#I watched the first two episodes a few months ago and picked it back up the other day

[fantasykiri5]

Barely I’ve halfway through season one of fantasy high as of queueing this and I’m. Already obsessed with Gorgug Thistlespring. I love him. What the fuck is wrong with him. What’s wrong with the whole bad kids party to be honest. Like what’s up with them forreal

[vbecker10]

Talk to Me (Part 2)

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4

Pairing: Loki x female reader (Y/N)

Summary: (4 months after the first part) You and Loki have grown incredibly close, to the point where you both have feelings for each other but are afraid to admit it. One night, you have a nightmare while staying in Loki's room and he calms you but accidentally shows you his Jotun form in the process, triggering his own insecurities.

Warnings: fire (a small one), panic attack, fear of running a friendship, Loki being insecure about being a frost giant

A/N: Well... here's the second part I didn't plan on making lol @irishhappiness made a comment wondering how Loki would comfort Y/N if she has a nightmare which triggered her powers and then this just sort of happened... also there will now be a third part that I am working on 💚

FyI - I used some of my own experiences with panic attacks for this part, I know they are all different but this is just what they feel like when I have them

It's almost midnight when you finally see Stark Tower and smile knowing you are home, and going to see Loki again. You had both been away on missions for the last week but he texted you that he arrived back hours ago. You text Loki and let him know you'll be landing in a few minutes and Thor nudges your shoulder.

"Texting my brother again?" he asks with a smile.

"Yes," you dramatically hold your phone away from him. "Do you mind?"

He laughs, "Of course not. I'm glad to see you two have grown so close."

When the jet finally lands, you walk down the ramp and see Loki waiting for you near the entrance to the building. Thor waves and Loki rolls his eyes, keeping his hands in his pockets. He is unable to hide his smile when he sees you step out from behind his brother.

"I had a feeling it wasn't me he was waiting for," Thor jokes, looking down at you.

"I'm sure he missed you too," you laugh. Loki, as if to prove he is only there for you, walks past his brother without a word and wraps you in a tight hug. You hug him back, your body relaxing instantly the moment you're in his arms again. "You give the best hugs," you mumble against his chest.

"Does he?" Thor asks and takes a step towards his brother when he finally releases you.

Loki faces Thor and reminds him, "Y/N is still the only person allowed to hug me."

You giggle and hit Loki's arm gently, causing him to look back at you, "Be nice."

"I am being nice," he smirks. "I didn't threaten to stab him if he tries to hug me like last time."

You roll your eyes at him but Thor laughs and pats his younger brother on the back hard before leaving you both for the night. You pick up your bag and walk together towards the Tower, telling Loki the highlights of your time away. When you finish, you ask Loki how his mission was.

"Successful of course," he says proudly then he adds, "I wish we had been assigned together. You are far better company than the Captain and Stark. Plus, then I would not have had to miss you."

You giggle and try to hide the blush that creeps up your cheeks at his words. You would have preferred Loki was your partner on your last mission as well, or all of your missions for that matter.

"You should probably head to bed," Loki suggests when you reach the elevators even though the last thing he wants to do is say goodnight to you already.

"Or we could watch the last episode of that show you insist you hate," you offer hopefully. You didn't want to admit you were exhausted, you just needed to spend a little time with him.

He chuckles, "We could do that."

You sit next to Loki on the couch and try to focus on the show but you're finding it difficult. Not only are you fighting to stay awake but Loki is also sitting closer to you then he ever has before. When you first started this show a few months ago, he would sit at the other end of the couch, placing a collection of snacks between the two of you. Over the course of the series, he had gradually started sitting closer and closer to you. You weren't sure if he was doing it on purpose or not but it wasn't something you were going to complain about. Tonight, there is no space left between you, your shoulders touch and his leg rests against yours comfortably.

All you want is to lean into him and feel his arm around you but you don't move. He really has gotten good at giving hugs and you've decided that means he is also very good at cuddling. It is a theory you want to test but your friendship is too important for you to risk it. He is still in such need of a friend and you have to put that first.

You almost make it to the end of the hour long show, but not quite. Your head nods and comes to rest lightly on Loki's shoulder as you finally lose the battle to stay awake. He looks over and smiles when he feels you shift. He could tell you were too tired to watch the show but there was no chance he was going to turn down spending even a minute with you.

He runs his fingers slowly through your hair and you smile in your sleep. You nuzzle against him and he wishes he could hold you the whole night. He knows he can't though, you are simply friends. He sighs, wondering if this is as close as he will ever get to falling asleep with you and places a soft kiss on the top of your head. His heart skips a beat when you respond by mumbling his name in your sleep. Carefully he gets up from the couch and helps you lay down on the pillow he conjured. He waves his hand again and covers you with the softest blanket he can create.

He stands over you for a moment, taking in how cute and peaceful you look curled up under the blanket. He whispers, "Sleep well, darling," then goes into his room.

Loki lays in his bed but finds himself unable to get close to sleep. He wishes he could pick you up and bring you into his bed so he could keep you close. He has never missed anyone the way he misses you, he has never had a person in his life like you before.

When he was a child, it seemed as if he had dozens of friends but they weren't really his. They were Thor's friends and he simply inserted himself in their games. As he grew older, he found it harder and harder to relate to his peers and they slowly distanced themselves from him.

You are the only person who has ever chosen him over Thor or anyone else for that matter. He knew he was truly your first choice when he was the one you came to two months ago when you became an aunt in the middle of the night. He could barely believe the fact that he was the person you wanted to share one of your happiest moments with. He sat with you for over an hour, looking at the same ten pictures of the little new born but he would have done it all night if it meant he could see you smile and listen to you laugh.

He groans and puts his hand over his eyes, there is no doubt in his mind that he is your closest friend and you are his. He can talk to you about anything but the one thing he cannot bring himself to tell you is that he wants to be more than your friend.

Loki's eyes finally close but only moments later he sits up, his body rigid with fear as you scream. He throws off his blankets and runs into the living area.

"Y/N," he says your name in a panic, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight in front of him. You are sitting up on his couch, looking at the blanket he placed over you which is fully engulfed in flames. You hold your hand shakily over the fire but you can't pull the flames back, you are still too frantic from your nightmare to control your powers.

Loki instantly drops his illusion and waves his hands towards you as he comes to your side. The icy air covers the blanket and quickly smothers the fire. You kick off the charred blanket and pull your legs up to your chest, lowering your head on your knees as you breath heavily.

"Are you okay?" he asks, putting his arm around you as he sits on the singed couch. You shake your head no. "What do you need?" he asks but you don't respond.

You squeeze your hands shut tightly to stop them from trembling and look up towards Loki's voice but you are lightheaded and the quick movement makes you dizzy. You know he asked you something but his voice seems far away as does the rest of the room. You can no longer feel the couch you are sitting on or the floor under your feet, you are vaguely aware that you are disassociating but there is nothing you can do to stop it. Your heart pounds faster in your chest and you fear it may never slow down again.

Loki takes your hand and pulls you up from the couch when you don't answer him. He sits on the floor with his back against the couch and guides you down so you are sitting directly in front of him with your back flush to his chest. He takes your hands in his and let's out a quiet gasp of pain when sparks erupt from your fingers.

"Y/N," he whispers in your ear. You mumble his name in return and he asks, "Can you name five things you can see?"

"What?" you ask, confused by the random question. His cool fingers interlace with yours and small clouds of icy air calm the flames that are rise from your hands.

"Tell me five things you can see," he repeats in a low voice.

You try to focus on answering him. You can hear your heart pounding in your ears as you look around the far off living room. Slowly, you list five objects.

"Good, now can you tell me four things you can touch?" he asks quietly.

Your breathing is still ragged as your chest tightens but you push yourself to think about Loki's second question. You take a breath then look around to find the first three objects. "And I can feel your hands," you give Loki your fourth answer, his fingers squeeze your hand gently. As you say each item, you can almost feel the room shrinking to a less distorted size.

"How about three things you can hear?" he asks.

"My breathing," you turn to rest the side of your head on his chest, "Your heart beat and your voice," the answers come quicker now.

"Two things you can smell?" Loki asks, you finally register how worried his voice sounds.

"My shampoo," you answer, suddenly remembering when Loki told you he loved the way your shampoo smelled. You bought four more bottles of the fruit scented soap that weekend. "And your cologne," you tell him, a smile crosses your lips when you inhale deeply and breath in your favorite smell.

"You're doing so well, I just need you to tell me one thing you can taste now," he says.

"Do the apples on your dining table count?" you ask him as your eyes scan his apartment.

"If you think they do, they count," he responds and you nod that they should count. "How do you feel?" he asks after a moment.

"Better," you realize suddenly. Your heart rate feels normal, even your breathing is steady and easy. You are no longer lightheaded and feel as if everything around you is real and not distorted. You ask, "How did you know how to do that?"

"I read that it was a popular grounding technique," he explains. "I looked into ways to help you after you told me your nightmares sometimes triggered panic attacks."

You smile at the effort he had gone through to make sure he could help you, "Thank you Loki." You feel safe and comfortable pressed against Loki and look down, feeling your hands still in his hands. Loki's skin is a deep shade of blue and it takes you a moment to realize why. You shift to face him, his crimson eyes fixed on yours and he smiles. "Is this your Jotun form?" you ask, touching the ridges on his cheek with your fingertips lightly.

His smile vanishes and he immediately shifts back into his Asgardian form, pulling his fingers free from your other hand. "I'm sorry," he says nervously as he gets up and walks away from you.

"For what?" you ask getting up but he ignores you. "Wait, Loki," you call as he heads towards his bedroom and pauses under the door frame. You walk towards him and say, "Please don't do that. Don't shut me out." You slip your hand into his and he looks at you. "You promised you would talk to me, remember?"

He sighs, "I did promise that, didn't I?"

You nod and try to smile, hoping he will open up to you. You are always worried Loki will retreat behind the walls you've worked so hard to break down.

A small smile tugs at his lips and he says, "I don't know what I did to deserve such a fiercely devoted friend."

You shrug and hold your forced smile as you feel a twinge of pain in your chest when he refers to you simply as his friend.

"We will talk in the morning, I promise," he says as he moves to pull you into a hug. "You need to rest."

I hope you liked this!! Please like, share and comment if you did 💚💚 Please let me know if you want to be added to my taglist!

@soubi001 @mochie85 @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @animnerd @cabingrlandrandomcrap @icytrickster17 @lokisgoodgirl @mischief2sarawr @stupidthoughtsinwriting @mjsthrillernp @holdmytesseract @lulubelle814 @goblingirlsarah @foxherder @alexakeyloveloki @siconetribal @lokidokieokie @kneelingformyloki @jiyascepter @eleniblue @loreniscrying @muddyorbsblr @alyeskathewave @loz-3 @firedrakegirl @javagirl328 @princess-ofthe-pages @morally-grey-variant @soulpiercing @km-ffluv

[nipuni]

Hello! Time for another blog post! I think my last one was two months ago and a lot has happened since 😊

We have been attending a ton of historical recreation events so I still have many photos to share, hope you don't hate those! It's been really fun! We are exhausted and all out of social battery however so we are taking it easy this month. Another thing that's been happening a lot is that even when we are not dressed in historical clothing we keep getting stopped by strangers on the street because of our everyday outfits, it's been like that for a couple of years now so we are no longer startled or nervous about it but it's happening more and more often now and it's so nice! we always end up chatting about the events we go to and our jobs and hobbies and exchanging contacts or they ask for photos and stuff! people are really kind and excited about it and I still find it so surprising in the best way. We grew up in a very hostile city and environment and that makes you paranoid and cynical so these interactions and response has been healing really. I know their words will stick with us for years to come 😭 Sadly the unbearable heat is starting though so that means our outings for the next three months will be limited to the crack of dawn and after sunset 😞 but at least the summer brings a lot of fruit with it so we can sit at home and eat pineapples and strawberries while we wait for autumn.

My family came to visit a few months ago too and we made them watch most of Doctor Who's season one to four and some of our favourite episodes from all the other seasons lmao. And much to our delight they really enjoyed it!! They both loved Ten the most and my step dad is now in love with Martha 🥰

We have also been watching the current season and it's been so fun keeping up with fandom theories in real time and talking about it and speculating with friends in person, it's the first time we get a chance to do it since we got into the series and we are enjoying it a lot!

We also watched season one of Jessica Jones and we loved David's performance as Kilgrave!! He stole the show for real. Kilgrave is such an incredible villain, one of the best I've seen and DT does such an amazing job portraying every aspect of him. He's detestable and volatile and frighteningly powerful and has such an intimidating terrifying presence in the narrative while also being pathetic and vulnerable and ridiculous and childish and so human with all it's worrying implications. It was just so gripping and I wish he had stayed for the rest of the show honestly!! Now we have to pick our next David Tennant series to watch! 😊

Also!! Dragon Age is back!! AHHH I wanted to thank everyone that commented on my last DA pieces, it has made my month to read the comments, I didn't expect so many people to remember my art or my character after so many years and it's so touching and flattering you have no idea 😭💘 I look forward to making more and sharing them with you all, I'm truly grateful for the kindness you've shown me both back then and now I hope you know.

I feel so spoiled lately with all these franchises that I love releasing new content!! I've never been in these many fandoms at once!! I have so many ideas to draw and keep jumping back and forth between drawings from different shows and games AAAAA it's a good and welcome change honestly, keeps me busy and inspired!

Anyway that's all for now I think! I hope you are doing well and this summer/winter is kind to you all ❤️

[cultofdixon]

Lost in your own mind

Daryl Dixon • She/Her Pronouns • We all have hard days and sometimes we need our partners to hold us just to make it a little less hard • ANGST/SFW • TW: Depression

Requested by: Anon

I…don’t quite know what’s happening.

The Saviors war ended…I should be happy, right?

Well…Abraham died…Glenn died, and Maggie has to raise her son alone…

Rick kept that monster alive…

Our family split into the communities…

We aren’t…all together anymore.

I don’t know what’s happening anymore

“Are you going home soon?” Carol asks Daryl as she comes to check on him after taking a month's watch for the Sanctuary.

“Just finished getting my shit together.” The archer states dropping his bag by his bike, noticing Carol’s concerned expression which bubbled his own. “What? What aren’t yea saying?”

“Y/N missed a few trading days. Michonne went in her place and wouldn’t really…tell me what’s happening”

I knew it was a mistake to go. I just—-“Is she—-“

“No! No, thankfully. That’s the only thing Michonne would update me on. She doesn’t know why Y/N hasn’t left the basement you two call home. Rick would send food down with Judith so she couldn’t say no to it. I think she’s depressed”

“Could that have been because I left to do this?”

“Hey, there’s no need to blame something or someone. Sometimes people fall into a depressive episode without a reason…” Carol leaned against the loading dock crossing her arms and avoiding his eye contact for a moment. “It could be because we were in survival mode during the war that we couldn’t feel anything else”

Daryl nods to her words taking it in and realizing that explains a lot of the feelings almost everyone affected by the war has been having.

“I…You sure it ain’t cuz—-“

“Daryl, if you’re talking about the moment…the exact moment after the war just ended? You know she understands why you pushed her away but that was months ago. Not everyone is going to feel everything that happened to them because of Negan and the Saviors right when the war is over”

Hell, you’re still going through it

You’re still back there.

Daryl rode his bike throughout the night have escorting Carol back to the Kingdom to make sure she got home safe before going back home to Alexandria. He knew his mind was racing on the endless possibilities of Y/N could be doing while in this episode but all she did was not leave their home beneath the Grimes residence.

The archer was greeted by a few friends as he entered the community, and was informed that Rick and Michonne weren’t in (Jude being watched by Aaron). So he’ll be alone with his partner until the Grimes return.

To his surprise, Y/N was in the main kitchen when he opened the door entering the quiet home. She kept her attention in front of her at the jammed bread she just had prior to Daryl coming home.

“Hey” His voice was softer than normal in case he startled her but she only acknowledge his presence a short moment after he spoke. A bit unphased.

“Hey…did you just get back?”

“Yeah, uhm. The watch is over so…” Daryl brought himself to sit at the kitchen island as Y/N picked up her plate and knife bringing it with her to sit with him. “Carol came by before I drove back. You feeling okay?”

“Uhm…No” Even in the state of mind she was in, she wouldn’t lie to Daryl. Not only would he be one of the few to see right through the lie, but she didn’t have the energy to keep it going if she did. “You hungry? I…made it but I’m not really feeling it anymore”

As the plate was pushed in his direction, Daryl took the knife she had cutting it in half and giving her the other while he ate his.

“Yea made it for yourself. I’ll share it but least have some of it” After he said such, Y/N picked at it at first before deciding to finally eat it.

They sat in silence for a bit and Daryl relaxed when Y/N brought her head to rest on his shoulder but her body tensed. As if she was afraid to do such, like…he’d disappear again. He brought his arm around her shoulders feeling the tension in her shoulder finally relax.

“Let’s turn in, yeah?”

“It’s not too early?”

“Nah, come on” Daryl gave a small smile before getting out of the seat taking her hand into his making their way to the basement.

It wasn’t a basement exactly, just a living quarters underneath the main house.

It was…well exactly how he left it. Looked as if he just moved in and nothing was made for it to look like their home so it brought back the moment.

“Daryl?” Y/N calls out to him as he walked away from the scene of Maggie falling to the earth sobbing while Michonne comforted her even if she sided with her husband.

“Daryl!” She called out following him into the forest watching him stop abruptly making her freeze in her place.

“Do you agree with what he’s done? With Rick’s stupid decision to keep that bastard alive”

“Is this a loaded question for me or a simple…” She quieted herself when Daryl turned toward her with an annoyed expression. He didn’t mean to. “No I don’t agree with what Rick has done”

“Will you hate me for mine?”

“What?”

“I…just need a moment alone. I don’t want you to think that I don’t need you or nothin’. Before this whole fight we were gonna…settle? Be us. Then I got taken. You got attacked. Our home got set ablaze. It’s a lot and…”

“Daryl…just. If I come to you, don’t push me away. I’ll give you what you want but I…”

“If you call, I’ll be there.”

Y/N knew that were true but she got stuck in her own mind from all that happened that she didn’t want to flood what could be going on in Daryl’s. Even if in this very moment, Daryl wanted to know everything going on. Just a word would do.

His partner got into the bed while he got out of the clothes from the day. Y/N already wore sweats as she’s been dressing more comfortably the past month since she hasn’t left the walls. He glances at her through the mirror on their shared dresser seeing her sit comfortable by the pillows but keep a blank gaze.

Once the archer got his boots off, he got comfortable in the bed beside Y/N and before she laid down he opened his arm for her.

“Come here, sunshine” He whispers watching her lay into his side feeling his hand gently rub soothing motions on her back. “I’m not going anywhere” he states pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she shifts to bring herself more into his embrace. “Everything’s okay. You are okay” he whispers to her feeling her tighten her grasp on him.

“Nothings…wrong” Y/N exhales a shaky breath feeling him hold her closer. “I’m fine you know…”

“I do” Daryl replies keeping his hand rubbing circles on her back feeling her head turn into his chest. “You are fine, you are going to be fine”

It happened slowly…the tears that sprung from her eyes as she cried into her partner’s chest feeling him tighten around her in a protective manner pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I’m never leaving you again”

[peterm4rker]

¿dónde está la biblioteca? || z.cl

twenty four. are you shitting me? (written)

you hoped whoever princess was had a shitty day.

it was nothing against her, really (yes it was). but mostly against the fact that the simple knowledge of her existence had ruined the last few days of your life.

after realising that there was no way that chenle had anyone but a girl named like that on his phone, you had spent the last two days dragging about in your apartment, bored out of your mind and a tiny bit sad.

you have grown accustomed to chenle’s presence in your life. his texts, his twitter interactions, the hours upon hours he spent inside of your head. so now that you had decided to take your time and distance from him, everything was oddly quiet. you spent the first two days simply moping around, watching straight seasons of new girl and eating away your feelings with cookie dough ice cream, which oddly enough, you had never liked that much until it began to remind you of chenle.

it was day three on the “forgetting about my feelings for chenle and going back to being best friends with him” agenda, and the outro to the last episode of new girl played on your computer screen. you stared at it with a blank face and teary eyes, feeling hollow once again as there was nothing to fixate on to make you feel better.

as you picked up your phone to call sunwoo and cry to him about everything but chenle (he vetoed his name for the next week), you found your own teary eyed reflection and it was nothing more than pathetic.

since when did you let yourself cry over boys and mope around for days on end?

absolutely not.

you turned off your phone and got out of bed, grabbing a towel and heading straight to the shower. music blared through the alexa on the counter as you let water wash the negativity away, allowing a smile onto your face. you picked a cute outfit and grabbed your bag, putting one airpod on before leaving your house and jumping into ludovica.

the drive to the coffee shop was pretty long, but it didn't bother you. that was what you needed, fresh air and some sun.

you parked your car and happily got out of it, making sure to greet the workers as you approached the counter and ordered your favourite drink and a pastry. once the order was placed you walked to a nearby table, pulling out your computer and your notebook, deciding to get some work done.

the music playing through your headphones drowned out any other thought that could have crossed your mind. the melody tingling your brain and the lyrics sinking into your skin as you tried your hardest to write your report on one of your biggest musical inspirations. 

right then and there, everything seemed to fall into place. the coffee was exactly as you liked it, the pastry was beautifully done and the words seemed to just flow out of you. 

you didn't need chenle. you didn't need anyone.

but of course, if being run over and stranded at an airport had taught you anything, was that these feelings normally didn't last for you. and still, you were a little surprised as you felt a tap on your shoulders, raising your head only to be met by none other than hong seunghan.

he smiled brightly at you, the corner of his eyes brimming with joy as he waved. you took your headphones off quickly, trying to match his smile and hide your surprise. “hey, seunghan!” you greeted happily.

“hey ynnie, what are you doing here? i don't think I’ve seen you here before” he says, but he has, because you used to go to that exact coffee shop whenever you thought he would be there. 

“just getting some work done, you?” you answered.

“I was supposed to meet maru but she couldn't make it” he shrugged, looking at the chair in front of you “is this seat taken?”

“oh, no, go ahead” you nudged towards the chair, allowing him to sit with you. 

a few months ago, hell, even weeks, you would've been elated to be sitting with seunghan out of all people. but as you saw him sit and give you that astonishing smile of his, there was nothing.

because it wasn't his smile that made your stomach erupt into butterflies anymore.

★🎧⋆｡ °⋆

conversation easily flowed between you, making you set your work aside completely to focus your attention on him.

“can i tell you something a little embarrassing? i'm only comfortable saying this now because i’m madly in love with my girlfriend” he asked as he calmed down from a fit of laughter you had very proudly caused.

“yeah, of course” you smiled reassuringly, suddenly curious at what his next words would be.

“i used to have a huge crush on you but i was too scared to say anything” he admitted bashfully. your jaw fell open for a couple seconds, before erupting into laughter and hiding your face in your hands “hey! don't laugh at me!” he exclaimed with a soft laugh.

“i'm not laughing at you! its just” you cut yourself off and took your hands away from your face, looking at him once again “i had a massive crush on you for about two years” 

“you're shitting me right now” he deadpanned, and you shook your head as a chuckle escaped your lips. “i was scared for nothing!?” 

“yup, i would've given you everything i've ever owned if i knew” you chuckled.

“thats crazy… When did you stop liking me?” he asked curiously, and you pursed your lips a bit awkwardly.

“maybe around a month ago?” you said, doubt making your voice high pitched. his jaw fell open once again.

“that little ago?” you nodded, sheepish smile still on your lips “then… i'm guessing chenle happened?”

you nodded once again.

“well then, I'm happy it worked out for the both of us” he chuckled as he sipped his drink again.

“i wouldn't say it has worked out for me” you commented, stirring the liquid of your second cup of coffee of the day.

“how so?” he asked, curious once again. who would’ve thought he liked chisme so much?

“well, chenle has no idea i like him and also has a girl, so” you pursed your lips once again.

“huh? chenle doesnt have a girl” seunghan replied, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“he doesn't?” your eyebrows moved to match his, his confusion contagious.

“nah, he is pretty bitchless” the way he said it made you laugh, rolling your eyes.

“then who is princess?” you asked. you didn't know why you were having this conversation with seunghan out of all people, but if it was giving you good information then it was totally worth it.

“princess?” he thought about it for a second, his furrowed eyebrows falling into a deadpan as he seemed to remember “thats literally jaemin”

“wait, what?” you asked, even more confused than before.

“that's how he has him saved, with a little bow, right?” right.

you had never felt so stupid in your life.

you just had spent two days moping around your room for nothing.

you had spent two days ignoring chenle for nothing.

“i might end it all” you groaned and let your head fall into the crook of your arms, resting on top of the table. seunghan let out a loud laugh.

“no way you thought he had a girlfriend” he laughed “its so obvious that he's–” he cut himself off suddenly, making you look up at him

“hes what?”

“nothing, forget it” he dismissed it. he wasn't going to rat out his boy like that. “i can help you”

“help me with what?” you sat up once again, feeling defeated by your own dumbness.

“chenle, i know him very well, and i think i can help you confess” he said, decided smile adorning his pretty face.

“you really think so?” you asked, a tiny bit of doubt in your voice.

“of course, i'll need some help but i definitely can” he nodded, convincingly.

“then let's do it.”

previous ★ masterlist ★ next

★ word count ;; 1.4k

★ authors note ;; SEUNGHAN IS BACK I REPEAT MY MAN IS BACK !!!!!! sooo incredibly grateful that i chose him as the crush because i can post this chapter and introduce their beautiful friendship the day after he was announced back !!!!

★ tag list ;; @yutarot @chenlesfavorite @fullsunbabe @taroddori @morkiee @jovialdelusionbouquet @winwintea @flaminghotyourmom @haechskiss @xuimhao @dudekiss3r @neozon3nha

[overtrred28]

Joining the club | Jen Beattie x reader

Summary; 2023 and the start of 2024 seem to have something in common already; everyone in the WOSO community seems to be getting engaged. And when you bring this up to your long term partner Jen, it seems she has nothing to say, or does she….

Pairings; Jen Beattie x famous!reader

Words; 2.5k

Warnings; pure fluff, swearing

A/N; It seems to be the season of getting engaged and even though I am way off getting engaged and very very single, I thought I would pretend and imagine that I was getting engaged to the one and only Jen Beattie. There is also a lack of Jen fics on here and I feel the need to write one for her. Enjoy!

First it was Steph and Dean all the way back in January. Lynn and Marley finally did it back in May. Then in June it was Emily and Kat, and Katrina and Clara just a few days after. Kristie and Sam finally revealed theirs from September after months of teasing. Chloe Kelly and Millie Bright got it within the same week, sharing photos with their partners around christmas. And finally a surprise from Ellie and Daan on the first day of a new year. 

It seemed 2023 and now 2024 was the time for engagements in the world of women’s football and you were quite caught up in all the news. 

“Oh my god babe, another one!” You let out a gasp as the post from Ellie and Daan popped up on your instagram feed, stopping your pre-dinner scrolling as you paused and assessed the picture. It was from a few days ago, and you were seeing it now because you had been away with Jen and her family, avoiding social media to spend time with them and only now catching up. 

“What?” Jen’s voice called from the kitchen, you jumping up from the couch with your phone and running quickly into the kitchen. 

“Look.” You aggressively shoved your phone into her face and she adjusted to the bright light as she tried to look at the photo. 

“Oh wow, congrats to them.” Jen smiled quickly before turning away and back to the food on the stove. You frowned at her quick response and disinterest at the post.

“Do you not think it’s funny?” You asked with a small laugh from beside her. 

“What is?” She asked whilst moving around the kitchen to find the rest of the ingredients for your dinner. 

“That everyone in the footballing world seems to be getting engaged at the moment?” You asked again and she didn’t respond with any excitement, again.

“Oh, guess I didn’t notice.” She shrugged and continued to stir the pot. You opened your mouth to talk again but she got there before you. “Could you grab me some bowls, love?” She asked while keeping her eyes on the pan. You paused for a second before grabbing two clean ones from the dishwasher and placing them next to her. “Thank you.” She smiled at you briefly before beginning to dish up the pasta that was now done. 

“You’re welcome.” You snapped out of your trance and silently moved to grab some glasses and the wine from the fridge. She waited for you to finish pouring your drinks before she grabbed both bowls and headed for the couch, you following close behind her. 

“What are we watching tonight, love?” Jen asked as she sat beside you on the couch, now both holding your dinner and the wine glasses on the coffee table. 

“I don’t mind, you pick.” You shrugged before taking a bite of your food and now it was her turn to frown at you, normally you always took control over what to watch together. 

“You okay?” Jen asked simply and you nodded silently while eating and staring at the screen in front of you. “ Okay, how about Bridgerton? We still haven’t finished season two.” She suggested and once again you nodded silently from beside her. 

You weren’t sure why you were feeling slightly off after Jen’s reaction to the post and your comments, but you still snuggled into her on the couch after finishing your pasta and wine.

The episode finished and you could feel the both of you drifting off after a long day. Jen had been back at training after winter break and your schedule had been hectic since returning from time off. You were an actress and your new movie was about to come out so all the promo shoots and interviews were now in full swing, though you were grateful it began in London so you could still go home to Jen every night.  

You met Jen a few years back at an event in London you had both been invited to, catching her eyes from the other side of the room and instantly knowing you had to go talk to her. You knew who each other were, an actress making her name in the world and a famous sports star who silently followed each other in their respective lines of work. One conversation and you knew there was something there, and so did she. You both knew it would be hard with your professions and the distance you would have at certain times, but you wanted to make it work, somehow keeping it from the public eye for two years before hard launching it on your anniversary and sending both sets of fans into a frenzy. 

“Ready for bed love?” Jen spoke softly into the dark living room, smoothing your hair softly. 

“Definitely.” You yawned and sat up, rubbing your tired eyes as Jen stood up and held a hand out for you. You smiled at the gesture and met your hand in hers, pulling yourself up and making your way to your bedroom together. You both had already showered when you got home earlier so all that was left to do was to brush your teeth together. 

Your night routine was almost the same every night, no matter what was going on in your separate lives, you always spent those last few minutes together before crawling into bed. So once you both finished in the bathroom, you hopped into bed on your chosen sides but made your way closer to the middle and each other, Jen opening her arms to you as you laid your head on her chest.

“Sorry I’ve been quiet, tired.” You mumbled into the darkness against Jen as she drew small circles against your back. 

“It’s okay, me too.” Jen looked down at you to meet your soft eyes. 

“I love you.” You smiled and snuggled into her chest once more, eyes drifting closed. 

“I love you too.” Jen placed a kiss against your head before closing her own eyes and drifting asleep. 

The topic of last night's conversation was mostly forgotten in the morning, or at least it wasn’t brought up again between you too. That didn’t mean it wasn’t brought up with different people. Jen arrived at training and as both Steph and Beth walked up to her, they could tell something was on her mind. 

“You alright there Jenny?” Steph bumped her shoulder as herself and Beth joined her sides. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah.” Jen nodded at them but went silent straight after. 

“You sure?” Beth dragged out her words and brought her face as she could to Jen’s, their height difference proving to be a little difficult.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Jen tried to brush them off again but these two were persistent and she knew she wasn’t going to get very far if she didn’t tell them. She stopped her walking and sighed before speaking. “Last night, Y/N brought up how it seems like everyone’s getting engaged at the moment, and I didn’t really say anything back. And then she seemed upset for the rest of the night, but she said she was just tired, which I know she has been, but I also think I might have upset her in some way.” She let out in almost one breath as Steph and Beth tried to process her words. 

“Well she’s not wrong, especially in the last few weeks.” Beth added with a shrug. 

“Do you think she’s ready?” Steph ignored Beth’s comment and looked at Jen.

“Well, I wasn’t sure before, but after last night I think she is.” Jen looked between the two of them. “Just the way she was talking about it and then when I didn’t really say anything…” She trailed off and looked down. 

“I think she’s ready.” Steph spoke with a smile. She had watched from the beginning of your relationship with Jen just how happy you were with one another, and how easy the relationship seemed even when spending time apart due to work. 

“Are you?” Beth asked sincerely, her and Steph awaiting Jen’s reply. Jen was silent for a few seconds, bringing her eyes back up to look at her best friends. 

“I bought the ring like 2 months ago.” She mumbled but they still heard it and instantly started beaming at the Scottish woman. 

“You sly little bastard.” Beth punched Jen’s arm softly as they began to walk again so that they wouldn’t be late for training. 

Throughout the whole day the three of them, mostly Steph and Beth, were coming up with ideas on how she should propose but Jen kept shooting them down. She wanted it to be private, special and a surprise, so anything that involved taking you out somewhere would instantly make you suspicious. 

While Jen had been conversing her thoughts and plans with her best friends at training, you were in your head all day thinking about last night. Which wasn’t really helping especially when you were trying to film press interviews all day and talk about your movie. 

You could have talked to your co-stars about it, after all they had become close friends while shooting and now being with each other everyday for promo, but the only person you really wanted to talk to was Jen; it was always Jen. 

Jen got home long before you, taking her time to deep clean the flat and cook dinner for you once again, knowing you would be exhausted from your long day of work. 

She didn’t hear you opening the door and making your way through the flat, she had been vacuuming with her headphones on and dancing around your bedroom. You stood in the doorway for a few minutes after spotting her, admiring her and waiting for her to see you. And when she did, boy did she get a fright. 

“Ah fuck!” Jen almost jumped out of her skin when she finally turned around and spotted you lurking in the doorway, using one hand to remove her headphones and the other to turn the vacuum off. “How long have you been standing there?” She dropped the vacuum and began to walk over to you. 

“A few minutes. I was admiring your hidden dance skills.” You smiled and stood up straighter, welcoming her into a hug like you do every day. “Hi.” You mumbled into her shoulder. 

“Hi love.” She pulled back and leaned in for a soft kiss. No matter how many times you kiss Jen, it feels like the very first time all over again, even after 4 years. “Busy day?” She asked as you parted, taking in your tired expression. 

“Busy day.” You nodded and smiled at her. “How was training?” You asked as you walked hand and hand to the kitchen. 

“Good, good to be back with the girls.” Jen smiled at you before letting go to retrieve dinner from the oven. You stood at the counter, simply watching her as she moved about wrapping up dinner. “Go put something on, I’ve got it.” Jen smiled and placed a kiss on your temple before ushering you to the lounge room.

“Okay bossy.” You laughed before making your way to the couch and switching the TV over to Netflix to finish the final episode of Bridgerton. You wait patiently for her on the couch, looking over your shoulder every few seconds to see if she is coming around the corner. 

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jen is trying to hide her anxiety and nervousness as she plates up dinner and feels her pocket one more time. With two champagne glasses now full and a tray full of food she finally makes her way to you, letting out a final breath before entering the living room. 

“Dinner is served.” She places the tray down on the table and bows which makes you laugh. Your eyes fall on the glasses and you’re instantly confused. 

“What’s with the champagne? Decide the wine wasn’t good enough?” You joked and she let out a small laugh shaking her head. 

“Some nights are a little more special than the others.” She cryptically says and has you even more confused but you leave the comment alone and hit play on the remote. 

You eat dinner together while watching the episode, silently watching with a bit of commentary along the way before cuddling up after eating. The episode finishes and you can feel Jen’s heart beating particularly fast, her fingers are nervously playing with one another and she hasn’t spoken in a few minutes. You sit up silently and look at her, she doesn’t look at you. You’re about to fill the silence when she beats you to it. 

“You know how much I love you, right?.” Jen rushes out and leaves you slightly bewildered. 

“I know. I love you just as much.” You reply. “What’s wrong?” You bring your hand up to brush her hair back into her low bun. 

“I’m about to do something and I hope you don’t think it’s random and forced because it’s not and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I didn’t want to make a massive deal about it because it’s just you and me and that’s all that matters.” Jen speaks in one long breath and you need a second for your brain to catch up but before it can she’s pulling you up off the couch with her and standing in front of you. She holds your hands in hers and looks directly at you. 

“Wha-” Before you could even think about finishing your sentence, a giant gasp leaves your mouth at her next action. She drops down to one knee whilst still holding holding your hands, smiling up at you as tears well in your eyes. 

“My love, I could go on and on about how much I love you but you already know. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with, no matter where it shall take us. So,” She let go of your hands, you bringing them up to your face and hers reaching down into her pocket. She fishes the small, black box out, opening it to reveal a sparkling ring and looks back up at you. “Y/N Y/L/N, will you-” 

“YES!” You interrupt her before she gets to finish causing her to laugh and shake her head. 

You just stand there admiring her as she gets up and removes the ring from the box. She brings your shaking left hand from your face and slides the ring on. Your jaw drops at the ring before you jump into her arms, causing her to react quickly and grab hold of your legs. “I love you so much Jen.” You cry into her shoulder as she holds you before you lift your head up, meeting your eyes with hers before pulling in for a kiss. 

The rest of the night is spent in one another's arms just admiring each other and talking softly with each other about the rest of your lives while wrapped up in your sheets.

yourinstagram and jbeattie91

yourinstagram we joined the club 💍

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stephcatley so happy for you! welcome to the club 😉

bethmead_ about time jen jen. congrats 🥰

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THE END!

[bullet-clubs-bitch]

can you write Where Reader is married to MJF. And Reader and MJF have a kid/kids . And Reader and MJF kid/ kids has never gotten to see Their Dad MJF wrestle at an AEW show in person. And then MJF and Reader kid/ kids when Aew dynamite goes off the air MJF and his kid/kids join their dad in the ring?

Surprises

Word count: 705

Main Masterlist MJF Masterlist

Tonight was a special night, not only would it be the 200th episode of dynamite but it would also be the first time my daughter Scarlet would see both of her parents perform. Although she was only 7 months and would not remember the event it was a very special night for both Max and I. When I found out that I was pregnant I was terrified. When I told Max I was pregnant I was shocked for him to be so happy about it. We were both young, 26 years old with big plans for the future, plans that will be on hold with the new baby. Although I was a bit frustrated with the sudden surprise it was a blessing in disguise. Max had been unhappy for weeks, Wardlow had finally turned on him and beat him at double or nothing which had been the final straw. The week after I told Max that I was pregnant he went on air and begged Tony to fire him. 

I remember watching the whole incident go down backstage from a monitor and being terrified and angry. Why would he do something so stupid? It turned out that one of the reasons he did it was so he could be with me during my pregnancy. 

Our daughter Scarlet was born on December 5th, and of course since Max had made his return in September and won the world championship in November he just had to bring the triple b to the hospital when I gave birth. Since our daughter was born it was difficult at times, Max having to travel town to town for work was frustrating. Frustrating because it was hard to take care of a baby myself and frustrating because I wish I could have been there with him. 

It has been 7 months since Scarlet was born and I have finally returned to in ring action. I made my surprise return at Forbidden Door a few weeks ago and defeated Willow Nightingale for the NJPW Strong Women's Championship. Now here we are on the 200th episode of dynamite celebrating the wonderful milestone. 

The show had gone great, I successfully retained my title against Nyla Rose, MJF won against Sammy Guevara and Hikaru Shida became AEW Womens Champion once again. After Dynamite went off the air we filmed Rampage Which also went great. Before the night was over several wrestlers came out to talk about AEW and thank the fans for supporting us for 200 episodes. Myself and Max included.

“Thank you everyone so much! As you know I recently made my return at Forbidden Door-” I tried to get my words out but was overcome with emotion as the fans kept cheering so loud. 

“But the truth is, I have been keeping a big secret from all of you for the past year. I know I said that I was out of action due to a shoulder injury, which was true but there was something else that was keeping me out of action.” I looked over at Max with a big smile on my face as he began to speak. 

“I don’t know if you dumb people in​​ Tampa knew this but the two of us are married in real life. 

You see I like to keep my personal life private and how we were able to keep this one a secret for such a long time is crazy.” Max said as he exited the ring, approaching ringside. 

“7 months ago my life changed. 7 months ago I became a father” Max said as the fans started to go wild. I followed him down to the side of the ring and picked up my daughter from the nanny who was sitting ringside with her. 

“This is our daughter Scarlet, I thought tonight would be the perfect night to introduce her to the world. I know back at All Out you schmucks thought I came back for you fans but the truth was I came back for her” Max said pointing to the tiny baby. 

“Now I know some of you will see me differently from now on but the truth is I am still better than all of you and you know it” 

[mamaestapa]

Two Can Play At That Game

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/N Y/L/N moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for a new start. Move in day arrives and she discovers something terrible...the apartment complex gave her the wrong lease. Instead of living with who she originally was supposed to, she's now living with the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Joe Burrow. Y/N is stuck living in the same apartment with him for a year...which the two are not thrilled about. However, as time goes on, they realize that maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. Will Y/N and Joe stay enemies, or will they find themselves falling in love?

•chapter summary: You and Joe go back and forth doing things that bother one another and you get a surprise gym buddy ;)

•word count: 3.1k

•warnings: Language, mentions of condoms and sex, i think that’s all?

Series Masterlist

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October 12, 2022

it's been one month since you’ve moved in with Joe. You are basically living the dream that all of the girls in America have right now.

You keep telling yourself it will get better, but you’re not too confident that it will. It's going to take a miracle for you and Joe to become friends.

It's not like you two are enemies or anything like that, You just know how to irritate one another. You started it, on accident of course, when you first moved in.

Remember the pink towels in the bathroom? And the situation with you moving his Sponge bob shoes and condoms from the kitchen counter?

Yeah, well, you’re convinced he still holds a grudge against you for both of those things.

Since that first week, you and Joe have been going back and forth with each other. Both of you doing things that you know will annoy the other.

a few weeks ago...

You were sitting on the couch, watching this weeks episode of The Bachelorette. As you were curled up on the couch, you decided you needed to get a snack.

You cant watch TV late at night without having a snack.

You walked into the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry, trying to find a snack. As you were going through the pantry, you could see wrappers laying on the counter next to the bananas out of the corner of your eye. You closed the pantry and looked to see what was on the counter. You rolled your eyes at the sight.

Condoms. Lots and lots of condoms.

You had just gotten after Joe a few weeks ago about not keeping his condoms in the kitchen.

You picked up one of the wrappers, immediately throwing it to the ground when you noticed it was ripped open and empty.

Good to know he's at least using protection. You don't need any kids running around this place, dealing with Joe is quite enough for you.

"Joe!" you called, placing your hands on your hips.

You heard his bed squeak, signaling that he had just gotten out of bed. His door opened and he walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the kitchen entrance.

"What do you want?"

You rolled your eyes and gestured to the condoms on the counter.

"Oh," he chuckled, "sorry about that."

He walked into the kitchen and picked up the condoms.

"I should be keeping these in here." he said, opening the drawer next to the pantry and throwing them in there.

You put your hand on the handle, stopping him from closing it.

"What?"

You scoffed, "What!?"

He looked at you, confused.

"Joe, I told you not to keep your condoms," you picked up a handful of the trojan wrappers and threw them at his chest, "in the kitchen!"

"Did you? Heh, must've slipped my mind then." He teased, knowing damn well you told him to keep the condoms somewhere other than out in the open in the kitchen.

He was just trying to get under your skin.

You rolled your eyes, "God you're so inconsiderate."

He raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself, "I'm the inconsiderate one? How about you little miss, let's keep my tampons under Joe's side of the sink. OH! Even better, how about putting your thongs in my laundry basket?!"

You scoffed and sighed before saying, “Okay, first of all, it's my bathroom too. I accidentally put them on your side, but they're just tampons? But whatever, I've moved them, so you're welcome. And second of all, if you're talking about that bright pink thong, it's not even mine!"

Joes face dropped, "It's not?"

"Nope." you said with a straight face, "I think it's Amelia's. Remember, the girl that threw the condom at you?"

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah I remember."

You grabbed the rest of the condoms and put them in Joe's hands, "You don't have the best of luck getting laid when these are in our kitchen." you pat his hands and look into the pantry, grabbing the jar of peanut butter pretzels. You looked at him with an amused smirk as he stood there speechless.

"So maybe, you should keep 'em in your room." you said before walking back into the living room, continuing to watch The Bachelor.

end of flashback...

Since the condom ordeal, you started to retaliate and do things that you know get under Joe's skin too. You figured two could play at that game...

a few weeks ago...

You were folding clothes in your bedroom when you heard your name called from somewhere in the apartment.

You smiled to yourself knowing Joe must've found out what you did. You walked out of your room, seeing Joe standing in the doorway of the bathroom with his arms crossed and an unamused look on his face.

"What's wrong?" you asked, crossing your arms as you walked over to him.

"Y/n, your makeup is all over the bathroom."

You looked into the bathroom, a smirk quirking up at the side of your mouth. You had your brushes laying out scattered on the counter, your blush by Joe's toothbrush, your three different mascaras laying next to the hand soap, and your makeup bag placed in Joe's drawer.

"Oops." you shrugged, turning around and walking away. Joe shook his head and reached out to stop you from walking away.

"No, no, no."

You turned around, crossing your arms in front of your chest and looking up at him. His pretty blue eyes looking into yours intensely.

"You're not just going to leave it laying around, I thought I told you to put it-." he sighed as he saw the smirk on your lips.

"This is all because of the condoms, isn't it?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "Why would you ever think such a thing?" you asked incredulously. You couldn't hide the smile making its way onto your face.

He shook his head, "I can't believe you."

You shrugged and walked into the bathroom, putting your makeup into the right spot.

"Maybe if you kept your things where they're supposed to be," you grabbed your makeup bag and walked back to the doorway, stopping in front of Joe, "maybe I'll do the same with mine."

You looked into his eyes and smiled at him before walking back to your bedroom. Joe just watched in disbelief as you walked away from him.

What you didn't know though, was that this going back and forth with each other was just getting started.

end of flashback...

You know it may be childish of you to retaliate and do things to bother Joe, but he started it!

It's only fair that you do the same to him. You know what gets under his skin, he knows what gets under yours. If he wants to be difficult, then hell, you can be difficult too.

Living with each other hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows—for either of you. You might as well have a little fun messing with each other, right?

Oh, that reminds you, Joe's condoms and your makeup aren't the only things you have done to make each other mad.  There's more…

Last week...

You stood from your bed, rubbing your tired eyes as you walked to the bathroom. It was around five o'clock in the morning when you woke up and had to pee. You were half asleep when you walked into the bathroom, squinting as the bright light hit your eyes. You didn't bother to shut the door, knowing Joe was sound asleep and there was no way he'd be awake right now.

You pulled your sleep shorts down and sat down, definitely not expecting to fall into the toilet?!

You let out a yelp as you felt your bare ass fall into the water of the toilet.

Damnit, Joe! He left the toilet seat up again!

You stood from the toilet and groaned loudly, reaching for a towel to wipe the water off of your lower half. As you were wiping your leg off you heard a gasp. Your head shot up and you dropped the towel, immediately covering your lady bits.

"Oh my god!" Joe gasped, his eyes wide.

This was just like when you caught him on the couch after his date.

"What are you doing?" you shrieked, face turning red in embarrassment.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? You're the one that's half naked with the door wide open at five in the fuckin' morning!"

"I had to pee!" you exclaimed, trying to situate yourself so you could cover your parts while you tried to pull your panties back up. Joe covered his eyes and turned around when he saw you just slightly move one of your hands.

You pulled your panties and sleep shorts up quickly, snapping the waistband of your shorts against the skin of your belly. Joe turned around and uncovered his eyes since he knew you were decent.

"You," you said, pointing at him, "left the toilet seat up again, so I fell in."

He chuckled, "You fell in? Seriously?"

You rolled your eyes, "It's not funny, Joe!"

"I mean, come on," he smirked, "It's kind of funny."

You hufffed out a sigh of annoyance, "Shut up. No it's not."

He chuckled and walked away, going into the kitchen and turning the light on to get his pre-work out. After you flushed the toilet and washed your hands, you walked out of the bathroom and went back into your room. As you were walking past the kitchen, Joe chuckled and said, "Sorry about the toilet seat Y/n, I'll try to put it down next time."

You just kept walking, too annoyed and too tired to even respond to him.

Joe left the toilet seat up three more times that week.

That same week...

After the problems with the toilet seat, you decided to retaliate and do something that every man hates.

You made the apartment smell like girl.

All of Joe's "manly smells" were covered and replaced with the best fragrance from Bath and Body Works: Champagne Toast.

While Joe was at practice, you lit three champagne toast candles around the apartment. One in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in the bathroom. Once you had the candles lit, you put out the champagne toast hand soap you had just bought a few days ago. You grabbed your perfume bottle and doused yourself and the furniture with it. You looked at the time on your watch, seeing that Joe would be back at the apartment any minute now. You grabbed the book you were currently reading and sat down on the couch, pretending to read as the door to the apartment opened.

As soon as Joe walked in he immediately started coughing. You bit back a smile as you put the book down.

"Oh god," He coughed, "It smells like a bowl of fruit died in here."

You laughed, "You really think it smells bad?"

He shrugged walking further into the apartment, going into the kitchen and picking up the candle that was burning. He put it up to his nose and sniffed it, cringing as the smell of champagne toast hit his nose.

Joe put the candle down, "It's not that it smells bad, it just, very strong."

He walked into the bathroom, letting out a groan as he saw another candle and the hand soap.

"Y/n, why do you have this scent in every room?” He asked as he walked out of the bathroom, holding the hand soap.

"Because this place needs to not smell like you all the time?"

Joe scoffed, looking offended.

"I think I smell great."

"I didn't say you smelled bad, I just said it needs to smell like something other than you." You shrugged.

"So you think spraying your perfume all over and making the place smell like," he inspected the soap, "champagne toast, is a good idea?"

You shot him a puzzled look, "Yeah?"

He sighed, "I can't have this place smelling like a bowl of fruit ripped ass all over the apartment when the guys come over."

He was being so dramatic over a stupid bath and body works scent.

You sighed and stood from the couch, picking up the bottle of perfume. "Fine, I won't spray it or light any more candles."

"Thank you."

You started walking in Joe's direction, giving him a tight lipped smile as you got closer. He looked down at you and without breaking eye contact as you walked by, you lifted the bottle of perfume and sprayed him with it.

"What the fuck Y/n!?” Joe gasped, pulling his gray t-shirt away from his body.

You just laughed as you walked to your room to put the bottle of perfume away. It was hilarious to see him get so worked up over a little bottle of perfume.

He may think you’re getting rid of the smell, but you truly don't care what Joe wants. The apartment WILL smell like champagne toast as long as you’re around.

end of flashback...

You have to admit, it has been fun messing with eachother. Except, you didn't enjoy falling into the toilet that much.

Other than messing around with Joe, not much has really happened. You’ve been working at CincyStyles and hanging out with Macee a lot. The two of you have become quite good friends already even though you’ve only known each other for a few weeks.

She's such a kind person. You’re so glad you have her as a friend to help you here in Cincinnati.

There is one thing you forgot to mention…remember that conversation with Evan after the game a couple weeks ago?

Well, you two have actually been texting each other quite a bit.

Evan is so sweet, constantly asking you how you are and if you’re enjoying Cincinnati. Not only is he sweet, but he has a great sense of humor and he's such a cutie. You know you said you weren’t ready to get into a relationship yet, but you’d be willing to see where things go with Evan.

Who knows, maybe you’ll be the Bengals new hot couple.

But you'll see how things go, of course.

You were making yourself a protein shake when you heard your phone ding. You picked it up, smiling when you saw that you received a text from Evan.

Evan- Hey Y/n! You busy right now?

You- Hey! I'm actually getting ready to head to the gym

Joe walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen as you hit send and put your phone down. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water before he walked over to the stove and turned the light on.

Your phone dinged. You picked it up and read the text from Evan. Blushing deeply from his response.

Evan- Need a gym buddy? ;)

I felt bold, so I decided to respond back in a somewhat flirty manner

You- Only if it's you ;)

Evan- Who else would it be? lol see you soon

You shut your phone off and set it down on the counter. You started feeling nervous as you realized this would be the first time you’ve seen Evan in person since the game. You let out a sigh and looked over at Joe, who was standing by the stove with an amused look on his face as he watched you text Evan.

"Somebody is flustered." He mused, crossing his arms.

You just shook your head and laughed at his teasing.

"Who's got you so worked up?" Joe smirked.

You shrugged, grabbing your shaker bottle and closing the lid as you spoke, "Nobody. Just a friend."

You watched as his lips formed a straight line as you grabbed your phone from the counter and slipped it into the pocket of your leggings. You walked around the corner to the entry way and you put on your Nikes. You grabbed your AirPods, holding those in one hand and the shaker bottle in the other.

"I'm going to the gym, I'll see you in a bit."

Joe nodded, "Sounds good. Want me to leave some chicken and rice for you?"

You nodded, smiling softly at him, "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks Joe."

"You're welcome." He turned around and gave all of his attention to preparing dinner.

It was a nice gesture for him to make dinner for the both of you. You have done the same thing for him a few times before. Even though you two do things to get on each others nerves, you’re still considerate of one another when it comes to things like dinner or grocery shopping.

You walked out of the apartment and headed to your car, driving to the gym that was only a few miles away. As soon as you got into the building you saw Evan over by the dumbbells. A wide grin graced his face as he saw you walk up to him.

"Hey Y/n!” He greeted, pulling you into a hug.

You smiled, "Hi Evan. Thanks for joining me."

The two of you pulled away, a faint blush was on Evans cheeks as he looked down at you.

"Of course," he said, "I figured you could use a workout partner."

You nodded, "I do. I hate working out alone."

Evan chuckled, "You and me both. I find myself doing better when I have other people with me."

"Same here." you replied. You looked over to your left and noticed there was a mirror along the wall. You decided it would be the perfect spot to take a picture. You figured you’d mess with some of your friends and post a picture of you and Evan together.

"Here, come take a picture with me." you said, gesturing for him to come over to where you were standing in front of the mirror.

He smiled, "Okay." He walked over to where you were standing, he looked at the camera as you held up a thumbs up and captured the picture.

You posted the picture to your Instagram story and put your phone into your pocket.

"Ready?" Evan asked with a smile.

"Yup." you said, walking over to the bench and starting your workout with Evan.

Little did you know that this workout with Evan would eventually create a whole lot of problems...

hey loves!!

this was actually so bad i am so sorry lmao.

i had an idea and i just went with it, didn't really have any direction for it i just kind of started writing lmao

how do we think joe is going to feel when he finds out about you and evan working out together?

we'll have to wait and see ;)

BUT the next chapter is going a fun one...it's everyone's favorite...a guys chat!

i haven't written chats in a little while, so bear with me lol. but it'll be a fun chapter for sure!

ALSO my parents got me a joe burrow jersey and joe burrow socks for my birthday. literally the best gifts ever, my parents are the sweetest<3

hope you're all doing well and enjoying this story<3

lots of love

[fountainpenguin]

I am back on my Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil nonsense and I have to say, no canon ship will ever hit me in the way that Kendall/Ronaldo did.

I am so incredibly in love with the vibe that is "Two absolute NERDS are head over heels for each other and go out of their way to do nice things for each other" - supporting each other in presentations, remembering each other's birthdays, arranging dinner for each other, covering for the other in front of the principal, gasping in horror when the other gets in trouble - "but as time passes, the viewer gets to watch the slow unraveling of one of them secretly falling out of love with the other but not being emotionally ready to admit it yet." That is incredible.

I adore the K/R ship because it lasted so long and it was never considered a big deal. It was just "Yeah, they're dating. They do dating people things. Literally no one is jealous of them and no one ruins their social life. Keep scrolling." It was mainly in the background and they were adorably obsessed with each other up until they weren't. And again, that was that. No explosive break-ups, they were just... sweethearts.

Ronaldo gushing over Kendall's Halloween presentation instead of going trick-or-treating is my everything. He adores her.

Diagnosed with loving his girlfriend disease.

They are a TEAM!! Do not separate them!!

The "show, don't tell" between them with the way they behave is fantastic. Kendall went spelunking for cave sap so her boyfriend would have a nice birthday present AND she took him out to dinner. Ronaldo brings her "educational chocolates." He writes poems for her in binary code. He supports his girl during class elections even when she's frustrated and snippy with him.

He went to her Delaware Awareness Month party. He brought a sign that said "I've been to Dover." He came back for Poster Awareness Month. He's so supportive and she's so silly. Kendall's wild and she seems like she should be the "popular girl" trope but she is actually just a massive nerd who likes algebra and stocks and I love her.

I love Ronaldo hiding in a cabinet and Kendall spinning her wheels to distract the principal so he won't get busted for sneaking into the office. Ronaldo went out of his way to be nice to his rival and learn new skills so he could impress her. They're so good.

They are not even main characters and we still got scenes of them being adorable, as a treat. Kendall literally calls him "the dark one." That's hilarious. They lean together and whisper in the hallway like goofballs. Then they scamper off to hide in the AV closet with papers covered in doodles and poems, being romantic little NERDS!!

This scene's funny because they weren't even holding hands a few seconds ago- they just grabbed for each other when they realized they weren't alone. Apparently the canon is that they were a thing for a while before this episode and I think that's beautiful. Just... out there living their best off-screen lives. Love that for them.

imo we need more media that plays puppy love relationships with all the adorable sweetness of potentially being endgame even if they're NOT intended to be endgame. I'd like to see more kids' cartoons showing that it's okay to have a good time with someone else, and you don't have to grow up to marry the first person you dated... It's okay to consider your options... It's okay to date and have fun and explore your feelings and like people and then go your separate ways and not be endgame. I wish I had more of that.

I've binged Kick Buttowski multiple times- it's a good pick-me-up and it's one of my silly faves. I really like the character relationships in it. It's got a down-to-earth contemporary vibe despite being all about action. It has one of the truest "We really are best friends who support each other through everything" friendships I've ever seen. It's got pathetic noodle rich boy Gordie. It's got Mouth, king of the shopping mall after-hours. It's got Emo Kid who's... Emo Kid. It's got Brad and Brianna... It's got Ronaldo/Kendall... They're all hilarious.

It's got Kick learning to respect his identity as Clarence the caring big brother as much as his identity of Kick the daredevil. It's got Kick protecting Ronaldo for a week because Kick's his understudy who desperately does not want to be Romeo in the school play. It's got the line "Let's go down to Foreshadow Park! Somehow I knew we'd all end up there." It's got the bee of the month club sending free samples in the mail, when will I ever be this funny.

It's goofy and fun to watch and that's why it's this week's Recommendation Wednesday <3

[quietwings-fics]

the scariest thing here

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Fandom: Doctor Who Ship: ElevenSimm Additional Tags: Episode AU: s05e01 The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Young Amelia Pond, First Meetings Wordcount: 1003 Summary:

Two men end up crawling out of the blue box that crashes into Amelia's garden.

Prompt:

"Hmm… 11Simm, Simm is around for his Baking Period instead of going back to the war, and this affects our Doctor."

Amelia Pond remembers, a few months ago, when it rained so hard that the streets outside of school flooded. It hadn’t been so bad, even though no one had come to pick her up so Mels had promised Rory when his dad came, “Don’t worry, I’ll walk her home.” By then, his dad’s car was already making huge waves as it drove away. Neither of them had an umbrella or raincoats, so they’d sprinted between trees and bus stops as it continued to pour down. The streets became rivers, and when they caught their breath on Amelia’s front porch, they’d turned back to look at the unrecognizable world of their neighborhood almost underwater. Mels’ cold, wet hand in hers, Amelia had watched two rats swimming across the street, scrabbling over each other with tiny splashes and biting their tails to stay together until they got to the other side.

Anyway, that’s why she thinks Mels would understand her letting the men from the blue box into her house once she saw that they were soaking wet and why Rory would probably tell her she shouldn’t try to pick up rats because they might have rabies.

“If he’s the Doctor,” says Amelia to the man who stole all of the Doctor’s leftovers, (or was it stealing when no one wanted them?) “then who are you?” She’s been thinking of him as the rude Doctor, seeing as they both came from the same box, but that might be unfair. To the Doctor. She can’t just go assuming two men from the same box share a name.

“The Master,” he tells her, shortly. Amelia squints up at him.

Amelia doesn’t care much about politics because her aunt doesn’t care much about politics. Still, there are all these newspapers that someone must have bought that sit in the lounge and they both forget to clean up.

“Why do you look like the Prime Minister?” At that, the Master grins. His teeth are too sharp.

“Because I ate him.” Amelia wrinkles her nose at him. He’s going to have to try harder. Mels is much better at scaring her than he is.

“Stop that,” the Doctor tells him. “She’s-” He looks over Amelia curiously and guesses. “…Five?”

“I’m eight,” Amelia corrects and stands a little taller.

“She’s eight, and there’s a nasty crack in her wall that’s scaring her enough. You don’t need to make it worse.” The Master huffs and crosses his arms, but he does glance down at her again. She doesn’t think he’s decided to be nice, exactly, but maybe that he’s decided even if he isn’t lying and he does eat people, that Amelia wouldn’t be very tasty. He extends a hand to pat her on the head, and Amelia bites at it. She doesn’t manage to get him, but he snaps his hand back. He grins at her.

“She should be scared. I’m surprised she’s even still here.” Amelia frowns at him the same time the Doctor does.

“What do you mean?”

“Explain that, Master,” the Doctor’s voice flips from fun to serious very easily. She likes that about him. Most adults never use their serious voices around Amelia, only the fun ones, even when they have bad news to deliver.

“You’re counting the doors, Doctor. I’m counting the bedrooms.”

“So?”

“Amelia, you said you only live with your aunt?” the Master asks, pointedly. Amelia scowls at him, even though a part of her is delighted that they were paying attention to what she said.

“Yes.”

“So, why,” he emphasizes, “are there too many beds in this house?” The Doctor stops examining the crack and turns to him. Amelia watches a wave of something awful wash over his face. It makes her squirm, and despite herself, grab onto the Master’s hoodie.

“Oh, Amelia,” the Doctor says, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” She doesn’t like it, any of it, not the crack and not the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something’s gone terribly wrong. She doesn’t know what it is, but she knows- She knows- She can’t remember why she’s crying. The Master’s hoodie is grimy enough already, so she sticks her nose in it to wipe her face clean. He smells like a wet dog.

“First things first,” the Doctor says, “whatever was in the crack is now out of the crack.”

“I know. I can smell it.”

“So, we take care of that. Amelia,” he addresses her again. Amelia pulls her face out of the Master’s hoodie to look at the Doctor. “Do you mind if I pick you up?” Amelia is too big to be picked up anymore, at least by her aunt. Still, she nods. “Good. I’m going to put you in the safest place I know.” The Doctor picks Amelia up easily, like she would pick up one of her stuffed animals, and then deposits her, without hesitating, into the Master’s arms as he protests.

“I don’t want her. Take her back.” Amy wriggles, but despite that, he doesn’t drop her.

“I wasn’t lying. Whatever prisoner zero is—I’m working on it—you’re far more dangerous.” At that, the Master hums, pleased with himself. Amelia thinks the Doctor might be even more mad than she’d assumed. “Which also makes you safe.”

The thing is, Amelia thinks, the Doctor isn’t wrong. She looks at the crack, and she looks out her bedroom door down the hall they say contains a monster, and nothing scares her.

“It’s a little early for us to adopt,” the Master mutters.

“Sorry, can’t hear you. Too busy hunting an intergalactic fugitive. You’d know all about that. Amelia, did you know he’s wanted dead or alive in over two hundred galaxies? In multiple time periods.” Amelia looks at the Master for confirmation.

“Two hundred and fifty-three,” he says.

“What’d you do?”

“Everything.” He carries Amelia out, following the Doctor, and only gets interrupted telling her a story she’s not sure she believes about taking over an entire planet when the monster shows itself.

(Enjoyed it? Any interaction is welcomed. You can even support me on Ko-Fi <3)

[crimsonlyinglilly]

No. 28: DENIAL

CCTV | Exposure | "They caught me red handed."

Here's Day 28 of @whumptober 2024, late again

Taste of sin, follows about 2months after Part four - Klaus

Set TVD pre Season 4 Episode 16

----

Rebekah was starting to worry about Elijah, she knew he would take Kol’s death badly, so she had accepted a few missed calls but it had been more than a month ago.

Rebekah only goes to the mansion Klaus had claimed as theirs because she had no other leads on her brother. At first she had assumed he was dealing with the news of Kol and left him to grieve, as guilty as she felt leaving him alone to it but she had had the cure to find, she had thought to share it with him.

That had failed, and after days looking for any signs of the cure and Katherine, she had started trying to reach out to him, he knew Katherine and had far more contacts than she, thanks to not being in a coffin for decades.

Yet he didn’t answer, nor call back after she left message after message.

So she had come to Klaus, her last brother left beside Elijah, to ensure he hadn’t used Elijah’s grief to stab him in the heart as much as she hoped that was below him.

She had thought- hoped that Kol’s death may have started a change in him since he had apparently left the others alone, other than Caroline and Tyler’s deaths and burning down the Gilbert house but that was the other reason she had returned. 

If Klaus hadn’t changed, only one person could reason Klaus into being restrained and Klaus wouldn’t give up on revenge unless he got something else out of it. 

“NIK!” she shouted as she kicked open the door.

Silence greeted her.

“NIK! GET DOWN HERE!” she ordered, her voice echoing, she reached for a vase and threw it expecting him to appear to lecture her of messing up her precious home.

The one he seemed to put more thought and care into building than he spared for the siblings he had expected to live there with him.

He deserved to be alone, she thinks sometimes.

“I KNOW YOUR HERE.” she screamed, his car was outside and she had checked around the town everyone had pointed out he was here, rarely left in fact.

Still he didn’t appear in a fit of rage and threats.

A seed warning grew in the back of her mind, something wasn’t right, but she refused to let it bother her, Klaus enjoyed causing fear to those he felt wronged him. His family weren’t free from that and she wasn’t going to fall for his games.

“WHERE’S ELIJAH?”  she demanded, smiling when her supernatural hearing picked up the faint sound of something falling to the ground.

She was two floors up and stalking towards the room Nik had made into his studio, she kicked the door open and stormed him prepared for Klaus’ anger.

He stared at her, the lack of anger making the seed grow, her eyes flicking to the still wet brush by his foot, the cause of the noise that led her here. 

She looked up and around to the dozens of portraits and paintings surrounding him, weeks if no more of work. A few abstracts and scenery but most were of a signal person, she managed to spot one or two of Caroline but the rest were of just one person.

Elijah.

“What the?” She said.

“You took your time sister,” Klaus greeted, calmly, too calm “I heard your quest for the cure failed.” he said almost pleasantly, the lack of cruel bite in it had the hairs on the back of her neck raising.

“What have you done to our brother that left you feeling the need for this?” she asked, looking around at them, trying to ignore her screaming instincts that something was wrong.

If anyone, he would be painting Kol.

“What can I do for you Rebekah?” Klaus replied, ignoring her question.

“What have you done to Elijah?” she repeated, “he’s not answering my calls.”

Watching Klaus this time she noticed the flinch at their brother’s name, how angry had Elijah been to cause that? Had he blamed Klaus for Kol’s death? Was that why he wasn’t answering her because she had worked with them after it?

For a moment she feel guilty for suspecting him, Elijah could be stubborn and harsh himself.

“Klaus” she started.

“Come with me” Klaus ordered before vanishing in inhuman speed, she followed him.

Her guilt evaporated when she realised where he had led her.

“I knew it.” she hissed as they stopped in a room of coffins. “You daggered him-” she stopped as Klaus moved to open Kol’s.

“STOP!” she shouted suddenly she didn’t want to see it, she knew they killed Kol, she didn’t need to see it and she wouldn’t accept Klaus using that as a punishment. “I don't need-”

Klaus threw open the lid without hesitation and she froze as she found Kol fine, daggered and desiccated as normal with the daggers but whole unburned.

She found herself stepping towards him reaching out, it was almost like all she needed to do was remove the dagger and she would have her brother back.

“How?” she asked looking up to find Klaus standing by the rarely used coffin of Elijah’s, a chill went down her spine at Klaus’ expression for a moment. The dozens of portraits upstairs flashed through her mind. Klaus didn’t do that with people mad at him, he did it with those he lost.

No. That couldn’t be- Elijah wasn’t dead, but if Kol wasn’t and Klaus and her were alive then how did they finish the map?  

“It wasn't Kol’s sireline.” Klaus told her unneeded.

“No,” she refused “they said Kol’s sireline finished-”

Stefan lied to her, she realised as her breathing became shorter, they all had, all that time.

“That was their plan but Elijah arrived first,” Klaus explained even as she tried to deny the facts her mind was putting together. “They lied to you, so you’d help them.”

He killed your brother. Damon had said, he had meant Kol, he had to have meant Kol, because-

No no no no, she shook her head in denial, Elijah couldn’t be dead. They couldn’t have killed him, Kol took risks, they had needed to rescue him before because he had played with his opponents and gotta captured but Elijah- 

She couldn’t accept a world without him, her safety net. 

“Do you need me to open it to show you the truth?” Klaus asked.

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, yet Klaus did.

The lid lifted and her denial was shattered

The white wrapped shape looked too small, it was all wrong but Klaus wouldn’t have done this to hurt her, he wouldn’t have put someone else in Elijah’s coffin.

Elijah was wrapped the same way Henrik had been when they placed him on his pyre. She wondered if Klaus had done the same with Finn and mother’s bodies before she gagged as the smell of ash reached her.

She curled in on herself, leaning over Kol’s body and heard Klaus close the other coffin.

Such a simple sound for a world breaking thing. 

“No.” she whispered as she felt the tears escape her, wishing the word was enough to undo it all.

“Yes.” Klaus replied flatly.

He was gone, Elijah was dead.

He had been gone for two months without her knowing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, hurt and betrayal open, her eyes widening as she remembered the days on the island. “You helped us, why didn’t you tell me then?”

Why leave her to help Elijah’s killers? Had they laughed at her? Elijah’s blood on their hands and her HELPING them.

Klaus shrugged like he didn’t care but Rebekah knew him better as he refused to meet her eyes.

“Tell me the truth,” she demanded, taking a step towards him “You owe me that.”

“Owe you?” he blinked, the rage that appeared was almost a relief against the empty flatness of everything else. “You got to live without his loss for a little longer, that was a gift.” he spat instead of the answer she wanted..

“Why is Kol daggered?” she asked instead of the torrent of rage and hurt she wanted to unleash on him, she wanted to break something, to scream, but she had to put it away, why and how long had Kol been daggered? Did he know? 

“He’s safer.” Klaus answered and Rebekah shifted closer to Kol and reached into the coffin as she read into his tone, Klaus’ belief that the daggers and the coffin were all for their own protection and not Nik’s control issues.

“What?” she hissed.

“He was going to go off and do something reckless.” he argued, rage burning under the attempt at calm. 

“No Nik you can’t just-” she started, because she couldn’t argue that Kol wouldn’t but he should be allowed to grief, he should be allowed to live his life out of Klaus’ control, they all should.

Did Elijah ever get to live for himself? She wonder and her heart sank when she realised she knew the answer.

No and he never would now.

“I won't lose anyone else.” Klaus snarled, desperation clear.

“All you care about is yourself.” she snapped, her hand reaching and curling around the hilt of the dagger in Kol’s chest as Klaus moved towards her.

A moment later they were at a stalemate.

One of her hands around the dagger in Kol’s chest, Klaus’ over hers to keep her from removing it, her other catching the other blade before it entered her own, him holding the hilt.

She looked up into his eyes, the brother she once thought would protect her from everything, the coffin behind him holding Elijah and all the things she could never tell him, never apologise, Kol beside her, the one who had fallen to the side over the centuries.

She laughed. 

What a mess they were.

If he daggered her who knows when he would undagger her with Elijah gone.

Her brother gone, did she really want to be alone with Klaus 

She laughed harder, blinking free the tears in her eyes. 

“Rebekah?“ Klaus called suddenly concerned, she felt his hands loosen a little. 

“Do it.” she hissed letting go of the blade aimed for her heart, it hung in the air.

Her hand burned as it healed, even if he wanted to use it now he’d need to reapply the white oak ash as most of it had been removed with her blood. “You want to be alone so much, go ahead.”

“It’s to protect you.” he argued, his hand still stopping her from freeing Kol.

She wasn’t leaving without him, being split up and led them to this.

“Elijah spent his last decades alone,” she snapped, choking on the sobs she wanted to let out, she cost them New Orleans and Marcel when she called Mikael there, but now she was also half the cause of Elijah being alone all those years. “Looking for us because of you, Finn lost nearly all his life because of you, Kol centuries, I lost the last century I could have had with Elijah.”

He had done everything for them and she didn't know he was dead for two months. 

“Do it and it’s over.” she added as Klaus pulled back the dagger, his hand still on hers keeping the other in Kol.

Klaus froze, looking at her with wide eyes as he knew what she meant even as he asked.

“What?“

“You won’t be my brother anymore,” she confessed coldly, “just the monster that took them from me. Henrik, Finn, would he have sided with mother if we hadn’t forgotten him in that box?” she asked the thing that had been bothering her for months “Elijah-“ her voice broke on a sob. 

She forced herself to take a breath as started again,

“If you dagger me you might as well stake me, because Kol and I will be done with you.” she explained, “I’m not losing any more time or anyone else because of you.”

The room is still and silent as she glares, refusing to falter as tears start to appear in her brother’s eyes.

She flinches when Klaus breaks and throws the dagger at the wall, the clatter of metal on stone breaking the soundless air and he vanishes from her sight without another word. 

Rebekah pulls the dagger in Kol’s heart free and waits.

A crash comes from above before more follows it. She looked down at Kol as colour returned to his skin reaching out to move the hair that had fallen in his eyes out of the way as screams started to join the breaking furniture above.

She chokes as the thought that Elijah would deal with Klaus’ tantrum crosses her mind, there was no Elijah, not anymore.

“I’m sorry.” she said, unsure who she was speaking to as she waited for Kol to wake surrounded by the coffins of their family, for once truly filled with the dead.

[calzone-d]

Reconnected (Ted Lasso x Fem!Reader)

pairing: Ted Lasso x Fem!reader, Mom!reader

word count: 2.4k

warnings: mild sickness

summary: After Ted and your daughter recover from being sick, they’re both ecstatic to see you again. 

a/n: some fluff for you guys! school starts back next week for me, and for some reason I tend to write a bit more during school, it helps me relax and unwind a bit lol. send in any requests you have! love you guys!

Masterlist

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

When you and Henry entered the house, it was eerily quiet. You can't say it was unexpected, though. Ted and your eleven month-old baby girl had sort of confined themselves to your master bedroom since they both fell ill a couple days ago. 

Since then, you had taken over dropping off and picking up Henry from school, and the two of you would cook dinner together before watching your favorite movies on the couch. While Ted had set up your baby’s pack-and-play beside your bed, you slept in the guest bedroom to avoid the unnecessary spread of germs. Both Ted and Charlotte had developed fevers, so you’d both decided it would be best to keep your distance until their fevers broke and they were no longer contagious. They weren’t extremely sick, but just enough to feel pretty uncomfortable. It was Charlotte’s first time being sick, so she wasn’t handling it well, but Ted was enjoying the extra time he got to spend with you daughter. 

For most of the day, they had the house to themselves while you were at work and Henry was at school. You couldn’t deny loving all of the cute videos and pictures Ted was sending you, either. He was truly such a wonderful father, and you were both over the moon when Charlotte made her arrival almost a year ago. Ted made sure to follow a strict schedule for her medication to ensure she didn’t have to feel uncomfortable for too long. The pair would eat lunch together, Ted being sure to cook meals that could be easily mashed or pureed for baby girl to enjoy with him. He’d spend hours talking to her, and they’d alternate between watching one of his favorite movies and a couple episodes of her current favorite show. While Ted wasn’t napping with her, and the fatigue from his cold wasn’t too bad, he’d pick up around the house and help prep an easy dinner you and Henry could cook when you came home.  

Each night, he would facetime you and Henry from across the house because Henry refused to go to bed without telling his little sister goodnight. Their shared laughter and babbles made your heart soar. Sleeping in a Ted-less bed felt foreign, and you were glad that tonight you could finally sleep together again without having to worry about getting sick yourself. It had also been way too long since you’d held your baby girl, and it was beginning to make you both grow antsy. Throughout the day, Ted had slowly moved her things back into her room, and had picked up the clutter that had accumulated in your bedroom over the past few days. 

Henry only had a half-day at school today, so he had asked to spend the afternoon with Phoebe at Roy and Keeley’s. On the drive over, he insisted on calling Ted so he could tell you both about his day at school. 

“Dad, Mrs. Adams let us draw on her whiteboard in class today!”

“Wow, buddy! Did’ya draw somethin’ cool?”

“I drew a picture of a soccer field! It looked so cool dad, just like the one at your work!”

Before Ted could reply, Charlotte began loudly babbling over the phone.

“Is that Charlie? Mom, can I turn it to facetime? I want to say hi!”

You affectionately giggled at Henry before telling him how to swap the call over, “You’ve got about five minutes, Hen, we’re almost there.”

Charlotte grew fussy at the sound of your voice over the phone, clearly the time spent apart from you had begun to take its toll on her. She was a major daddy’s girl, and absolutely adored Ted, but it had been too long since she’d gotten to snuggle up to you. The sound of Henry’s voice quickly re-directed her attention, and within seconds she was laughing at her older brother. Her gummy smile had swept you all off your feet. 

The four of you exchanged a quick goodbye as you pulled up to Roy and Keeley’s. Henry gave you a quick hug before sprinting inside, likely looking to play on Roy’s new playstation. 

“Have any new pictures of little miss Charlotte?”, Keeley always went crazy for new pictures of her goddaughter. The two of you stood over your phone, cooing while you swiped through the pictures Ted had sent during their mini quarantine together. 

“Fuck’s sake, he really is such a good dad, isn’t he?”

A proud smile easily found its way to your lips, “The absolute best. We’re all lucky to have Ted. I love him so much.”

Roy let out a light grunt as you and Keeley got sappy, but you could see the ghost of a smile on his lips. 

“Okay, okay. It’s been almost a week since I’ve seen those two, so I’m going to head back home. Henry mentioned spending the night yesterday?”

Roy gave you a single nod, “Yeah, the two knuckleheads want to go see some movie in the morning, so we figured we’d take them.”

“Yeah, babes. We can drop Hen off after the movie, go home to your man!”, Keeley encouraged with a wink. Her wink made you blush as you laughed.

“All right guys, thanks again. Call if you need anything, love you both!”

—------

When you walked through the door, you heard the familiar sounds of Bluey on the TV. Ted must have not heard you, because he continued speaking in his very over-exaggerated australian voice to Charlotte.

To her, this was the funniest thing ever. She let out the cutest laughs and squeals at Ted’s antics. Where she sat on the floor, she had discovered smacking her hands on the carpet would encourage Ted to entertain her more, and the two had a very cute system going. 

“Hello, my loves!”, your voice echoed through the house as you sat your purse down. Charlotte had turned in your direction and was babbling baby nonsense as she began crawling towards you. She could stand when holding herself against a sturdy object but wasn’t quite taking steps yet. Nonetheless, she was a quick crawler, and continued her babbling until you crouched down to pick her up.

Ted watched in awe as you picked up your daughter and sat her on your hip. The vision of you both looking at each other, facial features mirroring each other’s, was enough to make him want to cry. You’d given him a lifetime of love, and the family you’d built together only heightened that feeling. As if the feeling of you loving him for all of his feats wasn’t enough, the way you mothered his children felt like it was the only thing he’d been searching for his entire life. 

Charlotte’s hands reached up to palm at your cheeks as you brought your nose down to brush against hers. Sure, you shared some facial features, but her button nose was a replica of Ted’s. 

“Hi baby girl,” you giggled at her eagerness to see you. 

“Mama, mamama”, she babbled. 

“Good job, baby!”, you bounced her against your hip as you walked over to join Ted on the couch. 

“Can you say dada? Dada?”, you spoke slowly and clearly, an approach that seemed to be working as she slowly built her vocabulary. 

She looked over at Ted with curious eyes, “Da?”

Ted’s eyes lit up at the recognition from his daughter and shuffled close to you both when you sat down on the couch.

“That’s me, sweet pea!”, he leaned forward to press a kiss against her chubby cheek, before pressing one to yours.

“Hi darlin’, we sure missed you an awful lot.”

Before he completely pulled away, you leaned in and planted a warm kiss on his lips. Even though it was only a few days, it felt like it had been years since you felt his lips against yours. As you shared a kiss, Charlotte bounced with her legs in your arms and squealed. You shared a laugh as you pulled away. 

“Da!”, she continued to bounce her legs. 

Ted smoothed a hand over her wispy curls. His hand looked like a giant’s against Charlotte’s small head. 

“Good job, honey!-”

“Da! Dadadada!” 

Ted leaned down to be eye level with her where she sat in your arms, “You gonna keep sayin’ it, huh? S’that your new word?” 

She babbled some more at him, and he pressed quick kisses against her cheeks in a way that made her laugh before pulling away and resting his head on your shoulder. Charlotte settled down in your lap and rested her head on your chest while her hands grabbed tiny fistfuls of your shirt. You held her to you as she nuzzled into your embrace, something you’d both missed during their time in quarantine.

Your head tilted sideways to rest against the top of Ted’s. “Missed you so much, honey. I’m so glad you’re both feeling better.”

Ted had let Charlotte grab onto one of his fingers, a soothing touch as her eyelids grew heavy. 

“Yeah, don’t think either of us could’ve gone much longer without seeing you and Hen. I needed my beautiful wife, baby girl here needed her mama. And we both just miss Henry’s energy and enthusiasm like crazy.”

Even after being married for a while, Ted still took every opportunity to compliment you and remind you of his love. It still made your cheeks blush and your belly do backflips. 

You turned your head to press a kiss to his thick hair, “We missed you guys too. You know, Henry Bug’s becoming so much like you.”

“How so?”

“He’s just such a bright light in every room he’s in. Always wants to help others, has a heart so full of love for everyone, and funny as hell, too.”

Although you couldn’t see it, Ted couldn't hide his proud smile at the mention of your son. 

“You think he’ll be okay? I mean, turnin’ out like me, n’all?”

You sat up a bit to meet Ted’s eyes, “Ted, I think him turning out like you is one of the most delightful things I’ve ever seen. Anyone would be lucky to even be the slightest bit like you, my love.”

Still not used to being doted on, your words turned Ted’s cheeks a dark, crimson red. “Well, he’s had a pretty amazing woman helpin’ raise him too.”. His soft smile made his eyes crinkle, and if it weren't for your now sleeping daughter in your arms, you would’ve leaned over to kiss one of his graying temples. 

“I mean, sure, but we’re talking about you right now, Teddy. You’re an amazing role-model and father to him. Makes me love you even more, seeing the way you’re teaching him to be such a lovely person.”

He brought a warm hand up to softly rub against Charlotte’s back, “We are doin’ a pretty good job, I reckon.”

Your eyes cast downward to admire the features of your daughter, “We’re doing a hell of a good job, Teddy.”

He flashed you a loving smile before leaning in, and planting a longer, softer kiss to your puckered lips. 

In his past marriage, Ted practically lived in fear of being “too much”. Qualities that made you fall in love with him were ones that he used to feel like he had to hide and growing used to letting go of his fears was a slow process. You’d doted on him as soon as you admitted your feelings for each other. He was such a wonderful human, that even a short time of hiding your affection felt like the most difficult task. Whenever you had a moment, you reminded him of your love for him, if not going even further by expressing your admiration towards him as a person, partner, and father. The progress he’d made was something you were both proud of. 

Even when you did try complimenting him, he would always be so quick to turn it on you. He loved you too, and wanted you to know that, but you were helping him learn that sometimes things could just be about him. Nights where you focused on him and his pleasure, compliments directed explicitly towards him, little gestures to brighten his day without expecting something back. You loved him without any conditions, or hesitations. You loved every part of him, too, and at first that was a tough act for him to swallow.

It was almost as if he’d become comfortable with the idea of being “too much”, because it was easier to predict how things would end, and at first, he thought it would help save him from some sort of heartbreak. You’d been very stern when explaining to him that he would never be “too much”, but your unwavering determination was comforting to him. He had learned that you loved his optimism and radiated similar energy when you two were together. Falling in love with you felt so easy, it felt like coming home. Ted never would've imagined that when he took a job offer across the world to try and save his failing marriage, that he would eventually feel as if he had come home. 

He’d come home to the woman who loved him for him and couldn’t wipe the smile from her face when she was around him. The woman who laughed at his jokes and fired back with some of her own. The woman who became a mother to Henry and gave him a daughter that fit perfectly into the family they’d built. 

His eyes got misty as he watched you rock your daughter into her afternoon nap. With the time you spent apart, you had no plans to put her in her room, you fully intended on her napping against your chest where you could press the occasional kiss to her soft hair. Ted turned to lean his side into the couch, where he could more comfortably rest his head closer to yours. 

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“For what, honey?”

“Just- for everything. For lovin’ me, for our family, for lovin’ Henry and Charlotte. You’re the love of my life, darlin’. You have every piece of me.”

“Ted. I just try to give you the love that you absolutely deserve. Have always deserved.”, he nodded along with you.

A comfortable silence fell across you both as you watched your daughter sleep. 

“Henry’s gonna be so excited to see her when he gets home tomorrow. Seriously, Ted, he has missed Charlie bug so damn much. I definitely didn’t think they’d like each other this much right now, but oh my god I love it.”

“He’s the best big brother. Never gonna have to worry about protectin’ this one when she gets older, huh?”, he smoothed a hand over her head again.

“Nope”, you chuckled softly, “Hen’s got that covered.”

Ted swapped Bluey out for a comedy while you relaxed together on the couch. He’d nodded off against your shoulder as well, and you felt at ease surrounded by your family. Minus Henry, but you knew he was having a blast at Roy and Keeley’s. As your husband and daughter slept, she kept one of his fingers in her hand, holding onto it tightly, even in her sleep.

Thanks for reading!

[marie-swriting]

New Milestone - Emily Prentiss

Masterlist

Summary : Emily comes home from a case and fortunately her girlfriend does everything to make sure she's greeted lovingly.

Warning : fluff, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if I missed any warnings.

Word count : 1.1k

French version

Prompt : "There is no better way to start the day than to see your face." from this prompt list made by @creativepromptsforwriting, n°4

You finish making the sauce for the pasta when you hear the front door of Emily’s apartment opening. You turn off the gas cooker before running toward your girlfriend. She puts her bag down and holds you in her arms. You hug for a moment as you know she needs comfort after all the horror she’s been exposed to. When you break the embrace, you kiss her, enjoying the feeling of her lips on yours, feelings that you missed so much.

“How was the flight back ?” You ask, stroking her arm.

“Good, but I’m tired.”

“It’s a good thing I made dinner then.”

“I thought you’d come later.”

“You gave me your key, you can’t get rid of me anymore.” You state laughing.

Emily and you exchanged your keys a month ago, taking your relationship a step further. Therefore, you can now go to her home before she gets back from a case. Like this, you can heartily greet her.

“Come on, put your pyjamas on while I take care of your bag.” You add. “Then, sit on the couch, I’ll bring dinner.”

“You’re the best.” Emily smiles.

You peck her lips before softly pushing her to make her go to her room. You take her bag and walk in the laundry where you put her dirty clothes in the washing machine. You leave her baggage in the room, because you know Emily prefers to pack it herself, even though she appreciates the fact you want to help her do it. 

You go back to the kitchen and put the pasta on two plates before finding Emily in the living room. She puts on a comedy tv show that you wanted to watch for the past few months while you give her her plate. She thanks you and you sit down as close to her as you can before starting to eat.

You two spend the night watching the tv show until Emily falls asleep, her head on your knees. You fondly stroke her hair while she holds your other hand against her. It’s a habit she picked on a few months ago, she thinks it’s reassuring. Obviously, you don’t mind. The more your body is close to her, the better. 

When the episode is over, you turn off the tv and slowly you wake Emily up by kissing her head.

“I fell asleep, didn’t I ?” She questions, rubbing her eyes. “Sorry.”

“You just came home from a few days of work, it’s normal you fall asleep.” You reassure her by kissing her cheek. “Besides, it was already getting late when we started the last episode. We should go to sleep.”

Emily yawns loudly before stretching, agreeing with you without saying a word. With your hand still in hers, you walk to her bedroom. Emily doesn’t wait before laying down on her bed while you get ready to go to bed. When you come back to the room, she’s already sleeping again. You lay next to her and instinctively, Emily comes closer to you, taking your hand again. You kiss hers before closing your eyes, a smile on your face.

When you wake up, you find Emily is already awake. She smiles at you before coming a little bit closer to you and kissing you quickly.

“There is no better way to start the day than to see your face.” You say, delighted.

“Especially when I don’t have to go to the BAU which means we can stay in bed for as long as we want.” Emily adds.

“I love when you say that.”

You hold Emily against you, enjoying this gentle awakening. After you cuddle for forty minutes, you finally ask her a question about the case. You always want to make sure she’s okay.

“There’s been worse cases.” She answers, sighing. “At least, he’s been arrested now.”

“Do you want to talk about it a little bit more ?”

“No. I don’t feel like I need to. At least not now.”

“You know you can always come to me if you change your mind.” You remind her and she nods.

“That’s why I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You kiss again before officially getting out of bed. You make something to eat while Emily packs her bag to be sure it’ll be ready for the next day when she’ll go to work.

The whole day you stay at Emily’s. She doesn’t want to go out, she just wants to enjoy her Sunday to relax. 

You two keep watching the show from the day before, putting back the episode Emily missed, until mid-afternoon. After that, you talk and watch a movie. This kind of day can seem ordinary for other couples but like Emily has to go away a lot, you enjoy your reunion by doing everyday activities to have some sort of normal life together. Although, once a month, you do something more sophisticated like a restaurant to be sure you don’t fall into a routine.

When the day is about to end, you pack your things, you need to go back home. You don’t have your work stuff with you and you wouldn’t have the time to go to your place before work the next morning. You also have to finish working on a file so you can’t stay any longer.

You close your bag while Emily looks at you fondly. You put on your jacket and walk towards the door. Before opening it, Emily holds you in her arms.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave.” You whisper.

“You know,” Emily starts, “we could move in together.”

After her proposition, you break the embrace, an embarrassed expression on your face.

“I wasn’t saying that for-... don’t feel like you need to ask !”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, actually. Not you ?”

“Oh, I have !” You confirm quickly making her giggle. “I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“So, we move in ?” She wants to make sure and you fall back in her arms.

“Yes !”

“We’ll talk about it at lunch tomorrow ? If I don’t have to leave, we’ll eat together like we usually do ?” Emily asks and you nod.

“I’m gonna spend my whole night planning it.” You inform and Emily chuckles. 

“Don’t forget you have work to do.”

“Sorry to be excited about the idea of finally moving in with my girlfriend.” You retort with a big smile and she has one as well.

“I’m excited too.”

You press your lips on Emily’s with passion. Your hands on her hips while hers are on your cheeks, you get as close as you can. Your kiss lasts a few moments, fully enjoying this moment of happiness in your relationship, enjoying this new milestone.

Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

[winter-parrot]

@passengerseatsam tagged me in a thing like a week ago and then it ran away from my brain so. here it is belatedly!!!

last song: foreigner's god, hozier

currently watching: nothing regularly, actually! a lot of youtube lol. i did watch episode 1 of one piece a few weeks ago and keep meaning to pick it back up, but hasn't happened yet.

last movie: the entire LOTR trilogy director's cut over three days at the theatre a couple months back

sweet/spicy/savory: sweet > savory > spicy.

relationship status: single

current obsession: between fandom hyperfixations at the moment, which means i'm kind of toying around with all my prior obsessions lurking in the back of my brain like sleeper agents. oh! i started playing stardew valley for the first time like a month or two back and i've logged 24+ hours in it already, so there's that

last thing I googled: 'mcu civil war' i was mostly trying to remember mcu film order but also. help.

tagging: @spacebuck @opheliedulac @eclipsedrawsthings @juncobirds ??? if you see this consider yourself tagged if you'd like

[lover-girl-estxx]

Be Happy For Me

not my gif

"i'm sorry my brothers didn't come to your going away party" Nina said sitting on my bed "its fine" I said doing last minute packing "no its not I mean this wasn't just a some show to get into some fight company. its the show that could make you the first female champ for the UFC" "that doesn't make me nervous at all" I laughed "sorry its just they're assholes" "no they're just old fashion" she shrugged "you ready to fight a bunch of people for days on end?" "you have no idea I can't wait!".

| Nates POV |

what are you watching" I asked my sister and mom sitting on the couch "TUF" Nina said looking at me I slightly looked at her before going back to the TV "Nick!" "mm?" he said coming out of the kitchen "sit" my mom added he did "which episode?" "second" he nodded. She got on to Forrest Griffins team, he was always one of her favorites "what's it what training with the Diaz brothers?" one of the girls I think Chris was her name asking as they sat at the dining table she slightly smiled "its great they're both great fighter help me a lot" "they seem rude" "you seem rude" Y/n said kinda sitting up "well you know I heard through some people that they're not training you anymore after they found out you were coming here doesn't sound very kind to me does it? but low life's act that way right" she shrugged "your gonna find out what a real low life is when I beat you off this show and no one knows your name, your gonna be on my highlight reel and your not gonna have one," y/n said and smiled, I smiled looking at the screen "goodnight!" she took the last sip of her drink.

"I wanted to punch her in the face so bad but I was really tired" she giggled in her interview "I taught her to talk shit like that" I whispered.

"you want to fight?" Forrest asked Y/n "yes please" he nodded "you got it" "thank you!" she smiled. "who are you picking to fight first griffin?" Dana asked "Y/n," she stepped forward "Y/n who do you want to fight?" She pointed to Chris who stepped up Rampage put a hand between them to keep them a bit apart "make sure your hair looks good fight day cause people are gonna wanna watch me knock you out over and over" Y/n said with a smart ass smile on her face making Rampage lightly laugh.

"I'm putting my money on Y/n Y/l/n she's a black belt in BJJ, great striking cardio. She trains with some very tough fighters including season 5 TUF winner Nate Diaz! I think it's gonna be a short fight"

| Ninas POV |

Both my brothers were now on the edge of their seat, me ready to watch through my fingers "come on" Nate said and clapped his hands, Y/n went to the middle and touched gloves they were feeling each other out when Y/n landed a hard leg kick "that was good!" Nick stood up clapping his hands. she got hit good a few times till she hit the other girl with a hard right hook making the girl fall and Y/n hit her again with a hammer fist. A wide smile came to her and she ran around the cage, we all cheered and yelled Nates smile was touching his ears. Forrest picked her up, she showed her mouth guard NDA in big bold letters. "i'm very happy with the fight and the win! but um thank you to my coaches and the fighters back home that helped me leaning up to this fight" she smiled in her one on one "and Nina just cause shes great!" Y/n shrugged.

"yeah me not you two assholes" I said looking to them "thanks Nina' Nick said with tight lips.

We sat down every week and watched Y/n it was now about episode 5, it was towards the end of it when a group of the girls sat in a circle with y/n as well to play a game where they asked questions. Y/n grabbed one of the homemade cards "have you had a crush and not told anyone? Yes" she said setting the card down "you have to tell us how long ago? why didn't you tell him?" Sophia asked her "like month and a half ago" she laughed the girl likely gasped "why not tell him?" "we were friends I didn't want to ruin" "were?" "yes no more questions on top of questions" both the boys looked at each other "who is she talking about?" Nate asked "I don't know" I shrugged. It was Nate ever since we were in highschool.

Y/n 17 years old Nina 15 years old

Me and Y/n drank quite a bit me not so much Y/n and the guys wouldn't let me, "do you want water?" I asked her "no i-m fine" "okay" I slightly laughed "does Nate like me I feel like I annoy him?" "he likes you of course if he didn't he won't hang out with you" she nodded "he's really cute" she smiled "eww that's my brother" I lightly pushed her shoulder "don't tell him please he really won't want to hang out with me" "your secret is safe with me" "promise?" "promise" she smiled "hey you two" Nate said "hi" Y/ns smile grew wider "how much have you drank?" "n-not to much" Nate smiled and put his hand out for her which she took "thank you" he walked her to the friends car who was giving us a ride. He wrapped his arm around her then she laid her head on his shoulder/chest his head on top of hers.

| Y/ns POV |

I laid on my bottom bunking looking up at the top one, I was doing really good I won three fight the first one to get in the next one my KO the third by sub.I did upset me that the boys weren't watching weren't seeing me do good, Nates not sitting in front of the TV like I was for him when he was on the show. He's not gonna be in my corner when I win the title or my coming home party, when I was younger and i'd sit in my room at night and think about this what am doing they were with me.. Now when I walk in my our gym I avoid them when I used to wait for them to come in, its only been a month and a half with out them and out feels like years.

[dominickeating-source]

TV Zone Issue 63 (2005)

Reed All About Him

As the curtain comes down on Star Trek: Enterprise, Dominic Keating talks with Steven Eramo about the show's final episodes and looks back fondly at his tour of duty as Lt. Malcolm Reed.

His favourite food is pineapple, he tends to be shy around the opposite sex, and he takes great pride in doing a job well done. Over the past four years, fans of Star Trek: Enterprise have gotten to know a bit about what makes the Enterprise NX-01�s tactical officer Lt. Malcolm Reed tick. Recently, he was even forced to reveal a part of his life that he'd previously kept well-hidden. But the lieutenant's TV journey has come to an abrupt end with Enterprise's cancellation. 

"I was in the parking lot of the YMCA when Rick Berman called to tell me that the show had been cancelled," says Reed's alter ego Dominic Keating, referring to the series' executive producer. "I more or less took it on the chin. Deep down, I think we all knew. It's quite sad, really. I mean, there are people I know at the gym who ordinarily wouldn't watch a show like Star Trek. However, because they know me, they've been watching and have become fans. Over the past few months, these people have come up to me and said, This year has just been incredible. They've been genuinely excited to tune in each week, especially as Enterprise seemed to have finally found its stride this season. But, of course, now it's all over."

There's no denying that the first half of Enterprise's fourth year was very much Malcolm Reed-lite. Except for his bridge scenes and the occasional rescue mission, the character remained off the radar. However, Keating was of the mind that good things come to those who wait, and he was right. "I did hardly anything in the first 11 episodes of this season," says the actor. "That said, they were terrific stories in terms of Star Trek lore, and I was just happy to be working. I'm not an actor who reads the scripts week after week and says, Is that all I get to do? I'm lucky in that I got off to a good start with Enterprise and had some neat Malcolm stories in the first three years. That sort of satiated my actors vanity and need to be recognized," he laughs.

"As for this season, things started to pick up for Malcolm with Observer Effect, in which his body is among those taken over by an alien life form. I had some fun scenes in that one, including the opening teaser where Malcolm and Ensign Mayweather [Anthony Montgomery] are playing chess. That was an actual chess game that Anthony and I played for every take. It was shot in a fairly wide angle so that you could, in fact, see each move."

Reed's other moment in the spotlight - albeit a very shadowy spotlight- came in the two-part story explaining the differences between the smooth-headed Klingons of the original series and the bumpy headed models of more recent years.

"I can't tell you how excited I was when I received the scripts for these two episodes," says Keating of the episodes which revealed Reed to be an agent of the black ops unit Section 31. "Funnily enough, I'd actually pitched a story not unlike it back in season one. It was an idea for a Manchurian Candidate-type episode apropos the Suliban. So when Affliction and Divergence came along I was thrilled that my character had this 'boiled sweet' as it were at the back of his mouth that nobody knew he was sucking on. I didn't even ring Manny Coto to ask for any backstory. I just figured that Malcolm was a member of some skull and crossbones society that he joined years ago and that it had now come back to haunt him.

"This was a solid story, very gritty, and a nice little arc for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes I had with Scott Bakula, and Eric Pierpoint, who played Section 31 chief Harris, was a pleasure to work with as well. The two of us really hit it off and we had a lot of laughs together on set. Eric has guest-starred several times on Trek, including the year one Enterprise episode Rogue Planet. This season, his character of Harris recurs almost right up to the end. In fact, threes a scene in the episode that LeVar Burton directed Demons where Harris and Reed meet in a dark alley and he suggests that my character go work for him. During one of the rehearsals I asked, "Why, what have you got? A TV pilot? A movie? That brought the house down, especially as we'd already heard about the cancellation."

It was while filming the second half of the alternative universe episode, In a Mirror, Darkly, that Keating along with the rest of the Enterprise cast and crew learnt of the shows imminent demise. " Supervising producer Merri Howard had announced she was leaving while we were working on the first part of this story," says the actor. "That was a bit of a belly blow. It was like, Oh, God, they're all jumping ship. Merri kept saying it didn't mean anything, but it was difficult not to imagine that it did. And then we got cancelled. The news was tempered by the fact that for this episode they'd built a replica of the original Enterprise bridge as well as its corridors, and our characters were dressed in classic Trek costumes. Still, it was an odd time. As I mentioned earlier, we all had a feeling this was coming, so it was like a dark cloud was suddenly hanging over us."

Not surprisingly, shooting Enterprise's finale, These Are The Voyages, was an emotional experience for all concerned, including Keating. "We shot our last scene in engineering on Friday night [25th February]," he notes. "It was Connor Trinneer and me, and it's quite wonderful, really. I think it's one of those moments that fans will play back over and over in their heads. Basically, it's a thinly disguised allegorical scene for the end of our stint on Enterprise as both characters on the ship and actors on a TV show. It's very moving. There were a couple of times that night where I welled up. That Friday it really hit home for all of us that this was it."

Although he has no idea what fate has in store next for him, Keating is sure that he'll be OK. "I truly believe that, generally speaking, things happen for a reason," muses the actor. "I remember at the time I was gutted when my contract wasn't renewed on the UK sitcom Desmonds. Nonetheless, I went ahead with my plans to visit friends in San Francisco. I ended up going to Los Angeles, which wasn't planned, met some people there and six weeks later I moved to the States.

"Had things not turned out the way they did on Desmonds, I wouldn't be here today. I love living in Southern California and best of all, during my time on Enterprise I've learnt how to really act in front of the camera. I'm a different acting animal than I was four years ago. The show was an amazing luck of the draw for me. It may take some time, but I've just got to wait for the right part in the right project to come along again. I'm confident that will happen."

Celestial Bodies

Among the final episodes to be shot for Enterprise's fourth season was Bound where three Orion slave girls use their feminine wiles to persuade male crewmen to do their bidding. "Let me just tell you, the dance that the three actresses perform in the episode is very sexy," says Keating "The choreographer they worked with had also worked at one time with Janet Jackson. There were no wardrobe malfunctions, but there was quite an energy on set, green or otherwise," chuckles the actor.

"Cyia Batten, who played the lead Orion slave girl, was one of the original dancers in The Pussycat Dolls. She's just beautiful, as are the two women who played the other two Orion gals. William Lucking, who guest-starred as the girls owner did a terrific job as well and gave a very Marlon Brando-like performance. The set for this episode was great, too. It was a sort of space-age Sci-Fi tent where our characters were seduced with food, drink and foxy chicks."

Taking the High Road

Looking back at his time on Enterprise, Keating has nothing but good things to say about the shows cast, in particular, Scott Bakula. "One of the times I welled up on the Friday that I previously spoke of was while we were shooting a scene in the shuttlepod launch bay," he says.

"It was me, Scott, John Billingsley, Linda Park and Anthony Montgomery. I remember watching Scott at work and thinking, Scott, I can't tell you how great these past four years have been. I've learnt so much working with you, not only about the craft of acting and how to carry oneself on a film set, but also about being a human being.

"Scott is an extraordinary individual and one of life's true gents. Without sounding too full of myself, there are moments in my daily life when I'm not prone to take the high road, and I'll ask myself, How would Scott Bakula behave in this situation? That's the kind of positive affect he's had on me."

Source: www.dominickeating.com