#I’m talking about both Tyler and Nick

[honeydewdonutgirl]

If I had a nickel for every time my favorite character in a piece of horror/horror adjacent media was the “normie” boy who was sweet on the mean outcast girl but then he turned out to be the villain, almost got her killed, and was a serial killing maniac…

…I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[writing-until-i-drop]

What's In A Name? Chapter Nine

Meg Harding and Kate Carter were inseparable until their friends died five ago, then she ran to New Orleans to save lives as a paramedic. But when Javi calls on his two oldest friends to help him collect data, counting on their matching natural instincts for tornadoes, Meg goes home for the first time in years. That's where she meets Tyler and the rest of the Wranglers, the YouTube storm chasers her dad likes to watch, and finds herself fitting in more with them than with Storm PAR. Meg only plans to stay for the week but will it be easy to leave when the dust settles?

If a certain cowboy has a say in it, nothing about leaving is going to be easy.

A/N: The OG chasers make a group chat and the twister shifts towards a crowded town.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Katie and Tyler had their plans all laid out, the science behind them seemed solid enough. Cathy had practically kicked them out of her house but made them promise to come back before heading home. Meg’s heart twinged when she thought of her life in New Orleans but she didn’t dwell on the thought long, quickly falling asleep in the back seat as Meg and Tyler talked science. Nick’s ringtone is what pulled her back to the land of the living some time later.

“Hey, Hot Stuff. My cougar still purrin’?” The whole truck jerked, Meg assumed there was a pothole, her eyes barely open.

“You know it, Honey Buns. You know, since you’ve been gone so long I was thinking of getting her some training wheels, in case you forgot how to do your job.” 

“I’m better than you on your best day, I’ve got moves you ain’t ever seen,” The truck jerked again and Meg finally opened her eyes, Kate was looking back at her, eyebrows up at her hairline. She pointed at Tyler, who was blocked by the seat at the angle Meg was leaning against the window. “Hold on, babe. My boyfriend is trying to kill us.” Nick’s laughter rang in her ear.

“It’s Nick isn’t it?” Tyler sighed, chuckling to himself. “Sorry,”

“Who’s Nick?” 

“Her partner at work,” Tyler explained, Nick was still laughing his ass off.

“Nick, if you don’t stop laughing, I’m fixin’ to tell your wife,” She kicked the back of Tyler’s seat, making sure he heard that part. “About Tommy’s bachelor party.”

“And I’ll tell your man ‘bout the supply closet. Truce?” 

“Truce but it’s official, I ain’t ever lettin’ y’all meet, nuh uh, over my dead body.” Nick and Meg laughed, continuing to chat about all the workplace drama she had missed so far. 

“Can’t wait to have you back, Meg.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Meg couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. “Gotta go, Hot Stuff. Make sure you scrub that rig good tonight, you know she’s a dirty girl after a shift.” When she hung up, Meg sat up straight in the seat, catching a glimpse of Tyler’s pink cheeks in the rearview mirror.

“You always talk like that to colleagues, Mud Bug?” Meg snorted, knowing how out of place the flirting sounded to anyone who was outside of the field. Fire fighters, police, and medics all had a twisted sense of what was appropriate. Normal people had a line that they’d never cross, fearing being impolite or crude, the people in Meg’s line of work however crossed that line with glee. 

“Only the married ones,” She reached up over the seat, resting both hands on Tyler’s shoulders. “How much longer we got on the road?” 

“Not long,” He squeezed her hand, keeping the other on the wheel. “How’s Nick?” 

“He’s annoyin’ as ever, they assigned him a rookie EMT as a partner while I’m gone and let’s just say, it’s goin’ interestin’ for the both of ‘em.” 

When they pulled into the auto-garage, the rest of the Wranglers were standing there waiting for them, including the reporter.

“Ben, you stuck around,” Tyler greeted the man, hopping out of his truck. Meg rolled her eyes, heading straight for Lily, who pulled her into a hug.

“How’s everything going, darlin’?” Meg asked, “Saw y’all chased without us.” 

“Boone won’t stop moping that Tyler left him behind,” Lily snorted. “How are things with you and him?” Meg pulled away, blushing,

“Let’s just say, I’m wonderin’ what kind of rings you’re picking out for us.” Lily squealed with excitement and Meg had to clamp a hand over her mouth when everyone’s head turned her way. “Not all of Oklahoma needs to be in on this conversation.”

“Sorry, sorry, I’ll text you pictures later.” 

“Hey, y’all ready?” Dani called out to the group and everyone converged, Meg and Lily hanging towards the back of the group while Dani ran the salesman down the specifications of what they needed.

After settling on an aluminum trailer, the Wranglers drove out to a field and started working on preparing the barrels and rockets. 

“What are you doing over here, Meg?” Boone stuck the camera in her face, grinning like a dope.

“I’m checking all of my supplies, making sure everything’s ready to go in case there’s trouble.” 

“Y’all, meet Meg, she’s a badass paramedic that’s got T wrapped around her little finger,” Meg batted at him. Boone laughed, dancing away to go check on Lily and Cairo. She felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. 

“Oh lordy, they done made a group chat.” 

Dad: You’re on the livestream!

Rabbit: Wrapped around your finger?

Haynes: Leave her alone Rabbit

Dad: When are y’all getting married?

Lawrence: She’s never getting married out of spite at this point

Meg chuckled at Lawrence’s text, appreciating the throwback to when she looked her Grandma Harding in the eye after being admonished for not “sitting like a lady” and how “no man wants to marry a wild animal” and said with all of the conviction in the world: I ain’t ever gettin’ married. 

Dad: Don’t say that

Joey: Yeah, shut up Lawrence

Haynes: Don’t be mean to him

Preacher: Be careful out there, Meggy

Meg: Always am, Preach <3

Mama: Wear your harness!!!!

Meg tucked her phone away, going to stand by Kate who was quietly snapping pictures.

“You ready to tame a tornado?” Meg rested a hand on the middle of Kate’s back, waiting until she stopped snapping photos tto bring her in for a hug.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. I’m real glad you’re here, Meg,” 

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” Not even New Orleans. The two of them stood there, hugging for a long while before breaking apart, both of them feeling the atmosphere start to change. 

“Let’s do this.” 

“Something’s not right,” Meg said just as Katie announced that the Doppler went dark. “I don’t like this.” The twisting feeling in her gut only got worse when Cairo went down. Kate was silent but Meg knew by the look on her face that she was thinking the same thing. 

The tornado came through the rain out of nowhere, flipping Javi’s StormPAR truck like a toy. 

“Javi!” Kate screamed, her hand flying back to hold Meg’s. “Tyler, we got to do something.” 

“On your left guys, it’s hitting something big!” Boone’s shout crackled over the radio and Meg let out a string of curse words that would make any sailor blush. 

“Shit,” 

“Oh my God,” They watched in horror as the storm barelled into some type of factory, becoming wrapped with fire.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” Tyler quickly put the truck in drive, trying to flip them around. Meg squeezed her eyes shut, panic coursing through her veins. Was she going to die this time? Was the tornado finally going to claim what slipped out of grasp all those years ago? She vaguely heard Kate and Tyler squabbling over what to do about Javi, feeling the panic inside of her shift to an eerie calm, her training coming back to her like the second nature it was. 

“Get us out of here, Cowboy.” Tyler’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror before he high-tailed it out of there, following Javi’s truck which had somehow flipped back onto its wheels while her eyes had been shut, shouting at them to hold on. 

When light started breaking through the storm clouds again, Tyler called out on the radio to check in with the team and Meg felt herself relax a little with each confirmation of safety. 

“What was that?” Ben shouted somewhere in the background and Meg knew the answer in her soul. Tornadoes weren’t classified until after the fact, their strength determined by how much they destroyed, but she could feel it. They were running from the finger of God. She twisted in her seat, looking at the storm.

“It’s shifting course.” 

“Shit,” Kate groaned. “It’s heading straight for a town. It’s heading for El Reno,” Kate started spouting orders over the radio and Meg undid her harness, pulling her medical bag out from under the seat, throwing the strap over her shoulder so she wouldn’t have to waste time when they stopped. 

“You okay back there?” Tyler asked, reaching one hand up over his shoulder for her to squeeze.

“I’m okay, baby. Let’s get these people to safety.” That’s all he needed to hear, picking up speed as they drove past the StormPAR truck. 

The town was in chaos, everyone running around and screaming. They started shouting instructions, pushing vendors away from their tents and towards shelter. There was debris flying all around, the wicked wind making it hard to stay on their feet. 

“Go, go to the movie theater,” Meg guided people towards the theater. Her heart stopped when she heard Tyler scream.

“Tyler! Kate, help me.” Tyler was pinned beneath large debris, and even with all of her might, Meg knew she wasn’t strong enough to move it.

“Meg, you have to go.” 

“I’m not leaving you,” She grunted, shifting her feet for better leverage. “Kate, go inside.” 

“I’m not leaving you either,” Her best friend gritted out as they tried to lift the boards together. There was another large crack that sounded through the air, the scream of warping metal shooting a bolt of panic through her. 

“Javi?” Meg spotted him running towards them with a board that he wedged beneath the debris.

“C’mon, guys, lift!” They managed to pull Tyler out just as the water tower crashed down, thousands of gallons of water knocking them off of their feet. The rushed into the theater just in time to see the ceiling start to cave in and began to check for a basement. 

“This building isn’t built to withstand what’s coming,” Javi shouted over the roaring winds. At the sound of crashing and screaming, both of the men took off back towards the theater, leaving Kate and Meg to stare at the storm. Meg felt that calm again but it was different, it wasn’t the calm she felt under pressure when working on a critical patient. It was the calm she felt before she ran into an unsecured scene, knowing that she could die.

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Meg asked, praying that she wasn’t.

“I swiped his keys,” Kate held up the keyring, offering it to her. The scrunchie Meg had lost a few days ago dangling from the jump ring.

“Then let’s go.” They ran for the truck.

If they survived, their friends and mamas were going to kill them. But if this worked, they would save a lot of people too. It had been a long time since Meg had driven anywhere near a tornado but she did her best to pretend that the shaking of the cab was nothing more than the death wobble of an ambulance going 100 mph on the freeway. 

“That way,” Kate pointed. Meg took a moment to strap into the harness, Tyler’s cologne overwhelming her senses, reminding her that this was a bad idea, then she shifted into gear. Meg didn’t need the directions Kate was shouting, she knew where the storm was going. And with a reckless kind of fearlessness, she pressed the gas pedal to the floor. 

“This truck ain’t made for this,” Meg shouted even though they both already knew it.” 

“Hope he’s got insurance,” Kate’s humor was still intact, even if her sanity wasn’t. The truck caught air going from the road to the grass, eliciting shrieks from the two women. Out of the corner of her eye, Meg saw Kate pull out her phone.

“My name’s Kate Carter and this is Meg Hardiing and today, we’re going to tame a tornado or die trying.” She locked her phone into the mount on the dash, capturing the whole cab with the camera.

“Right now there’s an EF-5 heading towards the town of El Reno,” Meg narrated. The recording was almost comforting, Jeb used to record them all the time, making them explain what they were doing. And just like when they were in the swimming pool, Meg felt like he was there with them. Kate must have felt it too, her voice shaking as she listed off the science of what they were going to do.

“If we don’t make it, we just want to say that we love you guys and mama, I’m sorry.” 

“I’m sorry too,” Meg shouted, swerving to avoid debris. “You know I love y’all but you know we have to do this.” She cursed, narrowly avoiding a large tree limb. “And Ty, I love you, and I really hope you’ve got full coverage on this baby.” 

“This is how you’re going to tell him you love him for the first time?” 

“Not really seeing any better options here, Katie. Shit!” She stomped the breaks, deploying the anchors as soon as they stopped. “Rockets?” 

“Rockets,” Kate fired them and they watched as the twisters sucked up the chemicals. Meg felt completely calm, watching the monster tornado moving closer.

“It’s beautiful,” She couldn’t help but whisper with childlike wonder. It was probably going to kill her but it really was beautiful.

“Let’s deploy together,” They hovered their fingers over the button. “One.”

“Two.”

“Three,” The mechanism went off without a hitch, the compound being pulled up by the storm around them.

“I love you, Katie my Lady.” 

“I love you too, Mud Bug.” They held hands and did nothing to stop what was coming because what else could they do? 

The trailer went first, lightening the weight of the truck enough for the force of the winds to move it despite the anchors. Meg’s eyes fluttered shut and her body relaxed in acceptance. Never before had the universe heard such silence in a truck being flipped like a quarter through the air, both women just waiting for the end. 

Taglist: @theforevermorereject @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @sinners-98-world @nerdgirljen @candlejuice @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @football1921 @katiemcrae @emma8895eb @itsdesiree86 @closetspngirl @lostinwonderland314 @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @winterassassin1804

Next Chapter

[saturnluvva]

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS

Summary : when bsf!matt and fem!reader accidentally make out at a Halloween party Matt ends up distancing himself from her

Warning(s) : slight angst, yelling, smut??, making out, distancing??

A/N: this used to be my fav song on Igor but now it’s like my top 5😭

Pairings: Matt x reader

Y/N, MATT. NICK, CHRIS,NATE, MADI

It all started three weeks ago when I was invited to a Halloween party by my friend Madi. I thought it would be fun, innocent, and a good time to socialize. But of course not it’s always something when I wanna have fun.

…………. …………. …………. …………. …………. …………. ………….

“What are you dressed up as again?”

“That one bitch from subway surfers”

Nick then bursted out laughing and because I thought his laugh was so dramatic I ended up laughing too. We had laughed for a good 30 seconds before Matt walked up to us. “Hey wo- what the fuck nick?! You stole my costume!”

“I wore it better” Nick always had then intimidating voice. It scared me sometimes “what?! Y/n who wore the costume better?” “You both look like dumbasses” they both then turned to me with the most shocked look on their faces as if I’m the problem now “bitch how?!” “Huh?!”

“Well for starters” I started to argue “you’re both GROWN ASS men dressed up as woody. And not only that you’re both fighting over who looks better as if you both didn’t buy the EXACT same costume kit. It’s kinda embarrassing.” And of course they both rolled their eyes.

“I feel insulted so I’m gonna go talk to Madi because she actually knows how to be nice” Nick then walked away and left me with Matt.

“What a dick right?” “I’m not saying you look better than him.” “Dammit.”

…………. …………. …………. …………. …………. …………. ………….

A few hours later I ended up hella drunk and stumbling around. “Woah dude” I looked up and noticed Matt looking down at me with a huge look of concern “what?” I had slurred my words “you wanna go upstairs or something?” “Uhh sure”

Now that me and Matt are upstairs we went to an empty guest room and sat on the bed that was in there. “So…” “I’m still not saying you look better than Nick!” “Why not!?” “Because this is stupid” I laughed throughout my words. Luckily Matt started laughing too “whatever dude! I know I look better than him! And if not tonight then every other day i definitely do!” “Okay dude sure” “cmon you can’t even lie!” We had made eye contact. I then noticed him scooting closer to me. He got closer and closer and closer until he ended up kissing me for 30 seconds. I then pushed him off of me and gave him a look that an angry grandma would give you if you broke her heart. “Dude what the fuck?! Why would you kiss me?!” I then rubbed my lips as if I was trying to kiss him.

“I thought you wanted to.” “WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!” “We made eye contact! That’s what usually happens” “where?! Romance movies” “well…yeah! But it also works in real life!” I then groaned out stormed out of the room. Even In my drunken state I would NEVER take advantage of someone like that so why did Matt do that?! And I knew he was sober because he never drinks. I couldn’t believe him

When I arrived downstairs I had seen people looking at me. I guess they heard what happened upstairs “y/n what’s going on? “”What happened?” “Where’s Matt?” Were all things I heard. And unsurprisingly nobody was concerned about me! Only Matt as always. It’s like I wanted to be mad at everyone else but I was only mad at myself for letting myself get drunk AND being in a room alone with a guy like Matt. Sure he was one my bestfriends but he’s also a dick sometimes.

I ended up leaving the party and walking to my dorm room that I shared with Madi.

…………. …………. …………. …………. …………. …………. ………….

Now it’s been three weeks and I’ve been distancing myself from Matt, Nick, and Chris. I even forced Madi to not talk about me infront of them incase they’d forgotten about me. Did I HAVE to do all of this? No. Did I NEED to do all of this? No. did I WANT to do all of this? Yes.

But of course the universe hates me so I ended up being seen by Matt anyways. “Y/n?” My head instantly shot up. Fuck. “Yeah…?” “Where have you been? I was worried sick about you!” “I don’t know.” “Bullshit.” “What?!” “You know I can tell when you’re lying right” well that’s what I get for being friends with a man. “Were you avoiding me?!” “Maybe.” “Why?!” “Because I don’t wanna look at you! You made things awkward” “how?! What did I do?” “You kissed me!” “Oh my god! You’re still stuck on that?!” “Yes because i wanna know why you did it!” And of course he walked away.

…………. …………. …………. …………. …………. …………. ………….

MAKING A PART 2 SOON MAYBE BC IM LAZY ASF

[prettyboisteveharrington]

Love is blind season 7 hot takes:

Hannah: I Think she’s quite mean to Nick like yes he’s a bit childish and needs to grow up but she degrates him every chance she gets - like imo she’s abusive as hell and she doesn’t respect boundaries at all Nick told her to not talk about their sex lives on camera and she goes behind his back and does so anyway 💀 she talks to him like he’s a child and even from the preview of the reunion she’s still disrespectful and I hope she gets called out on her behavior and unless we get some tea on Nick I’m on his side.

Ramses: I’m so fucking disappointed because WTH! Marissa deserves someone so much better and you know what I kind of hope she’s dating Bohdan. He knew how important her time in the military was and he belittled her so much about it 😤 also there are so many options for contraception and he can’t even put a rubber on??!!!! Like tell me you don’t care about women’s bodies or health. Also hated how she told him she doesn’t want to be touched and that she’s overstimulated and he touches her anyway like!!!’ Boundaries is a thing Ramses

Stephen: he’s weird and disgusting! I think Monica could have been nicer at certain times but ffs cheating on your fiancé is gross. Like I had high hopes for him but his comments were gross both the sexting and the ones where he said women don’t go through as many struggles as men😤

Leo: he’s a creep! He gives me ‘controlling bf vibes’. I don’t love how he brags about his wealth - like congrats you’re rich? Who cares honestly. Glad Britney got away.

Tyler: I don’t have words honestly it’s disappointing because I liked him and Ashley but with all the tea I’m disgusted. I’m disappointed. I swear you can’t trust 90% of the men on love is blind

I would die for Marissa- she deserves the world

Taylor and Garret are adorable and they better still be together also Garrets glow up 🥵damn.

[banannabethchase]

Jurassic Sanctuary

Chapter 2: Nick - also on AO3

~

Claudio takes Nick on a tour, where Nick refuses to follow directions and is introduced to consequences for it. The consequences, however, are big. And attractive.

~

Nick

He follows Claudio. “How’s Breeze?” Nick asks. “I was expecting him to come along. Or, like, meet him here with you.”

Claudio smiles. “Actually, he’s at home. Setting up the final touches of the nursery.”

“Oh duh!” Nick says. “God, that baby has to be nearly ready to pop. How’s Peyton?”

“About as good as I can assume someone is at 35 weeks pregnant,” Claudio chuckles. “Breeze visits her daily, and I’m getting in overtime to bulk up the paychecks while we’re both on paternity leave.”

Nick rolls his eyes. “Yeah, like Breeze will actually stop making his fashion videos.”

Claudio stops. “He will.” It’s the first insecurity Nick’s ever seen behind his eyes, and it makes him uncomfortable. “We have spoken about it at length. Both of us, for the first twelve weeks, no work beyond a video or two a week to make sure people know he’s not dead.”

“Oh.” Nick doesn’t even know what to say about that. “I – I know. You’ll both be great fathers.”

“Some things are more important than the videos, Nicholas,” Claudio admonishes. It makes Nick feel like a stupid little kid, the way Claudio speaks sometimes. Kind of makes him wish Breeze had married that weirdo guy he met in the fashion blog sphere before Claudio.

“I know that,” Nick says, a little too late. “So, um. Tell me about the projects.”

“You signed the NDA prior to coming on the island, correct?”

Nick nods. “I’m no stranger to NDAs.”

Claudio rolls his eyes. “I forget how you get.” He sighs. “Well, you can be assured that, as long as you follow the instructions of the staff, there is no chance of interacting or getting injured.”

Nick nods. “Follow instructions. Got it.”

“Do you?” Claudio asks. “I recall an event with you and Tyler a few years back with the triceratops at the museum in Houston.”

“I will argue until the day of my death,” Nick says, “that was Tyler’s fault.”

“I’m sure it was,” Claudio says. There’s a sparkle in his eye that assures Nick that, despite appearances, he has a mischievous side that matches Tyler. “But you still almost destroyed a priceless artifact.”

“Again, technically, Tyler almost destroyed it.”

“Tyler was on your shoulders.”

“Coercion,” Nick says, grinning. “I was forced to do it.”

“Well,” Claudio says, “be that as it may, don’t jump over any guardrails or anything.” His expression is stern. “Mox did something stupid a few months ago, thought he could balance to get a sample for Bryan from one of the blooms.” He shakes his head. “Let’s just say he had an interesting interaction with Jack.”

“Jack?”

“Yes,” and he says nothing more about it.

Claudio takes him through the first set of exhibits, letting him peer at plant samples and mushrooms from millions of years ago.

“I didn’t even know they had mushrooms,” Nick muses. “Guess I should have.”

“We would have called Bryan in to take you on this tour,” Claudio says as they walk through a new room. “But he’s working on his skin cream.”

Nick blinks. “Skin cream?”

Claudio nods. “Has multiple uses, from what I can understand. He really does have the expertise in the plant and fungi element.” He rolls his eyes. “I actually think it’s because he’s trying to figure out which ones he can live on and convince people are meat, but he hasn’t succeeded yet.”

When they reach a door with a complex sort of entrance, Claudio grins. “Ah, yes,” he says. “The locked wing.”

“Locked wing?” Nick asks. “Like, locked for everyone else but I’ll get to see it, wing?”

Claudio sighs. “Yes, but only because Tony gave me special permission because I accidentally talked you three up.” He sighs. “Truly, I owe you my current life and the life of my soon to be daughter, but you really are impossible. Nobody is supposed to have access to this area.”

“Why not?” Nick asks. “Are the dinos deadly? Am I going to get attacked?” The excitement wells. “Oh, my god, do you have Bigfoot?!”

“You,” Claudio says, “are the absolute worst.” He presses his hand to a computer screen, which moves a little like a scanner. Then he leans in, eye first. And then he says, “Castagnoli, Claudio.” Finally, the door opens, slowly, automated. “Welcome,” he says, “to the genetic evolution of man.”

Nick steps into the room, blinking. “The what now?”

“The genetic evolution – it was for the drama,” Claudio says. “Tyler says I should be more – stop laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing!” Nick lies. “I’m – choking. On air.”

“I rue the day you came into my life,” Claudio deadpans.

“You do not,” Nick chirps, skipping around the exhibit as Claudio turns on the light. “That’s the day you and Breeze made it official, and if you two weren’t together, you wouldn’t have the baby on the way.” Nick leans over the railing. “Why’s there no screen here?”

“Get off of there!” Claudio gets a handful of Nick’s jacket and yanks him back down with one arm. Nick resists the urge to have certain sinful thoughts about his best friend’s husband. “Honestly, I have just told you not to do this.”

“I was leaning,” Nick says, wiggling out of the jacket. “Hah. Now I win.”

“If you do something stupid, I will not defend you to anyone,” Claudio grumbles. He leans against the wall. “There is no screen because the people in this exhibit are actually in their homes.”

Nick raises an eyebrow. “People? Excuse me?”

“They’re here voluntarily,” Claudio says. “Well, in a sense. They are essentially Mr. Khan’s children.”

“I thought Mr. Khan was, like, a permanent bachelor.” Nick hops up to sit on the railing, ignoring Claudio's eye roll. He’ll be fine. “He have some sort of affairs or something?”

“The elder Khan,” Claudio explains. “Get down from there.”

“I’m fine.” Nick waves him off. “But, like. How? I didn’t know there was more than one Khan kid.”

“As I stated previously,” Claudio says, and Nick’s not sure he’s ever looked so annoyed, “they aren’t people in the standard sense of the word. They are experiments. Genetic experiments.”

Nick has a thousand questions screaming through his mind, all insistent to be the first. The one that strikes him first is about to come out when a bolt of lightning, accompanied by earth-shattering thunder, strikes somewhere nearby.

“Nicholas!”

He’s falling before he realizes. And he hits the ground before he has time enough to fear it.

Well. He thought it was the ground. He sits up.

“What the eff?” he asks, looking around. He’s in the branches of a tree, body aching.

“Nicholas, get back – oh –” Out comes a litany of swears from Claudio’s mouth. At least, Nick assumes they’re swears. They’re in German. Probably. And they’re drowned out by the onslaught of rain now dumping buckets down on him. He’s beginning to wish the coat was back on him.

“Get me out of here!” Nick yells. He can’t see the window anymore, only a speedily closing metal door.

“I can’t!” Claudio shouts at him. “The lockdown procedures – I will do what I can, Nick!”

And the door shuts.

Nick is stuck in a tree, in the pouring rain, without a jacket, in the middle of an experiment exhibit in a dinosaur sanctuary. If there were ever an event to earn it. “Fuck.”

~

He manages to get down the tree after longer than he would ever admit, stumbling into a puddle of chilly water up to his knees. The mud seeps into his sneakers, ruining them beyond any hope. He keeps them on, though, because he doesn’t know what kind of stuff is on this forest floor.

It’s nicer than any forest he’s been stuck in before, at least. And this time he doesn’t have a camera on him. It’s nice to not be making content of his misery, for once.

He’s been walking so long he barely registers the little home he comes upon, a quaint cabin reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. The energy is ruined, though, by the highly complicated electrical setup on the side of the house. Relief flooding through him, he stomps toward the door. It’s either a staff building or some sort of summer home, and either is preferable to pouring rain.

“Hello!” he yells, knocking on the door. “Hello! Nick Jackson, visitor! Could I get some help here?”

The door opens hesitantly, the person behind the door only showing one leg covered in black sweatpants. “A visitor?”

“Yes,” Nick says. “And it’s quite literally pouring. Can I come in?”

“To my house?” the voice asks, warm and smooth. “That seems rather presumptuous.”

“Are you Tony’s dad or something?” Nick asks. “I’m friends with Claudio. Well, Claudio’s husband. Tony approved a visit.”

“I,” the person says, “am not Tony, nor his father.”

“Another staff member,” Nick says. “No worries. Is this like a staff lodge or something?”

“You are impossible.” The door swings open and Nick – Nick stares.

“This might be rude,” he says, blinking away what he thinks must be a hallucination, “but are those horns?”

“This is my face,” the man – dinosaur – dinosaurman – thing says. “But, yes.”

“I – okay.” Nick isn’t sure what to say next. “Hello.”

“Hello,” the marvel says. “You do seem uncomfortable. It would be rude to refuse you shelter.” He steps to the side and gestures into the little home.

If Nick were thinking, he wouldn’t go into a stranger’s house while he’s dripping wet and well out of his element. He wouldn’t smile at the person he’s unsure is defined as a man, worry about dripping all over the hallway rug, or feel self-conscious about how bad his hair must look.

“Come sit,” the dinosaur man says, gesturing toward the couch. “It’s cold outside. I’ll put some water on to boil.” His smile is shockingly soft and sweet. Nick is…intrigued. “Do you like tea?”

“I do,” Nick says. On a normal day, he likes it sweet, cold, and with a bunch of lemon, but he would drink anything warm right now. He shivers as the man’s back turns. “Um, sorry, this has got to be rude. But who – are you?” He almost said what.

“I,” the man says, “am one of a kind.”

“Yeah, no duh,” Nick scoffs. “There can’t possibly be anybody like you.”

He glances over his shoulder, green face amused. “Such a statement for a man who just met me.”

Nick shrugs. “I call ‘em as I see ‘em. And, look, I’ve been all over the world. I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

The man chuckles, something warm and rumbling. Nick shifts on the couch. “I appreciate the assessment,” the dinosaur man says. “Now, you are correct, as far as I know. There is only one of me. I am a genetic experiment, at least that’s what they’ve told me.” He turns up the heat under the water. “Human genes spliced with specially selected dinosaur genomes. It’s all very complicated.” He turns, leaning on the counter. Nick can’t resist the urge to scan the man’s body – long, broad. He can only imagine the strength under the soft clothing and tanned skin. “Frankly, I always preferred the humanities over the sciences.”

Nick nods. “Genetic experiment,” he says. “Only thing I can say is I was supposed to be a twin.”

“Ah,” the man says. His eyes sparkle. “An only child like me, then.”

“Not quite,” Nick says. “My older brother, Matt. He’s here with me too.”

The man tilts his head. Nick finds the horns frame his face nicely. They add character, extra expression. He likes it. “Here with you?”

“We came to visit,” Nick explains. “We really like dinosaurs.”

“You do,” the man says. He smiles. “Good to know.”

Nick shifts, crossing his legs at the ankles. “So, um,” he says. “I’m Nick, by the way.” He meets them man’s eyes, and tries his best to stay neutral. “What’s your name?”

“Devlin,” the dinosaur man says. “I call myself Devlin.” The kettle begins to whistle, and Devlin pours the water over two mugs with tea bags in them.

Nick nods. “Hi, Devlin.” He shouldn’t ask, but he does. “And – and what does everyone else call you?”

“Devlin, the same,” he explains. He sits on the couch next to Nick, handing him the steaming mug “But, for a while, before they knew what to name me, I was nameless. The elder Khan decided to discourage people from interacting with me. It took meeting Tony, when we were both young and he snuck in, for me to get a true name.”

“That sounds awful,” Nick whispers.

Devlin shrugs as he plays with the tea bag. “It was okay. I got to choose my own name. Tony was older, but seemed to know about as much about the world beyond books as I did. We chose my name based on a book he read to me.” He smiles, and Nick wishes he could step into the memories. “I can’t remember what book now. But it was nice.”

A million questions run through Nick’s mind, but he settles on asking, “So you live all by yourself?”

“Not quite,” Devlin says. “There’s another experiment, Jack, in this little environment. But he doesn’t often connect with me.” He offers a smile. “He’s a bit shy. Doesn’t enjoy speech. Tony and I learned sign language together and taught him, so that’s how we communicate.” He takes a careful sip. Nick follows suit, and the tea burns, but just a little bit.

“I know a little sign,” Nick says, “but, I mean, nothing like you all do, I’m guessing. Does he live in this part of the sanctuary?”

Devlin nods. “He does.”

Nick fights the urge to glance over his shoulder. “Is he, like, here now?”

Devlin laughs, and it’s sweet and honest and Nick’s worried he’s about to get addicted to it. “Not right now, no. When the storms hit, he tends to spend time in his house alone. He’s always hated thunder.”

A crash booms, closer than the past few, and Nick jumps. If he lands closer to Devlin than he’d been beforehand, that’s a coincidence.

“Don’t worry,” Devlin says. “I’ll keep you safe from the big, scary thunder.” His hand is huge next to Nick’s where they rest on the couch.

“Promise?” Nick jokes. He catches sight of lightning out the small window, the rain continuing to pour down. He shivers in his wet clothes.

“You’re cold!” Devlin says. “Oh, of course. Tea wouldn’t possibly be enough. Let me get you something warm.”

“Oh, you don’t have to –”

“Please,” Devlin says, smiling. “I’ve never had a real guest before.”

Nick nods and smiles. “Okay.” Their gazes linger on each other. This should feel weirder than it does. “It’s an honor to be the first.”

He takes the moment to look around the little home. It reminds him of a one or two bedroom apartment – through a door, he can see a bed and dresser. He can see a hallway, and can assume down it is a bathroom, maybe an office. It’s cozy in the living room, kitchen in the line of sight along with the front door.

“Here,” Devlin says, still smiling. “I’m sure it’s far too big for you, but it will keep you warmer than,” he looks at Nick, “that.”

“It’s a romper,” Nick explains, taking the blanket of a flannel from Devlin’s hands. It’s soft and worn, blue plaid. He pulls it on over his damp romper and immediately feels better. “Thank you.”

“Tell me about these rompers,” Devlin says, laughter in his eyes. “They seem less than appropriate for trekking through a nature preserve.”

“I wasn’t thinking I would be trekking,” Nick says. “I was visiting. With my brother, and our best friend.”

Devlin’s eyes go wistful. “I always wanted a brother,” he murmurs. “Jack was close, but…” He trails off. “I suppose maybe I’m yearning for more human interaction than I knew.”

“You’ve never spoken to a human off the island?” Nick asks. “Other than Tony and his dad and the staff?”

“Oh, I’ve spoken to them,” Devlin says. “Many times. My instructors and I converse very frequently via phone or video chat, but I always keep my video off.” He reaches up to touch at his horns, fingertips gliding over half-scale, half skin green space across his cheeks. “I decided early on to follow the initial suggestion that I keep my face hidden.”

“I don’t know why,” Nick says, “you’re gorgeous.”

He hadn’t meant to say that part out loud.

“Really?”

Nick looks at him. Really looks. “You don’t believe me?” He shuffles closer. Their pinkies touch.

“I suppose I’ve never heard it before.”

Nick’s not sure what’s going on, but he knows he’s leaning in closer. He doesn’t know what to do, only that he wants to do it.

Devlin’s kiss is gentle and quick, only a hint of a thing. Nick’s entire body is on alert, aching for more. He pulls back to see Devlin’s green face smiling.

“Is it strange,” Devlin says, “if I tell you that, in my thirties, that’s my first kiss?”

Nick smiles. “No. Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” Devlin says. He presses his lips together. “You must be hungry.”

Nick shrugs. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Impose?” Devlin chuckles. “Certainly not. You can’t imagine how many years I’ve wanted to cook for someone else.” He stands and walks over to the kitchenette with surprising grace. “You can only practice jerk chicken and beef Wellington so many times for yourself before it begins to feel banal.”

Nick nods. “Okay,” he decides. “I – okay. Will you be able to cook without power?”

“Gas stove,” Devlin explains. He pulls a lighter from a drawer and lights the stove. “You could say I prefer a more primitive method.” He winks, and Nick is having a rough time staying normal.

Nick watches as Devlin expertly prepares something with spices and peppers, chicken. It smells heavenly. “Tell me about the dish,” Nick says. “How did you learn?”

Apparently, Devlin’s spent years learning different recipes from youtubers and cookbooks around the world. He keeps his own garden in the back of the house, where he gets most of his vegetables. Others are shipped in by his request. Nick listens and tastes as Devlin explains the necessary spices to create the correct depth of flavor, not even reacting to the thunder in the background anymore.

“This is karahi,” he explains. “Try it.”

Nick is immediately flooded with flavor as he tries the sauce. “That’s incredible.”

“I’ve done my best to honor its origins over the years I’ve made it,” Devlin says. “It’s good?”

“It’s great.”

“I have some tortilla, which isn’t the standard naan, but we can make it work.” He smiles.

“You really are a self-made man,” Nick says. He sees the tortillas on the counter. They look better than anything he could buy in a grocery store. “No one would know you hadn’t been out in the world before.”

Devlin sighs. “I do my best to pretend, but the face.” He gestures to it. Reptilian has always given Nick the connotation of sneaky, sleazy. Maybe untrustworthy. But Devlin’s reptilian smile is anything but that, more sheepish and sweet. “I doubt the world would be willing to give it a chance.”

“I would.” Nick’s confident in his words. “If – if you were interested in that as an option, I mean. My brother and I – well, we’re sort of famous. On YouTube and video channels.” It hits him that Devlin may have seen him before. “Um. Not like the cooks you watch. We sort of…” He trails off. He doesn’t know how to explain he reports on celebrity gossip when people like Devlin do so much more with their lives. “Matt reports on fashion and I report on celebrity events.”

“Would you believe I’ve seen a video or two?” Devlin asks. “You’re much more meanspirited in the videos than you are in real life.”

Nick shrugs. “It’s sort of a character I play. I’m much less judgmental to the people I meet in real life.” He pauses. “Also, most of the people I insult really bad are kind of awful.”

Devlin nods. “I can understand that.” He finishes cooking in silence while Nick watches. He feels the need to be close to Devlin, and hopes he’s not hovering.

“And there we are,” Devlin says. “I regret my choice not to have a dining room table.” He frowns.

“No, it’s fine!” Nick says. “I haven’t had, like, a homecooked meal since Breeze decided he could make pasta and screwed up alfredo sauce.”

“Breeze…do you mean Tyler?” Devlin walks toward the couch with two bowls, a tortilla in each. Nick follows as he watches Devlin scoop some of the karahi in the bread. “Has the baby come yet? I’ve been speaking with Claudio almost daily.” He smiles, wistful. “I can’t wait to see a picture.”

“Not yet,” Nick says. He mirrors Devlin’s motions, finding himself clunky and disastrous. He only just manages to catch a pepper before it slides onto his romper.

“Here,” Devlin says, smiling. “Let me help.” He takes the tortilla from Nick’s hand and expertly slides some karahi on it. “Open.”

Nick’s heart races as he takes a bite. He can’t be held responsible for the moan that leaves his lips. Anyone, man, dinosaur, child, whatever, would have the same reaction. When he opens his eyes, savoring the flavor, Devlin’s eyes are heat and flame on him.

“It’s incredible,” Nick whispers. “I didn’t – I haven’t…” He doesn’t know what he’s trying to say, only that he hopes Devlin understands.

Devlin nods and takes another bite, eyes still on Nick. “I’m glad to see you enjoy it.”

They laugh as Nick learns how to scoop, Devlin’s large hand helping him make the proper movements. Nick’s on the last bite and goes a little intense, scooping a whole pepper onto the tortilla.

“Oh, hold on –”

Nick shoves a large bite in his mouth and chews. And then his entire face is on fire. “Oh, my god,” he says gracefully through a mouthful of burning hellfire. He swallows, unsure what else to do. “Oh, my god, that was so hot.”

Devlin winces. “Yes, I can see – I would have recommended you didn’t eat half a jalapeño pepper, but you didn’t give me the time to stop you.”

Nick grabs for his tea, but Devlin’s hand stops him.

“Do you want me to burn into the stratosphere?” Nick asks. He thinks, perhaps, he can see the heat bubbling up as he looks around frantically.

“Tortilla,” Devlin says firmly. “It will be more effective at fixing the heat. Water will make it worse.”

Nick nods, willing to do anything to make it stop, and shoves the tortilla in his mouth. The burn dulls to something tolerable and he relaxes, flopping against the back of Devlin’s couch. Devlin’s chuckling as Nick finishes chewing. “You could have warned me earlier,” Nick says. “That was mean.”

“I assure you, it wasn’t intentional.” Devlin smiles. He watches Nick as he squirms, just a little. “I assumed I had a limited spice tolerance, but I also assumed you would know from sight not to eat an entire jalepeno in one bite.”

Nick sighs. “Well, at least I’m warm now.” He shoots a smile at Devlin.

Devlin’s expression shifts. “I haven’t given you a full set of warm clothes!” he says. “I should provide you with more than just the flannel.”

“It’s okay!” Nick says. “No, really, I – it’s fine.” He smiles. “The food was plenty.”

“You must be cold, though,” Devlin says. “Come, you can shower.”

“I thought the power was dead?”

“I work with solar for 50% of my energy,” Devlin explains. “Tony and I designed it when we were kids. It doesn’t have enough push yet to power a whole house, but I use it to heat my water for showers.” He shrugs. “If you’d like to, that is.”

Nick nods. “Yeah, I – I think…” He trails off, thinking of himself naked and wet and so, so, willing in the home of this incredible man, and not doing anything about it. “I think, um, maybe, you should join me.”

Devlin’s eyebrows raise. “Do you, now.”

Nick nods. “If you want. Showers can be, like, difficult. In a new person’s house.” He fights the smile tempting his lips. “It’s a whole thing.”

“Well, I couldn’t have my guest confused,” Devlin murmurs.

He leans in and kisses Nick again, heat exploding in Nick’s body oh so different from the pepper before. Nick meets Devlin, damp clothes and skin touching Devlin’s shirtless chest. Before he knows it, Nick finds himself in Devlin’s lap, straddling his hips, very aware of something he’d like to know better. “We, um,” Nick says, unsure of when the beard burn kicked in on his neck. “Shower?”

“Shower,” Devlin murmurs.

They stumble into the bedroom and Nick yanks Devlin on top of him first, grinning up. “I figure we could start here.”

“Reasonable,” he says.

They make out like horny teenagers, Devlin’s sweats and Nick’s romper and the flannel falling to the floor. He doesn’t want to rush this, doesn’t want to scare Devlin or make him feel pressured.

“You said, earlier,” Nick says, forcing his hands to stop shaking. “That was your first kiss.”

Devlin nods above him, caging Nick in but without any part of him touching. “Yes,” he breathes.

“So this…” Nick reaches up and touches Devlin’s face. His beautiful, green face. “You’ve never done this before.”

Devlin smiles. “Well, darling, you understand I can order from Amazon, correct?”

Nick laughs. “Yeah, and?”

“I may not have experience, per se,” he says. He draws open a drawer and pulls out every possible sex toy Nick could never have imagined. “But I do have video, Nick. I know what to do.” He winks. “Though, with a person, it is a little different. Perhaps you could give me some assistance.”

Nick nods, almost too quickly. “Yeah,” he says. “I mean – yeah, I can.” He’s never been somebody’s first before. He’s never felt like it mattered how he did it before. “What kind of assistance?”

Devlin’s smile is shockingly knowing. “Why don’t you get yourself ready, for whatever you want, and I can watch.”

Nick exhales. “Jesus,” he says, unable to fight the little laugh. “You, uh. You have a lot of – a lot of game for a solitary superhuman.”

“Superhuman,” Devlin says, like he’s testing the word in his mouth. “Huh. I don’t think I’ve thought of it that way before.”

The two of them have hands everywhere as they make their way to the shower. Devlin’s skin is warm, soft. Nothing like scales, which he finds himself expecting.

Devlin is intentional as he kisses, if a little clumsy. It’s charming. Nick’s never been anybody’s first anything before, and it’s a responsibility he’s willing to hold.

“Okay,” Nick says, stepping into the water. It’s warm, not hot. Comfortable. “So, it has to be the right kind or – oh.” He smiles at the bottle of lube in Devlin’s hand. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“You act as if I haven’t had thirty years of research to prepare for a moment like this,” Devlin says. “Go on. Show me what to do.”

Nick sighs and turns, leaning over a little. He feels observed as he slips a hand behind himself and decides, for this moment, he’ll take his time with it. He’s only had a few relationships – Matt’s more of the playboy of the two of them, and Kenny a close second – but this he’s gotten good at this over the years. Devlin watches, attention burning flame, and Nick tries not to grin too hard. He hasn’t felt this kind of watched in years. Like he wants it. Like he’s asking for the eyes instead of expecting them.

“You,” Devlin says, voice reverent, “are stunning.”

“Yeah?” Nick asks, finally warmed from the water. He turns, fingers slipping out of himself. “You are, too.” He steps toward Devlin. “Do you want to touch me?”

Devlin’s breath comes out slowly. “Of course I do,” he says. “I – yes. But, um.” He looks shy again. Nick wants to keep the memory forever. “But – I suppose it’s a bit silly, but I’ve always wanted someone whose hair I could wash.” His smile is sweet beyond words. “You could call it a fantasy of mine.”

Nick thinks to the multitude of hair products, conditioners and shampoos and toners in his bag back in the rooms. He glances to the two in one on the counter.

“Yes,” Nick says. “I’ve always wanted someone to wash my hair.”

Devlin blinks. “You’ve never had that?”

Nick shakes his head, surprised at his answer. “No, never. I – no one’s ever said they wanted to, and I was always too, I don’t know, weird about it to ask.”

Devlin leans in and cups Nick’s face in his hands, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “I want to,” Devlin says quietly.

His fingers are careful but thorough, massaging Nick’s scalp well enough that he can’t help a moan.

“Good?” Devlin asks, and Nick can hear the knowing smile behind it.

Nick makes a weird noise in the back of his throat, something he hopes is affirming and attractive. “You, um,” he says, wanting to feel those hands other places. “You can touch me more.”

“I can?” Devlin asks. His hands slide out of Nick’s hair and settle on his hips. “How about here?”

Nick hums. “And other places, too.”

Devlin chuckles. He reaches his hands around toward Nick’s stomach, not quite at his dick. “Here?”

Nick whines. “Touch me,” he pleads. “If – if you want.”

“I’ve wanted to touch someone else for a long time,” Devlin growls. He reaches a big hand and gentle, so incredibly gently, circles Nick’s dick. Nick can’t help it – he moans, openly, and drops his head back on Devlin’s shoulder. He can hear a sharp inhale from Devlin.

“You…” Devlin says, quietly. “My god.”

Nick laughs. “You’re pretty incredible, too.”

“Incredible isn’t enough,” Devlin says. He begins murmuring something into Nick’s ear, maybe French, or Spanish, he’s not able to tell. The sounds switch, almost frantically, as they fall from Devlin’s lips. “See?” he mumbles. “I know six languages and I can’t find any words to match what this moment means to me.”

“You have no idea how hot that is,” Nick manages to say. Everything’s swirling around him with meaning he struggles to catch. “I – are you – do you want to?” His hips twitch back, bumping into Devlin’s cock. “Because I do.”

“You are certain?” Devlin spins Nick in his arms. His green face looks fairytale as the water drips down it, horns and scales merging into soft skin and a well kept beard. Nick wants to be devoured, consumed, and he doesn’t know how to ask for it. “I want you to be sure,” Devlin says, brushing damp hair off of Nick’s shoulder. “I want to you to know – to know it’s this you’re asking it from.” He gestures to himself, height and muscle and skin and scale. “I want you to know it’s me.”

“I know it’s you,” Nick says, reaching up to stroke Devlin’s cheek. “That’s why I want it. Only because it’s you.”

Devlin hauls him close, hands on Nick’s waist, and the kiss is electricity enough to power the whole campus, Nick thinks. He throws his arms around Devlin’s neck and presses against him, hoping his intention and need is written across every inch of his skin. Devlin grunts, hands gripping Nick’s hips like he’s fighting to grab somewhere else. “You’re certain?”

Nick pulls away. “I’ve never wanted to be with someone more than I do right now.” He turns around and sticks out his ass. He throws a look over his shoulder, glancing down at the thick, long, unexpectedly ribbed cock. “Literally never. Oh my god.” He reaches over and grabs the lube, shoves it in Devlin’s hand. Devlin angles the showerhead away and then slides a finger between Nick’s cheeks. Nick hums, pushing back.

“Do I…?” Devlin asks.

“If you want to,” Nick says. “I can – I’m, um, good to go, if not.”

Devlin chuckles. “Well, I would like to be thorough.” He kisses the side of Nick’s neck. “Intentional. You understand.”

Nick moans, dropping his head forward on the shower wall as a finger slides inside him. He’s ready even before this, but Devlin’s so much more careful than he’s ever been with himself. Slow.

“Good?”

Nick nods. “I – another, please,” he mumbles. “If you want.”

“I certainly do.” He gently eases a second finger in and Nick’s about to lose his mind with the need to be completely filled. “This is beautiful. You’re beautiful.” All Nick can do is listen. “I never – I understood, truly, what sex was. But I didn’t realize the power my partner would hold over me.” He kisses the top of Nick’s head. “Nicholas, I’m afraid I won’t be one to have one night stands.”

“Good,” Nick sighs, rocking back against Devlin’s fingers, “because I know for a fact I’m not.”

Devlin seems entranced with the way he can draw sounds from Nick just with his fingers, because he takes his time. Nick’s never felt this close to sobbing from somebody’s fingers, usually needs to get fucked with reckless abandon to feel this way. But it’s different. He feels different. Partners in the past haven’t made him feel this much.

“Now,” Devlin says, “when it comes to protection –”

“Totally up to you,” Nick interrupts. “I’ve tested negative recently, and haven’t had any partners in a while.”

“And you know I am,” Devlin pauses, a laugh in his voice, “new to all of this.”

Nick’s head swims with the knowledge that Devlin is trusting him to be the first, that he may get to feel Devlin come inside him, that he gets to take care of Devlin the way he wasn’t cared for his first time.

“Whatever you want,” Nick says, “and nothing else. I promise.”

Devlin slowly eases his fingers out, leaving Nick empty for the quickest moment before Devlin turns him and leans in for a kiss. It starts sweet, gentle, then escalates back into fireworks and electricity and promise. “What you want matters, too, Nicholas.”

“What I want,” Nick says, “is you.”

Devlin turns him and presses him against the wall. “Well, for the sake of transparency, I intend to come inside you,” he growls into Nick’s ear. “Is that alright?”

“Effing – that’s more than alright,” Nick says, heart racing. “Yes. I want you to.”

“And you’ve seen that my anatomy is a bit, how should I say,” Devlin chuckles, “atypical?”

“Part of the draw,” Nick breathes. “You’re incredible.”

“As are you, beautiful,” Devlin says, lining himself up. “As are you.”

Nick relaxes, melts like putty, as Devlin slowly, achingly slowly, slides the first few inches of himself into Nick. The shape of it is familiar, but the ridges and bumps are different. Magical different. Making Nick’s eyes black out with the pleasure of it, different.

“Oh my god,” Nick says. “I – I don’t know if I can take all of you.”

“Shh,” Devlin says, “that’s okay. I don’t expect any more than you feel comfortable to give.”

Nick has fallen in love with this dinosaur, and there’s nothing else to it. He’d never believed in love at first sight. Infatuation, maybe. He’d loved partners in the past with almost all of himself.

But he’d never fallen this hard this fast.

Devlin is incredibly careful – never pushing too far, never going too deep.

“You can – more,” Nick pants, shifting his hips backward.

“Are you certain?” Devlin asks, pulling back slowly. The head of his cock grazes Nick’s prostate and his eyes roll back in his head.

“Yep,” Nick squeaks. “So certain. Please.”

It’s probably the limit, for now, but god is it good. Nick wants to hold onto this moment for decades. And maybe repeat it for the same amount of time.

“Alright?” Devlin asks, voice tight.

“Definitely,” Nick gasps. “I – I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold out, though.”

“Oh, thank god,” Devlin chuckles. “I understand there are adages about a man’s stamina during their first time.”

“There should probably be some about a man’s first time with a dinosaur, because this is so good,” Nick says. He reaches down to wrap a hand around his cock. “Yeah, this isn’t gonna last long.”

“Let me,” Devlin murmurs in his ear. It’s a hand around Nick’s cock, a few pumps in time with his thrusts, and Nick’s gone. He moans loudly enough that he’s pretty sure somebody on this giant campus must have heard it, almost losing his legs from underneath him. Devlin’s thrusts increase in speed, but not in aggression or roughness. Nick wants to kiss him for it, but he doesn’t have time. With a sound that is more animal than man, Devlin’s filling Nick, adding his name somewhere along the growl.

“Nicholas,” he breathes, dropping his head down on Nick’s shoulder. “I think you may have exceeded my expectations, beautiful.”

Nick giggles, lightheaded and sated. He squirms as Devlin pulls out of him. “Oh, that’s going to be messy,” he mumbles.

“Good thing we’re in a shower then,” Devlin says. “May I help clean you up?”

Nick nods.

The water is a bit startling, becoming colder as the cistern starts to run out of the heated water, but Devlin is careful and gentle.

“That’s good,” Nick says, and he doesn’t want to add that he wants to hold a little more of Devlin inside of him. It might be going too far, for his first time.

“You’re right,” Devlin says. He stands and turns the water off, wrapping Nick in his arms. “We should get a towel. Warm up.”

Nick nods, beaming. “Do you have, like, extra-large sized towels?”

“I use bath sheets,” Devlin explains. “You could definitely call them extra-large.”

Nick feels blanketed by Devlin’s towels, but it’s in a good way. The two of them curl up and make their way to Devlin’s bed, wrapped up together.

“You’re welcome to take a nap,” Devlin says, tying his damp hair up and back. He offers a hair tie to Nick, who accepts. “You’ve had quite the day.”

Nick barks out a laugh. “No kidding.” A yawn betrays his attempts to stay awake. “I think I will take some rest. Nothing much to do other than sleep until the power comes back.”

Devlin picks up a book. “You could read.”

Nick presses his lips to me. “Um.”

Devlin tilts his head. “Yes?”

“Would you read to me?” Nick almost whispers. “You don’t have to.”

“I would love to,” Devlin says, face brightening. “I’m right in the middle of this one,” he shakes a book in his hand, “is that alright?”

“That’s great,” Nick says, beaming up at Devlin. “I just want to hear your voice.”

Nick is lulled to sleep by Devlin’s steady, low tone. He’s not quite sure what he’s talking about, Nick himself having zero background in medieval poetry structures, but that doesn’t matter.

He’s cozy. He’s safe.

And he may be a little in love.

~

Nick wakes from cozy sleep to hear footsteps and low voices. The door creaks open, and Nick blinks himself awake, weary. “Do you mind?” he mumbles. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Claudio’s staring at him, jaw practically on the floor. “I’m – we wanted…” He trails off. Nick’s never seen him thrown off before. It’s kind of hilarious. “Devlin, what is happening?!”

“Hello there, Claudio,” Devlin says pleasantly as he sits back into bed. He wraps his arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Has the power in the campus returned?”

“Not – not quite,” Claudio says. He looks over his shoulder. “Tell, uh. Tell Willow that Nick is accounted for and safe.” He blinks. “Nicholas, I had been spending the past four hours worrying that I would have to tell my husband his best friend had been devoured by raptors.”

Nick snorts. “Wrong dinosaur.”

“Good lord,” Claudio says, shaking his head. “Okay. I’m – we will be leaving. Devlin, we will notify you on your intercom if and when the electricity is fully functional again. Nicholas…” He trails off. Watching him try to rationalize and process what’s in front of him is kind of hilarious, Nick thinks. He’ll have to ask Breeze if this is how he’d looked when Breeze proposed. “Nicholas, I think you’re in safe hands, but I’ll expect the two of you to return to the Center once it’s safe to do so, as neither of you have appropriate gear.”

“I don’t have any gear,” Nick grins at him.

“I don’t need to know,” Claudio says, shaking his head. “For the record, Devlin is far more the gentleman than anyone you’ve brought home, Nicholas, and unfortunately my loyalties lie with him above you.” His eyebrow raises.

“Chill, Swissman,” Nick says, cuddling into Devlin’s chest. “I don’t plan on screwing this up.”

~

Mini playlist: C’Mon – Kesha Love You a Little Bit – Tanner Adell I Think I’m in Love – Kat Dahlia Sledgehammer – Fifth Harmony

[daydreamerdrew]

I read Beverly by Nick Drnaso today. I read Sabrina by him last year, which was about a man whose girlfriend was murdered and the friend he moves in with afterwards and the impact of true crime media and online conspiracy theories on their lives and mental states over the span of, I think, a year. Drnaso’s art and writing style is well-suited to portraying mundane moments in people’s lives. He did that really well both books.

Beverly, which was published two years before Sabrina, wasn’t one continuous story, but a series of loosely-connected short stories. Not all of them were of a lot of interest to me, but I thought the ones focusing on the siblings Cara and Tyler were really compelling! There was also one story about a crime committed in a small town and how different people first heard about it and talked about it over time, and I can definitely see how after that he would want to devote a whole book to a true crime story.

For this book, while that one family that got a few stories focused on them and glimpses of them seen in others was really interesting to me, I think the brief bits we saw of their lives over the span of years was sufficient and executed really well, so I’m not gonna say it would have been better to have had a whole book about them.

[atlsportsstan]

Why Falcons vs. Lions is the Game of the Day.

Today, the undefeated Atlanta Falcons made their first road trip of the young season to Detroit, MI to play the 1-1 Detroit Lions. This game could very well fly under the radar, and I’m here to tell you why this is the game you should pay attention to.

First, let's talk about the visitors. The Atlanta Falcons are trying to usher in a new era of football. Gone are the days of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones torching defenses for 200 yards a game. Now, head coach Arthur Smith is focused on a strong rushing attack. And, at least through the first 2 weeks, they’ve done a damn good job at that. Both running backs Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson have combined to give the Falcons a top 5 rushing attack in the league at this point. 2nd year quarterback Desmond Ridder is still experiencing growing pains, as he threw 1 interception and almost threw another 2. Despite this, he is growing into a leader and giving Atlanta Fans a symbol of hope.

Last week, against Green Bay, the Falcons ended up being down 24-12 at the end of the 3rd quarter. 2 gutsy 4th down play calls from Arthur Smith and 13 points later, the Falcons came back and won the game 25-24 in front of an almost sold out Mercedes Benz Stadium. “When you see the Atlanta Falcons out there, we’ll never be down for the count. We’re gonna fight til that clock hits zero.” This is what Desmond Ridder said after their win on Sunday.

One thing about this Falcons team is that, even though the Falcons are 2-0 for the first time since 2017, there is still a ton of room to grow. Arthur Smith said Monday, “The encouraging thing is that we can get a lot better,” and the crazy thing is that he’s right. The Falcons went into Sunday without cornerback Jeff Okudah, running back Cordarelle Patterson, and outside linebacker Troy Andersen. Not to mention the team’s pass rush has been subpar, especially on Sunday.

Anyways, enough about the Falcons. Let’s talk about three blue ski masks wearing Detroit Lions. After seasons of ineptitude, the Lions actually have playoff aspirations this season. 3rd year head coach Dan Campbell is also trying to usher in a new style of Lions football. “...we're going to kick you in the teeth, all right, and when you punch us back, we're going to smile at you and when you knock us down, we're going to get up. And, on the way up, we're going to bite a kneecap off," said Dan Campbell in his introductory press conference back in 2021. They have done just that. Despite starting 2022 with a 1-6 record, they came storming back, winning 8 of their last 10 and finishing about a half game out of the last wild card spot.

Last Sunday, the Lions welcomed the Seattle Seahawks to Ford Field, the team who ended up with that last wild card spot last year. It was neck and neck all game, until there was 8:14 left in the fourth quarter, where a bad ball by veteran quarterback Jared Goff resulted in the arms of Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown and a pick six, making it a 10 point game. However, they started biting kneecaps. A Josh Reynolds touchdown and a Riley Patterson field foal later, the game was tied and going to overtime. The Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and scored  without the Lions getting a chance to touch the ball

So why should you watch this game instead of watching literally anything else at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon? Well, this will be a physical fight between 2 teams who feed off the physicality. But also, there really aren't too many good games on in the early window. Of course, you have the Patriots traveling to New Jersey to play the Jets, and everyone wants to know how the Browns will look without Nick Chubb. Apparently, it's not just me who feels this way, as the line from sportsbooks is set at Lions by 3.5 points. The point is, this will be a really close game, and I would not be surprised if we have to see Younghoe Koo or Riley Patterson kick a game-winning field goal late in the game.

Enough talking about the game. Who will win? If the Falcons can get out to a fast start, the defense will do their job holding Detroit and Atlanta will travel to London a perfect 3-0. However, it will all depend on if Bijan Robinson can get the Falcons started off hot. I think this happens and I have the Atlanta Falcons covering the spread and winning outright. Let me know your thoughts on the game in the comment section below. Thanks for reading and have a great rest of your day.

[chris-hartley]

OKAY! So I’m back again with some updates. I realized after I posted this that I totally neglected to mention a game (Tell Me Why), and then I have since played Twin Mirror so here’s a quick little addition.

I'm still planning on updating this once I finish TWD games/The Wolf Among us (which I do own but haven't played yet).

TELL ME WHY

Tell Me Why is a game released in 2020 that was exclusive to Xbox and PC, as it was fully funded for Dontnod (the same people who made Life is Strange) by Microsoft.

The game follows Tyler and Alyson, twins who reunite in their childhood hometown of Delos Crossing, Alaska in order to sell the home they grew up in. And of course that comes with it's own struggles.

When the two of them were children, Tyler was threatened by their mother with a gun (presumed to be because he cut his hair) which resulted in him killing her out of self-defense. Now adults, and not having seen each other since that night, they try to piece together what actually happened.

And of course it wouldn't be a Dontnod game without superpowers, so the twins share the ability to talk telepathically and relive shared memories, but both of them remember it slightly differently so it's your job as the player to pick which memory you want to believe/think is correct in order to build the story. You complete puzzles and make choices to get to the real truth of the last night they were together and what kind of shady stuff is hiding underneath the small town charm of Delos Crossing.

One thing I can not praise enough about this game is the way they handled a very serious topic: Tyler being trans. And while I personally feel I can't speak too much to that (given I'm cis), I can explain the facts that I do know.

In the game, when showing clips of the younger set of twins, they never once deadname Tyler. They simply refer to each character as "Young Tyler" and "Young Alyson" and anytime one of the flashbacks is saying his name, it's one of Tyler's first chosen names from when he was younger. Tyler's voice actor is also a trans man as well. From what I've heard, the in-game topic is handled well, but again, don't really feel qualified to speak on that.

Honestly, it's a great game and they've made it available for free every June to celebrate Pride Month, so if you're interested, you can get it now for free! (Only available on Xbox or PC as it was created by Microsoft)

TWIN MIRROR (spoilers)

Now this is a game I recently played, so I have some fresh thoughts on it! Twin Mirror was another Dontnod game released in 2020 (and honestly I think it got overshadowed by Tell Me Why cause it seems nobody knew it came out).

The game follows Sam Higgs, a former investigative journalist as he revisits his hometown of Basswood, West Virginia for the funeral of his close friend, Nick. Upon arrival, Nick's daughter, Joan, confides in him that she doesn't think that Nick's death was an accident-- that it was actually murder. Sam begins on this mission to get down to the bottom of what actually happened to Nick, alongside his former girlfriend, Anna.

You as the player make choices and investigate into the murder, but it wouldn't be a Dontnod game without supernatural powers-- as aforementioned. And in Twin Mirror, Sam has an inner voice called Him who tries to give him advice on what to say and do, sometimes misleading him in the process. There's also this place called the Mind Palace where Sam often seeks solace in, which is often used to show memories of things that happened when he used to live in Basswood.

The ending to the game reminds me a lot of Beyond: Two Souls, in which at the end of it all, Sam is faced with a choice: to follow himself (and by proxy, lose Him), or keep Him and become a more detached version of himself.

---

Anyway! That's the update for now! As I continue playing more of the games on my to-play list, I'll be sure to update this post <3

Tell me about other choice based games, also have you ever played oxenfree?

Ooh boy. For starters, I saw this and went "oh god where do I start" so that's a warning for what lies ahead. PS: Have not played Oxenfree and don't know what it is but I will look it up.

This is a spoiler-free zone unless otherwise stated in the headings btw :)

I know you know about Until Dawn so I'm not gonna touch that. But that being said I have to mention the Dark Pictures Anthology since that wasn't listed in the post :D.

THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY

The Dark Pictures Anthology is another choice-based game created by Supermassive Games, which made Until Dawn. Where Until Dawn was 8 hours long, The Dark Pictures games are all much shorter, with Man of Medan and Little Hope around 4 hours, and House of Ashes being at 6.

Each one of the Dark Pictures games is based roughly on a real-life event. Man of Medan is the Ourang Medan ship, Little Hope is the Salem Witch Trials, and House of Ashes takes place during the Iraq War. And the upcoming game Devil in Me is rumored to be based on the murder hotel of HH Holmes. Of course, with each came the fabrication of the threat/monster.

The games themselves are hit or miss. Personally, I enjoyed House of Ashes the most out of the three, followed by Man of Medan, and then Little Hope (I hated the ending but won't spoil it). I think one of the reasons I did like HoA best, is because of the length, they were able to build the characters more and make you like them and wanna save them, which the other two I felt lacked in that department.

In the end, the way they set up the games was very similar to Until Dawn (and on the off chance someone is reading these and doesn't know), one of the big components of all choice-based games is that you can save or kill any number of the playable characters: Alex, Julia, Conrad, Fliss, and Brad in Man of Medan. Andrew, Taylor, Daniel, Angela, and John in Little Hope. And Eric, Rachel, Salim, Jason, and Nick in House of Ashes.

The one tie-through of those games is the recurring character The Curator (who fans flock to partially due to his dump truck ass). He warns you of what's to come in weird puzzle-like riddles, can flat out give you hints, and overall in my opinion seems like you're talking to The Grim Reaper or Death. In his office he has a bookshelf where there is a series of books with symbols on them to represent the four games (which I will have tattooed on me now!): a little ship for Man of Medan, a stick figure doll for Little Hope, an eclipse for House of Ashes, and a compass (although I keep wanting to call it a protractor) for Devil in Me.

Anyway! That's the Dark Pictures. On to the next one... one that hasn't even come out yet lol.

THE QUARRY

So this game is the next game slated to be released by Supermassive Games (on June 10th). It has been released that the game is a "spiritual successor" to Until Dan and like that game, follows a stellar star-studded cast featuring David Arquette as Chris Hackett, Justice Smith as Ryan, Ted Raimi as Travis, Brenda Song as Kaitlyn, Halston Sage as Emma, Skylar Gisando as Max Binly, Siobhan Williams as Laura, Ariel Winter as Abigail, Evan Evagora as Nick, Miles Robbins as Dylan, Zach Tinker as Jacob, Lance Henriksen as Jedediah, Ethan Suplee as Bobby, Lin Shaye as Constance, and last but not least Grace Zabriskie as Eliza.

The game is announced to be 10 hours long and the first 30 minutes (aka the prologue) have been released on IGN. The Quarry follows 9 summer camp counselors (Max, Laura, Ryan, Dylan, Nick, Abigail, Emma, Jacob, and Kaitlyn) on the last night of camp at Hackett's Quarry, and some spooky shit starts happening.

Also the character Eliza has been confirmed to be almost a Curator/Dr. Hil type of harbinger of things to come which is kinda cool.

From what I've seen of the teasers and stuff, my theory is that it's werewolves and possibly a situation of the campers being hunted by humans (think The Most Dangerous Game). But nothing is confirmed that's just what I think.

From what I've seen, I'm VERY excited for this game's release. 45 days so the hype is building!

HIDDEN AGENDA

Ah yes, the shortest choice based game. Created by Supermassive Games to show off a functionality of the PS4, which I don't think was used for any other game, lol.

The game follows Becky Marney (played by Katie Cassidy) as she investigates the claims that the guy they've had in custody/on death row for being The Trapper killer-- calling card boobytrapping the bodies of his victims to kill the first responders too-- claims he isn't the actual trapper but has been taking the fall for his friend Adam.

Throughout the very short 2 hour game, you play as Becky and Felicity Graves who are trying to figure out if the claims of the alleged Trapper are true. Once again it plays into the choice based to where both of the characters can die in an attempt to solve the murders.

It's a fun game! It's just built as a party game with the feature using your phones as the controller and the functionality to (when playing as a group) have Hidden Agenda's in order to get people to react one way or another to choices, although there is a single player mode where you don't have that but it's still on your phone.

Anyway you can watch my stream here!

Onto another developer! Quantic Dream (or David Cage). I remember watching one playthrough of Until Dawn and someone comparing it to Heavy Rain, which is next up.

HEAVY RAIN

Heavy Rain was (from what I know) the first game to follow through on the "your choices actually matter" as far as choice-based games go. It was released in 2010 and follows the story of Ethan Mars whose son has been kidnapped by the infamous Origami Killer that has been taunting the city for years. The calling card is that the kid goes missing in broad daylight and the father of the sons (it's always boys) receives a series of trials they must go through as a test to see if they're a good enough dad to save their son. Each trial succeeded gives Ethan a few entries into a really sucky Hangman game that when fully completed gives him the address of where his son is.

That being said, you also play as Madison, a reporter who is writing an article about the Origami Killer and accidentally falls in love with Ethan, Norman (or as I mimic his Boston accent, Nahman) Jayden who is an FBI agent sent to investigate this serial killer, and Scott Shelby who is a private investigator hired by the parents of the missing kids to help the police in their investigation.

Over the span of the game, you complete the trials as Ethan and investigate the crimes as Jayden and Shelby, ultimately finding out who the killer is and bringing them to justice.

And the best part? You can kill or save all of them in a number of ways (including Ethan's son who you never play as but still).

I played this game a few years ago and while the graphics have aged with time, it is still a fantastic game and if you haven't played it (or watched a stream) I recommend it. Here is my personal stream of the game if you wanna check it out.

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN

In 2018, Quantic Dream released its most recent game, Detroit: Become Human, which much like Heavy Rain makes good on it's promise to create a game where your choices do really matter. And this time, the graphics are UNREAL. It's roughly 10 hours long and follows the city of Detroit, Michigan way in the future (I'd say nearly 80 years from now but I don't know the exact date). In this future, we have developed a humanoid Android robot to do pretty much every job for us that we don't want to/can't do for ourselves.

The game follows 3 story lines where you're playing as the androids Kara (played by Valorie Curry), Marcus (played by Jesse Williams), and Connor (played by Bryan Dechart). Connor is a police assistant android whose mission is to help figure out why androids are slowly becoming sentient ("deviant") and exhibiting human-like traits like having emotions. Marcus, who has become deviant and with a group of others, begins to lead a resistance to show humans that they just want to be treated as equals (noted: your resistance can be peaceful or riot-like depending on your choices). And Kara starts off as a nanny/maid for a family but rescues the little girl from her abusive father and runs away in search of a better life for both of them.

Their stories start off separate but soon overlap with Kara ending up seeking help from Marcus, and Connor hunting down the shelter of deviant androids who are apart of the resistance. And like all the others, you can kill or save all three of the main characters along with the non-playable side ones (North, Simon, Josh, and Luther).

Once again. 10/10 game. My stream is linked here.

BEYOND: TWO SOULS (spoilers)

Another game by Quantic Dream, Beyond: Two Souls is different. Where as the other games give opportunities for the characters to die throughout the game and alter how it ends that way, Beyond has a pretty strict choice based nature.

The plot is you follow Jodie (played by Elliot Page) as she grows up and learns to make sense/become friends with the entity she was born linked to. She starts off as a child who is undergoing tests led by Nathan Dawkins (played by Willem Dafoe), eventually gets recruited by the CIA, and falls in love. The whole time you're playing as Jodie and her entity Aiden (pronounced eye-den not like how you'd normally say aye-den).

Eventually the game builds up as Jodie begins to learn where Aiden came from and why they are bonded and it ends with a big choice.

Either die and join Aiden in the afterlife, or live and have her ties to Aiden be severed. If you choose to live you also have the choice of being able to be in the established romantic relationship with CIA agent Ryan (played by Eric Winter).

Not gonna lie the first time I played the game I had to sit and stare at the screen after it ended cause it hit differently personally for me (as someone who also lost a twin prior to birth-- like Jodie with Aiden). But it was still fantastic nonetheless.

LIFE IS STRANGE (spoilers)

2015 was a good year for games. Because it gave us Until Dawn, and Life is Strange. LiS is the first game of a series created by Dontnod and Square Enix. It follows protagonist Max Caulfield as she discovers she has the ability to rewind time because she witnesses her best friend Chloe Price get shot at the hands of Nathan Prescott (the entitled rich kid).

She rewinds and manages to save Chloe, but her choice creates a ripple in time as she begins to see visions of the town of Arcadia Bay destroyed in a huge tornado.

The game goes on and on as you (along with Chloe) investigate the mysterious disappearance and eventual discovery of the murder of Chloe's "friend" (*cough* girlfriend) Rachel Amber.

But as you continue playing, you keep having to use Max's rewind powers in order to save Chloe's ass more than once and that leads to the dramatic choice at the end of the game: Sacrifice Arcadia Bay (and everyone living in it) to save Chloe, or Sacrifice Chloe to save the Bay-- also called Bay or Bae due to an option to be romantically involved with Chloe throughout the game.

Personally I think that ending is amazing because it really says a lot about what people value as they choose which one to save. It's a phenomenon known at the Trolley Problem and honestly so interesting. It's one of the reasons I love watching people play it for the first time/discussing the choice with others.

LIFE IS STRANGE: BEFORE THE STORM

Ah yes, Before the Storm, which was an interesting addition to the LiS universe. It's a prequel to the original game where you instead play as Chloe Price in the year prior to Rachel's disappearance while she is also dealing with the grieving of her father's death and mother's eventual remarriage with the security guard David Madsen.

Where as the main LiS game is split into 5 episodes, this game is only 3 (with an optional 4th as part of the deluxe edition). And in the original 3, you basically get a glimpse into Chloe and Rachel's friendship/relationship if you choose that path.

You witness Rachel's parental issues and the drama that comes with that, an accidental wildfire, you get to participate in Blackwell's production of The Tempest, and play DnD with Chloe's friends Steph and Mikey.

As for episode 4 (titled "Farewell"), you get to see the day that everything goes wrong for Chloe. Max announces her family is moving to Seattle on the same day that her dad dies in a horrific car crash. This episode made me BAWL my eyes out, mainly due to the fact it ends with Max leaving Chloe a tape in which she promises to keep in touch with her after she's gone, and in my playthrough of the main game, I chose Bay and therefore they never see one another again after she leaves.

Overall, the game is a great addition to the series. And it really gives a glimpse into Rachel Amber's personality and why exactly her and Chloe were so close. You can watch my stream here.

LIFE IS STRANGE 2

Not gonna lie this game is heavy, topic wise. The story follows brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz who are on the run from police after an incident of police brutality that left their dad dead (which resulted in Daniel discovering he has telekinesis powers and accidentally killed the cop who killed his dad.)

The two of them, now wanted criminals, start hitchhiking down the west coast of America heading for Mexico where their dad's family lives. Along the way they run into a LOT of trouble. They work on a pot farm, accidentally have a run-in with a religious cult, and reconnect with their mother who'd abandoned them years prior and stay with her in her desert commune.

One thing I really liked about this game is while it exists in it's own space, there are callbacks to the original LiS game (being able to see Arcadia Bay in either ruins or thriving, and getting to interact with David Madsen on the commune with different interactions based on the ending of main game). Also I felt it delivered more on the choices mattering. Where as I felt LiS's didn't matter aside from the ending one, this game mattered a lot more and had several endings.

Throughout the game you're playing as Sean (the older brother) and depending on how you choose to essentially raise Daniel while on your journey, the game can end in a number of ways which I really liked. Even if the looming topic was very heavy.

LIFE IS STRANGE: TRUE COLORS

The last one! Woo! If you've read this far consider me giving you a pat on the back cause good god did I write a lot about these.

True Colors follows the story of Alex Chen, a young girl who moves to Haven Springs, Colorado to live with her brother Gabe whom she hasn't seen in several years to being separated in the foster care system.

Everything seems too good to be true, and it is. After a shady event in the mountains of Haven, Gabe ends up dead in a horrific matter (not a spoiler it's in the trailer) and now Alex is in a new place with a load of strangers as she attempts to figure out how to navigate the loss of her brother.

And it wouldn't be a LiS game without a superpower, though Alex's is a little less farfetched. She's an empath, who can sense people's emotions and if they are too strong, can become overwhelmed with them.

You go through the story, learning all about Haven's (shady) past as you search for exactly why Gabe died. You become friends with the locals, and possibly even have a romantic relationship with either the rugged (and handsome) park ranger, Ryan Lucan, or the town's local nerd and radio DJ Steph (who is the same Steph that is friends with Chloe in Before the Storm-- a great call back!).

The game also had an option to have a DLC (called "Wavelengths") in which you are playing as Steph along her journey and transition from living in Arcadia Bay to living in Haven Springs and you get to actually be a radio DJ which was my fav part. It also confronts her dealing with the fallout of the events of the main game and how she processes it.

That's all about the games I have played!

THE OTHERS

So I may have a lot of experience in these games, but there are still some I know that exist that I have not played yet. Those being Twin Mirror (created by Dontnod), The Walking Dead series, and I guess now Oxenfree -- I assume it's one as well. I do own Twin Mirror but haven't played yet, and the other's are on my to-buy list!

Thanks for reading!

Sorry I go on about this! This is just scratching the surface.

[glenrocklibraryteens]

Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Coming of age , drama , graphic novel

Page count: 288

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by: AS

In my opinion I loved Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. This book made me feel happy, and I genuinely enjoyed the characters, the plot, character development, writing, etc. I think this because this book had amazing build up and it was very enjoyable to read. The characters were written well, and most were likable and enjoyable. I was hooked on this book, and I didn’t want to put it down until I finished it. I didn’t relate to any of the characters, but most of the characters I think can be relatable to some who read the novel. This is because there is a lot of diversity within these characters. Also, a lot of the characters have different personalities and the way they act, so it makes it easier for most of the characters to be seen as relatable. This book showed me the struggles of anyone who identifies to be a part of the LGBTQ+. It talked about a lot of struggles LGBTQ+ members face. This graphic novel talks about a lot of important issues like identifying your sexual orientation, being taken advantage of, the struggles of coming out, etc. I think representation is important, and Oseman did an amazing job in showing teen struggles. I believe Oseman did an incredible job on writing and illustrating this graphic novel. I like the small details she includes. For example, Oseman creates leaves and puts them on multiple pages and the cover of the book. Even the front and back cover include these leaves, which definitely symbolizes something. I would recommend this graphic novel to any teens who enjoy romance and coming of age books/movies. The romance in Heartstopper is entertaining and sweet. For people who enjoy coming of age the characters face adult problems, and losing their innocence. I would rate this book 5 stars, for it was amazing and one of my favorite books I've read this year. This is why I believe you should read Heartstopper by Alice Oseman.

Playlist for Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Eventually by Tame Impala : Charlie is genuinely bothered by Ben and in the song "Eventually” by Tame Impala there is a lyric “Wish I could turn you back into a stranger”. Charlie does regret the choices he’s made with Ben, including liking him and kissing him.   

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? by Tyler, The Creator: In the ending of Heartstopper Nick ends up walking out the room, with Charlie anxious and confused. In this song “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” Tyler’s lyrics are similar to the ending, for Charlie is left with the question are we still friends? Charlie doesn’t know if Nick is mad or if he doesn’t want to talk to him anymore.   

Melting by Kali Uchis- This song can represent Charlie’s crush on Nick. With lyrics like “Melting like an ice cream when you smile” which means having a crush on someone.

Dream boy by Beach Bunny- This song can represent both Charlie and Nick’s crush on each other. Beach Bunny says in the song “You’ve got my heart bursting at the seams'’. This lyric does relate to Charlie And Nick's crushes on each other.   

I THINK by Tyler, The Creator- Since Charlie has a crush on Nick, but is convinced Nick is straight, “I THINK” is similar to his situation. Tyler states “I think i’m falling in love How can I tell you?” Charlie doesn’t know how he would tell Nick, and Charlie doesn’t know if he is gay or not, so he wouldn’t wanna tell him if he’s straight.   

Invisible String by Taylor Swift- I believe this song is similar to Nick and Charlie's friendship. The lyrics of the song is “All along there was some invisible string tying to me?” Which can be a metaphor to Nick and Charlie connecting quickly with each other when they first met. There is an invisible string tying them together to always be together and for them to never diverge.   

Where is my mind? by Pixies - This song can relate to Nick being stressed with his sexuality. This was stressful because he didn’t know who he liked and he even tried taking quizzes. In the song a lyric is “And you’ll ask yourself Where is my mind?” which can represent Nick not knowing who he was and he was in a stressful situation.  

Sparks by Coldplay- This song does relate to the ending of the book. This could be Nick's point of view of what happened with Charlie. Almost kissing and then him leaving. A lyric in “Spark”  is “ And I know , I was wrong But I won’t let you down” which can be seen as Nick knowing what he did was wrong, but still caring for Charlie.   

Flaming Hot Cheetos by Clairo- Charlie had a feeling his crush on Nick would come out positive. Tao, his best friend, tried convincing that Nick was straight, but somehow Charlie knew his crush on Nick would end positively. Clairo sings “I’m feeling something right” in Flaming Hot Cheetos. Charlie felt something right with Nick, that is why he continued to have a crush on him.  

Treehouse by Alex G- “Treehouse” by Alex G can represent Nick and Charlie’s friendship in the first chapter. In “Treehouse” a lyric “Do not enter" is written on the doorway Why can’t everyone just go away? Expect you, you can stay” This lyric can show that even through a tough time Nick and Charlie will always be there for each other.

[snarkwriteswrasslin]

2020 - archived

[18+ advised ] This is going to be long af. I’m going to do my best to put everything - all my writing on this blog, in one goddamn place, but I make no promises, so forgive me in advance. Below the cut is everything I’ve written and posted, for every single wrestler I’ve written for so far.  If its’ not linked, then I haven’t posted it yet or it’s a placeholder. If it’s bolded/has an m out beside it, it is most definitely mature and only meant for a mature (18+) audience. If there’s an asterisk (*) out beside the title, it belongs to or is part of something else that I have on the blog.

If you want to be on the taglist for my writing, you can find that [here]. If you want to know what I write / how often I write and stuff like that, my faq/about post is [here]

adam hangman page | take you home | spring | mature.

adam hangman page | baby fever | winter| mature.

adam hangman page | darlin | summer | mature. 

baron corbin | right now | winter | mature.

darby allin | the sound of silence | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | somebody watching me | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | alpha | winter | mature.

ethan carter iii | worship you | winter | mature.

jon moxley | duality| summer | mature.

jon moxley | allnighter | summer | mature.

jungle boy | touch myself | winter | mature.

jungle boy | unnamed as of yet | summer | mature.

kevin owens | morning | summer | mature.

kyle o’reilly | backseats and phone calls | spring | mature.

kyle o’reilly | the quiet game | winter | mature.

mjf | dessert first | winter | mature.

mjf | sweet | summer | mature.

mjf | morningafter | summer | mature.

roman reigns | alpha | winter | mature.

sammy guevara | dirty dancer | winter | suggestive.

sammy guevara | cheater | summer | mature.

trent beretta | blackout | summer | mature.

trent beretta | sneaky | fall | mature.

adam hangman page | whatcha gonna do by hinder | angst / comfort.

adam hangman page | push my buttons [ suggestive] | 

adam hangman page | i’m erasing myself from the narrative | i’m putting myself back into the narrative | may you always be satisfied | the story of tonight. 

adam hangman page | second one to know |  dancing around an open fire | | 

adam hangman page | dreaming of a wedding dress | | 

adam hangman page | the love boat || | 

adam hangman page | sweet cherry pie || that dress is begging to come off [ virgin oc; mature af } 

adam hangman page | | honey on my table suggestive | motion of the ocean - cruise romance au, mature | 

adam hangman page | alone among the couples | 

adam hangman page | im yours - alphaverse au | won’t you stay with me alphaverse au |  bathtub mermaid - alphaverse au/suggestive | 

adam hangman page | she’s a nutcracker | 

adam hangman page | virginia on my mind, angst | fuck you and the horse you rode in on [ an au of what ifs second chapter, holy shit mature]  | | punishment pretty please, goes with wildside/whatifs holy shit mature | pour some sugar on me, mature | | 

baron corbin | everything you can do i can do better | 

baron corbin | follow me | prince not so charming | 

baron corbin | love on the rocks | 

curtis axel | | | boop [  mature ] | be kind rewind [ roommates au, mature ]| 

curtis axel | discount chocolate day | | 

drew gulak thoughts of yesterdays | august rush | lost in your eyes [ suggestive.]

drew gulak | he loves me, he loves you not [ miiild suggestive, alphaverse] | | leave her wild [ suggestive alphaverse..kinda] | 

drew gulak |once upon a dream [ soulmate au] |  starcrossed lovers and other strangers [ suggestive ] |

drew gulak | valentines day episode | 

drew mcintyre | marionette | | just between me and you | 

drew mcintyre | burnt homemade chocolates [ conclusion to my alphaverse short fic, suggestive and fluffy ] | 

edge x ofc x christian | seeds of unrest | 

elias samson | couples costume contest | 

elias samson | waiting on your friends to leave 

ethan carter III | winners remorse | rewrite history [ a retelling of w.r] | |

finn balor | after an endless dream | 

jay white | graveyard smash | punch drunk princess [ vampire au; mature] | it should’ve been you [human version of vampire au]

jeff hardy  | it all started with glow paint [ suggestive; bordering mature ] | 

jeff hardy | do i look lonely |  my lips are up here [suggestive]

jon moxley | hurt me so good | if I loved you less I could talk about it more | can’t find a better man [mature].

jon moxley | bloody valentine | 

jon moxley | your days are numbered | spared but not forgiven | nature adores a virgin [mature]

jon moxley | all the guys want cheerleaders | ps i lo- | no more almosts | warm desert wind | | dark as night [ roommates au / suggestive ] | 

jon moxley | siren song [ soulmate/pirate and siren au | 

jungle boy | sweet boy | 

kyle o’reilly | can I see through you | | death of a bachelor | 

mjf | did you just grab yourself on tv | 

mjf | candy hearts taste like chalk | 

pete dunne | you jump i jump jack | | you can’t win | I’m melting

pete dunne |bitter bite alphaverse au |  aftershocks suggestive |

roderick strong |  trying not to smile | 

roderick strong | kisses like cruelty [suggestive,borderline mature] | | | 

roderick strong | walking the line | put ‘em up | 

roman reigns | patchwork heart | 

roman reigns | slow roasted | 

roman reigns | anorgasmia | 

sami zayn | farmers market | moonbeams on pumpkins

sami zayn | heart and soul |

sami zayn | reflecting light | 

zack ryder | rough rider 

12 Days Of Christmas Masterlist 2020

My entries for the 12 Days of Christmas on both my writing blogs can be found on this post right here.  [ merry christmas clicky ]

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

New Years

Valentines Day

Other Holidays / Special Occasions

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS I HAVE / USE TO WRITE

original character, Adeline x | 

original character, Kasey x | 

original character, Violet x | 

WRESTLERS ONLY DOWN BELOW

adam hangman page x [m] | x - soft hangman | x -hangman does halloween | x hangman on your first date [ fluffy,suggestive]|  x [soft] | adopting a dog | enemies to lovers | roommates to lovers | softly mature | more halloween hangman | 

buddy murphy x [ mature, sex life] | 

cash wheeler x [ suggestive ] | 

chuck taylor x [soft]| x more soft | 

damien priest x [ mature ] | 

darby allin x[soft] | x [mature] | 

drew gulak x | 

drew mcintyre x [ mature ] | 

eddie kingston x | x | x mature | enemies to lovers | 

elite x celebrating Halloween with the Elite | 

ethan carter iii x [m] | 

finn balor x [ m] | x [m] | 

heath slater x | 

jeff hardy x[m] | sick female!SO [pms mentioned briefly] | 

jon moxley x [m] | x [m] | 

jungle boy x[food/cooking] | x [ actual! jungle boy in love ] | fall softness | 

kenny omega x [ suggestive ] | x | x [halloween] | 

kevin owens x [m] | 

kyle o’reilly x [ mature - werewolf!kyle ] | 

luchasaurus x[mature+soft] | 

marko stunt  x soft and mature | x mature | x soft | x daddy kink of sorts |

matt jackson x [m] | x more m | enemiest to lovers -suggestive | 

nick jackson x [suggestive] | losing a basketball game to you | x mature/soft mix | 

orange cassidy x [lowkey m] | 

Pac x [suggestive fluff] | 

pentagon jr x mature | 

pete dunne x [ mature ] | 

prince devitt x mature | 

ecw era raven x [soft ] | x [m] | x[halloween] | 

roderick strong x [ adopting a kid with ] | 

roman reigns x!HeelRoman, slight nsfw | 

sami callihan x [ music preferences ] | 

trent beretta x [lowkey m] | x [ soft ] | x [ more soft ] | 

tyler breeze x [ enemies to lovers, polyamory hinted at | 

undertaker x [ gender neutral baker / biker taker SO] | 

wardlow x [ m ] | x [m] | x [ soft] | x[ halloween] | x mature | x Christmas with Wardlow | 

AEW;

- adam hangman page [ f s v ] | o i d | c m x | k l | 

- cash wheeler [ i l s ] | [ m o r ] | c s u | 

- chuck taylor [ j m w ] | [ a d l ] | [ c  v ] | i k w | n u x | 

- darby allin [  k o t ] 

- jack evans [ b t h ] | 

- jon moxley [ a k r ] | 

- jungle boy [ d m o ] | 

- matt jackson [ k q w ] |  [ b d e ] | f i o | u y | c j v | 

- mjf [ s k v ] | b m u | 

- nick jackson [ a b g ] | [ m o ] | c i o | 

- orange cassidy [ f h x ] | [ o ] | [ i p v ] | [ k w ]

- pac [ d m x ] | [ i p u ] | [ f o s ] | 

- santana [ a o q ] | 

- trent beretta [ j m u ] | 

- wardlow [ d j w ] | [ k u ] | [ b m r ] | [ a o v ] | c i p | 

WWE NXT;

- chad gable [ b o u ] | 

- damien priest [ d i v ] | 

- drew mcintyre [ b e d ] | i p w | 

- jinder mahal [ g i w ] | 

- roman reigns [ c u m ] | 

- timothy thatcher [ c j y ] | f k | d | 

- tyler breeze [ l x y ] | d j u | 

TNA;

- heath miller [ b e d ] | 

NJPW;

- jay white [ d f k ] | k u m | b j w | 

AEW;

WWE / NXT;

AEW;

WWE / NXT; 

[starsbythepocketful12]

headcanons cause i’m in flarrie hours

they are THE couple when it comes to halloween costumes

all their outfits for big events (parties, gigs where dirty candy and/or jatp perform) are coordinated

carrie my femme queen & flynn my nonbinary lesbian darling

go to protests & marches together

flynn lends carrie books by her favorite Black female authors & carrie lends her books by her favorite sapphic poets

they make playlists about each other but the other doesn’t know they do it (julie & kayla are the only ones permitted to know of the existence of these playlists & have been sworn to secrecy, though julie has a strong suspicion carrie also makes playlists about flynn and vice versa)

have a joint pinterest account for their wedding moodboard

carrie adopted a tiger cub and named it flynn for their three month anniversary

they go to the mall together every other weekend and shop, which they both love to do and when they get home they always model the new outfits they bought

flynn squeals every time they see a dog in public and always runs over and asks if they can pet it and carrie always watches her with such a fond look that the owner almost always makes a comment on what a lovely couple they are or asks how long they’ve been together (something that has actually been happening since even before they were dating, and back then you can imagine the flustered ness it caused)

flynn often comes to watch dirty candy rehearsals, cheer them on, make sure they’re staying hydrated/taking snack breaks and that carrie’s not overworking herself

carrie is the first person that flynn tells she wants to DJ professionally and carrie gets her her first gig

eventually flynn gets into producing as well and ends up making a track for carrie, who writes lyrics to it and it becomes dirty candy’s most successful song to date

carrie says i love you first one saturday afternoon while they’re watching a movie on flynn’s computer in her room. flynn laughs at a joke and carrie looks over at her, her beautiful, incredible girlfriend, and simply can’t resist the urge to say it

flynn’s shocked into silence so carrie panics and leaves and doesn’t answer flynn’s messages

that night flynn shows up at the wilson mansion and throws rocks at carrie’s window until she comes out

flynn is upset with carrie for running out and ghosting her and carrie’s trying to defend herself so they argue but then flynn interrupts carrie by kissing her and breathlessly saying, “i love you.” carrie kisses her and not another word on it is said

carrie steals flynn’s hats

they’re not really PDA-y, they just happen to engage in a lot of unconscious, casual affection, like flynn often absentmindedly intertwines their pinkies and carrie doesn’t realize her arm is around flynn’s shoulders until she’s doing it

even after months of dating will still flirt like they’re in their enemies who are secretly very attracted to e/o era

flynn really loves art, particularly murals, so she drags carrie to a lot of gallery openings and museums

at one point when flynn’s going through a hard time carrie enlists all their friends for help making a giant mural full of drawings of things that make her happy

flynn happy cries when she sees it and is pretty much always seen hugging carrie for the rest of that night

only really cuddle when one (or both) of them is sleepy, though flynn does often sit on carrie’s lap

before starting to date, carrie would tease flynn for having stuffed animals during their sleepovers at flynn’s until they started dating and flynn started spending more time at carrie’s and flynn discovers that her girlfriend’s a little hypocrite

flynn has a younger sister and brother (sister is six, brother is four) and they absolutely ADORE carrie and think she’s the coolest and carrie thinks they’re the cutest

flynn’s like no they’re little demons and carrie’s says who says demons can’t be cute? you once called me a demon right, and im cute, aren’t i? and flynn rolls her eyes and fights back a smile

flynn also has a college aged older sister who she looks up to a lot, like that’s her hero and absolute role model, so naturally carrie’s terrified to meet her, and though she tries to appear intimidating at first, she can’t keep up the act for long and starts being friendly with carrie pretty much right away

one day they’re supposed to go on a date but carrie’s sick and forgot to text flynn telling her not to come so flynn shows up at her house but stays anyway to look after her

flynn reads to her and makes her soup

trevor & flynn play video games while carrie naps

flynn makes jewelry in her free time and consults carrie for her thoughts on every piece (in junior year she starts selling them at school & turns out to be quite the entrepreneur)

they have an inside joke about cosmo and wanda

a couple of the dirty candy members sometimes jokingly flirt with flynn and are like “watch out! we’re gonna steal your girl!” and carrie gets possessive and apologizes for it pretty quickly but flynn thinks it’s hot so it works out pretty well

will watch bad rom coms to make fun of straight people and throw popcorn at the screen when they get together

pet/nick names: care, baby, babe, love, (from carrie to flynn who shuts down upon hearing it) honey, (flynn to carrie, who becomes very giddy the first time flynn says it in a text message) sweetheart

if you couldn’t tell before they ofc have an enemies to friends to lovers arc

move in together after graduating, neither planning on going to college (julie goes to berkeley and nick some other place in california where they have lacrosse cause that’s the sport he plays right) and their parents think it’ll be a disaster but it actually goes really well

the first couple of weeks they fight more, all petty arguments mostly out of the stress of moving, but they always talk it out

it doesn’t take long for them to be happy they’re living together and feel really glad they took that step

two years after graduating flynn gives her a promise ring

carrie cries her eyes out and replies “of fucking course, you dumb fuck” when flynn asks if she’ll take it

ten years later carrie’s a successful pop star/choreographer & flynn’s a record breaking producer/DJ and they’re about to buy a house when they realize they never got married

it’s just a moment where they’re relaxing together on the couch and suddenly are like. oh

and proceed to burst out laughing

it’s a small ceremony, thrown together in just three weeks

carrie wears a short, light pink dress with a heart cutout in the back that would probably be more suited for a high school sophomore’s spring fling but no one cares

flynn wears a suit, and is walked down the aisle by her older sister

they both tear up upon seeing each other and sob through the vows (the traditional pre written ones, they wrote vows for each other but they recite them to the other when they’re alone, so it’s something special only they can share)

julie & kayla are the maids of honor, nick and alex are the best men

julie & luke’s five year old hernando is the ring bearer & alex and willie’s three year old umi is the flower child

trevor, flynn’s older sister and parents cry

even flynn’s now teenage younger siblings, who as of late have often been stereotypically cynical and moody shed tears

jatp perform at the reception (they have also become a hit band at this point)

when they get back from the honeymoon the first thing they do is get a dog

they adopt a golden doodle rescue named stella

a couple years later they start talking about kids and look into getting a sperm donor

because they love being competitive they do little games to decide who will be the one to carry the baby

it’s all jokes though, they decided at the start of the process that it would be flynn for the first kid and carrie for the second

but then SURPRISE flynn has twins

a boy and a girl named tyler and ollie (who’s who i won’t tell you cause fuck gender)

they don’t even talk about carrie getting pregnant now cause they’re busy with the babies and trying to manage their careers but one night, when the kids are eight, and flynn has just flopped onto the couch with a dramatic sigh after putting them to bed, carrie puts down her kindle and quietly says that she wants another kid.

they talk for hours because while flynn wants another kid too, when you’re both celebrities with demanding jobs and people constantly trying to peer into your life, that decision involves even more factors

they decide to have another kid and carrie chooses to take a step back from her career for now-she’ll return to it eventually but for now she wants to be able to just be a parent without worrying about work and not have to deal with the guilt that comes with working when she feels like she should be being a parent

though the kids have always been their main priority and they have done quite well dividing their time between work and being with them, and have done decently shielding them from the public eye (majority of the pictures of ollie & tyler that the public has are blurry candids, and the few high quality ones are from when they were three and they no longer look like that anyway so it’s all good)

it’s a harder process for carrie to get pregnant as she’s almost 40 and flynn was 31 when she had tyler and ollie

but it happens though they’re careful about choosing the sperm donor-even briefly consider asking reggie or nick-because with this kind of thing there’s always the risk that other parent could track down where their kid ended up and want to be a part of that kid’s life later on which is uber complicated for many reasons so they get those scary possibilities out of the way by just finding someone who they know wants to be in the child’s life

preston choi, a thai & korean american mathematics professor ends up being their guy

he’s immensely genuine, sweet, respectful, polite, and gentlemanly

when he came out at fifteen his parents kicked him out of the house

it was a long and difficult journey but they’re in a decent place now

but it’s not the family he wants to have and he’s tried but has yet to find a partner

but doesn’t want to wait to have kids so here he is, more than happy to co parent with flynn and carrie

so that’s what they do! tyler and ollie become big siblings to miles wilson-choi on december 10th, 2044

miles grows up in the most multicultural home ever, being fluent in 4 languages (English, AAVE, Spanish thanks to their tia julie, Korean, and Thai) all their life

tyler & ollie welcome preston and miles into the family with open arms, as well as the addition of korean and thai cuisine to the already amazing dinner tables they had of soul and caribbean food

when miles is seven carrie goes back to work full time, with preston’s assurance that he’s got this when her and flynn are busy and tyler and ollie (who are now fifteen) promising they’ll help out as well

at that point the long awaited julie and the phantoms/carrie and flynn wilson collaboration FINALLY happens

flynn wins her 28th grammy for it, leaving her tied with beyoncé for most grammys won by any woman ever (its julie’s 14th, luke’s 6th, and carrie’s 12th, and the band’s collective 10th cause alex never did any solo projects and reggie released one country album but it didn’t win any grammys rip though it was nominated for 2 CMAs)

[somedayonbroadway]

Santa’s Little Helpers

Fandom: Newsies

Word Count: 2k+

Characters: Racetrack Higgins, Albert DaSilva, Jack Kelly, Katherine Plumber, Smalls (Newsies)

Summary: When Albert had told Race that he’d had a surprise for him at the mall, this is not what Race had had in mind.

A/N: So this little fic was a request from Katrina Miller. This reviewer did ask for a Christmas fic with Race and Albert and while that's definitely here, this did turn into a bit of a Sprace fic. I hope that's okay!

Please enjoy!

When Albert had told Race he'd had a surprise for him down at the mall, this is not exactly what Race had had in mind.

Race was now making minimum wage at, what he had been told by Saint Nick himself, was the perfect job for him. He was an elf. If the pointy ears and ridiculous jingle bell hat weren't enough, the shoes certainly completed the outfit. He was clad up in ridiculous green and white socks and even worse tiny red overalls. What didn't make sense to Race was that he had never been particularly short. Neither had Albert. And yet, here they were, pretending they were tiny, had squeaky little voices and painting red little red circles on their noses and cheeks.

Currently, Santa's was on a ten and that meant that Santa's helpers had to deal with the oh-so understanding parents and their screaming kids who had been waiting in line for about two hours now only for Santa to decide he needed a break.

"Oh my gosh, look at him," Race groaned a bit at the voice, turning around to be met with the sight of his all too adorning big brother who was not even alone. No, he had his girlfriend on his arm. "Honey, look at our little elf! They grow up so fast."

The pair had bags and bags of things in their arms. And Race couldn't even be bothered to be the nosy kid he was and try to prematurely snoop. All he could do was glare as Katherine cooed at him, "Aww, we raised a good little elf, Jackie."

With a roll of his eyes, Race just prayed no one else he knew from school stumbled through Santa's Village. As much of a loser as he already was, he didn't think he'd survive the torment. Albert, however, didn't seem to care as he slung an arm around Race's shoulders and hung on him a bit. Albert was eccentric. People expected this kind of thing from him. Race, as he often was, was just along for the ride. Right now, that ride required red, white and green everything and a fake smile for the bratty kids that tugged on his hair and ears.

"Heya, Jack!" Albert grinned. Race pouted his lips over his brother, as though he was asking for some kind of help but Jack only reached into his back pocket and took out his phone, snapping a picture of the pair. Albert was grinning.

Not quite as ecstatic to be here, Race's pout turned into a small glare towards the man who raised him. "Have I ever told you that I hate you?" he asked, only getting a small laugh out of Jack. "I'm burning all of your presents."

Jack only smiled and shrugged. "Well, I guess that means I can go return all of this—"

With his eyes widened in fake terror Race shook his head. "No! Jackie!" he whined. "I want presents…"

"Then I guess you gotta be a good little elf and take all the kiddies to meet Santa," Jack shrugged. Then he smirked. He had such a knowing smirk and Race hated him and yet somehow still loved him for it.

Before he could further insult his big brother in front of the giant line of crabby customers, Katherine was quick to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "We'll be by later to give you guys a ride, okay?" he promised, moving to give a waiting Albert a kiss on the head. "Tinker away my little elves."

"Bye, Red!" Albert called.

"Bye, Red!" Katherine called back, walking away confidently without her boyfriend.

Jack paused to give Race a kiss on the head too. "Be good, okay? Give these kids a good meeting with Santa. You don't know how many of them might actually need it." That was just like Jack. Thinking about others first. Sometimes Race feared that it might be Jack's downfall. He cared too much about others. He was self sacrificing. He couldn't could the number of times Jack had literally given him the shirt off of his back and the food that never reached his mouth. They'd grown up poor. They'd grown up orphans.

But that was a long time ago.

Race was sixteen now. And he had a job like any normal sixteen year old does at Christmas time.

Turning back to Albert, he sighed. "Why did you make me do this?" It was true. If anyone from school saw him here, he'd be torn apart. He and Albert weren't exactly super popular and they had accepted that a long time ago. That didn't mean no one knew who they were. In fact, people knew them as geeks and/or nerds who were constantly the target of some popular kids' pranks.

With a cheeky grin, all Albert could do was shrug. It was impossible to make the redhead embarrassed at this point. Race figured they'd been through enough humiliation to get him immune. See, Albert had not only one, but two older brothers. They were a product of his father's first marriage and were much older than Albert by the fault. They had been tormenting him his whole life. Race loved Albert's older brothers but they had always had sneaky, effective ways of embarrassing their baby brother. "Um, I'm sorry, we spread Christmas cheer to every child in the world. We're basically like the most important people in the world right now. Our job is literally to make Christmas happen. God knows Santa just sits on his ass all year long while we do all the heavy lifting," Albert scoffed, almost looking offended. "And also… money…" he finished, like that part was some great bonus.

To be honest, Albert wasn't wrong. The money was a great thing and Race was glad to have a little cash in his pocket for the holidays. He still had plenty of Christmas shopping to do. "Whatever…" he scoffed, rolling his eyes as they saw Santa coming back. The guy wasn't the best, but he got the job done.

"You're the one who said you wanted a job, man," Albert said.

"I meant a normal job, Al," Race groaned dramatically as he forced himself to make his way over to that big red rope that blocked off their little area. "One where I don't gotta wear a costume." Albert just tugged on Race's hair. Race let out a small yelp but he got back to work, shooting a glare in his best friend's direction as he let the first child in line go through. He only got shoved a little bit by the mother who had only yelled at him the second Santa walked away.

Today was the seventh day Race had been working and that meant, coincidentally, that he was also getting his first paycheck today and that was something to be happy about. It was all he could think about at the moment, as he lifted screaming, kicking, smelly children on and off of Santa's lap while a bored photographer snapped their picture. Well that and, of course, lunch.

Well, sort of.

As hungry as Race was, and Race was really hungry, the idea of having to stand out in the cafeteria like this was enough to make him want to put a bag over his head. According to his manager, he was not allowed to take off the costume at any time. It would ruin the magic, apparently and that just meant they wanted to see what happened when they sent two teenage boys dressed as elves out into the most popular hang out in the city just to see what would happen.

There were literally twenty minutes left before Race and Albert could take an hour long lunch and that's when Race saw him. "Hi, are you guys ready ta meet Santa—" He froze when he looked up to see a very hot, very muscular boy standing above him. "Holy sh—" A hand clamped tightly down over his mouth before the word slipped out and he nearly bit it to get it off.

Spot Conlon was one of the most popular kids at their school. He was the athlete. The quarterback, captain of the soccer team, pitcher of the baseball team and the literal homecoming king was standing right there in front of him and Race was staring at him with wide eyes. "Hi, Spot Conlon," Albert greeted much too cheerfully. Race was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that he was the only person in the world that knew that Race had a huge crush on the older boy and had ever since the sixth grade.

Spot gave the both of them an odd look. "Uh… hi? Do I know you guys?" he asked. It was only then that Race noticed he was holding onto a little girl's hand. He didn't know that Spot had any siblings.

Easily, Albert pulled Race up and put his arm around him again. "Uh… we go ta the same school… I've been in your bio class for the past semester, you live in the same building as Race—"

"Oh you guys are the ones that had to run through the school in your underwear because the Delanceys stole your clothes!" Spot said, like it should've been obvious.

It was immediate, the way Race's face fell into his hands dramatically. Albert hardly reacted. "Yep." Race wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole. That had been one of the single worst days of his life and he loved to have that reminder right now by this boy with this random kid there too. "Anyway, is your sister ready ta meet Santa?"

Snapping back to the moment, Spot looked down at the little girl who seemed very interested in her little toes right then. "Oh, this is actually my niece. Her name's Saraya but we all call her Smalls," he explained. There was still another kid up on Santa's lap giving him a list about the size of himself. "She really wanted to meet Santa, but she's deaf so… h-he doesn't have to talk to her or anything, she just wanted to say hi."

So maybe Race was desperate to impress this boy somehow, but he actually got very excited at hearing that. He immediately looked up before he kneeled back down to that little girl's level. He lifted up his hands slowly. "Hi," he signed with a small smile. "My name's Tyler. Are you excited to see Santa?"

The little girl's face lighting up tuned out the voice of his best friend looking up at Spot and spilling his life story. "His brother is hard of hearing. They were in a really bad car accident when they were little so now he has to wear hearing aids but they couldn't afford them when they were little so…" Albert never knew when to stop talking.

It was true. Jack had lost his hearing almost completely when he was ten years old. It hadn't been an easy adjustment for either of them, especially since they were orphaned in the very same crash. Jack hadn't handled it well. So Race had helped him learn a language that he didn't have to hear and now here he was.

They'd both lived.

Saraya nodded to him and signed back, "I know that's not the real Santa, but my uncle says he's gonna tell the real Santa my wish!"

With a big smile, Race nodded right back. "It's true! Santa just so happens to be a personal friend of mine," he explained a bit smugly, his heart only warming when that grin on Smalls's face grew. "What are you gonna ask for?"

That's when Spot stopped her, picking her up to mask that fact. He placed her on his hip before looking down at Race who slowly stood to his feet. "She… uh… she wants to see her mom… I'm trying to get her to ask for something else, but… her ma ain't home because… well she just ain't, but… we're hopin' ta get her home by Christmas. We just need enough to get a plane ticket," Spot shrugged, clearly not up for explaining at the moment.

Something sunk in Race's chest. He nodded, glancing back and realizing that it was Saraya's turn. "Uh, it's her turn…" Race stated awkwardly. So Spot nodded and walked over to Santa, setting Saraya down on his lap and translating for her as she sighed and signing back what Santa said.

"You are so in love with him," Albert sighed.

Race elbowed his friend in the gut and turned to him. "I'm not even… I'm thinkin' about Saraya! She just… I don't know… reminds me of Jack, okay?" he shrugged. "Except she's not quite as sad as he was when…" Race shook his head.

"Okay, don't go gettin' all emotional. Just get her a gift 'r somethin'."

Race smiled at that.

So that's exactly what they did.

This is how Race ended up on Albert's back, still clad up in annoying green and red colors as they quickly went from store to store trying to find the right thing during their lunch break.

"And then Kat said, 'well, if you admit that you don't believe in Santa, then maybe he'll stop comin' around, so like… I'm sixteen and I still get presents from Santa and I call that a win," Race shrugged, resting his chin on Albert's shoulder.

Albert scoffed. "Jeanne is the reason Santa still comes around ta our house— she misses you, by the way," he stated. "She's honestly, the cutest little kid I've ever met."

With a small laugh, Race jumped off of his friend's back and bounced over to the little stuffed animals. They were, of course, in the Disney store. He didn't know where else one would go to get a gift for a child. "Of course she misses me, I'm her favorite," he said, like it should've been obvious.

He came face to face with a little Stitch plushie. His heart swelled. It was one similar to something a nurse had gotten Jack all those years ago when Jack was in the hospital. Race shook himself out of it as he pulled the thing off the shelf. "This is the one," he decided.

"Ohana means family or whatever," Albert shrugged. "It's cute. Get it."

When they got back to Santa's Village, they stole some wrapping paper off of one of the decorations to wrap the gift. Race mostly swatted away Albert's hand when he tried to put a piece down all of the place. Race prided himself in his gift wrapping skills. "Dude, if you're using more than three pieces of tape, you've done something wrong!" he laughed as Albert hung a piece of tape from his nose.

But eventually, they managed to have a gift to give to the little girl who missed her mother.

Race got so wrapped up in the thought as he and Albert continued on that he didn't even notice the Delanceys walk by and mock them. He was too busy trying to give the kids a nice visit with Santa Claus. Some of them might actually need it.

—

When someone knocked on Spot Conlon's door later that night, he didn't know what to expect. The little elf boy definitely wasn't it. So, maybe he knew what the kid's name was. Racer. That didn't mean he was supposed to care.

Race wasn't wearing his costume anymore. He only wore the makeup. "Uh… hi…" he said. Spot almost greeted him back before the kid kept talking. "Look, I know it ain't like we're friends and you can make fun of me forever but… I… I got Saraya this and… this is for you guys…" He handed Spot a neatly wrapped box for Saraya and an envelope. It was his paycheck.

With a curious look, Spot smiled a little bit. "Um… thank you," he shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "You really didn't have to—"

"Saraya should be able to see her mom on Christmas…" Race shrugged.

Spot squinted at him a bit. "What—"

"Also, just to put this out there, I don't always look like this," he said.

A sly smirk made its way onto Spot's face as he shrugged. "Too bad. You make a cute elf."

Doing his best not to go weak in the knees, Race smiled breathily and let out a small, delighted laugh. "Uh, anyways—"

"Hey, what the Delanceys did," Spot interrupted, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. "That was messed up. I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

For some reason, that might've been the best thing Spot had ever said to him. Okay so maybe this was the first conversation they were really having all alone, but still. "Well, since it's the season of forgiving an' all…" Race shrugged. Then he sighed. "Merry Christmas, Spot."

Spot smiled at him. "Merry Christmas, Racer… and hey… thank you…"

And with that, Race walked away, feeling the Christmas spirit flowing through him more than he had in years.

Merry Christmas everybody! Happy holidays! Much love!

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, fansies!

[skateboardtotheheart]

Slow On The Uptake

A JATP FANFIC - read on AO3 here

So I made a post the other day about how my brain took the idea that Nick is bisexual and that I wanted to see more of Ryan McEwan’s character (Pretty Lacrosse Boy) and decided to ship the two of them. Since Pretty Lacrosse Boy doesn’t have a name, I named him Tyler Doyle. And I wrote a fanfiction about them:

SUMMARY: When Nick gets a concussion during lacrosse practice, he needs a ride to urgent care. Thankfully for him, his teammate Tyler offers to drive him. Cue awkward conversations, pretty smiles, flustered looks, and “oh crap this guy is really cute”.

Getting slammed into the ground and getting a lacrosse stick to the head to match was not what Nick had planned when he’d gone to practice today. He probably could have avoided it, in hindsight. But he’d been distracted staring at Tyl- the sidelines- to notice that Cameron was about to slam into him until too late. Next thing he knew, Nick was laying on the ground, the back of his head smacking into the hardened ground below him and his stick smacking into his forehead. Pain shot through his head so quickly he didn’t even register the weight of Cameron on top of him until it was gone. He vaguely registered that Cameron was saying something to him- sorry, maybe?- but he couldn’t hear it properly. He clenched his eyes shut, groaning loudly. All he could focus on was the pain. 

Nick felt someone shake his shoulder, jostling him. Involuntarily he cried out in pain, and the hand immediately left. He had no idea how long he’d laid there, in the middle of the practice field, before squinting his eyes open. Standing around him looked like about four of his teammates, Coach Barron directly above him. 

“-orth! Danforth! Look at me, son.”

It took everything he had to focus his eyes on his coach. 

“There we go, kid. How you feelin’?”

Nick sat up, looking around at the teammates gathered around him. Coach Barron repeated his question about how Nick felt. Nick could barely comprehend the question, let alone words to answer it, but opened his mouth to answer anyway. Unfortunately for him, instead of words coming out of his mouth, Nick felt himself doubling over, leaning to the side as he emptied the contents of his stomach. He heard his teammates exclaiming around him in disgust, backing up from the huddle around him. He gagged and heaved the last of it out, and Nick felt an arm come around his shoulder keeping him upright as he almost fell into the pile of his own vomit. 

“Woah! You okay, Nick?” came the voice of whoever was holding him. 

“Doing great,” he coughed out, trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth while the pain in his head seemingly doubled. He leaned back into the person holding him, feeling their chest vibrate as they laughed at his response. 

“Okay,” Coach said, “You’re probably concussed. I’ll call someone to get you to urgent care-”

“I can drive him, Coach,” the vibrations against Nick’s back were oddly comforting and he closed his eyes. “No, no- gotta keep your eyes open, Nick. Can’t fall asleep.”

Nick still couldn’t properly distinguish who was talking to him. The voice was familiar, soft. Nick forced his eyes back open, feeling dizzy. He zoned out as coach and his teammate debated taking him to urgent care. As they did, Nick forced himself into turning around to see who had caught him from falling. As he caught sight of who it was, Nick let out a groan. He’d already embarrassed himself by getting pounded into the ground and then throwing up in front of the entire team. Why not go ahead and make things worse?

Tyler glanced down at him as he groaned, eyes trailing over him to check if he was okay, it seemed. Nick grunted a little bit, attempting to pull himself away from Tyler’s chest and sit up on his own. Tyler let him go, keeping a hand on his shoulder. 

“Alright, Doyle,” Nick heard Coach say. “You’re both free to go.”

Tyler smiled up at Coach Barron, nodding. Not that Nick would ever willingly admit it, but he wasn’t entirely sure it was the concussion that made him dizzy in the moment. When the dizzy spell was over, Nick’s eyes refocused to find Tyler watching him carefully. 

“Huh?” Nick let out, sounding as out of it as he felt. Tyler’s lips twitched up in a smile.

“I asked if you were gonna puke on me if I helped you stand up.”

“Oh. Uh- No. No, I think I’m fine.”

Tyler nodded, then stood up. He was already taller than Nick, but he looked like a giant as Nick sat uselessly, dizzy on the ground. Tyler held a hand out to Nick, which the lacrosse player took hesitantly. He pulled Nick up gently, resting a hand on his back when Nick stumbled. Nick couldn’t register much more than how light headed he was. He stayed silent as Tyler guided him to the sidelines to grab their bags and then out to the parking lot. Tyler didn’t try to talk much either, just whispering quiet reassurances when Nick got hit with dizziness and keeping an arm around him in case Nick fell. The journey out to Tyler’s car passed in a bit of a blur, and Nick didn’t realize he was actually sitting down in the passenger seat until Tyler was taking a slow turn out of the parking lot. 

“Thanks for doing this,” Nick managed, and Tyler looked sideways at him with a small smile. 

“You probably should try not to talk. It’ll only make your headache worse,” Tyler spoke in almost a whisper, and Nick was grateful for the reprieve of noise on his headache. 

“Had a concussion before?”

Tyler shook his head, keeping his driving as slow as he could on the busy LA streets. “Nah, but you know my step-brother Dylan? The drumline kid? Turns out marching band is way more dangerous than it seems. I think he’s had like three concussions since he joined the band.”

Nick hummed in response, allowing his eyes to fall shut. 

“No, dude, gotta keep your eyes open.”

Nick groaned. 

“Nick, seriously- until the doctor checks you out and we know how bad your concussion is, you shouldn’t fall asleep. Here-” Tyler reached in front of Nick, pulling something out of the glovebox as gently as he could, “-wear these, it’ll block out the light.”

Nick took the sunglasses from Tyler’s hand, slipping them over his eyes. He sighed in relief as soon as he did; the sunlight gleaming off the other cars on the street had made him want to cry. Nick wasn’t entirely sure what happened on their way to the closest urgent care. He vaguely heard himself talking- rambling, more like- even though Tyler had told him to stay quiet. He didn’t stop rambling until they’d arrived and the car was parked. 

“As interesting as the history of the platypus was, let’s go get you a doctor, yeah?”

If Nick wasn’t already so out of it, he was sure he would have been embarrassed. Is that what he's been talking about all this time?

As they walked into the urgent care clinic, Tyler was once again guiding him with a hand on his back. If Nick felt the urge to lean into the touch, he blamed it on his lack of proper coordination. Nick leaned into the counter of the nurse, receptionist, whoever it was Tyler was talking to instead. He didn’t listen to much of what either one was saying, but tuned in just in time to hear the- nurse?- ask if Nick had a guardian with him. 

“No, we drove straight from our school,” Tyler responded, “But his dad’s on his way.”

“He is?” Nick asked, squinting at Tyler from behind the sunglasses still covering his eyes. Tyler looked at him, frowning a little bit. 

“Yeah. Coach called him before we left, remember?”

“Oh,” Nick let out, not remembering whatsoever. Tyler gave him a strange look, a hint of a smile on his lips. Nick found himself staring at his teammate as Tyler turned back to the nurse, who was being informed that if they took a seat in the waiting room, someone would be out to see them shortly.

“How you feeling, man?” Tyler asked as he pulled Nick down to sit. 

Nick let out a breath, “Floaty.”

Tyler let out a laugh next to him, which he tried to cover with a cough. “Jeez, Cam really hit you hard, didn’t he?”

Nick let out a hum in response, tilting sideways until his head came to rest on Tyler’s shoulder. Tyler seemed to tense under him, and Nick almost moved his head, but then the other relaxed, sliding down in his uncomfortable waiting room chair so that Nick’s head was positioned more comfortably. Like he’d done with the rest of the afternoon, Nick allowed himself to zone out as they waited. He mindlessly watched people walk in and out of the urgent care clinic, letting them all leave his head as soon as they were out of sight. The only person he did focus on was the tall, blond man who looked like he’d just gotten out of teaching a dance class. His eyes locked on Nick almost immediately, letting out a deep breath. 

Nick smiled at him, picking his head off of Tyler’s shoulder. 

“One of these days, you or your dad is going to give me a heart attack, you know that?” he said in place of greeting, stopping in front of Nick. 

“Hey, pops.”

“Don’t call me that, it makes me feel old,” his father replied, kneeling down in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

Beside him, Tyler let out a huffed laugh. Both Nick and his father turned to look at him. 

“Sorry,” Tyler said, looking a little red. “It’s just- I asked him the same thing and he said he felt ‘floaty’.”

Nick’s father cracked a smile at that. “You must be Tyler? Coach Barron told me you drove Nick here?”

Tyler nodded. 

“Thanks for doing that, Tyler. I’m Ryan.”

“Oh, it’s, uh- It was no problem. My brother has gotten a concussion a couple times, so I’m, well- used to it? I guess?”

Before either of them could continue the conversation, a woman dressed in scrubs came into the waiting room, calling for Nick Danforth-Evans. Ryan stood back up, raising his hand so the doctor knew who she was calling. 

“Guess that’s my cue to leave,” Tyler said, and Nick had a strange feeling fill his chest at the thought. Even so, he nodded just barely, smiling at Tyler. 

“Thanks, man.”

Tyler just nodded. “Thanks for the lecture on platypuses. Learned a lot, actually.”

Nick ignored the laugh his father had let out, followed by “Really? You’re still telling people about freaking platypuses?” in favor of waving Tyler goodbye and watching his teammate leave the clinic. Eventually, his father gently pulled him to his feet, walking him slowly over to the waiting doctor. 

----------

Tyler wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him to do it. He and Nick weren’t not friends, but they didn’t know each other that well either. There was frankly no logical reason for him to be doing this. He told himself it was because he hadn’t been able to text Nick all day- he’d overheard Carrie saying that Nick had given a “no screen time” rule by his doctor- and wasn’t it only reasonable to follow up with the guy you’d taken to urgent care yesterday? Tyler ignored the part of his brain that told him the truth; he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his teammate since he’d left the hospital yesterday, and he just wanted an excuse to see Nick again. So Tyler had taken his lunch period interrogating the other lacrosse team members to figure out what classes Nick was taking and with which teachers he had them. 

The reasonable part of his brain told him this was kind of creepy, and entirely unnecessary for him to do. But even so, he told Kayla to let Mrs. Kelly know that he wouldn’t make it to dance practice after school today, and he went around to Nick’s teachers’ classrooms. About 20 minutes later, he pulled out of the Los Feliz parking lot with a folder full of class notes, homework, and messages from teachers for Nick. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove in the general direction he knew Nick’s house was. He’d only been there a few times, all for lacrosse purposes. Nick’s dad loved to host the team over- said he’d always done it in high school when he was on the basketball team and that it was a great bonding opportunity.

Really, the only reason he was doing this was because he just wanted to check on him. Make sure he was feeling alright. It had nothing to do with the way Nick had leaned into his chest on the field or rested his head on Tyler’s shoulder in the waiting room, and it definitely had nothing to do with how Nick had still managed to look cute when concussed and rambling about random things in the waiting room.

When he finally reached Nick's house, he parked his car in the driveway and just sat there. He bounced his leg, tapping his fingers against the wheel. Nick's house was slightly foreboding. Both of Nick's fathers made plenty of money, and it was one of the fancier houses in the area surrounding Los Feliz High School. He kind of felt like the house was judging him as he sat in the driveway, too nervous to actually go in. 

"This is stupid, Tyler," he mumbled to himself. "You're already here, just get out of the damn car."

It must have been another five minutes that he sat there, one hand ready to twist his key in the ignition and leave and the other on the door handle, ready to get out of the car. Eventually, he took his hand away from the ignition, pulling the key out. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he grumbled, grabbing the folder and finally leaving his car. “It’ll be fine. Just say hey, drop the homework off, and leave without looking like a complete idiot.”

He schooled his expression into something casual and normal looking by the time he reached the front door. With all the determination he had, he raised his hand, knocking on the door. He didn’t want to use the doorbell; last time Dylan had a concussion he’d physically witnessed his step-brother crying at the sound. 

The door opened so quickly after his knock that Tyler froze in shock for a moment. He found himself looking down at a little girl he’d never met before- Nick’s sister, he assumed. She was dressed in a blindingly yellow princess dress, and atop her mess of deep, black curls was a plastic tiara to match. 

She cocked her head at him curiously, asking with no shyness in her voice, “Who are you?” 

“Oh- um. . .” He always felt awkward around kids. The only ones he ever really interacted with were his cousins. “I’m looking for Nick?”

“He’s in the living room!” the girl in front of him announced happily, pointing off to her left. Tyler hesitated, but stumbled through the front door as the girl grabbed his hand, pulling him into the large house. Tyler didn’t even know what to say, just struggled to not drop the folder of papers for Nick as he was forcibly invited into the house.

“Arabella, please tell me you opened the door because dad’s back and not because you just let some stran-” Nick cut himself off as he caught sight of Tyler behind the little girl- Arabella. 

“Tyler. Hey.”

Tyler cleared his throat, trying his best to put on a casual smile. Nick was seated on a large, fluffy looking couch. He was leaning against the armrest, his legs stretched out in front of him. Nick looked practically buried in the large sweatshirt he was wearing, branded with a faded EHS on the chest, and the soft white blanket thrown over him. Tyler felt frozen to the spot as he looked at Nick, his mouth opening dumbly as no words came out. He looked anywhere but Nick’s eyes, not sure he’d be able to function at all if he did. He was saved from the awkwardness as Arabella let go of her iron grip on his hand, moving over to the couch. Tyler winced in sympathy as Nick groaned and clamped his eyes shut, Arabella jostling him as she climbed into her brother’s lap. Even though both of them were adopted, Tyler could see a resemblance between the siblings. They had the same smile: a toothy grin framed by dimples. He felt himself smile softly as Nick instinctively wrapped an arm around his sister to steady her before she fell right back off the couch. 

“Ari, we’ve talked about how you’re not supposed to open the door for strangers,” Nick spoke softly, and Tyler had to suck in a breath. 

Arabella pouted in his lap, “He’s not a stranger! You knew his name!” 

“That’s not the- Look, just remember you have to wait for me, daddy, or papa before you open the door, okay?”

The girl- only 7 years old if Tyler remembered correctly- let out a heavy breath, still looking sure she’d done nothing wrong, but she nodded to her brother. She leaned into Nick’s chest, who carefully shifted her in his arms so she was next to him rather than on top. Tyler wasn’t sure he could stop the smile on his face if he tried. Nick looked back at him once Arabella was situated, casting him a soft smile that had Tyler feeling weak. 

“Sorry about her-” Arabella elbowed him, “-my dad ran out to the store and she was expecting him back soon. So, uh. . . What’s up, man? Don’t you have dance team after school on Thursdays?”

The question knocked Tyler out of his reverie as he remembered why he was here. He ignored the heat in his cheeks- Nick remembered he had dance on Thursdays?

“Oh, right, yeah. Um, I- well. I brought you your homework?” Tyler inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words. You’d think he’d never talked to the guy before. 

Nick looked surprised at the words, his eyebrows raising a little bit. Tyler had to glance away. 

“I didn’t figure you’d be at school tomorrow either, so I, um, I brought you tomorrow’s, too.”

Nick was just kind of staring at him, and Tyler shifted his weight between his feet. Silence lapsed between the three of them until Arabella whispered something to her brother that had Nick glaring down at her for a second. 

“Thanks, Tyler,” Nick said quietly. “I really appreciate that.”

Tyler smiled at him, nodding. “Yeah, it’s no problem.”

He held up the folder, “Is there somewhere you. . ?”

“Oh, um. Just that table right next to you is fine.”

Tyler nodded again, setting the folder down. Without anything to hold, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands. He settled for stuffing them in his pocket. Tyler’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn back to Nick. He looked sleepy and comfortable the way he was wrapped up on the couch. His hair was slightly tousled like Nick had been running his hands through it. Tyler fought the urge to go over and fix it for him. 

In order to stop himself from doing something stupid like just that, Tyler took in a deep breath and asked, “So how are you feeling?”

Nick shrugged a little, “Better. I don’t remember all that much from yesterday, honestly. Still kind of feels like my skull is gonna split open, but pain meds have been helping. This one-” Arabella let out a quiet giggle as Nick tickled her side, “-not so much.”

Tyler let out a huffed laugh. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Dylan was ready to put my head through his snare drum last time he had a concussion.”

Nick laughed, but it cut off as he winced. Tyler grimaced at the sight. 

“Sorry.”

Nick just smiled as if to say “don’t worry about it”. 

Before either of them could say anymore, they heard the sounds of the door opening and footsteps coming into the room. 

“Hey, I’m home. Boo, I got you some Gatorade and these light blocking glasses that are great for concussions. And for the munchkin I got- Oh.”

Nick and Arabella’s father- Chad- looked up from the shopping bag he was holding, eyes immediately locking on Tyler. The lacrosse player wasn’t sure what else to do but awkwardly wave as Nick’s father regarded him. 

“I know you, don’t I?”

“Um, yes, sir. I’m on the lacrosse team with Nick.”

Chad nodded in recognition, “Right. Tim? Tyson?”

“Tyler,” Nick said for him, in what could almost be said to be a defensive tone. Chad looked over to Nick, raising an eyebrow at his son. “He was just bringing my homework over for me.”

Chad nodded at his son slowly. “Sure, kid. And thanks for doing that, Tyler. I was going to head over to the school tomorrow to do that.”

“It was no problem, Mr. Danforth-Evans,” Tyler mumbled, not sure what to do with himself. 

Chad snorted, shaking his head. “It’s just Chad, Tyler.”

Tyler nodded stiffly. He’d met Nick’s parents before, but something about this whole situation made it feel like he’d forgotten any and every way to properly interact with other human beings. 

“Well,” Chad said, holding his hand out towards his children, “Ari, why don’t we leave Boo and his friend to talk a little more and you can come help me put this stuff away.”

Arabella nodded, sliding off the couch and moving towards her dad. 

“Boo?” Tyler couldn’t stop himself from asking. Nick sighed, cringing. 

“I really liked Monsters Inc when I was a kid,” he explained, but Chad let out a snort. 

“Really liked? You insisted- and I mean insisted- on dressing up as Boo from that movie for three Halloweens in a row.” Chad’s face was lit up with the smirk of a parent who knew exactly what they were doing to torture their child. 

Nick ran a hand down his face, “Thanks for that, dad.”

Chad just smiled and picked Arabella up into his arms, walking past the couch into what looked like the kitchen from the angle Tyler was stood at. He dropped a kiss onto Nick’s head as he passed, laughing again as his son looked further embarrassed. Tyler couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him, which had Nick’s eyes turning on him. Nick’s face was tinged a soft pink, and Tyler was captivated by the way it made the other look. 

After a moment’s or two silence, Nick said, “You know, the only other person who knows the Boo story is Carrie, and she’s sworn to secrecy, so if that suddenly gets around the school- I’m coming after you first.”

Tyler held his hands up in surrender, smiling at Nick. “The only other person who knows is Carrie? Well, now I just feel special.”

Nick looked down at his lap, a small smile on his face. His voice was quiet, barely audible for Tyler to hear as he said, “Yeah, I guess you are.”

Tyler wasn’t sure what to do with that. His chest felt a little tighter at the words, and he bit his tongue to keep from saying anything to embarrass himself.

“I should probably head out. Let you rest,” Tyler managed to get out. Nick looked back up at him, an expression on his face that Tyler couldn’t quite pick out. 

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Thanks for- For bringing me my school stuff. And. . . for yesterday. My dads said I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with, so I’m sorry if I was annoying or anything.”

You look cute while rambling about how the platypus has been your favorite animal since you watched Phineas and Ferb, then practically gave me a heart attack when you put your head on my shoulder.

Tyler shook his head. “It’s no problem, man. You were out of it, but you weren’t annoying. I offered to drive you, remember? Anyway, I’m gonna go. I’ll let you know how that scrimmage game on Saturday goes?”

Nick nodded as much as he could without hurting his head and smiled at that- the toothy grin framed by dimples. Tyler sucked in a breath, forcing his eyes away from Nick. 

“See you later, Nick.”

“Bye, Tyler.”

Tyler forced himself not to look back as he left the house, moving swiftly back to his car. As soon as he was inside, he slumped forward, repeatedly thumping his forehead against his steering wheel. Maybe if he got lucky, Nick’s concussion would make him forget the entire interaction- every excruciatingly awkward moment that Tyler allowed himself to look like a complete fool. 

“Real smooth, idiot,” he said out loud as he started his car and pulled out of the Danforth-Evans driveway. 

It was going on a little under a year now that Tyler had had a crush on Nick. He’d caught the other lacrosse player doing a mini victory dance after a game last year and had quite literally fallen- he’d gotten so distracted looking at Nick’s hair and his smiles and the way the sweat made his arms glisten a little bit in the sunlight that he’d tripped over another team member’s bag, falling face first into the grass. 

He’d spent the last year both avoiding all and taking any opportunity to interact with Nick. He’d evidently gotten no better at stifling his pure embarrassing energy when it came to talking to him. He’d just add today onto the ever-growing list of Ways To Make Terrible Impressions On Your Crush. Fantastic.

----------

As soon as the front door shut behind Tyler, Nick buried his face in his hands. He could hear the footsteps of his father coming back into the living room, followed by quiet laughter. 

“I hate you,” Nick mumbled into his hands, but he knew his dad heard it anyway. “I have a concussion- shouldn’t you be nicer to me?”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who knocked you in the head. Besides, what kind of father would I be if I didn’t take every opportunity to embarrass you?”

“The kind whose kids don’t grow up to hate him.”

Nick knew his father wasn’t taking his words to heart, as usual. For all Nick joked that he wanted nothing to do with his dad, the two of them had always been close. 

“Sorry, Boo, but if you’re going to invite a boy over to the house-”

“I didn’t invite him! I don’t even have my phone to invite him. He was just bringing me my homework.” Nick felt his face going even redder than it already was, and he kept it covered by pulling the blanket over his face to avoid his dad’s further teasing. 

“Out of the kindness of his heart, huh?”

Nick peeked an eye out, squinting at his father. “What are you implying here?”

His dad just shrugged, a little too casually for Nick’s taste. Nick sighed loudly, shrinking down into the couch cushions. 

“My head hurts too much for this.”

At that, his dad moved over to the couch, the teasing smile dropped from his face as he took a seat next to Nick. “Has it gotten any worse?”

Chad had always been the parent that took care of the kids’ injuries. He’d gotten so many himself as a kid that he knew the remedy and care for each one Nick or Arabella could ever get. Nick and his father agreed that if Chad ever got bored of basketball- he was currently an assistant coach for the Lakers- he’d likely be amazing in medical school. 

“No, it actually felt better when-” Nick cut himself off. 

When Tyler was here, his brain supplied the rest of the sentence. Nick wasn’t sure what to do with that information. He shut his mouth, frowning a little. He stayed silent as his dad fussed around him a little bit, shifting pillows and pulling the living room curtains closed some more, trying to block out as much light as possible. Nick ran back through the conversation with Tyler in his head. He thought about his teammate dressed in a pair of light colored jeans and his letter jacket that seemed just a little too big for him- Nick was so used to seeing him dressed for lacrosse that he never really saw him dressed casually like that. He thought about Tyler holding Ari’s hand. He thought about Tyler’s thoughtfulness in bringing over his school work so that Nick didn’t have to stress about it later, and he thought about the image of Tyler smiling at him. 

“Well, shit,” Nick let out softly, staring at the wall. 

“Language,” his dad chastised, but Nick ignored him. 

“Shit,” he repeated, then turned as quickly as he could without hurting his head to face his father. “Dad, can I have my phone?”

His dad frowned at him. “Nick, the doctor said no screens, remember? You-”

“Yeah, I know what she said. But I really need my phone. Please?”

“Why?”

“Because I have a concussion and I’m slow on the uptake and I really need to talk to Carrie right now. Ten minutes. Please.”

His dad looked him over, eyes narrowed. “Fine. Ten minutes. But don’t tell your father.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Nick let out, holding his hand out to his dad. Chad grabbed Nick’s phone from where it was sitting next to the TV, then deposited it into his son’s hand. 

Nick scrambled with the device, wincing as he turned the brightness down all the way and pulling up Carrie’s contact. 

carrie

carrie

CARRIE

Carrie Wilson i swear if you don’t respond right now 

im gonna lose my damn mind

Okay okay I’m responding

What do you want

tyler was just at my house and he dropped off 

all my homework and talked to my dad and my sister 

and my head hurts i’m way too tired for this

Tyler??

Pretty lacrosse boy Tyler??

Nick I love you but I am not seeing the importance here

carrie he was at my HOUSE and he SMILED AT ME 

have you ever seen him smile???

because i know my brain isn’t like working right 

now or whatever but he SMILED AT ME and its 

all i can think about

Oh

Oh damn

Nick

My best friend and love of my life

Do you

Have a crush

ON TYLER DOYLE???

YEAH I THINK SO

CARRIE 

i always thought he was really pretty and cute

but hhnnngg i think it’s an actual crush and idk 

what to do about that

Oh my god

he smiled at me and i really wanted to kiss him

how did i not realize i wanted to kiss him

concussion make me dumb

Don’t know if the concussion is to blame for 

that but okay honey

fuck i have to go dad is taking my phone

WAIT WHAT

NICHOLAS

YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THAT

NICK

Nick was grateful he’d had time to lock his phone before his dad pulled it from his hands. He did not need the embarrassment of his dad catching sight of that conversation. He felt a little bad for leaving Carrie on that note, but he was too stressed about how did he not notice he had a crush on this guy to care at the moment. As his dad returned his phone to its original spot, Nick pulled the blanket back over his head, sinking down in an attempt to become one with the couch. As he shut his eyes, he felt his dad’s hand come to rest on his head, above the blanket. 

“I know having a concussion sucks, Boo,” his dad spoke softly. 

Sure. Yeah, let’s pretend the concussion is his biggest problem right now. 

“I’ll take the munchkin upstairs and keep her quiet, why don’t you try to get a little bit of sleep before your father gets home? I’ll wake you up in two hours.”

Nick sighed at the thought that his dad would have to wake him up. He’d had to do it all night as doctor’s orders. Every two hours, wake him up and make him answer a few memory questions to make sure his head injury wasn’t getting any worse. Nick was exhausted, and he knew his dad was as well. It was off season for basketball, so he wasn’t out of the house as often and had been the elected parent to stay up with Nick all night. 

“Love you, Nick,” his father whispered above him, and then the hand disappeared from his head. 

“Love you, too,” Nick mumbled. He knew at this point he wasn’t likely to get any sleep. Not when Tyler had been in his house and giving him that smile- Nick was pretty sure the image was now ingrained in his brain. 

Tyler had never been a teammate that Nick was close to, but he’d always been aware of him. Tyler was funny, and kind, and the two of them had had fun getting stuck in Mrs. Kelly’s fourth period dance class for those few weeks together. And there had never been any denying that Tyler was nice to look at. Really nice. Nice enough that Nick had allowed himself to get so distracted watching Tyler on the sidelines of the field that he’d gotten slammed into the ground and concussed. But he had been so sure that that’s all it was. Tyler was attractive, Nick knew it, and that was that. But then Tyler had driven him to urgent care without a hesitation, sat with him until his father showed up, and then brought him all his school work. Nick had been so struck by that that he’d sat on the couch, staring like an idiot until his 7 year old sister leaned up and whispered that he needed to say something. And damn, Nick might actually be grateful for the concussion because while it may have made him a little slow to realize that Tyler was right there and god, did he want to kiss him, it also saved him from becoming the blushing mess he knew he would have otherwise.  

“Well, shit,” Nick repeated once more, covering his face with his hands.

if you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!! if this gets a good response I’m planning on following it up with a part 2 in which they might go on a date or something like that.

tag list (let me know if you want added for future parts):

@sunsetcurve123

[rfamess]

This cured my boredom for a little bit. Was making a few new music playlists and thought.. hmm. I wonder what kind of music the RFA listens to? So, I made this. For no reason at all.

What Kind of Music the RFA + V/Saeran Listen To:

Saeyoung/707:

- (I always see people writing that he’d listen to all star or other cringe meme songs because that’s what seems to be his entire personality, but I like to think he has more substance than that and listens to songs that don’t have to do with memes.)

- He definitely listens to rap/hip-hop.

- Can you not imagine him driving down the road in his cars, windows down, music blasting?

- He listens to his music uber loud in his headphones while working.

- His favorite artist is probably Tyler the creator, i mean, how could you not love him.

- Listens to Mac Miller when he’s sad :(

PLAYLIST:

Who Dat Boy - Tyler the Creator

Stutter - Freddie Dredd

Evil Fantasy - Freddie Dredd

Sweatpants - Childish Gambino

Bounce - Logic

Dead Wrong - Notorious B.I.G.

Movement - Oliver Tree

Stick to Your Guns - Watsky

Both - Gucci Mane

No Sleep Till Brooklyn - Beastie Boys

Can I Kick It - A Tribe Called Quest

No Limit - G Easy

Circles - Mac Miller

Broke Bitch - TMG (lol)

Bonfire - Childish Gambino

I THINK - Tyler the Creator

Good News - Mac Miller

I - Kendrick Lamar

FACE - Brockhampton

King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar

Lovely Things Suite: Knots - Watsky

Zen:

- (Similar to Saeyoung, I don’t believe Zens entire personality revolves around musicals, he probably doesn’t listen to them that often imo.)

- I like to think he’s a... well rounded individual when it comes to music

- Listens to anything and everything.

- I could see him listening to the same music as Seven, but is also very into 70s-90s rock like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the like.

- He runs listening to all of his music on shuffle and doesn’t have a specific playlist so there’s never a certain vibe to it— it really is all over the place.

- In addition to Seven’s playlist, here’s Zen’s

PLAYLIST:

Funny Face - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Santeria - Sublime

Badfish - Sublime

The Luck You Got - The High Strung

Dedicated to the One I Love - The Mamas and the Papas

Heart of Glass - Blondie

Come as You Are - Nirvana

Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

Machu Picchu - The Strokes

Dirty Harry - Gorillaz

Love of Your Life - Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Bailee - The Licks

Where is my Mind - Pixies

Hurt Like Mine - The Black Keys

Gap - The Kooks

Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

Hoops - The Rubens

Conquest - The White Stripes

Ten Cent Pistol - The Black Keys

Yoosung:

- Yoosung likes more upbeat music, maybe more new age/alternative pop

- Listens to music every time he tries to study, but usually get distracted by it and starts to sing along instead of actually doing his work

- Is probably trying to branch out of his style, Seven and Zen try to convince him to listen to their favorite genres

- The three of them always argue about who has the best taste in music lol

- He’s constantly wondering if his music is “manly” enough (it’s okay yoosung it’s just music)

- If this dude gets drunk and hears any of this music he goes absolutely wild and dances all over the place

PLAYLIST:

Bambi - Hippocampus

Turn - the Wombats

Paris - Magic Man

Chronic Sunshine - Cosmo Pike

Death of a Bachelor - Panic! At the Disco

Silvertongue - Young the Giant

Brazil - Declan McKenna

Unbelievers - Vampire Weekend

Baseball - Hippocampus

Australia - The Shins

Prune, You Talk Funny - Gus Dapperton

Honeypie - JAWNY

Alien Boy - Oliver Tree

Satellite - Guster

So Young - Portugal. The Man

Blinding Lights - The Weeknd

Circles - Post Malone

Unbearably White - Vampire Weekend

Tiny Umbrella - Coast Modern

Way it Goes - Hippocampus

Electric Feel - MGMT

Jumin:

- this guy has 2 modes and that’s it: classical bitch or music that has words

- He appreciates the fine art of classical music and listens to it when he has work to get done or when he’s trying to relax.

- If he’s in a good mood he’ll put on a playlist that includes “music with actual lyrics!”

- It’s a dad playlist. Billy Joel, Billy Joel, Billy Joel, Elton John, The Beatles, Billy Joel.

- He likes Billy Joel. Jumin has a dad personality you can’t convince me otherwise lol

- He tried to branch out but can get very picky in his interests. “I don’t like this guitar riff— change it”

- Either way his 2 modes are apparent in his playlists

PLAYLIST:

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

California Dreamin’ - The Mamas and the Papas

Don’t Ask Me Why - Billy Joel

Starman - David Bowie

Miss You - The Rolling Stones

Dancing in the Moonlight - King Harvest

Come and Get Your Love - Redbone

It’s Too Late - Carole King

Movin’ Out - Billy Joel

A Horse With No Name - America

I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

Honky Cat - Elton John

Vienna - Billy Joel

The Stranger - Billy Joel

Waltz in A Minor - Chopin

Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor - Brahms

Waltz No. 7 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 - Chopin

Souvenir de Paganini - Chopin

Solfeggietto in C Minor - Bach

Prelude in B Minor, Op. 32, No. 10 - Rachmaninoff

IV. Allegro Molto From Quartet - Yo-Yo Ma

La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin - Debussy

Porz Goret - Yann Tiersen

Carnival of the Animals: VII. Aquarium - Camille Saint-Saëns

Carnival of the Animals: XIII. The Swan - Camille Saint-Saëns

Jaehee:

- We all know her obsession with Musicals (specifically zens)

- Other than this she listens to...well honestly I don’t know

- Her music doubles as something she can get hyped up with and something she can listen to to relax.

- She loves to dance, so a lot of her songs and just songs that she’ll never be able to refuse to move her feet to!

- She likes the old classics and then she likes Doja Cat. Lizzo? Queen.

- She’s a barb let’s be real please. you can never convince me that she’s not

PLAYLIST:

Adore You - Harry Styles

She - Harry Styles

Call Me - Blondie

Starships - Nicki Minaj

Hey Mickey - Toni Basil

Juice - Lizzo

Say So - Doja Cat

Voulez-Vous - ABBA

Waterloo - ABBA

Cuz I Love You - Lizzo

Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack (LOL the memories associated with this song after Killing Stalking..... hahahaha BUT ITS STILL A GREAT SONG!)

Only - Nicki Minaj

Boss Bitch - Doja Cat

Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

Beez in the Trap - Nicki Minaj

Woman - Harry Styles

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Blame it on the Boogie - Michael Jackson

One Way or Another - Blondie

Tia Tamera - Doja Cat

Truth Hurts - Lizzo

V:

- indie boy indie boy indie boy indie boy

- Cmon just look at him he’s an indie boy

- If you’ve ever met a film student that gatekeeps music, they have the same exact taste but V won’t say shit to make you feel stupid. It’s just music bruv

- If you’ve ever been to an indie concert you know the fuckin dance you know what I’m talking about. he does that.

- Rolls a joint, pops the music off and he paints, does photography, whatever. Either way he straight vibes every single time the tunes come on.

- Low key thinks he has the best music taste. that’s just how dem indie kids roll let’s be real here.

- For some reason knows everything about every type of music. will spew facts about artists and songs at random

PLAYLIST:

Shuggie - Foxygen

Necessary Evil - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Homage - Mild High Club

Another One - Mac DeMarco

Plants - Crumb

What Once Was - Her’s

Heart and My Car - Summer Salt

Cottage Roads - The Walters

Moonlight on the River - Mac DeMarco

Work This Time - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Like Yesterday - Paul Cherry

Call it Fate, Call it Karma - The Strokes

Knowhere - Nick DeLaurentis

Escargot Blues - Guantánamo Bay Surf Club

A Side / B Side - Tipling Rock

Dark Red - Steve Lacy

That I Miss You - Vansire

Top Tier Love - Lonely Benson

Driving to Hawaii - Summer Salt

Taking Up Space - Mustard Service

She’s the Only One - King Guru

Saeran:

- emo boy emo boy emo boy

- We all know it

- As much as I’d love to say he listens to heavy death metal, there’s a part of my mind saying NO he’s not like that.

- Well he is, but he’s got more than a few single interest

- Probably listens to Nirvana, Cage the Elephant, anything similar

- Is always trying to listen to new music

- Kind of sick of Seven blasting his music all the time and listens to the opposite of hip hop whenever possible

- Honestly enjoys all types of music, but sticks to his favorites

PLAYLIST:

- All Apologies - Nirvana

- Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene - Hozier

- Soma - The Strokes

- Black Madonna - Cage the Elephant

- Hysteria - Muse

- Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High - Arctic Monkeys

- I Got Mine - The Black Keys

- Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

- Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

- Back Against the Wall - Cage the Elephant

- Creep - Radiohead

- Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana

- Demon Days - Gorillaz

- Bulls on Parade - Rage Against The Machine

- Matador - The Buttertones

- Holiday - Green Day

- RIP - The Licks

- London Calling - The Clash

- Loser - Beck

- What I Got - Sublime

[survivingthejungle]

everybody wants to rule the world (ii)

(oh, finally it’s here bitch! u want some sadness?)

The next morning came and went smoothly, Genevieve continuing her typical routine of breakfast, walking Bambi and Tex, and then going to the gym to work out a bit and to keep her volleyball skills up to par. When she finally returned home it was already late afternoon, so she showered and made herself some lunch. Her aunts were off at their magic academy, and Ambrose and Sabrina were still out hunting for Herod's crown,  so Genevieve had the large Spellman house all to herself. After finishing her lunch and cleaning the dishes, she went to curl up on a couch in the family room to watch some TV before night fell and her family came home. About an hour into watching reruns of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ambrose burst through the front door in a hurry. "You being chased?" she called. 

"No time to talk, cousin," he yelled back down, rushing down the stairs to the basement, "I've got something very important to study!"

:Have fun," she responded, voice softened. She pointed her attention to Tex, who was seated at the end of the couch where she was relaxing. "Y'ever wish you were a witch, Tex?" Genevieve said to him. "'Cause I'd love to know what's going on right now."

A few minutes later, Sabrina came in, seemingly worn out from trying to keep up with Ambrose. "Hey," she said, "You wanna come with us to the carnival? We're leaving in a few minutes."

Geneveive's mouth opened but nothing came out; she wasn't sure what to say in the moment. "Ah-" she started, nervous. "About that… I think I'm going on a date with your friend."

Sabrina's brows furrowed and she smiled a little, confused. "My… friend? Which friend?"

Genevieve struggled again to find the perfect answer. "Mmh.. Uh.. Y- You know the one," she responded, vaguely. 

"Wh- Caliban?!" she yelled in awe, eyes widened once she realized to whom her cousin was referring. "The one who's trying to take my throne?!"

"Don't yell at me like that!" she defended herself, "He kept pestering me and bothering me and I wanted him to go away so I said yes!" Genevieve shouted back. 

"Why the Heaven was he so intent on it?"

"Beans, if I knew, I'd make it stop!" Sabrina sighed in defeat, setting down her purse and kicking off her shoes before joining her cousin on the couch. 

"Well, maybe it won't be the worst thing in the world. I mean, me and Nick and everyone else are gonna be there, so at least you won't be alone. Plus, I know he won't be looking for the crown if he's with you."

"I guess," Genevieve conceded, shrugging. "I just wanted him to get off my case. It's one date, okay? Just the one. I'm sure I can scare him off by the end of the night."

"Aw," Sabrina laughed, "Don't say that! You're a catch, ‘Vieve. Of course he wants to go on a date." "Are you encouraging this?" They both giggled. "Nah, it'll be fine. It's no big deal."

— 

Sabrina was already dressed and prepared to go out, so she waited in Genevieve's room while she changed into something other than her pajama pants and a large sweatshirt. "I can't believe you're going on a date with Caliban," Sabrina repeated, exasperated. 

"Ew, gross, don't say it like that," Genevieve called from the bathroom where she was changing and deciding whether or not she would wear any makeup. "You make it sound like a big thing."

"Sorry." Genevieve stepped out of the bathroom, with just a layer or two of mascara, some concealer, and a bit of blush on her cheeks and nose. She had also changed into a white dress with small navy polka dots and a washed out jean jacket. "So did he say if he would pick you up?"

"Um, you know what? I have actually no idea," she admitted, sitting down on the edge of her bed and putting on a pair of socks. "I guess we're meeting there. I don't know."

"Okay. Well, Nick and I are gonna meet up with everyone soon, if you want to come with."

"Oh, I'll be fine. But thanks, Beans. I'm gonna let Bambi out for a few minutes and feed everyone," Genevieve decided. 

"Alright," Sabrina said, getting up and leaving her cousin's room. "Well, we'll keep an eye out for you." "Thanks. See ya soon."

— 

Thankfully, it was not one of the nights she needed to feed Rhiannon, because Genevieve was not particularly in the mood to have to throw a live mouse into the ball python's tank. For Tucker, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of blackberries, romaine lettuce, and snap peas, threw them on an old plastic plate and set it in his tank for him to munch on as he saw fit. She changed Pico's water and put a few chopped up grapes and strawberries in a small dish in his cage. She called for Bambi to follow her downstairs and let the dog outside while she put food in her bowl and got her fresh water. When Bambi barked at the door to be let in, Genevieve was startled to find Caliban standing there as well. "Oh. Hi, Caliban."

"You look a little surprised to see me," he observed. 

"Well, you did show up sort of unannounced," she told him, letting Bambi inside and allowing him in, as well. "I thought you'd just find me at the carnival."

"Sweetheart, I may be a demon," he smirked, "But I'm not completely without my manners. It would be disrespectful of me if I didn't escort you."

"Oh, respect?" she wondered, setting Bambi's bowls down on the floor and going to wash her hands. "I didn't know that was something you were worried about." There was a hint of mock doubt in her tone. He smiled a bit more genuinely at this. 

"There are a great many things you don't know about me, Genevieve."

"Well, then that makes two of us." Once she had slipped on a pair of shoes and made sure that she had a handful of cash in her pocket, she turned to face him directly and actually give him her attention. "We're stopping to get coffee first, because I'm about to fall asleep."

"Whatever the lady desires," he agreed. They both left the Spellman house, Genevieve yelling a goodbye to her cousin before shutting the door behind them. 

— 

"Can demons have coffee?" she asked as they stepped inside the small cafe.

"We can have anything we wish," he told her, "But I can't say I've ever tried the drink before."

"That's tragic. Do you want some? I'll pay." 

"There's no need to spend your money on me. I'm made of clay, I'll be alright."

"Wow," she said in mock wonder. "Do you have any other personality traits?" He smirked (which seemed to be his default at this point), and Genevieve rolled her eyes. She turned and gave her order to the barista, handing over a few of the singles from her pocket and going to wait at the other end of the counter for her drink. When Caliban wasn't right behind her like she was expecting him to be, she turned back and saw him ordering as well. He pulled out a wad of cash from his back pocket and her jaw almost dropped as he turned and gave her a knowing wink. "You did not just,' she muttered, clenching her teeth and lowering her voice to more of a whisper, "make that money!"

"And what if I did?" he asked, enjoying seeing her get riled up.

"That's terrible!" she chastised. "That's like… cheating."

He gasped. "Have I done a bad thing?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You may not care about doing bad things, but I do."

"As you wish," he conceded. Once their drinks were ready, they headed out onto the street and in the direction of the carnival at the edge of town near the forest. 

— 

Once they made it to the entrance of the carnival, Genevieve was on high alert for any sign of her cousin or her friends. "So, Genevieve Sawyer," Caliban started, "How did a mortal like you come to end up living with the Spellmans?"

"Well that's kind of personal," she told him, refusing eye contact. "My dad and Sabrina's mom were siblings. They took me in when…"

"When what?" he asked, voice soft and genuine. 

"Um, my dad… died, and I would have been put into foster care. But Hilda and Zelda offered to become my guardians instead."

"Well what about your mother?" he asked. He had a feeling he may have been crossing a line, but he decided to ask anyway. 

"Let's not talk about it," Genevieve shot it down. 

"I apologize if I've upset you," he offered. He seemed like he meant it.

"It's fine. You didn't know. I just… don't like to talk about it," she explained. She quickly changed the subject. "How's the coffee? Are you a fan now?"

He chuckled, taking a sip. "I'll admit it's not bad," he said, looking down at her, "But I'm still partial to the blood of the damned."

Her eyes widened and she grimaced. "Ew!"

He laughed at her expression. "I'm only joking, darling," he reassured, still smiling. She scoffed and nudged him with her elbow. 

"Not funny, you punk.” She took another sip of her own drink before continuing. "You don't really— "

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Must you always think the worst of me?"

She smiled playfully. "Well you don't give me much of a choice," she teased. The sun was beginning to set and the lights of the carnival became more vibrant as time went on. In the crowd of people, she spotted Sabrina's white-blonde head walking beside Nick. "Oh, look!" she pointed out to Caliban. Speeding up to them, Genevieve poked her cousin in the back, startling her.

"Oh! Hey, Geneieve!" she greeted. "Caliban."

"Your highness," he replied, bowing. Genevieve noticed a growing tension between him and Nick, and before things got out of hand, she interrupted. 

"'Sup, Nick?"

"Hey, Genevieve. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, I guess. How ya feeling?" she asked him, silently praying she wasn't stirring the pot. 

"Better, actually. Thanks to Sabrina." They smiled at one another as he put his arm around her shoulder. 

Genevieve didn't notice, but Sabrina did. When Nick wrapped his arm around her and made a lovey-dovey expression, Caliban looked longingly down at Genevieve. 

"Where's everyone else?" the older cousin wondered. Sabrina looked around. "Uh, Harvey and Roz are walking around somewhere. Theo and Robin are on the ferris wheel."

"Who's Robin?"

"New boy. They really hit it off." "Aw," Genevieve gushed, "I'm so happy for Theo! Good for both of them." She finished the last few sips of her coffee. "Where are we headed?"

"Carousel?" Sabrina offered.

"Yeah, I'm down. You wanna go?" she asked Caliban.

"I'll go wherever you decide," he answered.

She let out a small scoff. "How very noble."

— 

Something was off at the end of the carousel ride and Genevieve had no idea what it was. Caliban's entire demeanor had changed and when the ride ended, She decided to give Sabrina and Nick some space while she tried to figure out what Caliban was up to. She gently grabbed her cousin's arm. "Hey, we'll meet up with you guys in a minute," she muttered. Sabrina nodded in understanding. Once they were on their own again, she turned to Caliban. "Okay. What's up?" she interrogated. He was glancing around all over the carnival grounds, barely looking at her. She snapped her fingers in his face, gaining his attention. "Hello? What is going on?"

"Something's not right," he responded cryptically. "Someone's here who shouldn't be here."

"What does that mean?"

"It means it's not safe for a mortal to be here for much longer. You should go home."

She glared up at him, eyes narrowing. "Oh, you think you can just boss me around, now? What's your deal, dude?" Instead of giving a snide remark, he grabbed her face in both hands and looked her dead in the eyes. 

"Genevieve. I'm not joking. Or lying. You really need to leave."

"No!" she shouted. "You don't get to tell me what to do, you spoiled little jerk! I came to this stupid carnival to have fun with my friends. You're not ruining this for me." She sighed out an angry breath and shook her face out of his hands, stepping back. "What is your issue? First you pester me until I agree to give you the time of day, and then all of a sudden you want me gone?"

"I don't want you gone. I want you safe, believe it or not. You're upset with me now but you'll understand later. There's really no time to explain, sweetheart." He tried to grab her hand, his face sincerely apologetic, but she pulled away with a disgusted look on her face. 

"No. Don't touch me." She paused as if to say something else, but decided against it; turning away from him abruptly and storming off into the crowd. 

 "Genevieve," he called. "Genevieve!" But rather than turn around, she flipped him off and kept walking. 

— 

Genevieve had gotten halfway home before Herod's zombie showed up and attacked Nick and Sabrina. She was too far away to hear the yells from the carnival grounds, instead caught up in her own thoughts and grievances. Stupid piece of shit, she thought. I can't believe I let myself get played like that. Who does he think he is? 'Go home, Genevieve'-- Man, fuck off!

Meanwhile, her cousin and her cousin's boyfriend were fighting for their lives from an undead evil ancient king. They tag-teamed spelling him and beating him up with whatever they could get their hands on, but they were fighting a losing battle. Sabrina was thrown to the ground, and suddenly looked up to see the boy her cousin was currently pissed off at. "Caliban! Help me!"

"Beautiful as you are, I am tempted," he sneered. "No. I think not." His face dropped. 

"What about Genevieve?" Sabrina yelled at him.

"I've taken care of her. This crown is my priority." And without another word, he transported himself back to Hell.

— 

After Nick went back to the Academy, Sabrina strolled right into Pandemonium and up to the bastard who had played her cousin and cheated in their quest. He was smug, wearing the crown and strutting like he actually ruled the place. "What does my lady think?" he asked. "It's just temporary until I win the infernal crown, of course." Before he could get another word in, Sabrina smacked him. 

"We could have died!" she shouted. "Why didn't you help us?"

"Help you?" he repeated. "This is a competition. I was watching you. Closely. When I didn't have my eyes on that cousin of yours— "

"If you were watching me, did you know King Herod was coming for his crown?" Sabrina asked, ignoring his backhanded comment about Genevieve. 

"My lady, everyone knows King Herod is a guardian. I assumed you would kill him. … Or he would kill you." He swiped some droplets of blood from her tip. "Or perhaps, you would kill each other. A true monarch knows strategy." He then spoke up loud enough for the whole throne room to hear. "Now, you didn't answer my question! The crown suits me, don't you agree?" Sabrina right-hooked him so hard that the crown came flying off of his head. 

"The first round's yours. Enjoy it. It's the last one you'll win." He was desperately trying not to lose his pride. "And I swear, I'll slice your throat ear to ear before I let you have my throne." She seemed as if she was done, but decided to add one more thing. "And if you ever come near Genevieve again, I won't have to. Because she will."

— 

After Sabrina had showered the blood and grime off of herself, she threw on her p.j.'s and headed to her cousin's room. Genevieve was laying on her pillow pile in a corner of her room, cuddled up with a blanket and Tex laying on her chest. Bambi was snuggled up against her side. She had traded in her dress and jacket for sweatpants and an old t-shirt; she rubbed her makeup off half-heartedly and tied up her hair on him of her head. "Hey, Vieve," Sabrina greeted softly, slowly entering her room. "Hi," she muttered. "Your stupid friend is a piece of shit."

"He's not my friend. And I know he is. He cheated on the challenge tonight. Left me and Nick pretty much for dead just to get that stupid crown."

"I wanna punch him."

"Don't worry. I did. Twice," she winked, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Let me get a few hits in next time."

"They're all yours." Sabrina then knelt to the ground and laid down on her cousin's free side, putting her chin on Genevieve's shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm so mad at myself. I can't believe I let some piece-of-trash, lying, cheating, dirtbag play me." Sabrina said nothing, just rubbing her cousin's arm in an act of comfort. "If I ever see him again I'll hurt him."

"I know," Sabrina muttered. "You have every right to."

— 

While the rest of the Spellman household was preparing for the Hare Moon, Genevieve spent the day curled up in bed, cuddling with her cat and dog and reading books. At some point in the late, late afternoon, a familiar woosh of heat interrupted her lazy day. "How dare you," she began, setting her book down and picking up Tex, holding him close to her chest. "How fucking dare you show up to my house like you're wanted here." She stood up and walked closer to him, while he backed away from her rage-filled frame. "You complete jackass. You are such a piece of shit. You almost get my cousin killed? And you don't do a damn thing to stop it? You- what, you try to get on my good side, and seem so inconspicuous, just so you can spy on my family and cheat on that stupid fucking contest? And then you show up in my room the next day like this?!" She was shouting now. "Don't you even think of saying a God-damned word to me, Caliban! You skeevy little dirtbag!" She set Tex down on her bed so that her hands were free. "Get out of my room, get out of my house, get out of my life!" Genevieve threw her fists at him, hitting anywhere a punch would land. His chest, his arms, his face; she was going blind with rage. She continued moving toward him in her assault until he was backed up against her wall. The punches kept coming. "Genevieve, stop!" He shouted, trying to push her off of him. "Let me apologize— "

"NO!" she screamed. "Don't order me what to do! You don't get to apologize to me! This is beyond apologies! I don't give a fuck what you say to me, nothing will ever, ever cover this!"

"I know!" He screamed back. Her punches slowly stopped. "I know. Nothing I say will fix anything I've done."

"Then why are you here?!"

"No apology will ever be fit for you, but please, please let me say my piece anyway." She said nothing, so he continued. "I am, truly, genuinely sorry for betraying your trust. And I am sorry I left your cousin defenseless last night. There is no explanation I could give that you would see fit to accept. I will spare you the details of the reasons behind my actions. But please, Genevieve, please know that I never wished to cause you any pain. From the moment I met you, I never wanted to harm you. Knowing I have done so is the heaviest burden I will ever carry."

"Are you done waxing poetic now?" she asked, arms crossed, face void of emotion. He nodded slightly. "Good. Get out of my house."

"Gen— " She cut him off. "You have done enough, Caliban! Leave!" He looked at her longingly, with the saddest eyes she had ever seen, and conceded. 

"As you wish." He threw his arms up and was once again enveloped in a spiral of hellfire. When it dissipated, he was gone. In his place was a large, bright yellow sunflower. She picked it up apprehensively. Genevieve wanted desperately to throw it in the trash, or to stomp on it, or to shred it with a pair of scissors; in the end, she placed it gently on her desk and went back to bed, throwing the covers over her head and silently crying.

[unethicalexperiments]

ok @souryogurt64 this is gonna be super brief for rn because i’m in the middle of writing a paper i have to turn in for school BUT here’s some surface level fleetwood mac/70s bands drama

fair warning i’m also definitely not the person to ask for this stuff as there are definitely other people out there who are more well read/documented on this stuff than i am and it’s been a good minute since i’ve... been a part of the classic rock scene i guess lmao

also fair warning to anyone reading this/planning on doing further research: cw for drug use, child abuse, racism, cults, and literally so much more. just be prepared going in.

anyway, fleetwood mac:

we can start off with they were all fucking each other and cheating on each other with each other. i can’t even go into detail on this bc i can’t even follow it

not to mention the amount of hooking up/cheating happening between bands. stevie nicks was involved with multiple members of the eagles, mick fleetwood was involved with jenny and pattie boyd, who was involved with eric clapton and george harrison (the beatles). christine mcvie was involved with dennis wilson (the beach boys). again so much more but i can’t even follow it

this is a direct quote from their wikipedia page: “while on tour in february 1971, jeremy spencer said he was going out to ‘get a magazine’ but never returned. after several days of frantic searching the band discovered that spencer had joined a religious group, the Children of God.”

peter green also had a bad lsd trip and also joined a “christian religious group” later on, and did not return to the band

oh at one point during the cheating bob Weston slept with jenny boyd (who was married to mick fleetwood at the time) and fleetwood was “so devastated��� he cancelled 26 tour dates

the sheer amount of drug use was insane and i could write an entire paper on lsd use in the 70s alone but

stevie nicks once said in an interview that at the height of the bands drug use, she would keep a gram of coke in her boot at all times

also just learned this now apparently stevie nicks appeared in several episodes of american horror story

after a split at one point the band renamed itself to “the new fleetwood mac” and got into a lawsuit with former band members over it

literally a band that formed in 1968 continued to have lineup changes due to interpersonal arguments in 2018

and that’s all just some surface level stuff. some other “interesting” tidbits from some other bands/artists from the same era

again, major drug use. keith richards (rolling stones) had his blood basically entirely replaced 3 times due to the amount of heroin in his body

keith richards was also hospitalized once after a coconut fell out of a tree and hit him on the head

while there was unfortunately tons of it, plenty of abuse towards underage girls. i’m talking 30+ year old rock stars sleeping with 14 year old girls. both steven tyler (aerosmith) and jimmy page (led zeppelin) come to mind immediately but there’s definitely so much more

david bowie, while a bisexual pioneer in glam rock, was openly racist. he once said “hitler was the first real rock star”. yes. you read that right. he later blamed that statement on coke use.

eric clapton also basically did the same thing ^

keith moon (the who) caused his band mate pete townshend to go partially deaf after he put explosives in his drum kit and set them off at the end of a song

keith moon was also just fucking insane he played sets on horse tranquilizers mixed with brandy regularly and is still considered to be one of the greatest drummers of all time

keith moon also once, while leaving a hotel, told his driver to turn around because he forgot something. they went back to the hotel, where moon went back up to his room, and tossed the tv off the hotels balcony. he went back to the car saying “can’t believe i almost forgot”. he got his entire band banned for life at holiday inns after driving a car into a hotel pool. i think about this so much i love keith moon

also once when i was in high school i was hanging around with my italian teacher and talking about music and she had told me when she was young her and her friend went to go see led zeppelin. after the show they went back stage, and she said, and i quote “we were just 15 year old virgins at the time” and i’m pretty sure that was her way of telling me she lost her virginity to a member of led zeppelin. man i miss that woman.