#Which ‘Pretty Little Liars’ couples will get their happily ever after when the show ends?

[bookishofalder]

Pretty Girl - Blurb 3

Summary: In which Flip takes care of Pretty Girl during her period.

Warnings: Fluff, just tooth rotting fluff. WC-1,318

A/N: I do know that Flip is Jewish, but I really do not know enough about Hanukkah and in the movie he says he doesn’t practice, so I just mention that he didn’t really ‘celebrate Christmas’ growing up, for the readers to interpret their own way! :)  

Exhaustion coursed through every inch of Flip’s body, making his movements slow and heavy after his long day. As he parked in (Y/N)’s driveway, he felt immensely grateful that the snow had not continued falling that afternoon; he just didn’t have it in him to shovel her driveway. An overwhelming sense of happiness overrode his tired thoughts when he stepped through the front door, the familiar scent of her home mixed with dinner greeting him warmly.

It was Christmas time, and (Y/N) had gone all out in the last few weeks with her decorating, her home filled with tasteful garlands, colourful lights, and cute decorations of Santa Clause and snowmen. She had the fire going tonight, and Flip made a mental note to chop more wood the next morning-Christmas eve. It was their first Christmas together, and Flip had packed to stay over the week, not intending on going home until the holidays ended. Every minute he wasn’t working, he was going to spend here with his girl.

Aside from a dinner scheduled with (Y/N)‘s sister and her husband on Christmas Day, there were no other big plans for the holidays. Flip would call his family Christmas morning, and he intended on bringing (Y/N) out to visit them all in a few weeks when he could take some vacation.

He usually volunteered to work extra shifts during the holidays so that detectives with young families could spend the holidays at home. He’d already committed to this before he and (Y/N) had begun dating weeks before, but she had been supportive of him keeping the shifts. They had plenty of time to spend together, and with Flip staying the week at her place, it made it all the easier. Flip felt this was promising to be one of the best Christmas’s he’d ever had, not that he and his family had really celebrated growing up.  

After removing his extra layers, Flip sauntered into the kitchen, his tired eyes searching for the one person who could cheer him up. And there she was, her back to Flip as she washes her hands at the sink, dinner set on the table. It smelled delicious, and he instantly felt his heart swell-how lucky he felt at that moment. “Pretty girl,” He murmured, and she spun around, surprised, before launching herself into Flip’s arms. He scooped her up, chuckling warmly at the way she always greeted him like they hadn’t seen one another in weeks.

“Flip!” She giggled, peppering his face with kisses, her arms around his neck. Flip used his nose to encourage her lips to his and immediately deepened the kiss, licking into her hot mouth the moment her lips parted for him. With a moan of appreciation, he slowly set her down on the ground, breaking apart after a while. Both red-faced and slightly out of breath, they grinned at one another.

Lovesick idiots, he thought happily.

“Missed you, darling.” He said, tucking her hair behind her ears before glancing to the table, his stomach grumbling at the sight of dinner laid out.

“Missed you too, detective. Let’s tuck in.” (Y/N) replied, motioning toward the table with a smile. They discussed their minimal plans for the next couple of days that Flip had off. (Y/N) had the week off, as did most of the office workers during this time of year. Only a few detectives and officers remained working, in a rotation of double shifts. Which was why Flip was so damn tired tonight and happy to have a relaxing couple of days off with her.

Sensing his exhaustion, (Y/N) began to clear the table, despite it usually being his preferred task when she cooked. He was going to let it slide, grateful for a few minutes to sip his beer and digest a bit before taking a bath, but it was then that he noticed that she seemed a little off. As she moved around the kitchen, Flip could see she was ever so slightly hunched, bending at the middle. It was harder to tell, as she was wearing baggy sweatpants and one of Flip’s sweaters, which dwarfed her entirely. But as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, he saw her wince several times, her face contorted with discomfort.

“Uh, darling, are you alright?”

Her eyes snapped to meet his curious gaze, “Oh! Yes,” She waved him off casually, “Just fine.”

He didn’t believe her in the slightest, but he did not remark, instead, he asked, “Did you want to join me in the bath?” With a suggestive wiggle of his brows. Though she giggled, she shook her head, her expression almost guilty as she answered.

“I already had a shower, just before you got in,” She moved slowly across the kitchen, leaning almost awkwardly against the counter, “I think I’ll just head to bed, read a bit.”

Flip stared at her for a minute, taking in her uncomfortable posture, the flush in her cheeks. He frowned, entirely at a loss. “What’s going on?” Finished his beer, he set it on the table and got to his feet. He approached (Y/N), standing in front of her and placing his hands on the counter, on either side of her small frame.

(Y/N) sighed, “Nothing, just feeling off.” She really was the worst liar, Flip almost wanted to laugh. But he was too concerned at the moment.

He placed one hand on her forehead, which felt normal. “You’re not sick...” He trailed the hand down her face, brushing gently across her jaw. (Y/N) Shook her head, her eyes casting about the kitchen.

As he watched her, he realized she looked embarrassed.

With a mumble, (Y/N) stared at Flip’s chest as she spoke in a rush, “Just, cramps. Sorry, I know men don’t like to hear about-“

“Going to stop you right there, pretty girl.” Flip interjected, bringing both hands to cup her face gently, understanding easing his concern. “There is absolutely no reason why you should be embarrassed about that, nor any reason why I wouldn’t want you to tell me.” He leaned in and gave her a chaste peck, then surprised her when he bent and picked her up, bridal style.

“Flip!” She giggled in delight, “What are you doing?”

He moved down the hall to her bedroom, grinning. “My girl needs me to take care of her, so that’s what I’m going to do.” He replied, placing her on the bed carefully before shucking the covers back and settling them around her. With a small pout, she made to get back up, but Flip pushed her back down before climbing over top of her, caging her body in.

Still laughing, (Y/N) reached up and gripped his shoulders, “And what does that involve, detective?”

Flip dropped his head and pressed his lips to hers, capturing her in a passionate kiss, one hand propping him up and the other stroking along her jaw before settling into her hair. “Well, firstly,” He began after pulling away, his face hovering above hers, “I’m going to run to Al’s and grab you some chocolate. Then I’m going to give you a massage, and keep you warm all night-how does that all sound?” His voice was soft, and he dropped his head every so often to ply her with more gentle kisses.

“Sounds kind of perfect, actually.” (Y/N)’s eyes were wide and glistening, a mixture of emotions crossing her face. Flip grinned, then gave her one last kiss before standing, happy to see her smiling up at him.

“I’ll always take care of you, pretty girl.” Flip stroked her hair back affectionately as he stood next to the bed, and the dazzling grin she gave him then was all the reward he needed. With a final farewell, he hurried out to pick up supplies, excited to return and show her just how much he loved her, his former exhaustion long forgotten.

Tag list ✨

@tashastrange89 @finn-ray-nal-beads @fizzywoohoo @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @morby @pradaxstyles @10blurredsmoke10 @mermaidxatxheart @paintballkid711

[lizacstuff]

Anon asks: SCK Fragman 38 speculation

(Asks under the cut)

Anonymous said: Do you think they're getting married this next episode? idk if the tattoos were confirmation

I think it’s possible? But I also think it’s entirely possible that they get the tattoos as a symbol of their love and a promise of sorts that they are through messing around, but they’re not actually married yet.  Frankly, they already gave us all the wedding hoopla with these two, I’m absolutely fine with an elopement or quick courthouse style wedding, or just a couple of witnesses in a garden. Whatever they want! Let’s just get her done.

Also... I know I said it before, but I’m just in love with the idea of these tattoos. Such a great solution to their ring issue. 

Anonymous said: Thoughts on all these twitter theories from the “sick” line in the fragman?

- it’s about piril and engins kid bc basak and anil filmed in the hospital, and piril was hit by a car in 36 and in 37 she had that moment where she clutched her abdomen and had to sit down

- it’s a flashback serkan has to when his brother alp was sick

- serkan is sick and it’s a way to reveal Kemal as his bio dad (blood or organ donation)

- serkan is sick and it’s a way to reveal eda is pregnant when they draw blood from her to donate

That fragman could be hinting at so many things, and it very well could have been misleading. So lets take each theory in turn. 

“it’s about piril and engins kid bc basak and anil filmed in the hospital, and piril was hit by a car in 36 and in 37 she had that moment where she clutched her abdomen and had to sit down”

Very possible. Engin thinking something had happened to Piril two eps ago did feel like foreshadowing, almost preparing the audience for something. It would be so heartbreaking if she loses the baby, and seems too dark for this show, but it is something that happens to millions of women, so we’ll see.

Also can you imagine after the way Piril stuck by Selin, if Piril lost her baby, and she then witnesses Selin using her baby as a pawn to get revenge on Serkan and Eda?  I’d like to see Piril and Engin’s reaction to that. Though again I think that’s pretty dark, especially for the side couple. 

- it’s a flashback serkan has to when his brother alp was sick

I think this is a very good guess. Serkan probably will see a doctor after he passed out, and if it is another panic attack brought on by the stress of losing Eda, I could see a doctor telling him if he wants to move past the panic attacks, he needs to get at the root of his abandonment issues, which all lead back to his brother’s death. That could be why he’s getting out a box of his things and reading that letter.  So I could very well see a flashback happening to Alp’s diagnosis.

- serkan is sick and it’s a way to reveal Kemal as his bio dad (blood or organ donation)

I’m honestly fully onboard with Kemal as Serkan’s bio dad.  I hear a lot of people poopooing the idea because of opportunity, but I think they told us when it could have happened. In their first meeting, (unless my subs were bad) Aydan mentioned that Kemal had returned once to apologize for standing her up when they were young and going to run away together. I assume that was the window. Kemal showed up years later (after Alp was born) to apologize.. they had a fling and there’s the opportunity for Serkan to be his son. 

Though, to me, if they’re doing something with Serkan’s health it’s got to be related to the plane crash. The chest clutching since he’s been back is concerning, plus wasn’t his hand shaking at one point? So I don’t see him having some serious underlying issue that’s unrelated. This guy does not shy away from going to the doctor and was just in the hospital for probably over a month recovering, so you’d think if there was anything wrong before, we’d know it.  Unless the plane crash acerbated something that’s genetic? And/or requires a match like bone marrow or kidney. I suppose they could give Serkan some rare blood type and that would be something applicable to most any ailment. We shall see. 

- serkan is sick and it’s a way to reveal eda is pregnant when they draw blood from her to donate

This one I think is the least likely. It’s been very fuzzy how much time has passed, but at the minimum 3 months since they were supposed to get married and were having sex, so if Eda were pregnant I think she would have noticed the signs by now.  

Anonymous said: Liza, I know they won’t kill Serkan, but could you reassure me that they won’t? I’ve followed you since Once and you were always good at reassuring.

Ha! I remember making lists of all the reasons they would never kill Hook. 

THEY WON’T KILL SERKAN.

And I’m even more certain of this than I ever was of them not killing Hook, and I was damn certain then. 

There is literally not ONE reason for this show to exist without Eda and Serkan. Not one. This is their love story, and really, storyline wise, the show should have ended awhile ago, and the only reason they keep it going is to keep Hande and Kerem on screen together, making their magic. Seriously, that’s the only reason.

You see how Serkan dying would be counter to that, right?  And if the show were about to end, trust me, there is nothing in it for anyone to have a tragic ending. This started as a romantic comedy, and will end as one, with a happily ever after. And if you’re still nervous, trust this, the production company is still hopeful to sell it into even more foreign markets, especially English language ones, a surprise tragic, twist ending that gets vilified on social media (and trust me this fandom is huge, vocal and capable) would really hurt those chances. 

So even if we’re headed into a bad diagnosis for Serkan, he will be fine in the end, it will just be something for him and Eda to fight through. I promise. 

Anonymous said: thoughts on that wonderfully beautiful fragman? i was watching with hearts in my eyes and then read the translations.. poor serkan!! if it really isn't misleading i definitely think it's some consequence of the plane crash. but, we are secure in what kind of show this is and the full knowledge that it's not a drama and no one is gonna actually die, i'm excited for the potential this storyline is gonna give us!! (esp with the return of the old writers)

I can’t wait to see that rain scene, and the after-the-rain scene and their motorcycle ride. The fragman was very beautiful, but it also felt very poignant and a little melancholy.

It’s interesting with the announcement that the second writing team was back, there were tidbits from several legit entertainment-type reporters yesterday that the show was going back to it’s roots being funny and entertaining.  So a terrible diagnosis for one of the current characters, especially the romantic leading man, doesn’t really fit with that. 

It the writers hadn’t changed I’d be more concerned, not about a character dying, just about the show leaning into some big sort of health-related melodrama.  But I think whatever might be happening will be in service to the plot.  As far as Serkan having a health-scare related to the crash, as I said above it’s very plausible. I mean what are the chances that a man survives a plane crash, is fished out of the sea, spends weeks in a hospital, gets amnesia and is perfectly fine 3-4 months later with no other repercussion? Doesn’t seem possible! 

Anonymous said: Liza, the second set of writers is really coming back! We might actually get comeuppance for Selin!

YESS!!!!! Please. I had completely lost hope with the last set of writers who seemed hellbent on normalizing her behavior.  Look I’d be fine with a 3 minute conversation where Serkan tells her that he knows she’s a manipulative liar and the baby is not his, that he wants her out of their lives for good, and that if she ever comes near Eda ever again he will personally destroy her. 

Is that so much to ask?

Though I’d like her to be humiliated in front of the rest of the team. Just so everyone knows what kind of psycho she is and no one in Edser’s orbit is tempted to give her another chance ever again. 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  With the news that Sarp Can (Deniz) is COVID positive, he obviously won’t be back on set anytime soon. They could probably get some VO from him if necessary, for a phone convo, but I’m gonna guess he’s done on screen. 

It’s time to write both characters out! 

As for the 22-23, 25-30 writers coming back, that is the best news I’ve had in ages.  They weren’t perfect, but the things they did well, they did really, really well. Their comedy, romantic scenes, heartfelt dialogue, accurate characterizations and penchant for sizzling scenes that “break the Turkish family structure” will all be most welcome. I’m really excited for the first time in ages. 

Anonymous said: Very interesting that the fragman did not address the Selin baby drama at all. It focused solely on Edser which was a welcome change while at the same time has me a bit nervous for the angst & drama no doubt headed our way. But if Eda & Serkan are together for good now to face the challenges coming then I cannot wait to watch. The last episode was so well done but Eda & Serkan were both near their breaking points for different reasons & you just felt awful for both of them. Really glad that the engagement did not happen and the show focused on the fallout from Serkan’s amnesia. And even had the side characters addressing how difficult things have been for Eda and that she might need some time before picking things back up with Serkan! Looking forward to the resolution of the baby story/exit of Selin and seeing Eda & Serkan heal together.

I hope that the fact that nothing Selin-related was addressed in the fragman means that we finally have people in charge who understand that we are so damned fatigued of Selin that featuring her an active deterrent for viewers.  Also I haven’t seen any evidence that Bige has been on set for 38. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t, it’s still possible, but it is encouraging that the ep will be  light on Selin. 

As far as the drama and angst, I think there’s more headed our way, however I’m hopeful it will be the good kind and not the kind that made us really uncomfortable and want to tear our hair out during the Selin/Deniz era. We know that Eda and Serkan must decide to stay together (spending time together, ring finger tattoos) so the point of the pregnancy storyline is done. When Eda found out Selin was pregnant, it gave Selin the chance for one last Hail Mary pass, and she took it, trying to break them up, but it failed. So it’s usefulness is over. She can’t keep the charade going because of Deniz, and because once Serkan has time to calm down and think, he’ll realize that any time in Slovania where he was so injured that it’s possible he doesn’t remember, he also would have been too physically incapacitated to do anything of the sort. 

As for Eda needing some time, yes, things in 36 were just too easy for Serkan in terms of the fallout from his amnesic behavior. Episode 37 made him work for it and I think come to terms with the fact that, Selin manipulations or no, there’s work to do and things he needs to atone for.  Putting her first throughout the episode, and showering her with love, was a good start. 

Anonymous said: The conversations Selin had with Eda, Serkan and Aydan in this episode had my blood boiling. Someone stop this psycho! The unnecessary hole digging was real, my god. I don't care if she's pregnant, don't hold Eda back this time and let her fight this snake. Let everyone fight her! If she's lying to Deniz now, he can fight her too.

I know, she reached new levels of abusive manipulation.  They better be planning a comeuppance, if she’s just allowed to leave with people waving goodbye, I will scream.  The Aydan conversation with her posing the question about abortion was something else. It came across to me more as a threat. Like... I’m thinking about doing this, if you don’t want my decision to be your fault, you better stay on the right side of me. 

The Eda and Serkan stuff goes without saying. It still floors me that she’s willing to pretend like she raped him (if he can’t remember because he was that injured and foggy, then it’s impossible for him to have given consent.) rather than just giving up and living the truth.  

Anonymous said: Like I get it (kind of) but I am so sick of watching Serkan be nice to Selin. Very much looking forward to Serkan chewing her out for how much she hurt Eda with this fake Serkan baby daddy story when she is exposed. I get that Serkan feels he is to blame for calling her to Slovenia in the first place & essentially in his mind giving her hope of them being together but he needs to stop excusing her horrible behavior from there. No decent person would take advantage of that situation the way she did. It seems like the only way that Selin will have an epic fall is if Deniz decides to fight for the kid he knows must be his and tell Eda everything. Going to be tough for her to believe initially but it will have to start making sense once she thinks back on things and then if the photos surface then she will know it must be true.

Agreed. I get Serkan’s guilt, and it actually shows what a good person he is, but he needs to get over it.  Because seriously, all Selin was obligated to do when she got his call was to hang up, and then dial one of the following: his mother, his father, his fiancé or best friend/business partner Engin. That’s it. Call them and say, hey, Serkan’s alive, this is where you’ll find him. But NOPE! Instead she decided to fly there, manipulate him, keep him hidden and try to use it to get back with him. She made him beholden to her, just another in the long line of brainwashing and manipulation. Her flying to his bedside was the wrong thing to do, and it would be great if someone beside Eda recognized that. 

Anonymous said: Even though Selin is the worst and I just cannot wait for her to finally be unmasked as the manipulator she is, I am really looking forward to Edser in the next episode. Eda taking care of Serkan after he passes out, the two of them reaffirming their commitment to each other with the tattoos & possible elopement, Eda reassuring Serkan that she will be at his side even if the kid turns out to be his and also the two of them working together to get to the truth. So darn excited! And if the spoilers are right that Deniz tells Eda the truth and Serkan sees the photos from Ferit then I will be so happy. It is time for Selin to go for good!

SELIN MUST GO. Yes, I think as soon as the news that Selin is pregnant and trying to pass it off as Serkan’s brain-fog baby, Ferit will unleash the photos. (if it’s him that has them).  

I just want Selin and Deniz gone so we can focus on other things. Their presence on this show is a energy drain, and I want to focus on rain frolicking, motorcycles and bed sharing!!!!!  

Anonymous said: I'm so glad that we had a scene of Serkan telling Eda that even without his memories he fell in love with her again, he just couldn't admit it. Serkan has an interesting perspective on the memory loss part of their lives where I think he almost feels too guilty about it all and just wants to move past it. I've noticed that in his dialogues in 36 & 37 where he wants to leave it in the past and basically do his all to make it all up to her in the present and future.

I think this is very well observed. He definitely was trying to leave the past in the past, but honestly I think that’s just laziness on the part of the old writers, not wanting to have to have a reckoning for all the things they had him say or do. Since the writers decided to go that way, I could buy it’s because Serkan feels too guilty about it all. We know how much he loathes making mistakes or being wrong or owing apologies. If that’s what they wanted to do, it would have gone a long way if they’d shown a bit more of him blaming himself, especially in 36. 

I was also very happy that Serkan came out and said that he’s fallen in love with her again. My only thing is I wish if they were going to do that, they would have thrown a little more detail in the dialogue. Like Serkan admitting to her that he started thinking about her all the time as soon as he returned and met her, maybe admit that he slept on his office couch clutching her wedding invitation.  A couple of things like that would have been very nice for Eda to hear. 

Anonymous said: SCK sure loves creating difficult situations for Eda & Serkan. I really felt for Serkan in the last episode especially since he was back to being the romantic robot we all love. He so baldly wants to make up for lost time with Eda that he rushes ahead with the proposal and then gets crushed when she rejects him. And then spends most of the episode frantically trying to figure out what is going on with her and trying to show her how much he loves her. I was really happy though that the show addressed a few different times how awful the last few months have been for Eda and it also made Serkan address it. His plan to just forget about everything and move forward did not happen. Loved that the side characters stepped up to remind him of everything he & Selin put Eda through. Not so crazy that the show decided to use Selin’s pregnancy as the plot device to get Serkan to finally realize “oh yeah, what happened since my accident is a very big deal & now I have to face it & come to terms with it” but still glad it happened. Selin is obviously so much more in the wrong than Serkan but let’s hope her downfall takes place in the next episode.

All of this.  I think you’re exactly right, Serkan tried to brush past everything and I’m glad that finally the other characters stepped up a little to help make him see that he had more work to do. Special shout out to Seyfi for his sassy comment about Serkan almost marrying another woman. And finally Piril was useful and acted like a friend, the first time she had since he returned.  

[brynnmck]

J/B Exchange Recs Round 1!

I have not been around Tumblr much lately because I was so preoccupied with stuff for @jaime-brienne-fic-exchange, but I am trying to get back into the swing of things, and I figured what better place to start than with some recs?

These are currently skewed a bit toward my amaaaazing gift fic and the amaaaaazing ones I beta-ed, since I am way behind on my reading, but there will be more to come!

Backpfeifengesicht by @samirant - I am so unbelievably grateful that I had both amazing prompts/amazing recipient for the fic I wrote, and such a fabulous gift fic too. I was still working on my own fic and very sleep-deprived and flagging when I read this for the first time and I think I may have actually left my body on a wave of sheer euphoria. IT IS ALL THE GOOD THINGS. So many of my favorite vacation/road trip tropes--drunken shenanigans! Intimate late-night conversations while everyone else is sleeping/elsewhere! Friends being too involved in your relationship! Unexpected forced proximity! And the banter is glorious, and the secondary characters are so well thought out and add such depth and vibrance to the story, and the Sansa/Margaery subplot was DELIGHTFUL, and I love the way this structured Brienne's relationship to Tyrion and then to Jaime as an extension of that, and the resolution was handled with an absolutely perfect balance of hilarity and heat. (There was also the stuff throughout that was very targeted to me specifically WHICH I APPRECIATED, so thanks to both Sami and @forbiddenfantasies1 for that). About 20% of the way into the story, I was deeply convinced it was Sami, and in the best possible way--it had the hallmarks I love about her writing: her sense of humor, her gift for banter, her clear affection for the characters, the richness of all the relationships. It was like showing up to a party and unexpectedly finding a friend there, and it was the loveliest feeling. I am thrilled that so many people have read and loved this story but I want everyone in the world to read and love it, so. Please check it out if you haven't! And also check out Sami's hilarious tale of woe regarding her writing process, which is amazing. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SUCH A PHENOMENAL GIFT SAMI.  ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

A favorite line: On any other day, Brienne would have left him - a relative stranger - to his wallowing, but an untold amount of imbibed Pentoshi Slammers stirred up a noble benevolence within her, a little voice that said they had something in common and what good were her broad shoulders if they weren’t offered as a place to rest a weary, heartbroken brow? SO GOOD.

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Lay Your Heartbreak and the sequel You could make me feel so good by @ajoblotofjunk / sdwolfpup - LISTEN. SDW sent me an early chunk of this and I was immediately OBSESSED and I have not stopped being obsessed since. Obviously worldbuilding is a huge strength of SDW's and her creativity with that is a constant astonishment to me. But pop culture is full of examples of people who can create amazing worlds and then utterly fail to populate them with interesting or dynamic characters, whereas SDW's ability to fill in those wonderfully creative spaces with her love for the characters and their love for each other that is just magic. And these fics are the perfect examples of that. The setup is not only fascinating but makes for such fantastically INTENSE feelings, omg, everything just feels like it's crackling off the page; even before Jaime and Brienne and Addam are admitting anything to each other, it's not so much simmering under the surface as boiling. The balance between the three of them is gorgeous, there are two incredibly hot fencing scenes as well as a very hot swimming scene (in addition to the sequel being just one big tangle of brain-scorching hotness), there's a perfect amount of sweetness and softness to play off all the blazing heat, and overall this is one that's going to stick with me for a long time. I know J/A/B isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you aren't actively opposed to the idea of them, then I highly highly encourage you to check this out. 

A favorite line: That night she dreams of golden skin, hot and soft against her palm – yes, someone moans, yes – the rough scrape of callouses over the arch of her ribs, the scratch of red stubble between her thighs – like this? Yes, more, please more – legs sliding together and between each other, and two mouths touching her all over. Hnnnnngh.

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The Limit Does Not Exist by @agirlnamedkeith / sameboots - Fics with a power imbalance are something I approach with a lot of caution but I LOVED the way that sameboots handled it here. The fact that this fic includes her signature extremely hot feelings-forward porn as well as a thoughtful exploration of what it can mean to be a woman in STEM is like a beautiful multi-course meal; I cared a LOT about whether they were gonna do it and I was also equally invested in how Brienne’s thesis was going to turn out and where she would go from there. I love Brienne’s stubbornness and determination and even though she’s finding her way here (as you would be, as a grad student), those elements are VERY much on display and they spark fantastically against an initially guarded and caustic but eventually deeply admiring Jaime. And while I don’t want to spoil anything, I will say that I feel like the end is a perfect illustration of one of the major themes of the fic, and I love it so much for that. Watching this one take shape and watching sameboots geek out over her math research was a delight, and the result is excellent (and did I mention, extremely hot). Definitely worth all her work!

A favorite line: “Has anyone ever told you that you’re the worst liar?” (KIDDING HANNAH ILU HERE’S THE REAL ONE:)  The problem with smoothies was that it was hard to make them aggressively., Angrily pushing a button didn’t have the same release as whaling on a punching bag. Brienne didn’t have a punching bag, though, and she desperately needed to do something, and she was hungry. ANGRY SMOOTHING-MAKING. I LOVE IT.

_____

Right Off the Bat by @hillaryschu - A You’ve Got Mail AU where Jaime and Brienne are rival Little League coaches who unknowingly bond over Twitter is SUCH a great idea, and Hillary committed to it right down to the delightful rom-com-trailer summary. She also put an enormous amount of care into the details of the story--she had references for outfits, buildings, even Jaime’s cologne--and it shows in all the lush descriptions throughout. The banter is sparky, watching their two relationships gradually unfold is a lot of fun, there’s a particular tipsy (on Brienne’s part) Twitter DM exchange that I still get flustered thinking about, and there’s a batting cage scene that will be haunting my brain for a while. Especially given that Hillary had never written a story anywhere near this long before, I’m so impressed that she pulled it off (and fixed some of the most problematic elements of the movie, too). Congratulations to her on rising to the challenge!

A favorite line: But as they part from each other, Brienne lifts the hem of her tee to wipe the dirt and sweat from her face. Her exposed stomach is pale and toned, with softly defined muscles that gleam with perspiration. Jaime trips over home plate. SAME JAIME. SAME.

_____

X Marks the Spot (where I’ll find you again) by @pretty--thief - PIRATES. I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE PIRATES. And this fic is such a fantastic blend of snappy, exciting swashbuckling (and hilarious use of parrots) and a very poignant backstory that underlays the adventure with all this yeeeeeearning and it’s SO GOOD. The action scenes are thrilling, the descriptions are gorgeous, there is STARGAZING and BATTLE COUPLE, the Jaime snark is chefkiss, Brienne is so brave and committed and quietly full of feelings, there’s a really lovely discussion of the ethics of being in the military, and also Pod and Addam and Arya and PIRATES FOR JUSTICE. SO HERE FOR THAT. And did I mention the yeeeeeearning (which is paid off wonderfully--the penultimate chapter lived rent-free in my mind for about a week after I first read it)? Ugh SO GOOD.

A favorite line: When he had exited his quarters, Brienne had looked at him with so much concern in her eyes it threatened to swallow Jaime whole. He’d felt something similar when he was around Cersei, when they were fucking or fighting; a fire he had once thought he could never tire of, would never want to put out. But Brienne had reached out her hand, as if on reflex, and smoothed her thumb across his tired brow. The ship had continued to sway beneath them, and Jaime didn’t feel fire. He didn’t feel like he would be turned to ash at any moment. He felt a breeze, the wind in his hair and salty air in his lungs. as;lfkja;sldjgas;lfjas;lf 

_____

Federation Fliers by @elizadunc /Ladybugbear2 - A short and very sweet one! I adore the world that Megs created in this and would happily read many many more words in it, but this is a lovely glimpse in and of itself, and made me so happy. Established relationship (which I love), one of my favorite Jaime nicknames for Brienne, a wonderfully badass Brienne and a wonderfully besotted Jaime, all against a fascinating backdrop. So good!

A favorite line: She belonged in the sky. She had a grace to her movements on the ground, but in the sky she was ethereal. HEART-EYES

_____

And now for a few that I just read after they were posted like a normal person:

Wine Down by @slipsthrufingers - SOME MILD SPOILERS HEREIN FYI. Okay first of all, the summary of this fic is deliciously evil and I think we all need to appreciate that. Also, it starts out with Jaime and Brienne having lunch together and these glorious descriptions of food and he has taken note of the specific food she likes and is making sure it’s provided for her and that is SO VERY MUCH MY LOVE LANGUAGE YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. I FLAILED. And then things go, shall we say, a bit downhill, but in the most achingly beautiful way--Jaime sacrificing himself for Brienne and Brienne determined to tether him to life through sheer force of will and steadfast devotion. Slips puts us right into Brienne’s headspace/heartspace while she’s worrying for Jaime and trying to negotiate the fucked-up Lannister family dynamics (and the observations on said dynamics are wonderful too), and this hits such an excellent balance of Brienne’s rigidly controlled surface and everything that’s roiling away underneath. I’m always fascinated by the idea of what could have happened during the time that Brienne was in King’s Landing and this is such a brilliant exploration of how things could have gone, and Brienne’s interactions with the rest of the Lannisters (and Sansa) give the world that much more depth as well. The descriptions throughout are beautiful, there are so many lovely turns of phrase, the intimacy between Jaime and Brienne is just devastating, and it all comes back around to an immensely satisfying conclusion. SO GOOD. 

A favorite line: The gods had seen fit to give her an unwomanly body, so she had taken up the sword. They had given her an ugly face, so she had perfected her manners and courtesies so they could never be frowned upon. But they had given her a maiden’s heart, and try as she might she had never found the right weapon to protect it. MY PRECIOUS GIRL.

_____

A Matter of Honor by @nire-the-mithridatist - I shrieked at nire in DMs basically the whole time I was reading this story, it made me experience like 90% of the range of human emotions in one night and I’m still mad about it. This features a fascinatingly flipped script where Brienne is the wealthy one and Jaime the supplicant, and an arrogant-ass supplicant he is. Brienne is an angy baby nineteen-year-old who is furious at the entire world and I fucking adore her for it, and watching all the events unfold through the lens of her (generally well-founded) suspicions was a delicious sort of torture where I trusted NO ONE and genuinely did not know exactly what was going to happen next. Nire turns a lot of marriage fic tropes on their head in this and it’s all done brilliantly, and there is EXTREMELY SEXY SWORD-FIGHTING (and as a sexy bonus, Brienne’s perspective on it feels so perfect for someone who is truly an accomplished swordswoman), and nire uses some common elements throughout to just pack in these layers and layers of meaning and significance, and there are many turns of phrase so perfect that they hurt, and then she’s like “hey would you like to re-feel all the feelings in this story again in a very concentrated burst” and it’s SO MUCH, and the conclusion pays everything off amazingly. And even though it’s very swoony and romantic (and HOT. I SHOULD MENTION VERY HOT), there’s a hint of melancholy to it too, reckoning with what it means to be a woman--even a wealthy one--in Brienne’s world, and it’s just the perfect crunch of salt on top of all the sweetness. LOVE. 

A favorite line: He brought her knuckles to his lips. As sweet as honeyed nettles, he declared, “Lady Brienne. You have made me the happiest of men.” As the crowd roared in approval, she felt the sting of his kiss. STING OF HIS KISS ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Also I’m including this for purely thirsty reasons but NO SHAME: He stood from the sofa and went to help his wife undress, and if she noticed his averted eyes and his trembling hands—oh gods, the laces went on endlessly down her back, and with each pull, a little more of her figure was revealed, barely veiled by her gauzy shift—she said nothing. I DIED. I ALSO SAID NOTHING BECAUSE I WAS DEAD. Fuck, man.

_____

The Riverlands Gang Go to the Zoo by @naomignome - Another shorter and very delightful one with Naomi’s typical brand of chaotic humor that I adore. It’s Hyle POV, for one thing, which is good times, and the structure of this is so clever--the way each section of the zoo is used to progress the story is so seamless and happy-making, and there are tons of little jokes and Easter eggs packed in along with a very sweet, snarky emotional storyline wherein Hyle is definitely doomed. Plus another EXCELLENT Brienne nickname in here. LOVELY. 

A favorite line: “Pixel!” he said laughingly, “You know if you fell in the bear pit, I would jump after you without a second thought.” “You need to have a first thought in order to have a second one.” Brienne said dryly. SUCH A GOOD BURN.

_____

all these people think love’s for show (but i would die for you in secret) by @naomignome - This is SUCH A FLEX because not only did Naomi write TWO fics for her recipient but they are WILDLY DIFFERENT and I’m so impressed with her for doing it! This one is SPIEEEEESSSS and Naomi packs so much tension into 5K, I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. Canon events are woven in astonishingly well, and it’s a delicious enemies-to-partners-to-lovers situation that involves some excellent hurt/comfort and excellent use of RAIN to moody/sexy effect and it’s just all very thrilling. YUM.

A favorite line: He lets off a single bullet and it grazes the inside of her thigh, enough to make her wince and draw blood, but not enough to stop her from tackling him to the ground and wrestling him into submission. She’s got both of his wrists pinned above his head and her knee is drawn up and pressed against his torso. Jaime’s chest is heaving under her knee. Her chest is heaving in tandem. From above him, Brienne can see the green of his eyes darken, and even in submission, he’s annoyingly beautiful. Her blood is rushing, and it’s not all adrenaline. WHEW. SAME.

_____

as stars once a year brush the earth by @ylizam / mazily - Another wonderfully bite-sized one (good job actually taking the minimum word count as a guideline, people who did that, unlike the rest of us dumbasses!) that packs a lot into a small space. A canon-ish soulmates AU that’s so understated and dreamy, but with the echo of all the turmoil they’ve gone through to get to this place that brings everything in sharp relief. It’s also funny and sexy and romantic as fuck, and there are gorgeous poetic descriptions, and they spar by a WATERFALL, and just. So much happens in just over 1600 words! IMPRESSIVE.

A favorite line: Her right hand goes numb, unfeeling; back in their rooms Jaime is waking up, and she knows the phantom ache of his missing hand is bothering him. Jaime is waking, and yawning, the bed linens pooling around his waist and highlighting his summer tanned skin. She misses him, suddenly, as wide as the endless sea in front of her. BEAUTIFUL.

OKAY THIS WAS A LONG POST. That’s all I’ve got for now--more to come as I continue my reading!!

[smeraldos]

stuck in second gear

so no one told you love was going to be this way.

summary: the tables have been set, the guests have arrived, and congratulations are ready to be made.

all you have to do is show up...

wedding!au

pairings: taehyung/reader, namjoon/reader

genres: love, suspense, bittersweet symphony

words: 2.6K+

Once upon a dream, you’d thought your wedding would be a fairytale. Now you know why some stories have to end: what lies beyond "happily ever after" isn't always so pleasant. 

Which is why you're trying to prevent it. 

Sure, you don't have the best timing, but it's better late than never. Even if it means sneaking out your dressing room in a ton of satin.

"______? How are you doing?"

Startled, you step back from the window. "Great, just give me a few."

“A few what?" Phoebe quips from the other side of the door. "Hours? Years? You know we don’t have that time.”

“You don’t have it or you aren’t willing to give it?”

“Honey, I offered you help and you didn’t take it, so that’s on you. Now are you going to let me in or are you coming out?”

“I’ll come out.” You scramble to gather the train of your dress, but it’s too long. Spotting a pair of scissors leftover from ribbon cutting, you grab it and start cutting off the fabric. “In five minutes.”

“So what do I tell your fiancé?”

“Not to worry because it looks ugly on him and only I should see his ugly face.”

She laughs. "You got that, pretty prince?"

"I'm writing it in my vows," your fiancé says, and maybe you'd find it funny in a sitcom, but it's your life. You panic. The dresser you pushed against the door is not heavy enough to keep him out.

"You're welcome," Phoebe replies for you, oblivious to your dread. "Now shoo. I better not see you up here until ______ walks down the aisle."

He makes a kissy noise in return, right before you hear a loud beep.

Oh. 

“He’s a total kid, I don’t know how you put up with him," Phoebe says to you now. "Actually, don’t tell me. Just hurry up before he comes in and whisks you out himself. Five minutes!”

You don’t need to be told twice. As soon as her footsteps recede, you make quick work of the train and step onto the windowsill. A branch hangs before you, connecting to a tree that is your only way out. It’s risky. Not to mention you haven’t scaled a tree since you were a teenager, and clearly not in a dress of this size. Well. Either you go big or you go home.

You know which one isn’t an option anymore.

...

Taehyung met you in middle school, when he'd moved from the valley to the city. As much as he hated to gloss over people, he'd admit he wouldn't have become your friend if you hadn't been his lab partner first. Not that you weren't fun or interesting or cool - in fact, you were all three, but you ran in a different circle than he did. His was full of troublemakers. He was one of those kids who got bored easily if they weren't being challenged, so it was a good thing Jimin (the only other kid with a Korean name) and you came into his life when you did.

He'd also considered it a miracle you both stayed. Or so he hopes.

"Hey," Jimin, elevated to best man, steps up to him and pats his back. "Earth to Galactica, what's the status update?"

Taehyung tries to smile, but it's hard to do when his mouth is stuffed with strawberries. He's been sneaking them in to get his mind off of feeling nervous and the fact that you're supposed to show up soon, but why does he have this weird feeling that you won't? 

He hides it with a joke. "In 150 characters or less?"

"Preferably zero with that mosh pit," Jimin says, gesturing to his mouth. "Chew with your mouth shut. I'll wait."

Taehyung glares. Jimin can say what he wants now, but he's forgetting he used to chew gum like a cow on grass and who would let him get away with it? Taehyung, that's who.

And because he's such a good pal, he does as instructed. That's not to say he doesn't gargle some water, obnoxiously loud, to get back at him. At the end of the day, their friendship is built off of moments like this. 

It's why Jimin snorts right as Taehyung starts to speak.

"Sorry," he says. At least he has the decency to look like it. "You should have seen the look on those girls' faces. They were ready to give you the stink eye for gargling, but the minute they saw you, it was game over."

"The game has been over since ______."

"Right." Jimin gets back on topic. "So what did Phoebe say?" 

"______ will be on her way in five. I just don't know if she will at all."

"Did something happen?"

"No, she just won't accept any help. Don't you think that's weird? Apparently, the dress is a piece of work."

"And if anyone can pull it off, she can," Jimin assures. "You know she doesn't let anyone bug her in the middle of doing something she cares about. She's probably in there triple-checking all the details."

Taehyung has a feeling that isn't the case - they haven't addressed the elephant in the room. He mentions it first.

"You don't think she's getting cold feet, do you?"

A flicker of worry crosses Jimin's face, gone in an instant. He'd always been good at that: putting on a brave face. 

"Tae," he says, "you're it for ______, and you've both come this far already. I doubt she'd change her mind now. But in the smaller than my pinky chance she does, she won't do it without telling you."

Here's where Taehyung should agree (and laugh). But a couple weeks ago, you'd distanced yourself, and no matter what he tried, you wouldn't say what was wrong.

So he'd given you some space. To cheer you up, he left a Happy Meal outside your door, and instead of a toy, he'd placed little matryoshka dolls, inside of which lay a ticket to the Met. He knows you went - you'd sent him a pic of yourself next to Starry Night later that week. Yet you still haven't told him why you were stressed.

Taehyung takes a breath, thinks of a quick prayer. It’s as much for you as it is for the guests you both loved, for his best man who shouldn't be worrying on his behalf. 

"You're right," he says, faking an easy smile. "Thanks Chim. Remind me to give you that bottle from Napa later."

Jimin's eyes smile right back.

...

Incoming Call: Mr. Park

He swipes to red before you can see it. A text appears.

Did you find ______?

Jin did not sign up for this. He came for free food, a good time, and if he were honest, the chance to distract himself with someone else's happy ending. Small joys. If he stacked them up, maybe he'd have a nice building to look at. Maybe that nice building would block the dull view of the parking lot he woke up to each morning. 

Instead, he is chauffeur to a runaway bride eating animal fries in the backseat. You gulp down some Coke and release a loud burp. 

"What?" You ask when he gives you a look. "It's the baby."

The laughter dies in his throat when you abruptly stop, your cheeks growing red. So you hadn't meant to tell him that...which meant it wasn't a food baby. He places another hand on the steering wheel. Usually, he's the one giving people a ride, not the other way around.

"How far along are you?"

"Two weeks," you say. "Give or take."

"I see," he says. "So what's the deal between you guys, if you don't mind me asking?"

You give him the lowdown because he doesn't seem to care. And if he doesn't care, he won't judge. You watch his eyes through the rearview mirror, noting they look too honest to belong to someone who claimed to be a liar. Maybe that's the point.

Or maybe you've seen too many movies and they're getting to your head, Taehyung would say. To which you'd say it was his fault for dragging you to the discount theater too often. And he'd agree, admit he's a bad influence with his boyish smile, the sunlight crowning his head like a halo.

"Let me get this straight," Jin says. "You want to go through with this?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound very sure."

Have you always been this obvious or is your guilt starting to show? You settle for the closest truth. "It's a hard decision."

Jin doesn't push you, just keeps his eyes on the road. Before he drops you off at the airport, you ask him to stop by your apartment. You need a change of clothes. 

"Big day today?" A tenant asks, beaming at your dress.

You hope your smile doesn't look like a grimace. 

...

The fact that you don't live with Taehyung makes it easier to pack up. Kind of. He leaves behind belongings as naturally as Chopa sheds fur, and if he weren't so great at distracting you, maybe you would have noticed just how much of him you'd accumulated. His felt jacket is slung over the arm of your couch, his records are tucked in your shelves, the print he'd given you of Basquiat's Now's The Time is on the floor, leaning against a wall. Each of them comes with their own memories, some you'll one day forget. But now, looking at them all, you remember everything. You'll always hate yourself for that night you cheated on him, for ruining what could have been a happy life with the man you love.

As you empty out your drawer, you will yourself not to cry.

...

In the end, Taehyung finds you. When you open the door, he's standing in the hallway, looking like he wants to talk. You have no doubt he'll try to understand. He's quick to listen and slow to anger, an advocate of second chances you don't deserve. 

The instant he registers your suitcase, however, he stiffens. "I'll grab my things."

"Taehyung--" you try to say, but he brushes past without another word. Resigned, you follow him in, watching as he plucks some records off your shelves. An envelope falls to the floor, facedown. It's still sealed, so he must have meant for you to find it, only you never did. He picks that up, too. He sweeps his scarf off your coat rack, his bracelets off your counter, and the bag of Chopa's dog toys off the floor. The felt jacket he skips over.

"Isn't that yours?" You ask quietly, sinking into the couch. 

"No," he says. "It's yours."

You're pretty sure it's his...until you realize it isn't. He'd borrowed it a while ago, and you thought it looked much better on him than it did dwarfing you. He takes one last glance around the room and turns to go. 

"Wait," you say, "I--" 

He doesn't let you finish, stepping into his shoes and heading straight for the door. You don't know what to do. Impulsively, you run in front of him, blocking his way.

"______," Taehyung says, his voice so solemn it scares you, "weren't you going to leave?"

You plead with your eyes, unwilling to budge. "Please just let me explain."

He makes a sound that is somewhere between a scoff and a sigh. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Like this is easy? Leaving you?"

"You already did it," he says. "That was your decision to make, and this is mine. I'll take care of the guests. Don't keep your driver waiting."

You might as well have been slapped. Your conscience smarts from the sting of it.

"Forget him," you bite out. "I don't care about getting on a flight to who knows where since I didn't get a plane ticket. Did you know that? Because up until a few minutes ago, I wanted to marry you, Taehyung. I still do. But I'm pregnant and..." The rest of your words dissolve into tears.

Taehyung can’t believe this is happening. Or rather, he doesn't want to believe it. Then the pieces start falling into place - your hands trembling as you told him you cheated, the weeks before the wedding when you insisted on being alone, your ill-timed escape - and it's twice as painful. That baby you're carrying isn't his. 

He has every right to resent you, but how could he, when you're like this? 

Quietly, he lets go of his things and gathers you into his arms, holding your tear-stained face to his chest.

"I'm such a jerk." You suck in a sharp, shallow breath. "I was scared to tell you because I'd messed up our relationship once, and once is too much, you know?"

"I know."

"I don't deserve you."

"Of course you do." His voice is wet, and when you look up, he gently brushes away your tears. He's crying, too. "I love you."

...

A few years pass before you see Taehyung at the altar. Jimin reprises his role as best man and leaves with a pat on the shoulder.

Next to you, Jeongguk sniffles loudly. “What?” He says when you turn to him. “It’s touching.”

"Oh, stop. Nothing happened yet."

"Weddings just get to me, okay? I need to squeeze out every last teardrop so I don't interrupt the ceremony." Then he asks Annika if he can have a tissue. Annika, kind as always, does one better. She pulls him in like a mother hen and lets him cry on her shoulder. "Go ahead, honey. Let it all out," she murmurs, glaring at you as if it's your fault he was crying in the first place. 

"There, there." Yoongi, beside Annika, says halfheartedly. You shoot him a sharp look, but he just shrugs, mouthing: What did I do? 

You sigh. You guess you can't blame him for being smitten with Annika. She took you in after all, helping you to move on once you'd parted ways with Taehyung. Phoebe had introduced you to her, Namjoon, Yoongi, and Jeongguk, and you couldn't have wished for a better group of friends. Or a better set of aunts and uncles for Nina. Your daughter is standing right in front of the church doors now, a woven basket of confetti clutched in her hand. 

She looks so adorable you want to embarrass her. (At 5, she's adamant on being a big girl. And that meant you couldn't blow kisses at her or squish her cheeks without getting the cutest annoyed pout.) Unfortunately, someone stepping on your foot distracts you.

"Sorry." Namjoon gives you a sheepish grin. He'd just run back from the restroom. "I didn't miss anything, did I?"

You reach out to pull a lick of his slicked back hair over his brow. "Now you did," you say, cheeky, and he's about to smother you in a hug as payback when the pianist begins to play. Nina has too much fun scattering the confetti. 

In walks a line of bridesmaids and groomsmen, two by two. They separate to either end like the petals of a flower in bloom. 

Then comes the bride. Lily. You don't have to see her to know she's beautiful. You can tell by the way Taehyung's face lights up, the sun on his face making him golden. You're happy to see him happy, although you have to look somewhere above them when they kiss. 

The fact is, you still love him. In a different way, one that's familiar because you've been friends long before becoming anything romantic. But in rare moments, you catch yourself feeling blue.

Namjoon squeezes your hand. You didn't realize you were gripping his.

"Are you okay?" He whispers.

You look at him, Yoongi and Annika, Jeongguk. Phoebe, who's making the stranger to her right hide a laugh. (His name is Jay, she'd told you excitedly. But he moonwalks like Michael.)

"I'm okay," you whisper back, and Namjoon smiles. It isn't until you say it aloud that you realize it's true.

...

a/n: happy 7th birthday to bts, who give me hope that dreams aren’t a lost cause 💜

title taken from the infamous Rembrandts’ song, which you might recognize here.

[sneksue]

Official Post About Lifestyle Changes

The date is January 28, 2021. 

I have not had chickens for a while. It will be 2 years in August. I have been meaning to write something here about all of it, but I either have not had time, or the willpower to go through with it. I was in grieving. 

In June of 2019, I took a trip from my shared homestead in Mississippi to Colorado to do some long distance hiking. I left all of my animals in the care of my ex husband’s mother and her then boyfriend. 

I trusted them to at least do the bare minimum in my animal’s basic care. 

That didn’t happen. They failed night after night to close and lock the coop’s door. They wouldn’t change their water during the day and they did not collect eggs. 

When I had service on my phone during the hike, I checked in with them to find out that because they had not closed or locked the coop door at night, several birds were “missing”, with more missing every day. 

Instead of simply closing the door and providing a safe space for my dear, darling animals to sleep at night, they decided to buy a game camera to see what was happening to them at night. 

Their reasoning had absolutely zero logic, and I was pretty pissed.

They found that raccoons were simply just waltzing into the coops and grabbing birds. The raccoons would drag them away into the woods and feast. 

By the time our trip was almost over, all of my ducks were gone. There were only a few chickens left, and the guinea fowl were all intact due to roosting 50ft up in oak trees. My cat was also “missing”.

I was heartbroken, devastated. I had spent so much money, time, energy, and love to build this flock. I wanted to provide my “family” and myself with sustainable, renewable food in case of a natural disaster. No one seemed to value my efforts, or even care to see what my end goal was. 

On top of grieving for the loss of my feathered babies, my then husband’s younger brother decided to GO OFF on me during our drive back to Mississippi. He claimed I was selfish, psychotic, uncaring, and manipulative. He screamed at me while we were all stuck in the car. He called me a bitch, he called me a liar, he called me a leech. I was stunned in silence. I had been struggling with my mental health for years, and had contemplated suicide more times than I could count. So, it is no surprise that while we were driving 70mph on the interstate, I seriously contemplated opening the car door and leaping out into traffic. 

I turned to my husband, my partner, the love of my life, my support system, to back me up. Defend me. Tell his brother that he was wrong. My husband did nothing of the sort. He remained silent as the verbal barrage from his brother continued. 

Everything clicked for me then. My mother in law was a complete nutcase, she blamed me for all of my husband’s shortcomings. She viewed me as a failure for not being the perfect housewife. She only saw me as a burden on her son’s happiness. My husband maintained an emotional distance from me for several years. He refused to be intimate towards me. He never showed an interest in me, my thoughts, my feelings. He never stood up for me or was proud to show me off. He never commended my strengths and triumphs, he only pointed out what he viewed were my failures. My brother in law was more of a nutcase than his mother, physically abusing his dog and neglecting his cat, leeching off of his mother and getting handouts at every possible opportunity, spending his days smoking hundreds of dollars of marijuana, drinking booze, playing videogames. 

I had no social life, I wasn’t allowed to have a social life. 

I had no friends I could hang out with, all of my friends were online. 

No matter how much I did for these people and how much I excelled at everything I did, nothing was ever enough. I was never enough. 

No wonder I struggled with mental health, eh?

I came to this realization instantaneously, and demanded to be dropped off at my dad’s house in Westminster, CO. 

I had none of my personal belongings besides my hiking and camping stuff. I didn’t care, I just had to get away from these toxic monsters. 

My husband and I loosely decided that this would be a “break” for our relationship, and that he would go back to MS to work and save up to move here with me. I agreed and I began working and saving up myself. 

We both knew he was never going to come here. We were never going to be together again. 

We remained in close contact for a few months after the separation. But the contact and our conversations became fewer and less substantial. 

One night, as I was walking home from work, I called and told him that I thought we should break up. He admitted to me that he had removed his wedding ring over three weeks prior. I was understandably hurt by that, but I did understand. 

He also informed me that all of the birds were gone or dead except for a couple roosters. 

I was more devastated by the loss of my birds than the loss of my marriage. If that doesn’t tell you enough, I don’t know what does!! 

My cat never returned. 

I asked him if we could keep in contact, and he told me he did not want to talk to me or hear from me for several years. I was once again hurt by this, but with his own mental health issues, I again, understood. He did say he can see us being friends in the future, but now that its been some time, I don’t want to be friends with him. I want the best for him, but I can’t bring myself to expose my mentality to his toxicity and negativity. 

I asked again and again, over a period of months, for him to return my belongings. He kept putting it off. I told him I was going to drive down there myself and gather everything i could and dispose of the rest. 

He agreed, initially, then banned me from coming only after I requested the time off from work and had friends to accompany me on the journey, He promised he’d send all my stuff in several shipments after he sold my car. I told him he could keep the profit from the sale of my car and use it to send me my stuff. 

He ended up sending me ONE box of my stuff. And most of it wasn’t even mine. I was appalled and disgusted that he’d be so careless and inconsiderate. 

I sent him messages and requested SPECIFIC items after I received the first box. I got no reply, and no more packages to this day have been sent. 

He and his family stole my property, killed my pets, and broke my heart. 

Thieves, liars, and extremists, the lot of them. 

I grieve daily for the loss of my animals and the torture I was put through for nearly 6 years. 

All of that out of the way, let me move on to tell you what this blog will now feature. 

I have obviously had a change in lifestyle. I no longer live on homesteading land, I live in a roomy two bedroom apartment with my AMAZING fiance. 

My love of chickens, I discovered, was a love for reptiles in general. Cuz birds are reptiles and all that jazz. 

When I met my fiance, I was already blown away by his attitude, confidence, and view on life right off the bat! He inspired me, made me want to be better to myself. 

Meeting him felt weird, at first. It felt weird because I was waiting for this amazing person to... have a catch. There’s gotta be a red flag somewhere. And if there isn’t... he is probably a psychopath who will eventually turn on me and kill me. No one is that... good. 

So I thought to myself, “Welp, gotta find out. I’ll go to his house!”

He had a couple little snakes in his room which I demanded to play with. He happily got them out and I was like “THAT’S the catch? Nah, this just convinces me this guy is... my kind of guy.” 

I’ve had a love of snakes since early childhood. Not an interest of passion, but I truly loved interacting with and watching them. I’ve never had an innate fear of any insect, (exclude honeybee, because I didn’t know better at 6 years old), or animal. I love them all and everything they do to contribute. All they experience. 

I used to catch wild garter snakes and rat snakes in nets, pet them, show them to my mother occasionally to freak her out, and release them. Then watch them. 

There were a mating pair of Oteekee Corn Snakes in my HS yard. Every summer we’d see them, out and about hunting, hiding, climbing... growing. They were bright red and jet black with specks of yellow. I could tell these guys were pretty smart and maybe there was more to snakes than I really thought about ever. 

So, being sold on this amazing guy, we up and moved in together. Nice. My paycheck kept going up and up. I was saving a ton. I wanted a car and an apartment as soon as possible. 

I got bonus after bonus for working hard at my job and everyone hitting labor targets. 

We got a place. Nice. 

Both got steady jobs. Nice. 

There’s uh, a lot of room in this new place. Nice. 

Hey it’s my birthday and I can get myself a snake. I have more than enough for supplies and the animal itself. 

I browsed on morphmarket for what felt like ages.... 

I had no idea that there were.... so many complicated genetics with ball pythons. I was highly interested, because if you know me, you know I’m interested in genetics and selective breeding. 

I found there were THOUSANDS of genetic combinations, each with unique names. It was like alien code. The animals were beautiful but I had no idea what I was really looking at. 

One night while going to our local reptile store to get feeder rats, I was looking around at all the glass window babies, as I usually do. 

I made my way around the scorpions, tarantulas, cave scorpions, frogs, lizards, the store’s companion burmese python, and my eyes landed on a little... adorable puppy-eyed baby ball python. The signage stated that it was a Puma. Seemed simple enough. Easy name to remember. I looked into the glass at the lil noodle, and talked all baby talk and shit. The sweet little thing came right up to scope at me, then yawned. 

I called an employee over and said I’d like to handle this animal right here. The employee obliged and I fell in love. Sexed as male. Easy buy. 

I cried on the way home, It was amazing. I have one picture on here of him a few days after I got him. His name is Mallow, and he is bigger now, but still just as sweet. 

So yeah. It went from there. Now, including the boa and ball python that are my fiance’s, and Mallow, we have added 3 more to our family. We are done now, as these animals may live a loooooong time. And they require space and attention just like any other pet. They’re not expensive, and they’re low maintenance care is nearly brainless if you set it up right. They’re statistically and actually safer than dogs or cats, and are absolutely therapeutic and entertaining. 

This blog will from this day forward be dedicated to snake content, reptile content, and a lot more fun, actually good pictures. I will also share genetic related stuff I find relevant. 

Not having a shitty phone camera is pretty great, tbh. 

TLDR: No more homestead. Ex is evil (yeah yeah), New place new animal new me. SNAKES! SNAKES!!!! SNAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKEEEEESSSSS!

I know this post is just for me but whatever, if I make myself laugh. Cool. G’night. 

[dobrikburrito]

great expectations, d.d.

words: 2.4k

Write something about david surprising his girlfriend with a surprise trip to like hawaii cos its her dream vacation and when the vlog goes up people compare it to the vacation dav and liza took and it makes her upset and her cheers her up. ( She wasnt a public figure and people didnt think they should be together)

disclaimer: angst & fluff. david being cute af. 

⠀ 

“Okay, give it to me.” You sat down by the corner of his bed, putting both of your hands out and closing your eyes. You smiled to yourself. “That’s what she said.”

David burst out laughing. “Can you be serious for one minute?”

“You’re one to talk,” You opened your eyes and gave him a dirty look. “By the way, I just want to say on the record that David promised that nothing gross was about to happen here. I wanted to put this out there so he can be held accountable if I have a heart attack.”

David couldn’t stop laughing, so he pointed the camera to himself. “I did promise that, unfortunately, so I had to put the anaconda away.”

“That’s what she said.” You laughed and slapped yourself. “Bad (Y/N). Alright, me-serious. Go.”

“You know how our friends say we’re really annoying with the whole anniversary every month?” David started and you nodded. “So, I had this really fun idea, which actually makes me a genius.”

“Show off.” You commented under your breath and he chuckled.

“So I decided to combine our fourth month anniversary with your birthday and…” David put two plane tickets on your hands.

You looked at David, confused and then took one second to read the tickets. Your mouth instantly dropped. “What the fuck? Oh sorry.” David laughed. “Wait, are you serious? Is this real?”

“Yes, baby!” David was loving how shocked and paralyzed you were. “This says Hawaii in it.” You commented, looking at it, trying to find any clues that it was a fake ticket for a prank.

David turned the camera to himself. “She’ll get there, just give her a minute.”

“Are we going to Hawaii?” You looked at your boyfriend, puppy eyes and jaw to the floor.

“Yeap, we’re spending 7 days in a mansion in Hawaii.” David told you and the new information just hit you even harder?

“What the fuck?” You were looking away, shocked. David burst out laughing again.

Cut to you guys on the plane, first class tickets, with a fake flower on your ear, being all excited and childish. David ordered two glasses of champagne for the both of you.

“This is literally so extra,” You laughed, posing as some fancy old lady, then doing a british accent. “David, dear, would you please take care of my ponies for the summer. I’m spending it in my mansion in Dubai. I miss my liquid gold pool.”

“Why are you british?” David was laughing so much.

“I’m not talking like Dom to try and look fancy, silly.” You joked around, then smiling to your boyfriend.

You arrived to Hawaii, rented a porsche, headed to the rental house in Kamuela. David filmed you driving there, your hair flying on the wind, loving how big the smile on your face was. The drive was about 50 minutes, which earned some shots from the road, the two of you singing to Ariana’s songs and being overall weirdos.

David filmed your whole reaction to the massive mansion just for the two of you. Feelings every feeling known to man at once, you couldn’t help the tears of happiness when you saw how beautiful everything was. It had an infinity pool, a jacuzzi, a green big yard, enormous rooms with an amazing view to the sea and sunset. David didn’t want to tell you the day price of the rental at first, but you managed to get it out of him, shocked when he told you it was US$1.5k for the night.

It was a lot of money, but you made a 7-days schedule to enjoy the most of it and have so much footage for his vlogs that the trip would end up paying itself. Honestly, you were always amazed by how David never really thought twice about spending money on you and making sure that he was doing it because he loved to. Rarely spending on himself, this was just as rewarding to him.

The next three vlogs were filled with the funniest moments of you guys snorkeling, golfing, hiking, sightseeing, watching cultural concerts, doing surf lessons (which turned out horribly), visiting local markets even going on a helicopter ride, even though you were scared to death of the height. 

On the fourth day, you woke up before David did. You just took one moment to watch him sleep, so peacefully, next to you. You knew how lucky you were to have him in your life, but not because he was a successful youtuber or because he had money. When you met him, randomly at a friend’s friend party, you didn’t even knew who he was and you loved him instantly, his humor and charm sweeping you off your feet.

Even though you weren’t a public figure nor ever was used to having cameras around, you got used to it, compromising for your relationship with him, knowing how this was basically his entire life.

“You know I can feel you staring at me, right, creep?” David said, eyes still closed but a little smirk lurking in his lips.

“I’m trying to decide when to murder you, that’s all.” You softly joked as you ran your fingertips over his cheeks. David loved your dark humor and laughed to himself, taking your hand and kissing it.

“Good morning my favorite serial killer.” He lazily opened his eyes.

“Good morning pretty boy.” You gave him a long peck on the lips. “Did I tell you how much I love you yet?”

“Not today, no.” David snuggled closer to you, humming happily when you started caressing his hair.

“I do. I love how you do that little smile with your tongue hanging and how no matter what you do to your hair, it always kinda looks both great and like you’re turning into a mad scientist.” David chuckled, hiding his face on your neck. “I love how you’re always looking to hold my hand, even when you don’t realize it.”

“Tell me more,” David gave you a sweet kiss on the neck.

“I love how you respect and love me. How you look at me with those shiny brown eyes and how those are the reason I never can’t get mad at you, which by itself makes me mad.” You sighed, then laughed. “And how selfless you are, how much you care for your friends even if sometimes you try to not to show it too much.”

“You wanna know what I love about you?” David looked up at you, his hair looking like he was definitely a mad scientist, which instantly made you chuckle. “I love your butt.”

You burst out laughing, putting your hand on his face. “Asshole, I was here pouring my heart out like a good old Todd Smith poem and you do me like that.” David chuckled for a good minute, hiding his face again and holding you tight. “My butt is pretty good, I guess.”

David nodded and you pulled his hair. “Ouch, (Y/N), the fuck.” He looked back at you. “Wait, do it again.” You rolled your eyes and tried to let go of him, only earning you deathly tickles. 

Since his next posting day was tomorrow, you reserved half the day for David to edit some of the footage of the trip to post. The video was up early in the morning, after long hours of editing, so through the first couple of hours since the video was up, David was asleep on your bed.

Curiosity always got the best of you and you checked the video again, loving the whole montages and fun moments, but your attention soon focusing on the mean comments.

Can someone make an edit with all the same scenes from this vlog and David and Liza’s vlog in Hawaii? lol

Someone tell David he found a gold digger, plz.

She’s trying too hard to replace Liza, never gonna happen hun.

Who’s gonna tell her the minute Liza calls David will drop her ass? lmao

All this money dropping on what’s-her-name. Not even that pretty tbh.

Damn she must have a top sex game to whip him up like that.

How’s it like being a long-ass rebound for David while Liza is away?

This is literally the same trip he did with Liza wtf

David can do so much better she doesn’t deserve him

I kinda like her but she’s clearly after his clout

Every word was a knife to the heart, over and over and over again. It broke your heart how much comparison there was between you and Liza, and how come most of his fans never accepted you. This wasn’t the first time you read mean comments, but this time it was deeper. They knew exactly how to hurt you.

You were sitting by yourself by the porch, looking out of the amazing view of Hawaii, a dream come true for you. Wrapped up in a small blanket, you couldn’t help but cry to yourself. The feeling you had is that your relationship was doomed for the start and that you’d never live up to his fans’ expectations because you simply wasn’t Liza.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you.” David made his way towards you.

You quickly cleaned the running tears, knowing it wasn’t doing much, since your face was read and swollen. David was taken aback by the sudden change of pace.

“Wow, (Y/N), are you okay? What happened?” Sitting by your side in the porch chair, his brows were furrowed, worried. 

“Nothing, sweetie. I’m just thinking about everything and feeling so happy about this trip and how much I don’t deserve you for being so amazing.” You were a terrible liar and he knew you pretty well.

“I appreciate the compliments, but I don’t like when you lie to me.” David caressed your thigh, comforting. “We don’t keep secrets, remember?”

“I’m going to be fine, I promise. I just need one moment.” You laughed and cleaned the tears again.

“(Y/N).” That was all he said.

You sighed, knowing you wouldn’t get out of this so easily. Deciding to comply, you read him all the youtube comments you had read. David tried to speak in between, but you stopped him until you went through all of it. His hands slid through his face in frustration.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this, baby.” He held your hand. “You don’t deserve this kind of hate. This is all my fault. I should’ve kept our relationship to ourselves.”

“This is not your fault. I love our relationship and I love our dynamic and somehow you made me love being in the vlogs. You know I support you no matter what, but I feel like I’m facing a war and losing everyday. No matter what I do, I’ll never be Liza. They’ll never accept me for me. I’ll always live down to unreachable expectations because I’m not famous nor funny enough or pretty enough or skinny enough.”

“You know I don’t care about any of that, isn’t that enough?” David’s heart was shattered by watching you cry like that, seeing how much you were hurting.

You caressed his hand with your thumb and smiled to yourself, though still sad. “Dave, when you introduced me to your life, I had no idea what any of this meant. You taught me a lot about how your life works and I adapted, because I wanted this, us. It’s so hard to be used to the cameras, the need for content, the clickbait, but I did it because I love you. You’re always enough for me, but I know I feel like I’m not enough for you.”

“(Y/N), don’t say that…” His eyes were starting to tear up.

“No, it’s okay. I understand. This is a big part of your life, it’s your career. You’d never ask me to give up on my job or personal dreams, neither would I.” You took a deep breath. “But I try to be strong and… T-to try and ignore all the hate, but it’s just so many comments. Instagram, youtube, twitter. The good ones are so rare.”

David didn’t know what to say. Your tears were rolling down your face again. “I know I shouldn’t look at it, but it’s stronger than me. I just wanted them to give me one real chance, you know?”

“Come here.” He said, pulling you up for a tight hug. “I know this sucks and it’s hurting you and I hate it, because you’re amazing and you don’t deserve any of this.” He caressed your hair. “You wanna know what I love about you? Besides your butt, I mean.”

You looked up and chuckled lightly. David cleaned the tears away.

“I love that you always check me when I’m being an idiot. You always give me your honest opinion. You treat my friends like family. You stay up late with me when I’m editing even if you sleep by the couch with me, because you don’t want me to be alone.” David caressed your cheeks. “You have the prettiest smile and seeing it instantly makes me happy, no matter what. You motivate me and inspire me. I love how you cook for me and how you’re always talking with my mom, letting her know I’m being healthy. How much my parents and siblings love you.”

You sighed, happy. You gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“I love how you make me think about having kids, because I often see how much of a great mom you’d be. I love planning with you, surprising you, thinking about our future together, because I know that if I wanted to drop this whole thing tomorrow, you’d be there for me.” David kissed you again. “You’ll never be Liza and I love you for it, because I don’t want you to be. I want you to be you, because that’s who I fell madly in love with.”

“Oh my God. I’m crying more now, stupid. Look what you did.” Chuckling softly, you hugged him tight again. He returned the hug.

“I’m sorry these haters keep hurting you, but I promise I’ll be here to kick their ass and assure you that you’re absolutely amazing, okay?” David pointed out.

You nodded, overwhelmed by how much you loved that boy. “I love you, stupid.” You smiled.

“I love you too, dumbass.” David smiled and kissed all over your face.

[amintyworld]

HI I HAVE A PROMPT FOR YOU! Can You Do “I know it hurts, honey. Just stay still.” Blood With Royality Please? I’m A Sucker For These Two Sunshine Boys, But Alas, They Must Suffer

Hi! Thanks for the prompt, and I’m sorry it took so long! This is pretty angsty, as you requested, and it’s an idea that was floating around in my head for some time now. Hope you enjoy! Also, if you can submit a prompt with the list here! -Minty

Broken Heart

Summary: Remus has had enough. 

TW: Blood, threat of death, fear of death, Remus, hypothermia, gun, being shot, pain, EXTREMELY unsympathetic Remus. (Let me know if I missed any!)

Remus had a sadistic smile that curled a little too unnaturally. “Hello, brother.” Remus forced out with slight intensity. “What are you doing out in my part of the forest? I thought…you didn’t like it here.”

“Remus, where’s Patton?” Roman asked, holding up a piece of his torn cat onesie. “I saw these on the brambles separating everything, if you hurt so much as a hair on his head-” Roman said, his voice rising in volume as he continued.

“You’ll what?” Remus snapped. “Kill me?!”

“I’ll…I’ll…” Roman said, his heart burning in his chest. Would he really kill his own brother? Killing a side, even bad ones, could endanger Thomas. But…more than that…

Would that really be how everything ended?

“That’s the difference between you and me, brother.” Remus said, keeping his unnerving smile. “I’m not afraid anymore. Being here, all alone, for years and years…” Remus cocked his head to the side, rain beginning to fall as thunder sounded from the distance. “But you never noticed, did you? You forgot all about me all too quickly.”

“Remus, I-”

“Didn’t you?!” Remus sneered, as a lightning strike flashed behind him.

“Where’s Patton, Remus?” Roman asked, trying to be calm and just get back through the hedges. “Give him over, and…and we can forget this ever happened.”

“Even now, you’re still thinking of everyone else. After all, the hero never does anything wrong, do they? It’s always the villain.”

“Remus, please -” Roman was nearly begging, trying to ignore the vivid images from the night, the heartbroken look on his brother’s face. That night refused to leave him, and Roman didn’t want to think about it. Not now.

Remus’s smile vanished, if only for a moment. His eyes sharpened with a new flicker of hatred at Roman’s words, as if fueling his unsettling rage. With a quick backflip, Remus jumped in the roof of his dark castle, his smile growing wider, laughing hysterically. Remus quickly went out of sight.

“Remus, come on…” Roman said, uneasy, slightly afraid at this. The rain came down heavier, and a lightning strike startled him. Roman stepped back slightly, looking around for his brother desperately. “Remus, let’s just… talk.”

Suddenly a roll of thunder and lightning strike illuminated the darkness as Remus, smiling, jumped down with a thud, someone falling to the ground in front of his twin…

“Patton!” Roman yelled, rushing toward him when Remus pulled Patton up and quickly put a gun to Patton’s head. Remus’s head snapped up at his twin, smiling and laughing sadistically at Roman’s expression.

“Not. So. Fast.” He growled.

“You freaking bastard! Let him go, he’s got nothing to do with this!” Roman yelled. “This is between you and me. Not him.”

“Oh, brother… “ Remus laughed slightly. “Spare me your pathetic sentiment. Thanks to your actions, Patton here plays a key role in tonight’s festivities!” Patton, through bound by his wrists, kicked him and tried to run before Remus’s eyes turned dangerously cold as he punched him across the face. “Nuh uh uh, little rat…” Remus said, sickeningly sweet. “You’re staying RIGHT there until your boyfriend and I sort out some issues, GOT IT?” Patton gulped, shaking as he slowly nodded. Remus smiled all too sweetly. “Good, good…”

“What do you want, Remus?!” Roman yelled. “Just let him go!”

“I want…” Remus said, looking to his brother. “To even things between us, brother. I want to be just how we used to be - the two princes of Creativity. I want to be your brother again, Ro.” Remus’s expression softened a moment, and Roman saw a flash of heartbreak in his eyes.

“We will! I promise!” Roman said, begging. “Just let him go and I promise we’ll be together again… brother…”

“Before we reach our happily ever after, however-” Remus’s eyes turned cold. “A few sacrifices have to be made, brother. After all, it was you who’s just taken and taken and taken all these years… all starting on the day we were dragged away from each other… all starting with THEM…” He growled at the last word, pushing the gun harder against Patton’s skull.

“Remus, what did I-”

“OOOHHH!” Remus smiled, giggling. “Do you not remember when you didn’t hang out with me anymore? When you destroyed the treehouse to put up that STUPID barrier!? When you choose those…those haughty LIGHT SIDES, over ME?! When you decided you were afraid…afraid of your own brother…?”

The gleam in Remus’s eyes did make Roman’s heart beat faster, and the gun - is this some trick? Or… is he actually going to-? Roman breathed, looking at his brother. Roman couldn’t ever forgive himself for what he’s done, Remus didn’t deserve this. He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m…I’m not afraid of you.”

“LIAR.” Remus spat. “I can hear your heart beat faster, brother. I can smell the sweat that’s running down your back, and can practically TASTE the terror in your mind.”

“Maybe…maybe I am… afraid. But I know you, Remus. I know you better than anyone…” Roman said, inching closer. “I know you’re not going to do this. I know you’re not going to pull that trigger.”

“How can you be so sure?!” Remus said, pushing the gun harder against Patton’s head as Patton silently whimpered.

“Because you are many things, Remus… but you are NOT a killer.” Roman said. Remus looked like a scared child, and his eyes softened as his brother’s words. Remus’s hand shook, and Patton saw this as his chance to run. Remus quickly pointed the gun at Patton’s back.  

“I’m sorry, brother.” Remus said softly. “You broke my heart, now it’s time I broke yours.”

The gun fired, and Patton fell to the floor in a heap, screaming as the bullets ripped through his stomach - his blood splattering the ground. Roman yelled, rushing over to his boyfriend as his heart felt like it was ripped into pieces. He moved Patton slowly into his arms. “Pat? Pat, please…”

He looked around, but Remus was nowhere to be found, like he had completely vanished in thin air. He felt like he wanted to punch him, kick him until he bled, but Remus was gone now. Roman silently swore that if that rat bastard showed his face again, he’d make sure he regretted it. Patton coughed, bring Roman’s attention down to him. Three bullets were lodged in his chest, gushing out blood rapidly. Drops of blood seeped down from Patton’s mouth. “R-ro…man…”

“Patton! Thank god!” Roman said, tears blurred his vision.

“H-hurts…” Patton whimpered. “It…it h-hurts…”

“I know, honey. I know.” Roman said, taking off his princely uniform, ripping it up. “Just…just stay still, okay?” He carefully wrapped Patton’s chest to help with the blood loss. Patton’s eyes were filled with tears from the overwhelming pain, which seeped down his cheeks. “We… we gotta get back to the Mindscape, okay? Just… just hold on, okay?” Roman said, whistling to call his horse, Daisy. They didn’t have any time to lose. The horse galloped  towards them and stopped, looking carefully over the scene. Roman picked up Patton, who was shaking and shivering, wincing in pain, in the front. He climbed up and placed his boyfriend almost delicately back in his arms.

“Okay girl,” Roman said, holding the reins, “I need you to run faster than you ever did before. Mindscape, h’yah!”

The horse whinned as it galloped past the barrier and towards the entrance, heaving from exhaustion but not stopping for one second. Patton nearly nodded off before Roman jostled him awake. “Just a little further, honey. No going to sleep, okay?”

Roman kept looking head towards the entrance, hoping that Patton would make it, he had to make it, he had to. His emotions made a snowstorm, which only complicated things. Without his shirt, he was getting hypothermia, and shivered, but kept Patton close for warmth. Snow covered his body, and seeped into his blood, a cold bitterness that numbed him; but his mind was only focused on one thing - Patton.

Patton was all that mattered right now.

It felt like hours, Roman almost falling off a couple of times, but he didn’t give up. He couldn’t - the picture of Patton’s cold, limp body - he would never make that a reality.

Roman would say that seeing that white door was the biggest rush of relief in his life. He jumped off Daisy quickly, holding Patton, and rushed to the door.

They made it, they made it, they really made it-

Roman’s legs could barely move a few feet inside the door, but that was enough. He fell to the floor, Patton still in his arms. But heard quick movement as he fell.

“Roman, you better have a good explanation for being so late- OHMYGOD!” Virgil yelled as he turned the corner and found them leaning against a wall. Roman tried to stand, but only could shuffle on his knees a few feet. Virgil was already rushing towards them.

“P-patton… g-gun… needs…help…now-” Roman managed to say, his world becoming dizzy, as he used practially all his strength to shove Patton into Virgil’s arms.

Logan hurried in after, a bit annoyed. “Virgil, I was just reading a book, what was so horrific you had to-?!” He took in the scene - a blood soaked Patton, a nearly frozen Roman, and Virgil, who looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. He calmly put down his book and walked swiftly over to Virgil. “Virgil, I need you to breathe for a few seconds, okay?” Logan said calmly. “Please keep an eye on Patton and bring him to the couch with my emergency kit, okay? I’ll be down in a little bit, just keep putting pressure on his stomach.”

Virgil breathed deeply, giving a shaky nod as he rushed out of the room, Patton in his arms. Logan turned to Roman and began to walk over when Roman’s world slowly faded, his body shivering with cold. Cold in his bones, in his head, in his heart. Cold his body couldn’t fight so much anymore. “Lo…” Then, he drifted off.

Patton was safe. Patton was home. That was all that mattered.

[heyyyharry]

do you think you could do a blurb with flatmate Harry and Y/N where Harry uses this one specific pet name for Y/N and he uses the name on someone else and Niall or someone is like “that’s Y/N’s name” and Y/N gets upset? (Before they are together) I love your writing!!!

Thank you and you’re welcome!

.

Harry wasn’t the kind of guy who overused pet names to call anyone. The only girl he’s ever called ‘love’ before was his childhood best friend Olivia, whom he hasn’t seen or heard from in years. But he grew up with her so she didn’t really count.

That was before Y/N.

“What are you doing, love?”

“Hey love, see you after class!”

“Love, I’m going out, need me to get you anything?”

“Good night, love.”

“Good morning, love.”

Harry calls his flatmate ‘love’ so often that it’s almost become her second name now. The first few times he called her ‘love’ was just to tease her, knowing she hated him and thought he was annoying. But the closer they get, the more he grows to enjoy calling her so, probably because of the way she starts blushing every single time, and because she is now really that to him, his love.

Y/N used to hate it, that pet name, since she assumed he used it with every girl he knew and for sure didn’t take it seriously. However, they’ve been living together for quite a long time now and she’s never once heard him call any other girl he’s brought home by that name, and honestly, it makes Y/N feel kinda special.

It’s an ordinary Wednesday afternoon in the library, Harry’s tutoring Y/N for this class she’s struggling with. They’ve spent two hours on one topic as Harry keeps explaining over and over again but his flatmate has her head somewhere on the clouds. No matter how hard she tries, Y/N just can’t concentrate, because, 1) his eyes are extra green today and she can’t explain why, she just has to stare, 2) he‘s so sexy in his new shirt, yellow has never looked better on him.

“Focus!” Harry taps his pencil slightly on Y/N’s forehead when he catches her smiling for no reason. “You’re the worst student I’ve ever had!”

His comment makes her giggle. “I’m the only student you’ve ever had, H.”

Apparently, Y/N speaks way too soon. Just as she finishes that sentence, Niall shows up, walking behind him is a beautiful red head. She’s got the type of face that only one look at it can immediately crush your self-confidence to dust. Y/N thinks she’s seen the girl in a few of her classes before, they’ve never spoken to each other though.

“This is my friend Carrie. Mind if she joins us?” asks Niall, and Harry happily tells the girl to sit and that she’s welcome here.

“Sorry love, you’re not the only one,” Harry whispers to Y/N with a smirk on his face.

She knows he means she’s not his only student like she thought she was, but Y/N also understands it as she’s not the only girl in his life and therefore she’s not special. He didn’t have to remind her of something she’s already well aware of, the last thing she needs is another crack in the heart. Thank you very much!

Niall and Carrie sit down in front of Harry and Y/N. Y/N doesn’t like the way Carrie and Harry look at each other. It’s like they’re eye-fucking right here, in a library, with their friends in presence! How inappropriate! Moreover, this pretty girl showing up apparently makes Harry forget what he’s really here for. He’s gawking at Carrie now. Annoyed, Y/N taps her pencil on his forehead without warning, causing her flatmate to snap back to reality and shoot her a look of surprise.

“Focus!” She repeats what he said to her earlier, sounding slightly upset, though she doesn’t think he can see it through.

.

Half an hour has passed and Y/N is getting more and more irritated. Carrie is not subtly flirting anymore. She always finds excuses to touch Harry’s hand, toy with his pen and draw silly doodles on the corner of his notebook page, and he lets her!!! Y/N thinks the two of them are probably playing footsies under the desk right now; she’s afraid to look knowing she’d get mad (even though she doesn’t really have the right to). Therefore, Y/N decides to just ignore everything and pays attention to her textbook instead.

It’s Harry who pulls her trigger.

Carrie mentions something about the information in the book and asks him if what she understands is right, to which he replies by saying, “that’s correct, love.”

Love!!!

Y/N and Niall both turn to Harry the second they hear that word, while he’s too busy taking note to notice the looks on their faces.

Y/N is very offended indeed!

Did he just call that girl ‘love’? He only calls her that. Even Niall knows it, since he appears just as shocked as Y/N is and even takes a glance at her to see her reaction.

Y/N is doubtlessly upset yet doesn’t want to dramatize the whole situation, so she chooses to stay quiet.

It’s just a stupid pet name, it doesn’t mean anything…or at least that’s what Y/N’s trying to convince herself in order to feel better, which doesn’t help, not even a little bit.

At the end of the afternoon, as they head back to the parking lot together alone, Y/N tries to avoid making eye contact with Harry at all costs. One look at him and she knows she’ll explode. She’s very mad and doesn’t want to speak to him or hear him speak. Harry, being an oblivious dumbass, decides to start a conversation anyway.

“Love, why are you so quiet?” He questions as he walks faster in order to catch up with her.

“Don’t call me that,” she grumbles, which really catches him off guard.

“Why? I thought you liked that nickname.”

“I never do. It’s cringy and annoying.” That’s a lie. She thinks Harry cannot tell she’s lying but of course he can. He’s better at being a liar than she’ll ever be.

“Are you okay?” He chuckles, lowering his head to look at her face but she turns it away from him, leaving him no choice but to poke her side. Y/N is very ticklish, and by doing so, Harry gets exactly the reaction he wants from her.

“Knock it off!” She slaps his hand away. “Go do that to Carrie, she’d sure like it.”

“Aww, are you jealous?”

“I’m not jealous, because you know what?” She faces him with both hands on her hips. “I’m not one of your girls, so stop calling me ‘love’ like I’m one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” He chuckles with a faint look of confusion. “I only call you that.”

“You called Carrie that,” Y/N says before she can stop herself.

“Did I?”

“Yeah, I sat right next to you. I heard it loud and clear. Niall did too!”

As much as Harry loves the way she scrunches up her nose when she’s mad, he doesn’t like having her believe something that’s not even close to the truth.

“It might’ve just slipped out.”

“Yeah right.”

Harry’s not lying right now. He doesn’t even remember calling anyone beside her by that pet name. Maybe he thought it was Y/N who was talking to him, or he was thinking of her and called Carrie ‘love’ by accident. But how is he gonna explain that to Y/N without it being ‘I’m secretly in love with you, and you’re always on my mind sometimes I can’t think straight’?

“Harry!” Carrie shows up all of a sudden and runs to catch up with Harry and Y/N.

Shit, the last thing he needs is her being here!

“I forgot to ask.” The red head smiles breathlessly when she stops in front of them. “Can I have your number? Just to discuss course materials and stuff.”

Harry knows that look, those lectures would be the last thing this girl wants to talk about. Harry must admit he thinks she’s really pretty, he froze for a second or two when he first saw her in the library; and if they’d met a couple months ago, he would’ve been the one to ask for her number.

But Harry’s changed. She isn’t his Y/N, and he’s promised himself not to do this anymore.

No girl other than Y/N.

“Sorry.” He gives her a shrug. “My girlfriend wouldn’t be happy if I gave another girl my phone number.”

Carrie is taken aback for she’s pretty sure he’s single. Niall told her that! Harry, on the other note, doesn’t feel like explaining. He just grabs Y/N by the hand and says goodbye to the other girl right away.

“Come on, love.” He turns to his flatmate. “Let’s go.”

“Girlfriend?” Y/N raises an eyebrow at him as they continue walking with him still holding her hand. “Who’s your girlfriend?”

“‘I’m taken’ is always a good way to tell someone you’re not interested,” he tells her with a silly grin on his face. “I can’t believe you thought I called her ‘love’! I don’t like her that way!”

“So…” Y/N can’t help the smile on her face which has started to grow. “You like me…that way?”

The unexpected question turns Harry’s body into stone right on the spot. If he looked at her right now he’d get to see a vibrant beam which she’s unable to hide; but Harry’s too embarrassed to even take a quick glance at her after unintentionally letting those words escape.

“That’s not what I said, stop putting words in my mouth.” Harry scoffs while shaking his head.

But Y/N is not disappointed, not at all.

[cal-puddies]

pics || luke hemmings

luke smut won. michael coming soon.

Luke doesn’t know what to do the first time you send him a dirty picture. He’s sitting in the room after the show with the guys and the text box pops up as he’s scrolling through Twitter, reading about the show.

You’re sitting there in his favorite bra, the toy he’d gotten you before he left laying next to you. It’s just not you.

Luke gulps, and Ash, sitting right next to him, notices. “What’s up mate?”

“Nothing!” Luke turns bright red and immediately locks his phone. He knows the last thing you’d want is his friends seeing you sexy like that, post orgasm glow.

“That’s why you’ve gone red?” Ash jokes.

“It’s just… my girl. She misses me.” He shrugs.

“A sweet “I miss you” turned you red?” Cal laughs.

“It was definitely more than an “I miss you.” Ash retorts.

“What’d you see?” Luke questions quickly.

“I saw that there was a picture but didn’t get a look at the content.” Ash explains. “Is she sending you dirty pictures?” He watches Luke go red again and then nod. “You didn’t respond!?”

“Yeah man you can’t leave her hanging like that. You probably left her on read too. She’s freaking out now.” Cal adds.

“You think so?”

“Yeah mate, she’s vulnerable like that for you and you just don’t respond?” Mike finally pipes up.

“Fuck.” Luke grabs his phone and stands before unlocking it to make sure no one gets that eye full. “What do I say?” He starts pacing.

“You can say just about anything, but you have to say something.” Ash points out. “Just tell her you miss her too.” He shrugs.

“Shit… ok.” He quickly types out Miss you too baby.

You sigh, as you read the text. You were hoping for a little more, maybe he’d feel up for phone sex or something, you missed his moans. But Luke’s vanilla ass very rarely fed into your less than vanilla whims. You were actually shocked when he gave you the toy, but then Calum told you that him and Ash had been behind that move for you.

You open your group text with Calum and Ash,

-he said I miss you too… I send him a dirty picture and he says he misses me. Fuck. I hate you guys. You knew he was vanilla when you set us up.

-sorry babe, thought it’d help you out. And ash really means it which makes it worse.

-I honestly thought he’d loosen up for you. Cal adds.

You go to bed annoyed and pissy that your boyfriend didn’t help you with a second orgasm.

But your phone rings a couple hours later, and you pick it up, face pressed against the pillow. “Mell-o?” You groan, not even checking it.

“Baby.” Luke groans.

You roll over and look at the clock, and then something clicks in your brain, and you pick up another sound on the other end. A slick sound.

“Hey Luke.” You say quietly, still trying to decide if you’d heard what you thought you heard.

“Miss you so much.” He whimpers.

“Miss you too baby.” You reply. And then he moans. “Luke? Handsome?”

“Picture was so hot babe… and god I miss your mouth wrapped around my cock.” He whines. “Baby, can you touch yourself for me?” He asks.

“Luke, are you alone?” You ask, biting your lip.

“Hotel night baby.” He explains.

“D’you wanna FaceTime and you can watch?” You ask, thinking you might get your hot night anyway.

“I’m barely hanging on as it is princess. Another night.” He moans, and you know there’s no truth behind it, he won’t give you another night either. “Rub your clit for me baby.” He groans.

“I’m sorry babe, I’m not feeling it.” You chew your lip, hoping you don’t ruin his orgasm, because you don’t really want that either.

“S’ok princess.” He whimpers, you know he’s close. “Keep talking to me baby, tell me about earlier. About the picture.”

“Well… I played with that vibrator, had a mediocre orgasm, and just wanted my handsome boyfriend afterwords.” You start.

Luke lets out a whine you’re familiar with. The one meaning he’s cum. “Dammit baby, you couldn’t give me that one thing.” He groans after he’d panted it out.

“Sorry handsome… you never give me what I want.” You whisper the last part.

“This again?” He asks.

You sigh. “No, Luke… goodnight.” You say, hanging up before anything more can be said.

“I fucked up.” Luke admits to Cal the second he sees him in the morning.

“I heard.” Cal shakes his phone a little.

“All of it?” He clarifies.

“You really just said you missed her after she sent you a dirty picture.” Cal asks.

He starts to nod. “Wait… she didn’t tell you anything else?” Luke clarifies.

“What more is there to tell?” Cal eyes him.

“Uhm…” Luke wonders if he should even say anything, but Cal looks impatient. “I may have called her when we got back to the hotel, after I’d been having some of my own “alone time” and asked her to help me out. She ended up hanging up on me, after again complaining about our sex life.” He frowns. “I don’t know what to do Calum. I just want to make her happy.”

“Maybe listen to her.” Ash says, coming up behind them, waiting at the elevator. “Maybe try some of the things she wants. You knew your sex lives didn’t exactly “line up” when you met. But she was willing to give up some of her kink for your vanilla. Maybe you could bring some kink back.” He suggests.

“Oh yeah? What should I do then? Let you two tag team her while I watch?” Luke looks over at Calum and Ash who are exchanging a grin. “No.” He says, adamant.

“She wouldn’t go for that anyway. She’s a one man kinda girl. You just… you need to show her you want to meet her halfway Luke. Otherwise it’s probably about over.” Cal smirks.

Luke comes home a week later, you know you probably wouldn’t see him for a few days after he got home because he liked to sleep it off the first few days, and you were fine with that.

But what you didn’t expect was him sitting on your couch in just sweatpants when you got home from work on Friday night. “Hey handsome.” You greet.

“C’mere baby.” He says quietly.

You cross the room, Luke’s hand slips around your waist and he forgoes kissing you, immediately pressing his face against your stomach after he pulls you in. Both hands move to your ass, and then he pushes your dress up, and pulls your panties down.

“Step out, take your shoes off.” He says, fingers slowly sliding up and down your legs. You do as he says and he finds the zipper on your dress, leaving you in just your bra. His lips press back to your stomach and he leaves sloppy open mouth kisses as his hands grip your ass and pull you onto the couch. You were already turned on. “Wanna taste,  babe.” He whispers, lips moving lower. His hands grip your ass again and he pulls you up, hoisting you over his face.

He gently kisses your pussy lips, you look down at him and see his pretty blue eyes staring back at you. You feel his tongue split your lips and you grab his hair in one hand and the back of the couch in the other. He licks over your opening a few times and then his lips wrap around your clit.

“Oh fuck Luke.” You whimper. “What’s gotten into you?” You moan.

He pulls his mouth away from you, “I’m gonna be getting into you soon enough… on your back.” He smacks your ass. You quickly scramble to lay down, spreading your legs. Both of Luke’s hands are on you then, he pushes his hands on your skin, both his thumbs push between your lips and over your clit, he uses them to hold your lips open and he licks your clit. “Beautiful girl.” He grins at you, wrapping his arm around your thigh. His other hand rubs over your spread pussy. “So wet for me.”

You are completely surprised by his next move, he pulls out one of your vibrators and holds it to your clit. “Luke!” You squeak, hips bucking.

“The guys were right, baby. I know you were into a lot more than I’d even tried when we got together; and you’ve happily had very vanilla sex with me for a while, so, time to change it up for you.” He mentions, pushing the vibrator into you. His lips wrap back around your clit and he sucks.

Your fingers grip hard into his hair. “Luke,” you whine, “baby.”

He quickly brings you to orgasm and then his sweat pants come down and he sinks his cock into you before you have the chance to come down.

“How’s that baby.” Luke smirks at you.

“No… Luke… what the fuck?” You moan.

“Want me to stop?” He asks.

“No no no no no no… don’t you fucking dare.” You warn. “Luke this is the fucking closest you’ve ever come to giving me multiple orgasms, please don’t fucking stop.”

Luke begins to slam his hips against yours, creating that delicious feeling of orgasm number 2 creeping up in your gut. Your nails dig into his back as your teeth sink into his forearm. You feel his cum shoot into you and your eyes immediately go wide. It’s something you’re cool with but he’d never ever wanted to do it. He pulls out and grabs your panties. “Don’t you dare drip any of that cum. Put those back on and go to your room.” He says. His tone is stern, which you never have had in the bedroom with him.

You immediately follow directions, holding your thighs together as tight as possible so you don’t drip any of his cum into your panties. You stay standing once in the room because he didn’t give any other direction. He comes in and grins at you.

“You know… I asked ash for a few pointers with you. And I have to say he knew quite a bit on how to handle you.” His hand lands on your ass. “You sleep with him?” He asks.

“No. Never.” You say.

He spanks you, “you’re not typically a liar, so I’m inclined to believe you. What about Cal?” He asks, spanking you again.

You almost say no, because you didn’t sleep with him, but you both went down on each other. “Um… he… I sucked him off, and he ate my pussy once.”

“Just once?” He clarifies, hand landing on your ass.

You bite your lip because you’re pretty sure that’s right but you aren’t 100. “Mmmhmm.” You finally answer.

“Good, that’s what Cal said too. So my little slut, on your back.” He nods to the bed. You do as your told, “lets see how well you followed directions.” He pulls your panties off and looks at them and then spreads your legs wide, you’re completely shocked when his tongue slicks through your pussy. His lips are pressing to yours, sharing his cum and he continues to play with your pussy, spreading the lips, lightly rubbing your clit, pushing his fingers in and teasing your g-spot.

“Oh fuck Luke, what the fuck.” You whimper. “Lemme ride your cock, baby.” You coo.

“Hop on pretty girl.” He demands, settling on his back.

“Dammit Luke. I dunno what’s gotten into you but… ohhhh.” You whine, sliding down his hard cock.

“Feel good baby?” He smirks.

“So good Luke, oh god.” And then you set to work, bouncing on Luke’s cock, feeling on your own body, cupping your breasts. Luke’s enjoying the show, watching you, pushing his hand between your breasts, against your chest, holding your hips, rubbing your thighs.

“You look so good riding my cock.” He moans and you immediately fall forward, pressing your lips to his.

“I just… fuck Luke.” You moan. He cums deep inside you for a second time today and you can’t help but love the feeling, letting it push you over the edge as well. “Luke, baby.” You push yourself up off his cock and lay on your back beside him. You reach over and grab his jaw pulling him in for a kiss. “Fuck.” You groan into his skin.

“Yeah, was that good babe?” He asks, letting out a little chuckle.

“Yes Luke, it was. I really appreciate you doing this for me.” You grin.

“Baby, I wanna keep you and I know I wasn’t pleasing you. So I did what I needed to do. You’ve been nothing but accepting and understanding and loving. You’ve given up so much to be with me. You deserve something in return.”

“You’re too sweet Luke… especially for what’s about to come out of my mouth: I want your dick in me again.”

“Baby… I just wanna cuddle.” He chuckles.

“We can make both work,” you grin, scooting closer to him. You drape your leg over his hip and guide him in, “just for a little while.”

“I could get used to this.” He admits. He tucks your hair behind your ear and rubs his thumb against your cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thanks handsome.”

“I love you baby.” He hums, kissing your forehead, “I hope you don’t complain the next time I want vanilla sex.” He chuckles.

“Honestly Luke, as long as you promise to keep fucking me like that, I’ll keep having vanilla sex and being happy about it.”

Taglist: @cocktail-calum @1dthewantedlove @september09241994 @youngblood199456 @lustingforwunder @calumsphile @neso-k @rosecoloredash @radmcqueen @justayoungandwisefangirl @itsnotmyblood @slimthicccal @softboycal @lietoash @pushthetide21 @5sosfanficrec @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles

masterlist || ashton || calum || luke || michael

wanna be tagged? go here

[whelvenwings]

A Pretty Good Pair

it just turned midnight here in the UK, which means IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!! have some destiel fluff, 2.7k of fake relationship goodness, on the house :DDD

read it here on AO3 if you’d prefer!

***********************************

“Sir, I’m sorry, but we really need the table…”

“Five more minutes,” Castiel said. “Just five.”

He checked his phone under the table as the waiter walked away.

Nothing.

His boss, on his left, gave an impatient sigh.

“Castiel, we should just order,” Naomi said. Across the table, her partner Bartholomew gave a curt nod. Castiel swallowed hard.

“He’ll be here,” he said. “He just -”

“Got stuck in traffic,” said a voice behind Castiel, and then there was a light kiss being pressed to his cheek, and he was turning to find Dean Winchester standing above him and squeezing his shoulder. “Sorry, Cas. I’m here. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

As Dean took a seat, Castiel gave him a wide-eyed look that tried to encompass everything he was feeling, and couldn’t even begin to do one percent of the job. Dean raised his eyebrows in return.

A brief flash of their conversation of two days earlier flashed into Cas’ mind.

My boss is inviting me out for dinner. She wants me to bring my partner.

Cas… you don’t have…

I know… what will I do? She’s totally biased towards people in relationships. Last week she gave Jody a raise because she heard that Jody and her wife got a dog. She’s all about ‘family values’.

Well… at least she’s not homophobic…

No. Just arophobic, I suppose. Anyway, she’s going to overlook me for this promotion just because I don’t have a nice husband and a picket fence and a sedan.

I mean… well, I mean, what if you did? For one night?

Castiel could still feel the way his heart had twisted in his chest.

“You going to introduce me?” Dean said now, smiling at him. “Babe?”

At the pet name, Castiel felt his mouth go dry. His fingertips were tingling as though with pins and needles. This plan was never going to work. They were going to be caught within the first few minutes. But Dean had told him it would be fine - had said that they’d easily make it through the evening.

Dean knew that Castiel was a decent liar, and a good actor when he needed to be. Dean knew that Castiel was desperate to get this promotion. There were lots of things Dean knew - and there was just one thing that Dean didn’t know. One spanner in the works, one fly in this already bizarre and ridiculous ointment.

“Of course,” Castiel said.

The one thing he didn’t know -

“This is my partner,” Castiel said to Naomi and Bartholomew, “Dean.”

- was that Castiel had been wishing he could honestly say those words for two years, now.

Dean beamed at Castiel’s boss and her husband, a winning smile. Just seeing him react so happily to Castiel’s words - fake though they were, just lies - had Castiel in a spin.

“Nice to meet you at last, Dean,” Naomi said smoothly, taking a sip of her water. “Castiel’s been with the company for almost five years and we’ve never met. Did you two only recently get together?”

Castiel opened his mouth to answer, but Dean was already speaking.

“No, no. We moved in together about three years ago. We’ve been roommates ever since.”

“Roommates?”

“Well… in a manner of speaking,” Dean said, with a wink. He looked to Castiel, who gave him a look that would have been imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him as well as Dean; Dean cleared his throat, and made an effort to look serious. “I guess just living together brought us closer, and after a while, I realised I was totally gone for this guy.”

He reached across the table, and Castiel struggled with himself for a moment before putting his hand in Dean’s and smiling across the table at Naomi and Bartholomew. He squeezed, and then let go.

“That’s nice,” Naomi said, though she sounded as cold as ever. “At the company we really value strong family values. We like our employees to be settled, happy people.”

And of course, Castiel thought bitterly, that could only be the case if the people were in a relationship. Never mind that he and Dean had been each other’s rocks since before Castiel had even developed romantic feelings for him, and had continued to be so throughout all these years without being in a romantic relationship.

Dean didn’t even feel that way about Castiel, after all. Castiel was pretty sure.

Three years of living together. He’d have noticed after three years.

“So, are you two thinking about the future?” Naomi said. “I notice there’s no wedding ring.”

“Oh,” Dean said. “Right. Well, uh… you know, sometimes things are a little complicated…”

Naomi’s neutral expression was turning into a frown.

“We’re very committed,” Castiel cut in. “It’s just, you know… we haven’t really spoken yet about that.”

“Why not?”

“Well…” Castiel looked back to Dean, his expression wide-eyed.

“Uh, it’s me,” Dean said. “I guess I just haven’t got my head out my ass and… uh, bought a ring yet.” Naomi still looked unimpressed, and Dean went on. “To tell the truth… I just haven’t been sure that Castiel really wanted me to. And I didn’t want to put any pressure on him or make it awkward between us, I guess. Sometimes I got a vibe, you know, but…” He looked back to Castiel. “I wasn’t… sure.”

Castiel stared at him.

“That’s very honest,” Naomi said, raising her eyebrows and looking down at her menu, as though finding Dean’s supposed truthfulness a little distasteful. “Let’s see if we can order.”

“You should be sure,” Castiel said to Dean, who was twisting his hands together under the table, where only Castiel could see.

Dean smiled at him, a little uncertainly.

They ordered, and the talk turned to smaller things: the weather, the upcoming Halloween party at work, the latest statistics at the company. Bartholomew held forth on golf for a long ten minutes, during which Dean kept kicking at Castiel’s leg under the table to try to make him laugh.

When the food finally arrived, Castiel hoped that they could eat in peaceable quiet; Naomi, however, seemed to have other plans. She fixed her gaze upon Dean, and said,

“So, do you plan on having a family?”

Castiel didn’t even know what the right answer to that was; Naomi didn’t like her employees taking parental leave and frequently expressed frustration when they did so, but also wanted everyone to be settled and family-oriented. He supposed it was asking too much for her to make sense and be consistent. When Dean hesitated, Castiel said,

“It’s a little early to be thinking about that.”

“I think Cas would make a great dad,” Dean said, “if he wanted to be.”

Castiel, taken by surprise, offered Dean a smile.

“I feel the same,” he said. “Dean would make an excellent father.”

After another ten minutes of small talk and eating, Dean excused himself to the bathroom; after a few moments, unable to resist, Castiel stood up and offered his apologies, too, to follow him.

In the bathroom - or rather, a fancy, carpeted, mirrored anteroom that led into the bathrooms themselves - Dean was washing his hands in a marbled sink. When Castiel came in, he turned around, and smiled.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hello, Dean.”

“We make a pretty good pair,” Dean said, and Castiel’s heart skipped a beat. “I think we’re selling them on it, right?”

He stepped back towards the door, walking towards Castiel; he must have misjudged the distance, because he ended up very much in Castiel’s space. He smelled amazing - wearing his best cologne, Castiel thought. He smiled, and gently reached up to adjust Dean’s tie. He never normally would, but - well, tonight, they were together, weren’t they?

“You’re doing wonderfully,” he said.

He looked up into Dean’s eyes, and Dean swallowed.

“We should get back out there,” Castiel said, after a long moment.

“They’ll think we’re doing things to each other in here,” Dean said, in agreement. Castiel tried not to let his mind wander towards what those things might be.

Dean left the bathroom first, and Castiel took a few moments to wash his own hands and give himself a look over in the mirror. He breathed in, and out. Was he reading too much into things, being too hopeful? When Dean had said those things about how he hadn’t been sure whether Castiel really wanted him to make a move…

No, it couldn’t be anything. Surely. It was just wishful thinking, being in this confusing situation where all their normal lines were being crossed.

The way Dean had looked at him, though… Castiel knew him well enough to recognise that Dean didn’t wear an expression like that lightly.

The idea that Dean might actually feel that way about him - Castiel couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. It was so exhilarating as to be terrifying. Castiel had decided with relative happiness over the last few years to enjoy being Dean’s best friend, to living with him for as long as he could, to just cherish being as close as possible for as long as it lasted. He knew Dean would eventually find someone else he liked romantically, and want to build a life with them - though the number of dates he’d been on had dropped off sharply over the past couple of years, now that Castiel really thought about it -

The point was, Castiel had never really entertained any real hope of Dean liking him back. It just wasn’t possible.

He left the bathroom, and sat back down at the table. When he rejoined the conversation, he realised that they were talking about hobbies, and Dean was discussing in very close detail the enjoyment that Castiel found in needlepoint.

The fact that Castiel had never embroidered so much as once in his life didn’t seem to be holding him back, particularly.

“And you should see the cushion he made for my aunt Mavis last Easter. Just two giant chickens, sitting on two giant eggs. I don’t want to know how they laid those things, but it sure was nice to look at. Maybe needed a vet afterwards, I don’t know. He’s just very skilled.”

“Oh, Dean,” Castiel said, “you’re too kind. Listen to you talking about my needlepoint and not even mentioning how good you are at singing.”

Dean’s expression split, momentarily, into absolute horror. He could immediately see where this was going, Castiel knew, with a burst of enjoyment.

“Oh, well, babe… don’t flatter me…” Dean said, awkwardly laughing.

“No, he’s fantastic,” Castiel insisted. “Operatic, you might say. Go on, Dean. Give them a little Puccini.”

“I don’t think this is the right…” Naomi said, sounding worried.

“Yeah, wrong setting for it,” Dean agreed, before she’d even finished her sentence.

“Are you sure? I think everyone would love to hear you. Remember the time you made a whole restaurant weep just by singing me ‘happy birthday’?”

Naomi’s protests slowed, and her eyebrows went up.

“Let’s order dessert,” Dean said, and hailed the waiter. Castiel pulled a wry face at Naomi and Bartholomew.

“He’s just very humble,” he said.

They shared a slice of apple pie for pudding; Castiel could feel Dean’s begrudgement of every bite Castiel took, but Naomi and Bartholomew were sharing and it seemed like a couple-y thing to do. It was delicious, at least. This place was going to break Castiel’s wallet, but at least it was worth the money.

When they were all finished, they paid for the meal, put on their coats, and made their way outside. Overall, Castiel thought, a successful night. Not exactly one that had been filled with sparkling conversation on all sides, but Naomi and Bartholomew didn’t seem at all suspicious - and with any luck, he’d have that promotion before the month was out.

“I’m getting a taxi,” Dean said, once they’d left the restaurant. He began to look towards the road, ready to hail one down. “Just need to drop back into work to pick up some stuff before heading home, babe.”

“Of course, Dean.” Castiel couldn’t bring himself to use a pet name, not even to sell the lie. He tucked his hands into his pockets, the cool September air nipping at them.

“Where do you work?” Naomi asked, sounding interested.

“I’m a -” Dean began, and Castiel knew how that sentence ended - tattoo artist, a profession that Naomi would never approve of.

“Bank!” he interrupted. All eyes turned to him.

He cleared his throat.

“Dean works at a bank,” he said.

“Well,” Naomi said, looking a little confused, but apparently accepting it. “How nice. It was good meeting you, Dean.” She shook his hand, just as a taxi pulled up beside them - Bartholomew had seen it, and managed to catch the driver’s attention on Dean’s behalf.

“Thanks,” Dean said, shaking his hand, too. He turned to Castiel, who was standing right beside him. “Uh…”

They stared at each other for a long moment, Castiel suddenly filled with panic. Would a simple “goodbye” give the game away, after Castiel’s fairly suspicious answer to the question about Dean’s work? Did they have to -

Dean answered the question for him by leaning forward, and placing a quick, nervous, chaste kiss on Castiel’s lips. He pulled away, and looked Castiel in the eyes.

In that single, pivotal moment, Castiel knew. It was in Dean’s eyes, in the way he didn’t smile, in the way he swallowed. It was right there, in front of Castiel’s eyes.

And then Dean was in the taxi, and the door was slammed, and he was gone.

Castiel felt frozen. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t breathe.

“Well, Castiel,” Naomi said. “That was a very pleasant evening. Perhaps tomorrow you can come to my office and we can discuss -”

“I quit,” Castiel said.

There was a long, long beat of silence. Neither Naomi nor Bartholomew moved, save that their mouths fell open in comically identical expressions of shock.

“You - what?” Naomi said.

“I quit,” Castiel repeated, calmly. It made perfect sense. He knew exactly what he wanted, now, and it wasn’t this crappy promotion. “I��ve had enough. Your policy on promotions and raises is discriminatory. You are nosy and judgemental. I have had enough. I will be sending you my formal letter of resignation tomorrow and coming to clear out my desk.”

“You - you will not be getting a reference from me,” Naomi spluttered, taking a step backward.

“Fine,” Castiel said, riding a high the like of which he’d never known. He turned to go and find his car in the nearby parking lot, but then caught himself; at the last moment, he looked back at the pair of them standing like agitated scarecrows on the street, and said, “Oh - and Dean does not work at a bank. He is a tattoo artist.”

And he walked away.

The drive passed in a haze. All this time - all these years. They’d been waiting for each other to make the first move, waiting for the perfect moment, waiting, waiting, waiting.

Castiel had had enough of waiting, now.

He stepped through the door of Dean’s tattoo parlour, which was in near-complete darkness. Dean was just making to leave, having switched off the lights. When he saw Castiel framed in the doorway, he went very still.

“Cas,” he said.

Cas didn’t speak - knew that if they talked, if they got caught up in sentences and explaining, then he might never have the courage that he needed. He walked across the dark tattoo parlour, and he put his hand on Dean’s cheek, and he looked into Dean’s eyes -

And then he kissed him. Softly, yes - and not for long, still hesitant - but into that kiss, that brief touch, he poured it all.

The wishing.

The longing.

The terrible, wonderful, terrifying hope.

He tried to pull away, but Dean’s hands came up to cup his face, and Castiel was being kissed back - was lost, suddenly, in a world of sensation. A world of fingertips and soft lips and nearness.

“Cas,” Dean said again, sounding rough and ragged and so, so happy, when they finally broke apart.

“You were right,” Castiel said. He kissed Dean again, swiftly, because he could, and Dean kissed him back, and they didn’t speak again for a while.

“I was?” Dean managed eventually.

“We make a pretty good pair,” Castiel said.

“You - you want to do this? For - for real?”

“More than anything,” Castiel said, “in the whole world.”

[viralhottopics]

Which ‘Pretty Little Liars’ couples will get their happily ever after when the show ends?

Start speculating now.

Image: Freeform

Pretty Little Liars is notorious for creating a dozen more questions for every one it answers, so its no surprise that the Freeform show set up a big mystery even before it kicked off its panel at the fan-friendly PaleyFest on Saturday.

Before the cast (Ashley Benson, Tyler Blackburn, Shay Mitchell, Andrea Parker, Janel Parrish, Sasha Pieterse and Ian Harding) and producers (I. Marlene King and Joseph Dougherty) took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, audience members were treated to the first minute from episode 11 of PLLs seventh and final season.

SEE ALSO: ‘Pretty Little Liars’ fans are cool, will not stand for transphobic tweets

This mere morsel of footage from the midseason premiere offered some reassurance as to how Keegan Allens Toby fared after last years bloody car crash (SPOILER ALERT: the Liars find him severely bandaged and maybe unconscious as he is wheeled through a hospital), but the clip didnt confirm the whereabouts of his fiance, Yvonne (Kara Royster).

In other words, were still wondering whether Toby will be available (after maybe some mourning and a lot of physical therapy) to reconnect with former paramour Spencer (played by Troian Bellisario, who, along with fellow star Lucy Hale, was absent from the festival). Luckily, King gave us a glimmer of hope.

All the [relationship] endgames will be the endgames, but nobodys going to get there super easily, King revealed in regards to fans favorite ships. Theres going to be some bends in the road to get to the happily ever after.

The starcrossed romance between Spencer and Toby or Spoby in PLL vernacular wasnt the only one that drew reflection from the panelists.

“Spaleb was fun to dabble with [but] Haleb is where it’s at, Blackburn said of his character, Caleb, and his dalliance with Bellisarios Spencer which was nothing compared to the time spent with his one true love, Bensons Hanna.

All your favorite ships will get their happy endings in the ‘PLL’ finale.

Image: Imeh Bryant for the Paley Center

Mitchells character, Emily, has been out and proud since Season 1 and has also seen her fair share of love interests. The actress admitted that, to play a character that has an impact on a lot of people’s lives in a meaningful way has been huge.” King noted that Emilys relationship with Pieterses Alison (the pair known to the social media crowd as Emison) will also get some attention in the remaining episodes.

Alison hasnt dealt with her sexuality, King said. These 10 episodes are about Alison figuring out her sexuality and Emily plays a part in it. (Also worth noting: Alison is pregnant, but the father has yet to be revealed).

King stressed that these final episodes will be a gift to fans. After all, she said, these are people who have stuck with the show even though we had a dead girl who wasnt even dead for seven seasons.

Several characters have been or have been thought to be the mysterious villain “A” throughout the series, including Hardings Ezra and Parrishs Mona.

Yeah, that was fun, Parrish reflects on being the first big bad. It was also the scariest moment ever because I knew what it meant to give A a face.

SEE ALSO: Doug the Pug recreates your favorite TV shows

PLL has now presented what King calls an uber A, known simply as A.D. She promised that the final reveal of our mystery stalkers identity will not disappoint.

The finale is a two-hour finale, she said. It feels like a movie and it was written as if it was a movie. I hope you guys are satisfied with this huge twist.

Its still unclear who will make it to the series finale in one piece, but Parrish may have let something slip when she said the final table read was particularly emotional because there were so many returning faces.

As fans reminded the cast and producers during the panels Q&A session, there have been rumors of another Pretty Little Liars spinoff series after Blackburns short-lived Ravenswood. When asked if there was any hope for an Emison series, Mitchell asked the audience if theyd watch (networks and studios take note: cheering ensued). But as for anything concrete?

Were open to pitches, King said.

Pretty Little Liars returns April 18 at 8 p.m. on Freeform.

WATCH: Shay Mitchell’s top 11 pro tips to help moms (continue to) rule social media

Read more: http://ift.tt/2mDumN4

from Which ‘Pretty Little Liars’ couples will get their happily ever after when the show ends?

[televisor-reviews]

Everything Of Note I Have To Say About “Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil” Season 4!

As I’m sure you’re aware, the great animated series Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil has recently concluded and I have a ton to say about it... So I made a list!

1. Spoilers...

2. Duh...

3. Before anything, I absolutely loved it! This was the finale this great show really deserved.

4. Let’s start from the beginning: I’ve been watching Star Vs. for a few years now when a good friend of mine recommended it to me. At first I was resistant because the advertising for it at the time was god awful, but luckily I was convinced otherwise and been loving it ever since.

5. The show premiered when I was a teenager, going through all the cliche teen shit. So seeing a show that portrayed the overly dramatic life of a teenager without being one of those stock teen dramas was a good change of pace.

6. In particular, I remember being amazed that it could be so relatable while still being able to have it’s upbeat and fast-paced fantasy/sci-fi action sequences and world while also having a good mixture of mature and juvenile humor. I mean, all of that would seem to work against each other and yet this show made it work in spades.

7. Actually, the way Star Vs. uses it’s fictitious setting to complement its down-to-earth characters while juggling great humor reminds me a lot of a different Disney property: Guardians Of The Galaxy. GOTG, I think, is the perfect film to study if you want to ever write for sci-fi or fantasy because director James Gunn understood that you can have as wild and crazy of a world as you want but you still need to write your characters as genuine as possible. If you don’t, you’ll get something like Avatar (the movie); a film that everyone remembers liking because of the incredible world and even better effects, but no one can name a single character or plot-point. The universe still needs to be grounded by the characters or else it’ll become forgettable and un-relatable. Star Vs., thankfully, does not have this problem. I love the characters, their trials, their tribulations, all because they feel real despite the world in which it takes place.

8. That isn’t to say there isn’t a reason to set a story in a fantastical world or that there isn’t an issue with being too relatable. If anything, the world of the show helps to make it more entertaining, less monotonous, and more unique. Without it, Star Vs. would be another Pretty Little Liars or Zoey 101 or Dawson’s Creek or any other boring teen drama out there. They’re practically identical because they start off too similarly! They all follow around relatively normal teenagers in a relatively normal world with their relatively normal life and god do none of them stand out. So Star Vs. separates itself by still keeping its characters pretty wacky and the universe as crazy as Daron Nefcy’s imagination!

9. Even by a storytelling perspective, this makes more sense because there is objectively more that can be done! By the end of Zoey 101, Zoey and her lame crew basically did everything they could do without jumping the shark too much. In comparison, there are countless adventures Marco and Star could go on even past the series finale.

10. And because the number of future adventures are countless, part of the tragedy of the show ending is that we (the audience) don’t get to experience them alongside these characters we’ve learned to love so much. Keeping that door open leaves a much longer lasting impression on the audience, as apposed to the ending of Zoey 101 in which... wait, what happened again? I don’t remember. Anyways!

11. I love the comedy in this show! From the very beginning, the humor was very lighthearted and yet mature because it had to be. It had to have a tinge of maturity to it because the target audience isn’t little kids like it would be for a show like My Little Pony or SpongeBob. Star Vs., with it’s doomsday atmosphere and constant teen drama, was definitely geared more towards older children/preteens. The ones more likely to watch a show like Gravity Falls or Rick And Morty and this audience will not tolerate childish humor. They can appreciate it sprinkled in here and there but if used too much, they’re taste will sour. This is because as they are maturing to to start maturing into adulthood, there is the natural need to separate from childish things with the added childishness of wanting to totally separate from it. That’s why on The Loud House, a punchline could literally be poop and why that is not something you’d see very often on Star Vs.

12. With that said, the show still needed the humor to be incredibly lighthearted because otherwise this show would be so depressing! The worlds in which these characters live in and know are constantly changing, evolving, and almost blowing up. For Christ sake, many important characters die in this finale! The only one who died in Gravity Falls was the villain and in this, the villain isn’t even one of them! Seeing Marco and Star still be able to crack jokes to one another and making each other laugh keeps spirits high. God knows Hekapoo can’t do that now!

13. Speaking of Marco and Star, I have been a hardcore Starco defender from the very beginning despite the show constantly trying to convince me otherwise! There are so many perfect pairings in this cast that any one of them could’ve worked if Nefcy were top change her mind. If it ended with Star x Tom or Marco x Janna or Star x Janna or Marco x Hekapoo or Marco x Tom or Marco x Kelly it would’ve worked perfectly well.

14. But lets not kid ourselves, it was always going to end with Marco x Star. Their relationship and chemistry is unmatched, they might be the only couple in existence to say a joint line like “With or without magic, we were always meant to be together,” work and come off as not only sincere but true. I don’t even believe in the whole “soul mate” mumbo-jumbo, but I’d be damned if they are not that!

15. I audibly squealed in delight when they finally got together. It was like the build-up of four season culminated in one scene.

16. Though it wouldn’t really surprise me if I was alone in this assessment because I am a sucker for a good romantic movie. I saw La La Land in theaters, I cried at Love, Simon, I actually really love Love Actually. And though I do think Star Vs. pulled off relationships better than most, take my opinion with a grain of salt because the build-up itself was a little grating.

17. I have a huge issue with “will-they, won’t-they” stories! It’s the same issue I had with The Office and Friends and The Big Bang Theory and Sailor Moon and That ‘70s Show and every other show that has this dumb trope! Of course they’ll get together because otherwise I wasted several hours of my life wondering about it! Star Vs. isn’t as bad about this as most others but it’s still there and it’s still annoying.

18. It does this better than most because of three main components: it’s relatively short, we get plenty of Star and Marco being all lovey-dovey with each other once they do get together, and they do have genuine chemistry together. They have so much chemistry that Star’s ex literally told Marco that they were clearly into each other. If only they could’ve avoided the trope.

19. Okay, this next point is a little personal but it did effect my feelings towards this show’s finale so I think it’s kind of important that I mention it. Around the time the Star Vs. was ending, I was just entering my first real relationship and around the time I watched this finale, we lasted long enough that we could start taking the relationship a little bit more seriously. Now before anyone says anything: everything’s going great (she actually made me my header) and I am absolutely still in a honeymoon phase with her. But I think you could imagine how a lovesick teen just entering a serious relationship would be effected by this show that ended with lovesick teens so in love that they’d happily sacrifice themselves for the other.

20. I may or may not have also been high while watching this and that may or may not have effected my viewing experience. Don’t be a narc!

21. I love what this last season did with Ludo. Push away the fact that they somehow keep talking Alan Tudyk into these rolls he clearly does need to do and yet still does a great job at it (did you know he was King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph? Why? Why did he do that? Why is he so good in it? This guy’s casting decisions are so weird). The character of Ludo was a generic comic relief villain (see Doofenshmirtz) but was usually fine if only because he made for a good contrast and was way more interesting compared to Toffee (played by Michael C. Hall, another actor who does not need this job). But season four made Ludo a million times more interesting by showing his obsession with the wand exactly what it is: and unhealthy obsession that he needs to get over. And I like where he’s left by the end, clearly still not doing too great but is making strides to get better. As someone who has known many addicts in my life, this hit home a little.

22. Actually, I think a large part of season four was specifically meant to fix the first two mediocre seasons. Just look at my new favorite episode of the series: Britta’s Tacos. In this episode, Star and Marco find themselves back on Earth after a year of being on Mewni and catching up with all of their friends and seeing what’s changed. Watching this episode, I was reminded that as good as the first couple of seasons were, the latter half of the series was a ton better! The characters, character arcs, stories, everything, everything was better once they went up to Mewni. So seeing them go back to Earth and challenging the writers with rewriting their past characters to be more interesting showed just how much the series has improved. Could you imagine characters as uninteresting as those nerds I don’t even remember the names of being introduced in the much more interesting latter seasons? I couldn’t! So I appreciate that they went back and made sure every character in this show was interesting... except for Toffee, he still sucks.

23. And of course, the character that improved the most, hands down was absolutely Jackie Lynn Thomas! She was as bland and boring as a love interest got and that bothered me from the very beginning. How is it that in a show this imaginative and unique they still felt it necessary to use this tired cliche. So bringing her back, the writers had to do something to make her more interesting and it was apparently really easy. All they had to do was keep the character herself basically the same but now she’s a lesbian. And somehow, just adding that one extra layer made her feel so different, so interesting, so complete. I think that’s what it was, she just felt like an incomplete plot point and giving her a girlfriend completely separates herself from being important to the plot and adds that extra layer to make her seem more finished as a character.

24. I’m actually really surprised by this recent trend of LGBTQ+ characters in kids cartoons. You’d think that of all mediums, kids cartoons would be the last to fully integrate a controversial minority but they’ve been some of the first. Steven Universe really started this trend but I feel like The Loud House was the first to show and say it outright. Star Vs. doesn’t do it that well (and I’m willing to bet that was because of higher-ups over at Disney) but I appreciate the sentiment anyways. They never call Jackie and her girlfriend a couple or show them kissing, the most they do is have them hold hands and though I guess that’s enough, I wish they were able to go further. Whatever, I already wrote about why this representation in kids media is important, go read that.

25. For a while, Star was my favorite character in this show. I just have a real soft-spot for upbeat female badasses (and I am very happy this has become more of a trope recently), I think Janna might’ve taken the throne. It’s not that Star stopped being interesting or anything like that, I just really love Janna and her “Jannanigans”. Plus, I do really like the “cute girl who’s into weird shit” trope too. She’s not my favorite version of this trope (see Raven from 2003′s Teen Titans), but she was always a delight whenever she was on screen.

26. Tom is probably the most obvious example of “boring character was made interesting” that the show has. In the beginning, he was the standard bad boy archetype but, over time, was given more personality and started working off the other characters much better. Sure, he and Star worked great with each other as to be expected, but I think the real standout relationship he had was with Marco. I have never seen bromance as strong as what those two have. Their little musical number at Queen Moon’s cornonation turned talent contest might have been the greatest piece of animation ever made (change my mind). And this I know people agree with me, I cannot exaggerate just how much literally everyone I have ever spoken to loves Marco and Tom. It just works so strangely, it has to come off as genuine.

27. I think the series was supposed to go on for another season. I say this because Kelly was too good of a character to waste like they did! She was a great character with tons of personality and amazing chemistry with Marco that was seemingly building up to something... only to drop the ball at the end. She isn’t given much to do, she doesn’t have a final scene with Marco, she isn’t even given a good ending. The most we got was Ponyhead theorizing what her life would be like just to cheer up Star. If that was all they were going to do with Kelly, that’s just a waste of perfectly good build-up.

28. It’s very strange how on the nose these metaphors in the show got at times while still seeming perfect. I guess it had to be on the nose so that the younger audience could catch on to them but I’m not sure what the’ll do with the knowledge that magic=nuclear power. Also, the monsters kind of changed metaphors, originally they were clearly meant to be Native American stand-ins but later on they kind of changed into African American stand-ins. Not that they’re histories (in America) are all that different but it was a noticeable switch. It’s not like Zootopia where any given animal could represent any number of races depending on the scene in question, this was definitely what Star Vs. was going for and I’m not sure if it totally worked. It didn’t NOT work, I guess.

29. I actually don’t like the whole “blowing up the magic” thing. It was something Star made up in a temper tantrum and goes totally against the theme. The whole time, the show was going on about how important integration is and how “separate but equal” doesn’t work and whatnot. So destroying the only way they know how to travel through different dimensions seems contrary to that point. I get that drastic times need drastic measures but I get the feeling that in a theoretical season five, Star and Marco would work to bring back the magic. Or maybe find a more scientific way to travel through dimensions... like some kind of portal gun. We already know this takes place in the same multiverse as Rick And Morty, it’s not that crazy an idea.

30. Another reason I think there was originally going to be another season is because the whole “Mewmans are humans” thing that came right out of nowhere! I mean, it makes total sense and I’m totally down with this plot point but it seems like that would be a much bigger deal than the characters make it out to be. My god, they don’t even let Marco finish explaining this. How the hell did that cave painting get to Earth if they didn’t run into Glossaryck until they got to Mewni! Explanation please!

31. I wish destroying the magic didn’t also mean killing off Glossaryck and Hekapoo. I don’t really care about any of the other characters literally made out of magic, but those two are just so likable and such fan favorites, it’s just a shame to see them go. Though I do really like that they’re reaction to the whole thing seems to just be a mild shrug. I get the idea that since they’ve lived for millennia which would make them more okay with dying. It’s easier to live a full life if you can’t die.

32. I like how Mina’s story ends: defeated and yet still refusing it. Her whole speech about having good ideas really says something, like these issues will never be fully defeated because everyone thinks that they’re right. It’s a bit more of a bittersweet moral than “bad always loses because they’re bad” but is an important lesson that I think kids need to learn. Especially in this political climate. Good god, just end me!

33. Holy shit, I’m up to 33! My Wakfu one only made it up to 25 and I am nowhere close to done yet!

34. A psychotic part of me really wishes the finale had Star and Marco die in each other’s arms in the Magic Dimension. It’d be the ultimate show of love as they’re sacrificing each other for one another and be the ultimate ending. I mean, what more is there to care about after the main two characters are dead? It’d be very bittersweet and much more emotionally taxing on the audience but it’d also be more classic. Like Romeo and Juliet or Bonnie and Clyde, they’re love was just too strong for this world.

35. With that said, that part of me is absolutely wrong! Having their dimensions merge was clearly what the series was building up to with it’s hopeful tone, the power of love being a big theme, the message of integration, and (of course) the promise they made to Meteora and Hispanic Meteora. It seems so obvious in hindsight and yet I still didn’t see it coming, I guess that’s a sign of a really good plot twist.

36. My god, everyone is such a dick to Queen Moon. Like let her be in love you jackasses. I had such a hard time liking anyone who worked against her (which is why I really like that Hekapoo had reservations on both sides the whole time) and this includes Ex-Queen Moon. I really can’t grasp my mind as to why she thought this was a good idea, it clearly wasn’t from the very beginning. Maybe if the show gave her time to explain herself I’d be singing a different tune but she never really does and I have a hard time forgiving her even after her apology.

37. This is just a reminder that Starco is best ship. Repeat, Starco is still best ship.

38. The ending reminds me of Titanic. I mean, two young lovebirds meeting each other, growing closer, and falling in love all the while a looming threat of destruction and death is above them. The epic scale of their problem being brought down to earth by the almost normal love story happening in the midst of it all. Their ever ready willingness to sacrifice everything for each other. Their world forcing them to cling to each other for protection. The grand scale of everything around them making their love seem grander than it would be without it. Yeah, there are more and probably better examples I could turn to for comparison (Romeo And Juliet, Les Miserables, Spartacus) but Titanic was the first one to come to mind and I’m sure my subconsciousness has a good reason for that.

39. I continue to have problems with this finale but I get the sense that I’m nitpicking because this was still an amazing end to a great show. When I think about this ending, the first word that comes to mind is deserves. This is the ending that the story deserves, that the characters (minus Kelly) deserves, that the show itself deserves. It really is a fantastic finale and I’m so grateful that I got to experience it.

40.

[painted-cherries]

rain and ramen

pairing: kim woojin x reader

warnings: very cute, almost terrifyingly off brand for me

genre: fluff, friends to lovers

request: “hi I'd like to request a woojin imagine, preferably something cute where y/n goes on a second date with woojin and on the end of the night they cuddle or something along those lines XD”

a/n: yes of course! I’m sorry if it’s rough this is my first stray kids imagine, but I’m very excited to be writing it! I hope you enjoy it, sorry that it took me so long to write it xx. I am still accepting requests! You can drop one on my inbox if you click here

so I love date prompts and I’m so excited 

woojin was very excited about your second date

because even though he was confident to ask you for another night together

boy was SO nervous lol

your first date together was very casual

just your typical dinner date because he didn't want to go too crazy and potentially mess things up

that date ended with the cute walk back to your apartment

talking about everything, and ending with a sweet kiss on the cheek because he wanted something cuter than a cliché first kiss after a dinner date

but overall it was sweet, classic

this second date?

in a word... unique

he planned something very cute and more casual than the first date

it was a warm Saturday, one of the first of the spring season and he wanted to bask in the pretty weather

so ofc he planned a super cute day that included eating outside at your favorite cafe

walking through the city together

and then going by the Han river because that boy sweats romance

so when he picked you up from your apartment, he of course took your hand being the sweet mans that he is

and boy it felt so right having his hand in yours

it was like you were just meant to be

during the walk to the cafe there would be giggles and shy smiles and sometimes he would just look over at you in awe because WOW

you are so beautiful when you laugh

and in little silent moments he would squeeze your hand to be cute

but also because HE, Kim wooden, gets to hold YOUR hand

at the cafe he would definitely try whatever you suggest because he knows its your frequent hotspot

and you’ve definitely tried everything on the menu already

he happily takes what you order for him and pays for everything like the prince we all know he is

there's not an uncomfortable moment with woojin, even when he’s a it shy

everything with him is always smooth and fluid and sweet because the two of you are just so in sync together

so many laughs and sweet memories for down the line when you’ve lost count of how many dates you’ve had together

afterwards, the two of you start to walk around the city and window shop

you look at all the glamorous things in the more top of the line store displays and woojin swears one day he's going to shower you in everything you could ever want from balenciaga or gucci or anything you want

you wander into the occasional stores that you shop at frequently and he offers to buy everything you look at for more than a couple seconds

he is sp whipped for you, a passerby would think you were together for a year rather than on your second date

and the feelings were definitely mutual because he is just so perfect for you

you still can’t believe he reciprocated your feelings

it felt like it was just the other day that he had asked you for a date

because it was the other day

the two of you had just finished hanging out and just as you closed the door to your apartment there was a knock on the door once again

and you figured woojin had left his keys on the couch which is something he does sooooo frequently 

and he was standing there very out of breath like he had ran around the block (and later you find out he did some laps around his car to hype himself up to ask you on a date)

one thing led the another and now here you were, on a second date with one of the most people you cherished most in life

eventually you began phase three of woojin’s date: walking to Han river because what’s more romantic than a first kiss along the river with the moon watching over you?

except halfway there it began to poor down rain

and woojin was displeased because the weather man PROMISED him that it wouldn’t rain until the next morning

yet here you were standing in a nearby convince store

and woojin is all flustered

“I’m sorry I swear I checked the weather forecast, I guess the weather man is just a LiAr”

and you’re like “its ok really, isn't your apartment barely a block away?” and you just think he’s being so cute and you love how much he cares about your time together

and suddenly he grabs your hand again and tells you to grab whatever snacks you want and bring it to the register while he grabs some soju and quick ramen

after paying the two of you giggle and run your way back to your place, snacks in one arm and hand-in-hand in the other

even through the running, you’re both soaked by time you walk into the cold apartment and you’re shivering

so the first think woojin does of course is get some of your clothes you've left behind after prior hang outs and one of his hoodies of course what kind of fic would this be if you didn't get to wear his hoodie??

after drying off you two begin to cook your ramen together

cue the cute kitchen montage 

he can’t help but let his heart flutter at the sight of you being so domestic with him in the kitchen

he’s waited almost a year to be with you like this and he cherishes every moment he has with you

so after the two of you finish your ramen you both confess that you’re a bit tired

which woojin has no problem with because all he wants to do is hold you

and you definitely have no opposing thoughts to that

so the two of you settle down on his couch which is shocking so warm and inviting for a couch

he has a million throw blankets

and you dig out your favorite one

you know which one I'm talking about-- the big red one

and he gather’s pillows from his room and you finally settle into his arms where you start to talk about everything between heaven and earth =, just like your typical hang outs

but you finally get to drift asleep while cuddled up in his arms

and listening to his heartbeat as it starts to beat faster when you look up for a second to press a sweet kiss on his lips

because its your first kiss of millions to come and his cheeks flush

his heart swoons in his chest for you but he doesn't let it show you already know anyways tho

you both fall asleep to the sound of the rain outside and a blanket of happiness encasing you

dates with woojin would always be 12/10 he is secretly the softest boy ever and would do anything for you

[rainagainstmywindow]

All Shades of You (Chapter 5)

Happy Birthday to Percy Jackson! This is super fluffy so it commemorates the Percabeth anniversary as well too I believe. Thanks as always to my lovely beta @san-penedo and enjoy the small lifeguard!Percy i managed to sprinkle in there! (please search #ramwfics or #ASoY for previous chapters)

Percy groaned as he attempted to read the same passage of his history textbook for what appeared to be the hundredth time. The exhaustion that weighed over him thanks to swim practice two hours prior didn’t help either, nor the fact that he had to wake up early tomorrow for his dog-walking gig. He would have little time the rest of the weekend to catch up on homework since he’d taken on extra shifts at the local pool where he worked as a lifeguard to make up for what he couldn’t work during the weekdays now that he was in the swim team.

He got halfway through the passage once again but it was no use, the words just taunted him from the page, dancing around in weird, curvy waves. Frustrated, he slammed the book shut, immediately flinching at the sound. He hadn’t heard anyone come in but Smelly Gabe would give him hell for making any noise during his precious “TV time.” Percy slowly poked his head out of his room and was relieved to find he was home alone. His stepfather was probably out drinking with his buddies and his mom should’ve been heading home from the candy shop. He felt his phone buzz. It was a text from Sally.

Will probably get there in a few hours. Had to close up late and I stopped to get some groceries. Don’t wait up. Love you

Percy texted back a quick reply, knowing full well she was probably closing up but at a new job. She had not wanted to admit it when he’d asked, too concentrated on congratulating him for making the team, but this definitely put a strain on money. His school tuition had already been too much even when he was working more frequently. He wondered once again if this was worth it, if he was worth it. He knew his mom wanted him to have what she didn’t, to finish high school and make it out of this neighbourhood. But he’d only managed to screw up every chance he’d gotten so far, and college just seemed too out of reach. His stepfather seemed to agree with it all being a waste. I won’t waste a dime on your little delinquent kid, Sally! Percy had heard him and his mother arguing after she’d gotten Percy the interview at Goode. As if Smelly Gabe had ever contributed anything but anxiety to Percy’s life. He’d silently prayed he wouldn’t be allowed into the school, didn’t really see how considering his record and poor grades. But, somehow, he’d made it in.

He made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge. He’d made sure to have an extra large lunch but he had not eaten since practice and he was starving. Percy looked at the clock. 10:32 pm. He figured Beckendorf would be at his apartment, getting back from work himself. Last year he would alternate his time between practice and Beckendorf’s apartment. Most days Grover would join them and they would pass the time bothering Beckendorf about Silena or playing with Mrs. O’Leary. Yet another thing Percy had screwed up when he got himself kicked out. He slammed the fridge door too, this time flinching because he knew he couldn’t afford to break the old thing. It’s not like Beckendorf had stopped inviting him over. He’d even hung out there a few days ago. Percy just couldn’t help but feel guilty whenever he saw him.

In the end, his own boredom and frustration won and he found himself in front of Beckendorf’s door. Mrs. O’Leary must’ve heard him come because Percy could hear her barking through the door. A few seconds later there was Beckendorf staring down at him, still im his mechanic overalls. “Hey! Everything okay?” Percy didn’t miss how his dark eyes scanned his face. There had been a couple of times last year when he’d knocked on his door later at night looking worse for wear.

“Yeah,” he answered casually, “I just got bored. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course.” Beckendorf stepped aside, making sure to hold on to Mrs. O’Leary’s colar. The large Rottweiler had started bounding happily at the sight of Percy, who scratched her ears on his way in. Beckendorf knew Percy too well. “You hungry?” He asked as they shuffled into his living room/kitchen.

Percy tried not to look too embarrassed as he admitted: “I’m starving.”

************

“What?” Percy asked Grover for the second time. He’d been too focused on a scrawny kid flopping around in the pool in front of him to hear what his friend was saying. He’d seen the kid before, not the strongest swimmer but Percy could tell it was more due to lack of confidence than anything else. He’d seen him manage quite well in the shallower parts of the pool. Today it seemed like he’d finally decided to try out the deeper end though. The kid’s parents were nowhere to be seen, and Percy could see the panic starting to creep into his face as he realized the water was too deep to stand in. “I’ll be right back.”

Percy slid into the water. He didn’t want to make a scene since the kid wasn’t actually drowning and he wanted to give him a chance to get out of there by himself. The boy spotted him right away, relief evident in his face. Percy was tall enough to stand in this part of the pool so he made his way slowly towards him. “Hey there.” The kid didn’t make a dash to hold onto him so Percy knew hadn’t gotten too desperate, but the way he was flopping around would tire him out soon enough. “What’s your name?”  

The kid, looking mildly embarrassed, told him it was Trevor. Slowly but surely, Percy got Trevor to paddle to a shallower part of the pool. His parents finally made an appearance not soon after. “Hey ma’am,” Percy called. They were clearly here just to pick him up and they didn’t look too happy about it. The father hadn’t even looked up from his phone. “Is this your kid?” The mother, a woman that appeared to be blonde with unusually dark skin (through his limited color palette Percy assumed it was due to a bad tanning job), looked him up and down but didn’t find it within herself to answer. “I had to help Travis swim away from the deeper end of the pool. He’s not a strong enough swimmer yet for you to leave him on his own like-”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you complaining about doing your job?” The woman’s tone made Percy’s blood boil but he clenched his fists to keep his temper in check. He didn’t need any complaints going to his supervisor. He tried to apologize but the woman was too busy yanking Trevor out of the water to care. Percy tried to put on a fake smile as he waved goodbye to the kid and sulked back to his chair.

Grover looked distastefully at the spot where the woman had gone. “A plus parenting, huh?”

Percy rolled his eyes in agreement and slumped back into his chair. “What were you saying before?”

“Oh right,” Grover tried to calm his nerves, but he’d never been a good liar and Percy knew him pretty well by now. Grover was hoping to catch Percy in a good mood since he knew he wouldn’t like this next part very much. “Well, you know how you’ve been telling me you’ve been struggling with homework lately?”

That question alone was enough to hit a nerve. “I’m not struggling, Grover. I was just saying that I’m tired and I hate reading.”

“Yeah, well I was talking to Annabeth-” Grover held up a pleading hand before Percy could interrupt him- “She’s really smart, Percy! She could help you out after school!”

“Why did you have to tell her anything? I don’t even know her!”

“I didn’t tell her anything about that!” Grover argued. He knew it was hard for Percy to talk about people about his dyslexia and ADHD; he wouldn’t betray his trust like that. Little did Percy know, however, that Annabeth was in the same boat. “I just told her you needed some help with some subjects because I know she’s really good at all that stuff and she actually volunteered herself to tutor you.” It had taken Grover aback a bit actually. Annabeth was nice and always there to help, but she didn’t take on to new people right away. Grover hadn’t gotten the impression that she disliked Percy, but it usually took her a lot longer to show interest in new people. The only other person he knew she’d gotten along with right away was Thalia. Now that Grover thought about it, Percy and Thalia did have a lot in common, though.

“Tutor me?” Percy was looking thoroughly annoyed, eyes fixed on the water before him.

“She’s not going to charge you or anything,” Grover winced at his own comment. It was hard to manage Percy’s temper around this subject. He hated feeling pitied and wasn’t big on asking for help. “She’s just trying to help and she’s new here. She doesn’t know many people besides me and Thalia.” Percy sighed. “She’s the smartest person I know, Percy. I trust her. You met her. She’s cool.” Grover could tell he was going to give in. He knew Percy was worried about keeping his grades up. His swim coach had let him on the team under the condition that he would get his GPA up enough to get out of probation from the school. Grover was also secretly excited about his two best friends possibly becoming friends themselves.

“Fine,” Percy finally said, bringing his whistle up to his lips at the sight of a group of small girls chasing each other. He gave one firm blow and pointed at the sign that read No Running when they both whipped their heads towards him. “I’ve got some free time on Monday after practice.”

*************

Annabeth tapped her pen impatiently against the table she’d settled in at the library. It didn’t help her temper that today she found out that this same pen, which she’d been using since the beginning of the semester, was bright red. The color of romance, her father had once jokingly told her. And danger, Annabeth now thought. Yeah, that seemed more accurate in her case.

The guy was almost an hour late. She was about to give up when she heard what sounded like a chair being knocked over, a loud hush, and a quick apology. A few seconds later, there was Percy Jackson. His hair was still wet from what she assumed was swim practice and he was holding a battered skateboard under his arm. Annabeth was once again struck by the intense green of his eyes. She thought she’d gotten used to the color after seeing it everywhere for the past couple of weeks, but it still floored her. There was nothing else that was that exact shade of green.

“You’re late.”

He at least managed to look guilty as he pulled a chair out noisily, earning him a death glare from the librarian at the desk. “I know. I’m so sorry. We ended late and the subway broke down or something.”

Annabeth would’ve shrugged that off as a half-assed excuse but every time she’d gotten on the subway that week it had stopped for almost an hour. Percy also had a very sincere way of saying things that kind of put her on edge. She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Did you bring your book?” He pulled a history textbook from his battered backpack. She tried to ignore the fact he’d dogeared the page. “Fall of Constantinople, right?”

“Yeah.” She could tell this whole ordeal embarrassed him a little. It was becoming harder and harder to remember she was annoyed at him. “I just...can’t seem to understand why this city was so important. From what I managed to extract from the other chapter, it seems like this whole empire was already done for.”

“I mean it was certainly in decline, and the Ottoman Turks had taken the Balkans and Anatolia by this point. So that made Constantinople the last city holding up what used to be this seemingly unbreachable empire.” Annabeth saw Percy nodding along and jutting down some notes. There was no other way to call it, it was cute. “Constantinople also represented Mehmed’s rival religion.”

“Wait, so he tried to take it again? This Meh...however you say his name? He’d already tried before, right?”

“No, that was his dad.” Annabeth leaned closer to the passage Percy was looking at. He pushed the book towards her so she could get a better look. The font was so tiny that Annabeth almost got dizzy. It would’ve taken her almost an hour to decipher just one paragraph. She pushed the book back towards him, hoping he hadn’t noticed. Thankfully, she had always been good at remembering names and they’d gone over this in her school in San Francisco last year. “Murad was the one who failed to take the city and then his son Mehmed tried again and succeeded. He got this Hungarian artillery expert, Urban I think he was called, to build him a cannon powerful enough to take down the walls of the city.”

“Sorry, could you spell that last name?”

Something about the question made Annabeth falter for a second. Percy appeared to understand most of what they were talking about. It was the names that seemed to stump him. It sounded a little familiar. “Sure.” Annabeth spelled the name out for him and she watched him make some new notes. She thought about how Grover never failed to bring up Percy one way or another when she complained about homework assignments. “Once Mehmed seized the city he used the emperor’s famed cathedral as a mosque. I can’t remember the name though. Is it in your book? I don’t know if they’d want you to know it for class.”

Annabeth observed as Percy scanned the page; she could practically feel the frustration oozing off of him. She was absolutely certain her suspicions were correct when she saw him push the book a bit far away, a trick she herself had tried many times. “Hey Percy,” he grunted in response, still absorbed in the textbook, “are you maybe...dyslexic?”

She felt him tense right away. Grover hadn’t told her for a reason, it was clearly a touchy subject for him. Annabeth was grateful that Grover had also clearly failed to tell Percy about her. “I just think that’s why Grover brought all of this up.” He was now looking at her, a complicated look on his face, like he didn’t know whether or not he should be getting offended. “It’s just that,” it had always been hard for her to talk about it too. It was like a cosmic joke for someone that loved reading so much to be made in a way that made it almost impossible to do so. “I am too, dyslexic I mean. Just looking at that book just now made me want to throw up.” His expression immediately softened. Annabeth noted the way he could easily go from one emotion to another. “That font size is awful.”

“I know right. And it’s and older edition so it doesn’t have an audio version.”

“I think I still have one for my textbook last year. I don’t know if it has everything in this one but-”

“No, yeah. That’d be great! I mean if you don’t mind-”

Annabeth chuckled, definitely cute. “I don’t, Percy.”

He thanked her once again and they finally exchanged numbers. They got through the main events of Constantinople. Annabeth remembered everything pretty well and Percy took notes. She felt light as a feather the whole time. She tried to ignore it. It’d never been this way with anyone she liked in the past. Her crush on Luke had been anything but light. Being with Percy was just nice. She didn’t know about the whole ‘soulmate’ ordeal, she didn’t even know if she liked him that way really, but she definitely wanted to hang out with him again.

An hour later he casually checked his phone and almost jumped off his chair, earning him yet another glare from the librarian. Annabeth tried to mask her snort as a cough. “Sorry,” he said quickly. He turned to Annabeth. “I have to go. Are you free Thursday?” She was pretty sure she would be but she’d have to check. She could tell he was in a hurry though so she told Percy she’d text him. “Thanks again! See you then.”

Annabeth smiled silently to herself as Percy hurried out of the library, bumping into several chairs and failing beautifully at making a quiet exit. Her smiled melted when she looked down at the pen she was still holding. Bright red.

[alylionheart]

Valentine’s Day - Peter Parker

Summary: You have what’s possibly the worst Valentine’s Day ever and hope that your best friend, Peter, can make it better.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader (Tony Stark’s Daughter)

Word Count: 1,699

Warnings: Mentions of cheating

Author’s Note: I know this isn’t the normal way to write Reader stories, but here you guys go!

Masterlist

Stilettos clicked on the wood floor as she made her way down the hall. Her hair was styled up perfectly. She wore a shade of lipstick that complimented her skin, thick black eyeliner over eyeshadow that made the hue in her eyes pop. She'd squeezed into a black dress, thin straps, straight neckline that still showed off a good amount of her chest, and a length that ended just a few inches below her rear.

She bit her painted lip softly, knowing the expensive brand wouldn't stain her teeth, and knocked on the apartment door before her. She still held the weight of a freshly broken heart but had refused to cry and ruin an hour's worth of makeup.

The door opened, and Peter stood there, laughing and smiling. His joy dropped as he saw her, along with his jaw. His cheeks slowly turned pink and he cleared his throat nervously, suddenly aware of his Star Wars pajama set.

"Y-Y/N? What uh- um- wh- what are you doing here?" He nervously crossed his arms, then dropped them to shove them in his pockets, found he didn't have any, and crossed them again.

"I um..." What the hell am I doing here? "N-Nothing. Sorry-" She went to turn away, but Peter caught her wrist quickly.

"Hey, what's up? Why aren't you on your date?"

"Oh...he's busy." She said softly, smiling nervously at him.

"Busy? On Valentine's day? What could he possibly be doing?"

"Um...I think her name was Violet?"

Peter's eyes widened, and he frowned deeply, "What the hell. Seriously? Um...come in." He stepped aside, letting her walk in. They rounded the corner of the small entry way into the open apartment.

"Oh! I was wondering what was taking Peter so long! Hey, sweetie." Aunt May smiled widely, standing in the kitchen, pouring two wine glasses. "Should I pour a third?"

She nodded rapidly, "Yes, please." She walked over to the kitchen, smiling at May.

"You look incredible, hun. Are you just stopping by? Where's that guy taking you? What's his name?" May raised a brow as Peter rapidly waved his hands no at her from behind his friend.

She shrugged, "Don't remember his but I do remember hearing hers a lot of the butt dialed voicemail he left me."

May gaped and rolled her eyes, "Oh god. Men."

"I know." She took her wine glass and downed it almost instantly, setting it on the counter for a second fill.

"Save this one for dinner, kay? You came just in time! We're gonna eat pasta, drink wine, and watch all the Valentine's episodes of Friends!"

"That sounds so much better than getting wasted at the pub."

"I can imagine." May laughed, "Peter, honey, go get something comfortable for her to wear."

"Oh! Yeah, come on." Peter walked her to his room, still blushing. "You, um...you look great...and Ken's an idiot."

"I know." She smiled weakly, sitting on his bed, taking off her heels. He watched her for a second, his heart thumping hard in his chest, and went to get her his sweater that she loved wearing and an old pair of pajama pants, Toy Story themed. He sat beside her, setting the clothes between them.

"Are you okay? I can't even imagine..."

"Try not to. It sucks.” She let her hair down, then sighed and lay back, shutting her eyes, hair in beautiful curls above her. "I can't believe this...what's wrong with me?"

"W-What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong with you. He's the stupid one."

"Yeah, him, and Tim, and Mark, and Lucas, and Manny...what's wrong with me?" She asked again.

"Nothing." He bit his lip, staring down at her. "You're amazing...any guy would be lucky to even have a second with you...all those guys who were lucky enough to kiss you? They're idiots for giving up a lifetime of that...you're beautiful and brilliant and kind and funny and..." He blushed deeply as she opened her eyes, looking at him. His words began to sputter and fall out fast. "A-And um h-here's the pajamas. Y-You can take a p-pair of my socks if you w-want. I think I hear May calling. B-Be right there!" He laughed nervously and went to stand, stopping when she grabbed his hand.

She sat up and pulled him into a tight hug, sighing happily. "You're the best, Parker..."

He smiled, hugging her back. "I try..."

She pulled back slowly, staring up at him, gorgeous eyes inches from hers, noses so close he could feel her breath. He swallowed nervously, watching the way her eyes flickered down to his lips, her fingers tightening on his firm arms.

Then May really called.

He stammered out an apology and bolted, shutting the door behind him so she could dress. She stared down, then looked around his room. It was just the moment, she told herself. It's her broken heart, she insisted. She's looking for someone to kiss her, to hold her, to make her feel like she's first and not second like all the other guys did. She's just...not thinking straight. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Or maybe those stupid movies and songs are right...and everything I've ever needed has been right in front of me the whole time...

She stood, pulling her dress off, slipping on his sweater and pants. She tightened the strings around her waist and went to his dresser, pulling out a pair of low socks. She took off her jewelry, setting them next to the photo of Ben and May he had framed on the dresser. She smiled sweetly, looking at the picture beside it. Peter, probably around seven or eight, dressed as Luke Skywalker next to Ben as a very cheesy home-made Vader costume and May as Leia, a white dress with her hair in buns. They were such a sweet family...and that's all she ever wanted. Maybe that's why Peter was so good at this...being boyfriend material, so to speak. He had such good role models for love. Her, on the other hand...sure, Tony had Pepper now...but eleven years of rotating nannies took its toll on her.

The knock on the door drew her from her thoughts and she went to open it, "I'm ready."

Peter stared at her, possibly more captivated by her appearance now than before. She looked so beautiful in his clothes and it almost looked like she was his...

He cleared his throat, smiling nervously. "Um, M-May said the food's ready...come on."

She nodded, walking out with him.

----------

Two rounds of dinner, an empty wine bottle, and two episodes later, they were watching The One With The Birthing Video. The three of them were huddled under two blankets when May yawned.

"I know it's not that late, but I'm so full of pasta and wine that if I sleep now, I'll wake up on the sixteenth. Kinda wanna try that." She laughed, kissing Peter's head. "Y/N, honey, you're more than welcome to sleepover, okay?"

She smiled up at her. "Thanks. I think I will. That okay?" She looked at Peter now, who nodded.

"Goodnight, kids." May said, then retreated to her bedroom.

She and Peter both said it back and the third episode ended.

Peter frowned slightly, "That's all the Valentine's episodes...what now?"

"Oh, put on the one where Monica and Chandler get married. I love that one!"

He nodded, doing so. He didn't want to say it out loud, but the tv couple always reminded him of himself and her. It wasn't really the characters, though Peter's sarcasm heavily mirrored Chandler's. It was more their dynamic. The way they fit so well despite being the last pair you could ever picture together. Maybe they're what gave Peter that little bit of hope. He just hoped that she didn't have to get drunk to get with him.

She snuggled into Peter, watching the episode. Eventually, they just let the episodes play and barely watched it. She was falling asleep and Peter was just watching her. Her eyelashes fluttering as she fought to stay awake, the way she covered her mouth with every yawn. Which only gave away that he was staring considering he yawned every time she did. She looked up at him, raising a sleepy eyebrow.

"What's up, Parker?"

He blushed deeply, "N-Nothing."

"Liar."

"You, um..." He cleared his throat nervously. "You look so pretty..."

She blushed, smiling softly. "Thanks...at least someone got to enjoy my effort."

He rubbed her shoulder; his arm having been around her. "I'll always be here to enjoy it."

She smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek very gently. After a minute of staring at the TV, they both thought of what almost might have been back in his bedroom. "Hey Peter?"

He looked down at her. "Yeah?"

"...would you be my Valentine?"

He slowly smiled, nodding as he pressed his head against hers. “Always…”

She blushed, feeling her heart race. “I’m gonna go to bed…it’s late.” She whispered, eyes flickering down to his lips again. She pulled back before it could turn into anything. Peter’s a friend. He’s an amazing one and she didn’t want to mess anything up. So, she refused to do anything about it. She pat Peter’s arm, “I call top bunk.” She said, then stood and walked off to his room.

Now it was Peter’s turn to dwell on his aching heart. He watched her walk off, dreamt they were in their future home, rings on their fingers, kids fast asleep in their own bedrooms. He wished it was true, and wished he had the courage to take even just the first steps. To ask her out on a date, to kiss her, to start something that could be real.

For now?

For now, he could get off this damn couch, go in there, and take the bottom bunk like a man. He could listen to her sleep and that soft snore she had. He could wake up the next morning and make pancakes with her and be the best friend he could ever be.

For now…he could love her from afar, as long as he could see her smile and hear her laugh and feel her warmth. That was good enough for him.

----------

Tags: @irndad @animelover929

[agent-aly-parker]

Valentine’s Day

Summary: Reader has what’s possibly the worst Valentine’s Day ever and hopes that her best friend, Peter, can make it better.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader (Tony Stark’s Daughter)

Word Count: 1,699

Warnings: Mentions of cheating

Author’s Note: I know this isn’t the normal way to write Reader stories, but here you guys go!

Masterlist

Stilettos clicked on the wood floor as she made her way down the hall. Her hair was styled up perfectly. She wore a shade of lipstick that complimented her skin, thick black eyeliner over eyeshadow that made the hue in her eyes pop. She’d squeezed into a black dress, thin straps, straight neckline that still showed off a good amount of her chest, and a length that ended just a few inches below her rear.

She bit her painted lip softly, knowing the expensive brand wouldn’t stain her teeth, and knocked on the apartment door before her. She still held the weight of a freshly broken heart but had refused to cry and ruin an hour’s worth of makeup.

The door opened, and Peter stood there, laughing and smiling. His joy dropped as he saw her, along with his jaw. His cheeks slowly turned pink and he cleared his throat nervously, suddenly aware of his Star Wars pajama set.

“Y-Y/N? What uh- um- wh- what are you doing here?” He nervously crossed his arms, then dropped them to shove them in his pockets, found he didn’t have any, and crossed them again.

“I um…” What the hell am I doing here? “N-Nothing. Sorry-” She went to turn away, but Peter caught her wrist quickly.

“Hey, what’s up? Why aren’t you on your date?”

“Oh…he’s busy.” She said softly, smiling nervously at him.

“Busy? On Valentine’s day? What could he possibly be doing?”

“Um…I think her name was Violet?”

Peter’s eyes widened, and he frowned deeply, “What the hell. Seriously? Um…come in.” He stepped aside, letting her walk in. They rounded the corner of the small entry way into the open apartment.

“Oh! I was wondering what was taking Peter so long! Hey, sweetie.” Aunt May smiled widely, standing in the kitchen, pouring two wine glasses. “Should I pour a third?”

She nodded rapidly, “Yes, please.” She walked over to the kitchen, smiling at May.

“You look incredible, hun. Are you just stopping by? Where’s that guy taking you? What’s his name?” May raised a brow as Peter rapidly waved his hands no at her from behind his friend.

She shrugged, “Don’t remember his but I do remember hearing hers a lot of the butt dialed voicemail he left me.”

May gaped and rolled her eyes, “Oh god. Men.”

“I know.” She took her wine glass and downed it almost instantly, setting it on the counter for a second fill.

“Save this one for dinner, kay? You came just in time! We’re gonna eat pasta, drink wine, and watch all the Valentine’s episodes of Friends!”

“That sounds so much better than getting wasted at the pub.”

“I can imagine.” May laughed, “Peter, honey, go get something comfortable for her to wear.”

“Oh! Yeah, come on.” Peter walked her to his room, still blushing. “You, um…you look great…and Ken’s an idiot.”

“I know.” She smiled weakly, sitting on his bed, taking off her heels. He watched her for a second, his heart thumping hard in his chest, and went to get her his sweater that she loved wearing and an old pair of pajama pants, Toy Story themed. He sat beside her, setting the clothes between them.

“Are you okay? I can’t even imagine…”

“Try not to. It sucks.” She let her hair down, then sighed and lay back, shutting her eyes, hair in beautiful curls above her. "I can’t believe this…what’s wrong with me?”

“W-What? Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with you. He’s the stupid one.”

“Yeah, him, and Tim, and Mark, and Lucas, and Manny…what’s wrong with me?” She asked again.

“Nothing.” He bit his lip, staring down at her. “You’re amazing…any guy would be lucky to even have a second with you…all those guys who were lucky enough to kiss you? They’re idiots for giving up a lifetime of that…you’re beautiful and brilliant and kind and funny and…” He blushed deeply as she opened her eyes, looking at him. His words began to sputter and fall out fast. “A-And um h-here’s the pajamas. Y-You can take a p-pair of my socks if you w-want. I think I hear May calling. B-Be right there!” He laughed nervously and went to stand, stopping when she grabbed his hand.

She sat up and pulled him into a tight hug, sighing happily. “You’re the best, Parker…”

He smiled, hugging her back. “I try…”

She pulled back slowly, staring up at him, gorgeous eyes inches from hers, noses so close he could feel her breath. He swallowed nervously, watching the way her eyes flickered down to his lips, her fingers tightening on his firm arms.

Then May really called.

He stammered out an apology and bolted, shutting the door behind him so she could dress. She stared down, then looked around his room. It was just the moment, she told herself. It’s her broken heart, she insisted. She’s looking for someone to kiss her, to hold her, to make her feel like she’s first and not second like all the other guys did. She’s just…not thinking straight. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Or maybe those stupid movies and songs are right…and everything I’ve ever needed has been right in front of me the whole time…

She stood, pulling her dress off, slipping on his sweater and pants. She tightened the strings around her waist and went to his dresser, pulling out a pair of low socks. She took off her jewelry, setting them next to the photo of Ben and May he had framed on the dresser. She smiled sweetly, looking at the picture beside it. Peter, probably around seven or eight, dressed as Luke Skywalker next to Ben as a very cheesy home-made Vader costume and May as Leia, a white dress with her hair in buns. They were such a sweet family…and that’s all she ever wanted. Maybe that’s why Peter was so good at this…being boyfriend material, so to speak. He had such good role models for love. Her, on the other hand…sure, Tony had Pepper now…but eleven years of rotating nannies took its toll on her.

The knock on the door drew her from her thoughts and she went to open it, “I’m ready.”

Peter stared at her, possibly more captivated by her appearance now than before. She looked so beautiful in his clothes and it almost looked like she was his…

He cleared his throat, smiling nervously. “Um, M-May said the food’s ready…come on.”

She nodded, walking out with him.

———-

Two rounds of dinner, an empty wine bottle, and two episodes later, they were watching The One With The Birthing Video. The three of them were huddled under two blankets when May yawned.

“I know it’s not that late, but I’m so full of pasta and wine that if I sleep now, I’ll wake up on the sixteenth. Kinda wanna try that.” She laughed, kissing Peter’s head. “Y/N, honey, you’re more than welcome to sleepover, okay?”

She smiled up at her. “Thanks. I think I will. That okay?” She looked at Peter now, who nodded.

“Goodnight, kids.” May said, then retreated to her bedroom.

She and Peter both said it back and the third episode ended.

Peter frowned slightly, “That’s all the Valentine’s episodes…what now?”

“Oh, put on the one where Monica and Chandler get married. I love that one!”

He nodded, doing so. He didn’t want to say it out loud, but the tv couple always reminded him of himself and her. It wasn’t really the characters, though Peter’s sarcasm heavily mirrored Chandler’s. It was more their dynamic. The way they fit so well despite being the last pair you could ever picture together. Maybe they’re what gave Peter that little bit of hope. He just hoped that she didn’t have to get drunk to get with him.

She snuggled into Peter, watching the episode. Eventually, they just let the episodes play and barely watched it. She was falling asleep and Peter was just watching her. Her eyelashes fluttering as she fought to stay awake, the way she covered her mouth with every yawn. Which only gave away that he was staring considering he yawned every time she did. She looked up at him, raising a sleepy eyebrow.

“What’s up, Parker?”

He blushed deeply, “N-Nothing.”

“Liar.”

“You, um…” He cleared his throat nervously. “You look so pretty…”

She blushed, smiling softly. “Thanks…at least someone got to enjoy my effort.”

He rubbed her shoulder; his arm having been around her. “I’ll always be here to enjoy it.”

She smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek very gently. After a minute of staring at the TV, they both thought of what almost might have been back in his bedroom. “Hey Peter?”

He looked down at her. “Yeah?”

“…would you be my Valentine?”

He slowly smiled, nodding as he pressed his head against hers. “Always…”

She blushed, feeling her heart race. “I’m gonna go to bed…it’s late.” She whispered, eyes flickering down to his lips again. She pulled back before it could turn into anything. Peter’s a friend. He’s an amazing one and she didn’t want to mess anything up. So, she refused to do anything about it. She pat Peter’s arm, “I call top bunk.” She said, then stood and walked off to his room.

Now it was Peter’s turn to dwell on his aching heart. He watched her walk off, dreamt they were in their future home, rings on their fingers, kids fast asleep in their own bedrooms. He wished it was true, and wished he had the courage to take even just the first steps. To ask her out on a date, to kiss her, to start something that could be real.

For now?

For now, he could get off this damn couch, go in there, and take the bottom bunk like a man. He could listen to her sleep and that soft snore she had. He could wake up the next morning and make pancakes with her and be the best friend he could ever be.

For now…he could love her from afar, as long as he could see her smile and hear her laugh and feel her warmth. That was good enough for him.

———-

Tags: @irndad @animelover929