#Sam and hawk can pay for it

[bel1ewrites]

Hi! I was wondering how you would feel about a smut request about Jealous Sam using a remote controlled vibrator, like where it’s the reader’s birthday and Sam had a little “challenge” for her where the reader had to wear the vibrator and she’s really competitive so she accepted, sorry if this didn’t make any sense, and if it’s too vague I completely understand, thanks!

a/n: tysm for this request, it got me out of my little slump. Sorry about the delay of this post, I know I promised to get it out earlier but I ended up having to meet up with a friend.

Birthday Challenge (Samantha Carpenter x Reader)

Description: It's impossible to say no to her.

WC: 2k

Warnings: smut, voyeurism, top!Sam, bottom!Reader, alcohol, Sam's lowkey an asshole in this

SAMANTHA had a tendency to get competitive. You’d figured this out fairly early in your relationship after a mini golf date that ended in her apologizing profusely for throwing your ball into the water after you’d won, swearing she didn’t know what had come over her. She took any opportunity to turn anything into a competition, no matter the stakes. 

With this in mind, you knew it shouldn’t have come as a shock when she proposed a challenge of sorts on the night of your twentieth birthday. 

“Oh come on,” your competitor huffs, holding the special little gift out to you like a prayer. “Don’t be a wimp.” Her tone has an edge to it, a teasing little lilt that tugs at your resolve. 

“I am not wearing that to dinner!” you persist, glaring at the purple lace and small black device in front of you. The vibrator is bullet shaped and no more than three inches long, smooth silicone coating the outside and creating a matte look. She’s standing like a guard in front of the bathroom door, preventing you from entering your bedroom to get ready for the night. 

The two of you have reservations at six and you can’t afford to be late, having scheduled them three months in advance. Deep down, you know what the outcome will be: either you’ll have to agree to play her little game or you’ll be forced to miss the dinner she’d promised to pay for. 

She dangles the material in the air, pinched between her thumb and forefinger, her eyes full of humor and a shit eating grin plastered across her face. You can feel the clock ticking, each second taking little bits of your willpower and destroying it bit by bit. With a loud groan and a stomp of your foot, you rip the gifts out of her hands and push past her, storming into your room and dropping your towel. 

She watches you with the eyes of a hawk, making sure you put the vibrator in its proper place and getting momentarily distracted by your naked and dripping figure. Exasperated, you step into the material and slide it up your legs, feeling the slight bump of the object nestled against your clit.

“Happy?” You sass as you grab your bra from the bed and clip it on. 

Sam’s pupils are dilated when you look up at her, shoulder leaning against the doorframe and eyes trailing up and down your body. “Very.” She wets her lips. 

—----

By the time you both make it to the restaurant and are seated in front of a perfect view, you’ve forgotten about the whole incident. There’s too much going on for you to think about it, the clinking of forks and the sunset falling over the horizon. Sam pulls your chair out for you as you sit, grabs your shoulders from behind and bends down to kiss the top of your head like a perfect gentleman. 

She’s wearing a new suit you haven’t seen before, dark red and expensive looking. Almost black waves fall down her back and over her shoulders in effortless union to frame her face perfectly. 

Your dress matches the color of her suit, material ending at mid thigh. She’d insisted on buying it for you a while ago; as soon as she saw you step out of the dressing room she was reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her wallet. It has a low neckline that exposes a healthy amount of cleavage, the thin straps keeping it from baring your chest to the world. It’s backless and somehow both form fitting and loose at the same time, expensive silk rubbing pleasantly against your skin. 

“This place is nice,” you smile, placing your elbows on the table and propping your head up on your hands. 

“It is.” Sam agrees, eyes falling to your lips and then lower. 

You’re about to tease her for looking so enraptured by your tits, but before you can the waitress appears out of thin air, pen and notepad in hand. She smiles warmly at you, then at Sam. “What can I get you both to drink?”

You expect Sam to answer first, but she doesn't, which results in a little gap of awkward silence until you decide to break it. “I’ll take a Manhattan and a water.”

She writes your request down. “And for you-”

“Whiskey,” Sam cuts in. “Neat.” Her jaw is tight, muscles shifting as she messes with the rings on her right hand. You have no idea why she’s glaring at the nice waitress and you feel a ping of sympathy for the woman who quickly walks away with her head down. 

“What was that about?” you question wearily. 

Sam scoffs. “She wants to fuck you.”

Eyebrows lifting in disbelief, you choke on your breath as she moves her hands under the table and stares at you. One of her eyebrows is raised as if she doesn’t trust that you’re unaware of the obvious one sided eye-fucking that went on between you and the waitress. 

Once again, said woman materializes out of thin air with your drinks and places them on napkins before you. She tucks the tray under her arm and unexpectedly rests her empty hand on your bare shoulder, making you jump slightly. Alarms go off in the back of your mind when you see Sam lean back in her chair with a smirk on her face, eyes dark and on yours.

“Would you like any appetizers, sweetheart?” The waitress asks, squeezing your shoulder lightly. Oh. 

“Yeah, sweetheart,” Sam mocks, voice low. “Do you want any appetizers?”

“Um… I-” you’re cut off by an unexpected vibration. It only lasts for a few seconds, but it has you jolting in surprise. A little gasp escapes your throat. 

“Are you okay?” the stranger with her hand on your shoulder questions with worry. 

“She’s fine. We’ll have the baked brie with all the shit on it,” Sam answers for you, dismissing the waitress with her tone of voice and taking a pull of her whiskey. 

The second her hand leaves your shoulder you shakily reach for your drink and chug it, the pleasant warmth taming your racing heart. Your face is almost as red as your dress when you place the empty glass back on the table and throw mental daggers at your cool and collected girlfriend. All she does in return is grin as the vibrations come back. 

“Cut it out,” you grit, hands gripping the sides of the table, legs crossing tightly. She’s got the bullet on a low setting, but it’s pressing into you perfectly and your eyes fight the urge to close. 

It gets stronger when Sam turns it up and tells you to look at her. “I think I’ll tell her about our little secret the next time she comes back,” she husks, sitting up and leaning forward to put one hand over your tight knuckles and keeping the other out of sight. “Let her know who you belong to, y’know? Or I could just make you cum in front of her.”

You fold your forearms over each other on the table and drop your forehead to them. Doing this in the middle of a restaurant feels dirty, it feels wrong. Nevertheless, you still find yourself humming quietly as your clit throbs, waves hitting you and making the muscles in your lower belly clench, a heat settling there and a buzz starting to fall over your mind. You aren’t sure if it’s from the alcohol or the pleasure. 

“Dirty girl,” Sam chides, clicking her tongue and turning off the vibrator after over a full minute of stimulation. Shame floods through you when you realize that you didn’t want it to stop and that you feel all empty and achy without it. Sluggishly, you lift your head up and put your hands in your lap as Sam flags down a waiter and orders you another Manhattan. 

“I’m starved,” the devil across from you groans. “Are you hungry, baby? God, where is that damn brie? Why don���t you read over the menu.” 

As if she’d summoned her, the waitress pops back up seconds later with the brie and Manhattan in hand. Apparently she learned her lesson the last time, because she barely says anything as she takes your orders, rushing away as soon as possible. Sam seems pleased by this. 

“Hey, question,” she begins, munching lightly on the appetizer. “Do you think you can cum quietly before she gets back?”

Scraping forks and clinking spoons and light chatter fill the space around you as you shake your head violently. “Samantha, no. Please let's just-” the vibrations begin again and your jaw drops slightly. “Just fuck me when we get home,” you whisper urgently, tone slowly turning to a whine. Wriggling against the chair and pleading with your eyes, you watch as she simply sits back and observes. 

“I don’t know about you, but I think we should do this more often,” she says conversationally, finishing her whiskey and upping the strength of the vibrations. “Wow! This thing has patterns too?”

Suddenly, the bullet begins pulsing in time with your clit. Each wave hits you in the perfect spot. It’s quick and precise and you’re dripping and panting and no one knows. You can’t help the uncontrollable moan that comes out of you, all quiet and needy and music to Sam’s ears. No one but her can see the flush of your cheeks and the way you shift forward slowly. No one but her knows she’s the one making you bite your lip and breathe heavy through your nose.

Hot. It’s too hot in here, you’re sweating and shaking uncontrollably. To anyone else it must seem like you’re having a stomachache; only you and your conniving girlfriend are aware of the pleasure coursing through you and its filthy, in all honesty. It’s filthy. 

Sam runs a hand through her hair and watches you and ultimately decides she’s discovered a new kink when she catches herself wishing the waitress would come back and see you all desperate for her and only her. She can see that you’re on the edge, reading you like an open book and knowing you need a push. 

“I wish you could see yourself right now,” she groans when you roll your hips slightly. “I don’t even know how to describe it. You’re all desperate and you’re biting your lip so hard I think it might bleed and I want nothing more than to just fuck you on this table in front of everyone.”

Her rambling is flooding through you, each word like a lightning strike in your stomach that makes you feel all warm and tight. You can tell she’s having a hard time not throwing caution to the wind and just bending you over the table by the tremor in her voice; it makes you put your head down and whine. 

Body taut with anticipation, you focus on the overwhelming feeling spiraling within your lower abdomen. “Sam,” you whine out before the pulsing vibrations running through you finally break the tight coil and you cum with the taste of her name fresh in your mouth. 

Sam watches you go tense and shudder through your orgasm, quickly turning the strength of the vibrations down to the lowest level and allowing you to ride it out. She bumps her leg against yours under the table to anchor you while waiting patiently for you to get through the aftershocks. 

Slowly, you pick your head up from the table and uncross your legs uncomfortably, startling when the silicone shifts against your overstimulated bundle of nerves. Sam’s looking at you with unadulterated adoration all over her face, she’s reaching her hand out over the table in a silent request for you to hold it and you do. 

Footsteps sound behind you, the waitress showing up just in time to witness the dark flush on your cheeks and your chest and your shoulders and the still slightly glazed over look in your eyes. Sam is beaming at her. She’s sitting there all smiley and nothing close to how she was earlier. It makes you roll your eyes. 

“Thanks!” She calls after the woman who says nothing and keeps her gaze on the floor the whole time she’s placing the food on your table, scurrying away ASAP like a scared child.

[landslided]

the year is 2024, sam larusso has begged her father to go to coachella with her friends (moon, aisha, demitri, robby and miguel but somehow tory, hawk and literally have of eagle fang area have managed to invite themselves to this event). the problem is that daniel is a little bit paranoid since the whole « terry silver tried to kill your whole family » thing, meaning he agrees to it but only if he can come with another responsible adult to chaperone all of these kids. (he’s been so stressed lately. so down. he can’t sleep well and he only feels at peace doing karate… amanda says it’s not healthy. he doesn’t see how to get out of his own head if it’s not doing crazy karate moves with johnny and chozen) unfortunately for him, all the responsible adults are busy; amanda is working, chozen has mysteriously disappeared to go to a baking contest which… since when can chozen make perfect italian meringues??? oh and even louie has a thing that day (it’s a date, cus, but she’s smoooking! i can’t miss it, sorry, or she’ll figure out she’s way out of my league.) which is how daniel finds himself driving a minivan full of teenagers with johnny lawrence in the passenger seat.

when they get there, the kids immediately go and run around, losing themselves between booths of extremely expensive gimmicky food and stages of alternative artists performing to LA rich kids who are all on ket.

daniel and johnny find themselves alone, at one of the biggest festivals of the country, being the oldest guys around and having no idea what to do which is about when johnny drags them both to a booth for beer ("larusso, i refuse to pay 12$ for a peach flavored beer, that’s fucking insane." "then get a water, johnny, i don’t know." "a WATER? to a festival? what are we? wimps? give me that peach nightmare.") about two hours in (and at least 10 beers each which is really gonna hurt daniel’s wallet come tomorrow), daniel sees sam under a tent, getting closer to a stage and daniel follows, of course, because he wants to make sure his daughter is alright… which really comes to a surprise when a redhead singer comes on stage and daniel watches sam turn slowly but surely to tory on her right and wrap a hand around her arm to make her lean down and… oh, that is very much a kiss.

uh.

and it would already be quite weird but now the music is so loud and daniel’s gaze turns to the stage and it all gets stuck in his head; is he happy? waking up in the middle of the night with his head in his hands? he turns to johnny and really, is this a i told you so? is he happier fighting with johnny than at peace with his wife?

johnny, unaware to daniel’s turmoil, slightly tipsy, balancing bert on his shoulders does the most insane, evil thing he could do to daniel at that point; he smiles slightly.

it’s just a hint of teeth in the shape of a crescent moon, just a flash of white for not even a second but daniel feels run through.

he watches tory and sam hold hands in front of the stage, he watches all these young people celebrate who they are and feels both extremely alone and finally understood.

[dannythedog]

Collage by @stardust-chords-enthusiast

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x fem!reader

Word Count: 11.1k

Summary: You've grown up with Sam Kiszka as a best friend. As the two of you get older, you realize your feelings may be morphing into something more. What will happen when Sam finally invites you to the annual Kiszka lake trip where a string of crimes have taken place?

Warnings: mentions of marijuana, alcohol consumption, swearing, body image issues, talk of death

A/N: I just want to thank @gretavanfran for encouraging me to run with this idea and offering to help me write. We've never written something like this before so we're a little nervous to post this lol but feedback is appreciated and let us know if you want a part two!! We have so many more ideas for where this can go and would love to share with you guys

_

“Let’s go!” Sam calls from the front door of your house. The patience in his voice is wearing thin and it makes you zip your bag faster, accidentally pinching the skin of your forefinger. It’s time for the annual lake trip the Kiszka family takes at the beginning of summer. Sam usually opted to take his other best friend Danny, leaving no room for you, but this year there was an extra space. You’ve known Sam since seventh grade, the both of you meeting on the junior debate team. He was the only student who actually challenged you and he liked your passion, so you two quickly became inseparable.  

Heaving your duffle up, you rush to the door. “Sorry,” you breathe. “Just had to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”.

 “Yeah, yeah, just give me the bag so we can get going.” Reaching for the bag on your shoulder, Sam lets out a breathy chuckle.

“Wait, Sam, I ha-,” you were quickly interrupted by the long haired man.

“I already checked the back door, walked through the house and unplugged everything. Bug, everything’s going to be okay. Learn how to relax a little, alright?” 

“I’m always relaxed,” you mumble in a grumpy tone. 

“Oh really? When’s the last time you genuinely had fun without having to worry about anything?” He got you there, you were always anxious - anxiety was practically your name and overthinking was your game. You couldn’t help but think about if everything was going to plan, constantly worrying about safety. Except for when you're with a certain golden retriever boy. Sammy. He was fearless and lived life without a care in the world, that’s why you believed that you two quickly became friends. Opposites attract after all - he made the overthinking disappear in you and you made him pay more attention to the things that surrounded him.

After tossing the bag into the back seat of his beat up Jeep Cherokee where his own luggage rests, he clambers into the driver’s spot. “My mom’s gonna be so mad if we’re super late. She only agreed to let me drive as long as I was semi on time.”

“Well, maybe you should’ve let me drive,” you tease. The entire Kiszka family had a bad habit of being late, something that irked you to your core. Turning your head to look at the man in the driver seat, you watch in amusement as he lets out a scoff, throwing the car in reverse. He places an arm on your seat and checks for traffic both ways before entering the road.

“What, so we could be there four hours early? Leave at six am? No thanks, I’d rather sleep.”

“You know, backing into a main street is illegal right?” Now turning to face you, Sam dramatically rolls his eyes and flashes you that beaming smile of his.

“Bug, I want you to relax on this vacation. Mommy and Daddy won't be there to make sure you dot your I’s and cross your T’s.” 

As much as you hated to admit it- Sam was right. It’s been forever since you’ve actually relaxed. On top of your chronic over thinking - your parents watched you like a hawk. They always told you the strictness was because they wanted you to get into a top of the line college. Ever since you got the acceptance letter from the University of Michigan, you were expecting them to ease up. Wrong - if anything they tightened the reins more. Even though you were eighteen and freshly graduated high school, you had to practically get on your hands and knees begging them to allow you to accompany Sam all while reassuring them a million times that Sam’s parents were going to be there. 

“I am relaxed. Let’s get going. You know we'll never hear the end of us being late from Jake,” you breathe out, crossing your arms across your chest. As if his smile couldn’t get any bigger, it was practically ear to ear as he watched you slowly come to the realization he was right. 

“Aye aye, Captain. No more funny business. Wouldn’t want to keep Jacob waiting,” he replies to you in a teasing tone, while throwing the car into drive.

A warm breeze pours through the windows as the journey starts. It rustles the haphazardly placed locks on Sam’s head, a messy bun being his go to for the summer, and it somehow manages to make him look softer. Your eyes trail down to his plump lips, only landing there briefly before moving onto his outfit. He dons a denim button up that only has the bottom few buttons done, a pretty tiger’s eye pendant resting on the exposed skin of his chest, a pair of the tiniest khaki shorts you’ve ever seen, and of course his trusty Birkenstocks. While his outfit was casual, it still made you feel a little frumpy. You just wore a pair of black biker shorts and a tie-dye shirt, two sizes too big, with some black Tevas. 

“So why couldn’t Danny go this year? Not that I’m complaining, I’m really happy to be invited.”

His brown eyes glance over to you for a moment, lips forming into a small frown. “His family planned their own vacation. It’s kind of ass that I’ve never invited you before, huh? I’m sorry that I’m an idiot.”

You wave him off, trying to play it like you never felt an ache in your chest when you watched the family drive off every year. “I get it, it’s a boys thing. No biggie.”

He still looks guilty despite your casual reassurance, but doesn’t press any further. Sam really did feel bad that he never invited you before. He wasn’t sure if you would like hanging out with him and his family for a week straight, emphasis on his brothers. His older twin siblings could be a lot sometimes. Josh was a little over-friendly and Jake could be too cold. Inviting anyone on vacation was asking for trouble - especially a girl and most definitely if that girl was you. The twins have known you for just as long as their little brother had. But Sam knew that they wouldn’t let up on the teasing - it would be relentless.

 Unbeknownst to you, they would wait until you left the room or have your back turned and would always make kissy faces at the younger boy - mocking him about how in love he was with you and how you were his ‘little secret girlfriend’.  Sam could take the teasing one day at a time, but he felt like a whole week’s worth of teasing would be too much for him to handle. So, he always opted to bring Danny. Plus, he wanted you all to himself, but no one had to know that.

“Hey, you know what I brought?” He grins a little too widely. “Check my backpack. The small pocket in the front.”  

You reach into the back, very obvious suspicion settling across your face. Pulling his beat up tie-dye bag into the front with care was not an easy feat. It was stuffed full and piled under a bunch of other luggage. With just a bit of grumbling, you dig into that small pocket and pull out a baggie filled with joints.

 “Sam!” you hiss. “Did you forget your parents are going to be with us?”

He reaches over and gives your arm a gentle shove. “See? This is what I was talking about earlier. You never have fun without worrying about everything.”

 “I’m sorry,” you sigh and put the baggie back. “You’re totally right. I don’t know why I got weird about it.”

Your face flushes and you feel embarrassed. He was right. Why couldn’t you let loose and just enjoy this time being close with Sam? Don’t ruin this for yourself. 

“Hey,” he says softly, that same frown from earlier returning.

“No, it’s okay. You are right. It’s not often I’ll admit that, so take it while you can,” you grin.

The few hour drive is peaceful, filled with laughter and good music. Sam never fails to keep you entertained. That was another checkmark on the long list of things you adore about him. You weren’t sure how Sam didn’t realize you were falling for him. You didn’t try to make it obvious, but you figured he would at least see the little things - the way you’d always make sure to have his favorite snacks around, wake up at absurd hours to make Walmart trips, how you’d do just about anything he asked. Honestly, you’d probably follow this man to the depths of hell if he asked you to.   

“Where are we?” you garble, not noticing that you drifted off at some point, finally waking when Sam turns onto a rather bumpy back road.

“About five minutes from the house. Our place is in a pretty secluded spot, not many neighbors.”

The road is covered with rocks and potholes, making it impossible for your bodies to stay still, rocking side to side with each bump and sway of the vehicle. Lush trees fill the spaces on either side of the road and overtake your senses. It’s hard to see through the thick greenness of the vegetation, but it’s beautiful and makes everything feel so serene. Like you weren’t still in your home state of Michigan. The trees began to thin the closer you got to the house, opening to a small clearing with a great view of the sparkling lake. You could see an expanse of sandy beaches spread out at the back of the property with a hole dug out near the house as a makeshift fire pit.  There’s a small dock a bit further down with an old rowboat attached to it, gently bobbing in the mild waves. 

Sam parks his Cherokee next to the family’s Suburban and shoots you an excited smile. “Ready for the chaos?”

“As I’ll ever be,” you scrunch your nose at him. 

The both of you pull yourselves from the car to collect your bags. The thick summer air soothes the goosebumps that formed from the air conditioning that Sam insisted on blasting. He claimed the AC barely worked at the lake house. 

“OI!” a voice rings from above you, disrupting the gentle call of some sparrows. Your eyes flick up to see the long haired twin  leaning dangerously over the railing of a balcony. 

“It’s about time you made it!” Jake spins around and heads back inside before either of you can answer. Your eyes trail from the balcony to take in the rest of the house. It’s a moderately sized cabin-esque looking building with sloping green roofs that match the color of the doors and window frames. The rustic vibe is a little cheesy and slightly outdated, but it’s welcoming. 

“Hi, Bug,” Jake grins when he emerges from the front door. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

��You think you can hear Sam grumbling about how that’s his nickname for you, but you ignore it. 

“C’mon inside. We saved a room for you two.” Jake takes the bag off your arm and offers a side hug, giving you a gentle squeeze. 

You flush at the thought of sharing a room and possibly a bed with Sam - you hadn’t considered that when you agreed to come along. His parents were pretty lenient but you figured you’d be sleeping on one of the couches. 

The house offers reprieve from the unforgiving sun. Despite being quite cold only minutes ago, you can feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of your neck. The inside isn’t as cheesy as you thought it would be. There were picture frames hung up along the walls, displaying memories from previous trips. One of young Sam catches your eye and brings a small smile to your face. He’s submerged in the lake with a bright orange life jacket on that looks like it could strangle him at any moment, smiling widely with little gaps in his teeth. 

“We’re here!” Sam calls out and ventures towards the bedrooms. 

Just like clockwork, the shorter twin pops his head into the hallway. “This one is your room.” 

The three of you meander to the room Josh was currently in, only half wondering why he was in your room anyways. 

“Shut up!” Sam gasps and almost drops his bag, trying to think of something else to say but his mouth just hangs open. Out of the corner of your eyes you could see the twins beaming - not wanting to be left out, you poke your head into the room and see a lanky, curly haired man lounging across the queen sized mattress. 

“Hey, guys,” Danny says with a shit eating grin. “Heard you might have extra room.”

Finally over the shock of seeing his best friend, Sam turns to his brothers with confusion written all over his face.

“Mom and Dad didn’t come this year. They figured since we’re ‘all grown up’ that we’d want a week here alone. We coordinated the Danny part just because it was fun,” Jake speaks nonchalantly. 

Sam simply can’t contain his excitement any longer and bounces on his best friend, rambling on about how much fun they’re going to have.

“That was sweet of you guys,” you murmur to Jake, watching as his face twinges pink. He simply shrugs and sets your bags near the dresser. Once the enthusiasm calms a bit, the other three clear out of the room to let you and Sam unpack. Your eyes travel over to the queen sized bed over and over, worry settling deep into your chest.

You clear your throat. “I can take the couch if you want. Or I could see if maybe Danny wanted to switch rooms.”

Sam doesn’t even look up from putting his shirts into a drawer as he chuckles a bit. “Why would you do that?”

Your face scrunches in embarrassment. You’re not sure why you’re embarrassed about this discussion. It’s just Sam. Just your best friend who you are hopelessly falling for and now have to share a bed with. Not a big deal at all.

“Just wanted to give you options, that’s all,” you say a little too defensively, praying that he couldn’t see the pink blush starting to cover your face. 

“I think you’re trying to get away from me. I can’t stop you from taking the couch, but I promise I really don’t mind if you sleep with me. In fact, I think I’d like it if you joined me.” Sam flashes you a smile as he finishes unpacking. With that he walks out of the room, leaving you to internally panic about what his words could possibly imply. Was he just flirting with you? Or perhaps it was just your feelings muddying his statement.

Fingers tug on the hem of your shirt, startling you out of your panicked daze. It’s Jake inquiring if you’ll come out to swim with everyone since it’s ‘hot as balls outside.’ Not giving you an option to say no - or to even give him an answer, he makes his way over to the door and slams it shut. Rolling your eyes at the loud noise, you head over to your bags, silently thankful you brought your good bikini.  Lifting up your shirt in hopes of changing into the swimwear sooner than later, you found yourself being interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Startled by the intruder, you whip around at a lightning speed to find Sam and Danny casually standing in the doorway. 

“Don’t you guys know how to knock?” you huff out at the boys. 

“Sorry, we didn’t expect you to be changing already. Sammy boy just needs to grab his trunks,” Danny speaks softly, shooting you an apologetic smile as he makes his way into the room sitting down on the bed. Sam, on the other hand, seemed to be frozen in his spot. Geez, what is up with him today. 

“You going to come in or are you going to keep standing there like a creep?” Danny chuckles out at Sam. It worked. You watch Sam as he keeps his eyes on the floor, heading over to the dresser, reaching in one of the drawers and pulling out his favorite pair of red bottoms. 

“I…Sorry. C’mon Danny. Let’s go downstairs.” Sam ignores your eye contact and walks over to the long haired curly man sitting on the bed, pulling him by his shirt sleeve over to the door and making sure to close it. 

Deciding not to think about the way Sam was acting, you quickly change into the baby blue and white floral print bikini. Standing in front of the mirror, you take a second to study your reflection. This swimsuit was new and if you were being honest with yourself, you were absolutely terrified to bring it at first. After all, this was supposed to be a ‘family trip’ and you didn’t want to have Sam’s parents look at you in an ill mannered light. Why would they? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact your boobs were practically spilling out of the cups and the bottoms are leaving little to the imagination. 

You couldn’t help but to have some insecurities cross your mind when you thought about if Sam would like this specific suit on you. Sure, you’ve been around him countless times in the water, but you always wore a one piece. After graduating high school, you felt yourself trying to be a little more bold in your outfit choices. Not to mention that Sam always likes his girls to be on the skinnier side and you just so happened to be a little bit more curvy.  Fuck it, what do you have to lose. You trot down the stairs, slowly building up more and more courage to walk out to the lake where you could see the four boys splashing around through the window.  

“Ooh mama! Looking good!” Josh yells as you approach the lake, making the other  three boys turn around to take a glance at your form.  

Their watchful eyes make you feel bashful, especially after Sam’s weird reaction in the bedroom. You try to fight the urge to cover your body up but it’s slowly winning. Every dip, bump, and stretch mark suddenly feels like a neon sign that reads, ‘Look at me! I’m insecure!’. Feeling defeated, you grab your towel and begin to wrap it around your torso as walk slowly to the beach.

The sun’s rays are vicious. Sweat is already beading at your brow and the tops of your shoulders feel hot. A small breeze ripples through the trees and gently caresses over your heating skin, giving slight relief. 

“Put your towel down! Get in!” Danny calls out as he splashes water at an unsuspecting Jake. This earns him a punch to the shoulder and a small grumble.

You hesitate, insecurities still running wildly through your mind. What if they laughed at you? What if Sam was disgusted by your flaws? You knew you wouldn’t be able to handle that. 

“Hey, let me see you,” Josh encourages. “I’ve never seen that bathing suit on you before. Is it new? Do a little twirl for me!”

“It’s just a bathing suit,” Sam bites at his older brother. This makes you clutch your towel tighter to your body and cast your eyes to the sand. You knew it. Sam thinks you look hideous. 

Watching the boys in front of you - you couldn’t possibly think of actually going into the water and exposing yourself to them. You know that Sam takes after his older brothers when it comes to finding his type in women. 

Plopping down into the grass and giggling to yourself, you watch as Josh rolls his eyes and smacks the back of his younger brother’s head.

Trudging through the shallow water in your direction, he lifts his chin as a beckoning gesture. “C’mon, Bug. Get in the water.” Your knuckles were practically white from how hard you were gripping the towel now that Josh was stalking through the sand.

“Josh, I don’t feel like it.” 

“I will carry you in there if I have to.” 

“You and I both know that’s not a possibility,” you spit out at him, trying not to let your insecurities show. Instead of replying, Josh moves even closer to you and starts looking like he was trying to figure out where to place his hands to hoist you up. 

“No. No. No. Stop right there,” you protest. 

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. Just come into the water.” Josh looks to you with pleading eyes. Fuck those, baby cow eyes get you everytime. Reluctantly nodding your head, you get up - but not without making sure the only thing keeping your sanity was wrapped around you securely. 

“You won’t need that in the water,” Josh hums at you as he takes your hand in his, leading you over to the dock. 

“I know. I just want to leave it on the dock.” He looks like he doesn’t want to believe you at first, eyeing you suspiciously, but ultimately choosing to drop the issue at hand. 

While you’re distracted with Josh, Sam’s eyes are glued to the two of you. What the hell is he doing? Why are his hands on her like that? Sam didn’t care that you were friendly with his brothers. He actually loves that you get along with them, but his fear was steadily coming to fruition. You were his person and his brothers seemed to have no problem robbing you from him just as they did with Daniel. 

As he watches you sit on the edge of the dock he hopes and prays you’ll look at him, but only sees your eyes follow Josh’s form into the water. His chest tightens when Josh grabs your legs. “What are you doing?” you panic slightly. The older twin simply gives you his widest smile before pulling you into the depths. 

The lake is colder than you expect it to be and it shocks the air from your lungs. It’s a good few seconds before you can let out a screech at Josh. He clutches you tightly to him, not caring that you’re desperately grabbing at the sopping fabric of your security blanket as it drifts away with each of his movements. “See? Not that bad, huh?”

He was right. Being submerged covered you in a way and it felt nice to cool off. “Okay,” you break. “It’s not horrible, but you’re a real dick for pulling me in.”

Sam can’t stand seeing his older brother’s hands on you. They way they hold you so delicately. It feels far too intimate to Sam. There’s this horrible clawing in his stomach that pulls him to the shore and up to a grassy area, listening to your giggles as you splash around. Having fun without him.

Your eyes finally drift over to Sam when you notice him get out. Water droplets cascade over his tan skin like rivulets and his thin frame is stretched out to soak up the sun. He’s completely in his element. You think he looks most beautiful like this. Sam has always loved nature - he begs you to come on mini hikes that turn into impromptu picnics of trail mix and granola bars, long trips to the beach where you spend your day swimming and kayaking, hell, he even loves it if you just come lay in his hammock with him.

“Alright! Me and Danny will be partners, so that leaves you and Josh,” Jake declares. You tear your eyes from your best friend and look to his older brother - that honestly could be his twin - to give him a questioning look. Jake rolls his eyes. “I just said we’re playing chicken.” 

The insecurities begin to creep back into your mind and you quickly glance to the sunbather only feet away. 

“Stop that,” Josh murmurs. “Climb on my shoulders. I’ll swim under water.” You don’t know how he knows what you’re thinking, but you don’t have too much time to question it before he’s swimming between your legs and hoisting you into the air. The curly one lets out a warm chuckle as he hears the shriek leaving your lips. You think you see Sam start to sit up as he sees his older brother securing his hands around your thighs even more- claiming it had something to do with ‘safety’. 

“She’ll need all the safety she can get,” Danny teases. “Jake and I are gonna kick your asses!” “Are you sure about that? What if we have a plan?” You grip onto Josh’s hair, knowing you don’t have a plan. You just hope it’s something easy to go with. “Like a sneak attack! Get them!”

Josh lurches forward and your hands fly up to push at Jake’s taut shoulders. Surprisingly, his spontaneous plan does work and you manage to knock the opposing team over. Unsurprisingly, this lights a fire inside of Jake. The next half hour is constant games of chicken, switching teams, hitting the water a little too hard, but still no Sam. One final stinging slap against the small waves does you in. You put up your white flag and head to the beach, fingers and toes beyond pruny anyways.

“Decided to come join me?” The brunet sunbather mumbles as he senses your presence - eyes still closed.  

“How’d you know it was me?” 

“I always know when you're around.” 

“Uh-huh. Sure,” you mock him. 

“Peter Parker has spidey senses and me? I have y/n senses.” Your best friend sits up, grabbing your hand and giving you a little tug. It seems like he was trying to get you to lay down with him, but you weren’t budging, the insecurities creeping back in. Sure, you’ve laid down next to Sam before, but that was then and this is now. Something about the air in between you two feels different. The only problem was that you weren’t sure if it was good or bad. 

You try to pull your hand from his soft grip. “I’m gonna go grab another towel.” 

“There’s room on mine,” he replies, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“No there’s not.”

Sam wasn’t going to waste another moment. He needed to stake his claim in front of his older brothers, you’re his. Suddenly you feel the air leaving your lungs as you’re pulled downwards. Expecting to hit the ground, instead you are met with a soft groan and the feeling of hot skin. 

“See? There’s room.” Opening your eyes from the sudden impact, you’re face to face with a tan chest. Slowly lifting your gaze, you see Sam with his eyes shut, smiling sheepishly at you. 

“Sam, I’m on top of you.” 

“I know, I like you like this.” Peeking an eye open, Sam was met with the visual of your mouth parted in shock, trying to find the right words to say. He could see the gears turning in your head. You felt the boy beneath you taking a deep sigh before parting his lips. 

“Bug…don’t act so shocked.”

“Sam, just let me go please,” you try pleading with the man.

“No, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this….and now seems like the perfect moment.” 

Trying to move yourself into a sitting position, you’re met with failure as sunkissed arms wrap around your back tighter, holding your body close to his. You could feel your chest getting tighter as the nerves course through you. He has no idea what kind of effect this is having on you and you really don’t want him to find out.

“Awww look at the love birds.” Of course Jake would have to ruin a moment like this.

“Yeah right,” Danny snorts. You hated to admit it, but that single laugh alone had you ready to cry. 

“Shut up guys. You know it’s not like that,” you mumble, pulling yourself out of Sam's embrace. You swear that you see Sam’s eyes glaze over with hurt, but that quickly disappears with him chuckling and smiling. 

“I’m hungry,” Jake whines, rubbing his stomach - looking over at his twin slowly making his way over to the group.  

“That sounds like a you problem,” Sam grumbles as he sits up. What is up with his attitude today? 

“No, it's Bug’s problem.” Jake makes a move towards you to grab your hand and hoist you up, but is stopped by his younger brother swatting his hands away. Josh and Danny let out eerie chuckles trying to ease the awkward tension that was forming. 

“How is it my problem?” 

“Cause I want one of your grilled cheeses.” 

“I told you the re-“

“Zip it.” Jake grabs your arm, pulling you to your feet. “We can’t have Sammy knowing that I’m the only person you trust with the recipe. Think about how jealous he’ll get.” 

The two of you start towards the house. “You know he heard that right?” You whisper to Jake as he loops his arm into yours.

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing, Bug. Trust me,” Jake winks at you. 

You grip his arm tighter and don’t speak until you’re in the safety of the kitchen. You find that Sam was right, the AC doesn’t work very well in this cabin. 

“Alright, spit it out,” Jake says, not bothering to look at you while he grabs the ingredients. “I can see it all over your face.”

Other than Sam, you were the closest with Jake. When he was younger he was very quiet and wasn’t in your face like Josh was and you found comfort in that. He made you feel comfortable. That meant you could tell him the things you couldn’t tell Sam. As your feelings for Sam grew, Jake could see past your little unbothered facade. He’s been there through every up and down.

“I don’t know,” you groan and plop into a chair. “He’s just being so weird. One minute he’s normal and happy, then the next he’s moody and avoiding everyone. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you purposefully put Sam and I in the room with one bed. You’re setting me up.”

He laughs and flits about the kitchen preparing the meal for everyone. “I thought you’d appreciate that. You could always share with me.”

Flipping him the bird didn’t feel like it would be enough, so you throw a random pair of socks that you see balled up on the floor at his head. He ducks and lets a belly laugh fill the room. “Come on, y/n. It won’t be that bad. I really was just trying to help you out. How about this,” he sets an old, worn spatula on the counter and approaches you. “I’ll help you this week. We’ll get Sam to notice you the way you want him to.”

You eye his outstretched hand. This could potentially end your friendship with Sam if it goes badly, but you decide you couldn’t pretend much longer. So you grasp Jake’s calloused hand, putting all of your trust into this shake. “Deal.”

———————-

After some much needed food and a couple of beers, the boys decide that it would be a good time for them to go down to the pier and do some fishing. You opt to read the book that’s been sitting in your bag forever, figuring you could sit on the front porch so you have a perfect view of the boys on the dock. ‘Life can’t get better than this,’ you think and let out a big sigh. The buttery beams of the sun wash over you, bringing the feeling of sleepiness that you knew oh so well. Hours must’ve passed, you found yourself waking up to the feeling of someone trying to pry the book out of your hands. 

“A Court of Roses and Thorns? I didn’t know you read fantasy,” Sam smiles in small victory when he peels the book away from you, closing it and moving it to the table beside the chair. 

“I know, I usually read nonfiction but I’m trying something new. Don’t hate,” you mumble to him as you slowly stand up from the chair, stretching out your back in the process. 

“Hate on you? I could never,” Sam whispers. It was almost as if he was terrified of you hearing the little confession that left his parted lips. 

“How long have I been out?” 

“Well, considering it’s dark now, I’m gonna say about a few hours.” You look the boy over and see that he put his hair back into a low bun. You were always a sucker for that hairstyle. You take advantage of Sam being quiet and study his face some more. He looks good. It was only day one of this vacation and the sun gave him a kissable tan. You weren’t sure how you’d be able to survive the rest of the six. 

“So...what do you think about a movie night?” Sam suggests, throwing you a side smirk when he notices that you were checking him out. You silently thank god that it’s dark out, you didn’t want Sam to see how flushed your cheeks are. 

“With your brothers?” 

“No. Just you and me. Jake said he wants to have a bonfire,” he points towards the direction of the small pit that sits in the middle of some thoughtfully placed chairs. 

“I mean, sure. Yeah, we can do that.” 

A loud voice nearly has you jumping out of your skin. “Nope. Nada. Not happening. You have to be joking with us. I don’t want to be an uncle yet,” Jake bursts through the door of the cabin, protesting the movie night idea. Casting a glance over to Sam you see him rolling his eyes. You could tell he was starting to get fed up with his brothers interrupting everything. 

“Jake, c’mon. It’s gonna be so comfy inside. Can’t I join you guys tomorrow?” You ask the man, with a little bit of confusion lacing your voice. He was supposed to be helping push you and Sam together, not keep you two separated.  He gives you a look that lets you know you won’t be winning that battle, so you let the older man drag you over to the pit where the other two boys were standing. Looking over your shoulder, you could see Sam trudging behind you, obviously not wanting to participate tonight. Maybe he was hoping just to have alone time with you. 

“Bug, we’ll make you a weiner!” 

“Josh, I don’t want a hot dog right now.” Your body betrays you by letting out possibly the loudest stomach growl the group had ever heard. 

“Clearly that’s a lie. Plus, we know how much you love sticking them in your mouth,” Danny tries to speak in between laughs. You could tell that he’s proud of himself for that joke. 

“Relax, Sammy boy, no one’s gonna try to steal your girlfriend,” Jake teases as he slaps his back, trying to change his little brother’s mood. Based on what you could see through the flames of the fire, Sam’s face was red - beaming with frustration. 

Sam seems to ignore his brother’s ‘girlfriend’ comment as he sits down in the seat directly across from yours, separated by the fire. Jake plops himself into the chair next to you, mysteriously pulling out an acoustic guitar. 

“Where’d you get that?” you nod towards the guitar.

“Darling, I’m full of tricks,” Jake shoots you a wink, absentmindedly strumming the guitar. Looking around, you notice there was a black guitar case lined with a maroon velvet laying on the ground - instantly feeling dumb for asking him where got the acoustic from. If anyone knows Jake, then they always know there’s bound to be a guitar somewhere around him. Sure he was in college for business, but everyone knows being in a band was his true dream. 

“Jake you gonna play us Wonderwall? Or tell us all about how you’re meant to be a rockstar?” Sam snickers at his brother. What has gotten into him today. 

Sam was truly fed up with his brothers. Especially Jake. Every fear he ever had about bringing you to the lake had happened. Why couldn’t they just let him have something good for once? Sam had fully been planning on telling you about his feelings at multiple points in the day. He even made it obvious that he was being serious, but no one cared. 

Looking across the flames, you sat in awe of your best friend. A pain forms in your chest as you think back to a certain night sophomore year where you were sat in the same position. 

“Wooooo!” 

“Sam, stop yelling! You’re gonna get us in trouble.” 

“C’mon, Bug! Live a little,” Sam slurred at you, slinging his arm around your shoulder. He was drunk off the bourbon that his older brother just had to provide him with because it was ‘homecoming’. You rolled your eyes every time Jake said that. Maybe it was something that your parents engraved into your brain. God, you could hear the lecture from them already. Bitching at you for letting yourself be surrounded by ‘drunken idiots’.

You weren’t positive about the exact moment you started to like Sam, but one thing was for certain. This year you realized you were in love with him. It happened in between all the study dates, the late night texts and the random phone calls to see what you were up to.  

But tonight? Tonight felt different. Granted, you guys were each other's dates to homecoming, but something just felt different. You couldn’t quite place what the emotion was. Maybe it had to do with the way you two slow danced tonight - your arms placed delicately around his neck, while his hands were wrapped around your waist, pulling you close. His toffee colored eyes staring into yours-giving you soft smiles all night, not to mention all the little touches and forehead kisses. 

Your mind kept wandering back to those moments as you looked up at the man, watching the soft orange glow flicker across his face. His eyes were closed and he was starting to sway, you knew what this meant - you had approximately five minutes to get him up to bed or someone would have to carry him up there. You look around to see if there was anybody sober enough to help you get the lanky boy up the steps with no avail. 

“C’mon, Sammy. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Bug, are you trying to seduce me right now?” Rolling your eyes, you let out a huff as the tall boy leaned more of his weight onto you, trusting that you would be able to get him upside and to bed safely. 

“Sam, I know you're plastered, but you’ve gotta help me out here.” 

“I always help you out. You’re my girl.” 

You knew better than to believe his words, after all he was drunk and just rambling. Hearing the words ‘my girl’  was your downfall. You hated the way it made you blush. You silently thank god that you were able to make it into his room in one piece. After plopping the boy down onto the twin mattress, you were wondering how on earth you were going to get this boy changed. Finding a pair of sweats and grabbing a loose shirt, you turned around to find Sam standing in front of the bed. 

“I thought I told you to stay on the bed.” 

“Ooo. Bossy. I like it.” You knew he was a lot to deal with when he was drunk, but this was new. 

“I’m not being bossy. I just want you to go to bed. I’m tired.” 

“I don’t want to go to bed.”

“And why’s that?” You replied back, mocking the way he was whining. 

“Cause you’re not gonna be here for me to cuddle.” 

“Sam. Stop. You don’t mean that.” 

“I do mean it,” Sam responded, stomping his foot like a two year old having a tantrum in the middle of a grocery store. 

��No you don’t.”

“Stop telling me what I think,” he demands.

“Sammy, I know you. You don’t mean it. I’m not the girl you go for. Just please go to bed.” Your heart is aching with every word you speak.

“You can’t see it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve had a thing for you for the past two years.”

“No you haven’t,” you scoff. As much as you wanted to believe him, you just couldn’t. 

“Yes I have,” he insists. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Sam, look at you and then look at me. We don’t go together.” Your arms were crossed and your eyes found purchase on anything but him. His gaze never let up.

“Bug, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” 

“Please stop.” You could feel your breath slowly leaving your body as the young boy made his way to stand in front of you, placing a finger under your chin tilting your head up - silently begging for you to make eye contact with him. 

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” Sam whispered as he licked his lips. He leaves your eye contact briefly to look at your lips and then looks back into your eyes. Closing your eyes trying to find the right words to say - you were interrupted when you felt a pair of chapped lips meeting your soft ones. 

Not believing what was happening,  you opened up your eyes, only to be met with the sight of Sam’s eyes still closed focused on the task at hand. Closing your eyes, you could feel yourself melting into the kiss and slowly kissing the boy back. Sam could finally feel you relaxing into him - taking it as a sign to wrap his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer, running his hands through your hair. Not pulling or tugging, he was just holding you there. 

Sam shoved you away when he heard the wooden bedroom door being opened and slammed against the beige wall. Looking over at the intruder, you could feel your chest tighten up again when you saw that it was Sam’s other best friend. 

“Did I interrupt something?” Danny quizzed the couple in front of him, noticing the swollen lips and rustled dress shirt. 

“Nope,” Sam replied nonchalantly.

 After going to the bathroom that night, you decided to crash out in the boys basement, not being able to find it in yourself to face Danny after he walked in on the tender moment in between best friends. Waking up the morning afterwards, it took a couple of minutes for the realization of what happened- Sammy kissed you. Not only that, but he told you that you were the most beautiful person he ever saw. How were you supposed to address this situation with him?

Part of you wanted to run for the mountains and never face him again. Realistically you probably could live off the grid - but that would never happen, your parents would forbid it. Deciding that you needed to just talk to him, to figure out where you guys stood, you found yourself climbing up the steps of the quiet house. Placing your hand on the doorknob to turn it, you stopped yourself upon hearing muffled voices on the other side of the door. 

“So you kissed y/n last night?”

“Dude. I fucked up.” 

“But I thought you liked her?”

“Y/n? No, I think it was just the alcohol talking.” You could feel your heart breaking in two as you registered the words being spoken. 

“How are you gonna fix this?” 

“I just gotta tell her that it was a mistake. It meant nothing. I regret it.” 

If only you could be in the room and see the raven haired boy shaking his head at the lanky haired man laying on his bed hungover. 

The sudden feeling of a warm hand squeezing your knee brought you back to reality. Following up the arm of the man touching you - you were met with Jake’s coffee irises giving you the same sad sympathy look  he had given you the morning after the kiss.  You didn’t mean for any of Sam’s brothers to get involved with your relationship with him, but it just happened. After hearing Sam say the word ‘regret’, you ran outside onto the back porch in hopes of calming yourself down. 

Instead you were met with Jake smoking a cigarette and asking if you wanted to talk about it. Did you want to talk about it? It just so happens that your brain was telling you not to, while your heart had the opposite. You needed someone just to listen to you and the mysterious twin just happened to be there. That was the moment you and Jake became close. He held you as you cried - repeatedly telling you that his brother was a ‘fucking idiot’ and ‘if he doesn’t see how amazing you are, fuck him’. 

After that much needed pep talk from Jake, you pushed your feelings deep down inside and kept things as normal as you could with Sam. Meanwhile you and Jake were growing closer, but it was nothing in comparison with his little brother - the only issue is, Sam doesn’t know that. You were unaware of the fact that there were countless times the boys had been fighting over you. Well, more like it was Sam screaming at his  brother to leave you alone and to stop trying to ‘fuck you’. Jake would just look at him and give him a little smirk that would just push Sam over the edge. 

Jake moved his hand from your knee as a twig snaps in the dense woods just feet away from the group. Everyone’s attention is focused on the sound and you could feel your heart rate pick up. “What was that?”

“Probably just a deer,” Sam mutters as he peers into the darkness of the foliage. 

“What if it’s that killer?” Danny says all too casually. Your palms begin to sweat and you shoot him a death glare, challenging him to tell a cruel joke again. 

“What, you didn’t hear about it? It was on every local radio station around here.”

Sam meets your eyes then looks back to Danny. “No, we didn’t listen to the radio on the way here. I had my road trip playlist going.”

“You know how he is. ‘The radio is too mainstream,’” you roll your eyes, quoting Sam perfectly. 

Josh’s grin almost makes it seem like he could be the killer. “Oh, so you really don’t know then, huh? Well, when we got here we heard that there were several dead bodies found in the woods and the lake. They’d all been murdered.”

Your skin begins to crawl. You had just swam in that lake. The woods that once felt so serene now seem dark and foreboding. Like something was lurking, waiting for the right time to slip through the darkness and into the house of some poor, unsuspecting vacationers. 

“That’s not funny,” you mumble. 

Josh’s head snaps to you, looking near evil. “No, it isn’t. Not funny at all.”

“Cut the shit, Josh,” Jake scoffs. “Josh is just being a dickhead, but they are telling the truth. There were bodies found around here and they never found the killer.”

“What do you mean they never found the killer?” The hairs on the back of your neck standing up as you felt like something or someone was watching you through the trees. 

“Guys, knock it off. You’re scaring her,” Sam orders and moves his chair to sit next to you. “Hey, they’re just being douchebags. There’s nothing to worry about.” 

“All jokes aside, the story itself is true.  They never found the killer.. Rumor has it, one lady was slaughtered. Completely butchered. I guess the killer left a blood trail, the cops followed it into the woods. It stopped after twenty feet….whoever it is….they know how to hide. There really were bodies found around here, about three miles north.  But, I doubt anything will happen to us. He probably left town. Well, I’m hoping he did,” Danny attempts to comfort. 

“Danny,” Sam reprimands.

While you’re appreciative of Danny’s efforts, your stomach is queasy with fear. You don’t feel happy and carefree anymore. The moon shining down on the lake isn’t comforting like it once was, it’s ominous and holds secrets. The blowing wind seems like small whispers filled with said secrets.

“Can we go inside?” you ask quietly, eyes frantically scanning your surroundings. Feeling a hand cover your own, you recognize it immediately as Sam’s based on the way a crooked pinky finger is grazing against your own. 

“Hey, it’s okay. We can go in,” Sam murmurs as he laces your fingers together. It doesn’t take more than a small tug to get you out of your seat and heading towards the house. The rest of the guys decide to join you, hastily cleaning up their mess.

“Now you two can have that movie night,” Jake ribs. “We’ll be joining you, though.”

Josh immediately launches into a list of movie suggestions, but you can’t find it in you to care. Between the scare of the murders and the jumble of feelings for Sammy, you just needed to stare mindlessly at a screen for a while. 

The boys settle on the movie Psycho. You’re not sure if they’re intentionally trying to be dicks or not, but your mind is too busy to scold them. After gnawing on the skin of your thumb for a solid fifteen minutes, Sam slings his arm around your tense shoulders. The room is dark save for the glow of the tv screen and lamp that was hardly ever turned off, everyone is quiet. It could’ve been one of those world stopping moments you had with Sam whenever he danced along the boundary of friendship and maybe something more. The atmosphere was all wrong though. With the tension in the air and Jake’s worried eyes glancing at you periodically, there was no way you could indulge in this sweet moment.

Halfway through the movie, Jake stands abruptly. “I don’t remember if I put the fire out.”

“It’s been long enough. It probably went out by itself,” Josh mumbles, almost entirely distracted by the movie. 

“Do you really want to be responsible for a forest fire that could kill all of us? I’m going to check.” 

He moves through the living room and grabs his pack of cigarettes before breezing through the door. Your gut twists at the thought of Jake going out there alone. What if that killer was still around? 

You know you’re probably overreacting, but the sinking feeling in your chest wouldn’t let up, so you start to pull from Sam’s grasp. He only wraps around you tighter, shooting you a half smile.

“I wanna go with Jake,” you whisper, trying not to disturb the other two boys.

Sam’s full brows furrow, grasp still not letting up. “Why? He’s fine out there. We can see him through the window so we’ll know if something happens.” Standing your ground with a pointed look, the boy sighs and rubs your arm. “I would really like it if you would stay with me. I’ve missed you today.”

Oh. Your resolve melts a bit at his statement, some warmth returning to your heart. The puppy dog eyes he’s giving you are absolutely killer. How could you deny him? You sink back into your spot, safely tucked into his side and decide that Jake could wait until the movie was over. After all, you were being a little ridiculous about all of this. 

But when the movie is over, Jake is no longer in sight. Anxiety nearly consumes you as you lift from the creaky old couch and press your nose against the dusty pane of the window closest to you. “Guys? Why isn’t Jake back? Why can’t I see him?” 

Josh groans as he stretches out, foolishly opting to take a seat on the hardwood floor for the entire length of the film. “You know Jake. He’s probably off on one of his late night excursions.” The eldest joins your side after a moment, brown eyes scanning the darkness. “Look, he’s right there at the dock.”

There is a silhouette standing along the edge of the water at the beginning of the dock. It was far enough away that you couldn’t see any features, but the outline was there. You strain your eyes looking at the form. Was that Jake? You couldn’t tell.

“Are you sure?” you worry. “How do you know?” 

Josh claps you on the back, an amused smile gracing his youthful face. “I’m his twin. I think I could pick him out of a crowd of probably like, a thousand.”

“Let’s go to bed, okay? You’ll see Jake in the morning.” Sammy comes up behind you wrapping his arms around your midsection pulling you away from the window and towards the stairs. 

“None of you guys are going to check on him?” You ask them, trying not to be annoying but you just can’t shake this unsettling feeling in your gut. 

“Bug, he’ll be okay. Besides, we have this cool thing called twin telepathy. I know when something is wrong,” Josh tries to reassure you. 

“Y/n. He’ll be coming in at any minute. He’s gotta help me with the kayak’s tomorrow and you know he hates getting up early.” You took a deep breath continuing your journey up the stairs, trying to have faith in Danny’s sentence. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Deep Breaths y/n. 

Sam left you in the bedroom alone for a total of five minutes to change before you found yourself calling out for him frantically - you’ve never heard the man move faster. At lightning speed Sam came crashing through the door searching for your figure. Nestled into the wall closest to the window, the boy could see your hands shaking uncontrollably. Stalking his way over to you, wrapping you up in his arms, whispering ‘you’re okay’ into your hair. 

“S…Sam. There’s something in the woods over there,” you tremble into his chest, shifting all your body weight onto him, seeking as much comfort as you possibly could. 

“Bug, there’s nothing out there.” 

“Yes there is! I just saw the bushes move. There’s something out there watching us.”  

“Y/n it’s pro-”

“Don’t tell me that it’s just a deer. It’s the killer Sam. I know it is,”  you cut Sam off desperately. To be fair, your intuition never lied to you when it came to things like this.  “We need to leave now.”

“Look at me.” He didn’t give you a chance to object as he put his fingers under your chin, firmly tilting your head up. “I will not let anything happen to you. Okay? I’m gonna kill the guys. They shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Well, I’m glad they did. Sam I'm not crazy, there’s someone watching us.” Your gaze returns to the forest. You know you saw something. You hadn’t imagined things like this before after hearing your fair share of campfire ghost stories. There was something different about this time. Something sinister. “Let’s go to bed okay? I think today’s just been long and we just need to sleep it off.” 

“Okay,” you sigh and feel his hands tugging you towards the bed as you keep looking out the window. Your intuition was screaming at you to get out of there as fast as you could. Crawling into bed, you opted for the spot closest to the door incase you needed a fast escape tonight. 

“Nuh-uh. Move over,” Sam grins, towering over your figure that’s already nestled into the sheets and slowly dozing off. 

“I’m comf-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. Move it missy. I need to be by the door.” Sam starts pulling the comforter away from you, acting like he was about to sit on top of you in hopes that he would make you giggle. He knew your mind was racing about the possibility of the killer breaking into the lake house - he needed to try to take your mind off of it, even just a little bit. 

“Okay, okay. Bossy.” You find yourself starting to get nervous as the reality kicks in that Sam is laying next to you. Flinching as you feel his forearm rest against yours, you take it upon yourself to roll over onto your side, facing the wall. You couldn’t possibly bear to face him in such a moment that seemed as intimate as this. 

If you were facing him, you would’ve seen the way that he was staring at you, having a fight with his inner monologue that told him to roll over and pull you into him, but he was scared - scared that it would ruin the friendship although Sam knew that this was his moment. Now or never. Everytime that he tried to tell you how he felt, one of his brothers had to interrupt the moment.  Following his heart this time instead of his head, he pushes himself up against your back, throwing his arm over your midsection. Your eyes fly open at the action, you knew that you were going to be in close proximity - you just never expected this. 

“Relax,” Sam murmurs into your ear. Fuck maybe he felt me tensing. 

“I am.” 

“No you’re not. Just let me hold you for a minute.” 

“I’m going to go look for Jake,” you mumble, moving his arm off of you. Trying to find an excuse to get away from him. Thinking about how he must’ve drank in those five minutes you were parted, there was no way Sam was sober and speaking to you like this. Finally succeeding and moving his arm, you sit up, getting ready to crawl out of bed when you hear Sam letting out a groan behind you.

“Why are you so worried about Jake?” The boy explodes. Shocked by the sudden outburst, you turn around to find him sitting up, red in the face. He was pissed.

“Sam, he’s outside by himself.” 

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?” At this point you were out of the bed making your way over to the dresser, looking for a sweatshirt to throw on before you went outside. 

“I said bullshit, y/n. Just tell me that you’re into my brother instead of leading me on.” 

“Instead of leading you on?” You whip around to face him, hands trembling from the confrontation.

“Wow. Do you need a hearing aid or something? Do you know how obvious it is that you like Jake? The way you’ve been hanging all over him since sophomore year? You’re supposed to be the person that’s closest to me, yet you still decide to go after my big brother. Newsflash, y/n, he’ll fuck you and leave!”

Sam’s posture is rigid, face and bare chest flushed with passion of the moment. You hate yourself for thinking he looks pretty.

“Sam, what are you talking about?” 

“You’re fucking unbelievable,” Sam spits out at you in a venom laced tone. 

“Me? Me? I’m the unbelievable one?”

“That’s what I just fucking said.” 

You scoff and tug your sweatshirt over your head. You can’t believe what he’s saying to you. He had the audacity to call you deaf, yet didn’t realize just how blind he truly is. 

“Tell me,” you seethe. “Tell me when I’ve been all over your brother, Samuel.”

He rattles off different instances, starting with sophomore year and how you suddenly grew close with Jake. He told you his perspective of those secret moments with the older Kiszka, not knowing you were actually lamenting over your own best friend. Sam suddenly grows quiet and his chest heaves. “I just wish I could be that person for you. I want that to be me. I have looked up to Jakey for so long - my entire life - and somehow I keep falling short. Even with you. I just want you to feel the same feelings I feel for you.”

Your lower lip trembles and your nails dig into the flesh of your palm. “Don’t,” you say through grit teeth. “Don’t say that to me. Especially when you regretted it so much last time.” 

His honey eyes that are darkened with distress flick from the comforter to look into yours, pink lips shaping into a small ‘o’. He stares at you for a moment before whispering, “You heard that?”  

“I had my hearing aids on that night.” 

“Y/n…I didn’t mean it.” 

“Please stay over there. Don’t come closer to me,” you plead with Sam as he gets out of bed and starts moving towards you. As much as you want the comfort of him holding you - you have to stand your ground and admit to him how much he destroyed you at that moment. 

“Please...just listen to me.”

“You’ve got two minutes,”  you bite, leaning back against the dresser and crossing your arms. 

“I was fifteen. I was scared, y/n. My brothers would tease me about you being my secret girlfriend all the time and I just- I don’t know, Bug. There’s no excuse for it. I don’t regret our kiss at all. If anything, I regret not coming to you the next day and kissing you again…this time sober.” 

You hate to admit it - your heart is aching as Sam expresses his feelings. Maybe this is the universe finally bringing us together. 

   “I came downstairs that morning looking for you. You know where I found you?” You shake your head at the man in front of you, trying to hold back tears as he makes his way slowly over. His large hands cup your face, gently rubbing his thumbs over your cheeks. 

“I saw you outside with Jake. He was holding you…something I should’ve been doing, not him. I got closer to the screen door and I realized you were sobbing into his chest. I thought you regretted the kiss. I figured the tears were because you didn’t want me the way I want you, so I just pretended that it never happened. I stood by on the sidelines, hiding how bad I wanted you, y/n.” 

“You want me?” You try blinking away the tears and Sam catches the single drop that rolls down your right cheek, gently wiping it away.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve been in love with you for the past two years. Thanks for noticing by the way.” Sam presses his forehead against yours, letting out a soft chuckle. 

“I’ve been in love with you too,” you whisper, looking into his honey irises. 

“God, we’re idiots.” 

Both of you softly laugh whilst staring at each other, trying to press this memory into your mind. You silently wish that you could see this look of love on his face everytime you close your eyelids. 

“Hey, Sam?” 

“Yes, bug?” 

“Kiss me.” Your heart is pounding, but not in the uncomfortable way it had been for the last hour. Any worries you had are thrown out the window. Your mind is enveloped with Sam’s presence, his scent. He consumes you.

“Well, if you insist.” You find yourself closing your eyes as Sam leans forward, finally capturing your lips in his. It was short and sweet - nothing less than electric.

Pulling away, you two start giggling uncontrollably. 

“Can’t believe we haven’t done that since we were fifteen,” he chortles and pulls you flush to his chest. His visage grows serious as he gazes down at you, strands of hair falling and framing his face. “I’m not gonna run away this time, I promise. This time I’ll show all of them that I love you and that you are mine.”

The electric feeling flows from your lips down to your toes at his confession. This situation didn’t feel real. “I believe you,” you whisper. “Now let’s go to bed.”

The two of you lay side by side, but quickly end up being wrapped in each other. You’re almost certain that you’re flying, floating through some dreamland that only your brain would cruelly make up. You’re terrified that you’ll come crashing to the ground and none of this will be real. But in the morning, he’s still there. His soft locks are splayed around him after having fallen out of his bun in the night. Supple lips are parted as gentle breaths escape him. He’s an angel. You decide you wouldn’t leave his side until he woke. This is the perfect time to admire him uninterrupted. 

“You know it’s rude to stare right?” You flush with embarrassment knowing that you just got caught in the act. 

“Sorry.” 

Sam grins, looking down at you laying on top of him with your face as red as a tomato. He loves watching you get flustered.“Why are you apologizing? I didn’t say I hate it.”  

“How’d you sleep?” you mumble as you tuck your head back into his chest, wrapping your arms around him and squeezing tight. You couldn’t believe that this is real. Sam is yours. 

“Really?”

“What?” 

“We’re doing small talk now?” Sam giggles. 

“I’m nervous. I don’t know what to say.” 

“Stop. It’s just me, Bug. I told you last night I'm not going anywhere.” 

You open your mouth to reply, but you’re cut off by the sound of pans hitting the floor and a loud ‘fuck!’ from the kitchen. Both of you laugh out loud at Josh’s exclamation.

“We should probably go down there.” You pull yourself from his arms and slowly make your way over to the door, pausing to look back at the god-like man in bed. “You coming?”

Sam moans out a small protest. “Why? We can stay here. We don’t need to interact with them.” 

“He’s gonna burn the house down without supervision. You can stay here, but I’ll be damned if we all die in a house fire,” you joke and head out of the bedroom. It’s only a few seconds before you hear the padding of feet behind you and a set of bony fingers rest on your hips. He presses a kiss to your hair and descends the creaky stairs.

“Morning,” Josh grins as he spreads out ingredients for a large breakfast. “Day two at Camp Kiszka! How are you feeling?”

You steal a glance at Sam, forcing back a secretive smile. “I’d say we’re feeling pretty good.”

Before Josh can even ask why, the screen door is slamming open. Danny rushes in, looking pale and frantic. That same dreadful feeling from last night returns and his expression sends shivers down your spine.

Sam steps forward. “Dan, what’s wrong?”

Danny stands there shaking and wide eyed then nearly chokes over his words. “J…Ja..”

“C’mon, Danny, spit it out!” Josh moves beside the six foot man, slapping him on the back.

“Jake’s dead.”

[gemini-sensei]

Ready for the Next | Pregnant!Gremlin!Reader x Hawk Moskowitz

Chubby!Fem!Reader ○ Pregnancy

The day is peaceful and calm. Hawk is at home putting up the finishing touches to baby proof the house while Reader is relaxing. She's too tired to do much, let alone her crazy a d bizarre stunts he loves so much about her. He hears her light snoring from the other room and he does his last few odds and ends quietly so as to not wake her. He knows she needs all the rest she can get.

It's been a good day and when he's finished, he goes to start dinner. Everything is quiet, which is rare for them because his pretty little wife is always doing something or talking about her wild, beautiful ideas. However, it's peaceful - the peace before the storm of new parenthood he supposed. With her round belly ready to pop, he knew he didn't have to worry about too much yet. They could enjoy the days leading into it all.

Or so he thought.

Halfway through cooking, out of the corner of his eyes, Hawk sees Reader waddle into the doorframe. She holds her belly and watches it closely, hardly paying him any attention in all honesty. He's worries almost immediately.

"Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" he asks, hurrying to her side.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah we're fine," she tells him softly. She looks up, blinks, then says, "I just think I'm in labor is all."

"You think?" he asks. His heart starts beating rapidly. How can she be so calm in this moment? If she's in labor, then that means they're going to be parents soon.

A contraction hits and she takes a deep breath. It the most composed he's seen her be since trying to snatch up fish from the koi pond. She focuses on her breathing and when it over, she lets out an easy breath. Then she says,

"Call Moon."

She turns and waddles away, and Hawk is left to his own devices. He stares at her for a moment before he goes to the stove, turns it off, and makes the call to their midwife friend. His heart wants to beat out of his chest while he's on the phone with her, explaining the situation, and is only a little assured when she tells him she'll be there soon.

When Moon arrives, she finds Hawk freaking out more than Reader, who is sitting doing the breathing exercises she showed her. It's a little funny and gets a giggle out of Moon mostly because it's usually Reader bouncing off the walls and Hawk just acting like it's another Tuesday for them.

"So, how far apart are your contractions?" she asks, sitting in front of Reader.

She has to think about it. "Thirty-ish minutes, I think. Maybe a little less."

"Well, that's good. That means we have a little time," Moon says and grins happily. "I want to check how dilated you are if that okay."

As Moon starts to pull the string on Reader's sweatpants, the pregnant woman giggles. "Okay."

Hawk comes to his senses after being mostly ignored and helps get Reader out of her pants so Moon can do her job. He's at Reader's side, holding her hand but it's more for his own sake than hers. He's kissing her knuckles and babbling on about how everything's going to be okay. Reader is unphased by his actions and her calmness is honestly freaking him out more.

"It looks like you're almost halfway there," Moon chimes. She smiles at the couple and puts a sheet over Reader's legs. "When you get closer to giving birth, I'll call my partner in and we'll have this baby out of you."

"Cool," Reader says, smiling at her friend. Then she put her arms out. "Hug?"

"Of course," Moon obliges with a laugh. She hurries over and hugs her friend, the two laughing happily, at least until another contraction hits.

Reader does her breathing and Moon lightly coaches her through it. Then its over and she bounces back quickly, smiley and happy as can be. Then she says, "We have to tell Miguel and Sam. They'll wanna know the baby is coming."

Hawk nods a bit, suddenly remembering he has other friends. "You're right. But you don't worry about that. I can let them know."

As time passed, Hawk became increasingly more anxious and paced the room. That alone was starting to bother Reader, as she never saw him so nervous before. She didn't like it and made sure he knew that too

"Can you stop that! It's kind of really annoying," she said, trying not to be irritated for the baby's sake. She didn't want to start worrying the little one or anything like that. However, there was plenty of attitude in her tone regardless of her efforts.

He stopped and went to her side. "I'm sorry. I'm anxious. But how are you so calm right now? I mean, we're about to have a baby."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "We've known this was going to happen for months now."

"Yeah, but still. Our lives are about to change forever... we're gonna be parents."

She took his hand and smiled at him. "Another adventure."

He smiled back at her. How she was so calm, he had no idea, but she was confident in everything they'd done so far and confident going into the next chapter of their lives. So why should he be the same? He kissed her knuckles, but just as soon as his lips left her skin, another contraction came.

He held her hand through it even though she squeezed with a strength he'd never seen before. He just talked her through it though, knowing she was in a lot more pain than he'd ever experience. She was so strong in his eyes, even before deciding to have the baby naturally at home. It was part of what made her so beautiful.

He could hardly wait any longer for their baby to be born. It was going to be the beginning of their best adventure yet.

[the-uraniumverse]

i actually only think about Sam so im gonna talk abt her a lil :3

so me and my friend are (slowly and horribly) working on a song for her, so far we only have inspo but said inspo is that i think she would sing like how maya hawke does in the songs cricket and animal enough, we also both agreed that it would start with her not wanting to sing but karnak forcing her, making it a choatic random song like tsia and she would eventually be like "fine i'll sing but i will do it my way" and she sings about wanting to be a writer and being punk and feeling like she cant be herself despite everyone thinking she already is herself

but thats all the song stuff we have

as for interacting with the choir, her and mischa are BESITES as previously mentioned, they love eachother

ocean and sam are siblings your honor, trust

noel and her talk sometimes, mainly bitching abt ocean

constance admires tf outta her for being herself and not being afraid but never says it. they bond in the afterlife tho, they cuties :3

she tries her best to talk to ricky but doesnt know asl so their conversations are limited. however, like connie, they talk in the afterlife and she and mischa hype him up after sabm

in life, she didnt talk to penny, no one did, but she thinks jane doe is mad cool, even tho shes scary and creepy

she lives in a two room apartment (only two room cus the bathroom is sperate otherwise its all in one) alone cus she ran away from home and mischa hangs out there all the time and often stays the night cus basements suck

because she lives alone she has a job in the same mega mall outside town as noel in the shop there (idk which one like..walmart? idk shops outside of ireland) but only mischa knows cus thats embarrassing asf to her

she can also cook surprisingly well and is an excellent forager and likes spending time in the forest near town to get food when she doesnt steal from work (cus no way she pays for stuff)

anyway i think thats all for now sorry for info dumping shes rotting my brain ty for reading 🫶🫶 (or not idk)

THE SONG IDEA I LOVE IT

i honestly love her so much she's rotting my brain as well your honor

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Ben Affleck's interview w/ Premiere (2000)

Adventures in the Celebrity Trade

In which the author faces a dread beast of epic proportions (his own alter ego), perils that would destroy a lesser man (e.g., worldwide fame), and uncouth fans, all whilst shamelessly promoting his new movie

By Ben Affleck | Photography by Sam Jones

Oscar Winner Affleck talks to himself about the hazards of fame, the art of publicity, and why you should see his new movie.

-

I'm promoting my movie. in doing so, it is incumbent on me to do an interview for a movie magazine. I've asked the good people at PREMIERE to let me contribute an article rather than be interviewed, in an effort at a little break from the norm. I've run the first draft past the studio whose movie I'm hawking, and they were kind enough to give me some feedback. In general, I believe they found my pithy little attempt at a first-person description of what it's like to actually do publicity and my own idiosyncratic deconstruction of said process mildly amusing. But they had some notes. With those in mind, let me say this: Every man, woman, and child on this earth must drop everything and run to their local multiplex to see Reindeer Games. Well, there might be a title change in the works, so maybe it won't be called Reindeer Games, but pay that no heed! Whatever the marketing folks decide to call the movie, it is absolutely imperative that you see it immediately, two or three times if need be. Watching this movie will make you smarter, more successful, and a (much) better lover. I implore you, for your own sake, pay to see this movie. It is, quite simply, the single greatest dramatic narrative of the modern era.

Now, on to the irrelevant part.

I. A DRIVE-BY

"Affleck, you suck!" was all I made out as a full can of beer sailed by, inches from my head. I believe that was the precise moment I knew things had changed.

It was a drive-by beer-canning—a little-publicized-but-all-too-real hazard for the working actor in L.A. It was June of 1997, somewhere around midnight. I was coming out of a record store on Sunset Strip, and in retrospect, I guess I should have seen it coming.

I hadn't been subject to public stoning by Budweiser since my high school days, in Boston. I remember thinking that in this new context, it was a fairly artless, albeit effective, form of what in acting class we used to call "a critique of the work." That was the first day it occurred to me that there is a side of fame that might be unpleasant. It was a peculiar induction—one Jason Patric has aptly characterized as "baptism by flashbulb"—to a strange club whose membership requirements are simple: People you've never met, seen, or spoken to develop opinions (occasionally quite negative and almost always judgmental) about you, your work, and whether or not you "suck." Though my holy water was alcoholic and carbonated and gunned at me by strangers, I suddenly had an affinity for how Mr. Patric must have felt.

Before Good Will Hunting and Armageddon, I did quite a few movies, but nobody saw them. In fact, the entertainment press corps in general seemed aggressively disinterested. When I went to Atlanta to promote Chasing Amy, I clearly remember that the few journalists who showed up to interview me seemed bored (with me), dejected (at having such a low-rent assignment), and desperate (during the actual interview) for a reason—any reason—to write anything. Later, the movie became a minor cult hit, and occasionally I would be confronted by a stranger or two (oddly, these interactions also tended to happen in record stores). But instead of berating me, these guys usually wanted to know, "Did you really nail that girl?" "Was she really a dyke?" and "Do you have her number?" While deeply flattering, these rare interactions didn't prepare me in the least for what I was to face down the road.

That night, I wondered if perhaps this was something that even the great ones have had to endure, but I could never quite convince myself that there was some rangy teenager standing outside Brando's house, hectoring the deaf masonry with the likes of "Why'd you pimp Kabuki-style gear in Moreau?!" Surely there is a point at which one is accorded some space, respect, and privacy. I just wasn't there yet.

The gangly kid's harangue at a thespian about his play is a fair confusion of character and actor. But the words and pictures that provoked the beer-flinger were not of a character in a film; they were representations of me in the press-specifically the tabloid press, coverage in which I had taken no part. So I decided to become the captain of my own destiny, or at least of my own image. I decided to stop avoiding or passively enduring press coverage; instead, I would start a conversation with the public by engaging the press, thus having control over the words and images representing me.

This was, to put it mildly, a blunder. I had underrated the forces at play in the creation of celebrity media and overrated my own ability to withstand and control them. As if that weren't bad enough, I also discovered that I was my own worst enemy.

It wasn't until my third or fourth interview was published that I began to suspect something. I would run into people who know me fairly well (like my mom) and they'd fix me with an uncertain and dubious stare. I began to anticipate the inevitable: "I read your thing in [insert name of rag here] . . ." Then their voices would trail off. I knew the sentiment. I'd experienced it before. Earlier in my career I'd get that. People would say, "Hey, I saw Phantoms. . . ." Though I understood the comment in the context of a movie where I played a sheriff in Colorado battling an ill-defined but vaguely menacing sewer monster, I didn't see the connection with the interviews. But when I asked my girlfriend what she thought about the mixed reviews I seemed to be getting, she let me have it. "I don't even recognize that person." "Who?" I lamely asked. "The guy in that interview, in any of your interviews . . . Interview Guy."

Sonofabitch. Interview Guy.

What I found when I read back over my own inanities was as phony a frat-boy-chucklehead as you're ever likely to encounter—and someone who, I hope, bears little resemblance to the guy typing out these words. Somehow I'd inadvertently given birth to a monster. Interview Guy liked to come off as a cross between a pseudo-intellectual college sophomore who'd just read his first chapter of Proust, a drunken motorcycle fanatic, and an all-around, aw-shucks-can-you-believe-I'm-just-a-regular-Joe ham bone.

The idea here is to set this gruesome record straight. I'll bring Interview Guy face-to-face with myself. The transparent difference will dissolve Interview Guy; the remaining image will be me. Either that or it'll be another in a long series of publicity disasters. At this point, I don't have much to lose.

II. INTERVIEW GUY

INT. MY HOUSE-DAY: INTERVIEW GUY, 27, bearing a striking resemblance to Ben Affleck, but wearing Prada stretch plastic trousers, comes running into the room with a beer. He does a handstand, slams his beer, and slouches into the sofa. Ben Affleck, a.k.a. ACTUAL BEN, sits across from him. Actual Ben is not nearly as good-looking as Interview Guy and seems a little taken aback.

INTERVIEW GUY: I take Viagra and I think the kids should try it at home, the little ones! [Interview Guy runs around the room twice, then heads outside. After a beat, he comes crashing back through the door on a motorcycle. He wipes out.]

INTERVIEW GUY: (Cont'd) [Re: motorcycle] I'll get another one. [Re: nothing in particular] Acting is a journey, right bro?

ACTUAL BEN: Not really. Most of the time it seems like a gigantic press junket, where I talk about my "arc" and decry the invasive nature of the press in my life—then go and have my woes translated into Korean and beamed via satellite to Asia. [A beat]

[There is another awkward beat.]

ACTUAL BEN: (Cont'd) Are you unable to smile or behave normally when having your picture taken? I mean, do you have a particular aversion to looking normal, or are you satisfying some innate urge to look like an idiot?

INTERVIEW GUY: Hey, man, I'm just a regl'r guy who likes to have fun-

ACTUAL BEN: Also, in your photographs you seem to clench your jaw, squint your eyes, and suck in your cheeks. Is something wrong with you physically? Do you have TMJ?

INTERVIEW GUY: [Flushing red] I . . . That's my strong, leading-man jawline and laser intensity coming through. . . . I can't help that! That's not on purpose. . . .

ACTUAL BEN: This isn't going anywhere; let's go to the questions. . . .

[Ed Note: During this segment of the interview, both Interview Guy and Actual Ben have agreed to answer a list of prepared questions. A tape recorder was placed in the room, and the following is a verbatim transcript of their answers.]

QUESTION: What is your favorite magazine?

INTERVIEW GUY: Maxim . . . no PREMIERE! This is for PREMIERE, right?

ACTUAL BEN: I don't have a favorite.

QUESTION: Who is your favorite actor?

INTERVIEW GUY: Arnold, Sly, your mom . . . just playin', guy. . . .

ACTUAL BEN: Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, Cole Hauser, Casey Affleck, Jay Lacopo, Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, Don Cheadle, the brothers Wilson, Ed Norton, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Zeljko Ivanek, Dennis Franz, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand—there are really a ton of actors I think are great and whom I admire. And I honestly believe after seeing The Talented Mr. Ripley and All the Pretty Horses that Matt Damon is one of, if not the, finest young actor around.

INTERVIEW GUY: That Ripley thing, that's a gay picture, right?

ACTUAL BEN: Well, no, it's not. . . .

QUESTION: In the wake of the massacre at Columbine High School, there has been greater scrutiny on the level of senseless and gratuitous violence in movies. What role do you think movie violence plays in influencing real people, and what is the responsibility of filmmakers and actors?

INTERVIEW GUY: I'm so sick of that question. Some idiot kid who played too much Mortal Kombat and can't get a girlfriend decides to shoot up his school . . . that's not Sylvester Stallone's fault for making Cobra. The guy was trying to make a kickass Marion Cobretti biker picture. Forget about teaching masturbation in schools; they ought to hand out twenty bucks and a map to Korea town. You get yourself a little massage-parloring down there, you feel a lot less inclined to blow up your lunchroom!

ACTUAL BEN: I disagree.

INTERVIEW GUY: 'Course you disagree; you smoke cock.

ACTUAL BEN: No, I don't "smoke cock," I just think there is some responsibility to be had by those of us who have some impact over the content of movies and how violence is presented. Doubtless, there is blame aplenty to go around. But the exploitation of mindless violence for the sake of titillation, without any attention paid to the genuine trauma that real violence does cause, is irresponsible.

QUESTION: What qualities and/or attributes do you find attractive in a woman? What would your "ideal woman" be like?

ACTUAL BEN: I can't say I have any one "type." I have dated and been attracted to all kinds of women. I tend to be able to look past first impressions and am usually attracted to a woman whom I like and want to be around. No matter how "hot" some woman is, I'd find her very unattractive if I couldn't stand to have a conversation with her.

INTERVIEW GUY: You done, Jake-O? Okay. That's bullshit. Everybody goes by appearances. I got nothing against the homely broad, I just don't care to give her a jump, you follow me? As far as what type of chick I most like, I'd say I'm your basic, red-blooded, Claudia Schiffer-Pam Anderson type of guy. And, you know, her beaver doesn't have to be shaved but . . . I don't mind it!

[Ed. Note: There is a five-minute segment of the tape where Interview Guy runs around the room, high-fiving no one in particular and repeating porn dialogue to the tune of the theme song from Martin. Finally, he cracks open a beer and sits back down.]

QUESTION: Are movies important?

INTERVIEW GUY: I think they can be. You go see Anaconda and you know you can't take a river trip with Owen Wilson, a rapper, and the guy from Deliverance, 'cause it's gonna end badly. So that's a public-health message, in a way. Fuck, come to think of it, that was the second bad rafting experience for Jon Voight. There's a fucker you really don't want on your Outward Bound crew. . . .

ACTUAL BEN: No.

QUESTION: Can you define your relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow?

INTERVIEW GUY: Well, she's my friend. She's very smart, very sweet, really just a good, decent person, and someone I both respect and admire. She's also a dynamite actress. As it happens, we just did a movie together called Bounce, which will be out in summer 2000 at a theater near you.

[Ed. Note: At this point there is a second lengthy pause on the tape and sounds of a struggle. Then nothing. It's the Blair Witch of Books on Tape. . . .]

III. BEING SEAN PENN

There's a reason that the National Enquirer has the highest circulation of any paper in the country. People like it. And people like it because, despite what most actors tend to imagine the general public is fascinated by (i.e., every subtlety and nuance of their latest performance), it concerns that very thing that drives most people to the movies in the first place: sex. And not just sex but gossip-who is having it with whom, who's been jilted, who gets the kids, who's getting above their station, who threw a fit on their show and fired a bunch of people. All of it. The movie business has become a kind of ongoing soap opera. The same characters move from one story to another, augmented by bits of background titillation from newspapers and magazines, and people go to see how the latest installment in the Schwarzenegger serial will turn out. Therefore, it should be no surprise to actors that their private lives seem inexorably entwined with whatever perception people have of their performances, and vice versa. In fact, that gossip, that tabloid fodder, is an organic part of the perceptions people have when they go to the movies.

The majority of famous actors are not famous because of roles they've played. The random passerby, when asked, will tell you they've heard of a particular actor but will have difficulty naming more than one or two movies he's been in. What people do see, far more than the movies, are the television shows and magazines in which actors promote their films. This creates a strange dynamic, where celebrity becomes the goal, publicity the means, and the actual work takes a distant backseat.

If one takes for granted that the goal of an actor is to assume the identity of another person, then doing publicity as oneself seems absolutely the wrong thing to do. The less people know about you, the less apt they are to project some preconception onto your performance. There are actors who seem to understand this conundrum and have managed to deal with it in a sensible way.

There are powerful forces at work that compel an actor, after appearing in a movie or two, to whore out every last detail of their gonorrhea treatments, incestuous experiments with grandma, shock therapy, and the time they had one too many and got a five-dollar hand job in T.J. And later the same bunch that threw you to the press will tell you not to give so much away. You can't win.

So what, then, is the lesson? I really don't know. You can lie to the press (my brother, Casey, once told Interview magazine that he had a Ph.D. in eugenics from Columbia), you can bullshit a little (whereupon your friends from home tell you you've changed and you're full of shit, and you're mom is ashamed of you), you can go ahead and talk about the "touching game" you played with Uncle Ted (and then your mom really is ashamed of you). Or you can go the route of the dignified and be Sean Penn. Just watch out for the backlash—it gets ugly.

Whenever I've run this theory past the cocktail-party crowd, the response is always a Pollyannaish "What's wrong with the truth?" Or "Just be yourself!" Now, while that may be sound and novel advice, in this case it misses the mark, for two reasons. First, after you've had to distort and misrepresent yourself for every producer in town (e.g., like the time you had to pluck every emotional chord you've got to muster up some semblance of passion for your Beverly Hills 90210 crying-scene audition), you hardly know who or what the real you is anymore. Second, no one really wants to "be themselves" in public. We are reluctant to expose ourselves even to friends, much less to a jaded public with an eye for scandal and an unquenchable thirst for hubris and its attendant fall. So I, like every other sensible person thrust into (or thrusting themselves toward) the glare of the public eye, tried to project an improved version of myself. Big mistake.

Before anyone imagines that this is some kind of lamentation of a great evil in the world, let me say this: Any actor who has had any success whatsoever ought to count his lucky stars that he turns over enough bread for the Enquirer to even consider including him on the "worst dressed" list. Clearly, successful actors (and particularly those who, even for a fleeting moment, are anointed "movie stars") enjoy wealth, power, and privilege wildly beyond their station. We should take what we get and like it—I don't contest that. I do, however, find the situation of "promoting" myself and my movies curious and contradictory.

But in the end, it is probably not worth deconstructing. It's a pretty straightforward thing: Talk to somebody, brag on your movie some, and hope that a few more people go to see it because they're intrigued with what they've read. And, hey, maybe they've gotten to know the actor a little better. In that spirit, let me end where I began: Who I am, and why you should see my movie.

I'm somebody who probably has too many mirrors in his house, but doesn't much like what he sees when he looks into them. I try to be generous, try to be kind, and try to remember how lucky I've been, but I've been known to fall short in all three regards. As far as fame and fortune go, I generally believe one should understand that none of it is deserved, but try to take as much advantage of it as one can in good conscience. I like quiet and the idea of rest, but can't seem to stop moving. I like people (as someone once said), but I hate gatherings. I try to expose myself to diversity, change, and new experiences, but when alone in my car, I end up listening to the same song over and over on the CD player. I know that fame and fortune are fleeting (as Matt recently said in GQ, "the phone stopped ringing for better actors than me"), but I can't help hoping that I can do this forever. I believe in the friends and family I've known since childhood, but I've already lost touch with too many. I love company and the security of love, but most days I feel alone. If I had to choose between being held in high regard by those in the movie business or esteemed by those around me whom I admire, respect, and have known through thick and thin, I'll opt for the latter: a life where people still talk to you even if the phone rings only occasionally, and where your friends don't mind if you haven't made it onto the cover of a flashy movie magazine in quite some time. Oh: And go see the movie I made with John Frankenheimer. It's pretty good.

Ben Affleck, actor and Oscar-winning writer (Good Will Hunting), blew his deadline but only misspelled two words in this piece.

[themswriters]

Change | hawk x fem!reader

warning: probably heavy angst, fem reader, probably cursing, maybe cringe , jealousy, probably grammar mistakes.

---

You were walking with sam while she was talking about a party she was throwing at her house. You weren’t really focusing on what your friend was saying but mostly on seeing hawk with moon early today. You weren’t going to lie but you felt jealous on how hawk stopped talking to you after he joined cobra kai. It was like he avoid you like the plague even though you been best friends since middle school

“So what do you think” said sam to the right of you, “What huh what did you say” you reply finally paying attention to your friend. “Are you serious, you’re telling me that you didn’t hear a single word i just said” “Uhh no sorry can you repeat it”. “I said are you going to come to my party” sam looked at you waiting for your response “i don’t know” “come on you got to go” you looked at her only to see her begging eyes. “You got to come and lay loose and forgot about that jerk Hawk”. You thought about it and you decided that you can’t let him get in your way of having fun “Fine, what time is it anyway” you asked “9pm don’t be late”. She said before walking off to the last class of the day.

After school finally ended you made your way home. You probably won’t get ready now so you finished your homework then took a nap. By the time you woke up it was around 7:30pm, you decided to get ready now, you went to go take a shower then you decided to wear something a little revealing. After putting your outfit on you wore your red heels then got started on hair and makeup. You looked at the clock and saw it was 8:50pm, “Time to go” you said to yourself.

You finally arrived at sam’s place, you got out from your car then went to enter the party. And as soon as you walked in loud music was playing, party lights were everywhere. You looked around looking for sam but you ran into miguel “Hey y/n, you look good” he complimented your outfit “Thank you, um have you seen sam” you asked waiting for his answer “Yeah she’s in the kitchen” “Okay thanks”. You walked away from him go find sam, Not her in the kitchen, then you walked towards her “Hey sam” “Hey y/n, grab a drink” she pushed alcohol beverage in your hand “Oh thanks” “Okay i have to go but i’ll be around” she said “Okay”. You decided to take a drink out of the cup because you needed something to help you not focus on hawk

After chugging the whole cup you went to get another one, while drinking the new cup you left to go outside a bit. Because you were feeling overwhelmed with the lights, people making out, and the nose. You weren’t going to lie you felt a little tipsy. On your way outside, you bumped into somebody and your drink poured over them and on the floor “Hey watch where you’re going” you said not looking up at the stranger. “How about you first” you heard a familiar voice finally look up to see your ex friend you, you chuckle at him “look who it is the famous hawk, you know your full of shit. “What did you say” his voice having angry in it “You heard me Eli” “Don’t call me that!”. “i’ll call you whatever i want” you pushed past him to go outside, you made it outside then started to feel tears come down.

This was probably the first time talking to hawk after he ditched you and started to ignore you. You were devastated when he started to date moon because you had feelings for him. “Hey i was still talking” you heard his voice, you quickly wiped you tears “What do you want” you questioned him. “ I said i wasn’t-“ he looked at your eyes and noticed the redness “Were you crying” he asked you in a serious. “It none of your business” you looked away from him, you felt him grab your chin to force to look at him “why were you crying y/n?” his voice almost pleading with you to answer. “Why would i tell you it’s not like you care, all you have been doing is ignore me now you want to know what’s wrong with me!” “ ..Wha-what are you talking about” he asked confused.

“You know what i’m talking about, after you joined cobra kai you changed. You stopped talking to me, every time i go up to you in school you make fun of me infornt of the whole school” you blurt out loud “Y/n it’s not like tha-“ he replied. “What is it then you cut him off” “It’s just that things change i can’t keep being the same person you want” he looked at you while he talked. You scoffed at him “I loved you hawk i really did but i hate this new person” you finally told him how you felt, then you turnt around to leave while feeling the tears fall out of your eyes.

“Wait Y/n, wha- you love me” he yelled after you and tried following you but lost you when he entered back into the party.

---

Authors note: idk but this seems cringy so don’t judge and if there’s any misspelling or grammar mistakes don’t mind it!! stay safe

[elimoskowitzs-wife]

Breakups tatood and supossedly missing eli moskowitz x fem!reader larusso

Warnings-breakups, drinking,swearing, kissing

Hours before, you was hanging out with your boyfriend Miguel he kept getting touchy with your sister Sam, you walk to your room to get changed into some clothes to go on a walk you get changed into a tank top leggings a jacket around you waist and trainers on

You leave and 10 minutes after you leave your phone gose off and you check it and it's a message from miguel

new message from my miggy ❤️

Hey yn I'm sorry to say this but I think we should break up

You leave his message on read you go to cobra kai dojo we're you've been learning karate for the past 2 months of dating Miguel you storm to the back where there's a few punching bags are and you break a few boards while at it

An hour later

you hear the entrence bells jingle hawk rushes in fuming not noticing you until you walk over with some pads holding them up to him

'why you here hawk' you ask while he's kicking the pads

'fucking moon broke up with me called me a fucking bully because demetri made that yelp review what about you' he grunts

'Miguel broke up with me I think he's been trying to get with my sister he's been so touchy' you groan when hawk accidentally kicks your shoulder

'shit I'm sorry I just kicked your shoulder are you okay' hawk says out of breath

'yeah it's a part of karate now put the pads on and I'll show you how to kick' you laugh

Hawk rolls his eyes and dose his cheeky grin you smirk while kicking the pads

'is your boy Rico open tomorrow I wanna get a tattoo I have cash on me' you grunt

'yeah ricos open I'll pay for you I'm having something done to this to cover up her name and the moon' he smiles at you

'I have the money' you laugh

The next morning you wake up in hawks room under his arm with him smiling at you

'what happened I have a killer migraine' you stretch

'we was sparring had a bit to drink after and noticed you get drunk after two beers can you not handle it larusso' hawk chuckles

You slap his chest laughing while he dose his iconic smirk at you

'stop with that dumb smirk' you kiss him

'we've got to go to Rico' hawk gets up

'I'm to tired hawkkkkk' you stretch

Hawk pulls you up out his bed

Your sat in the tattoo chair while Rico is doing your tattoo

'my parents are gonna kill me' you laugh

'it's a way of life' hawk laughs while getting the plastic wrap on his tattoo

You and hawk was walking about when you see your mum dad Sam and Miguel see you

'shit hide me my mum dad Sam and Miguel are there' hawk kisses you with his hand on your face to not only make Miguel jelous but to hide your face from your parents when your mum dad Sam and Miguel walk over

'me your mother and sister was looking for you all night and your out getting tattoos and you reek of alcohol' your dad shouts at you

'so what I got a tattoo and so what I got drunk it took my mind off of miguel' you scream

'let me look at your tattoo' your mum shouts

You show the tattoo to your mum it's a heart with hawk x yn 4ever xx

'we thought you was missing' Miguel confronts you

'shut up Miguel everyone knows I go to the dojo or hawks so shut up' you shout

[lenakluthor]

I think the chef would be something an assistant or even Sam got arranged for her since she skips so many meals. It could've changed when she started hanging out with Kara and got a bit of a more normal life with movie nights and game nights.

The one thing that makes me think she wouldn't have a private chef is because there's no way she'd let anyone into her apartment without her there to watch like a hawk what they're doing.

Point taken on the emotion being there for Kara. I also think Kara would help her a little (in my mind Kara does know how to cook... She has a fully equipped kitchen in her apartment and that woman needs to eat too much for it always being takeout)

yeah, the more i think about it, the more i think lena probably does actually have a private chef. i like the idea of someone setting it up for her, too. and she goes along with it because okay, fine. she’s busy and why not give someone who actually likes to cook a well paying job?

also i agree i think kara probably can cook. i kept thinking about it after i said that and it makes no sense that she wouldn’t be able to. she LOVES food. but she’s awful at baking.

i think kara makes the dinners and lena makes the desserts.

[sensei-venus]

Omg! Please! As soon as Lawrence!Reader is strapped down on the car, Robby and Miguel think they're in the clear, but then she starts babbling on about how God knows what!

Bonus points if it's shit neither of them want to hear nor should know about lol

- and anxious gemini bound to get her wisdom teeth out

(Unedited) (Blood,Spit, Lawrence!Reader donky-konging Miguel and Robby in the dentist parking lot because she can, Miguel regrets trying to help, Robby wants to escape his violent sister for once.) ( @gemini-sensei )

“I hate you the mostttt- you and your fucking lush baby curls.” Reader said though a full mouth of cotton balls.

Her hands where stuck under her ass in the seat in hopes of keeping them to herself for the ride. Robby actually grimaced as he watched his sister from the front seat. It took over twenty minutes to even get her into the van and another ten to actually get her strapped in. The whole time she tried to drag them into the van and slam them against the hard plastic of the walls. She was able to smash Robby’s face into a window and then body slam Miguel into one of the back seats, knocking the air out of him.

Getting the Lawrence girl into a car after having her wisdom teeth removed seemed to be almost impossible.

Even with the help of Miguel it was still a challenge.

Miguel being called to help was a long shot. Bring Hawk would have been a nightmare, Demetri would probably never shut up, and Sam would be to worried. None of them would have been able to help try and corner the girl. She was still very loopy from the mass amount of drugs the dentist pumped into her. That did nothing to stop her from having her usual violent outbursts. If anything it only made her more unpredictable. Honestly it was scaring the hell out of Robby. And she was his sister at that.

Miguel was the only choice he really had.

Robby tried his best to ignore the gross red blood tinted drool that threatened to escape her lip. She looked at him but he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or though him.

“Don’t you fucking dare-“ was all he was able to get out before Reader blew a fat bloody spit bubble his way. Miguel sat in the passenger seat in pure disgust. Watching the girl blow blood at them out of spite was one of the grossest things he had ever seen. He could handle a little bit of blood, but this was just nasty.

“You let them fucking steal my teeth you assholes. I’m going to steal your teeth.” She slurred before looking out the window. Her eyes glazed over , still loopy from the laughing gas and pain meds the dentist had given her. All of them jay sat in silence. The only sound was the ac going in the car.

Miguel slumped in the seat, slinging down in a heap. His eyes slowly moved to look over at Robby “Who thought this was a good idea? Letting you of all people take her home after getting her wisdom teeth take out.” Robby basically growls out “You already know who. Johnny didn’t want to do it because he didn’t want to hear her whining after the meds slowly started to seep out of her system!” Miguel slowly turned his head. His eyes locking with the dirty blonde.

His eye twitched a little in annoyance “Have you meet your sister? She’s a fucking hardass who likes picking fights. You thought she was going to be quiet after they got her high off her ass on pain killers?? Her teeth are gone dude. You think she’s happy.” Reader kicked at the back of Robby’s seat, soon turning to Miguel’s to do the same thing.

“Pay attention to me!!!” Reader whined from the back seat. Her hands still stuck under her butt as she looked at the two boys. Soon her eyes started to well up with tears. Both boys looked at each other for a split second. That was all it took before Reader was crying in the back seat, fat tears rolling down her chubby cheeks and red spit spilling down her chin. It dripped onto her thick thighs and stained her pants. Her chest hiccups with sobs as the minutes tick by.

Both guys freeze up as the violent and shit talking girl they know crys. Not even Robby can remember the last time he witnessed his sister cry over something. Maybe when they where kids as she fell at the skate park. Scraping her knee so bad it scared over.

Miguel wanted to hide away and get as far as possible. Reader crying was not on his too do list what so ever. Her crying had to be some kind of bad sign of some kind. He looked to Robby for some kind of plan.

“Hey it’s ok, why don’t we go get some ice cream? You always like ice cream, and it might make you feel a little better.” Robby says in hopes of calming her down.

“What if I call Tory and ask her if she wants to come over and play some video games with you? You love it when Tory comes over to hang out. I bet she would love to come over today.” Miguel thinks on his feet.

Reader slowly starts to calm down. Her heavy sobs start to slow but her lips still tremble. Eyes puffy and hot form the salty tears. Cheeks hot and flustered. Robby quickly grabs a hand full of napkins from the glove box. With them in hand he reaches back and gently wipes the mix of drool and bloody spit from his sisters face. She doesn’t do much and just lets him.

“Ok…” she says in a defeated tone of voice. Big eyes find their way to her brothers.

“Can Tory come for ice cream too?? Please??” She whimpers as she falls back into her seat. Slumping back and finally showing some sign of defeat.

In a instant relief fills Miguel and Robby.

Thank fucking god for Tory and ice cream.

[p96822]

It had been a week since Sam came to Paris, and she was now trying to save the park trees that were going to be cut down by the end of the month for a building that sells free air. Sam would not let any harm occur naturally, even on another side of the planet.

Besides Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila, Alya and her other classmates decide to help Sam to make petitions to give to the Mayor of Paris so he can stop the tree from being cut down.

Everything was going well on the petition, and they had over 2000 signatures to save the park trees from being cut down. She was at the park with the petition in hand before this happened to her.

"Daddy, there she is. She tries to stop you from building Fresh Air; she needs to be stopped." Chole pointed at Sam.

"Thank you, Pumpkin; I'll take it from here," Andre told her as he went over to the goth. "My daughter told me that you're trying to make a petition to stop the trees being cut down for the new Project Oxygen building."

"That's right, and I want to give you these petitions so you can't cut down these trees for a building, especially one completely useless." So Sam gave him the papers. However, the Mayor tore the papers in half. "Hey!" Sam yelled.

"I'm sorry, miss, but this petition cannot stop the building of Project Oxygen. These people have jobs to do, families to feed, and homes to pay for. This petition means nothing against the various companies and forces that already have things underway."

"You can't do this!" Sam yelled at the Mayor.

"I have, and you will not stop Project Oxygen from happening, not now or ever." The Mayor said as he left, while Chloe gave a smug grin at Sam before following her father.

Sam felt angry that idiot of a mayor ruined her hard work. She growled at the Mayor as he worked away. She wanted revenge on him.

Even here, the government keeps trying to get in my way! She thought angrily.

The goth girl then grabbed a megaphone that she bought a few days ago from her backpack and started to yell, "Stop Project Oxygen," repeatedly.

The Mayor saw this and decided to call Roger Raincomprix to get her to stop her protesting against Project Oxygen.

Roger came to the park and grabbed Sam by the wrist.

"Hey, let me go!" Sam yelled at the cop,

"I'm sorry young lady; you have to vacate the premises. You're not allowed to protest Project Oxygen on the Mayor's orders," Roger told her.

"I can say whatever I want," Sam retorted

"You can't say it here, miss," Roger said and took Sam out of the park.

"I'm only going to give you a warning. Don't protest, or I'll have to drive you back home. Do you understand?"

This made Sam even angrier than ever because all the hard work that everyone did was gone, and she was unable to protest about it. Instead, she grips the megaphone tightly.

Hawkmoth's Lair

The darkroom lit up with light as the window shaped like a butterfly opened up. The butterflies flew away when the light hit them. The villains Mayura and Hawkmoth felt the negative emotions of Sam and were ready to Akumatized Sam.

"Well, what do we have here? Is someone new? And hating how authority abuses its power?" Hawk Moth asks." This is the perfect chance to strike Mayura."

"Yes, Hawkmoth, we will win and have the Miraculous of the Cat and the Ladybug," Mayura added.

A butterfly flew onto Hawkmoth's hand, and Mayura plucked a feather off her fan. Both of the villains cover the butterfly and feather with their other hand then the feather and butterfly turn dark black.

"Fly away from my little Akuma and evilize that nature-loving girl," Hawkmoth demanded.

"And Flutter away my Amok and enhance those emotions," Mayura said.

As Sam growled, gripping her megaphone tighter, she didn't notice the purple butterfly or blue feather flying into her device. Instead, within seconds she heard voices in her head as her eyes darkened.

"Greetings, Ragtash! We are Hawkmoth and Mayura. I understand you want to protect the environment. You can make the environment protect itself with your words! Go forth and defend nature, and if you want to go the extra mile, I can assure the protection of the trees. First, you have to get me Ladybug's and Chat Noir's miraculous." Hawkmoth wickedly smiled as he spoke.

"And take this amok. Let your anger and rage make it grow as you command. Your Treantrance," Marius continued with a sly smile.

"They've to listen now with this now they have to listen to me," Sam began to transform into Ragtash and the creation of the Sentimonster.

Amity Park museum

Danny went back to the Egypt exhibit. But, first, he had to find out why Hotep-Ra was after Marinette, something she might know.

"Danny, shouldn't we head back to the group?" Marinette asked.

"In a little bit Marinette, I have to find out why that ghost was after you so that it won't happen again," Danny answered.

"R-Really?" Marinette asked nervously.

"Yeah... and this was the exhibit he popped back to life in, so maybe there's a clue here." He explained as he took out his phone and took pictures of both the sarcophagus and some tablets.

It made Marinette worried that Danny might find out that she is Ladybug, so she had to think of something to get Danny off that trail. Then an idea came to her.

"Paulina said there was going to be a dance this Friday. So are you going to the dance, Danny?" Marinette asked, trying to get Danny from finding out she was Ladybug.

Danny pulled away and started thinking.

"Well, since the last time I went to a dance, Paulina asked me to go with her, and she only did that so she could spit Sam for calling her shallow and had no problem turning her back on me," Danny explained.

"That's just awful, and she shouldn't have done that. You're such a nice guy, and you shouldn't be treated that way. You deserve someone who wants to go with you." Marinette said.

"I can't believe I still had a crush on her after that whole thing. I'm never getting back in those months of my life," Danny said.

"How long did took you to get over Paulina?" Marinette asked him.

"Well, it took about three or four months to get over her, and it was really hard to get over her, mostly because she was that hot," Danny told Marinette.

"I can understand that because I'm trying to get over someone too, and it's too hard." Marinette thought about her crush on Adrien.

"Was that person nice, Marinette? Or was he just a jerk," Danny asked, wanting to know if the person that Marinette was trying to get over.

"No, Adrien is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. The only reason why I was trying to get over him was that he liked someone else over me. I don't know who, but it's clear who he's at least not in love with." Marinette explained.

Marinette's face lowered, and it took on a more heartbroken look when she felt a hand on hers, making her look up and see it was Danny doing the deed.

"Well, if this Adrien can't see how fun, nice, and pretty you are... it's his loss. Maybe give him till College to figure that out?" He suggests playfully.

Hearing that, Marinette smiled warmly.

"Thank you..."

Danny looked around and nodded contently.

"So... I'm all done. And speaking of that dance... do you... wanna... umm..." He started before turning as red as Ladybug's suit.

"Do I what?" Marinette asks.

"Well, since we're living under the same roof for now... wanna... be my date?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'll go with you to the dance," Marinette answered.

Danny gave Marinette a big smile that made her blush red, then her suit.

came and told the two that it was time to head back to school.

A few hours later

It was now three-thirty, and school let out. So Danny and Marinette headed home.

As the two made it to Fenton Works, Marinette remembered that Danny had pictures of the sarcophagus and the tablets. So, Marinette had to find a way to get rid of those photos. So Danny didn't learn her secret.

Okay... what do I do? Marinette thought.

"You okay?" Danny asks, noticing how quiet she is.

Marinette gasped upon realizing how she was saying nothing.

"I'm fine. Really..." She said.

Danny didn't look like he believed her but shrugged.

As they got into Fenton Works, Marinette went into her room and tried to think about how they could get those photos.

Okay... how do I get those photos? I could just go in while he's asleep...

But unfortunately, her thoughts were interrupted by the cat alarm she had started meowing.

"Oh no, not an Akuma, not now..." Marinette said before a thought came to her. "Wait... how am I gonna handle an Akuma on the other side of the world?"

As she asked herself, Tikki flew out of her bag once it was clear it was safe to come out. "Calm down, Marinette. We have to Horse Miraculous to get to Paris..." Her Kwamii reminded her.

"You're right, Tikki!" Marinette said, forgetting that she asked to take the horse with her if Paris was in danger while she was gone.

Now she has to think of a way to get out of the house and transform into Ladybug. So Marinette got out of her room and tried to sneak out quietly before passing Danny's room.

"Danny, be right back..." Marinette said in a whisper tone.

"Marinette!" Tikki said to her partner.

"Oh right, sorry," Marinette snapped out of it.

As she left and when to the front door, Danny's Ghost Sense went off.

"Again?" Danny asks as he looks around to see what ghost triggered his Ghost Sense.

When he opened his door, he saw Marinette going down the hallway, then she went downstairs and to the front door, leaving the house.

Where is she going? He thought.

Quietly, he left his room and followed her, knowing how bad it might look if she spotted him.

"I'm not following her because I like her; I'm only following her because I want to protect her from any other ghost from attacking her. Yeah, that's right, even though she's really pretty and nice." Danny tried to convince himself he wasn't doing anything wrong.

As he used his intangibility and invisibility to follow the French girl, Danny noticed something flying out of her purse as the streets were empty. He saw a small red bug thing following her.

What the heck? He thought.

So far as he saw that the bug-like thing wasn't dangerous to Marinette because it wasn't attacking her or anything, but what it was doing with her and why she wasn't bothered was what he was more curious about.

As Marinette hid in the alleyway, she opened the box that held the horse Miraculous. A small ball of light circled Marinette before dimming down and revealing it as a small horse-like being. It causes Danny's ghost sense to go off again.

"Wait, are those ghosts with Marinette?" Danny asked himself.

"Tikki, Kaalki! Dual Metamorphosis!" Marinette said as two lights enveloped Marinette. After the light dimmed down, her suit was red with black spots. The front of the suit was white with a white horseshoe over her chest. Most of her upper arm and sides are dark brown, while the rest of her forearms and hands are white with dark brown. Her legs were white, with the soles of her feet being dark brown. She had two red ribbons that tied her hair into a ponytail.

Danny was amazed at what he saw.

Sam is now akumazited and Marinette is heading back to Paris to save the day. What is Danny going to do? Well you going to find out next time.

Also a big thanks to BeConFuzzy and NeoMarks for helping with this story. You to are great!

[crimsonblackrose]

.

The high school is bigger than the middle school

The teacher who said he wasn't paid enough during the fight and ran away is the one leading the tour

The science lab is state of the art. Which is weird, why is this teacher selling the high school to the students like this? It's not like they're going to be using the science lab outside of classes.

Kenny's wearing his cobra kai merch

oh, it's no longer state of the art, the school district required them to remove anything that might potentially be used as a weapon...uhhh the only things used as a weapon during that fight were lockers, books, karate in general, and accessories. No one broke into the lab and used chemicals or anything in the science lab. The macroeconomics book was used as a weapon more than school property. Except of course for Demetri kicking Eli into a glass case.

Next is the cafeteria, where there was a fight, so it's been ruined (the teacher 🤣) It's been months, surely all of this has been fixed. It happened what early September and we're past new year. With all these rich kids you'd think the school would be repaired by now, so this is kinda weird.

Lia heard the high school is haunted. Kenny flirting the way Miguel flirted. "Oh definitely, I actually died 5 years ago..." 🤣

Lia's actually kind of mean in response, Kenny has pop tart on his shirt and when Kenny's like why didn't you tell me she said she thought it was part of the 'evil' snake design and no one else can see him so he shouldn't worry. It's probably not supposed to be mean, but it comes off a little mean.

Nate says Lexi DeMarco is going out with him. Bert calls bull, Nate says they had a moment.

Poor Kenny, in the middle school I don't think Cobra Kai is an issue but in the high school it's a fight warning.

Bert, Nate, don't bully Kenny. (Would like to point out that there's literally a no bullying sign behind them)

Again, poor Kenny. and this is where the whole thing lives in that gray, where the bullied become the bullies no matter which dojo they're in. 'weako, he's going to cry'. also I will say I appreciate that Hawk, despite moving so fast didn't actually hurt Kenny, just stopped him from striking first and warned him to get out of Cobra Kai. Which shows he is trying to change.

I get that Johnny's all upset about Miggy, but Miggy training by Daniel's side was part of his win. And getting to pick the gatorade. Getting the hachimaki though was new, and a curve, why didn't Robby get one?

Johnny getting distracted by Daniel and Miguel, bud don't lose your focus, that's why you don't with these kids, he got kicked in the face by demetri.

So this does prove that Daniel got two days of like his fishing lesson and Johnny only did one day of his field trip lesson.

Also Demetri did not wait until Johnny said attack, all the other kids did.

Johnny how? Also Demetri how?

So he's roped and ducttaped in to the punching bag, with a couch cushion for protection and then gagged. But I'm surprised Daniel didn't see this happening and stop him, let alone Sam.

Sam apologies but just goes for it, like she can't wait to kick. Chris missing and kicking Demetri in a way that for the kicks he shouldn't have actually missed and Johnny not paying attention to see what actually happened because he's distracted by Daniel and Miguel and telling him to just suck it up and tighten his core.

Johnny does check in with Demetri as they leave and Demetri while a little sarcastic says he's okay.

Johnny cooks for Miggy. Apparently his favorite is a spicy manwich with a side of steak fries.

I get that Johnny is jealous/hurt/feeling abandoned and not thinking probably the clearest, but Miguel going to pick up his mom's car or work on it is a good thing and it doesn't mean Mr. LaRusso is going to become his favorite sensei. You both are teaching him different things and that's important. To all the kids.

Though switching from calling Daniel. Mr. LaRusso to Sensei I think stung, because he was the only one called sensei, though Miggy also called Kreese sensei for a bit.

Kyler has a friend named Rory who got free tickets to the drive-in. They're going to watch Bloodsport. Johnny left his VHS of it at the Keene household and for a bit it was all Robby had of him. "That proved he existed".

Tory has a new job and the boss is a creep

Introduction of Terry Silver as a sensei

He's so tall

Johnny's so distracted by Daniel and Miguel that he can't do it. Says it's never happened before, but with how drunk he gets sometimes I kinda...doubt it? But he generally doesn't lie....

Carmen: Maybe you're tired.

Lol he's not tired he's upset.

Daniel and Miguel apparently had a movie night and he showed Miguel Top Gun. Carmen thinks Tom Cruise is handsome. But Johnny's pissed because it was probably on his list of films for he and Miguel to watch. (Not something Daniel or Miguel would know unless he writes out a movie watch list)

Johnny: You've got the real deal, Iceman, best of the best, abs for days.

Johnny Top Gun infodumping. 🤣

Carmen is ready to tell Miguel about her relationship with Johnny. Johnny is iffy about it. "Kids can be weird about stuff like that" Which makes me wonder if he's thinking about himself and Sid and how he doesn't want to be Sid at all in Miggy's eyes.

Miguel is learning about alternators and power-steering pumps

It's a Saturday. Miguel's working and Daniel what are you doing? Just trying to look busy? He's like cleaning the side of the inside under the hood with a rag, but like...not really doing anything, it wasn't dirty.

Miguel says it's fine, his mom can go out on dates again...maybe he shouldn't have fixed it. Not realizing his mom and his sensei are at home taking advantage of him not being home.

Lucille called dates "Going to lunch with a friend" and Daniel hated it. He caught her on a date with his history teacher Mr. harris. It was awkward but Mr. Harris gave him an A. This is the teacher Daniel uses to piss off the cobras while talking history in the quad in TKK and then ends up stuck walking with to learn more about a specific history lesson.

Daniel pulls the Mr. Miyagi I need you to drive me somewhere even if you don't know how to drive. Which I think maybe Daniel should've realized terrible idea for a couple of reasons. 1. They're still inside LaRusso auto, Robby started a car in there and got in huge trouble. Yes they're in the garage, but Daniel's staff is around and his other customer's cars. It's not like hopping in Mr. Miyagi's old truck outside of Reseda apartments. 2. Even if they're bonding and he was able to teach Miguel how to fix the car, i.e. repair it himself and save the Diaz's a lot of money, learning how to drive a car is sometimes this huge deal with families. He doesn't know if Carmen would've wanted to teach Miggy herself and really he should expect that Johnny would want to if given teh opportunity, even if Daniel thinks Johnny can't drive well. 3. He doesn't have Carmen's permission for this. You gotta stop kidnapping kids Daniel. (not the same level, I know, but still for all the stuff you get pissed at Johnny for doing or think he's not good enough, this isn't safe) If you were doing this in your drive, or a parking lot it'd be a bit safer than an active busy garage.

Like I do appreciate the call back to TKK and the stop go that both Daniel and Miguel did, but having to navigate himself out of the garage is a terrible first lesson.

MERMAID TORY

SHEILA! Sheila's kids birthday party is the party they're at, that's adorable, that's the woman from the first season always wearing the bonsai pin. She's worked for the LaRusso's for 10 years. The birthday party is for Cindee, Sheila's daughter who Sam used to babysit, and loved babysitting.

I remember the first time I saw this thinking oh no they did not make Tory a stripper did they? (Which I think they 1000% did on purpose) Nope she's a mermaid princess. The boss calls her Tammy and tells her more red lip and to discreetly take the tips. She wears a purple wig for her costume.

I think Tory probably wanted to be the pirate. Sam is delighted, Amanda is horrified that she's ended up where Tory works a second time.

You can learn all the moves but none of that matter's if you don't have balance.- Robby to Kenny

I like that Robby personally trains and spars with Kenny, truly his adopted little brother.

Silver creeping in doorways doing a little villain chuckle.

See Robby, your dad had the hardest time with Kreese undoing all of his hard lessons, you now have Silver to worry about too.

Silver: Balance is crucial, a man can't stand, he can't fight (Some of his TKK3 lines)

Robby: Am I in danger?

Flipping robby on what seems to be cement, but maybe is a mat still seems painful. Like Terry sent Robby spinning so easily.

Terry is having a blast sparring with Robby. Like yes, Robby is getting his ass kicked, but he keeps telling Robby 'good' and 'come on' but not in a fight way but like a this kids got potential way.

Robby I think via the mama mia cursed route you're living you got a new dad/grandpa.

'you've learned to channel your anger, but you're afraid' "I'm not afraid of anything" "are you lying to me or yourself"

I think, theoretically Robby is Silver's first student, or first chance at a real student that's not for some convoluted revenge plot. Which might be why he's actually just easily picking Robby back up off the ground and actually coaxing him and not in a wild manner.

"If you want to be a champion, you've got to dig out that fear, and face it, whatever it is. Because if you don't, it's going to hold you back forever" Actually good advice from Silver.

I would like to point out that Robby is lucky AF. He's the only one who everyone earnestly wants to teach. Yes he occasionally gets used as a pawn and dropped, but like every teacher he has starts off wanting to earnestly teach him. Daniel, Kreese, Silver. And for the most part he's also the only one aware that they all have potential to try and use him as a pawn because he's the one who started the grift to piss off his dad. Like yes Daniel and his dad have beef and that affected his relationship with both of them, but Daniel still wanted to teach him, and Kreese sure was using Robby as bait to try and lure Johnny back, but once again, wants to teach him. And again pretty sure this is the first person Silver has turned his sights on and been like this is my student and wants to teach him. Each of them, even if they all hate each other, gives him relatively good advice.

Though while Robby knew Daniel and his dad had beef he is out of his element with the Kreese and Silver stuff. So while he's wary and knows they don't all get along he does have the potential to be blindsided, what helps is that Daniel burned him so bad that he doesn't easily trust anymore.

But we've seen Silver teach in TKK3 and how he teaches Robby is nothing like that, like I'd say Silver is being earnest.

I think if Johnny had photos of Robby like this he'd be going through his photos sad all the time. Like he is with his photos of Miguel.

I'm pretty sure that these are his recent searches rather than recommended. I also love that Johnny never uses google.

Of course he accidentally ended up in nsfw search, which which search engine auto took you to auto play videos and images instead of text and website results first when this season came out?

Kudos to Johnny for not staying to look/watch/explore. He's grown since his first foray into the internet and getting into a relationship with Carmen.

Johnny had action figures, one military and one not military.

Their apartment is a pretty green and actually kinda pretty from first glance despite what Johnny said about how much of a dump it supposedly was. His pajamas are covered in muscle cars.

I also really love the like brown stained glass window they have next to the front door.

I didn't know my gi joes, but both of these are 70's versions of the gi joe doll/action figure from their adventure team. (which holy moly set department these toys are in good shape) By the looks of it's the sea adventurer and the land adventurer

There are two runs of this doll, they're either they're either the 1970-1978 run which are just basic or they're the 1974 run which have a kung-fu grip. I did my research here which includes what accessories they came with.

Johnny stayed up playing till his mom got home, though Mrs. Wilson tucked Johnny in and Laura called to check on that. He says he couldn't sleep.

They've also got a shag carpet and Johnny has toy cars.

Laura took Johnny out to dinner with her and Sid. Sid proposed

"This means you're going to have a new daddy" "I don't want a new daddy" "Trust me sweetie things are going to be better" "NO!"

The box of Johnny's missing dad's stuff. He's been hoarding stuff from his loved ones from a small age

Okay I know it's a head cannon that Johnny's got artistic talent but omg look at that dragon and that car:

That's impressive for whatever age Johnny is here.

Johnny also has a red bean bag chair and two yellow small rugs over his regular rug. He hides the box under his bed.

There's also a camera in there.

This might be why Johnny doesn't throw anything out. His mom threw out the last of his things that he had of his father, and it's probably why he only drinks the coors because it's all he has of his father is the memory of that one beer. The shoes that he could've grown into the clothes the camera, all gone. If Laura hadn't thrown all of it out, he might not have clung to that beer.

Like I get why she threw it out, a kid shouldn't be holding onto a beer can, but still the rest of it, the camera? Just because he left doesn't mean Johnny shouldn't get a chance to know something about his own father.

It also makes me wonder if that's one of the reasons he doesn't go near Shannon or Robby, because having "left them" means that he expects Shannon did the same thing and he doesn't want to leave the same scars on Robby, not realizing that it's not the same thing at all.

Which also oof, it means he doesn't want to be his father to Robby but also he doesn't want to be Sid to Miguel. But he's always compared to his Dad by Sid, and always compared to Kreese by Daniel. And then he knows he's fucked up but everyone always drags him for it and even drags Robby and Miguel through it because he messed up. It's kinda unfair.

Daniel singing along to music the way Mr. Miyagi used to sing while he drove. He's singing Christopher Cross

Miguel looks so happy.

Daniel you're acting like you don't like hard rock, you do. And just because Johnny didn't mention Christopher Cross doesn't mean he didn't like him or soft rock either. You're making an assumption here.

Daniel's soft rock music recs from the 80s: Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Billy Joel, Chicago.

Daniel is right to tell Miguel to carefully with Sam.

Daniel: Most of the kids my age had their dad's teach them.

That is exactly what I mentioned before Daniel! Why are you teaching Miguel?! Also, would like to point out you don't even know if he has a permit.

Also who taught Johnny? There's no way Sid would've.

This is Miguel's first seed of an idea to think about or go after his dad. He doesn't know much about him just that he got caught with something illegal. Carmen tried to get him to stop when she was pregnant and he wouldn't. Miguel looked him up, he lives in Mexico. He hasn't told Carmen, she gets mad whenever Miguel brings him up.

Tory's story time is about herself. I.e. it's a first person fairy tale where she tells the story from her characters pov, a dragon kidnapped her to eat her but a valiant prince saved her.

But Sam is literally sitting there heckling and butting into the story. Amanda how could let that happen?

"Now I had to save the prince" Which is very cute addition to a fairy tale story.

Sam, please don't bother Tory at work, you're bullying her.

I'm blaming Amanda on this though, she saw Tory, looked horrified to see her there, heard her daughter say that this is the top thing she's wanted to do that day and then let her interact with Tory. Like Amanda, WTF.

Like Sam, this is bullying. Tory can't fight you or interact with you in a way to defend herself because she's working and trying to support her family and can't do it without terrorizing and scaring the children, who one of which I remind you is the birthday girl (possibly) and you're making fun of her singing? Her singing isn't bad. Also to diss the mermaid that your staff's beloved employee Shelia hired in front of the kids she's entertaining is not cool.

Lol this is literally the best revenge/defense. Glitter is not going to hurt Sam, it's not going to cause any issues at all, and she used kids to do it, which allowed them to have some fun even if it was a little mischievous.

Tory's little mermaid kiss is my favorite

We have beef jerkey, manwich, reduced ground meat, hot sauce and it's apparently not manly enough.

Robby showing up and Johnny immediatly going hey do you want to come in. But instead Robby's there to warn Johnny that Hawk and his students are bullying a kid.

Johnny admitting that he wasn't there so he doesn't know what happened and can't really judge it, but that he knows Cobra Kai and that Kreese brain washes people and admits he was brain washed himself. Which is the first time Johnny's gotten to tell Robby a little bit of his own history and Robby tells Johnny a very good and important truth. Which is that he hears Johnny, doesn't negate that Johnny was brain washed, tells him "That's the difference between you and me. You put all of your trust in Kreese. I don't trust anyone anymore." Which sucks for Robby but is probably the safest thing given his current location being straight in the red zone of danger.

This is also Robby facing his fears like Robby told him to. "I've always been afraid I'd end up like you. But I'm not afraid of it anymore because I'm better than you."

Which Johnny says all the time to anyone who will listen, that Robby is better than him, but I think it still stings that Robby says it to him.

I just noticed Johnny has a doorbell.

Daniel's offering to take Miguel to the DMV and get his license.

This is adorable:

Sam you're being a dick. But also pulling the exact move that Tory did on her at the roller rink, i.e. seeing her, and kissing Miguel in front of her.

This is also all very....Johnny kissing Ali in TKK1 in front of Daniel, although in that case Johnny and Ali weren't together and he got punched in the face for it. But Miguel is literally being used as a pawn to piss the other one off each time which is unfair to him. And also it's unfair to the kids at this party and Tory, who ends up quitting because of it.

Amanda's conversation with Tory: "No one can help you if you don't let them and if you ask for help you might be surprised" ends up being a huge turning point seed for Tory.

Tory also says she has no one in her family who can help, which I mean, Amanda you don't know if she has any other family. Not everyone is like Daniel with cousins and grandparents ready to show up when needed.

Also Tory's clothing being all branded now is shocking. Like you can look over it sometimes I suppose but all the Vans clothing is way out of her budget unless Kyler's buying it for her as thanks for standing in lines to buy shoes with him.

aww he brought one of his mom's owl's over for dinner.

Johnny folded up the dorito bag and slid it under the bowl. It's cool ranch flavor. He took great care in that, I wonder if the idea is that what they don't eat he'll dump back into the bag.

He's taking great care, even pre-opening Miguels drink and his own beer and putting the cap on the table next to it rather than flicking it.

Johnny, hon, Miguel never promised to be there for dinner, as much as you're gearing up to tell him you're dating his mom, this isn't exactly a sure thing that he'll be home for dinner.

Omg his mom's owl is a salt shaker.

The LaRusso's took him to Katsuya, which again, Johnny don't get mad, he's dating their daughter so they're going to be hanging out and inviting him to dinners. Though if Johnny wants to get mad it's that she hasn't hung out with them (the Diaz's and Johnny)

Daniel's friends with the chef at Katsuya

Johnny does not think Peter Cetera is badass.

Aw Miguel had such a good time, and this is what he'd wanted since season 1, to be able to meet Sam's family and ensure that they didn't think she was too good for him and to bond. He's been waiting 3-4 seasons for this. Though Johnny doesn't know that and is just not wanting to lose another kid to Daniel/ to be dropped by someone else for Daniel. Ali, Robby...Miguel. Half his students.

Miguel being a sweetheart and saying he can do manwhiches tomorrow.

Poor Johnny, this is why you don't plan for a sensei/student bonding moment when it's not confirmed.

Johnny you also should've passed on Robby's warning.

Kyler is loving Bloodsport.

Robby and Tory went with and are sitting in the back.

It's not cool how Kyler talks to Kenny or how he made Kenny the gopher to go get things. Kenny already got something for the kids in the red car. Robby is shaking his head in the backseat but doesn't stop Kyler and just hops out to tell him that they're just hazing the new guy and it's not as dangerous as having to steal a cobra which is what robby did. And that it's a good thing but not to get upset.

Kyler wants: 2 buckets of popcorn with butter, 4 large cokes, 2 hot dogs with mustard but no ketchup, a pretzel, nachos with extra cheese and jalapeno poppers.

Robby adds a butterfinger to the list.

I'd like to point out that none of these kids have given Kenny any money to pay for this stuff.

Kenny figuring out how to get everything in one go. Kudos kid.

Nate: Lexi wants me to send pictures now. Bert: I think you're being catfished. (something poor Kenny knows first hand) Nate: It's a risk I'm willing to take.

Hawk literally bumps into Kenny and Kenny is so scared/surprised he drops everything. 😭 (He did get Robby's butterfinger which lands in the mess)

Robby once again in his overall duty of protector keeping an eye out on Kenny, sees that Kenny just got surrounded by Hawk, Nate and Bert, says 'that piece of shit' and gets out of Kyler's Jeep.

Hawk tells Kenny to watch where he's going, but it was Hawk who bumped into him while Kenny was frightened and trying to retreat. (Maybe it was an accident but it looked a bit purposeful)

Kenny instantly hides behind Robby. Nate; You betrayed Miyagi-do, traitor. (Bud you guys were all pissed because what Robby did ON ACCIDENT to Miguel)

Tory shows up with the rest of the gang and of course Miguel and Sam are here too.

Sam's calling Tory princess now too.

Demetri 🤣 Shows up, realizes a fight's about to go down and is like oh shit. Oh we've got Chris too

Tory tells Sam that her mom's not there to play peacemaker.

Miguel telling them not to fight, that they'll fight on the mat.

Robby reminds Miguel that Robby broke his spine the last time they fought. Which... Robby come on. It was an accident. He's probably getting frustrated with people not believing that.

Miguel: Meet us at the baseball diamond in 30 minutes, no weapons.

I mean I know it's a trick, but it was smart to get them to agree to fight at a second location and not at the drive in movie theater where they could cause property and person damage. It also means theoretically Robby could've sent Kenny home, somewhere safe. Same with the Miyagi-dos

Except of course Kenny's there.

Robby: They'll be here. (No, they won't)

I would like to point out how happy the nerds are and how unhappy Sam is.

But truly Miguel didn't learn anything from Daniel and Johnny's story with the hose. Because this is Miguel's version of pouring water on Johnny while he was rolling the world's tiniest blunt. Is that this essentially kicks the hornets nest (apparently something Johnny had his students do)

Like now Cobra kai is just wet and pissed off, not really the best move for any of you. Like Daniel could've died from how pissed off this made Johnny and his cobras. And Miguel even asked Daniel why he'd done it and Daniel had said "It was right there, you would've done the same thing" not including that if Mr. Miyagi hadn't been there to save him they'd have killed him.

Kyler why are you recommending a home invasion? Stop it.

Kreese looks so tired. 🤣 "Now you see what we're dealing with" as the cobras bicker in the background over how to respond.

Like it's a prank, it seems like a harmless prank, but all these kids from TKK through to Cobra Kai act like cats who can't stand water when they get surprised attacked by it. Really they always over react.

Kreese: We gotta break up Johnny and Daniel

Silver: I just want to teach kids. Can I skip the revenge plot?

Silver: You had the entirety of the valley in the palm of your hands but you blew it due to the rivalry you had with Mr. Miyagi.

(There was a rivalry between Kreese and Mr. Miyagi? If so Mr. Miyagi did not get the memo 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣)

Kreese: He attacked my students! (Who attacked Daniel first dude)

Johnny showed up with his confidence shattered and a black eye, I couldn't let that old man get away with it.

Kreese, I don't think it shattered Johnny's confidence I think he was just distracted. Also didn't Tommy have like a broken arm? Kreese really didn't give a shit about the other cobras did he?

Silver: Now, we're the old men.

Most accurate statement ever.

If we just rehash the past, history will repeat itself all over again.

Demetri and Hawk really like giving Miguel nicknames. Demetri: The rain maker

Johnny can now get Demetri to shut up with just a look, and he will.

Johnny is right. I'd like to point out that Johnny's the only one who knows Cobra Kai and how they'd react. He's the only one whose had a Miyagi-do pour water on him. And he points out that Miggy challenged them to a fight, didn't show, and "doused them with a hose", which isn't him being wrong here, it's him reminding Miguel that Daniel did that to him. Like yes these kids were cobra kai, but they're no longer thinking cobra kai, they're focused on Miyagi-do which means diffusing the situation or reacting and not striking first and not thinking oh right that dojo is a bear we just poked.

And yes Daniel's thinking there's nothing wrong with it, totally forgetting Halloween night and how dangerous Cobra Kai is. Which is wild because they literally invaded the LaRusso home. Johnny's trying to just get them all to the All-Valley in one piece, but with the kids using that 'safety' to bully Kenny because he's a middle schooler who happens to have just joined cobra kai and to start fights and not follow through is just going to make it all worse.

"What'd you want him to do 'get in a drive-in switchblade fight?"

Daniel you're literally going for outrageous to make it seem silly that Johnny's concerned. Also, is that an outsiders reference?

I also think Johnny going to Daniel and saying "we need to have a talk" shows some maturity and growth. Even if that convo was probably going to go terribly. He's not going to have this fight of conflicting ideas in front of the students.

But then he sees Daniel's face, realizes something wrong has happened and turns around.

SLOW MO SNAKE BROS, fashion baby!

They got dressed up for this which I will never find not hilarious:

look at those cowboy boots and shiny dress shoes.

Daniel's trauma has returned in the shape of a person, and it's even worse then Johnny, but I'd also like to remind that when the All-Valley mentioned Terry Silver, John Kreese, and Mike Barnes Daniel told them that out of all of them Johnny Lawrence was the worst of them all and he said that in front of Johnny. So Johnny here is probably just like who the fuck is that? And also this guy isn't as bad on a scale as I am. Also pointing out that so far Johnny's the only one Daniel has not had like a panicked trauma response to seeing.

Which is kind of telling how Daniel will just say anything in a moment and not actually mean it. I don't think on any planet Daniel would say he's more terrified of Johnny then he is of Terry Silver. He may not be scared of Kreese because he can kick Kreese's ass, but still, I think it probably goes people who were kids at the time as low level and then worse them are the adults. But he's buried his trauma so deep and not taken care of it that it flares up and shoots out at random times with random results that fit the moment and whatever he's doing. I.e. Johnny's not bad he just had the worst of the worst teachers (I believe that was an early convo with Robby), but Johnny is a monster when he's trying to ensure Johnny's dojo doesn't get to compete in the all valley.

[seeker-of-stories19]

I also always thought that that scene could be interpreted as robby contemplating suicide. He probably went to tell his mom goodbye, whether his intentions were running away or something worse, and i do think they intended this to be ambiguous to allow audience speculation of something really dark. I think overall the show tonally shifted a lot in season 3. Not just with robby, but every character. Sam and her ptsd, tory and her landlord trying to sexually exploit her, johnny and his self hatred, hawk and the extreme escalation of his brutality and violence, and everything involving kreese, especially the last scene with him, johnny, robby and daniel. Of course it was still absurd and comedic like the previous seasons, and i actually think the contrast of miguels arc being relatively lighthearted comparatively was really odd considering, and maybe the reason it wasnt a very popular season. And for various reasons i think they decided eventually that wasnt the direction they wanted to take the show, which is why season 4, and subsequently 5, felt unsatisfying to a lot of people.

Personally I love the later seasons of the show, obviously not everything but most of it. However I do agree that the tone of the show gets a lot darker in season three and onward, even with the show being comedic there’s a lot of psychological stuff just under the surface.

Like a lot of surprisingly dark stuff with Tory and her landlord but also with how Kreese inserts himself into the situation in a way that makes it feel like she either owes him a debt or is dependent on him which is incredibly messed up. Same with Robby and Silver towards the end of season four, with him giving Shannon huge amounts of cash and paying for Robby’s prom stuff (even though he doesn’t pay for Tory) and letting them borrow the car- when you stop to think about it it’s incredibly creepy.

And of course there’s all kinds of other dark hints throughout the series about Robby and Tory as well as the other kids like Eli and how they’re being manipulated so forcefully by adults they should be able to trust. It definitely makes for an interesting show though because you can watch it as a more casual viewer just for a laugh or you can really watch it and pay attention which gives it a lot of appeal to different audiences that is hard to create.

[dragonstepp]

Miscellaneous

How many of you have ever heard of the Irish singer Tommy Fleming? I love a good tenor, and Tommy is one of the best Irish tenors I have ever heard. I am sitting here listening to one of his CDs named Voice of Home II, a CD I have listened to quite a lot. Among songs he has the Halleluja by Leonard Cohen, which he shares with Mark Vincent, a great operatic/religious singer from Australia, and while he sings the first verse in English, Mark sings the second verse in Latin, Tommy sings the third verse in Irish Gaelic, and they duet the fourth verse together. Other songs on this double CD include World in Unison, a song for the Irish soccer team, and You're the Voice from another singer from Australia, about we the people getting out and fighting for the right rather than just leave it to someone else. I also have heard Celine Dion sing that song in duet with the original singer, also from Australia and damned if I can think of his name, on UTube. Tommy also sings the song Hard Times which is a song he is famous for, though it has been covered by many Irish singers. I was fascinated to note that in the many remembrances on TV yesterday for September 11 (2001) that the pipe band in NYC were wearing kilts and playing Hard Times in the ceremony.

Have any of you ever read Funny Times, a publication from Cleveland OH? It is a very liberal newsletter and full of funny comics and blogs. Andy Borowitz is one of the regular writers, and it is full of funny stuff, especially against "our" Republican politicians. This latest edition, in News of the Weird, has a blurb about hawks attacking folks in South Austin. This is where I live, and just lately I have been hearing about Austin, especially about Sam on this site. Seems he has a new girlfriend (or does he) who lives in Austin (and there sure a lot of people who like to speculate about Sam's love life here. I did not go and see him when he was here on the 10th of Austin. First of all, I was not interested in standing (or sitting on my 3-wheel scooter) in the heat here. Frankly, I did not think my sitting on a scooter would go over well inside a liquor store, nor did I want him to see me in my 82-yo body and face among all the many ladies who were waiting to see him for a few seconds, but I was aware he was here.

Today I watched a couple of Humphrey Bogart movies I have on DVD, then Jersey Boys, I really did like The Four Seasons and the movie about them is good. I also earliers watched movie called Hollywood Canteen, a true story about actors in Hollywood during WW II, and was rather nostalgic with all the movie stars, and remembering I should have been among them, if both my parents hadn't refused to pay for my tuition to the Pasadena Playhouse of Performing Arts. I often think how life might have different if I had gotten my wish to be a movie star - better? maybe. But maybe not, just different sins.

And now I am finishing off my day with the Tommy Fleming double CD. So I have not been bored today.

One other laugh I just had. One of the cartoons in Funny Times shows an airplane flying downward, and then upside down, and then straightening up, and a person telling someone else to turn on the Airplane Mode on their cell phone. You have heard me talk about technology going just a bit too far, especially with cell phones, and I just burst out laughing and am cutting it out and putting it on my fridge.

Love to you all,

Be happy,

Carol in Austin

[gemini-sensei]

(@sensei-venus, this was gonna go in your inbox but then it got a lil long and so I have it here now) (unedited) ✨️✨️✨️✨️

Omg imagine bully!Hawk antagonizing Chubby!LaRusso!Reader and he takes it too far. He pushes her to hard and she gets hurt and Sam actually sees it. Sam gets in between them and gets in Hawk's face and he doesn't back down from her, but he feels bad because he never means to hurt Reader - not in a way she doesn't like anyway. Sam just takes Reader away.

So Hawk has the bright idea to come to her house because she never answers her texts. He sneaks up to her window to actually apologize to her and she tells him he's so stupid for coming up there, sneaking up to her house. They can't not argue for five minutes even when he's trying to apologize like jfc 😅

As they do, they're making out through her window until she pulls him into her room. They're on her floor, like not even concerned enough to get on her bed, making out and feeling each other up. He's on top for a while, pulling her clothes off, kissing down her neck, down her chest, between her beasts, down her tummy. He leaves hickeys all over her soft, doughy tummy while fingerings her. Then moves onto her thighs and fucking puts his name down her thighin deep purple hickeys. She comes on his fingers when he tries to suckle on her clit, creaming and being so loud.

She tries so hard to keep quiet but she can't and Sam comes to the door to check on her. Reader has to get up and pull a robe on and shoves a half nude Hawk into ber closet. Then she goes to the door and tells Sam that she's okay, but Sam isn't buying it, but tries not to think about it too much and leaves her sister to her own devices.

When she closes the door, Hawk slips out of the closet and walks up behind her. He pulls her fluffy robe off of her and pulls her back against him, grinding his erection against her ass. His hands are wandering up her body until he cups her tits and squeezes them hard.

He mutters into her neck, "Wonder what Perfect Princess Sam would think if she knew I was the reason you were coming so loud."

She has the sense to lock the door this time around, then turns to him and pushes him back onto her bed. She tells him to shut up and straddles him, telling him he needs to be quiet because her parents are home, too. Nothing gets Hawk more excited than the risk of getting caught. It's why they fuck at school so much, but the risk of getting caught my Mr. LaRusso? The money he'd pay to see the look on his face if he caught a Cobra Kai student, one of the best Cobra Kai students, fucking his sweet little daughter.

Before he knows it, she has his pants and boxers around his ankles and she's riding his cock. She looks so pretty bouncing on it, but doesn't say that out loud. Not that he can because she's holding her hand over his mouth, pretty hard too, leaning into it as she rides his cock, but no one is keeping her quiet.

She's struggling to keep her volume low. So he grabs her hips and starts fucking up into her, meeting her hips as they drop down on him, and she gets jostled. She loses her balance and falls against him and he holds her while they slam their hips into each other. Then he kisses her and their just eating up one another's moans. It's messy and sloppy, wet too. Oh they're pure animals now that they have the space and time to really get it on.

After they come, she doesn't have the strength to get off of him. So she lays on top of him until they can catch their breath. But they still can't stop. She's grinding down on him even though she's already stuffed full of cock and cum. They're gonna have round two before her leaves and he's not objecting.

"I should come over move often." He laughs quietly, breathlessly. She just makes a noise in the back of her throat.

He flips them over and slowly pulls out until just the tip is left inside, then slams back into her. She bites her lips, scratching at his arms. It's gonna be a long night, so long as her dad doesn't come ask what that strange noise is...

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 17 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

Rian Halloran waits until Ian and Sam have left before calling in our gruesome find. 

Soon, police and other emergency personnel swarm over the scene and Halloran joins the fray. 

Julian and I retreat to a safe distance, buy ourselves a couple of coffees at the nearby café and find an out-of-the-way spot to observe. 

A great deal of time is spent ensuring the tunnels are safe to enter before anyone enters them and I smile as I remember I'm no longer bound by red tape.

Eventually, someone declares the tunnels safe and a team of police and paramedics enter.

Sometime later, the paramedics emerge carrying a long, lumpy shape in a body bag. 

Chief Laura Coleridge arrives in the meantime and after speaking with Halloran, joins Julian and I where we wait at the borders of the scene.

"Alright, Hunter. How do you explain this one?" she asks, one grey, hawk-like brow lifting at a sharp angle.

"Man is cremated... man's body found." 

"I dunno, Chief," I say, which is true enough.

"Maybe his body never made it to the crematorium... maybe his widow buried a bag of wood ash instead." 

"Purly and Sons is a reputable funeral home," Coleridge says.

In a softer voice, she adds...

"I know first-hand. They took care of my Mom's service some years ago." 

I chew my lip, unsure what to say.

Coleridge would never have revealed something so personal when we worked together.

I don't want to seem insensitive and yet she must know that a single, personal anecdote does not a valid alibi make. 

Before I can arrange my thoughts into a coherent sentence, Julian beats me to the punch. 

"You're still gonna question them, though, right?" he asks.

"And Mrs. Lagrange?" 

Coleridge gives him a sharp-edged smile.

"What exactly am I paying you for, Mr. Hart?" she asks.

"Not to hang around crime scenes drinking coffee, I think." 

Julian sips his latte before answering.

"Well, this case might be a little more hazardous than we initially thought," he says, casually drawing attention to his cast. 

Coleridge glances over her shoulder at Halloran, who stands in the midst of things.

His arm in a sling now, though his shoulder hadn't seemed to bother him in the caves. 

"So I see," she says.

"Alright. Double your rate, if you want. I'll get it approved. Just don't let me down." 

She wanders off to speak with Halloran and Julian shoots me a wink.

"See?" he says.

"I always knew we'd make a good team." 

I try and fail to muster a smile and his levity fades. 

"You think there's really a second 'skin-changer?'" he asks quietly. 

"We should assume there is," I say.

"And 'changer' or not, someone got a body out of the morgue and destroyed it before anyone noticed something amiss." 

He sighs.

"Yeah but from what Ian said, it could be anyone and we wouldn't know." 

"Not anyone," I correct.

"It's got to be someone with the proper credentials... someone who could fix paperwork and get a body released. That narrows the field considerably." 

He scans the busy scene before us and lifts his brows.

Any one of the dozen or so people here could enter a morgue without raising suspicion and suddenly all of them seem newly suspicious. 

After a moment, Julian tugs at my arm.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

He turns away and heads for the car and after a moment's hesitation, I follow. 

He's unusually quiet on the ride home.

I fight the urge to ask if he's okay but as I pull up and park before our home, I can't hold back any longer. 

"Everything all right?" 

Rather than his usual quick reply or casual brush off, he doesn't answer and stares out the window in silence for so long I'm not sure he heard me.

"Julian?" 

He sighs and turns to look at me. 

"I don't know what the hell is going on, Dane. One day, I'm just a dude with a werewolf boyfriend... then I'm Fae. Now I'm 'Fae royalty' or whatever and descended from a Wolf-slayer." 

"You're not your ancestors," I say, though my dad might disagree.

"You're you." 

He shakes his head.

"I just keep thinking about the Wolves that lived here, before. Who were they? How would they feel about us, about me, forming a Pack here with you?" 

I consider how to answer him but he speaks again before I can get my words in order. 

"I keep thinking about the skin-changer, too... the one that might still be out there... and whoever its victim might be. You're right, Dane... we can't change what happened in the past but we can do our best in the present. And whatever 'gift' this land has to offer, I think you need to take it... take the Alpha here and be the strongest Wolf you can be. We need to find that 'changer' figure out how it's all connected to Rhiannon and stop stuff like this from happening here again." 

I digest his words for a moment before answering. 

"We still need to wait for the full moon," I say.

"But there's plenty we can do in the meantime. Interview the shop-owners and Lagrange's family. The funeral home people, too. I'll also need a second Wolf here, besides Ingrid." 

"Who?" he asks. 

I think for a moment.

There's my Mom and Dad and six other siblings to choose from but I know who I want at my side for this... someone who can help us with the case, too. 

"I have just the Wolf in mind," I say.