing very little. I recognized myself immediately. It had been taken my last night at my old job at Sugar and Spice – a night I didn’t remember much from, due to a drink I should never have accepted. I almost fell into a kitchen chair, and shuddered. I put my hand to my chest, remembering the wound I’d earned that night.  

He’d found me. I wasn’t surprised. Though my number and address weren’t listed, if Thomas wanted something, he’d get it; he had a way of talking himself in to things. Either that, or he’d use brute force. The thing that made me confused, was the fact that Thomas wasn’t even supposed to remember me. I was supposed to be just another dancer he’d taken pictures of, at the club.

I was startled when my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up, when I saw it was Sam. “Hey…”, I croaked. “Hey, Luce’… I’m really sorry to ask you this, but Coby has the mumps, and Arlene needs to…”. “You need me tonight?”, I asked, almost hopefully. I didn’t want to be alone. “You’d be doing me a big favor…”, Sam said. “I’ll be there”. “Thanks, cher’. I’ll give you tomorrow off instead”, he replied in a relieved voice. “No problem what so ever”, I said. “I’ll be there in a few”. I hung up, and hurried getting ready for work.

Merlotte’s was full of people; which was pretty typical for a Friday night. The tips would be pretty good, and I wouldn’t have to be alone with my thoughts. Sookie handed me a clean apron, and I tied it around my waist, avoiding her gaze. “You seem out of sorts”, she muttered, as I tied up my hair in a bun. “Seem? Or are you listening in…?”, I said. She looked suddenly sad. “I’m sorry, Sookie… It’s been a hard day”. She smiled a little. “I can’t read you as well as I can some other people, you know”, she said. “Whatever comes through, is usually just colors and emotions. But they’re pretty intense, so I try to avoid them”. “Why?”, I asked. “I don’t know”, she shrugged. “It’s just like that with some folks… Makes it easier to be your friend, though”. I squeezed her hand, and walked out to take some orders.

Hoyt and Jason were nursing beers in a corner, and I walked over to check on them. “Everything good here?”. “Much better, now you’re here”, Jason winked. “You know, I saw your car out back. It ain’t looking good. I’d be happy to give you a ride, when you clock out”. “I’m sure you would, but I’m not in the mood for crabs tonight”. Hoyt laughed heartily, and Jason smiled and shook his head. “Any food for you gentlemen?”, I asked. “LaFayette has some gumbo cooking tonight”. “Sounds good. Hoyt?”, Jason said. “Two bowls, then”, Hoyt smiled. “Coming right up”, I said, and took their order to the serving hatch; winking at LaFayette in the kitchen.

For the next few hours, I pushed away all thoughts of possessive men, and focused on earning my wages. Bill stopped by to give Sookie a kiss, and thanked me for my help so far; leaving me another list. “Just some time next week, will be fine”, he said. “You’re welcome to text me, Bill”, I said. “I dislike using the keys to type”, the vampire grumbled. “I prefer the old-fashioned way of writing”. “Did you use a quill?”, I asked, giving him a sly smile. “Just a no. 2 pencil”, he retorted. “And once again; I’m sorry…”. I groaned. “Please, stop… Nothing happened. I’m perfectly fine”.

Sookie gave me a slight look, which Bill caught immediately. “You’re not. What is wrong?”. “Sookie!”, I sighed. “Sorry! You’re pretty much radiating fear, honey”, she said. Bill looked at me earnestly. “I will do my best to keep you safe from Eric”, he said. “I don’t want you to worry about him”. “I’m not scared of Eric… No more than the next person, anyway”, I assured him; and walked towards the bar, to grab a tray of beers. Sookie followed me there. “What, then?”, she asked. I clenched my jaw. “Could you give this to Jane Bodehouse? I’m gonna go take my break”, I said.

I almost ran out the back door, and lit a cigarette. Sam was putting a bag of trash in the container, when I got there. “Everything alright?”, he asked. “Why is everyone asking me that?”, I almost snarled. Sam seemed taken aback. “Sorry… I’m just… It’s been a day”. “We all have those”, Sam said. “You want to talk about it?”. “Not really”, I said.

Sam scratched his head. “How’s it going, working for Bill Compton?”, he asked. “Fine, so far. It’s an easy gig”, I said. “Don’t worry, it won’t get in the way of my work here”. “I know. I just worry about you, is all”, he said. “You’ve had a strange look on your face all night”. I sighed deeply, not wanting to give away too much. “I got word from an old… acquaintance”, I said. “I’d hoped to avoid it”. “Ex?”, Sam muttered. “Not really…”. I swallowed hard. “Sam… If I… If some day I don’t come in to work… It’s not because I’m playing hookie”. “That sounds ominous…”, Sam said. “Just… I like this job. Bon Temps”, I said. “I’m happy here. So, if suddenly, I’m not around… I didn’t just skip town, ok?”. Sam walked up to me, and put a hand on my shoulder. “Liv, talk to me. What’s going on?”. Sookie stuck her head out. “Sam, we need to call Jane’s son again. She’s passed out on the pool table…”. Sam rolled his eyes, and went back inside, leaving me to smoke in peace.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I had a text; from Eric, of all people. - When can I see you again?

I rolled my eyes. - How do I know you’re not watching me now?

The reply came within seconds. - You don’t. But I’m not. Do you want me to? I decided against replying, and went back inside – chiding myself for indeed wanting that.

When I got back home, I collapsed on my bed fully clothed – but not before having checked to see if all windows and doors were safely closed and locked. Even without A/C, I’d rather sweat than risk someone coming into the house while I slept.

My phone vibrated, and when I saw who was calling, I picked it up. “What?”, I said. “Why haven’t you replied to my messages?”, Eric said. Loud music was thundering in the background. I looked at the screen of my phone, and saw that I had multiple unread texts. “Because I was working. And because I didn’t want to”, I said. That last part was a lie. “What are you wearing?”, he asked. “A leather garter belt, and a top hat”, I sneered. “Really?”. I could hear his smile. “No. Goodnight, Eric”. “Read your messages”, he managed to say, before I hung up.

I more or less had to pry my eyes open to read the messages the vampire had sent me. - I’m not used to have my messages ignored. Well, get used to it, I thought. - I could come by your job. Just say the word. - I want to see you soon. When? At least he was asking, and not telling me. That was a step up from what I was used to. - Please. That one must have hurt. I sent him a message back. - I’ll let you know. And if you insist on texting more than a teenage girl, I’ll reply like one. Ttyl lol rofl xoxo

As soon as I’d dropped my phone on the bed, I smacked my forehead. I’d written xo. That thought kept me awake for hours, and I didn’t fall asleep until the sun was almost up again.

---

As soon as I woke a little after noon, I rushed out to handle Bills errands. He’d given me until the week after, but as I saw the picture sent to me laying on my kitchen table, I didn’t want to spend a moment longer in the house. I even called Sam to ask if he was absolutely sure he didn’t need me at the bar; but he all but told me that if he saw me anywhere near Merlotte’s, he’d throw me over his shoulder, and carry me home, so I could enjoy my day off.

A little after sunset, there was a knock on my door, and I was slightly startled to see Eric on my small porch. I swallowed hard. “What are you doing here?”, I asked. “I was in the neighborhood; and thought I’d save you the trouble of texting me, when you’d be able to see me”, he said. “Besides, I don’t want you driving that rust bucket all the way to Shreveport again. It’s a death-trap”. He looked towards my car, in the driveway. “You can see me now”, I said. “Wonderful”, he said, and once again dug his eyes into mine. “Invite me in”. “No…”, I said. He once again looked confused. “Why can’t I glamor you?”, he asked. “I don’t know… Maybe you’re impotent”. Eric barred his fangs; making me jump slightly. He looked dangerous. “Not nearly”, he said. “You shouldn’t test me”.

Not wanting him to think he’d scared me too much, I took a hesitant step out of the door, putting less than a foot between us. Eric smelled like nothing I’d ever encountered before. It was crisp, and yet warm; like expensive aftershave and salt water, with an undertone of something I couldn’t define – something musky.

“I don’t understand why you keep wanting to talk to me”, I said. “I get it, I’m human. Blood and sex, and all that… But you have a club full of willing participants to whatever it is you wanna do”. Eric nodded. “I know. It’s infuriating that I feel the need to be here”, he said. “But I think I found a fix for it”. “Oh?”, I croaked, doing my best to ignore the fact that a man, that looked more or less like a GQ model, was currently reaching out his hand to stroke my cheek. As his fingertips touched my skin, my breath hitched. “Yes. See, when I have sex with a human, I usually bore with them pretty quickly”, Eric said. “I thought we should just get it over with, so I can move on”. I took a step back, and my back hit the screen door. “I don’t want to have sex with you!”, I lied. “Of course you do. I’m a very good lover”, Eric smiled. “Now, invite me in, and I’ll undress you”. “Shove it up your ass!”, I said. Eric raised a brow at me. “Well, it’s been a while, but I’m up for it if you are”.

I scrambled to open the screen door, and get back inside the house. My body was screaming at me to give in to the sensation in my lower belly, but I told myself that I had to persist. “You should… go now”, I said. Eric stepped closer to me, and I felt his firm chest against my back. “Why?”, he asked, sounding genuinely confused again. “You’re… imposing”, I croaked, and turned to meet his eyes. They were piercing mine, sending tingles down my spine. “Stop trying to glamour me” “I’m not. It doesn’t seem to work on you”, he said; a hint of regret in his voice. “Though I wonder… would you let me test a theory?”. “What theory?”. Eric smiled. “Just humor me. Pam?”.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, when the blonde female vampire suddenly stood next to Eric; and hurried over the threshold, so neither of them could reach me. “What the hell?”, I said. “Yeah, Eric. What the hell? I’ve been waiting behind that tree forever. In my new Jimmy Choo’s”, Pam said. “Be nice, Pam”, Eric said. Pam drew her lips back in an insincere smile. “Hello, Liv. I am very glad to see you”, she said. “Happy?”. She looked out the corner of her eyes at Eric.

Eric gave her a look, and something unspoken passed between them. Pam seemed to shrink in front of me. “Liv, I would like you to let Pam try to glamour you”, he said. “What? No!”, I exclaimed. “I want to know if it’s…”. “Just you?”, I said. For the first time, Eric wouldn’t meet my eyes. I took a deep breath. “Fine. But I’m not coming outside”. Eric nodded. “Pam, try to glamour her. But don’t ask her to come outside where we can reach her”. He was trying to make me feel safe – it was almost endearing.

Pam took a step forward, and looked deep into my eyes. Her voice was soothing. “Liv… You want to invite Eric inside. You want to have sex with him”. I shook my head. “No… Not happening”, I said. She narrowed her eyes in confusion. “You… want to invite me inside… Have sex with me”. “No thank you”, I snarled. Pam stepped back, and began laughing. “What the actual fuck?”, she guffawed. “What are you?”. Eric stepped in between us, his back to me. “Thank you, Pamela. You can leave now”, he said. “Eric! She’s…”, Pam began. “Now!”, Eric growled. She disappeared as fast as she’d come.

Eric stood there for a moment, not turning to face me. I was about to close the door, when he spoke again. “I’m making you mine… And getting you a better car”. “The hell, you are", I sputtered. He spun around with wide eyes. “You’re saying… no?”, he asked bemusedly. “I’m not anyone’s; let alone yours”. Eric chuckled at me. “I just claimed you”. “Well you can shove that claim up your ass, as well”, I proclaimed. “You wanted me to tell you about myself”, I said. He didn’t respond, simply stood still and never diverted his eyes from mine. “I left San Diego to get away from a guy who couldn’t take no for an answer… I’m not about to throw myself into the arms of another one who does the same”, I said. “This… guy”, Eric said. “Did he hurt you?”. There was an angry edge to his voice. I looked down, and crossed my arms in front of me. “He did… It’s over. But only because I ran away”, I said. “He… It doesn’t matter. I just don’t want that again”.

For a long moment, he just looked at me; making me swallow to wet my dry mouth. “Alright”, he finally said calmly. “Are we finished?”, I asked, almost in a whisper. “We’re finished”, he said. “For now”. Eric lowered his head, looking earnestly at me. “As long as you say no to me, I won’t do anything”, he said. “I will not force myself on you, Liv”. “Why?”, I asked, genuinely surprised. “Do you want me to? I don’t mind playing games…”, Eric smiled. I shook my head. “Never mind. I thought we were having a moment here, but it’s gone”. I went to close the door in his face. “Liv!”, Eric said; his voice imposing. I halted, and looked at him again. “I don’t know why… But I will not”.

He turned around, and walked down the steps from my small porch. I took a deep breath, before running after him. He heard me coming, and turned around. “Thank you… For at least kind of taking no for an answer”, I said. I tugged at his jacket, to get him to lower his head, and I got on my toes; placing a kiss on his cheek. Once again, I was surprised to find his skin not icy, but simply cool; and I let my lips linger for a moment.

I was about to turn back, when Eric put both his hands on my shoulders, and looked me square in the face. I could tell he wasn’t trying to glamour me. “Be mine”, he said. My breath hitched, and everything in me screamed say yes!. “N-no, Eric… No, I can’t do that”. Eric looked as if I’d slapped him. My phone vibrated, and I took it from my pocket, looking at the screen. “It’s Bill… I have to take this".

Erics face dropped, and he let go of me. “Goodnight, sunshine”, he said, and walked away into the darkness. “Eric!”, I called after him. “I regret picking up your keys for you”, Eric replied, his back still to me. “I would have loved to see you bend over”.

---

[stebeans]

She-ra Inspired Actor AU - II

Maya Sanchez as Catra

Taylor Cruz as Adora

Jessica Cho as Glimmer

Marcus Patterson as Bow

A She-ra Actor AU fic where She-ra and the Princesses of Power is a popular tv series and our lovable characters are played by actresses/actors. Inspired by the amazing fanart and concept by @sunzho and @hey_adora on instagram #cayaactorau, see link below and please follow them!

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cayaactorau/

P.S. I also changed the “real-life” name for Adora’s actress that sunzho and hey_adora came up with from Claire Cruz to Taylor Cruz . Not that I hated the name but I have bad experiences with Claire’s in my life and it felt odd on my part to write about a character with the same name...please forgive me!

Callbacks and the Chemistry Test

Unlike the day of auditions, callbacks was less hectic yet all the more nerve-wracking. The waiting room held a handful of actresses and their mothers and/or managers, sometimes they were one and the same as Taylor, unfortunately, knew quite well. Taylor herself had come alone. There was no mother, no manager, no agent, no friends or even distant relatives. As her mother had so eloquently last told her: she had made her bed and laid in it. Mother of the year, she was not.

Taylor sat in a chair situated in the corner, isolated away from the others and their curious looks. She had showed up late (again) and as soon the other occupants had glanced up to see who had entered, their eyes had immediately darted away in uneasiness. Letting out a gruff sigh, Taylor understood the tension that radiated around her. She didn’t look like the typical cheerful, all fake smiles, blonde actresses that overflowed the waiting rooms for auditions. And it didn’t help that she had caused a scene her first day.

But seriously, that bitch had it coming. Who the hell did she think she was going around telling people to “go back home to whatever backwards country they came from” or some shit along those lines. And it wasn’t like the other girl was going to say anything back. She was practically shaking with fear. Pathetic. And Taylor was sure as hell wasn’t going to let anything like that slide.

Tilting her head back until it thumped against the wall, Taylor counted the tiles of the ceiling to calm her racing heart. Though Taylor radiated a “no-fucks-given” exterior appearance – very successfully she might add— inside, she was a bundle of nerves. Ever since she had been labelled “difficult to work with, irresponsible punk, worthless actress” from her last gig, she had been flailing ever since to land a role. Casting directors who have heard down the grapevine barely gave her a shot these days and scripts barely ever made it into her hands. Nineteen and peaked. Wonderful.

Taylor let out a hiss at the thought before giving her head a good shake. No. She was not out yet. She may be down but definitely not out. This lead for She-ra was going to change her career around, she just knew it. Taylor could feel it in her bones that this role was going to be life-changing.

With everyone in the room avoiding eye contact with her it allowed Taylor to observe them blatantly. None of the faces really stood out to her and she smirked smugly when she didn’t see the bitch who’s face she almost caved in hadn’t made it to callbacks. Well, serves her right. Although with a second browse around the room Taylor failed to notice the one person who would’ve stood out right away. She’s not here, Taylor thought.

A wave a disappointment washed through her. She was selfish and she knew it and there was no one but her good enough for the part of Adora/She-ra but she had hoped the other girl…Mana or was it Mara – that last one sounded familiar – would defy the odds and at least be called back. Taylor did appreciate a good underdog story.

The room emptied and soon it was just Taylor lingering. The other actresses left, some looking dejected but most wore expressions that were hard to read. Maybe they saved the best for last? That was the famous saying was it not? At last she was led down the hall and back into the same room with three familiar smiling faces. “Hi Taylor. Great to see you again.” The casting director greeted. “We were really impressed with your audition.”

Taylor couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face, ears slightly burning. “Thanks.”

“So the producer and I have something a little different planned –” The casting director was cut off by a soft knock on the door and immediately Taylor’s eyebrows shot up. Was someone crashing her callback? What the hell?

The door opened slowly until eventually a mop of brown hair, bright eyes and a sheepish smile peaked into the opening. “Uh hi? I was told to meet here?”

“Mara?” Taylor exclaimed, her guard up. What on earth was she doing here? And during her callback? None of the other girls had their callback rudely interrupted.

“Ma-ya.” The girl corrected, her furrowed brows conveyed that Taylor wasn’t the only one confused by the turn of events. She met Taylor’s eyes and it was clear that she recognized her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt I must’ve gotten the time mixed up.”

“No, no there hasn’t been a mistake. Please come in Maya! We are so glad you can make it today.” The casting director cheerfully beckoned the girl into the room. “You’re actually just in time. I was just explaining to Taylor here what you can expect today.”

Maya shuffled in gawkily until she stood a respectful distance apart from Taylor. They eyed each other warily until the producer cleared her throat. “We just wanted to say we were really impressed with both of your auditions and instead of reading from the script that was sent to you we want you two to read from this. We’ll let you two a quick moment to familiarize yourselves with the scene.”

Unable to fathom what was happening Taylor nodded absentmindedly and reached for the new script. She gave it a quick read-through, noting that it was a more detailed script of the first altercation between the leads Adora and Catra, the villain of the show, from what Taylor had grasped from the pitch and initial script that was given to her. The new scene was quite the pivot Taylor had been expecting.

                                                  ADORA: I’m not going home Catra.

(screams from the burning village echoes in the background).

ADORA: I can’t. Not after everything I’ve seen. (ADORA reaches for CATRA’S hand). 

ADORA: Come with me! You don’t have to go back there. We can fix this.

This scene was much more expressive and heartbreaking than the solo scene she had been preparing as she thumbed through the first few lines. Taylor had finished the read through first, allowing herself to study the girl next to her. Closer, she could note the sprinkling of freckles that spread from one cheek to the other. And Taylor wasn’t sure if Maya was even aware of the way her tongue stuck out slightly when she read. Cute.

It took a couple more minutes but when Maya looked up from the script in her hands, Taylor straightened and pulled her eyes away from the girl and back to the producer who grinned slightly. It was clear that she had noticed Taylor  blatantly staring. Good going, way to look like a creep in front of the big bosses.

“I know you two must be confused but we wanted the callback today be a chemistry test of sorts.” The casting director explained. “I know that the both of you were hoping for the role Adora but we wanted to try something out.  I know this is unexpected but we wanted to see if our gut feelings were right. If I can have you, Taylor, read the part of Adora. Maya if you could read the lines for Catra?”

At the request Taylor couldn’t help the sense of relief wash through her though from the corner of her eye she could see Maya’s shoulders drop in disappointment. It took a moment but Taylor realized the extent of the read. “Her?” Taylor raised a disbelieving brow at the girl beside her. “You want her to play opposite of me?”

Maya let out a little huff, crossing her arms in front of her. “What’s wrong with that?”

Taylor took a moment to eye her critically. Sure she had a pretty mean glare when she got going but at the same time “She’s like…five-foot tall and a hundred pounds when wet. My grandmother looks more intimidating than her. You got to admit she isn’t very…villainy. ”

Maya spluttered indignantly. “Excuse me! For your information I’m five-foot-two!—”

Taylor scoffed. “Oh, my mistake. Five-foot-two. My apologies –”

“— and I’m stronger than I look! Just because I don’t have like…a billion piercings and an obnoxious devil-may-care attitude doesn’t mean I can’t be badassed. You haven’t even seen me act. I bet I can act circles around you any day!”

“Evidently not.” Taylor shot back, cheeks heating up in anger. “Seeing as they just offered me the lead role. You’re like…my sidekick or whatever.”

Taylor smirked as Maya unfolded her arms, strolled right up into her personal space in a fit of rage and pointed an accusing finger in her face. “Have you even read the script? Catra isn’t a sidekick.” She said the last part in disgust. “If anything, she’s her equal! She’s just a little misguided and hurt but she isn’t a bad person! And I'm pretty sure they didn't offer you anything.”

Distantly Taylor could see the casting members whispering between one another. In the far part in her mind Taylor could register that she was blowing this but the anger that was seething just below the surface was taking precedence.

“Ladies!” a booming voice cut through their argument. It was the executive producer. Oh great. They sure showed off their stuff. As if remembering where they were, Maya took a couple steps back so she was no longer evading Taylor’s space, quickly lowering her accusing finger at the same time. “Thank you for that…performance but I think we’ve seen everything we needed to see.”

The faces of the three women were hard to read and besides the polite smile they all wore, they weren’t giving anything away. Honestly, Taylor thought they’d be thrown out by security by now after what had to be the worst chemistry performance in the history of acting. “Thank you once again for your time ladies and I hope you both have a good day.”

Ugh. If that didn’t sound like a brush off than Taylor didn’t know what was. Taylor and Maya packed up their things in silence though both were trying to control the annoyance and frustration that surfaced during the performance. “Thanks a lot.” Taylor sneered as soon as they cleared the building’s exit.

Maya whirled around with narrowed eyes. “No. Don’t you dare blame that all on me.”

“No? Than who should I blame?”

“If only you would have just done the read-through with me without getting all snippy we wouldn’t had to have resorted to bickering like a bunch of immature babies.”

“That reminds me don’t you have a babysitter to run back to? I’m sure you’re missing nap time.”

Taylor watched in amusement as Maya ran her hands through her long dark locks, seemingly looking like she was resisting to pull her own hair out. “Oh my God! How old do you think I am?”

“…Like twelve? or something?”

Taylor would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy making Maya lose her composure. It was quite fascinating actually. To watch someone as shy and introverted as Maya break out of her shell. “I am almost eighteen and I’m graduating from high school in a few weeks I’ll have you know!” Maya exclaimed hotly. “And not all of us are lucky to be born as freaking bean stalks!”

“I should thank you.” Taylor snickered as Maya’s nose bunched up in confusion. “Having you around is good for my ego. You make me sound waytaller than I actually am. If anything, I’m of average height. Just five-foot-six of pure American muscle.” She even raised her arms to flex, though it was hard to tell through her the thickness of her leather jacket.

“Ugh. I liked it better when all you did was glower.” Maya muttered with an eye roll. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”

Difficult?

It was almost instantaneous. Taylor could feel herself go numb and her features darken at the word. Lowering her arms to her side, Taylor shoved them into the pockets of her jacket in an attempt to hide the shakiness of her hands. “Difficult?” She echoed. “Fine whatever. Think what you want of me but I’d rather be difficult than some stupid, naïve little girl.” Taylor hissed.

As soon as those words left her lips Taylor wish she could reach out and pull them back in before they did any damage but it was clear on Maya’s hurtful expression that it was too late. Ignoring the pang of guilt hammering inside her chest at the wounded look on Maya’s face, Taylor steeled herself as she often done. “Well as fun as this has been, which it hasn’t and I’m lying, I have places to be.”

Tightly sealing the apology that sat on the tip her tongue, Taylor shouldered her way past Maya, knocking the girl a step back as she stepped onto the sidewalk and down the street, never once looking back where she left the stunned girl. It’s better this way, Taylor thought numbly. It wasn’t like there was a likely chance they would ever see each other again.

[angrylizardjacket]

act your age: [6] Dead Girl Walking

Summary: Roger tries to make things right with Ash, but she thinks he’s joking so it doesn’t exactly go well. At first.

Word Count: 2451 | [act your age masterpost]

the heathers: @brian-may-brian-may @marvelismylifffe @whoschantel ​ @peteyparkersbabyy @cosmicsskies @somefanfic-to-love @happy-at-home​ @youngpastafanmug​

A/N: includes an excerpt from Little Beast by Richard Siken. 

“Let me in,” Roger demanded, banging hard on Ash’s front door. It’s Oscar who opens it, stands in the way, expression stony and unyielding, intimidating enough that Roger steps back where his fist is raised to knock again.

“I’d fuck off if I was you,” Oscar tells him coldly.

“Oz, this is between me and Ash –“

“She doesn’t want to see you.” And he slams the door in Roger’s face.

“You don’t even know what it’s about!” Roger calls through the door.

“I don’t have to,” Oscar calls back, and there’s the very distinct sound of the door locking, and of Oscar stomping away.

“Fred, I know you’re in there,” Roger calls, desperation seeping into his voice as he leans his head against the pale wood of the door, “can you let me in? Please?”

“This isn’t my house, dear,” Freddie calls back from somewhere beyond the door, a little muffled, a little further away, a little resigned. Roger sighs. Tonight has felt like the turning point in a coming of age movie, a terribly written one, probably produced by MTV or Netflix, but Lucy was right; he had to stop pretending that he didn’t have feelings for Ash. As he let himself into her backyard, he resigned himself to being a cliché for the night.

He’s never actually been in her house, or even in her backyard, sometimes he’s dropped her home after a gig, or after school, but he’s never usually left the car. The house was actually kind of gaudy, and bigger than he had been expecting. He knew her dad had a job up at the university, but he’d never actually paid attention to the title; he must be more than just a professor to afford a house like this.

The backyard is well maintained, spacious and grassy, with a little, wooden deck, overhung by an old tree. There’s several windows facing the back yard, but only one with the lights on and the blinds drawn. Roger thinks about taking a pebble from the edge of the deck, but thinks better of it; if he threw it too hard it could break her window, and he does not need that right now.

[im in your backyard.] He sends. She reads it but doesn’t respond. [ash please let me in so i can explain]

[nothing to explain..] She replies with, but when he looks up at her window, he sees she’s pulled back the curtains enough to peer out at him. When they lock eyes, she scowls and flips him off.

[youre acting like a child] He sends, and looks up at her. She rolls her eyes.

[dude you were fingering another girl like 5 minutes ago idk how you want me to react]

[are you jealous?] He catches sight of Ash’s expression turning to surprise, and then quickly to some sort of anger, but she doesn’t respond. Instead, she opens her window, and heads further into her room, and Roger knows with both startling clarity and resignation, that he’s going to have to climb the tree to get to her. But at least she’s letting him in.

It’s easier than he’d assumed it would be, and as he jumps through, praying for a soft landing, he’s surprised when he tumbles onto Ash’s bed, and then onto the floor when he overshoots the mark.

“Jealous of you?” Ash is already on the attack, arms crossed, expression furious, but as Roger rights himself, he cuts her off.

“Jealous of Dom,” he corrects, getting to his feet, and Ash’s mouth snaps shut, and a blush erupts across her cheeks, “and I’m sorry, again.” Roger adds.

“Why would you be sorry?” Ash snaps, and Roger swallows hard, steeling himself for what he was about to admit.

“Because I don’t like Dom half as much as I like you,” he told her, voice clear and earnest, “honest.”

“Get out,” Ash snarled, still blushing, expression furious, “this isn’t fucking funny, Roger, get out of my room, my house, and my fucking life –“

“I’m not lying!” He yelped, which brought the thunder of footsteps up the stairs, and Oscar calling Ash’s name.

“Go away, Oz, I’m fine,” Ash called back, tears in her eyes. As they both hear him retreating, she turns and locks the door, as an extra measure. Roger isn’t quite sure what’s happening as he watches Ash turn and lean against the door, scrubbing her hands over her face.

“What the fuck are you playing at?” She asks finally, voice quiet, “I’m into you, is that what you wanted to hear? I like like you, Roger, I have for a long fucking time, so you pretending to have feelings for me to save our friendship or whatever, it just feels shitty, okay?” With a sigh, she slid down the door until she was sitting, knees drawn up to her chest, not looking at him, “we’re still gonna be friends, you don’t need to do this; I’d really rather you didn’t –“

“I don’t wanna be your fucking friend, Ash, I wanna be your fucking boyfriend! You’re not the only one with feelings here!” Roger throws himself back onto the bed, hands in his hair out of frustration, “I was an idiot tonight, I was drunk on Abby’s spiked punch, and I was thinking with my dick, I’m sorry –“

“Wait...” Ash says, tone gentle and confused, “you’re really not kidding?” And there’s a note of hope in her words that has Roger looking to her, bewildered.

“Not even a little bit,” he confirms, and for the barest moment, it finally seems like they’re both on the same page until Ash stands, scowling.

“Then why were you fingering Dom?!” She hollered.

“Is Roger in there with you?” Oscar calls from downstairs, tone disapproving.

“It’s fine, Oz,” Ash calls back, before turning to Roger, expression demanding and answer, despite Oscar’s squawk of protest from downstairs, and Freddie’s muffled laugh.

“Because I’m an idiot!” Roger answers honestly after a beat, trying to stay quiet, though he couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped him. And finally, there’s a moment of silence, a moment to breathe, and Roger sees Ash shiver. She’s just wearing her button-down short sleeve shirt and red shorts, since he’s pretty sure the jacket she’d been wearing was Oscar’s judging by it’s size, but he moves instinctively to close the window he’d entered through, which had been letting in a cold breeze behind him.

“You are an idiot,” Ash agrees quietly, but she doesn’t sound hostile, and when Roger turns back, she’s walking towards him, arms still crossed, but smiling.

“So you were jealous?” Roger can’t help himself, smirking, and Ash’s nose wrinkles just a little, but she takes a deep breath, uncrossing her arms and stepping into his space.

“Maybe,” she responds coyly, despite her obvious blush. Roger’s hands find her hips, and for the barest moment, she frowns, “you washed your hands, right?” And it’s Roger’s turn to flush scarlet.

“Yes,” he spluttered, “before I even put my pants on.” He was trying to be reassuring, but Ash’s whole expression soured, and Roger made a face as soon as he’d realised what he’d said.

“Just stop talking,” Ash huffed a laugh, resting her hands on his shoulders where he was sitting on the edge of her bed. Roger smirked.

“Make me -“ she cut him off with a kiss. She’s softer than he’d been expecting, which is strange, or maybe it’s that when he thinks of Ash, he thinks she’s all hard edges and sharp smiles, but her kiss is gentle, and tastes mostly of the beer she’d shotgunned, but she’s insistent, her biting gently at his bottom lip before he deepens the kiss. He pulls her closer, pulls her into his lap, and Ash grins as she pulls back for a breath, an expression Roger mirrors –

“Ashley!” It’s Oscar again, sounding rather furious, and Ash’s expression falls.

“Oscar!” She hollers back, climbing off of Roger’s lap and stalking over to her door, annoyed as she unlocks it and wrenches it open. Oscar, on the other side, looks startled by her tone, and his gaze flicks to Roger sitting on her bed, looking a little out of breath, and his expression shifts to something a little unreadable.

“What?” Ash demands. Roger gives a sheepish wave.

“Making sure everything’s okay,” he paused, looking back to Ash, “and there’s some of your friends at the door wondering if Roger’s alive.”

“Very much alive,” Ash tells him, and Oscar tips his head to the side, nodding.

“You guys want anything?” His whole tone has shifted, and Roger’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at how chill he was being all of a sudden. Ash’s whole posture relaxed, however, and she sighed gently.

“If we want anything, I can get it, but thanks,” she adds, and Oscar nods. Before he leaves, he makes an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture, telling him to behave like a gentleman, and Ash closes the door on him, locking it again with a huff of laughter.

“Sorry about him,” she says a little sheepishly, turning with a half-smile.

“He was ready to rip my throat out not two minutes ago, what happened?” Roger snorted as she made her way back to him, sitting beside him on the bed.

“He’s protective is all,” Ash explains, and Roger nods a little awkwardly, “dad’s not exactly the parental type,” she adds with a humourless smile. Roger’s not quite sure what to say to this, but he’s saved from responding by Ash reaching over to her bedside table and picking up a remote.

“Did you wanna watch a movie or something?” After a beat, she amends, “I mean, if you wanna head back to the party we can –“

“I think if I head back, Dom’s gonna rip my ball off,” he says, perhaps a little too honestly, though Ash laughs, “which, okay, maybe I deserve but –“

“You’ll be safe here,” Ash assures, resting her hand on his thigh, and Roger gives her a surprisingly fond smile.

“You promise?”

“I promise,” and she leans in, kisses gently at the corner of his mouth. When she goes to pull away, he catches her chin with two fingers, pulling her back for a full kiss, and she hums happily against his lips.

“Netflix and chill?” Roger asks with a smirk as they part, and Ash gives a flushed smile.

“Something like that,” she agrees, and Roger kicks off his shoes, shuffling back on the bed until he was sitting against the headboard, with room beside himself for Ash as she flicks on the TV across from them, sitting on top of her drawers, “you want a drink?” She asks, tossing him the remote to choose what they watch, “we’ve got beer, and fizzy drink, and I think there’s some apple juice, and milk... and water, of course.” She offers a little awkwardly.

“Water would be great,” Roger grins, flicking through the movies available on Netflix, and Ash nods, heading from the room and down the stairs.

Roger hadn’t been paying much attention to Ash’s room earlier, too preoccupied with the girl herself, so he takes the moments he’s given to have a look around. The walls are pink, though he suspects that’s just how they were painted when they moved in, judging by the posters she’s got tacked up everywhere, as if trying to hide the original colour. There’s theatre posters from shows over the past few years, fliers for art shows, and hand drawn poetry reading posters that feature Oscar’s name. The movie posters she’s got up are for strange art films he’s never heard of, mostly in other languages, and there’s pages of books that have been ripped out and stuck to the wall.

The salt lamp on her beside table casts the whole room in a warm, golden glow, which highlights the gold in her green and gold floral bedspread, and he notes the clothes and notebooks and art supplies all over her floor. There’s a half-finished sculpture on her desk that he can’t quite decipher what it’s meant to be, but it’s covered in cling-wrap to keep it moist.

On the wall by her bed, there’s one of Queen’s posters that he knows Freddie designed, which makes Roger smile in a way he hadn’t expected. Beneath that, there’s a polaroid of a poem from a book; most of the words are blurry, apart from a few in sharp relief.

“[...] and all I can do is stand on the curb and say Sorry                                                       about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine.

I couldn’t get the boy to kill me, but I wore his jacket for the longest time.”

It’s captioned, just below, in what Roger’s come to recognise as Ash’s handwriting, with “R” and the date that tells him it was taken just one week ago. The night Ash had gotten into that fight at Queen’s last gig.

He hears chatter from downstairs, Ash and Freddie and Oscar, but only one set of footsteps after a few minutes, and Ash returns, two mugs in hand. She sets them both down on the bedside table and closes and locks the door.

“What’s this from?” Roger taps at the polaroid of the poetry, and as he asks it, Roger seems to notice the still-healing bruises beneath her eyes and across her nose. Ash’s expression twists into something amusingly embarrassed.

“One of Oz’s poetry books,” she explained, sitting next to him and plucking the polaroid from the wall. After a moment, she settled into his side, staring intently at the polaroid, “felt like the only way I could document a poignant moment in my life.” She chuckled, and passed the picture back to him. Instead of sticking it back up, Roger looks at it again, smiling faintly.

“The fight, right?” And Ash nods in confirmation, “you never did tell me what that was all about.”

“Maybe I will one day,” Ash muses, taking the remote from him and pressing play on Detective Pikachu. Roger doesn’t push, lets her have this as he sticks the polaroid back on the wall beneath his band’s poster.

Before he settles back entirely, however, Roger gently angles Ash’s face so he can lightly kiss the tip of her nose, and her cheek bones where the bruises are fading. Ash doesn’t ask and Roger doesn’t elaborate, but they both kind of just know.

He’s connected enough dots to have somewhat of an idea about what the fight was about, and judging by the polaroid and it’s caption, Ash hadn’t been lying about having feelings for him for a while. Feelings strong enough to fight for.

[inyuji]

OMG I don’t know why I started adding more sketches. Anyway, this is my take on “Morgana Macawber” in the Ducktales 2017 verse. Honestly, it’s just another fancharacter haha. Meet Miyu Moreno, a pretty well-known voice actress, who likes to pick on Drake Mallard whenever she him near her work studio. But on some nights, she dons the mask of “Red Mugen.”

At first I wanted to just call her “Morgan,” but that was too obvious. Instead, I had a good idea of having her related to the original “Morgana” actress. Miyu isn’t too malicious or goes out of her way to ruin Drake’s day. In fact, she minds her own business and only interacts with co-workers when it’s absolutely needed. For some reason she likes to go out of her way to greet Drake if she ever spots him near her work place. She doesn’t actively hunt him down just to slap him with a “Hey Dorkus!” She doesn’t realize that she has a Tsundere complex going on there ^^ Miyu doesn’t like the “live” acting business, since a whole lot of it depends on physical appearances than actual talent (in her opinion and personal experiences). However, she found great pleasure in the voice-acting industry. She started off in radio commercials, then worked her way up to landing major parts in the tripple-A video game industry and animation. Miyu is put off by Drake’s unwavering determination and enthusiasm for whatever stunt-double roles he can find in action films, and believes he’s wasting his time and talent where it’s taken for granted. Frankly, she thinks he deserves better, especially since she sees herself in his shoes.

Her villain/ anti-hero alias is Red Mugen, because Mugen in Japanese can refer to “infinity” or “without limit.” Red Mugen is crafty and mischievous, and unpredictable with her schemes. One night she’s willing to turn a whole apartment complex into a Yokai sub-haven, the next time she’s stealing ancient artifacts from a newly found imperial tomb, and then she’s playing cat-and-mouse games with Darkwing by baiting him with hostages. Darkwing is always put on edge around her and hasn’t been successful in catching her. He can never tell what Red Mugen’s end goals are. Her motives are constantly shifting. Their first encounter, she was all too happy to kill him. The next encounters resorted to poison or painfully maiming. It always shifted between, murdering him, seductively teasing or playing him, attempts to stealing his soul, or rarely helping him. It doesn’t help that she openly flirts with him, just for the sadistic pleasure of getting under his skin and throwing him off-kilter. Fanfic writers have had a field day with the crack-shipping of MugenWing (all due to a certain die-hard Darkwing Fanfic writer).

As for her connection to “Morgana Macawber,” Miyu was actually adopted by Lucia Moreno, the actress who played “Morgana” for a very short time on the old “Darkwing” show. When Lucia was given the part as “Morgana,” she was on the moon believing that this was a big step forward in her acting career. However, due to the “dangerous” stunts and scenes that were insisted by Jim Starling (smoke, or dangerous fumes, or fire is involved), Lucia was lucky to survive mostly intact. But her voice suffered for it. Her voice was her greatest asset, so losing that was a huge blow to her career. Also, the lingering effects from that accident would prevent her from healing fast enough to even pursue other gigs. A mute actor probably doesn’t get around much in the industry back then. Due to the fast-paced scheduling, the Morgana character was written out, instead of being a frequent character.

After surviving an accident on set, but also having her acting career cut short, Lucia travelled abroad to recover. She started healing while living temporarily in Japan. There she met a wild, yet gloomy child playing with flickers of bright lights. Miyu was considered a problematic orphan, due to her sixth sense, wild claims of seeing creatures or ghosts, and her budding powers in magic. One day Lucia saw her, and instantly fell in love with the strange child. Soon they became family. Lucia found great happiness with being a mother to a child with magical powers. Miyu in return would never forget the love and acceptance that Lucia had given her, while everyone else feared her, or wrote her off as a lost cause. So it was unfortunate when her beloved mother died during a failed operation. Lucia had loved singing, especially with her daughter. Unfortunately, her body was growing ill and her voice hadn’t healed fully. When Miyu started showing great promise in performing arts and as a singer, Lucia wanted to do everything she could to support Miyu’s dreams. In hopes of recovering and hoping to get back into acting to inspire Miyu and to financially support her, Lucia sought experimental treatment in Japan, but she didn’t make it. Miyu was forever heart-broken and never fully healed from her loss.

In hopes of moving on, she tried to pursue her dream as an actress and moved to America, but she struggled and found a lot of downsides to the industry. She struggled working part-time jobs while acting at a local theater and improving her English. It didn’t help that she didn’t have a high-school diploma in America, and was solely home-schooled by Lucia. While Miyu had a small inheritance after Lucia’s death, she refused to rely on it, saving it for life-crisis emergencies. Thankfully she found some voice gigs in commercials within months of reaching fluency in English. Later on, she’ll try to look up her mother’s acting career, and that’s when she finds out about the cause of Lucia’s illness, and eventual death.

To this day, she has festered a deep hatred for anything “Darkwing Duck” related. She blames the show for causing the death of her mother. To find out that an actual “Darkwing Duck” is emerging in the hero scene, is what pushed her to becoming “Red Mugen.” Her attitude towards Darkwing has been undecided, and changed with each encounter. Once she wanted to see nothing but some glory-obsessed wannabe playing hero, but with each encounter and news bite, she grudgingly respects his altruistic spirit and unwavering determination to never give up.

[whirlybirbs]

✶ ┈ PART TWO !

summary: loki meets the grandmaster and you intervene. the agreement (it’s really not an agreement, okay, more of a cause of circumstance) of parading as a married couple happens and neither of you are very excited about it. pairing: fake!wife reader x loki, set in ragnarok. a/n: hehehe here’s another 1.7k of these two. READ PART ONE HERE.

The third time you meet Loki, he’s strapped to that contraption the Grandmaster uses to intimidate the new fighters.

You’ve had a long week.

You’d woken up in a trash heap, bruised and sore and somehow alive. You’d decided, wholeheartedly, not to think too much about it -- not that you had an option. After stumbling over an entire mountain of inter-galactic trash being deposited by the varying collapsing stars around the planets atmosphere, you were quickly descended upon by a terrifyingly pretty woman with a tight braid and white symbols painted down her cheeks.

She smelt like booze and swaggered like a practiced warrior.

You didn’t trust her.

“You a fighter?” she’d called out, tilting her head.

“Where am I?” you’d asked, narrowing your eyes.

“Sakaar,” she chirped, “Now, are you a fighter? Yes or no?”

The moment that followed was tense -- a bit like a standoff.

“... Depends.”

“Hm.”

She’d caught you in the neck with a tracker then, a smirk on her face the whole way. In one swift move, she’d thumbed open the control device in her hand and sent you convulsing to the ground.

“The Grandmaster likes the pretty, clever ones.”

Her condescending smirk was the last thing you saw before you blacked out.

You woke up in the same chair Loki’s strapped to currently, bleary eyed and confused -- that man, The Grandmaster as he called himself, had decided rather quickly that he liked you. Perhaps it was your sudden decision to praise him and his choice of make-up.

(That was a great way to make friends in the bathrooms of bars -- surely compliments are universal.)

“Who are you, then?” he asks with a slow smile.

“I’m a Doctor,” you say slowly, “I study astrophysics.”

The smile drops immediately.

“Boring.”

He’s about to wave his hands, then, send you off to some horrible fate, you’re sure.

“A-And I tell stories!”

(That wasn’t really a lie -- you had a minor in classics. If you recited the plot to Hamlet to any of the colorful people in this penthouse suite, you’re sure none of them would realize it. Perhaps being entertainment would be worth keeping you around until you figured out how the fuck to get back home.)

“Stories, huh?”

So, here you are now, swathed in Sakaarian socialites, faux-smiles plastered to your face as you giggle into your neon colored drink. Your gown is something deemed fashionable for this planet, all colorblocked and tight with high slits and low dips. Along your cheeks is the same stark white branding as the brazenly mean warrior-lady you’d first met on Trash Mountain. You realize, half-way through the application by one of the Grandmaster’s maids, that it’s a mark of ownership. It’s rather disgusting, the whole fact you’re someone’s property now -- but, you suppose that it’s keeping you alive and in this current state? 

You really can’t complain.

Until you see Loki.

You choke on your drink.

You stand swiftly, leaving your martini and the gaggle of others behind as you move quickly upon the center of the room. The Grandmaster reels for a moment at the obstruction amidst his usual induction -- and your jaw drops.

“You.”

Quickly, the look of surprise morphs into one of anger and Loki’s eyes widen. You feel like you’re suddenly had all the words you’d thought about screaming in his face these last seven days pulled from your brain and all you can do is snarl and shriek:

“... You!”

Your finger jabs his chest, prodding at the green and gold armor there with such ferocity it’s no wonder you’re not stabbing him. For the first time, Loki gets a good look at you -- it’s clear you’ve somehow managed to worm your way into this “Grandmaster”’s circle; it’s commendable. For a Midgardian.

The Silvertongue, with every passing moment, is beginning to see his opportunity to do the same slip away.

“What? What’s the matter?” the Grandmaster coos, circling Loki to place his arms around your frame. You stiffen. Loki watches you swallow your anger. If he wasn’t strapped to a chair, maybe he’d find your discomfort amusing. However, Loki can’t help but avert his gaze.

Your anger is well deserved, really. He did throw you out of the Bifrost.

“... Oh, I see what’s going on here.”

Both you and Loki blink at the Grandmaster.

“... I’m sorry?”

“Star-crossed lovers.”

Your face twists into disgust as Loki blinks between the two of you -- confusion splits his features into an attempt of a charismatic laugh.

“Good sir, I believe you’re mistaken --”

“No,” he raises a finger, “I’ve seen this before. And you told me of your crash landing, my pretty little pet -- you said you lost your friends on the way. Lost a love… Raven haired and pale...”

You’d been entertaining the party with a poorly remember retelling of Romeo and Juliet to the Grandmaster’s court, but okay. It’s pretty clear the Grandmaster is making his over revisions as well.

Loki’s brow quirks.

There’s a moment pause. Then, the Grandmaster stops his blinking between the both of you and claps his hands. “But, if not -- I’ll have him executed. Your reaction was warrant enough. Can’t have my best storyteller off her game, can I?”

The maniac’s ability to bounce between party and murder is astounding.

Loki’s eyes are wide. His look is pleading.

You, in that moment, are put in the biggest moral dilemma of your life.

You can, of course, turn the other cheek -- but that means cozying up to the global terrorist who unceremoniously threw you out of the Bifrost to try and save himself from his own sister. On the other hand, you’d be letting Thor’s brother die all while losing your potential way off this planet. But, there’s no guarantee the trickster will help you. However, if there’s anything you remember from that one mythology class in college, it’s that gods tend to honor their debts.

Saving his life is a debt owed, right?

(And honestly? Letting Thor down and never seeing your parents again sounds pretty horrible.)

“It’s just… I thought you were dead.”

Loki, in that moment, is nearly impressed by your acting.

“I was worried sick,” you continue, clearly gritting out the last bit, “I… I was sure I lost you.”

“Fear not,” Loki’s mood swings then into one of pure amusement, smirk brandishing his features, “I apologize for scaring you, my sweet.”

“You know,” the Grandmaster’s face is twisted into a grin, “I have this six sense -- I can just… smell love in the air, or something. I knew it, I mean… Look at you two. God, it’s… adorable. Really. So, what is this, huh? Just a… a fling? Or --”

“We’re married.”

Where the fuck did that come from?

Loki’s got the same look on his face.

“She’s the crowned Princess of Asgard,” Loki says then, slowly. His eyes are glued on the way you shrink away from the Grandmaster’s gaze, “My wife.”

“Ass-gard, huh? Wow.”

He hums.

Loki is suddenly realizing there’s a reason to why you’re doing this. You’d made it apparent in the Sanctum that you weren’t intimidated by the likes of him. Somehow, though, this Grandmaster figure has earned your evident anxieties.

(Maybe it was because you’d watched him roast a guy who made a poorly timed joke about the color blue on your second day here. The smell was awful. But, it’s not like you can tell Loki that -- you just have to hope that somehow this little improv plan works and you and Loki can somehow get the hell off this floating landfill.)

“And… what’s his gig, huh, my pretty?” he’s addressing you now, lips upturned in an expectant smile, “Besides… well.. good bone structure.”

“He’s a Silvertongue, Grandmaster,” you explain slowly, hands clasped in front of you, “In more ways than one.”

Loki suddenly feels a bit like a piece of meat.

You relish in his discomfort as the Grandmaster bursts into an excited bought of laughter.

“Oh, see! This is why I love you! You’re so clever,” he chirps, waving his hands, “Your wife, Mr. Low-key, is lovely.”

“Isn’t she?” he grits.

The Grandmaster is unphased. “Quite! Now, this is good, this is very good -- I mean, it’s evident your… sexual tension is there. I can’t see why you two would lie to me, y’know? That would just be… uh… a bad idea.”

Behind him, Topaz clacks the Grandmaster’s staff on the red and white floor. You swallow thickly.

“I could never lie about my love for him, Grandmaster,” you supply, a delicate hand moving to touch Loki’s cheek. His skin is cold, “It’s simply not in my nature.”

“Nor I,” Loki says sweetly, “We make a better pair than separate, good sir, I promise you that.”

The man claps with glee.

“I love this, two lost loves reunited,” he nearly cries, “Topaz, get these two their own room, will you?”

It works.

Somehow it works.

The penthouse apartment they set you and Loki up in is big -- it’s better than the slave quarters you’ve been sleeping in for the last week. The far wall is ceiling to floor windows. Outside, Sakaar flies by; it’s the first time you’re actually getting a good look at the planetside. It’s bustling and the sun is setting between two twin moons, bathing the capital city in pinks and oranges.

“You are idiotic, bug, to propose this little plan -- had you wanted to sleep with me, you only needed to say so; lest I would.”

You recoil in a snarl. Loki is staring at the room in disdain.

“I just saved your life.”

“That colorful maniac had neither the strength nor gall --”

“Oh?” you chirp, hands flying to your hips, “Really? Sorry -- when did you get here? Ten minutes ago? Yeah, nice, cool, I’ve been here for a week and I’ve seen him toast like, five people for fun. The smell is awful.”

Loki’s mouth snaps shut.

Who in the Nine Realms are you?

“Besides,” you snarl, “I’m not doing this for you -- I’m doing this to get home.”

“And who, pray tell, said I would help you, bug?”

You, then, engage in this game of chess again -- your movements are slow and calculated and predatory and Loki has to admire your ability to dish it out. Your fingers jabs his chest once, then again.

“I did,” you seethe, “When I made sure you didn’t get easy-bake-oven’d, asshole. You owe me.”

He opens his mouth, keen on biting into your argument, when there’s a knock at the door.

“Dinner is being served, Lord and Lady Loki!”

You both save it for another time and exit the apartment holding hands.

The third time you meet Loki, you’re married.

[goraturtle]

1 - 43 please!

WHEWWWWW, i told myself i’d do these questions for two of my main current ocs i play in weekly motw sessions, Astrid and Frankie, if i got any, so let’s goooooo

under a readmore bc this is long and i’m not evil

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Astrid - if she’s with someone? Astrid could probably sit in companionable silence for hours, and she’s very much a “falling asleep on people as a love language” kind of person, so if she trusts u and has time to kill she Will fall asleep on you. If she’s by herself waiting for something to happen or already twitchy to begin with? she could probably stand like 3 minutes before getting agitated and pacing around or finding something to do

Frankie - if she’s ever in a spot where she can’t think of anything to do, she will Find something to do and then get so absorbed in it she won’t move an inch over the course of literal hours. either that or if she’s with people she’ll be content to just laze around and hang out

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Astrid - not very easy at all, she’s more likely to roll her eyes at you if you try to say something funny or elbow you sharply in the ribs if she doesn’t approve of your joke lol

Frankie - extremely easy, frankie is generally pretty easygoing + especially loves to make other people laugh

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Astrid - this kid is kind of a mess so she’s very much one of those “go over everything in your head that could possibly go wrong in the future” kind of people, which, as you can imagine, doesn’t rlly help with sleep

Frankie - for plot reasons [tw terminal illness ///] (ie. Frankie is actually extremely ill and her backstory is that she came to town seeking a magical cure to save her own life) Frankie is usually so bone weary she doesn’t need a routine. From a young age she’s been good at falling asleep wherever/whenever she wants, but these days the second she hits a slightly cushioned piece of furniture, she’s out like a light (and also a very heavy sleeper)

How easy is it to earn their trust?

Astrid - surprisingly easy if you’re a decent person. she might still be slow to open up but that doesn’t mean that trust isn’t there. for all her prickliness, Astrid likes to believe in the good in people (to her frustration)

Frankie - Not that easy actually! Frankie likes to believe in the good in people too, but she tends to be highly suspicious of strangers

How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Astrid - depends on the person, very VERY difficult if you’re someone she’s already trusted bc she has a hard time wrapping her head/heart around betrayal (even if she projects otherwise) but if you’re just some rando it’s easy to land yourself on her shitlist

Frankie - Also not easy, she doesn’t mistrust unless you give her a reason to. She’s just pretty neutral on people and tries to cover her bases until she’s got cause to believe otherwise

Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

Astrid - my baby was a thief for most of her life before getting scooped up and conscripted into being a superhero, so in general she does not give a shit about the law

Frankie - you know, for a law school dropout you’d think Frankie would care more about laws, but she doesn’t. not even a little bit.

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

Astrid - I think seeing happy families for her is a unique trigger, reminds her of when her mom was still around and when her twin siblings were babies. She was separated from the twins for years, and has reconnected with one of them, so I think even spending time w/ her little sis has been triggering major nostalgia as well. She wants to tell her baby sister more about how things were (Caroline was too little to retain most memories from back then) but doesn’t want to push too hard, and doesn’t know how to open up about memories she’s kept close for years. The feeling is painful, but little by little she’s learning to cope w/ it and appreciate it.

Frankie - Happy families is probably a trigger for Frankie as well, since she left home after highschool after getting into a dumb argument w/ her dad. She was always going to go home after getting her law degree, but got her diagnosis + discovered the existence of magic and that changed everything. That nostalgia is extremely painful for her, and she tries to block it out as much as possible, since she knows that the next time she sees her parents it’ll either be after she figures out a cure for herself or once she gives up completely and goes home to accept her fate

What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

Astrid - she was a bit of a gregarious wildchild so it was a lot of exasperated “get DOWN from there” “Astrid stop RUNNING” “Don’t forget to hold my hand when we cross the street!!!”s from her mom lol. poor woman.

Frankie - Frankie was a very shy little kid, so it was a lot of gentle coaxings from her parents for her to speak up

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

Astrid - fuck yeah she does, hers was probably “fuck you”

Frankie - absolutely. she probably swore the first time after hearing her dad cuss or something, so it’d be something like “son of a bitch” or something (her dad probably lost his mind laughing after he heard her say it, and her mom would NOT have been happy w him lol)

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Astrid - She hasn’t told her baby sister that she was a thief before her current gig, and that makes her feel bad honestly

Frankie - the lie by omission about her general health and why she came to town in the first place. it haunts her literally every single day.

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Astrid - she does not ask questions, probably acts like she understands/is above the conversation but you could definitely catch her side-eyeing people or eavesdropping to try and understand

Frankie - outright is like ‘haha what’

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

Astrid - will scratch herself on every single inanimate object she can reach, scowling the entire time

Frankie - complain very loudly to incite sympathy and help

What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

Astrid - she generally wears a lot of black/dark blue. She looks good in dark blue, but she also looks great in brighter jewel tones (she won’t wear them though bc she thinks it’s ‘Too Much’)

Frankie - she wears a TON of color all the time, think tacky buttondowns every single day, but she thinks she looks best in that soft peachy kind of orange (and she’s absolutely right)

What animal do they fear most?

Astrid - *takes a long draw off an old wooden pipe* Mankind

Frankie - she was kind of woodsy as a kid, living in montana, so i don’t think she’s really afraid of any animals. maybe a healthy respect for bears? now that she’s a werewolf i don’t think she’s scared of any animals at all

How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Astrid - definitely an on-the-spot thinker

Frankie - she’s very careful about what she says, generally, but she can blurt stuff out if she’s feeling emotional/not in control

What makes their stomach turn?

Astrid - cruelty in general. She’s lived a hard life and isnt afraid to punch hard, but she doesn’t understand delighting in someone’s suffering

Frankie - thoughts of impending inescapable death

Are they easily embarrassed?

Astrid - depends, most things won’t rattle her but I think genuine affection when she isn’t expecting it will get her a little flustered

Frankie - no she’s a rock. the only thing that could make her blush would be like a genuine romantic confession + someone being interested in her in that way

What embarrasses them?

whoops, see above

What is their favorite number?

Astrid - does not care

Frankie - 420

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Astrid - she’d probably roll her eyes and be like “Don’t be stupid, do I really have to explain something so obvious to you?”

Frankie - “Well first of all if I wanna kiss them on the lips it’s romantic”

Why do they get up in the morning?

Astrid - more habit than anything most days, but she gets up for her little sister, for her teammates, and in the hopes that they’ll be able to find the other twin, her brother, very soon

Frankie - very much does not want to die or let down the people who have supported her since coming to down.

How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?

Astrid - she’d get possessive but ONLY in private, afterwards. Astrid would react off the cuff and get pretty pissy, but get even angrier at herself for lashing out + leave/avoid the person for a while to try and control herself

Frankie - I don’t think she’s used to being possessive so it would take her completely by surprise. She’d get very hurt, and wouldn’t necessarily be aloof, but she’d try to remove herself from the situation so she’s ‘not in the way’. She’d probably get pissed at herself for even feeling hurt, when it’s not like she’s in any position to be laying the foundation for a future anywhere

How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?

Astrid - thief, so. she will definitely just take that shit provided there’s nothing else to make her hesitate (ie. it’s not a special trinket/memento and provided the person she’s stealing from isn’t struggling to make ends meet)

Frankie - I can’t see her getting envious over a possession or anything honestly

Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom?

Astrid - yeah, why not honestly. I think she’d be fine talking generally about it w/ anyone. She does NOT want to hear any details about her two madly in love middle aged coworkers fucking, though, please no

Frankie - definitely. not a lot of romantic experience, but Frankie is old hat at hookups/one night stands and doesn’t shy away from talking about it if asked. I think she’s more embarrassed about never having been in a real relationship than she is about her sexual history

What are their thoughts on marriage?

Astrid - her mom never got married (she has a different father from the twins, and in both cases the dad fucked off and left after her mom realized she was pregnant) and she is terrified of letting people down, so at the moment she isn’t rlly excited about that kind of thing. Her ex, Charlie, also betrayed her and hurt her pretty badly, and even though they were teenagers Astrid still thought of her as being The One, so she’s doubtful about ever finding or wanting to find a replacement. She’s still young and traumatized though, and I can easily see her mind changing

Frankie - literally domestic life would be bliss for her, but she doesn’t even let herself think about a serious relationship, let alone marriage, bc she does not anticipate living long

What is their preferred mode of transportation?

Astrid - she had this shitty old 2003 chevy silverado she drove for years that she’s still got a soft spot for, even if she’ll swear up and down to any witness that she hates the damn thing

Frankie - she’s got a little prius-c bc i wanted to shove her into a clown car, but she grew up on her parents’ horse farm in montana and tbh. nothing can beat horseback for her.

What causes them to feel dread?

Astrid - these days? being alone/feeling exposed. She’s gotten used to her backup. Also thinking about her lost twin brother has been a major source of dread/pain for her lately

Frankie - when she wakes up in the morning and the body aches and chills are worse than the day before

Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?

Astrid - no and if she caught someone lying to her just to save her feelings she’d be SO mad, prepare to get ur ass beaten by this maladjusted 5′1 twenty five year old

Frankie - definitely not. which is hypocritical as hell for her, all things considered

Do they usually live up to their own ideals?

Astrid - she sets very high standards for herself that she can’t possibly meet, so no. she’s still trying to feel like she belongs as a superhero

Frankie - usually, but obviously her lying about her health is a major blind spot where she becomes extremely hypocritical

Who do they most regret meeting?

Astrid - i’d say on the surface she says she regretted meeting her ex, Charlie, but that’s not true, not even a little bit. She’s still heartsick over everything that happened between them

Frankie - there was an incident with a werewolf hunter (who Frankie had helped to save the life of) going after Lou and Selene. Lou got shot (Frankie healed him) and the two of them had to kill her, which was obviously traumatizing for them. Frankie still wishes that they’d never even seen the hunter in the first place and regrets saving her life

Who are they the most glad to have met?

Astrid - when she was conscripted into the superhero biz and given her powers, she was put onto a team with two other supers named Arsenal and Bullet (the other player characters, real names are Heather and Cyrus), who are middle aged pros very used to the field. Astrid’s only 25 so they naturally kind of leaned into the parent relationship, and Astrid loves them so much. It was rocky at first because Astrid was adjusting and wasn’t even sure she wanted to be there, but they have been so patient and kind at this point i think Astrid would literally do anything for them

Frankie - the other player characters, again (two twins named Selene and Lou who are members of the local werewolf pack. Frankie got bit in the first session to see if a werewolf’s healing abilities could cure her. It didn’t work), but especially Selene. They’ve been bonding a lot lately and as much as Frankie wants to keep everyone at bay in case she fails and has to leave town in the middle of the night, everyone she’s met in town has made a big impact on her.

Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?

Astrid - her only ‘joke’ is that she rolls her eyes constantly. in the early games when she was still too emotionally constipated to really chat with Arsenal/Heather and Bullet/Cyrus i made her roll her eyes like every 3 seconds. She doesn’t think she’s a very funny person and spent a lot of time growing up trying to focus on keeping herself fed/safe so she feels awkward trying to crack jokes + has a (correct) feeling that most of her ‘stories’ from her teenage years would horrify Heather and Cyrus

Frankie - she’s been very cagey about details about her personal life in-game, but I am very excited for her to tell the story about when a horse kicked her and broke 3 ribs when she was like 8

Could they be considered lazy?

Astrid - definitely not. this girl would not know how to relax if you paid her

Frankie - if she’s stoned? yes. (she self medicates)

How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt?

Astrid - hard, but she also doesn’t seek validation from other people. A pep talk from her two favorite work parents would probably go a long way (which is probably a small reason why she doesn’t ask for that from them, since she’s a little self-punishing)

Frankie - easy enough throughout the day when she’s busy, but feelings like that tend to come for you when things get quiet

How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?

Astrid - not used to people coming to her bc they’re excited, usually ppl come to her w/ Problems, but she’d be very supportive, if a bit awkward

Frankie - VERy supportive, 10/10, will get extremely invested for your sake

Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?

Astrid - she sought it out with her ex Charlie, initially, when they were teenagers, and has been kind of closed off ever since, aside from the occasional one night stand here and there. Even those, she waits for it, though. Having your ex kick you out and try to hurt you does a number on the ol’ self esteem. She’s not really interested in romance currently

Frankie - doesn’t seek it out at all except in a purely sexual context when she’s bored (w/ others strictly looking for the same) bc she doesn’t feel like she’s got enough time left to give to someone right now. Also, genuinely, she’s got some self esteem issues as well and can’t fathom someone wanting her for more than just one night

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)?

Astrid - nope, not at all. If she did she would have gotten a lot better grades in middle school/early high school (she dropped out like freshman year)

Frankie - she just writes everything down in a notebook

What memory do they revisit the most often?

Astrid - the night that Charlie told her to get lost and then tried to kill her. She hasn’t come to terms with it yet.

Frankie - the last time she saw her parents. When her dad lost his temper and said “If you’re gonna walk out that door then don’t come back” and she, in all of her 18 year old stubbornness, followed directions to the letter. She had a good relationship w/ her dad, they’re both just stubborn and stupid. she wishes she could have repaired things sooner

How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?

Astrid - extremely easy, she doesn’t exactly see herself as having a leg to stand on.

Frankie - easy, everyone fucks up, she’s more interested in communication and willingness to make things better than she is in perfection

How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

Astrid - EXTREMELY sensitive

Frankie - fairly sensitive, she’s very self aware of her shortcomings but stays quiet about them since most of them are really only apparent to her

How do they feel about children?

Astrid - loves kids, terminal big sis syndrome. will never want her own bc she’s terrified of fucking up and thinks she would make a bad mom

Frankie - likes kids, once again doesn’t rlly think about them as being a possibility for her. When she’s cured and ready to start considering a future (the gm isn’t gonna kill her i trust her too much we’re just in this for the angst) i think she’ll really want children, she’d consider it a privilege to raise a child. Also she’d be the perfect dad joke lesbian

How badly do they want to reach their end goal?

Astrid - she went from a lonely thief to a superhero being slowly reunited w/ her family, plus she’s made a new kind of family in the process. All she wants is to find her baby brother right now, and she’ll do anything to make sure he’s safe and sound.

Frankie - so bad it hurts. what started out as her being purely scared of dying has also quickly turned into her wanting to live and stay more with these people she’s met.

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?

Astrid - “Girls.”

Frankie - “Haha, why, you interested? *winks*” (but also lesbian as well)

[fyheiran]

well hello hello !! my name is jada, it’s very nice to meet ( or re-meet ) you !! i’m late to the game and honestly all over the place, but i hope you’ll forgive me as i start to get my life together ! anyways, this is miss bo heiran, and you will be knowing her as our resident snake ! both she & i were here during findyou’s last run, but now she’s got a different role and other changes to her character as well !! she’s definitely got quite the mean streak, and is really the devil in a wolf in sheep’s clothing !! anyways you can find her profile here, pinterest here, ig here, and for now i’m straying away from a plots page ! but if you want to know more about her & gather some connection ideas, please see the read more below !! and you can like this if you’d like to plot ! can’t wait to interact with you all ! xoxo

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 :

she’s from chuncheon, south korea !! def a lot smaller in comparison to seoul,

there, she was definitely not the big city girl she is today !! in fact, she was a lot different - humbler, less competitive, just ... chill !!

her love for acting peaked in school, when she joined a theatre production on a whim and got picked as the lead to her surprise !! from there, she got more involved and she slowly began to see acting as a potential career choice

prior to this, heiran had no real aspirations but so desperately wanted to feel passionate about something, so when i say she clung to acting, she clung to acting

but as time went on she grew more envious to those who lived in seoul, as she felt it was easier for her to get gigs there !! so at only 15, she vowed she’d move there as soon as she got old enough.

throughout the rest of her schooling years, her skills really improved and people in her town started talking about how she may have some true promise !

but you know how they say 3 time’s a charm ?? well . . . that’s heiran ! her first fail was in high school, when her application to sopa got declined. she was devastated, as it stopped her dreams to move to seoul for the time being & took a huge toll on her self confidence ! 

finally following graduation she went to attend korea national university of arts, which was her first true big win !! she really felt she was doing something, and in her 3rd year of school she landed her first acting gig for a webdrama.

everyone from her hometown was ecstatic, as there were a few pretty big names and she was going to be in her first real drama !

 the second fail happened then !! she got a really bad spinal injury, and was out of the drama for the rest of it’s recording ! they had to replace her and she was heeeeated. she felt like an embarrassment to her town, and her injuries took her out of the acting scene for an entire year !

but like i said, third time’s a charm ! at 22 she started her true acting debut, fresh out of college and fully recovered ! it was a later than she anticipated, but she was well received ! she only had small roles at first, but after befriending somi it seemed like her popularity spiked ! everyone was asking who somi’s new friend was and what her future held in the acting industry ! it truly did wonders for her career, and as a result, heiran began clinging to her for support.

it wasn’t long before her admiration and gratitude turned to sour jealousy, though !! she began to realize that her fame paled in comparison to somi’s, and felt that she was always compared to her friend rather than seen as her own person !

but rather than handle this like ... well, a normal person ... she misdirected her anger and slowly began feeling a sort of hatred for her ?? it def stemmed off of her jealousy but it wasn’t obvious at first. she was just a little distant. but one day when her & somi got into a fight she yelled something about somi thinking she’s better than everyone. and this is when heiran believes their friendship went south !!!

still, heiran was desperate to keep that actresses bond up for the cameras for the sake of her own career, so put her skills to use to fake their friendship !! only other actors are probably aware of the fakeness of it all, as she’s the type to drop her smiles as soon as the camera cuts off. 

as you would imagine, heiran dreaded under a thousand stars when she still believed somi was in it. while she was v excited to be around so many actors and in her first historical drama, she hated how much she had to fake and how closely her character resembled her own predicament.

so now that somi’s gone she’s secretly ... relieved ?? she def won’t go telling this to just anyone, but those closest to her probably have noticed a shift. without having to pretend, and without being in her shadow, she can just be heiran. she won’t tell anyone this, but she secretly hopes that somi stays missing until she fades out the spotlight.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀 :

as you have probably been able to tell, she is a sssnake !!! she comes off as really bright and friendly initially, but if you get on her bad side you’ll definitely see her ugly side !! she’s not mean just to be mean though, and really is only that way if she sees you as competition or you’ve provoked her.

i don’t know how to explain this, but ... she’s cocky and self-conscious at the same time ?? like she’s pretty confident at face value, but she has to constantly hype herself up to stay that way ?? she requires a lot of validation and assurance, but with that, her self confidence skyrockets !!

very materialistic !! she didn’t come from a rich family, but always wished she had so worked hard to be able to afford nice things. she’s always showing them off because she’s proud she can finally afford them for herself. but her splurging is a problem, and she is slowly going into debt yikes !!

has a pomeranian named mars who she loves to bits !! she’s all over her instagram, and often times she’ll bring her along in her fan during filming to keep her company.

as you could probably tell, she get’s jealous easily of the things she wants that other’s have !! she wants the same success as those around her, and tends to get bitter when that isn’t the case !

not romantically dependent. she isn’t actively seeking a relationship, sort of just in the “if it happens it happens boat” ?? much more into no strings attached deals though, as they don’t interfere with her career and prevent her from getting hurt ! 

she’s a little sassy honestly !! it comes from her stubbornness, if she’s got her mind stuck on something it’s going to stay that way ! if someone even raises her voice at her she’s the type to either give them the “who are you talking to ??” look or straight up tell them off lmao !!

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 :

these are just some ideas to get you going !! since there’s so few of us, i feel like we can also just go based off of muse chemistry !

another fairly new actor who starred in one of her first dramas with her, and they rose to fame together !! they’d be pretty close to each other !

someone who caught her during one of her mean streaks, and though she’s tried to show a better side of her, they’ve never been able to forget the way she behaved then !

another person who might be on bad terms with somi ?? and they first related about that, and it’s sort of transformed to them shit-talking & spilling tea anytime they see each other haha !!

heiran knows one of their secrets, so she’s been holding it against them to get favors she needs ?? can you say BLACKMAIL ??

any true drama-filled plots !! literally cheating exes nemesis all of that ... heiran is a messy woman and i live for the drama folks !!

someone who’s been friends with heiran for a while and knows her more vulnerable side ?? they’re her confidant & they can tell each other nearly anything !

off the record on and off flings / one night stands ?? maybe feelings emerge maybe they don’t, it’s up to you !!

or maybe a little crush where for once, heiran genuinely likes someone ?? oh my ??

unrequited crush maybe ?? she’s def the type to be like mm sorry but no but still live for the attention lmao !!

heiran idolizes this person, be it for their acting or another quality they possess, and just really respects them ?? or it can be the other way around !!

someone who heiran trusts enough to put mars her dog in the care of .... please do not let her pee in the house & give her lots of cuddles or she’ll kill you !!

alcohol tw: drinking buddies !! because it’s just natural heiran would need some nights of downing drinks to cope with her stress, and it’s lonely if no one joins her !

[vspideycaptain]

Meeting Tom

Reader x Tom Holland (Feat. RDJ, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon)

A/N: This story lives within ‘The Real War’ series I have written. This is one of three Tom centered Prologue entries. You’re the newest addition to the Gaurdians cast and as a MCU actor you obviously have to meet RDJ and through meeting him he decides you have to meet the other younger actors in the MCU circle so he sets up this lunch to do exactly that. Its surprisingly easy, except between you and Tom Holland….

This was not written well. I found it hard to communicate the scene I was picturing in my head so I’m sorry and I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Warnings: Fluff and mini angst maybe? WORD COUNT: 2347

 ---------------------------

I had met Robert Downy for lunch the day before I started shooting for Guardians of The Galaxy vol. 3. It had been the second time since I got the part that he wanted to meet with me as a from of welcome into the family and this time was already feeling much different than the last. The first time I met him it was at an office on Marvel property and this time he asked me to meet him at a burger bar in the center of LA. I had just moved to Los Angeles and I was quickly realizing that I had packed for much cooler weather than what the city had to offer (I kind of thought the idea of LA always being hot was an exaggeration but I was wrong,) So I strolled up to the boujee casual restaurant in the only warm weather option I had: My green and white tee shirt dress with matching stan smith sneakers.

I half expected Robert to be waiting for me at the door as I was clearly susceptible to getting lost so when I entered the restaurant and I don’t spot him in the hostess section I start to question if I went to the right place. Just as I go to reach for my phone to call him I hear him shout for me from the other side of the bar. When I spot him I also realize who he is with: Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Tom Holland…. Now Robert left the detail about other people joining us out of his invitation but even after knowing him for a short period of time it wasn’t much of surprise to me. He did mention that I should friend the “youngins’” as he called them.

Robert meets me halfway and brings me into a round of air kisses and a hug before guiding me over to the group. Zendaya gets up and comes in for a hug first, “So nice to meet you! I’m Zendaya but Zen or Z is fine too.” She gushed to me. She was even more stunning and charmingly awkward than I had ever imagined. Then Jacob met me with a handshake and a kind smile as Robert took the reigns in introducing us, “Jacob this is (Y/N), (Y/N) this is Jacob. And finally this is Tom..” Jacob cleared the way for Tom to step forward and as we both went in for air kisses we somehow picked to go the same side and for a split second our lips pecked before we drastically aborted. “Oh my gosh I-I’m so sorry! I Didn’t- I didn’t mean to do-“ Tom started to panic as the rest of the group all just froze watching the awkward unfold. I put my hands up to calm him down, “It’s okay! I went the wrong way too! It’s okay” I was just word vomiting back to him before we were rescued from the others. “Way to go, Tom.” Jacob laughed and Zendaya chimed in, “Real smooth.” The both teased him and Robert wasn’t far behind them, “That’s one way to break the ice I guess…” He said and gestured me to take the empty seat between him and Zendaya at the booth.  

In any other instance something like that would have thrown me into a panic attack but there was something about this group of people that made me feel comfortable and at ease. At least on the outside. On the inside I was definitely shouting expletives and praying to God I wasn’t blushing. I turned my attention to the menu as I tried to shake off the awkward interaction that just happened. I couldn’t believe Tom Holland, spider-man, just kissed me…. And by accident.

“So (Y/N), when do you start shooting?” Jacob asked and snapped me back into reality. I put down my menu and picked up the conversation with a new state of coolness than five minutes prior, “Tomorrow, actually!” From the corner of my I see Robert nodding as this was information he already knew. “Oh wow! How are you feeling? Excited?” Zendaya leaned in fully invested in the moment. I took a breath in to respond but once again RDJ jumped in, “She’s nervous” He exposed and I turned to him mouth agape and he instantly realized his mistake, “Dude! Don’t make me sound uncool!” I pestered him and the whole group laughed. “What are you nervous about?” Tom finally speaking, clearly having calmed down from our misstep. I looked at him directly catching his deep brown eyes. Who could lie to those eyes? So I let my guard down, “Well this is my first big thing, you know? My first movie, even!” I confessed and then watched the three of respond in shock.

“The first movie you landed is this one? Not even like indie projects or anything?” Jacob questioned. I nodded, “This is the first movie I even auditioned for. Before this I was strictly stage acting.” I informed him and Zendaya reached for my arm, “Damn. You must be good!” She complimented and again I saw Robert nodding out of the corner of my eye. He was part of my auditioning and hiring process so it was because of him that I even got the job. “Yeah,” I continued, “So I kind of have this pressure of the unknown and I really don’t want to let anyone down.” Tom had a big reaction to this, “(Y/N) don’t worry, darling. We’ve all been there and yeah its intimidating but the people who work on these movies are so helpful and welcoming. And you’re clearly well matched to the ‘big leagues’ you’ll being starring with to get the gig so you’ll fit right in.” When he finished speaking he smiled at me in such a way that I couldn’t help but return it. “Thanks. That means a lot.” I said sheepishly right before the waitress came over to take our order.

Moments later Robert excused himself for the bathroom and told us that it was our moment to talk about “young” things. The second I turned away I addressed the group, “Why does he act like he’s 80 years old?” I asked and Jacob cackled, “I don’t know. If he’s 80, he’s the chillest 80 year old I’ve ever met.”

“He does have a point though,” Zendaya starts, “Now that he’s gone this is my chance to ask…. What’s your star sign?” I laughed and looked at the guys across the table who both rolled their eyes but still seemed interested in my answer. “Guess.” I dared her and she sat back and got a good look at me. “Hmmm” she analyzed. All this staring and attention made me pretty self-conscious so I fussed with my hair and darted my eyes again to Tom who as soon as I caught his eyes darted his away. Before I could question his actions Zendaya announced, “(Y/Z/S)!”

“Wow… You’re good!” I told her. “I was right?” she clapped her hands together then brushed her shoulders, “I am good”

The rest of the lunch was pretty normal and as time progressed got less formal. I really felt like I was becoming friends with all of them and what happened as we all got up to leave only confirmed that. “Hey (Y/N) are you doing anything right now? Tom, Z and I were gonna head back to my house and go swimming if you want to join?” Jacob asked me and I immediately deflected. I didn’t want them to invite me out of pity. As much as I had a good time I still had a hard time thinking they all actually thought I was cool. “I have two suits, you can borrow one! If that’s what’s holding you up” Zendaya offered and I shifted uncomfortably. That was one of the reasons…. But it wasn’t until Tom pitched in that I became fully onboard, “You have to come (Y/N). I’m not done hanging out with you yet.” He said with dare in his voice and he sent another charming smile my way and with t hat I was in.

We bid Robert goodbye as he had other meetings to attend the rest of the day before piling into Zendaya’s car. Jacob called shotgun leaving Tom and I to sit in the back together and because of all of Zendaya’s bags and miscilanious objects in her back seat we had to squish together with me sitting on the middle seat. “Are you sure you don’t want to switch?” Tom offered kindly but I waved it off, “I’ve been small my whole life. I’m used to the middle seat.” I said back before the car was flooded with the sound of 00s bangers. The whole way to Jacobs the four of us jammed out classics like “Teenage Dirtbag” by Weatus, “Disturbia” by Rhianna, and “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne.

As soon as we arrived at Jacob’s place Zendaya and Tom made themselves at home while I pretended to settle in just as naturally. Zendaya lead me to one of his bathrooms and held out the two suits she brought for me to choose from. “Pick either one. I honestly couldn’t decide this morning and packed both so you’d actually be helping me out by making my decision for me.” She said and passed me the two suits. One was a pink blue and white paint splattered high necked two piece with spaghetti strings to tie it on and the other was a classic triangle bikini with blue and white stripes and a ruffle trim on the bottoms. I chose the latter as it looked like it would fit me better and be more comfortable in.

I let Zendaya change first and as soon as she was done she had a phone call she excused herself for and she left me alone to take over the bathroom and change. I was amazed as I slipped the suit on how myself and Zendaya were the same size and I was even more impressed with how amazing the suit looked on. The one problem was that I couldn’t seem to get the hang of tying on the strings so I did what any girl has ever done in this situation and sought out for female help. However when I peeked my head out of the bathroom Zendaya was nowhere to be found. Instead I was met with a spaced-out Tom waiting for his chance to change. If I had gone unnoticed I would have just quietly shut the door again and tried my luck with the suit myself but unfortunately for me Tom picked his head up toward me as soon as the door clicked open causing me to panic a little inside as I held the top of my suit to my body.

“Oh, hi!” Tom said as he stood up from the arm of the couch he was sitting on. Very nervous and very conscious of my newly exposed body I kept the majority of my body still tucked behind the door as I asked, “Hey. Is Zendaya around?” I asked him and I could tell he sensed my uncomfortableness. “She’s on the phone in the other room. Everything alright?” He asked and I took a moment to ask myself if I should just be honest with him and ask him for assistance instead. I went with it, “Uh- yeah… Actually I just can’t tie the back of my bathing suit… Do you mind?” I asked him and gestured for him to come over. “Um sure…” He responded sheepishly and walked over as I turned my back to him. I stiffened up as I held my boobs in place and felt his fingers brush against my skin. We stood in silence as he fiddled around with the straps of my suit to tie it. He cleared his throat to alert me that he was finished.

I turned around to him and instantly realized how close we were standing. “Thanks…” I said shyly and tried to not reveal the blushing feelings I was feeling inside. Tom’s eyes were looking into mine with a twinkle I had not yet seen. “No problem.” He smirked. The space between us was slight but thick with tension as we looked into each other’s eyes. It was awkward yet comfortable in the moment. I couldn’t help but giggle, “Oh! You need the bathroom don’t you!” I said completely embarrassed for hogging the bathroom.

I whipped around to grab my neatly folded clothing from the counter. In the swift motion of switching places with Tom, I felt something from my arms drop to the floor but before I could reach down to grab it Tom picked it up for me. All at the same time, Zendaya was returning from the other room, “What is taking you two so long!-“ She started and then stopped in her tracks realizing the situation. Myself and Tom standing incredibly close and my thong in the hands of Tom Holland. We both looked at Zendaya and noticing her confused expression and causing us to look back to each other. The instant I realized what Tom had I swiped it out of his hands and tucked it under my dress. “Shit. Sorry!” I said in a forceful whisper and watched as Tom’s cheeks turned rosy. “Sorry” was all he could let out as well before locking himself in the bathroom.

With the click of the door my attention snapped back to Zendaya who was holding back her laughter and guiding me outside to the pool. “What the hell is going on between you two?” She bantered and Jacob overheard, “Oh are we talking about Tom’s crush on (Y/N)?” We both gasped and Jacob instantly tried to backtrack, “No no… Why would you be talking about that? Tom didn’t say anything to me! Monica just broke up with him. He’s not thinking about that right now? What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As he rambled I buried my face in my hands as Zendaya tried to shush him. Seconds later Tom joined us and we all pretended like nothing awkward happened and went on with the rest of our day.

*This story has ties to ‘The Real War’ fic. If interested see Masterlist*

[helsaguy]

Best Disney Live Action to date.

This is my opinion and mine alone. You have your own. Watch out for spoilers if you haven't seen the movie yet.

What a ride. What a surprise. What a delight this movie actually is. The first promotional content did nothing, or very little to excite me about this movie. I was really gonna watch it just to see Will Smith’s work. Then good reviews started to pop out and those truly gave me hope. I still kept my expectations relatively low. But now I was excited to watch it. The idea was to watch the movie on Saturday, but stuff came up and couldn't be. Anyways, two great things happened about watching it on Sunday: First I got to watch it with more family members. I’m so happy they didn't miss this movie, you just can’t miss it. And second, I got to watch it in its original language! I'm sure the dub would have been good, but I really needed to hear the actors’ voices, the dialogues and more than anything the songs in their original language. It’s important to me.

I had my doubts about almost everyone in the cast. But in the end, if anyone made a mistake (which mistakes can totally happen and maybe they happened) I think they were so minor that I didn’t care if there was something off. The whole movie is just so good. I couldn’t care less about any mistake or off thing that could have been going on.

What I’m about to write may be weird. I felt that every character was very different to its animated counterpart. The story was pretty much the same, and of course the characters are the same (except for a couple of funny and good additions) yet they felt different to me. They felt very down-to-earth, very grounded, very fleshed out, very real. Which I think that's the whole point of these live action movies; or at least I think it should be that way. 

So far I enjoyed and liked all the live actions I've seen (Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book). But so far only Aladdin although being fair, Maleficent has it's own category has added content that served perfectly to enrich the movie and its characters. I see it that way anyway. It left me wanting to see more of them. I wanna see this gang again. Heck, I wanna watch the movie again. I really think it should have a sequel. More than anything I think this live action has established enough content to continue with another movie.

On a side note. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite animated Disney movie and if the live action doesn't make a sequel, I'm honestly not complaining. Here I am, perfectly well without a live action Beauty and the Beast sequel. And about Maleficent. I never thought it would have a sequel, and when I heard there would be one I was like: Ok. Maleficent is a whole other take on the Sleeping Beauty movie. A pretty interesting take if you ask me. And I’m curious to see how the sequel turns out. I loved Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and I don’t mind seeing more of that. I think it'll be worth it.

About how I felt these characters were different to their animated counterparts. I think the most obvious is the Sultan. But man what a great change. I think every character was very likeable. Every good character that is. And the Sultan is so likable as a ruler and as a father. Of course he is a little flawed in those regards, but he grows and learns accordingly. I think everyone can or should understand where he’s coming from. It isn’t hard to understand his position. I'm not very comfortable comparing the live action to the animation. And I hope I won't do it (or do it much) writing further. But I think I dare say I liked this version of the Sultan better than the animated one. I just really cared more about him as a character and as a person. He even got a little action in the confrontation with Jafar and the dancing at the end of the movie. Way to go Sultan! He is a caring and loving father to Jasmine and father-daughter relationships are kind of my Achilles heel on Disney movies (Belle and Maurice, Ariel and Triton). Quite frankly, I never really cared for this father-daughter relationship with the animated movie, I'm guilty of that. But the live action version of these characters are a whole other story. The Sultan was overall a far more competent character and I loved it.

Oh boy I had so many doubts with Naomi Scott as Jasmine. But seeing her first interactions with Aladdin at the market place and at Aladdin’s street rat home, I was so charmed by her acting and charisma. Not to mention her beautiful hair and those beautiful, beatiful brown eyes of hers. Jasmine got quite the changes too, and I think most were very well done. This Jasmine is truly a ruler and leader in the making. Ready to be the first Sultana (that’s the proper term) of the land. She lacks some experience, of course, but she has all the tools she needs. I was impressed with all the knowledge this girl has at her disposal. Although, she's a Princess, of course she knows her studies. While the animated Jasmine feels rebellious “not wanting to be a Princess” and seems to ponder too much on the freedom she’s missing; live action Jasmine shows great conviction on wanting to help and better her people, her country and kingdom. She doesn't know much of Agrabah's outsides but once she gets out there and sees the market place full of people working and coexisting, she sees the community that lives under the Sultan's care and understands that those people are what make Agrabah so precious. Even from her balcony Jasmine gets to see her people's lives and how much they deserve to live happily and without fear of wars and losing loved ones (like she and the Sultan lost Jasmine's mother). Agrabah was done so lively that it’s easy to see why Jasmine wants so badly to be the next one on taking care of the kingdom and its people. She wants to make them happy and prosperous. Again, she is very likable. And most importantly, if some think these changes are to push some agenda (I thought that at first), well, if they are at least they don't feel forced. I think all these changes added a lot of depth and character to the character. To me they made Jasmine richer and a better role model.

Again someone that surprised me. Mena Massoud’s Aladdin turned out to be quite refreshing to me. In all honesty I wish I could explain better why I think this Aladdin differs from the animated one, but I lack the words. What I value the most of this interpretation is the simplicity and humility in character. He is more aware of himself. And while he does say the line “When you don’t have anything, you have to act as if you own everything.”, this guy doesn't feel pretentious at all. He is still very much down-to-earth and it shows greatly when he becomes Prince Ali. At least for the first part. I loved how awkward and/or insecure he is as Prince Ali during the Prince Ali musical number and when meeting the Sultan and Princess Jasmine. That scene is truly hilarious, with all the right jokes and all the right faux pas. Then there's the moment when the Prince gig gets to his head and is so believable how he gets lost in that lie and that facade, that it made me feel bad for him. In a pitiful way. Whereas in the animated movie I felt Aladdin was being a jerk to Genie and it made me think he deserved to be left alone. I definitely sympathize better with this Aladdin. Great chemistry between him and Jasmine from start to finish. Also I think it was very adorable to have Jasmine pretend to be the Princess' servant when she meets Aladdin for the first time. It made the blooming relationship more endearing and natural. Very appreciated. The animated movie honestly only makes me care about the Genie, but this live action truly made me care about every character. The good ones that is.

I still think Marwan Kenzari’s voice doesn’t fit Jafar at all. But this Jafar is still a good villain. I think he felt more cold blooded to me. He had a little background that benefited the character, not like they tried to do with Gaston on the Beauty and the Beast live action. And this depth not only made Jafar a little more interesting, it helped Aladdin's character as well. Jafar's past as a thief not only gives reason for his ambitions and goals, it’s also a good example of what our hero Aladdin could have become if he kept on the abusive/ambitious path of power. I think that provided quite the scare in thinking that if Jafar went through this manipulative, power hungry way; that could very well happen to Aladdin. This Jafar lacks the animated one’s theatrics but I still consider him a descent villain.

Very much like Robin Williams’ Genie is the heart and soul of the animated classic. Will Smith’s Genie is the heart and soul of this live action. Hands down my favorite character in the whole movie. Robin (R.I.P.) must be very proud with everything Will did. He was so charismatic, sympathetic, funny, charming, such a lovable character I swear to God. No one will ever convince me that this Genie wasn't perfect in every way, shape, or form. I loved how at the party in the palace he kept telling Ali to not ruin it for him. He's been trapped inside a lamp for thousands of years and he really wanted to enjoy a good party. The character with the most heart in the film and with powerful lessons to teach. Two of those will stay with me forever. The first, and I believe the intentional one, is that no matter how much riches you possess; no money, or jewels, or power will ever satisfy you nor make you happy. I wish more people in the world would see and understand that... And second, and this is I think more my interpretation than the movie's intention, to be human is what makes someone truly free. Although "being human" is such a vast term. I hope you understand what I mean. Anyways, what a freaking powerful message. This Genie wishes freedom. But that freedom isn't just to not be his master's slave or the lamp's slave. This Genie wishes to be human; he doesn't want to be an all powerful being for all eternity. And something happened in this movie that helped in a very sweet way to make this Genie even more human.

And that is Dalia. What a revelation this character is. Best addition to a live action adaptation ever. To be honest when I first heard of the character I really thought this live action would be ruined from the start. Who was this Dalia? Why Jasmine needed a handmaiden? Why was she white? Truth is Dalia is a much needed character. Also Nasim Pedrad who portrays Dalia was born on Iran to Iranian parents, and that made me more comfortable about her as a character in this movie. Dalia is a much welcomed addition to the colorful cast. Her character feels organic in this well known tale. She's not only Jasmine’s handmaiden but is also a true friend and her loyal confidant. And not to offend my favorite tiger, but the Princess really needed some human friend to talk to. Sure Dalia is a servant, but never once she complains about her place; even if it shows that on the inside she would like to enjoy more of the outside world as well as the Princess and have a life of her own. Dalia is quite insightful, she knows the Princess very well, she's very funny, and charming. We get to see how much and how well she cares for Jasmine and quickly becomes an endearing character. That scene where she pretends to be the Princess in favor of Jasmine being able to play the handmaiden character with Aladdin a little longer was incredibly funny. Not just she makes Jasmine a more well round character, she helps the Genie as well with their little romance. Such good content with these two. One of my favorite scenes was when the Genie wanted to ask Dalia out on an evening stroll and he, much like Prince Ali meeting the Princess, got all awkward and even mentions that Aladdin's behavior is contagious. Obviously he knows how to treat women right, with delicacy and respect. But also he's been imprisoned for so long that it isn't hard to see how he would be a bit clumsy when trying to court a girl he really felt infatuated with. Their interactions are just really sweet and charming.

The best part happens when Aladdin wishes for Genie's freedom and he does become human. And it is because of the lamp's very specific instructions that I believe a message for this movie is how being human makes us free beings. When making a wish Genie can't stress enough to Aladdin that he has to be very specific with his words, there's a lot of grey areas in wishes and he must wish carefully. Aladdin's third wish is of course to set Genie free, but he mentions nothing about making the Genie human. Still, the moment Aladdin wishes for Genie to be free he is turned human. And that's a very powerful message, even more so these days. It is the lessons this movie shows through Genie that truly capture the heart of the movie. Another example is when human Genie at the end of the movie asks for another chance to court Dalia. The affection is very much returned by the handmaiden and while she says that she is new at this dating stuff, she says that she accepts and that she wants to get married, have kids, and a boat. And all of that actually happens. And this is one more powerful message that I chose to interprete this movie tried to tell: even without being an all powerful being, humans are able to make their dreams/wishes come true. Genie and Dalia do get married, they have two kids a boy and a girl like she wanted, and they get a small boat like he wanted. Humans can make their wishes come true even without some magical help and that's Disney at it's best.

Let’s talk a little about the “sidekicks”. I enjoyed Abu being less caricaturistic. I know people adore Abu’s personality in the animation. But I think since this Aladdin was more serene in attitude, this Abu accompanied him very well. I adored Rajah. I'm very happy he showed up as much as he did. I honestly thought he wouldn't have as much screen time. I love his protectiveness over Jasmine most of all, but I also appreciate his good judge of character. Carpet was perfect. I think he suffered no change at all from the animated movie. So full of personality. I liked very much how during conversations the Genie would include Carpet and Abu into the chat. It made the monkey and carpet feel all the more real. Also, it hurt to see Carpet all torn when he was trying to escape giant Iago. And speaking of Iago. One of my favorite villainous sidekicks in Disney movies. This Iago is so not like the animated one. But that isn’t a bad thing. This bird looked creepy, and while it lacked all of Gilbert Gottfried’s personality, it made up in competence. This Iago is as cold blooded as his master, quite the spy, and a very effective giant boss fight. Thank you so much for keeping him a talking parrot. Very pleased with Alan Tudyk‘s work. And even if Iago's role is minor in the live action, he still serves very well his purpose.

Let's wrap this up with the music! Overall I loved it. Sure there are weak moments, but I think that didn't damage the movie at all. The film was just oh so entertaining on its own. Jasmine's new song Speechless is quite good. But the reprise was a little poorly executed visually-wise. I also think it sounds too pop-ish for it's own good. One Jump Ahead was weak in comparison to the original. The singing was pretty good, the music well "updated", but Aladdin was too relaxed walking here and there instead of running for his life. I liked a lot that Jasmine was part of the scene though. And congratulations to the woman with the "Still I think he's rather tasty" line, what a voice, and she was gorgeous. A Whole New World is very much the same and that's good. Both actors did great singing, Naomi's voice is incredible and Mena really surprised me as a good singer. That song doesn't need to be touched and they didn't touch it. Some may complain that Carpet didn't take Aladdin and Jasmine around the world, but I don't think it was needed. This Jasmine cared too much for her land that it was very sweet of Aladdin and Carpet to take Jasmine around Agrabah. She even admitted that Prince Ali knows more of Agrabah in the "few days" he's been to the kingdom than she has known all her life. It was fitting in my opinion to keep the ride to Agrabah. What was leaked of the Prince Ali performance doesn't make the whole thing justice. Sure it isn't as big scaled as the animated one, but is still a good show. And Oh My God WILL SMITH DID THE IN DRAG GAG!!!!!! I completely thought they wouldn't do it and Jesus Christ I laughed so hard, and was so happy they did it!!! He looked great, it was so funny. That alone made the song a success to me I swear. I couldn't ask for more. A Friend Like Me is another hit. A lot of detail, energy, I think the special effects were great. My favorite song from the animated movie and one of my top favorites in this live action. I think the new adaptation that takes the cake is Arabian Nights. Loved the longer lyrics, the visuals, and Will Smith being the one to sing it. We have Will Smith portraying a fisherman at the start of the movie. Then two adorable children ask their father to tell a story, and they prefer he sings the story. At first the fisherman says no singing since it's been a long day, but he soon indulge his kids and begins singing the opening number. The camera goes over Agrabah, we get glimpses of the characters in the tale. The Sultan in the palace, the Princess by he fountain with her tiger, a somber figure before the Cave of Wonders. We hear of the diamond in the rough requirement and go back to Agrabah. The way everything is presented feels so fairy tale like. And the opening number gets even better when right at the end we get the hint and confirmation that the fisherman and the kids are actually Genie and his and Dalia's kids. In all honesty I thought Will Smith was playing a whole different character with he fisherman. And even though we see the fisherman's wife from he back on the boat nd we hear her voice, I couldn't guess it was them till the end of the movie. Needless to say that revelation was fantastic.

I apologize for any typos. I know there's stuff I didn't write about like the couple of dance numbers going on, but they were great. I loved how gorgeous Jasmine looked at the palace's party. Her dancing was mesmerizing too. Hooray for the Jasmine and Aladdin wedding at the end! I made this long enough and whatever topic you wanna talk about, hit my ask box anytime.

Best Disney live action to date everyone. Highly recommend.

[charmedtheselfproclaimedking]

Charmed Again: Season 2 (Charmed Fanfic)

Episode 1 - Back to Black: Part 1 (Premiere)

Warnings: I don’t own the rights to any of the characters from the hit TV show “Charmed” or the storylines related to the show those rights belong to original creator Constance M Burge.

15+ Moderate/Graphic Displays of Violence, Sexual Innuendos, Witchcraft and Potentially Triggering Scenes.

Pan sat on the couch within the attic in her family home looking through a family photo album that included pictures of Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Melinda, Wyatt and Chris as well as containing baby, child and teenage pictures of herself and Paul.

“Do you know the elders summon me more than you do these days?” Piper complained as she appeared as if from out of nowhere.

“I’m sorry grams things around here have got even more crazy than normal as I’m sure you’ve probably seen for yourself.” Pan replied as she stood up, placing the photo album down on the couch.

“Yeah I’ve seen which is why I decided it was time to properly check in,” Piper explained to her granddaughter. “How are you coping with it all?”

“I’m doing good yeah it’s most Drake that’s struggling with it all although he’s acting like it’s not affected him, I know it has. He doesn’t let people in easily and when he does, he winds up hurt that’s got to blow.” Pan admitted to her.

“The elders have always been real pains in the proverbial especially with their archaic ideology you should’ve seen the hissy fit they through when I married your grandfather but eventually they learned I wouldn’t back down and it was time for them to change their ways which I hope happens again in this case.” Piper reassured her.

“I’m not sure this time Grams I’ve not seen or heard much from Quinn since he got reassigned and I doubt Drake’s going to open himself up again just to be hurt.” Pan replied honestly.

“Drake’s a lot more resilient than you think and he’s full of surprises I mean just look at him you and Paul all under the same roof.” Piper disagreed with her granddaughter. “I never thought he would wind up moving in and he did.”

“Pan are you coming back to...” Lacey began to ask while walking into the attic before noticing Piper. “Oh, never mind.”

“Hello again Lacey I see being dead is a good look on you.” Piper said to her granddaughter’s girlfriend.

“Right back at you Mrs Halliwell.” Lacey replied to her.

“I’m so glad Aunt Paige bended the rules about white lighters and sped up Lacey’s process.” Pan admitted as she walked over to Lacey and kissed her. “I couldn’t imagine life without you.”

“Yes, well every now and then the elders and by which, I mean my sister Paige manages to get things right.” Piper told them both. “Where is my grandson and great grandson anyway?”

“Paul’s working late at the law firm and Drake’s always late coming in from Devilish Delights.” Pan explained to her grandmother.

“What the hell is Devilish Delights?” Piper wondered.

“A very nice and very colorful performance venue for exotic male dancers.” Pan reluctantly replied.

“Oh,” Lacy laughed. “She means a strip club.”

“I suppose continuing to give you more and more chances are proving worthwhile for me.” Cindy smirked while she and Drake stood in Cindy’s office fixing their tops, having clearly just had some fun with each other.

“Please I’m the closest thing you have to a friend around here unless your hiding them somewhere really good.” Drake laughed, teasing his boss.

“Friends are seriously overrated I mean what use has anyone really got out of friendship?” Cindy replied. “If I wanted friends, I’d have friends, but I don’t.”

“Don’t you consider me a friend?” Drake asked as he moved closer towards his boss.

“I don’t do emotional attachments of any kind and that’s the reason why this works.” Cindy admitted before leaning in to kiss him only to be frozen mid-air.

“Didn’t I ban you and Paul from ever coming here?” Drake asked as he turned around to see Pan and Piper stood at the now opened office door.

“Yeah this time I’m not doing the freezing or the invading.” Pan replied while pointing at her grandmother, making it clear Piper was to blame.

“Who even are you?” Drake asked Piper, clearly unamused.

“Hello, anyone home?” Paul shouted as he walked into the foyer only to see Lacey orb into the foyer, although Lacey didn’t quite execute the landing making her fall to the floor upon appearing into the room.

“Damn, Quinn always made it look so bloody easy, but orbing is really hard,” Lacey moaned as Paul helped her back on her feet. “If I don’t start acing this white lighter thing quickly, they may consider taking my wings off me.”

“Lacey you’re still relatively new to all of this you’re not supposed to be the best straight away give it time.” Paul suggested to her. “Where is everyone?”

“Your grandmother Piper Halliwell returned from the grave once again just in time for Drake’s birthday tomorrow.” Lacey told him.

“Drake’s birthday is on the 31st of October, I should know considering I was there the day he was born.” Paul replied to his white lighter.

“True but Halloween is a big no for him, so we just do his birthday the week before, so he doesn’t have to be associated with all hallows eve.” Lacey explained to her charge. “I swear I tried doing a fancy-dress themed birthday for his 21st and the guy almost killed me on the spot.”

“How can Drake not love Halloween the guy’s obsessed with horror movies and all things spooky to an alarming level which I guess is the demon in him, but Halloween should be his favorite time of year.” Paul wondered. “Not to mention as a Halliwell it’s the most important time of year for us.”

“Delilah was a huge fan of Halloween and she used to go all out every year she’d throw this big party for the entire street and her and Drake used to spend so much time decorating, designing costumes and coming up with ideas.” Lacey revealed to Drake’s biological father. “It was their thing and he’s refused to celebrate it since to be honest with you I think she made such a big deal about Halloween because it was her son’s birthday she loved him more than anything and he loved her so much.”

“That’s terrible here’s me believing Drake and I were growing closer and not only didn’t I know he loathed his own birthday but I didn’t even know the woman that raised my son the woman he called mum was named Delilah.” Paul admitted, hurt by the realization his white lighter knew his own son better than him.

“I wouldn’t blame yourself on that one Drake’s a hard one to open up on a good day never mind opening up about the worst day of his life.” Lacey said, trying to make Paul feel better about himself. “His father was called Stewart in case you were wondering about him too.”

“What was his father like?” Paul asked her.

“He was a regular dad type nothing to write home about really Drake was always closer to his mum but Stewart and him did have their wrestling addiction they bonded over every week they used to go to shows together and Drake would get so excited to spend time with him.” Lacey continued to reveal more about Drake’s adoptive family before beginning to laugh over a memory she quickly shared with Paul. “I remember Mr Black tried bonding with him with a father son camping trip which I of course invited myself too and Drake was just hopeless and it wound up being just me and Stewart doing some father and son’s friend bonding why trying to find Drake.”

“Where was Drake when you eventually found him?” Paul wondered with a smile on his face, happy to hear more about his son even if it wasn’t from Drake himself.

“In a nearby hotel he paid for after swiping his dad’s credit card which was pretty much expected from us both except for finding Jake in the room with him which Mr Black wasn’t so happy about.” Lacey laughed. “He would’ve been even more pissed if he realized that’s when his son lost his…never mind.”

“I think we should work on having Drake move his birthday back to the right date I mean his mum would want him to keep up the tradition she created for them both.” Paul suggested to Lacey.

“Trust me when I say that conversation won’t end well, I’ve tried it a few times myself and it only ever ends up in disaster Drake really doesn’t like talking about anything deep especially with new people, no offense.” Lacey warned her charge. “Quinn was lucky Drake let him in like he did which was clearly a big mistake. I liked Quinn too I can’t believe I was fooled into thinking he was a good guy.”

“Quinn’s not a bad guy in fact he’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met.” Paul defended his departed friend. “The elders made it clear he had to give us up as charges if he had a choice, he’d still be here trust me.”

“I understand this whole white lighter gig has a bunch of stupid rules which I have to memorize like no matter how idiotic, grumpy or down right rude my charges can get I’m not supposed to bite back which is a thing I’ve complained to Paige about in length.” Lacey complained. “My point is Quinn at the very least could’ve said goodbye to Drake elders be damned Drake deserved a goodbye.”

“Maybe saying goodbye was just to hard for him.” Paul replied.

“Not that it’s not lovely having people I know pop up where I work especially the dead kind but what are you actually doing here?” Drake asked Piper as Piper, Drake and Pan stood in the parking lot outside of Devilish Delights.

“I’m pretty sure mid-day hook ups with your boss isn’t in the job description for stripping although I’m not exactly an expert in that area.” Piper joked before going on to reveal. “I’m here to celebrate your first birthday living under the Halliwell Manor which I’ve been told you celebrate a year early.”

“I’m grateful you dug yourself out of your own grave just for my birthday but it’s not exactly a special one and I don’t intend to do anything special for it.” Drake replied to his great-grandmother.

“Yeah that’s not quite how it works when one of us return from up there no digging is actually involved.” Piper explained to him.

“I really think you should reconsider doing something special it means a lot to us to get to spend your first birthday with you.” Pan tried to persuade her nephew.

“I understand birthdays aren’t your thing but there a big deal to us and I want to use this occasion to get a proper chance to get to know you.” Piper admitted to Drake. “Please just let us do something if only to appease us.”

“Fine,” Drake reluctantly caved. “We can do brunch or lunch but that’s all.”

“You are going to be so pleasantly surprised by how amazing I am as a chef in fact I taught your father everything he knows although I must admit he never quite mastered it as well as me but he sure comes a very close second.” Piper boasted.

Paul and Pan found themselves sitting at the table in the dining room of their family home waiting for Drake to come downstairs as the table was filled with a luxurious display of food while Piper kept popping in and out from the kitchen with more plates of food she somehow managed to squeeze onto the table.

“I know Lacey advised me against it, but I really think we should convince Drake to celebrate his birthday on his actual birthday Halloween isn’t exactly a holiday that we as witches should be avoiding.” Paul suggested to his younger sister.

“I say we don’t rock the boat this year at least I mean you’ve just got him living under the same roof pushing him too soon might not end well.” Pan replied to her brother. “Besides this is about the parents who raised him that’s not exactly an easy topic to approach especially when you’re the father who gave him up.”

“I agree with you both, I agree with Paul in that as a Halliwell it would basically be sacrilege to ignore Halloween, but I also agree with Pan that Drake celebrating his birthday should be up to him.” Piper interjected while placing another plate on the table. “Halloween has a way of making Halliwell’s celebrate whether they like it or not.”

“Maybe I should just talk it out with him and get him to be more open with me?” Paul asked his sister and grandmother.

“Because that has worked so well in the past.” Pan replied with sarcasm.

“I’m sorry honey but Drake’s brick walls have brick walls behind them and who knows how many layers of cement.” Piper told her grandson as she walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I mean even I’m handling with kitten gloves and I normally blow things up.”

“You’re both right I just hate the fact he’s still beating himself up about things that were in no way within his control and I hate he’s hurting and there’s nothing I can do to stop him from hurting.” Paul admitted.

“I know sweetie,” Piper replied as she hugged into her grandson.

Lacey orbed into the dining room once again missing the landing and this time falling mid air crashing into the table breaking the dining table and destroying Piper’s entire buffet of food at the same time much to Paul and Pan’s horror as they looked over at their clearly furious grandmother Piper.

“Oh god,” Pan said in shock. “My grandmother is totally going to explode my girlfriend.”

Having waited long enough for the birthday guest and leaving Pan, Paul and Lacey to clean up made by the rookie white lighter Piper decided it was time to chase Drake out of his bedroom only to find him putting on his jacket after knocking on his door and letting herself into his bedroom.

“Good you’re finally ready I did make a buffet but let’s just say Lacey’s orbing ruined the feast.” Piper said to her great grandson.

“Thanks, I can only imagine you went to a lot of work, but I have to go into work.” Drake replied to her.

“Isn’t the whole point of sleeping with your boss that you get benefits let’s say like time off on your birthday?” Piper joked.

“It’s that a subtle way of you saying you don’t approve of me stripping or that you don’t approve of me sleeping with my boss?” Drake asked his great grandmother.

“I married my white lighter which was considered a lot worse than dating your boss back then so I’m not going to judge you for who you sleep with or strip for I just want to spend some time with my first great grandchild on their first birthday with his family.” Piper admitted to him.

“No offense Piper but this isn’t my family in fact everyone at Devilish Delights has known me longer than the people in this house barring Lacey who is actually my family.” Drake replied. “I’m not trying to be mean or hurtful it’s just you’re not my family, this isn’t my birthday and even if it was, I don’t do birthdays.”

“We’re trying really hard here Drake sooner or later you’re going to have to meet us halfway.” Piper made herself clear.

“It’s been months since they took the charmed ones off me as charges when are you going to convince them to reinstate me as their white lighter?” Quinn asked Paige as the two of them stood within the clouds.

“I hoped for the process not to take this long but then Lacey wound up getting herself killed by a demon with her father’s face and Pan was left completely grief stricken so I had to change priorities and make sure I could rush the white lighter process for Pan and Lacey to be reunited.” Paige explained to the white lighter. “From the feedback I’m getting from the other elders it may take a while for them to come around to everything and even then, I’ll have a hard time convincing them the charmed ones need two white lighters. There is a way I could probably swing it with them to reinstate you now, but I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Paige I’ll do anything to get back to them.” Quinn pleaded with her.

“You’ll have to refuse all feelings you have for Drake and that you won’t act on any feelings for him and I could get them to reinstate you now but I’d rather you just wait until I get this demons and angels rule overturned.” Paige revealed to him.

“And how long will I have to wait for that rule to be changed?” Quinn asked the elder.

“I’m not sure how long it’s going to take or even if I will be successful, but I am extremely hopeful.” Paige reluctantly admitted while still trying to give Quinn some hope.

“I’ll make the promise to the elders and I’ll never act on my feelings for Drake.” Quinn decided. “I can’t be away from them any longer especially with the source and the triad still out there.”

Drake was stood within a local cemetery in San Francisco holding a red rose in his hand as he looked over at his adoptive parents Delilah and Stewart Black’s gravestone.

“I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately mum wondering what my life would’ve been like if you were still around wondering if you ever forgave me for what I did.” Drake cried as tears fell down his cheeks. “Wondering if you’d want me to embrace the Halliwell’s or run away as fast I can. I met my biological mother and I betrayed your memory by calling her mum you’re the only real mum I’ve ever had and I’m so sorry for never appreciating you enough when you were around. The truth is I’ve never recovered from losing you and now all these new people are in my life trying to push me to move on and I’m so beyond terrified of trying to live again.”

“Your mother could never blame you for an accident that happened when you were still a child, but something tells me you’re never going to believe it until you hear it from her.” Piper said as she appeared standing next to her great grandson before Drake was left stunned to see his mother Delilah appear in front of him in a series of white orbs instantly becoming corporeal.

“Mum.” Drake struggled to mumble as his voice broke before he ran over to hug his mother beginning to sob in her arms as Piper looked on with tears in her eyes “I’m so sorry.”

“Drake you have nothing to apologize for honey.” Delilah told her son as she broke off their hug and kept her hand on his face stroking his cheek lovingly. “The fire was an accident that you had no way of knowing would even happen I mean how could you, you didn’t even know you had powers back then.”

“I’ve missed you and dad so much mum.” Drake continued to cry.

“You had no reason to miss me or your father because we’ve never left you, we’ve always been there with every move you’ve made.” Delilah revealed to her son. “We were there when your heart broke over your first love Jake, we were even they when you were stripping at that club although your dad and I look away at the skin filled parts. We were there when you became a cop, when you found your birth father, your birth mother and when you became a charmed one.”

“Really?” Drake asked his mother as tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

“You have made us so much prouder than we could have ever imagined you would. You’re an amazing and loving boy who has done some truly incredible things and I know you will continue to do even more.” Delilah admitted to Drake. “It truly breaks my hear that you keep closing yourself off to everyone because of this stupid notion you have of not deserving to be loved. Life will never get better if you keep not living it Drake and you deserve to have the most wonderful life.”

“I don’t feel like I do.” Drake argued with tears still in his eyes.

“Yes, you do you deserve to be the happiest person and I refuse to allow you to think otherwise for any longer!” Delilah demanded.

“I’ve never learned how to be happy without you and dad.” Drake admitted to his mother.

“You never have to be because even when you don’t see us, we’re always there.” Delilah promised him. “We will continue to always be there but you have more than just us now you have your father and your aunt now too and I know there’s enough room in your heart to love us all so let Paul and Pan in because they really do love you and you deserved to be loved.”

“Can I help you?” Cindy asked Piper Halliwell as she the witch walked into Devilish Delights where Cindy was stood behind the bar counter waiting for her arrival.

“Yes, you can go ahead and tell me why my great grandson’s boss is a demon who seems to be taking a special interest in him?” Piper wondered as she walked over towards the demonic club owner.

“You do realize your great grandson is also part demon himself.” Cindy replied to her.

“I’ll be the one asking the questions here unless you would prefer me jumping straight to the exploding.” Piper snapped at her.

“If you must know I genuinely had no idea who he was until after he was hired and trust me when I say I wasn’t particularly thrilled to find out he was a charmed one considering my history with you lot.” Cindy admitted to Piper.

“You mean because your father was Barbas and your sister Barba attacked my grandchildren not so long ago.” Piper told her. “I know you’re not like them and are trying to seek some form of redemption but why do you need to do it around my great grandson?”

“I never wanted to be part of this world or the Underworld but since meeting Drake I’ve found myself tolerating somebody for the first time I even tolerate his detective friend Lacey and that annoying squirrel boy Quinn.” Cindy answered honestly. “Paul and Pan will take some work.”

“If you ever hurt any of them, I will kill you!” Piper warned her. “In fact, I’d kill you now if it wasn’t for the fact history has once again seemed to repeat itself.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Cindy quizzed the Halliwell Matriarch.

“I think you already know.” Piper responded with a knowing look.