#and i feel like they'll keep him in the hotel for as long as possible because he's a very popular character

[purpleshadow-star]

So, the season finale of Hazbin Hotel came out last night.

Spoilers ahead

I was never part of the Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss fandom(s), though I have been watching Helluva Boss since about midway through when season one was being released. I only watched the pilot for Hazbin Hotel maybe six months to a year ago, and I only ever watched it once. I never kept up with VivziePop or whatever was happening behind the scenes. I watched Hazbin Hotel as it came out the past few weeks, I’ve watched some TikToks about it over the past week, and I read through a few (like, three) of the character’s wiki pages like, yesterday.

So, with all of my inexperience in the fandom and in this universe, I’m going to try to predict how the show is going to end.

Kind of.

Well, I’m going to make a prediction.

I think Angel Dust will be the last resident of the hotel we see get redeemed.

Angel was the first resident of the hotel. It’s only fitting that he’d be the last (that we see, anyway).

I think that season one was almost like a set-up season. The main characters and their characterizations/arcs have been established. The main problem, the extermination, has been temporarily dealt with. It’s been proven that the main objective in the show, redeeming sinners through the Hazbin Hotel, is possible. Seeds of a bigger plot and future trouble have been planted.

Now that the bigger plot things are out of the way, I think the show will be able to (hopefully) slow the pace down now and really focus on the hotel itself and the redemption process of the sinners that choose to be there, along with the individual characters and their personal journeys and arcs.

I think that Sir Pentious getting redeemed and making it into Heaven proved that the concept of the hotel can work, so now that they have the bigger, newly built hotel, they’ll start to get more residents. We’ll meet and bond with more characters as the seasons go on and they’ll go through the hotel and eventually get redeemed and go to Heaven.

I think that during all of this, for the next few seasons, we’ll see Angel work towards redeeming himself too. At this point, he’s accepted the hotel. He’s accepted his place there and he’s been visibly getting better. We’ll see him continue his path to redemption while also dealing with Valentino, his contract with him, and any other personal conflicts that arise.

I think that partway through the show, we’ll see Angel start to kind of put off becoming fully redeemed. Maybe he’ll just slow down, but I think we’ll see him become more apprehensive about completing his redemption.

At this point, he’ll probably already be in an official relationship with Husk, and his situation with Valentino might be resolved or at least not as much of an issue anymore. I think he’ll start putting off officially moving on into Heaven because he realizes that he doesn’t want to leave his friends behind. He won't want to leave the friends he’s made at the hotel, so even though he might be ready or almost ready to go to Heaven, he’ll just keep putting it off.

I think Angel’s ascension to Heaven will be the big series finale. I think that it’ll be a big emotional moment. Angel will accept that it’s time to move on, and there will be an emotional scene where he says goodbye to Charlie (who, as a Hellborn demon and not a mortal soul, can’t go to Heaven like the other sinners), and Vaggie (who will choose to stay with Charlie and has no desire to go back to Heaven), and probably Alastor (who loves his power and control too much to want anything to do with redemption himself) and maybe Niffty (I’m undecided about whether she’ll try for redemption, but I’m thinking no, at least as of right now). If Husk stays behind, that’ll be an absolutely heartbreaking goodbye too, but I’m thinking that, at some point in the show, Husk might decide to try for redemption as well, so maybe he and Angel are going together and saying their goodbyes together.

I think we’ll get a teary goodbye for the people Angel is leaving behind in Hell, but we’ll also get a joyous reunion scene where he meets up with all the redeemed souls in Heaven as well. He’ll get to see all the former residents we got to meet throughout the show, and maybe he’ll even have a moment where he gets to reunite with his sister, too. It’ll be a somewhat bittersweet moment, but a happy one overall, because Angel Dust, the first resident of the Hazbin Hotel, who didn’t take it seriously in the beginning and thought redemption wasn’t possible, who went through so much in Hell and who didn’t think things could get better for him, will have finally completed the journey to redemption and moved on to Heaven.

And then maybe we’ll get an epilogue-esque scene or series of clips of Charlie and Vaggie happily continuing to help redeem sinners in the Hazbin Hotel, of Angel and the other redeemed souls happily living their best afterlives in Heaven, of the redeemed sinners meeting and welcoming new redeemed souls into Heaven as they come in.

And maybe, taking place some time in the future, maybe years after Angel goes to Heaven, we’ll get a moment of Charlie and Vaggie, and any of the other original cast that stayed in Hell, being allowed to take a day trip into Heaven. Maybe we’ll get to see them reunite with the redeemed sinners in Heaven in person for the first time since the redeemed souls left, and it’ll be a happy reunion where they’re all just happy to see each other again and catch up. Maybe at this point the show has already established a way for the redeemed souls to still be able to communicate and keep in touch with those in Hell, so maybe this isn’t the first time the two groups have spoken to each other since the redeemed souls left the hotel, but maybe it is the first time since the redeemed souls left that they’ve been able to see each other in person, so the teary hugs all around are expected and maybe even appreciated.

Maybe the show will end on a happy note, where our first and most skeptical hotel resident ends up happily redeemed with a partner who loves and values him for who he is and friends who care for him, and where our main character is able to fulfill her dreams of helping her subjects find the best version of themselves and move on to a better place.

Maybe the extermination no longer happens, so there’s no more deadlines. Maybe being redeemed is no longer just an escape from second death. Not every soul in Hell is going to want to change, but for Charlie, it’s not about redeeming every soul. The Hazbin Hotel started as a way to decrease Hell’s population so that the extermination would no longer be necessary, so that no more souls, however awful, would be needlessly killed, but Charlie knows that the extermination was never about overpopulation, and yet she’s still going through with the hotel and she’s still working to redeem sinners.

So, maybe the extermination is a thing of the past, but Charlie will still continue running the hotel and giving sinners another chance, because everyone deserves another chance. Because Hell isn’t forever, and despite whatever some people did when they were alive, they deserve the chance to try to redeem themselves. They deserve the chance to try to be better. And that’s Charlie’s dream. She just wants to give her subjects the opportunity to do better, and not everyone will take it, but in the end, we'll see that all the effort was worth it for those few souls who do.

So, to recap: I think Angel Dust will be the last sinner we see get redeemed. We might get clips and/or mentions of souls after him, but he’ll be the last character to go to Heaven who’s journey to redemption we’ve seen. In the series finale, he’ll be the last major character to be redeemed, and we’ll get to see him live his best life in Heaven while Charlie happily stays behind in Hell to help guide more souls along the path to redemption.

Or at least, that’s something I’d like to see, anyway.

[eyecan02]

Alastor & Charlie's Dance Analysis

I find it interesting that Alastor would choose a hobby that has been so romantically coded for centuries. The art of dance is basically a mating ritual of sorts. It opens the door to romance, love, passion and trust.

In the dance film "Take the Lead", the lead character describes dance as an act of trust. As he says (paraphrasing a bit because I couldn't find the actual quote or clip) "The man leads the dance, but it is the woman's choice to let him lead so she is the one with the power."

I feel like this line sums up Alastor and Charlie's first dance in the pilot and their relationship in general. Tossing Charlie into the air and catching her. Sliding down the ramp/stairs while holding her hand. Alastor dipping her. All of these moments during their dance were how Alastor was building trust with Charlie.

Alastor believes he is the one leading their "dance". He's the one "producing" the show. He's the storyteller. He's the one directing the tide how he wants. Except for underestimating Adam, he has had a lot of control over many events; running the hotel, mutually agreeing with Charlie to let Sir Pentious stay at the hotel, protecting the hotel, the satisfied look he had during "More than Anything" almost as if the outcome of the song is exactly what he wanted, saving information on the angels for a rainy day, Alastor telling Charlie about his smile being a power play, Alastor taking her to a town full of cannibals, looping his arm through hers so Charlie doesn't stray, Alastor introducing Rosie as an ally for Charlie and lending Charlie his microphone staff.

"I knew she could do it all along."

"She's filled with potential that I could guide."

When Alastor returns during the Finale song, Charlie literally re-receives him with literal open arms. He smiles with satisfaction because her hug confirms that he hasn't lost Charlie's trust (which is currently the most important thing to him besides his freedom).

Earlier, I had said dancing can be a mating ritual. It makes people bond. In this case, Alastor and Charlie bonded as friends while also "bonding" through their ambiguous contract. While not binding Charlie's soul to him, their "dance" still bound her to him in a sense. They'll be "together" until Alastor decides what his favor will be/what he wants to do after he regains his freedom.

Now onto Charlie's POV of their "dance". She knows that Alastor's whole persona is an amalgamation of control and choice. As Alastor stated before, he can make people stay at the hotel so why doesn't he just force them? Charlie wants it to be the sinners' choice.

Why does he originally use modern technology for the first commercial? Charlie. Why does he stop beating up Sir Pentious? Because Charlie had said "He's had enough." He actually did stop and only blasted Pentious a moment later because he ripped his coat.

Why does he allow Pentious to stay at the hotel? Because Charlie was the one that encouraged Pentious to apologize to Alastor. Why was Pentious allowed to stay even after they found out he was a spy? Because Charlie forgave him and that was good enough for Alastor.

It's always about Charlie's choice. When they first met, Charlie said, "I know he probably doesn't want to change, but I can't turn him away. It goes everything I believe in." Then she takes the reigns of the situation by telling Alastor, "I hereby order you to help with this hotel for as long as you desire."

A royal decree but not one that forces Alastor to stay at the hotel forever. She's giving him a choice and choices are probably seldom for Alastor due to him being leashed.

"Sometimes the best way to conquer an enemy is to get right in their face."

Another fitting quote from the Take the Lead film. I feel like Charlie's decision to let Alastor into the hotel was meant to keep him as close as possible by keeping a watchful eye on him so that he wouldn't be all over the city again back to his old ways.

It was Charlie's choice to defend Alastors sadistic way of defending the hotel. It was her choice to make a deal in exchange for valuable information because they were all in a desperate situation.

Charlie trusted that Alastor would "ask for one favor at a time of my choosing where you harm no one." No matter what the deal is, for her the most important part is that she wouldn't be obligated to hurt anyone once Alastor collects. It was her choice to make a risky decision because it would be for the good of all.

Charlie has more power in this "dance" of theirs than people think. If Charlie is unhappy, Alastor is unhappy. She is the one with the power because for whatever reason, Alastor's goal is to keep Charlie happy and fulfill her "every bizarre request."

Her trust to let Alastor into the hotel did have a pay off. She didn't expect him to change or care and yet he ended up "growing accustomed" to Charlie and the Hazbin gang and went all out in trying to protect them and the hotel from the angels.

Even when Alastor cashes in on the deal/inevitably betrays her, she'll understand that it was her choice to let him in, to work with him and to care about him enough to say she "loves" him, the Hazbin gang and the cannibals.

That's why it will also be her choice in trusting him to do the right thing at the perfect time and her choice to forgive him and let him back into her life. That is why going back to the quote from earlier, "The man leads the dance but it is the woman's choice to let him lead so she is the one with the power." It will be her choice to allow him to be her partner in dance, business or anything else.

[sissylittlefeather]

Let's Forget About the Stars: Chapter 10

A/N: I told you we weren't done with Dove and Jumbee! This is right after their wedding and kind of leads into the next phase of their relationship. I hope you all are in this for the long haul with us!

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, they'll be smutty from now on probably. Cussing, kissing, references to oral sex, p in v sex, unprotected sex, creampie, mentions of pregnancy

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

Word count: ~2.1k

"Goodnight, Mrs. Presley."

"Goodnight, Mr. Presley." They go to sleep wrapped in each other and never look back.

******

Elvis and Dove go to New Orleans for a week-long honeymoon before he resumes filming King Creole. They spend most of their time in bed together talking and having sex as often as physically possible. They don't leave the room except occasionally in the middle of the night to eat at a restaurant or see a movie at a place Elvis has paid to stay open late for them. By the end of the week, all nervousness about being together intimately has completely faded and they don't hesitate to walk around naked in the hotel room. By day three, they don't even shower separately anymore. They are wholly and completely married.

Dove goes home to Memphis while he finishes the movie and wanders around the house dreaming of decorating a nursery. She cries when she gets her period at the beginning of March, having hoped that they might have a honeymoon baby. It's early, she knows that, but with him leaving, she'd like to have something of him to keep with her. Something to keep her occupied wouldn't hurt either.

Gladys notices that Dove's mood has changed and tries to see if there's anything she can do to help. She hasn't been feeling well recently, but maybe a problem to solve is exactly what she needs. It would be nice to have a distraction from the worrying.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She pulls Dove aside one night after dinner. Elvis will be home for a few days soon before he leaves for basic training. Dove should be excited, but she's moping around the house like he's already gone again.

"Oh, nothing, mama." She's taken to calling Gladys 'mama' since the wedding. It's just easier and she feels so motherly that it's natural.

"Now, you've been mopin' around this house like a kicked puppy. What's goin' on?" Dove looks up at her with teary eyes. She hesitates, but decides she needs someone to talk to and Gladys feels like the right person.

"I'm just... I'm not... there's no baby yet and I..." She chokes on the words. Gladys wraps her in a hug and she sobs on her shoulder for a bit while the older woman strokes her hair. Eventually, she pulls back and holds Dove's cheeks in her hands.

"Hon, it's been one month. Really it's been one week. And it probably wasn't the right week. I know it's hard, but you'll have a baby before too much longer. I feel it in my soul."

"The right week?" Dove's eyes are wide with confusion.

"Oh, hon. Alright then." Gladys launches into a monologue about reproduction and cycle tracking and everything else Dove needs to know. "Does that make sense?"

"Yes, mama. I think it does. So I need to figure out the right week."

"If you'll tell me when your cycle is I can help you." Dove smiles and nods, feeling some hope for the first time in days.

******

Elvis is home for a few days between filming and having to leave for the army. Dove has established it's not the right week, but she doesn't care. They tumble around naked and sweating an impressive number of times in the days that he's home.

The night before he leaves, they lay together in bed after a spirited lovemaking session, both of them naked and panting. She lays in the crook of his arm with her hand on his chest.

"I love you so much, Jumbee."

"I love you too, honey."

"I don't want you to leave." He looks down at her and tips her chin up to look at him.

"I don't wanna go. But I'm gonna find a way for us to be together. We're married. Surely that means something to the army." He leans down and kisses her lips gently. She thinks about telling him that she wants to get pregnant, but decides against it. They'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

******

Elvis goes to Fort Chaffee and then on to Fort Hood in March of 1958. He writes to Dove that he's been spending a lot of his free time with some friends that live in Waco and that if she ever wants to visit, she's welcome there.

April comes and goes and Dove decides that letters and phone calls aren't enough. She and Gladys establish that the last week of May is the one where she's most fertile and she makes plans to visit him in Waco. When she finally arrives, he's so glad to see her, he can barely contain himself.

Eddie Fadal and his wife happily welcome her to their home and that first evening is spent around the piano. Elvis struggles to keep his hands off of her, eager to get her back to his bedroom. When they finally do get back to the room he asks a question as they kiss and start to strip each other's clothes off.

"Why did you wait so long, baby?"

"I was waiting for the right week." She says it without really thinking about it, but he pauses and pulls back.

"Right week for what?" Her cheeks turn bright pink as she stands there in his arms, half-dressed.

"It's... not important."

"No, Dovey, right week for what?" He looks down at her inquisitively, loosening his grip on her. She looks down at her feet and whispers.

"Right week for making a baby." Understanding hits Elvis. He doesn't know the details but he's heard about women not having sex at certain times to prevent pregnancy.

"Wait, are you tryin' to get pregnant?" She nods, keeping her eyes down. He tips her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Dovey?"

"Yeah. Is that not what you want?"

"Honey, I'm about to be gone for 2 years. It's not really the best time." She knits her eyebrows together.

"But I would like to have some part of you, something to keep me busy while you're gone."

"I don't really wanna miss my kid's first two years." His voice is more intense than she expected. She never dreamed he wouldn't be on board.

"You really don't want this?"

"Not yet, honey. Is this the right week?"

"Yes. That's why I'm here."

"Then I can't make love to ya." He puts his hands on her upper arms and moves backwards away from her.

"Elvis, please!" She whines pleadingly.

"I'll go down on ya baby, but I'm not doing anything more."

"Elvis!"

"I'm sorry, honey, I'm sayin' no." He walks to the bed and lays down on the right side of it. She looks at him with her eyes wide and her lips in a full unintentional pout. "Oh, now c'mere. Don't be lookin' like that."

She crawls into his arms on the bed. He does exactly what he promises and nothing more. She's reminded of all those nights they were together before the wedding and it makes her sad, but he doesn't break his resolve through the whole trip.

Until the last morning she's there. They have to take her to the airport later that day, but they shower together like always in the little white bathroom. They've done this everyday since she's been there, but Elvis woke up in a mood on that particular day.

In the shower, he presses himself up behind her and runs his hands over the front of her body. He whispers in her ear as his hands roam.

"You're so sexy, honey." She whimpers as he runs his hand down between her legs and starts to rub circles on her.

"Somebody is awake this morning." She reaches back and palms his rock hard member as he touches her. He moans softly and his hips buck into her hand.

"God, Dovey, it's been so long." She swears she can feel the throbbing ache in his cock.

"I'm not the one stopping you." She half-moans as he nibbles on her neck and earlobe, his fingers still rubbing against her clit. She feels her orgasm gather in between her legs and whimpers.

"You gonna cum for me, Dovey?"

"If you keep that up, I will." She bites her bottom lip to stifle a moan.

"Good. Good girl. Cum for me, honey." She's so close to the edge and he's so good with his hands that it only takes a few more seconds for her to fall, electricity coursing through her like lightning out to her fingertips. Her orgasm is too much for him to stand.

"Fuck it." He bends her over a little, lining himself up from behind and pushes into her. She yelps with the sudden overstimulation, but doesn't protest when he starts to slam into her. She's needed it so badly for so long, she's not about to stop him now just because her clit is a little sensitive.

He holds her hips so tightly she worries he might leave marks, but it feels so good to be taken like this that she doesn't complain. He moans loudly with the sensation of her wrapped so tightly around him. He's not sure he'll ever get enough of having her like this.

His hands run up to her breasts and squeeze gently as he fucks into her frantically from behind. But he wants to see her face when he cums, so he pulls out and flips her around, pinning her back against the shower wall. He slides his cock back into her and resumes pounding her. Sometimes they make love slow and gentle, but she kind of loves when it's like this; when he needs her so badly that he can't do anything other than fuck her silly.

She moans as he slams into her and then leans forward to whisper in his ear.

"Come on, baby. Cum for me."

"Ohhhh!" He moans loudly as he freezes , his cock pulsing and throbbing inside her, filling her with his release. She sighs, satisfied as he pants and holds her against himself. "Well fuck, baby, I meant to pull out."

"I'm sure one time won't hurt. We've been good all weekend. And I'm sorry. We can wait until you'll be home to have a baby." He kisses her forehead and holds her close.

"We'll have babies. Don't you worry about that Dove Presley. We will." She smiles and snuggles into him, hoping he's right.

******

Elvis continues basic training through the summer. He comes back to Nashville in June to record and Dove is there in the studio with him. They also get word from the army that since he's married, and he's Elvis Presley, he'll be able to live with his wife and family instead of in the barracks. This holds true for when he's in Germany, too. Dove is positively ecstatic that she's not going to have to be without him for two years. But she's unusually tired and not really up for celebrating too much. The champagne makes her nauseous and she's dying to crawl in bed.

When they do finally make it to the bed in their hotel room in Nashville, Elvis wraps himself around her. She's already fast asleep and he wonders if she's okay. She doesn't usually sleep like this. He chalks it up to excitement that he's home, or close to it anyway, and the knowledge that she'll be reunited with him very soon.

At the beginning of July, Dove moves into a house in Killeen, Texas with Gladys and Vernon. Elvis lives there too, anytime he's not busy with army business.

Overall, things are going along quite well.

Until Dove realizes she's missed her period for June. She tells no one. It's too early to know for certain and she's not sure how Elvis would take the news anyway. Maybe it's just her body adjusting to the increase in sexual activity.

When she misses her period in July too, though, she knows it's time for a professional opinion. She finally goes to the doctor and the tests confirm what she thought was true: she's pregnant.

She comes into the house one August day bustling with excitement and nervous to tell Elvis about the baby. But instead, he's sitting on the couch in tears.

He explains that Gladys is ill and they've put her on a train to Memphis. The army should give him emergency leave, but it won't be for another couple of days. His eyes flash with terror and Dove tries to stay strong for him.

"I can't lose Mama. I just can't." He leans against her and sobs. All thoughts of her pregnancy fall by the wayside as she comforts him. She strokes his hair as he weeps and tries to swallow her own tears.

"It'll be okay, Jumbee. Whatever happens, I'm here. It'll be okay."

But she's not sure she believes it either.

******

Now what?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@wildhorseinkansas @ccab @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @deltafalax @atleastpleasetelephone @cinnamoroll-things @burnthheparaphilia @jhoneybees @cattcb @everythingelvispresley @returntopresley @searchingforgravity

[thelarriefics]

NEW YEARS FIC REC: Below you will find fics that take place during the New Year, or have scenes that center around it.

📖 Mistletoe's For Two by @ireallysawanangel (90k)

After an encounter in a coffee shop with the rudest man he's ever met, Louis hopes the city is just big enough that he'll never bump into him again. When he spots that man at a bar the following evening, a plan begins to form. They both need dates for their respective Christmas parties and decide to use each other for their own benefit. They'll help one another through the holidays and then 'break it off' on New Year's, then agree to never see each other again. Developing feelings was not part of the plan. Or, an enemies to lovers fake dating advent fic.

📖 Home For The Holiday by @larrysmomfics (86k)

A "The Holiday" inspired AU where Harry meets Louis after agreeing to swap houses with a stranger on the internet for three weeks over the holidays.

📖 like cranberries on a winter evening by @evilovesyou (57k)

Louis hates Christmas. With good reason, too. And no, he doesn’t want to talk about it. When research for his next novel leads Louis to the website of a quirky little hotel in Northumberland, there is exactly one room available for the two weeks that Louis really wants to get away from his family. Will the fairy lights, kind smiles, homemade pastries, and genuine friendships awaiting him in Harry Styles’ hotel be enough to cause Louis a change of heart?

📖 Baby, Won't You Look My Way? by @peachbootylouis (50k)

Or the where Louis’ routine centered life runs like clockwork until a chance hook up throws a wrench named Harry into it all. But as it may turn out a change in plans could be what Louis has needed all along.

📖 Cabin Fever by @germericangirl (46k)

One cabin, one bed, two ex-boyfriends. What could possibly go wrong?

📖 silver lining, perfect timing by @stylesthebrave (22k)

For as long as they've been friends, the whole world has been saying Louis and Harry should get over themselves and date already. It takes an impromptu winter holiday for Louis to admit that everyone else might have been right all along.

📖 as in olden days by @scrunchyharry (18k)

Château Frontenac hotel, Christmas 1925   When his father insisted the entire family spend Christmas abroad in one of his new investments, Harry dreaded the prospect of being trapped for weeks in the biting Canadian cold, so far away from the roaring excitement of his London life. As he crossed half of the world to be buried under a thick blanket of snow, he never imagined he would meet a charming bellhop who would do his best to keep him warm.

📖 I Can Build Your Heart A Home by @loveislarryislove (10k)

Or, Harry and Louis kind of secretly sort of dated in high school. Now it's two years later and they're both back in town for Christmas and it's awkward. Until it isn't.

📖 promise not to fade away by @nobodymoves (10k)

Louis is an A&R rep, and Harry is a singer/songwriter. They meet on New Years Eve.

📖 It's Thursday. Let's Get (un)Dressed. by @bananaheathen (9k)

When Louis is peer-pressured into downloading TikTok over the holidays, he fully expects to hate it. And he does hate it. All of it. Well... except for aspiring OOTD influencer, @harrystyles.

📖 I want your midnights by @guccistrawberries (8k)

or It all starts with a harmless round of the name game

📖 Happy New Life's! by @outofmycistem (5k)

If everything would work out perfectly, in case it didn't already happen until this point, they would be out in exactly 10 years. With a simple tweet of a picture and a 3 sentence text. Because it's as easy as that and even if they would forget about it, which they swore they wouldn't, it wouldn't be that much of a deal anyways, right? Or, the one where Harry and Louis (more or less) accidently come out with a tweet they planned 10 years ago.

📖 Know What You Need by @absoloutenonsense (4k)

Harry always thinks he knows what he needs, but Louis knows better.

📖 Rapture by @allwaswell16 (3k)

It was New Year's Eve in Victorian London, and a lonely vampire could no longer resist the stunning lamplighter he watched night after night. Or, a vampire Harry fic because what says the holidays like Victorian vampires?

📖 this far from mediocre by @louisandtheaquarian & @zaynmaliksmiddlefinger (2k)

In this scene, Louis meets Zayn for the first time at an industry party on New Year's Eve that Liam is DJ-ing. Oh, and Harry shows up too.

📖 Stroke of Twelve by @larry-hiatus (2k)

Or the one where Louis wants Harry to hold off his orgasm so they can come together at the stroke of twelve on New Year's Eve.

📖 anything for you, gorgeous by @track-five (1k)

after a long night of new years celebrations, louis somehow manages to get his boyfriend home in one giggly, clingy piece.

📖 a taste of bliss by @beckydoesthings (1k)

It's New Year's Eve, and Louis is working. As much as he hates it, there's a few benefits to working a holiday. One is the free champagne. The second may or may not come in the form of a curly haired sous chef named Harry.

[gaygoetia]

Helluva Boss Theories

Caught up with Helluva Boss and now idk what to do with myself so have some theories!

(Not including my next episode/Asmodean crystal theories cause I already discussed that here)

There are so many plates spinning at this point in the story so here are my current theories/hopes/ideas in where each thread is heading:

Stella (and her brother)

Stella is a simple woman with simple goals - to kill her husband and take all his money (not necessarily in that order).

But as established in S2 E4, if Stella kills Stolas all his money and possessions will pass to Via, leaving Stella with nothing. Of course he also won't give her anything willingly on account of how she, you know, tried to kill him.

This leaves two obvious avenues that I can think of that Stella is likely to take in pursuit of Stolas' fortune:

1. Blackmail - It's only a matter of time before Stolas' deal with Blitzo is going to come back and bite him in the ass. It's pretty much an open secret that he's been loaning out his Grimoire so that Blitzo can illegally access the human world and at some point someone is bound to leverage that fact to their advantage.

As soon as Stella realises (or more likely, her brother points out to her) that this is prime blackmail material, I think she'll jump at the chance to squeeze as much money out of Stolas' as possible.

2. Ransom - I think this is much less likely because it's too similar to previous storylines and is likely to feel repetitive, but Stella could also potentially hire Striker to kidnap Blitzo and demand a ransom in exchange for his safety.

Mammon

Given that S2 E7 ends with Mammon warning Asmodeus that he'll regret crossing him, I imagine that Mammon has a plan of his own that will emerge in future episodes.

I don't know how likely this actually is given it would be pretty large scale and would likely impact the plot of Hazbin Hotel too, but I would love it if this leads to a civil war across Hell.

Mammon is all about money and he'll be losing a lot of it now his top money-maker has publicly decried him (and I doubt Asmodeus will continue production of the Fizzy fuckdolls either).

It could also be an opportunity to finally introduce Satan (Demon of Wrath) and Leviathan (Demon of Envy) as potential allies to Mammon (whose desire for vengeance is motivated in part by the sins they embody), leaving Beelzebub and Belphegor as potential allies to Asmodeus. Of course the other sins might also have beef with each other that we don't know about which could exacerbate the situation further.

Striker

Striker has been a major player in season 2 in particular, popping up over and over again as an antagonist to IMP due Blitzo's connections to Stolas and Fizz respectively.

While he's ostensibly killing for money, he clearly has a more personal agenda stemming from his hatred of the upper class.

At the moment it's hard to know how exactly his plan will come together but in the last episode we saw him approach Crimson with the intention of forming some kind of alliance, though the details weren't specified.

I think this must be the first step in Striker's long term plan to bring down the monarchy and topple the hierarchy of Hell, though how this will play out is unclear.

I don't see the show killing off Stolas but I can imagine Striker's next appearance being in conjunction with the assassination of another royal character like Stella or her brother or even one of the Sins like Mammon or Bea.

I can also picture him trying his hand at kidnapping again in order to lure in a royal target - maybe kidnapping Blitzo or Via to draw in Stolas.

D.H.O.R.K.S

Thanks to IMP's consistent failure to keep a low profile, they've drawn the attention of D.H.O.R.K.S, an organization on Earth that appears to investigate paranormal activities, and as of S1 E6 we know they have video evidence.

I don't see them finding a way to hell without dying but I suspect they'll continue to cause problems during IMP's visits to the surface. They might even find a way to bind or command a demon.

That said, rather than the D.H.O.R.K.S themselves posing a serious threat, I think major consequences for IMP and/or Stolas are more likely to arise from the D.H.O.R.K.S drawing the attention of Higher-Ups in Hell.

What do y'all think?

I'd love to hear alternative theories on where all these storylines are leading!

Do you think all the different threads will end up intersecting?

If so, how do you think they'll tie it all together?

[desertfangs]

Picturing Armand coming up with all sorts of creative aka absolutely batshit ways to prevent Daniel from being intercepted by the Talamasca while Daniel remains completely oblivious. “Lover LOOK it’s Lestat right behind you, he’s only wearing a g-string 🫢😜” and then he’s setting all of Daniel’s mail on fire and scattering the ashes in one of his clandestine e boat rides. Or trying to pass Talamasca correspondence as high school reunion invites (“you couldn’t possibly be interested in that my love? Such silly nonsense”) before tearing them off and throwing them out and changing the topic altogether. It all pays off years later at Lestat’s concert when they bump into Jesse and Daniel is like “Tala-what? lmaoo what a funny little name”. Armand has never been more proud of himself xoxo DA 🥹

Right? Dying at the idea of Armand going "Look! Lestat in a g-string!" to distract Daniel because wow, that would work! Armand would have already gotten rid of whatever it was and Daniel would still be searching behind him, going "Where? I don't see him??"

This could be a whole sitcom, tbh. A whole montage of Armand pulling Daniel in the other direction all of a sudden when he spots a Talamasca agent or changing their plans out of the blue. "I thought you had to see this band tonight!" "I realized their brand of folk music is quite droll. Let's go to Prague." Stealing his mail every evening before he wakes up him to sift through it. I imagine even in the chase years, he might get Daniel's mail at the hotel desk and bring him the royalty check while holding back the Talamasca's letters.

Maybe Daniel finally gets one of the letters in New York, and of course because it's the Talamasca, it's impossibly vague, imploring him to come meet someone at some hotel in a week's time and only vaguely mentions their interest in his novel. So Daniel asks Armand what he thinks it is? Do they want to discuss a sequel? It's not his publisher's letterhead. Is it an agent? Someone who hopes to represent him?

Armand reads it several times, expression impassive, even though he immediately knows what it is. "It's a scam," he finally says. "These vultures target young writers. They just want a share of your royalties and they'll do nothing for you." He tosses the letter aside. Maybe Daniel wonders if he should go the the meeting anyhow, just to see, but Armand will coincidentally need them to fly somewhere very far away the night before so he can't make it. Such a shame. Oh, well, Armand was probably right.

And when they try to approach him in person, ooh boy. I know Armand has some pretty clever mental tricks and could probably scare them out of the city for reasons even they don't entirely understand. Like they're on Daniel's trail and then all of a sudden, they feel uneasy about going into the city or into a certain neighborhood. They may mention that feeling or just that they're not able to establish contact, but no one can seem to get near him and he never replies to their letters or shows up for the pre-arranged meetings, so they just assume he's not interested.

Ironically, I think Daniel would want to know all about them. I don't think he'd join them--I don't think he'd give up being with Armand for anything, and certainly not that--but I think he'd find their mission fascinating, and if he hadn't run into Armand, he would have loved working with them to investigate the paranormal. Sadly, he's also one of those people predisposed to get too close and get himself in trouble, because nothing would keep him from approaching a vampire if he knew where to find them. So he wouldn't have lasted long in the job. Although, Daniel would kill for an hour or two in their archives, even now as a vampire.

I wonder if he ever asked Lestat if his friend David could get him in there for a night to sift through what they had. No doubt Lestat was like "Sure, yeah, I'll ask" and immediately forgot and it never came up again. Ironically, I think the Talamasca would salivate over the stuff in the Night Island cellar and whatever Armand has in the depths of Trinity Gate. I'm curious if, after QotD, when they realized where Daniel had been and with whom, they tried to excavate some of their old abandoned apartments and now, somewhere in the cellar of a Talasmaca motherhouse, sits a blender stained with beet juice and quick-dry cement, a Chia pet with dead seedlings sticking out of it, and an electric toothbrush with blood all over its bristles, all in some box labeled "Armand, New York, 1980s."

Thank you for the ask, DA!!! Always happy to hear from you! I will be thinking about this all day.

[kimarisgundam]

After a 2+ week long break from cyberpunk Red... my Netrunner somehow ended up in NCPD custody after just our first session 😐

To be fair, our DM did warn us... but I guess my party was too caught up in the thrill of doing something "big" 😅... I tried to persuade my friend/her Rockerboy to stop messing with Militech, but he didn't listen >_>

NCPD has 0 justification for arresting Rockerboy and his NPC bandmate cos my cover-up was flawless. Militech bribed NCPD 😐. They randomly arrested him and are trying to force a confession out of him 😐

I'm in such a bad position 🥲.Not humble bragging, but my Role level is the highest in the party now. In game, my Netrunner is considered a prodigy cos of 2 feats I pulled

Some powerful people are after her. They want me to work for them exclusively but I kept declining. It's gotten so bad that my Netrunner is using a disguise cos she doesn't feel safe

It's not that I couldn't fight back. It's just that I wasn't 100% sure I could win cos there's a high level Militech netrunner with NCPD. If I lose, I'll be outing how skilled I actually am...

My Netrunner is currently being isolated. She's in a relatively nice hotel room and was offered food

(They think I'm the daughter of a rich corpo lady from Japan cos of my spoofed ID. So they're careful around me in case I'm related to Arasaka

I'm not getting interrogated like Rockerboy... But the netrunner already thinks I'm sus cos of my unusually high grade ICE... I'm worried he'll finally break through and realise who I am 🥲)

My friend literally meta gamed at the table and told me not to do anything cos she's worried they'll find out I'm Mako 🥲

As her Rockerboy, he doesn't want to put my Netrunner in danger. But I think he accidentally made the situation worse cos frantically telling NCPD she has nothing to do with him is so sus???

I'm so nervous for the next session now cos Militech is out for blood. Like yeah, Rockerboy has been arrested and detained by NCPD many times...

But his popularity (he streams to the Net cos he refuses to "sign his soul to a corp" 🙄) is what keeps them from doing anything too drastic or flatlining him in Night City. They don't want the bad PR and possible fan riot

But now, they are trying to label him as an extremist (in my Netrunner's opinion, he is an extremist...) to justify handing him over to NUSA for trial

I'm pretty sure they'll just kill him and lie that he's sent NUSA

They basically want to tell his fans that he's a threat to public safety to turn public opinion against him

As a player, I know what's going on cos I can see my friends RPing 😅. But as my Netrunner, I know nothing... I'm isolated and heavily guarded... it's driving my Netrunner nuts cos she hates not being in control of the situation 🥲

Plus I'm so vulnerable now???

I'm stuck in a room with Militech. What if they crack my ICE and find out I'm the affair child of Arasaka's current head of R&D???

Like omg. I know I defected and disowned dad... but I obviously still care about my bio family 😭. I don't want to be the reason dad gets killed 😭

[salllzy]

I had a plot bunny you might like, feel free to adopt if you want.

It's basically what if Alastor had a lot of kids when he was alive? Let's say Alastor adores children so he found someone who equally adores children and they have dozens of children when alive. They have no emotional or romantic relationship with each other they just both want heaps of kids.(Turkey baster time)

And when Alastor dies he's still summoned topside to join in family events because voodoo runs in the family. So Alastor keeps in touch whether they're summoning him to kill a enemy or babysit they latest grandkid.

Eventually half the kids(now adult with kids of their own and many, many grandchildren, All with Radio powers to keep in touch) end up in the various rings of hell while the other half end up in heaven and when Hazbin Hotel proves its worth the family decides it's time for a family reunion in the flesh. Meaning multiple visas to enter Pride Ring and Entry to Hell itself.

Imagine Charlie getting smothered in hugs and honorarily adopted by The Herd, and Lucifer King of Hell getting Shovel Talked by many, many glitchy(some with angel wings) deer.

This was mostly inspired by me imagining if Alastor had kids whilst he was still alive and if they would still alive at the time canon rolled round. Then imagining a family reunion in hell and mention Alastor's youngest missing child but no ones taking any bets on whether they'll end up in heaven or hell because to live to that age they must be fueled by spite alone.

I will admit that it is an interesting idea, but I doubt that Alastor would be interested in that many children. Partly because back then the death rates for infants were staggeringly high and most didn't make it to a year old. Medicine has come a very long way and even now we still have infant deaths, which devastate people all over the world. But back then? For most, it was easier to have back-street operations than to trust a doctor, which of course led to a death by infection. Not knocking you hun and it is a wonderful idea. But what I am trying to say is that I doubt that Alstor would have put himself through so much loss, having a child just to possibly lose it. He could have ten children and he would be considered lucky if two of them were to live. We have no idea what his mental state was like while he was human, we know that he loves and cares for his mother. It could be entirely possible that he snapped when his mother died and his killing spree was a result of her death, so how much worse would it be if he had children just to keep losing them over and over again? He would be madder than the mad hatter. But thank you for the idea, you have given me something to think about and I will see if we can tweak this a little.

[heartsoulspiritelite]

Little! Logan Paul

Caregivers! Austin Theory & Grayson Waller

AGE REGRESSION- NOT SEXUAL❗️❗️❗️❗️

~

Logan didn't even know where he was anymore. Everything was moving in circles and people wouldn't leave him alone.

He thought he had this match in the bag, which in a way, he did. It didn't go exactly how he planned but whatever, at the end the day, he was still the US champ. So sucks to suck Kevin.

Nobody except Grayson and Austin knew he was a regresser, not even his brother, and they were completely fine with it, the two even became his caregivers in a way. Logan was a bit ashamed of being an age regresser, he knew it was embarrassing but he couldn't help it. It made him feel whole.

His head was pounding, he needed to get to medical, he knows he does, but that's the furthest thing in the back of his mind as he rushes into his private locker room- of course he has one, every champion gets one- but since he's been riding with Theory and Waller it hasn't really been his own PRIVATE locker room.

On the way to his lockeroom he got stopped by an interviewer, Kayla Braxton to be exact. He really just wanted to go see his daddy and papa, he was tired of fighting through his little headspace and big headspace. He wanted his little space to consume him, but it couldn't. Not yet anyways. He was in pain, everything hurt, he just wanted his caregivers to comfort him.

So when Kayla stopped him and asked to interview him, he wasn't really allowed to say no. He could hardly process anything she said. He couldn't form the proper words either. All that came out was gibberish, he gave up and just told anyone to "come and get it" and asked for a second because he was not in the right mindset to be cutting promos.

Then he bolted, all he really wanted now was to be alone. Where no one could bother him. He hid back tears as he was trying to locate his locker room. He really just wanted this day to end.

He finally found it and made his way inside, trying to be discrete as possible but obviously nothing ever goes right for Logan paul. It's not that he doesn't love his daddy and papa but he's humiliated.

Everyones going to wonder what the hell was going on with him. Hopefully, just Hopefully they'll think it's a concussion or something else, sometimes wrestling fans aren't very bright, so if the news broke that Logan was a little, his career would be over and he would have hardly any fans left, not that he has much now anyways.

So when he opened the door and his caregivers were waiting for him, and rushed towards him, he slipped all the way into his little space and couldn't help but to let his tears fall. "Daddy, Papa wan' go home" He sobbed,

Austin and Grayson's faces dropped. Why was their baby crying?

"Hey lad what happened?, what's with the tears bub you did good" Grayson asked softly as he hugged the crying boy.

Austin joined the hug "Yeah darling you did amazing, what wrong?", Logan lifted his head up, and both of there hearts instantly broke.

Logan hiccuped, and tried to take deep breaths to calm himself but it wasn't seeming to work. "E-everything hurts" He eventually got out.

Austin wiped his tears and looked him over real quick. "Aww baby, I think we should take you to the med before we go to the hotel, I'm sorry darling" He said and he held Logans face and touched it softly as if he was trying to check for any further injuries. The two were going to kill Kevin.

The little didn't like the sound the that and stomped his foot on the ground "No! Wan' go home p'ease"

"Hey hey no tantrums bub, its only for the best, we don't want something to be seriously wrong do we?" Grayson asked, trying to keep the little from having a full blown tantrum.

Logan shook his head and whispered a "no"

"Good, now let's go, and don't worry we get to fly home tomorrow"

-

It surprisingly didn't take as long as it usually did.

Logan made sure not to talk very much so his secret wouldn't be revealed to the other staff, he tried slipping out of his little space a tiny bit so he would seem more professional, but in the end he gave up, he didn't have the energy to slip out, and his caregivers would never force him to. He knew that.

"Hey baby boy, we can go back to the hotel now" Theory announced once Logan was finished getting looked at.

Austin went over to grab Logans hand as he got off from where he was sitting on the medical bed, while Grayson grabbed the ice pack that the doctor had offered to Logan to help with any pain.

They made their way back to Logans lockeroom so they could collect all of their belongings and to get Logan showered and changed out of his gear and into some comfier clothes.

"Hey Lo, come here please, we need to get your jammies on" Austin said as he ushered the boy over with a smile, Logan walked over to Austin pouting, making Austin's smile drop a bit.

He couldn't change into his usual pajamas, well he could, but he'd rather not be humiliated in public while he wears his cartoon onesies. So he'll stick with sweats and one of graysons t-shirts, that doesn't mean he's happy about it though.

"Bud I know your upset, but it'll be okay, tomorrow we can go home to all of your toys okay?" Austin tried.

Logan continued to pout "No! Wan' go home daddy, don't wan' stay here"

The little started to get visibly frustrated and started to cry.

Grayson walked over to the crying boy in an attempt to soothe him and to get him to listen to Austin, Who was just standing there looking conflicted.

"Logan hey, Calm down buddy, trust me I know you want to leave, but we have no choice baby. It's late anyway, once we get to the hotel you can get all cuddled up in bed with daddy and I, then before you know it, it'll be morning and we get to fly home!" Grayson exclaimed before turning around to look at Austin. "Look how you're making your daddy feel, he just wants you to be comfortable but you're making his job harder, can you please cooperate for us baby boy" He finished with a deep breath.

They really couldn't deal with a screaming and crying toddler right now. It was late and everyone was tired. Plus they weren't even expecting Logan to regress yet. Usually he waits until they're in the comfort of their hotel room, or at their house. So it was a shock to both, especially after he won his match, usually he'd be on a high right now.

Logan looked up and at his caregivers before wiping his tears and nodding. "Kay, 'orry Daddy, 'orry Papa" He apolagized. He wasn't really a fussy little, so if he did get mad, it typically didn't last very long unless he's had a rough day.

The three continued to undress into their "after show" clothes and walked out of the locked room and made their way outside where they waited for an Uber to pull up.

Once they got in the Uber Logan put his head against Graysons shoulder and smiled before whispering a small "I love you guys"

Austin, Who was sitting beside Grayson looked up from his phone and grinned. Logan was adorable.

Grayson put his head over Logans and smiled. He whispered a "I love you too"

While Austin whispered a "I love you more" and leaned his head onto graysons other shoulder.

The four people in the Uber (including the driver) sat in silence for the rest of the ride until they arrived at their destination.

Shortly after, the Uber finally arrived and Grayson woke up a almost sleeping Logan while Austin grabbed everyones bags from the trunk. They thanked the Uber driver and walked inside.

They went up to Austin's room, who they decided was going to be all three of theirs. They each got a seperate room that the WWE paid for but they'd rather share.

Austin swiped his key card and held the door open for Logan and Grayson before he walked in and locked the door.

They all did their night time routine, while Grayson and Austin helped Logan with his. Since he really didn't want to anything else tonight but sleep.

So once everything was finished Loagn was delighted and made a run for the bed and tucked himself him.

The two watched on smiling, they loved the boy and were so fucking thankful that he chose them to trust with his secret. It's been one of the best things that's ever happened to the three.

Austin hopped into bed on one side sleeping toddler while Grayson shut of the lights and grabbed Logans pacifier before laying on the other side of Logan to keep him in the middle. He slid the pacifier into -an almost asleep- Logans mouth

They all cuddled close and let the sleep finally overcome them.

Logan shifted a bit before whispering "Night Night" through his pacifier.

"Night darling"

"Goodnight bub"

~

~Cross-posted on ao3 & wattpad~

I never realized how much I'd enjoy writing about these three🫶

[oceanmusings]

Arwen -♡- Spencer | ABC Fluff

(gif made by khat)

A - Admiration (what do they admire about each other?)

Arwen just melts whenever she can witness how deep Spencer cares about things. From his random rambles about the care he goes into learning, or just about people in general. And how he is ashamedly himself. It makes her sad to witness it change the more he goes through things, but she reminds him daily how proud she is of him.

Spencer loves seeing how strong Arwen is for everything she goes through, getting to watch how she can get back up. He feels honored when she allows him to be there too when she breaks down, getting to see all these sides of her.

B - Body (favorite body part?)

Arwen - his hands and chest

Spencer - her shoulders and chest

C - Cuddling (how do they like to cuddle?)

Very much needed, especially after bad cases. Spencer having a bad day or a case is getting to him? Arwen will hold him close to her and let him listen to her heartbeat. Or they would spoon with Arwen being the big spoon. Help him feel secure and safe.

when Arwen needs it Spencer is more than happy to hold her for however long she needs. And neither are allowed to leave the bed without some prime cuddling time.

D - Dates (ideal date?)

With their job it’s a little hard to find time to go on dates, most of it is after getting back home like going out for dinner, catching a movie, or even just finding somewhere quiet like the library or park. Occasionally it's ordering pizza while on a case and eating at the hotel.

E - Emotions (how do they express emotion?)

Spencer and Arwen are the king and queen of keeping shit in. Especially with negative emotions. It’s not until it becomes too much for either that they'll blow up with everything they are holding in. Both have had the talk of needing to tell each other stuff or when emotions are troubling either of them, but it hasn't stuck yet.

F - Family (do they want one? If they do, when? And what does this family look like?)

At some point, yes they have a family.

Arwen said for the longest time: "If Spencer can assure me I can't have twins, then we can have a baby genius." And Spencer never could, especially since Arwen does have twins run in her family so that increases their chance.

Fortunately when Arwen and Spencer do begin to start their family, they have only singleton pregnancies. And Arwen makes really sure that there is only one heartbeat so there isn't any surprises. They do decide to have at least 2 so their oldest wouldn't need to be alone.

They have 2 daughters before adding a "surprise" son to the mix.

- Clementine "Clem" Reid-Valentine

- Theodora "Thea" Reid-Valentine

- Leonardo "Leo" Reid-Valentine

G - Gifts (how do they feel about gift giving?)

They cherish anything either give to each other. Arwen's favorite part of giving Spencer anything is finding where he will put it, she thinks she's bad at gift giving because of how much thought Spencer puts into his own whenever he gives to her. Makes Arwen nervous to give him anything when she does, but he seems to like anything she can give him.

H - Holding Hands (when/how do they like to hold hands?)

Love holding hands, when on cases or at work they won't just to keep being professional. But when they can Spencer always grabs for her hands and interlock their fingers, and Arwen loves to play with Spencer's fingers and just trace them over them.

I - Injury (how would they act if either of them got hurt?)

Spencer is a mess if Arwen is hurt. He can't sit still and can't help but think of every possibility there is. Someone may need to help him come back to earth so he doesn't spiral too far.

For Arwen, she is a complete mess too. She starts preparing for the worse case scenario there is. Sometimes if the team are there they'll need to help her sit still and slow down her panic.

J - Jokes (do they like to joke around or play pranks? How does that play out?)

If Spencer is pushed to he will. Which Arwen will, not enough he'll be terribly mad but occasionally she will do harmless ones. She expects him to return the favor in some way. But it's not something they do a lot. Derek does it enough for her.

K - Kisses (how do they like to kiss?)

Almost kiss each other like it's the last time they can. Arwen always makes sure Spencer gets one at least once a day, if she isn't able she makes sure to give him two the next day, which doesn't happen often for how much either like to kiss each other.

They might have been late to briefing cause of it.

L - Love (how do they show/express their love?)

Both leave little things at their desk or bedside table. Arwen will sometimes leave little treats for him with a sticky note of some joke she looked for online, refilled his coffee or also left a water bottle for him.

Spencer lets her borrow his books, loving to listen to her talk about it with him, leave notes in her own romance books for her to find when they go on cases or on her desk when he goes in early in the morning.

M - Memory (favorite memory together?)

Arwen’s is when he first kissed her. He was so nervous and she couldn't figure out what was happening until he kissed her. His face was so red after he pulled away, her heart and stomach couldn't settle down, she kissed him again and it became more eager and not as nervous and shy anymore.

Spencer’s is when he was starting to ramble and when he realized he was doing it, he started to apologize and stop, but Arwen stopped him and made him continue. Genuinely looking interested instead of trying to be nice or anything.

N - Nicknames (what nicknames do they call each other?)

Arwen - Baby, Darling, Honey, Genius Man

Spencer - Baby, Honey, Sweetheart, My Love

O - Obvious (what’s it like when they fall in love? How is it for everyone else?)

Arwen became like a school girl with a crush when she realized how much she liked him, especially when someone caught on what was going on. Crashing into things, losing track what she was saying, and refusing to be alone with him for long. She denied it for a long time cause she broke her rule of not falling for her co-worker, but it was extremely obvious to everyone and they had to encourage her to say yes to Spencer when he did get the courage to ask her out.

P - PDA (How do they feel about pda? Are they shy or shameless?)

Spencer isn’t that big on pda, kinda shy but also wanting to keep it private. The most either will do in front of anyone is press a kiss to the cheek or hold hands. But Arwen is the one who will kiss him in front of the team when they are at work.

Q - Quality Time (how do they like to spend time together?)

Reading in the same room or to each other, watching shows or movies together, cuddling or kissing on the couch or bed. Just soaking up each other’s presence.

R - Rhythm (what song reminds you of them?)

Spotify playlist about Arwen and Spencer's relationship

S - Secrets (how open are they with each other?)

Like what I said in “emotions”, they are the king and queen of keeping stuff in. Neither says anything until one finds out, it becomes too much, and then they need to talk about it. It’s honestly the thing both constantly need to work on and the source of a lot of their arguments.

T - Time (how long did it take to get together?)

First time? A year and were together for 3 months before Arwen got scared of her feelings and broke up with Spencer.

Second time? It wasn’t until 2 years later she asked him out. Apologizing for how she treated him. Next time she got scared and Spencer noticed the pattern’s like last time they were together is when he stepped in and made her not give up on this, not let her fear take over.

U - Upset (how are they when either are upset?)

Arwen tries to be there for Spencer, listening to anything he needs to say or just hold him if he needs it. If he just wants to be alone she tries to listen to that one, but that's hardest for her to do cause she doesn't want him to shut her out.

Spencer tries to do the same thing and just be there for her. The best thing he does when she's having an anxiety attack is when she gives him a worry is he asks what the percentage of that worry happening and giving her statistics. That seems to work wonders for her.

V - Vaunt (do they show each other off? What are they proud of?)

With friends and family, absolutely. Love showing how much they love each other and talk about how proud they are with each other with everything. Despite any teasing thrown their way. With their job they have to be discrete, Arwen wears her engagement and wedding ring either in her pockets or as a necklace. Spencer keeps his in his pocket.

But either will take the chance to talk about how proud they are of each other.

W - Wild Card (random fluff headcanon)

Arwen has found the quickest way to get Spencer to go to sleep is to play with his hair. He will fall asleep in minutes. It's commonly seen on the couch on the jet, Arwen running her hand through his hair as he uses her lap as a pillow, completely passed out.

X - X-Ray (how well can they read each other?)

Fairly well, Arwen can tell when things are bothering him or when he’s excitedly holding something back and Spencer can too. Especially when Arwen is getting scared or an anxiety attack is coming.

It's the problem of getting out of either of them for what's bothering them.

Y - Yes (how would they propose?)

They both did it.

She felt ready for that step in their relationship, and felt they were in a space to do that. And they have talked about it in the past, to the point Arwen thought it was time they start making it a reality.

She got a ring and after a couple weeks of planning and getting up the courage to finally ask him. She decided after they got home from a case, not able to wait any longer when to ask him. And it was a happy thing to do to (hopefully) lift up both their spirits. So when Spencer sat down, she sat down with him, and started the speech she had been practicing.

Apparently Spencer had been planning the same and pulled out his own engagement ring for her. Arwen couldn't help but laugh, feeling good to laugh after not being able to for weeks. And both said yes to each other.

Z - Zen (what makes them feel calm?) 

If they aren't together on a case they will call just to check in, settle any anxiety might be creeping in. Reaching for the other's hand and squeezing their hand. Watching comfort shows/movies or reading their favorite book to the other. 

[jamesheartupdates]

6 months and many breakdowns later... surgery is rescheduled

TL;DR: Surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday, February 21, 2024. James will have pre-op the day before. We'll keep updating here as we can!

The longer version...

Almost everything from the last post in August is still valid. It's still the third and final surgery for his "full repair" (called the "Fontan"). It's still not an "emergency" (although it does need to happen). And it's still happening at UVA hospital in Charlottesville (and we still live in Richmond, an hour away).

The biggest change is that James turned 4 in October! Also after having conversations with his cardiologist, the initial 2-4 week hospital recovery we were told to anticipate may be a little inflated. James is an all-star little patient and has recovered more quickly than average during his past two surgeries, so we're anticipating hospital recovery to be more around a week (or two, but you can never really know these things).

For a little background over the past several months, there have been many twists and turns since August. The August date was canceled due to low ICU staffing at the hospital. We planned again for October. We kept the boys out of daycare to prevent us from getting sick. We all got sick. We delayed surgery week by week as we continued to be sick. Then we decided to take a break from the madness as we entered into cold and flu season, and we would wait and try again in the spring.

It's not quite spring, but we're back at it again. We're anxious to have this surgery behind us, and we're hopeful James will feel relief for ailments he doesn't even realize he has (his oxygen saturation levels are in the low 80s currently, after surgery they'll be in the high 90s).

We took the boys out of daycare again and have been quarantining as much as possible in preparation for the surgery. It's important for James to not have an upper respiratory illness for the surgery and immediate recovery because his lungs need to be in tip top shape (something we didn't *fully* realize until our second attempt at the surgery in the fall).

The logistics, the considerations, the emotions, the stress — it's all a lot. We just keep telling ourselves and each other we're doing the best we can.

Here's what the next few days will look like:

We plan to tell James about the surgery today or tomorrow (the fun news is we also get to tell James he was accepted for Make A Wish, so he can choose something to look forward to after the surgery!).

Tuesday 2/20 we go to UVA for pre-op mid-morning to mid-afternoon (vitals, echo, blood draw, ultrasound, etc.), then we come home.

Wednesday 2/21 is surgery day, so Michael and I will take James SUPER EARLY to UVA. Surgery will be 6-8 hours (for those who this means anything to, it's a "beating heart" operation and he'll be on the pump for ~1-1.5 hrs). Michael and I have been in touch with the hospital about getting a room at the Ronald McDonald house — chances are it's full, and if it is, the hospital will provide a room at a hotel for us for 3 nights. Michael and I will be taking turns staying overnight with James at the hospital (they only let 1 adult overnight).

In the days that follow, someone will be with him around the clock (it's different having a newborn or 5 month old compared to a 4 year old!). He'll probably be in the ICU for a couple nights then go to the pediatric floor for the remaining days.

Another thing to note is that there are two heart transplant candidates that could move our surgery to Thursday or Friday, but the odds are still good that James's surgery will happen within the week. As long as we get through pre-op, surgery will definitely be within the week.

People have been asking how to support us, and most simply you can cheer us on however you prefer — thoughts, prayers, letters, song, dance, poem, etc. Some people have asked about meals, and we don’t have a meal train currently, but if you’d like to send an Uber Eats or Door Dash gift card or Venmo us (@ninarogers or @mikerogue) for a coffee, a meal or to just help with the extra costs that can come with traveling to and from the hospital and being out of our normal routine — that would be appreciated. Hopefully this will just be a short stint and not too disruptive for too long.

Last but not least, here are some cute pictures from the past few months 🥰 James is still our sweet, funny, sassy, spirited and curious little red head, and we love him so!

That's all for now! We'll post more (shorter) posts as we go. You can come here to stay updated!

Love, Nina (+ Michael, James & Gabe)

[kingdomsqueendomkimgme]

Long live the king - Louis x reader pt.2

This is part 2. I really hope yall like it ^^

Word count: 2247

Kingdom Masterlist

Pt.1

Louis Pov.

We all were ahooked when our enemies got send flying and knocked out from her powers. //she can't control them which means she doesn't know anything about them..// we all turned to her looking if she was alright only to run towards her to stop her from hitting the ground. I used my time control to stop time and get faster to her. After I let time go normal again, I catched her just before her head could hit the ground.

"Should we bring then to the Hotel or should we take them to the Palace?" Dann asked. I picked the girl up "we'll bring them to the Palace, it's to dangerous to let then stay at the hotel." I said. And added "and Mujin, Jahan. Please get their things from the hotel, they'll stay at the palace for the time being" both of them nodded and made their way to the Hotel. While the rest of us took both of them back to the Palace.

Time skip next day in the Palace.

We brought everyone of them in their own rooms and I ordered each 4 guards to watch them.

I was awake the whole night. Thinking about possible ways to find out how much of Jaehyns people are here. //damn we need to keep them save. And now that they have their proof that she's the one their searching for its even more dangerous... why do I care about that??..// I sighted, run a hand over my face and looked out the window..... // I need to ask Dann what that feeling is.. sometimes I really hate my dad for raising me like this...// I got up and got charged, just as I was about to leave my room the door banged open "she's awake sir." The guard said. I looked at him " Ok I'll be right there" He nodded and disappeared again. // I'll ask Dann later about it.// I went to her room and knocked. I silent 'come in' came and I stepped in the room. Two of our maids helped her sitting up "Good morning your majesty, she weaker then we thought she would be. She can barely walk on her on. We helped her change out of the clothes from yesterday and helped her cleaning herself. We'll go and make her breakfast." They both putted the last cushions behind her back, bowed to both of us and left.

"How are you feeling?" I stepped closer to the bed and sat on the chair next to it " it's ok, I just feel so tired but I can't sleep. And I have a light headache" she smiled at me "Thank you for saving me" //shes so pretty and her smile is cute. What am I thinking?// I smiled slightly back "no need to thank us, btw what is your name?" She looked at me titled her head slightly. "OH I'm really sorry.. my name is Y/N, Y/N L/N" "pretty name. Fits you" she blushed looked down to her hands. I chuckled. Just as I was to say something else someone knocked the door "Your majesty ? Y/N ? Can we come in we have the breakfast finished. " "You can come in" I said, stood up and opened the door for them since I know they tend to slightly make to much food for one person or also in general. And as I thought it's more of a buffet for 10 people then for one. "You know she probably won't eat that much." One of them turned to me and smiled "oh its not just for her, it's also for you your majesty, since her best friend was awake earlier then her he already got breakfast" I nodded and went to the chair next to her bed again. The build up a bedtable so she would have to leave bed while I stayed at the table next to the bed.

As they have sat the last plate down, I dismissed them and they left the room again.

"That is really a lot" I heard next to me. " That's normal. You don't have to eat everything, the rest will be Givin for the breakfast round for those people on town who can't afford as much as we do, so there won't go anything to waste." She looked at me and smiled again "I really wish it be everywhere like this" with that she began to eat and so did I.

The breakfast was one of the nicest I've had in a long time shes really bubbly which is a change from most of the other people I've met. As we talked about a lot of things one thing got my attention the most which was her interest in History, myths, rumors and fairytales of different cultures. That's also when I found out the truth about their lost being the day before. " and ill be honest with you we didn't really got lost, we found something that I wanted to know if it was true. But he definitely hadn't the intention to break thing or steal things." I was first confused " what do you mean by that.? What exactly did you find?" She then took out a old letter and handed it me. "I Asked the maids to give me the letter from my backpack before. I don't like lying to people especially since you saved my life." I looked at the letter then back at her " There is something described in the letter and I wanted to know if it's true." She looked down.

I opend the letter after a few more seconds of looking at her. I read the letter and then realized what letter it was " how did you get that letter" she looked at me now fear in her eyes. Yes I was angry but not at her. "W-we got that from Birans dad, his dad has gotten the letter from a friend of his" I took a deep breath "first of all sorry I didn't mean to scare you and secondly the letter got stolen a few weeks ago. It was never supposed to leave the Palace.. if not you but someone else would have gotten their hands on the letter we all would be in deep trouble." I ran a hand trough my hair. And watched her closely, she relaxed again. "I'm sorry.." she mumbled and looked down. "It's ok, I mean you didn't knew. " I reached out to her and padded her head. She looked up at me and in that moment I knew I still had a heart because it broke at the sight of her crying. I sad down on the bed next to her "Hey why are you crying?" I looked in her eyes " I- it's just that since I lost my parents everything I do is wrong in everyone's eyes.... and it's even worse when I do mistakes like this..." I was shooked at least to say " It's not your fault, and I'm not mad I promise" she nodded and I took her in my arms where I rested my head kn top of hers..//seems like she's been trought a lot...// " you don't ever need to be scared of me ok?" I felt her nod. I held her for a long time more.

She fell asleep again so I laid her down and put the blanket over her. I made sure to call the guards back and the maids to clean her room.

After that I went off to find Dann and ask him about what feeling I was having when I'm with her.

Time skip evening.

Y/N Pov.

I woke up and looked around. I was still in the room, I must have fallen asleep again. I thought about what happend and blushed madly. //oh shit...that's do embarrassing... but I felt comforteble with the king... weird I know...// I took a look out of the window.. It was slowly getting dark... I looked at my phone which charged on the nightstand. 05.37pm.... //theres no way im going back to sleep...// I stood up, feeling how my legs didn't really have any strengh, I still kept going, I had a really bad feeling and wanted to see King Louis. I slowly opened the door and saw that the guards wheren't there. //no no no thats bad really bad...// Panic began to slowly run trough my veins.. //shit. shit, shit. I need to find him.// I tried to walk faster and it worked, probably because of the adrenaline. I saw a door slightly open. At this point I was already running. and the figure that has been standing infront of one of the windows didnt do any help to my Panic and fear. I heard two voices, one that I didn't know and //Louis!// I reached for the door and then I felt super light headed //Now I know why I was told to stay in bed fuck// Again I fell, just this time I stayed conscious, bad thing I fell trought the door and it banged open. I couldn't move to see who was in the room so I stayed on the floor.

"Y/N!!!" I heard foodsteps coming closer. I felt two arms pulling me slightly up. "Why aren't you in bed, how you were told to??!!" he was angry i could tell even thought he spoke calmy the tone in his voice showed that he was anrgy. "Louis calm down and maybe at least get her on a chair insted of letting her on the cold floor" The other one spoke //Damns their all pretty handsome wtf// Louis liftet me up and put me on one of the couch chairs in the room.

"Dann can you please close the door?" The other nodded and did what Louis asked him for. Dann also gave me a glass of water and Louis a blanket, then both of them got a better look on me and their eyes widden in shook "Y/N what happend? why are you so paniced?" Dann asked I looked at him both of them crouched down on each side of the chair. "I- there was no one in front of my door and there was wśomeone at the window. I got scared and yeah..." I looked down at the glass "Wait there was no on infront of your door?" Louis asked and i shook my head. "Wait, there were supposed to be two gurads." Dann said and looked at Louis. "Could you make anything out what the person from the window looked like or did you see something that you remember?" I tought "He had something red on but I couldn't see more. " Dann nodded "I go get the others to search for the guards and maybe some glues on who that was. It would be better if she'd stay with you for this night" He clealry ment it more as an order then a request but Louis agreed with him. With that Dann went out of the room closing the door behind him. now i was alone with Louis. "I'm sorry..." I looked at the glass again. "It nohing to be sorry about you helpt us finding the traitors." "But now i have to stay here and I'll defenetly be a bother to you." he looked at me confused "Your not a bother to me" I looked up. "I'm not? Are you sure?" He smiled and nodded "I'm 100% sure" I smiled at him. "So are you hungry?" "No not really.. But I'm also not tired" He stood up from his crouched position next to me and went to his book shelfe... "I know your intersted in the history of this Castle and town so if we really won't go to sleep today, I figured we can just read some of the books that were written a few thousend years ago, their still in very good condition so you don't need to worry about breaking one of them unless you use a lot of strength. " He chuckeld //I wish he would laught a bit more it sounds so good and suits him more then this cold face expretion he has all the time.// I smiled "That sounds nice" He came back with a few books "Here this aren't all of them but I think for now it should be alright" I looked at the books with sparkling eyes "Which onr do you want to read first?" I Looked at the books and a red one catched my eyes, I pointed at it and he handed it to me. "You seem to like dark red pretty much" He smiled, I looked up "Yes its my favorite color" His smile grew a bit bigger "Nice choice". He picked me up and walkeed over to his Kings size bed. After he putted me down he went into the bthroom the was for the room. After he came back he had normal clothes on and set down next to me. "Are you ok with me being here or do you want me to sit on the chair?" I looked at him " Of couse its ok. Why shouldn't it be?" He shurged "Maybe you would feel uncomfofŕtable? IDK" He mde himselfe comfortable and I scutted a bit closer to him. We made ourselfes comfortable and began to read the book at some parts I asked him questions too undertsand it better and he always explaint everything for to me.

[fencer-x]

When you said Rin has to explain his relationship with Haru to Ikuya, that he doesn't do "be there by his side when he's recovering", did they show us or hint at what Rin was doing when Haru's recovering?

Also, and this is purely to satisfy my dying curiosity 😂😂 Given the nature of their relationship, say, in a romantic AU, do you think they could develop into sth more than rivals?

While Haru was recovering, Rin was swimming his own finals -- and then once that was done, he went to the Team Coach with Natsuya to convince him to put Haru in the medley relay. Rin isn't one for sitting around waiting either way, no matter how close he is to someone, so he put his feelings into action, which involved getting Haru back into the pool where he belongs.

During his conversation with Ikuya, Ikuya comments that 'now it's our turn to support Haru' (as they've all been realizing how much of a beacon Haru is to them), to which Rin replies with a hearty hell yeah--"That's what we're gonna be swimming for now."

(and as for what he's doing while Haru is in rehabilitation after the event, between then and Hungary, it sounds like Rin has been making his mark as a professional swimmer -- which is precisely what Haru would want him doing, keeping in top form and waiting for Haru to come back)

And well, I think it's entirely possible something deeper than friendship could form between them XD but that's always going to be biased by people who WANT something deeper than friendship to form between them lol. Still, they'll be on the road together a lot now--though they won't be alone. There will be Natsuya and Ikuya and Sousuke and the others as well who are all aiming to go pro. Makoto is probably the only one who won't be out there with everyone, since it's repeated several times in the movie that his dream is to teach little kids how to swim. He doesn't have to do that in Japan, obviously, but that's not exactly a job that requires you to jetset around the globe with the Japanese National Swim Team.

Haru's dream is to swim with Rin, full stop. Not anyone else--just Rin. That will probably evolve over time, but Rin will always be an irreplaceable existence that changed his life and a core part of his swimming. When Haru races Rin in their rematch in the night pool, he remarks afterward that it doesn't hurt when he swims with Rin--whereas training hard as he had been always left him feeling exhausted and weak. For me, they're already more than 'rivals' (which is why I like the comparison of Rin and Ikuya, who seem like much more classic rivals, similar to Rin and Sousuke).

Whether or not that could, in time, shift to something more romantic--if the romance isn't already there underneath all the layers, which if you ask me I feel like it is, just unacknowledged or unrecognized, because of the ways in which they affect each other, stirring one another up and calming one another down just by being near each other--is up to interpretation. But the simple situation they find themselves in now: long days on the road, training together beside each other, possibly sharing hotel rooms again, seeing the sites and bonding over victories and defeats, building each other up to keep their respective dreams alive...that's gonna lead to something. For sure.

[littlegodzilla]

Hiiii! Here I am again!! Ready for another chapter? Let's see what going to happen with our favorite Farmer!

I hope you'll like it!!

Enjoy!!

≈≈≈≈≈≈

The Farmer.

John Rollins x FemReader

Mini series. Chapter 4.

Warnings: Fluff. Hard situation. Awkward moment. Sexual tension. Precocity. Slightly mention of sex. A.A. meeting.

Words: 4000

Summary: Finally John's case is solved, when he comes home and sees you waiting for him, he can't contain himself, but things don't turn out the way he didn't expect.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Part 4.

The ruling on Lindsey's child support and custody is postponed until Monday morning. Mary has played all her cards to the best of her ability, she has tried to make John look like a rag, a rat in the eyes of the judge, to prove that John was not fit to take care of the child, however, Samuel has also been able to play the game and has defended his client tooth and nail, convincing the judge.

"I have made a decision, John Rollins will be responsible for the payment of a monthly child support for little Lindsey Rollins, non-payment of said monthly payment will be punished by a monetary reprimand and repeated non-payment will proceed to a trial hearing." He explains and John swallows hard. "Likewise I see no objection to Mr. Rollins not being able to see and care for his daughter, so I grant joint custody, as Mr. Rollins lives out of town, Lindsey will spend weekends, holidays and summer months with her father with both parties agreeing on what dates will be most appropriate for the child." He bangs his gavel hard and John feels his shoulders stop weighing a ton. "Very good morning." He says goodbye and they leave them all in the living room.

Samuel smiles excitedly and hugs his friend, Mary has a blank look on her face, also in the room are Tommy, Lindsey and Mark, the three of them walk up to them, Mark hugs John as Samuel has done and Tom tries to calm an enraged Mary.

"It's not going to stay that way John, I'm right, and eventually they'll see it, you'll fall, you always do and you'll take Lindsey with you and then you won't be able to do anything to stop yourself from ever seeing her again." She spits with venom in her every word.

"Mary please stop." He tries to be reasonable Tom, but the woman walks away tugging at the girl's hand.

"No, wait!" John shouts cutting her off. "We still have a lot to talk about. I'm going to give you my money, I know you don't give a shit whether or not I care about my daughter, that you just want the money to fuck me over, fine, I'll play your game, but you're going to play mine too; every weekend Lindsey wants to come with me to the farm, since I've gone five years without being able to see her I want Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas."

"Have you lost your mind!"

"And a month of summer, I don't care which." He keeps talking, ignoring her. "It will be in writing, I'll have Samuel draw it up and send your lawyer a copy for you to sign, if you don't, we'll meet here again and I think you'd lose out."

"We'll see about that." She huffs and walks out of the room mumbling curses that he doesn't get to hear anymore, but he doesn't care.

"But what was that!" laughs Mark hugging his friend by the neck. "If I wasn't married I'd invite you to a little hotel..." He jokes and John laughs nudging him, Samuel approaches with a smirk.

"I'll draft that petition as soon as possible before your lawyer can quash it with any bullshit."

"Thanks Samuel and, no offense, but I hope I don't see you again for a long time."

"Same here." He jokes and waves goodbye to both men leaving.

"What's your plan now?"

"I'm heading home, it's too many days away, I left chores half done, I have to set up a room for Linds...I'm going to be busy."

"Well, maybe you should go to a meeting and talk about all this, it's a lot of stuff."

"I know, take care Mark and thanks to you too."

"For what I wrote? You earned every word John, I didn't give anything for you the first day you showed up at a meeting and you just made me miss my words. I'm so proud." He smiles and John feels his cheeks burn.

It's no big deal, he's no role model.

*********

(Sorry I just needed to put it here)

John parks the van in the driveway of the estate, frowns slightly and feels a tug in his stomach when he sees you get up from the porch steps, waving your hands nervously. He steps out of the vehicle and walks straight toward you, feeling his heart pound violently against his chest.

"John..." You greet him with a gasp of relief and he feels your words burning through his entire body. "I-I'm sorry to show up here, but it's been days and I didn't know anything, I was left worried about that letter, Hershel told me you were back in town..." You keep talking at the same time he is getting closer and closer. "I thought something bad had happened, I wanted to call you, but technically I don't have your phone number, I could have looked it up in your client file, but that would have been inappropriate and I don't..."

John kisses you, cradles your face in his hands and kisses you intensely. You gasp against his mouth opening your eyes wide as you didn't expect him to do that. You hold him by the back of his neck and feel his mouth open on yours and his tongue slips between your teeth making you tremble in his hands. You break the kiss for air, your gazes connect again, John bites his lip as his fingers caress your cheeks. Neither of you say anything, but there is something intense between you. John looks towards his house in a second, you follow his eyes and nod your head feeling your cheeks redden. John holds your hand and the two of you walk into the house.

The kisses don't stop as you move to the living room where you sit on the couch, you are left on his lap, your legs on either side of his, his hands grab your ass, your hips move against his crotch, already hard to your touch, John grunts because the fabric of the suit pants he wore in court gets him to feel it even more intense and his fingers press against your jeans hard. The kisses get more and more intense, the heat of your bodies keeps increasing, John presses you against his crotch and moves in your turn, he stops kissing you moving down your jaw and neck, enjoying the feel of your skin against his lips, your taste on his tongue gives him goose bumps. You throw your heads back, but your hands unknot his tie and unbutton his shirt, your fingers caress his bare chest, you lean over him kissing his neck, biting an x-shaped tattoo he has on his collarbone. He grunts and curses under his breath because he feels on edge. Four years is too long and his body is in a hurry. You keep moving on him and John feels like he's losing control.

"W-Wait..." He gasps, but your final thrust against his hard crotch, disarms him "F-fuck..." He grunts as he clenches his hands on your thighs as he feels his boxers getting wet and his whole body trembles. "I'm sorry..." He whispers without daring to look at you.

"Oh..." Is all you are able to say, sitting up on his knees.

"J-Just give me a minute and..." He tries to offer by rubbing his forehead, but you avert your gaze by getting up from his lap.

"I-it's okay, I..." You stammer and arrange your clothes over your body. "I'm meeting Maggie and... I should go..." You excuse yourself, but John doesn't try to stop you, he nods.

"Sure... I'll see you around." He says goodbye and you walk out of the house. "Fuck." He snaps again covering his face with both hands. He stirs on the couch feeling his boxers stick to his skin and it's uncomfortable.

He gets up from the couch and goes straight to the shower. It's been humiliating, but worst of all it's been disappointing for you, he knows, he hasn't even been able to touch you like you really deserved it and he's soiled his pants like a fifteen year old kid with his first porn magazine.

It's absurd.

The hot water runs over his body removing the remnants of his own shame from his skin, in his hands, in his mouth, in his ears he can still feel you and he curses once more. He doesn't know what has happened to him, he had no desire, but when he saw you at the door of his house, waiting for him, something has taken over his judgment. Maybe it is due to all the emotions he has suffered and experienced throughout those days, frustration, fear, confusion, euphoria, all of that has exploded at the same time and he has thrown himself on you like a hungry animal. Too much pressure, too soon.

A disaster.

He grunts once more and steps out of the shower walking naked to his room, one of the advantages of living alone, he leaves his stained pants aside along with the shirt and the rest, he puts on an old t-shirt and work pants. He will go up to the second floor and check the rooms one more time, he will look for the most suitable one for Lindsey, spacious, sunny, he will decorate and furnish it so that the girl will feel comfortable there, he would like to do it with her, at least choose some furniture, but until Samuel sends him the copy signed by Mary, he knows he will not see her.

Trying to avoid those thoughts he walks into one of the rooms and smiles. It is spacious with a large window that connects to a small balcony, which she will keep closed so the girl won't go out, she can put some nice curtains, a big bed in the center, decorate the walls with the color she likes the most. He bites his lip and gets down to work.

The first thing to do is to take out all the garbage that is there and air it all out.

**********

At the meeting everyone greets him, it hasn't gone missing for anyone who has been out of town for a few days, everyone asks him if he is ok to which John responds by nodding his head and thanking them for caring. On his turn to speak John was going to tell why he was gone, but he can't stop thinking about what happened to you two and needs to say it out loud.

"Hi, I'm John, alcoholic." He repeats as he does at every meeting. "I guess some of you are wondering where I've been these days and I really wanted to talk about it because a lot has been going on, but I need to talk about something I'm ashamed of." He sways held to the lectern searching for the words. "Today, after four years, I've been with a woman again..." There is some applause and a few whispers. "For five seconds... it was probably something else, but it was a pathetic five seconds that I held on..." He sighs in frustration. "I'm not coming to say that I was an animal in bed, that I held out for hours thanks to alcohol and that I always managed to make them cum, because it's not true, because I don't remember all my sexual escapades either, I'm coming to say that it's been humiliating and disappointing for her. She has run away, like a scared guinea pig. Just like that." He forms a grimace with his mouth, pursing his lips, forming a thin line. "And I've realized, again, that with alcohol everything was easier, or at least seemed easier. You'd get drunk, give your girl that look, take her home or to the back alley, what did it matter, and whether you managed to get your pants down or not was the least of it because your brain wouldn't remember it the next morning, when the hangover started hammering, you'd drown the thoughts in another beer and let the world keep spinning, right?" Some nods. "Now I feel the shame, the regrets, most of the time when I'm doing something I end up questioning what the fuck I'm doing... I want to apologize to her, but I don't even know if I have the right to do that, fuck I don't even know if she'll still be interested in me..." He finishes his thoughts returning to his chair.

"If I'm being honest I think it happens to all of us." Hears John next to him as the meeting ends and he's pouring himself a coffee. "Not just the precociousness, also that feeling of saying 'have I always been like this?' but then it all passes. I'm still married." He comforts the man by showing him his ring.

"A lot of women are scared of sex after they get into the program." A female partner approaches as well. "Too many questions and nerves play very bad tricks." She tries to encourage him. "If that girl likes you, she'll come back, but maybe you do need to tell her some things."

"Yes, I had thought that too, she knows I come here, but I guess it's not the same."

The woman smiles warmly at him and they walk away, John leaves the building heading back to his truck and home.

As he sits on the couch he hears his cell phone ring, he has a message from his lawyer and his smile grows wider as he reads that Mary has signed the joint custody papers, that she has agreed to his demands. With trembling hands he asks for Mary and Tommy's phone number, he wants to be able to contact one of them to talk directly to Lindsey, he wants to ask her about her room, the color of the walls, the bed, everything, he wants her to want to be there. Samuel is quick to send him both numbers, but John saves them, it's late and he doesn't want to bother, he would call them tomorrow.

Again he feels a relief run through his whole body, maybe he has hit bottom, maybe he can't fall anymore and now it's time to fight and go up, and this is like a reward for that.

That night John sleeps in one go and finally in his own bed.

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

John sits on the couch biting his nail as he listens to the phone ring, waiting for someone to answer on the other end, after several rings, he finally hears Mary's voice.

"Who is it?"

"Mary, it's me, John." He greets and hears her snort angrily. "Please don't hang up on me, I wanted to talk to Lindsey."

"Didn't we agree you'd see her on weekends? Wait for your turn."

"She's... she's not a toy I want to borrow, you know, I have every right to talk to her."

"Since when?"

"Since the day she was born and then you took her away." He answers angrily, Mary on the other end is silent, until she sighs.

"What do you want from her?"

"I just want to ask her a few things, you can put your hands free if you want." He rubs his forehead and picks up a pen and a piece of paper when he hears Mary call the girl, the voice echoes so he knows he's on speakerphone.

"Hello?" The little girl asks shyly and John smiles.

"Hi, little girl how are you?"

"Fine, I was just having breakfast with Tommy and mom...how about you?"

"Just fine, having breakfast too." A giggle escapes him. "You know? I'm fixing up your room for when you want to come see me and I was thinking of decorating it a little..."

"Yeah?" the girl asks curiously.

"Yup and I was wondering what color would look best and what furniture I could buy..."

"Unicorns!" the little girl shouts and John has to pull the phone away from his ear. "And pink! And purple! And green!" she continues excitedly. "And a big bed! Mom doesn't want me to have a big bed because she says I fall out, b-but I don't!" She defends herself, John laughs writing it all down quickly.

"Would you like to help me pick out some things?" He asks her again and thinks he hears a squeak coming from the girl, but then there is silence. John can imagine Lindsey asking her mother for permission before answering and he bites his lip again.

"Mom says we have a lot of things to do this week, I can't go..." Her voice sounds a little disappointed and John's smile falters.

"It's okay honey, it's okay." He promises her. "I'll ask your mom to send me some pictures of what you like best and I'll decorate it to your liking, is that okay with you?"

"Yup!" she shouts excitedly again. "Hey, Dad..." John's heart flips in his chest as he hears her. "Are there animals on your farm?"

"No, there aren't, but I'm friends with a farmer who does - dogs, cows, even horses." He encourages her and again seems to squeal on the other end. "We'll ask him to give us a ride, do you want?"

"Yes! I want to ride a horse!"

"Well we'll see about that." Mary interjects, her voice sounds very loud so John figures she's already taken the speaker off. "She's still too little and I'm not going to let you cut her head open for getting on an animal."

"That's not going to happen." He growls. "Do me that favor, okay? If my little girl wants anything for her room, or likes any particular color, send it to me."

"Whatever you say, John. Bye." She hangs up and John is left with his goodbye in his mouth. He snorts holding back an insult and leaves the phone on the table.

Unicorns. Well, he thinks he can find something out there, shouldn't be too hard. Though he highly doubts Hershel will let him put a fake horn on one of his horses to drive Linsdey totally insane.

After breakfast he goes out to the fields to do some work, he has to take care of his daughter's room, but he can't neglect his crops either. The day before Hershel explained to her how the whole system that the Jones brothers had installed worked, she checks that the pond is full and opens several stopcocks, so that the water can irrigate the land. Leaving the irrigation on for his corn crop, he rubs his hands against the cowboys and climbs into the pickup to head back to town.

He's not sure, but it's likely that at Woodbury Furniture he'll find some furniture that will fit Linds' room. It's the biggest store on the whole avenue, he's bought some furniture there that he's replaced from home and the prices are affordable, the furniture isn't the best quality, but it will last for years, especially if Linsdey only visits temporarily.

He never thought he'd find a rural Ikea, to be honest.

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

He gets out of the van and enters the huge furniture store, he just wants to look around, he prefers to wait for Mary to send him a list of the things Lindsey prefers for her room. He goes straight up to the second floor where the bedroom furniture is, the children's section is more spacious, there are double beds, bunk beds, trundle beds, desks of all kinds and shapes, comfortable chairs both wheeled and classic wooden, closets to match the beds they have on display, double closets, shoe racks, trunks to store toys, bookshelves. John feels a bit lost all of a sudden, there is everything, but the vast majority is austere furniture, poor or dark colors, which surprises him as usually all the children's sections are more colorful.

"I could buy wood paint and paint them myself." He thinks aloud, looking at a double-door cabinet with a full-length mirror between the two doors. John doesn't know if Lindsey is a flirtatious child, but he thinks she might like the glass detail.

"Can I help you with something?" He listens next to her, turns around spotting one of the workers and smiles gratefully.

"I'm actually just browsing, I have to redecorate a room and I'm getting ideas."

"Great, any new additions to the family?" she asks mischievously and John laughs shaking his head.

"Something like that... Do you sell paint and accessories here too, anti-fall railings?"

"No, you might find that at the hardware store, but we do have railings, they usually fit all the models of children's beds we carry, if not we could order you one to choose from."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you very much." He smiles kindly and says goodbye walking away from the young woman who continues with her work.

After looking at the furniture, John has an idea of what he wants for Lindsey, he walks over to the hardware store to look at the wood and wall paint for the room. There are too many different pots, he never thought there were pastel colors, glow in the dark, fluorescent... Lindsey is a little girl, it would be best to pick up some pastel colors, pink, purple and green he had told her. She picks up several buckets plus the brushes and more tools she will need, after paying for everything her last stop is the nursery.

**

You drum your fingers on the steering wheel before getting out of the truck and walking inside the greenhouse.

As you enter he spots you at the counter talking to a customer as you hand him back his change, a huge smile on your mouth full of friendliness and John takes a deep breath before approaching you.

"Hey, hi." He greets and looks sideways at you, you see him and your smile falters for a second as your cheeks take on a ruddy color. "Can we talk?" He asks you nodding to the side.

"S-sure, did something happen at the farm?"

"No, I... in private, please..." You insist and look at Rachel who gives you a gentle tap and nods her head.

"Of course you can talk, your shift is over." She nudges you lightly and smiles, "See you tomorrow."

"Great, do you want a ride home?" John offers as you grab your bag and pull your ponytail off, John's eyes follow the movement of your hair falling to your shoulders and he swallows.

Mark's coarse and out of place words talking about you come back to his mind. It's true that work clothes don't flatter anyone, the yellow t-shirt and green pants with the safety boots, certainly not sexy, but it also makes him think about how he's never seen you outside of work, not even that day you coincidentally met at Hershel's barbecue, you had left work and showed up in your company uniform. Yet he's still able to spot the natural curves your body makes. You are a big girl, bigger than other women he knows, bigger than Mary, full legs and strong arms, you are fit but your build and family heritage keeps you from losing those pounds that perhaps others think you have to spare, but which John realizes he doesn't mind at all. He still remembers the feel of your butt in his hands and would love to be able to touch it again.

"So will you take me home?" You ask approaching him and John nods clearing his throat, realizing he's been staring at you for a long time.

"Yes, no problem. See you another day, Rachel." He says goodbye to her who nods and the two of you walk back to the van.

Rollins is nervous, not sure how to bring up the subject, but you look quite relaxed, as if nothing has happened. He starts the engine and pulls into the drive following your directions.

"Hey I wanted to... I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday..." He opens his mouth at last, sees your body tense slightly and you look at him out of the corner of your eye.

"Don't worry, John, there's no need..."

"I'm sorry." He interrupts her. "But it's been like... almost five years since I've been with anyone and..." He stammers seeing you stare at him with wide eyes.

"Five years?" you ask in surprise and he nods. "Wow, it's... is it because of the program? They don't let you...?" you ask unsure, John smiles and shakes his head.

"In a way, yes, but it's not that they forbid us to have a relationship, the first year is self discovery, they ask you to take time for yourself, and then it's your own personal fear, meeting people again, realizing that everyone drinks, more or less, but everyone does and thinking what if I kiss that person and it tastes like beer? What if that pushes me to drink again?" he confesses and you look down apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, I wanted to tell you because it was my fault about yesterday, I really didn't think it was that... pathetic." He snorts and you smile.

"Don't torture yourself, John. It's okay." You smile again, looking at him at last.

"I'd like to do it right, next time, if... if you want." He clears his throat. "I owe you a meal, so... I'd like to buy you dinner or something..." He dares to propose and the surprise comes back to you, but you try to hide the excitement that's drawn on your face.

"That sounds great. I'd love to." You agree and you can almost see his shoulders relax.

The rest of the ride is pleasant, you talk about many things, much more comfortable than when you first got in the car. You both avoid asking about his days out of town, John knows he has to tell you about it at some point, but he doesn't want to burden you with too much information either, nor does he know how much you want to know more about his life. He parks the van outside your house and you thank him for driving you there.

"Wait... I don't have your number..." You feel totally lost, had it always been this hard to pick up?

"That's right." You reach for a pen in your pants and take his hand, writing down your number for him. "I'll wait for you to call me, then."

"Yeah, you bet." He smiles and looks at his hand a couple of times as you go home.

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

John drives home, from the back of the truck he pulls out the paint cans and everything else carrying it up to Lindsey's room. His phone rings in his pocket and when he pulls it out he discovers that Mary has sent him several pictures with examples of rooms Linds might like. He smiles and puts the phone away again, with those references he can get to work.

******

To be Continued...

***

I hope you liked it!!

See you in the next chapters and stories!

❤❤❤

[piningpebbles]

i request jack manifold thoughts

ty for this anon cause i wanna talk about the similarities between tommy's exile and jack's 80+ days!!

loneliness (for who knows how long.)

both extroverts who thrive in situations with other people, isolation is one of the hardest things that tommy and jack could go through, and they didn't even know how long they'd be there. lasting 11 and 181 days respectively (in real time), both were in suffocating solitude away from the people they wanted to be with the most, and there was no telling when it would end.

both could die, if they wanted. (maybe they did.)

mental health declining rapidly, both resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms (drinking, self harm) and begin to understand how their life can rest in their hands. tommy remarks how he "won't be around for much longer; he hasn't got much left in him" and jack states how he'd "be gone for good" if he had to go back to the rest of the server. they see their life as something they can have control over in situations where otherwise it feels like they have none. 

constantly losing what they care about (neither of them want to.)

when everything seems so harsh and out of control, you need a constant to hold onto to help you get through things and for both, they didn't. what little progress either would make with items would be erased within a day near-guaranteed (with jack falling victim to mobs and such and tommy having his things stolen and destroyed by dream). even their pets aren't safe as jessbee is nowhere to be found and dream takes the life of logsted's resident mooshroom.

missing their friends (but they're not allowed to.)

during this time, both of them miss their friends terribly. they want to see them and talk with them again but they can't, they're forced not to. through external force (that force being dream) tommy isn't allowed to talk with people dream hasn't permitted, he can't visit the dream smp, he can't even keep sentimental photos of them because he "doesn't need them." through internal force, jack repeats like a mantra into his mind that he doesn't miss his friends. he doesn't. he doesn't. (he does.) he forces himself not to go back, not to talk to them, to not miss them for what he thinks is his own good.

"if people care, they'll make the trip."

logstedshire and new manifoldland had two major issues when they were created that prevented people from seeing them right away. 1) they were far away (it's almost a necessity to take the nether to reach either in a timely manner). 2) no one knew where they were. you could guess from certain elements sure, with tubbo seeing dream and tommy head off, and the hotel showcasing jack's absence, but overall they weren't meant to be found. but they were both still hurt because it felt like no one cared enough about them to make the trip, when they would've done it for others in a heartbeat.

lava.

they both watch it and think of falling (though jack's already fallen.)

miserable parties and special occasions.

during tommy's exile he held a party inviting everyone he could, excited to spend time with his friends again and maybe even get a chance to come back home for christmas. instead, the day comes and (because of dream) no one shows but him. tommy destroys the cake, shaking and upset, sure that no one cares about him or what he’s going through because they didn't even care enough to come to his party, when that's all he’s had to look forward to in so long. 

during jack's 80 days, he made a cake three months in advance to celebrate his birthday, desperate and excited for an occasion (which also marked the anniversary of l'manburg's first day of peace) he'd get to spend with his friends again. a time to be happy again. instead, the day comes and (of their own merit) no one shows. he doesn't touch the cake, upset and hurt and drinking his sorrows away trying to get as far away from this feeling (and the server) as possible.

[bwoahtastic]

Pls, I'm begging on my knees, pls work on the maxiel runaway au 🥺 literally all I think about is this damn fic hbfksbcjsj

Also, I have been thinking because - max hides in Daniel's LA house, right? And I was like how did he get to LA?

Maybe they had some sort of pack meeting somewhere in LA and Max saw that as his opportunity to finally flee, because in Holland he was sure they'd find him. His dad's pack is a powerful one after all, maybe? But in LA, it's easier to flee, in the buzz of so many other people and there isn't much of a possibility for someone else to help his father out and capture him. So the night the pack is out for a casino night with some other pack, and obv they don't Max with them and rather keep him locked away in the suite they booked, and that's Max chance. He has planned this beforehand ever since he knew of the trip to the states, took some strong sleeping pills with him from Holland bc he knows his father never left him unwatched, and he puts those into the glass and brings it to the alpha that has to keep watch over him.

He waits before calling the alpha into the suite, acting like somethings wrong the pup (bc he knows his dad would've told him to make sure the pups need to be alright, he still believes they will be alphas and he has use for them). He feels bad for the alpha who is all drugged up but keeps him inside until the guy falls over before snatching the keys from him - he needs those to get through the stairway that's usually only for the stuff to use, so he won't accidentally run into someone in the main areas of the fancy hotel.

Max taking confused Noah into his arms, whispering to him that it will all be alright, he just needs to trust meymey and all will be okay. Noah nodding, hugging his arms tight around Max's neck 🥺

Max has made sure to pull on the widest shirt he could find to hide the bump, bc an omega running around on with his own with a toddler is already suspicious enough, a pregnant omega even more so. Maybe he also fetches himself some jacket that he can also wrap Noah into. There's only little money he could bring with him, maybe a watch that he stole from his dad in case he can sell it somewhere. And that's all he has with him when he leaves, locking the room so it will later take longer for Max's father to get inside and notice his son is gone - max needs every possible minute. He doesn't think about what will happen if his dad somehow manages to catch him and get him back because he'll make sure it won't happen. For Noah, for his tiny bean inside of him, for himself.

And as soon as he is safely out of the hotel he just runs and doesn't look back. He knows he has a few hours before someone might notice he is gone, if he's lucky his dad won't even check on him until breakfast next morning - every metre he gets away counts. Maybe he also stole the guards phone, used his fingerprint and was smart enough to take out the passcode so he can use google maps until the battery dies?

So it's just him and his pups then, wandering through LA's streets, and more than once he has to hide away from some alpha's, and more than once he just collapses in some place he deems as at least a bit safe with Noah in his arms, hugging him tightly while tears slip down his face because - he doesn't know how they'll make this work. He doesn't have anywhere to go. His whole body is sore, the tiny pup in his belly is restless and noah looks so concerned and cries 🥺 but still max presses kisses to Noah's head and tells him "you and I, we will make it, yeah? I promise. You and I and the tiny bean."

Grrre also!! One night they're sleeping in someone's bigass garden, hidden away somewhere, and noah pulls a little on max's sleeves and is like, "meymey, meymey look! We're sleeping under the stars! Always wanted to sleep under the stars," and max could cry bc his little one finds joy even now, and honestly, he can use his son's excitement 🥺🥺

(this is a long-ass ask 🤯 I apologize jajdmdnsk)

Jzjsje never apologise for long asks!!!!

It would be so scary for Max to have to run away when they are in a country he does not know but he knows he can never get away when they are still in the Netherlands. But it is scary and he can only hope it ends well.

Max drugging the Alpha watching him and Noah being so scared and confused when the man falls over suddenly and even more confused about why Meymey looks frightened but when meymey asks him to trust him he instantly nods and just clings on tight🥺

Poor Max being so frightened but so determined to keep his pup's safe so he keeps doing, hiding wherever he can and making sure Noah is fed properly (he would probably barely have eaten himself but he also needs to protect the tiny bean in his belly so he has to stay well fed too) and they just roam from place to place wherever they can be safe...

Max just collapsing from exhaustion on a few occasions and Noah is just crying and so worried about his Meymey, who looks so tired and weak and they start moving less and less each day because Max can barely stand on his feet. But still Max is so good to Noah and always hugs him and sings lullabies to him and Noah just knows its all going to be okay as long as he gets to stay with Meymey and his granddad can't find them.

And omg Max just crying softly when Noah seems so excited about sleeping under the stars, and sure it's beautiful but how can he be a good parent when he doesn't even have a place to live for his pup's? And he starts considering to go back, or to bring Noah to a new home without him but both options make him sick...

And Dan not knowing the dull severity of the situation until they are sitting next to the pool one night and it's already dark, and Noah, who had been napping in Max's arms, lifts his head and looks up at the sky and for a moment, he panics because he thinks they left Dan's and are on the run again...