#and yes some are them are pretty ironic. it was funny to think the parents thought slash would be a delicate girl

[isame-allen]

Guys new sibling au info dropped

This time is on the Jacksons, since I’ve hc them to be Chinese here’s their Chinese names :D

• Victoria - 江之华 Jiang Zhihua (beautiful as flower)

• Cross - 姜震烨 Jiang Zhenye (brilliant, have a great future)

• Slash - 蔣嫵坤 Jiang Wukun (charming and feminine)

• Chris - 姜惠和 Jiang Huihe (benevolence and harmony, a smart and kind person

Jiang is their surnames so all of their full names would be

Victoria ‘Crow’ Zhihua Jackson

Cross Zhenye Jackson

Slash Wukun Jackson

And Christopher Huihe Jackson

[wonnieluv]

Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night! - Mark Lee

Summary: In September 2024 you found out that you’ll be hosting Saturday Night Live in December! You’re a bit nervous and as time passes you realize you need to choose a musical guest. What happens when you request one of your favorite artists and he just so happens to be in NY that weekend for Jingle Ball AND has a new solo releasing the next Monday (you just don’t know about the solo yet). Will he say yes?

soloist!Mark x actress!reader

warnings: implied that Y/N reads fan fiction about Mark because I thought it was funny, fluff, kissing

masterlist

author’s note: I know all of Dream were in NY but for plot purposes Mark is a soloist in this fic because I didn’t want Y/N to seem like a solo stan for inviting Mark alone

“MATT IF YOU DON’T SAY SIKE RN I’M GOING TO HIT YOU” a woman’s loud voice echos through the apartment

“Y/N WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS. I know this has been a dream of yours” A males voice can be heard from the phone in the her hand.

Let’s pause and give some background context, shall we?

Y/N L/N, accomplished actress at the young age of 23 years old. You’ve been acting since a young age starting on the Disney Channel. When you were a teen you made it out of Disney and began taking more rolls outside of the image you had previously crafted for so many years. Now here you are, a multi-academy award nominated actress (you’ve won a couple too 😉). You grew up watching Saturday Night Live with your parents and SNL was a goal you’d always wanted to achieve in your career which brings us to the present day. You’ve been booked to host SNL and you couldn’t be more excited!

"Matt can I call you back, I'm gonna go scream, cry, hyperventilate, and probably run a lap around the block" You tell your manager Matt, he's become more of your best friend in the time you've known him so he's pretty used to your dramatics.

"Yea, I'll get more details and discuss some contract related things with them and I'll swing by yours in a couple hours." He finishes hanging up the call.

You let out a squeal as you skip around your house. If you were being completely honest with yourself, you don't think you were this happy when you got nominated for your academy awards.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

As the days grow into weeks, Halloween is beginning to approach rapidly and you're on your way to meet with team at SNL to discuss of details that need to be prepared ahead of time for your episode.

your episode...

Yup! your episode in the 50th season of SNL. Things are moving quickly. It's already been almost a month since you got the call notifying you of your casting and you haven't been able to think of anything else. You're so excited to hear the pitches from the cast about the skits they want to do. Being able to work in this environment is like a dream come true.

One of the things you're nervous about is the topic of the meeting today. They want you to have a musical artist picked out so you will need to be providing a list of people that they can reach out to to ensure they get the artist booked before everyone has their schedules set for the holidays.

You arrive to the meeting greeting everyone in the room as you listen intently to what's being said. As time goes on you just get more and more excited about the process.

"... and finally the last thing we need to get ironed out today is who you'd like to have for your musical guest. As you know this episode will be airing December 14th so we'll need to be mindful of holiday plans and schedules so we really should get on this soon. For right now we'll get the name of the top artist you'd like to have and we'll have your management send over the rest of the list via email so we can get an artist booked as soon as possible."

You nod as you listen intently.

"So who is your top artist at the moment" He looks at you expectantly

"I'd like to have Mark Lee be my music guest. He's a singer and wrapper with a sizable following and I think he'd be a great fit." You try to come off confident but you know he has the power to just flat out say no if he wants

"Hmmm... I'll have to look into him before we make any calls but... we'll keep you updated." You nod in response.

You leave the building with a pep in your step and a smile on your face as you anticipate the coming months of preparation

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

"Hey Matt, what's up" You ask as you pick up the phone. It's a Saturday in November so you were relaxing at home as you watch the people wrapped in their winter coats facing the cold of the coming New York winter.

"I have an update from SNL. I thought you'd like to hear this one."

"Oooh what is it?" He's piqued your interest

"They've confirmed your musical guest for your episode of SNL and the guest was from the list we gave them"

"OH MY GOD really?!?!!?! Is It Mark? Matt please tell me it's Mark." You didn't want to get your hopes up but clearly your attempts were futile for how much you were anticipating his answer.

"Stay calm Y/N... but yes... Mark's management just agreed to have him be your musical guest"

"...Matt...I'm going to mute myself real quick..." You quickly get out before muting yourself and screaming bloody murder into your pillow. THE Mark Lee... agreed to be YOUR musical guest... on YOUR episode of SNL...? Life just took a whole new turn of unreal. You've been a fan of Mark for a while now and him agreeing to join you is insane.

You clear your throat as you pick your phone back up again "...hey Matt... soo... Mark Lee... he said yes?"

"Yup he'll be in town for the jingle ball event that's happening the day before so they agreed to extend his stay for a couple of extra days"

"Great! I can't wait!"

"The SNL producers would like to hold another meeting soon to discuss the logistics with his team and with you so start preparing yourself mentally. I know you like him but don't try to jump his bones through the screen."

"Heyyyy, I would never..." You try to defend yourself.

"Yea yea... I'll talk to you soon"

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

"Y/N it's good to see you again, I hope your preparations have been going well." One of the producers greets you as you enter the room

"They have! I'm excited to be back with you all again"

"Y/N this is Mark Lee and his manager, they're joining us through zoom from their company in South Korea. Today's objective is to talk over what our expectations are for Mark as the musical guest as well as clear up any questions. Shall we get started?"

You nod trying to focus on the task at hand and less of the fact that the man you've had a minor celebrity crush on for years isn't perceiving you over zoom at the moment.

"After we received your offer I put some thought into the songs I'd like to perform that day. I think this is a unique opportunity and I think the songs chosen will be perfect for the SNL stage" Mark begins

"We figured it'd be nice to start with a slower track with a nice intimate mood 200 - Minhyung's Version as it's a more unplugged acoustic vibe. For the second song we'd like to have Mark perform a single that is yet to be announced but will be releasing December 16th. It's called Fraktsiya. It's a hip hop song with a heavy 808 base and we think it would be a big draw for him and for the show to have it be the first time anyone hears it officially." Marks manager explains.

You can't help but perk up at the mention of a new song.

So does that mean I'd get to hear it for the first time in rehearsals? Before anyone else does..?

Not the time Y/N you mentally scold yourself for letting your thoughts wander during an important meeting. You shake away your thoughts and pay attention for the rest of the meeting.

"This was a very informative session, we'd like to thank you all so much for the opportunity to have Mark perform on such an iconic show" You hear his manager say as the meeting wraps up.

"It'll be our pleasure to have you here in December. We'll be in touch" The producer says before the call is cut and you're all dismissed

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

December 14th, 2024, show day

Here you are, sat in your dressing room, running over your lines preparing for the final rehearsal before tonights live show. Due to his schedule at Jingle Ball yesterday night, Mark wasn't able to the join the rehearsal meaning you'll be seeing him for the first time today when you run through the show.

"Y/N it's time to head out" Matt gets your attention as you quickly get up and head towards him so the two of you can head to set

"Let's go" You say with a smile

"Keep your hormones in check when we get out there"

You slap his shoulder in response "Hey I am a very calm and composed thank you very much. It's not that big of a deal"

"Your tumblr history says otherwise" You freeze while looking at hime with your mouth agape

"MATT GET BACK HERE" You run to catch up to him

As the two of you arrive to set you're done smacking him for seeing your tumblr history and you’ve been able to mostly calm the bright blush that had appeared as you slowly approach the producer.

“Good morning Y/N are you ready to get started?” He asks as you and Matt reach him

“Yup! Let’s get started!”

You begin your final rehearsal with the opening monologue which goes without a hitch and finally the moment you’re waiting for, Mark is going to rehearse his songs

He comes out onto stage looking very casual as he introduces himself and checks his mic. You decide it’s for the best if you stand to the back to watch because you knew yourself. You wouldn’t be able to not ogle him so you may as well do it from the sides instead of in front of everyone…

God he’s so cool

As he rehearses 200, you can’t stop staring. He’s on a stool with a spotlight on him and the guitarist playing next to him and his voice is so melodic and calming. You’re blatantly staring at this point but you don’t care, he’s so charismatic and his aura is mesmerizing, you can’t help but watch intently.

“Thank you…” he says into the mic with a short bow as he finishes with everyone clapping for him. The producers chat with him and the band before they change the set for Weekend Update. You aren’t needed for this segments rehearsal so you head back to get some snacks from your dressing room. You arrive closing the door behind you taking a breathe pulling out your phone as you scroll for about 15 minutes before you get a text from Matt.

You power your phone off and you leave the dressing room. As you close the door and start walking down the hallway you’re met with a something hard that sends you stumbling back

“Oh watch out!”

You grab onto the wall next to you as you feel a gloved hand grab your arms to help stabilize you.

“You okay…?” You look up to see who you ran into and of course… it’s Mark

“Oh! Y-yea… I’m fine sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going” you mentally slap yourself for stuttering

“No it’s okay, I wasn’t looking either” he sheepishly scratches the back of his neck

You take in his appearance and you see he’s wearing the same outfit as earlier but his hoodie has been replaced with a long leather jacket

“Are you also heading to set?” You calm your inner fan girl and ask

“Yea I am, shall we?” He asks knowing that you’re heading that way too.

You nod as you walk next to him. The two of you having casual conversation. He told you about Jingle Ball yesterday and you told him about the cat you feed sometimes on your block that also happens to be named Mark (you didnt name him, you swear his collar said Mark when you found him)

“Dude there’s no way…”

“I swear. He’s got this old collar on him and I swear it says Mark. I’ll have to show you a picture.” You laugh at his disbelief

The two of you finally arrive to set and go your separate ways so he can get onstage as you find Matt giving you a knowing look.

In response you slap him before turning turn attention towards the stage.

An unfamiliar heat starts playing through the speakers as Mark comes out looking the same as he did when you saw him only now he’s sporting some expensive looking shades and he’s got this intimidating aura around him. He’s not the playful Mark you met in the hallway.

Your mouth fall agape as you watch him rap his new song exuding nothing but utter confidence

Yeah, how many schedules in a day? (Baby, listen)

He’s pulled his glasses down as he tilts his head down looking at the camera above the glasses so he can make eye contact

My airline miles fling honeymoon out of space (I said listen)

He turns his head look towards you as you says the line before redirecting his eyes ahead before adjusting his glass back to cover his eyes properly again

SM got to wait (SM, listen)

Phone is buzzing, uh, SNL shoot with Y/N

I said, wait

You’re frozen in your place as he says your name… did he adjust the lyrics? You know he did but it still made your heart race a little too hard. The fact that the entire song is him bragging about his accomplishments and you have a spot in the lyrics, even if it’s just an adlib for the live show. You have to calm yourself down at the thought

You continue to watch him finish his rehearsal with wide eyes. When he finished the song you clap along with the rest of the crew before continuing on with the rehearsal. You had a couple skits along with Mark who they included in one. He did really well despite the lack of rehearsal time and by the time you all finished you were feeling ready for the live show that night.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

You were sat in your dressing room after getting styled for the top of the show. You’ve got some down time so Matt left you to go probably flirt with one of the cast members he found cute (but wouldn’t admit it) so you’re relaxing in your chair trying to shake the nerves. Your mom flew to New York to watch live tonight so you really wanted to do well for her.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on your door

“Come in” you say as you turn around to see who knocked and to your surprise… your met with the face of Mark Lee

“Oh Mark? I didn’t expect you to come by…” you say with a smile

“Yea… I had some downtime so I figured I’d stop by” he says walking in scratching the back of his neck awkwardly again.

“You look nervous” you laugh lightly

“Nahhhh… well… maybe just a bit” he says “but I think I’ll do fine. I think I’m more worried about how people will perceive the new song rather than whether I’ll do well”

“Hmmm” you hum in understanding “well I do owe you a picture of little Mark” you say pulling out your phone “oh! Feel free to sit down” you usher him over to the couch as you sit next to him

“Look” you show him a picture of a little orange cat that’s a bit chubby

“Awww dude he’s so cute”

“I know right” you pull back the phone and zoom in on the collar “look what I told you… he’s named Mark”

“That’s a crazy coincidence man… I have to meet this Mark sometime.” He laughs out

“Ooooh I don’t know about that. Two Marks within close proximity… the world might implode” you fake a shiver as you lean back on the couch

“Maybe your right” he chuckles at you before also leaning back on the couch

“Now how did you meet this Mark? He’s not a stray is he?”

“No… although that’s what I thought at first but I called the number on his collar and he has a home. He’s just an outdoor cat. He only comes home for food” You say thinking of the cat you’ve begun to love “If he was a stray I would’ve adopted him”

“Yea… maybe I should get a cat and name him Mark”

you chuckled at his response. “Mark and Mark. Sounds like a comic book”

“You know some people think I’m like Spider-Man… a superhero has gotta have a sidekick” He laughs looking at you

“Should I call you spider-mark then? You’ve got your guy in the chair and everything it seems.” You chuckle out

“Just you wait someday I’ll be in the spider-verse movies”

“I’ll look forward to it” you smile “you are missing one thing though”

“What is it?” He raises an eyebrow as he sits up and looks back at you

“Well you need an MJ of course” you say sarcastically as you look at him

He quirks an eyebrow at your statement “oh yea…” he pretends to think “I think I’ve got an MJ though too” he says as he looks at you “so I’m all set by your logic”

Your eyes widen slightly at his statement “oh yea. I guess so” you cast your eyes down for a second and when you look back up Mark is much closer to you

“You look disappointed” he says inching forward

“Why would I be…” you don’t move towards him but… you also don’t move away.

He smirks a little “I don’t know…” he brings up his hand a gently brushed your hair behind your ears as his face is just inches from yours

“I-“ you can respond before you hear Matt knocking on your door

“Y/N it’s time to get backstage” you and Mark immediately break from one another before you stand up and clear your throat

“Ok… I’ll be out in a second” you walk to your vanity grabbing your water and drinking some before turning back to Mark

“I should go…” you say to Mark, who has now risen from his spot on the couch and has begun to approach you

“Yea… you should…”

You look up and meet his gaze before beginning to walk towards the door. You don’t get very far before you feel a hand grab your wrist.

You don’t even have a moment to say anything before you feel a soft peck on your cheek

“Good luck…” he says softly

“Th-thanks…” you stutter out as your cheeks glow bright red.

You hurry out of the room and rush backstage to get ready for the start of the show

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

The first half of the show goes by in a blur. All the sketches have been going really well and there has yet to be a problem. Now you're at the part you're most excited about Mark's stage

"Now introducing... Mark Lee" The audience claps as everyone becomes focused on him. He's dressed in black pants with a white button up unbuttoned with a tank top underneath. You listen as he sings 200, completely enamoured by him from your place behind the camera. You've realized you're beginning to fall for this man in the short time you've been able to really meet him and part of you wants to think he feels the same with the way (you think) his eyes shift to you behind the camera every so often. But you refuse to get your hopes up and get your heart broken.

He finishes up the song before heading back to get prepared for the next song as they bring out the Weekend Update set as usual.

You laugh as Colin and Micheal share their usual good jokes along with their bickering enjoying seeing the iconic pair in their element with your real eyes. Before you know it you're introducing Mark for his second song.

You take your place behind the camera once again as you take in his new appearance. His shirt now neatly buttoned with a tie around his neck. His thick sunglasses and his black leather clothes with his hair slicked back topping the look off made your jaw drop. He looked HOT

You watch the audience excited for their reactions to his new song and you could tell everyone loved it. You were so into the atmosphere that you almost forgot to pay attention to the stage and before you knew it, everyone was clapping and cheering for him.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

The show ends successfully as you say your goodbyes to everyone onstage before heading back to your dressing room to change into your regular clothes. As you've finished changing, you're collecting your things when you hear a knock on the door. You don't even get the chance to say come in before you see it open and Mark steps into the room.

"Sorry... I-" he sighs clearly a little unprepared

"You okay Mark?" You begin to step closer to him

"Yea yea.. I just thought you had left... someone said they saw your manager leave so I wanted to come check" He says a bit nervously

"Well I'm still here... so what do you need?' You look up at him but he's clearly avoiding your eyes.

"Well, I have to go back to Korea tomorrow... but I was wondering if... I could get your number." He says as he raises his gaze to meet yours

You softly smile at his request before you nod "give me your phone"

The two of you exchange numbers before you fall into some lighthearted conversation again. He's so easy to talk to. He laughs at your jokes and he matches your energy perfectly. He's just easy to be around.

You grab the rest of your belongings while you chat and once you're ready to go he walks you out to your car.

"This is it huh...?" He asks you hesitantly

"Well it cant be. You haven't met little Mark yet" You smile back at him. "Now you have a reason to come back to New York"

"Make that two..." He says softly

"Huh? What's the second-" You barely finish your sentence before you feel his soft lips on yours. After a moment of hesitation, you wrap your arms around his neck as his go to your waist as you reciprocate the kiss. It felt sweet, soft, careful, like he's testing the waters, but almost desparate, as he knows it'll be a while before you see each other again.

The two of you pull away "I'll see you soon... spidey..." you say softly with a smile on your face. You quickly peck his cheek before running into your car. You don't look at him out of shyness as you drive off with a bright smile on your face and 200 - Minhyung's Version blasting through the speakers of your car.

This took me way too long to write to I hope you all enjoyed this. Also yes I made up the SNL skit but it was FOR THE PLOT I’m not too proud of that part

[hyperactivewhore]

Sorry if this is a weird question but I would want to hear someone else opinion on a matter that i hadn't pay much attention at the first time but now its really interesting..What your opinion on the fact that Klaus Mikaelson seems to be into B.D.S.M? It was kinda stated by Aurora but I don't remember the episode. Or about kol and Rebekah ,they also gives me vibes that they are into B.D.S.M too ,i cant really explain it. I never saw someone adressing this topic.

It's not a weird question, don't worry, especially when it comes to discussing the Mikaelson siblings.

Yes, you're correct, Aurora did state Klaus was into BDSM in 3x07 of The Originals and the line was "Oh, how you loathe me, so certain I've come to do you harm. Yet, as I recall, we did plenty of harm to each other. And, if I'm not mistaken, we both rather liked it, didn't we?". For me, it's not a surprise Klaus behaves that way sexually. He's desperate to be in control of everything, of course that would apply to his sexual/romantic partners as well, and with how his parents made him feel and the added bonus of his hybrid state, it's very much in character for him, at least in my opinion.

But, if I'm being honest, I mainly think Aurora just meant to let clear he likes to hurt the person he's having sex with - with their consent, obviously. Make them find pleasure in their pain, which really relates to his personal life and his personal experiences for me. Of all the Mikaelson (and honestly, all the tvdu characters) I believe Klaus is the roughest when it comes to sex, which it's quite ironic considering vampires have the highest sex drive yet Klaus is seen getting nearly no action.

Kol and Rebekah do give those vibes as well, especially Kol. I believe Rebekah is more of a merciless tease, while Kol just loves to make you cry (in the good sense). Elijah, in the other hand, seems pretty vanilla to me, just like Stefan and Caroline. Damon likes to paint himself as some kind of sex god, and yet Elena looked so ready to laugh sometimes when he talked dirty to her. Hayley, in all of her sex scenes, is always being absolutely manhandled and getting thrown into walls/tables/any surface available, so it's safe to assume she's into a more rough aspect of sex as well, which of course, makes sense considering she's a werewolf.

I'm so sorry it took me this long to answer! It was a funny ask, though.

[danicalithegirl]

You’re calling me… from...

Eddie: (pacing his trailer, rubbing his face in disbelief) "Okay, so let me get this straight. You’re calling me… from Chicago. And you’re in jail."

You: (sighing, sounding both frustrated and embarrassed) "Yes, Eddie. I’m in jail. In Chicago. Please don’t make me say it again."

Eddie: (letting out a low whistle, still trying to process) "You drove all the way to Chicago without telling anyone, not even me? To get tickets for—wait, who was it again?"

You: (mumbling) "Iron Maiden."

Eddie: "Iron Maiden. You drove halfway across the state, lied to your parents, took your moms car, didn’t tell me, and then you broke into the damn box office to try and steal tickets?"

You: (voice small) "Yes. I wanted it to be a surprise… for your graduation present."

Eddie: (momentarily speechless, running a hand through his hair) "Holy hell. You were gonna steal Iron Maiden tickets. For me." (He can’t help it; he’s both flattered and a little turned on by your sheer recklessness.)

You: (sounding defensive) "It’s not like I wanted to! I thought I’d be able to just buy them, but when I got here, they were all sold out, and I just… panicked. I didn’t think it through."

Eddie: (shaking his head, half-smiling despite himself) "Clearly. How’d you even get into the box office?"

You: "There was a window… it wasn’t even locked. I thought maybe I could just… borrow a couple, you know? But obviously, they didn’t see it that way."

Eddie: (chuckling softly, despite his exasperation) "You’re insane. And you’re damn lucky they’re only charging you with trespassing. What did they set bail at?"

You: (pausing, almost embarrassed) "It’s… it’s $300."

Eddie: (laughing harder now) "$300? How am I supposed to get $300? Man, I'll ask around. I know where Wayne keeps the" rainy day" money, and I bet Nancy can lend me some, Steve and Robin too. Alright, hang tight. I’ll scrape it together and be there soon. Just… don’t break out on your own or anything, okay?"

You: (sarcastic) "Real funny, Eddie. I’ll wait right here."

(Eddie arrives at the police station a few hours later, still a bit frazzled but unable to hide his admiration. As you're led out, he can’t help but take you in, messy hair, smudged eyeliner, and all. There's a wild, unapologetic spark in your eyes, one that sends a thrill through him.)

Eddie: (smirking as you walk over) "So… Iron Maiden, huh? You really went all-out on this one."

You: (crossing your arms, blushing a little) "Yeah, well, you’re worth it. Even if I had to break a few laws along the way."

Eddie: (grinning, clearly charmed) "You know, I gotta say, for someone who usually plays it cool, you went full metalhead rebel for me. Can’t say I’m not impressed."

You: (teasing) "What, didn’t think I had it in me?"

Eddie: (taking a step closer, voice dropping) "Oh, I knew you had it in you. Just… didn’t expect you to go this hard." (He leans in, whispering) "Kinda hot, if I’m being honest."

You: (smiling mischievously) "Good. Because I’m never doing that again."

Eddie: (laughing) "Yeah, let’s keep our next concert a little more… legal. But still, you, breaking into a box office? Damn, I might have to keep you around."

(He throws an arm around you, pulling you in close as you walk out of the station, both still laughing over your wild plan gone wrong. Even if it didn’t end up with Iron Maiden tickets, Eddie’s pretty sure he got something even better.)

--In the Van--

(Eddie and you are finally settled in his beat-up van, the silence only broken by the rattling engine and the distant hum of Chicago’s city noise. You're curled up in the passenger seat, still looking a bit mortified but trying to keep your chin up. Eddie glances over, a smirk dancing on his lips as he starts driving.)

Eddie: (mocking) "So, Iron Maiden, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who was willing to risk jail time for a concert."

You: (rolling your eyes) "Don’t make it sound like I did it on purpose. I was just… desperate. And I wanted it to be special for you."

Eddie: (softening a bit) "Yeah, I get that. But you’re supposed to be the smart one here, not the ‘let’s break into the box office’ one."

You: (sighing, frustrated) "It was stupid. I know that. I thought maybe I could make it work, but then… I didn’t think anyone would actually catch me. I mean, it’s Chicago. Don’t they have bigger criminals to worry about?"

Eddie: (chuckling) "Apparently, a Maiden-loving felon is just the right kind of excitement around here." (He glances at you, a mischievous glint in his eyes.) "Did you at least have a plan? Or was it just ‘grab the tickets and run’?"

You: (shaking your head, embarrassed) "The plan was… get tickets, surprise Eddie. That’s it. Didn’t think I’d end up in a holding cell. And now I have to deal with my parents when they find out I borrowed a car to get here."

Eddie: "Oh, that’s gonna be fun. Explaining why the car’s showing up on a tow truck later. Can’t wait for that conversation."

You: (groaning) "They’re never gonna let me hear the end of it. I’ll be grounded until I’m, like, thirty."

Eddie: (grinning) "Hey, at least you’re grounded with some serious street cred now. You know what they say—nothing says 'true metalhead' like a criminal record."

You: (laughing despite yourself) "Please. I’d probably end up being the world’s lamest felon."

Eddie: (leaning over, nudging your shoulder playfully) "Hey, don’t sell yourself short. You pulled this off pretty well. A little reckless, maybe, but kinda badass, too. Risking it all for Iron Maiden… for me." (He pauses, his tone softening.) "That means something, you know?"

You: (blushing a bit) "Well, you’re worth a few questionable choices."

Eddie: (smiling, still teasing) "Just try not to make this a habit, alright? One stint in Chicago jail is enough. Next time, just… call me. We’ll figure something out. Together."

You: "Deal. Though, now I kinda know how you feel when you’re up to no good."

Eddie: "Hey, don’t go thinking you’re the next Eddie Munson, alright? I have a reputation to keep." (He grins.) "But… gotta admit, it was kinda hot seeing you go rogue like that. Just don’t tell anyone I said that."

You: (smirking) "Your secret’s safe with me, rockstar."

(You both laugh, settling into a comfortable silence as the city fades into the background.)

[imaginespazzi]

Bestie bestie bestie!

Hello :) Where to even begin after so much time.. I guess first I'll note that my last anon to you is starred below just so we can follow the thread of last convo somewhat (and honestly just wanted to ensure you knew I at one point wrote in over you hiatuses)..

Ok on to more new stuff: Biggest news is Im off to the wifeys motherland (ironic a bit as I believe shes currently playing in my fatherland). I'll report back on food a day drink 😋 ca va?

Yay Liberty, they did it! 🗽Plenty of kudos to the Lynx as well. Was a great series all around. Even if my nerves barely withstood those overtimes & dramatic endings.

Coaching movement in the W continues to make my head spin. OMG the Thibaults are gone, didnt see that coming tbh! I remain seated for all the hirings/happenings to come. And cant believe we're almost to the lottery selection w still so much upheaval in place 🤯

Hope all is well w you despite lifes busyness. Take care

** Hi hi hi bestie! Yes that anon was me ha. I realized after sending that I left of my emoji signature, but was pretty sure youd connect things, given some hyper specific topics ha. Hope life is treating you alright apart from just being busy!

Im personally just relieved that the Libs managed to even things up last night, while still trying to process the 2nd half & OT of game 1 lol. That one was all just absolutely bonkers. Crazy entertaining, even if it hurt my NY supporting heart at the time.

When it comes to the coaching moves, def in agreement that Indy doesnt deserve good things. What do you make of who the Valks named HC? Seems a good hire to me at a quick glance, but Im also leery of anyone who might be involved w the Aces lawsuit ordeal (tbf Im not super well informed on that, but dont believe Ive ever seen her referenced w that stuff). Yeah objectively I dont feel that a (random) late winning run/playoff push, external circumstances w the standings aside, was worth dropping your odds of getting #1/Paige from like 30 to 10 %. Still struggle to understand why they ended up trying to fight the path that established itself early on. Granted kind of unexpected and extreme circumstances, but still, lemons to lemonade if you will. Im not feeling eager for the draw next month..

Honestly it will be interesting now to see/follow any Liz activity while she hits the offseason as college ball starts up soon. Curious to see if any crumbs or reactions come up at all. W those two seeming to be at an avoidance phase, another college wbb couple needs to step up and provide us w some (non toxic) drama to follow over the season ha! Not you tho Pazzi, you stay lovely/wholesome/stable/healthy

One additional GH note - I obvi live for snark, so wanted to share my fav lines from Ch 10

“Won’t somebody please think about the complications” Jana in full menace mode and so funny. "I mean other than the woman you married as well that is" The fact that Azzi will not ever say her name I just love. I also have this idea that Stephie, when older and knows pretty much everything re her parents history, will continue the she who shall not be named thing in support of her mama. (And Im not entirely discounting the possibility of a bit of real time drama w Olivia that wont help w this whole Azzi grudge).

Wishing you a good start to the week!! -☕️ **

Hi hi lovely I missed you <3

Ah babes that must have gotten lost in my sea of asks because I've been so bad about answering them. It's funny how much has change since whenever you sent that thought because the W has become a revolving door of coaching changes.

I really like the Valks HC choice. She's been very effective with the LVAces and I expect that to continue. Same with the recent news we go today of Tyler Marsh with the Sky. I think LVAces coaching staff in general is so strong and them branching off is good for the league and both the Valks and the Sky with these coaches and a little bit of time for player development should eventually be really good. Ultimately the lawsuit is a front office issue and I don't think these two had much to do with it and so until I see issues in their new respective teams, I don't think we can hold it against them.

LIBERTYYYYYYY. So happy for them and of course props to the Lynx. And honestly thank you to both teams for giving us what I think, despite that one foul, is the greatest W finals we've ever had.

THE THIBAULTS ARE GONE. You were one of the first people I thought of when I saw that news. Honestly I have no idea what to think. I really didn't see it coming and as much as I've done a lot of nepo baby this nepo baby that, I don't necessarily know if this is the right choice but I'll wait to see who they appoint as the head coach to really figure out my thoughts.

Lottery in 2 weeks?? What the actual hell? Like y'all we're likely gonna know where Paige is going before we even see Azzi on the court and that's insane to me.

OOOOH I have some CWBB drama if anyone wants it. Did y'all peep Last-Tear's Poa's shady insta caption she deleted? Her and Sam'yah Smith were a thing and streets are saying maybe she cheated?

Pazzi are being wholesome as always. "Silly girl" - what if I jump off a cliff :)

[sushicha]

I'm feeling very grateful for Shourtney right now! This has nothing to do with the ship, but everything to do with Shayne and Courtney and how they've helped me grow as a person!

So growing up, my parents weren't very strong influences in my personal development, so I always tell people I was practically raised by the internet and was obsessed with YouTube since I was 8 years old (I'm 24 now...). But I've spent so much of my life surfing through garbage trying to find positive influences. There were times I was almost sucked into the alt-right pipeline, and even though I was eventually guided to the left, I made it through so much shit that I'm still unpacking a lot of the bullshit I consumed...

Rediscovering Smosh and the cast was a GODSEND! Not only is Smosh non-problematic and left-leaning, it's a COMEDY GROUP? Y'all have no idea how rare that is... so many creators out there whose sense of humor is being as offensive and edgy as possible. I just like silly content, dude. And Smosh is IT, man. Their stuff was cool back when it was Ian and Anthony, but modern Smosh is just SOOOOO good 😭

I was in an extremely toxic work environment for the last 4 years (toxic masculinity, homophobia, racism, misogyny, you name it...), and I'm so glad I rediscovered Smosh around that time. I became obsessed and watched everything they put out because it was in such stark contrast to the environment I was in.

Shayne became my biggest influence because he's so outwardly not a toxic masculine man. Very respectful, very understanding, very uplifting, just trying to make everyone laugh and feel good about themselves. I know he's pretty traditionally masculine, but I'm also that way and I just can't stand how many men get sucked into this idea of never showing emotion, never being vulnerable, hating the powerless, hating anything remotely considered feminine... he's none of that. I've spent my entire adult life trying to purge all my internalized misogyny and toxic traits (it's not easy!) and he's been such a great influence in that way. And his influence over my sense of humor has been GALACTIC. His humor isn't at anyone's expense but (sometimes) himself, and that's the best way to be funny is to just be as silly and ironic of an entertainer as possible. It's everything I aspire to be. I just wish he dressed a little better sometimes, LMAO 💀

If Shayne is my yang, Courtney is my yin! Courtney represents everything I've come to love and appreciate about personal growth, self-expression, and femininity (even though I know they're NB). They're SO weird and SO not afraid to be themself, even at the risk of seeming "cringe". But I freaking love it, dude! It takes so much pressure off of trying to be perfect and fit into everyone's box, and I think that's what makes them so funny and entertaining! They're so... authentic. And Courtney's always the one to uplift the vibes, to bounce off people's energy, to bring out everyone's potential. They have this natural charisma that makes it insanely difficult not to want them to be in every video. And they've grown SO MUCH in the last 4 years! You would think 2018 Courtney vs. 2022 Courtney are completely different people! Getting to witness that change in real-time was soooo epic. And them understanding their own identity helped me reevaluate my own understanding of gender, masculinity, and femininity. I'm still cishet, but I think it's important that everyone have a thorough understanding of themselves and Courtney got me to explore those questions more than I ever would have.

Putting Shayne and Courtney in a room together makes actual magic, y'all. Everything I just said about them individually, put that TOGETHER. PLACE AN EXPONENT AT THE END OF THAT SHIT 👏 They bring out the best in each other, and it makes for some of the most entertaining shit. Like yes, I'm a Shourtney shipper, but dating or not, they are an unrivaled duo and I'm here for every minute of it.

Y'all, I was DEVASTATED when they cancelled Smoshcast. I listened to it every week at work because it was so refreshing listening to such intelligent and adorable humans talk about life vs. the sea of brainless testosterone I was drowning in 😓 AND COULD YOU IMAGINE SMOSHCAST NOW??? A BRAND NEW COURTNEY, ALL THESE NEW CAST AND CREW MEMBERS, ALL THE STORIES THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME??? I get why they cancelled Smoshcast, they want to focus on other stuff, but man, it still hurts 🥺 I'M FINE

ok RANT OVER, GO AWAY 😌❤️

[matenrou-fan]

Yandere!Sasara with fem!s/o

when I was writing this I notice that I ended up with absolutely different idea from what I actually wanted, so I start to write another Yandere! Sasara hc along with this one, but with more sadistic side of him (here)

secret relationships, stalking, wiretapping, mention of being locked, gaslight a little, pretty paranoid Sasara;; 1205 words

Uh.. It's actually looks easier than you thought.

He didn't receive that much attention and positive memories from his parents in his childhood so.. just show him love, kidness and care and he will melt.

Yes, he have so much attention from his fans and mass media but you know, there's difference between a love from followers and from one special someone, who can accept not only his cheerful funny personality, but also his problems and worries.

You don't even mind to not disclose yours relationship, cause you worried it will hurt his fans and maybe even his status, causing a lot of interest in the media. Aren't you an angel?

But it's actually start to worried him. Aren't this ironic? Aren't you the one who should be more jealous, cause his popular and no one knows about this bond between you two? Maybe he don't make it official cause he actually loves to cheat on you with his fangirls?

But you never ever think about something like that, believing in him and his loyalty. Of course you was jealous sometimes too but like an absolutely any other partner would be in any other relationships, just sometimes.

When he actually feels the opposite. He don't want to lose this sparkle that you give him, that soothing feeling when he can just relax and forget about everything in your arms. He likes adventures and can cause many troubles, but he still adore peace and quiet that you gives him. He also can be not in mood for jokes sometimes, venting to you or just being tired.

But what if you will get tired too from all his trips and performances? Well, if there was only his programs as comedian, but also rap battles..! What if you will find yourself someone who will have more free time..?

So he began to stalks you. It was not that often, just sometimes he have a free time when you don't, and he get so paranoid what you exactly do, did you actually just meet you family or you try to cheat? He need to find out.

Well of course that if you both have free time he would like to spend it together, softly mumbling how much he's loves and adores you. He can be pretty clingy, put aside his careless behavior and just looks at you with loving obsessed gaze, as he ask you again and again, if you love him back.

Once again, he can't stalk you too much due to his busy schedule, but who stops him from download some tracking apps to your phone while you fall asleep on his laps? He also download it to his phone so he can always check your location when he's on trip, also one app for checking your text and calls. He's just being protective all! You know, one of his friends is literally conman, so he know how can they trick people through calls or something, he just need to check out, okay?

Slowly he get start to get more paranoid. He can check your phone and location, but he can't hear what you talking about out loud when you just hanging out with friends. Like yeah, he see that you actually sitting in the cafe right now but he don't know who's near you, what if you actually meeting with some guy?!

So soon he will buy some small microphones that he will hide inside your bag and some clothes, things that you take often with yourself. Sasara will listen carefully, even if you actually just hanging out with friends he will take notes, like.. Is there any secrets that you tell them but not him? Maybe you will complain about his strange behavior? Maybe someone else, just random guy from street, will try to flirt with you and take your number? He need to know everything.

If he accidentally say something that he's shouldn't know, he would just play lil dummy and joke it off.

"Yeah, we totally should go there together" - he said as you two was planning yours next date - "I think you should wear that new skirt, it would be great, don't you think? Eh...? What do you mean you didn't tell me about this skirt yet? Of course you do! You just so forgetful, darling..."

He will be more careful after that incident

Will slowly turn you to his housewife, trying to change your mindset. You two still in secret relationships, maybe you shouldn't go out that often? Even in his casual clothes people sometimes recognize him, what if someone will notice you next to him? Aren't this better to both of you to hand out in his house more?

Sometimes he will fake it, telling he feel sick a little or really tired, and just want to lay down with you or watch movie while hugging you. Start to ask you to stay with him for night more often, you didn't even notice how quickly almost half of your clothes and other things was moved to his house.

"Eheh, it's almost look like we're already engaged, yes, my little wife?" - he giggles with soft blush on his cheek. Then his gaze will turn to more serious one "Why don't you actually move in with me, mm..?"

And.. do you really wanna work? He's pretty rich, with all this shows and everything. It wouldn't be that hard for him, if you will just sit in his house.. But don't forget, now you can't go out that much, you know? What is someone from mass media will see you, hm? No one should know that you're have something with him, especially when your friends and family will start to searching for you

One day you just wake up, know you will be pretty busy with some housework today. You also can't find your phone, but you decided that maybe Sasara accidentally grab it with himself when was hurry up to his work, he had an interview early in the morning today.

Closer to afternoon you'll suddenly remember you have a meet with your best friend, so you decide to start preparing to night out

But when you will be ready and try to open door, you suddenly realise that it's locked. Along with all windows. You get absolutely flustered, is Sasara was so sleepy in the morning and accidentally lock you in?

But when he returns in evening, he was pretty chill. When you say him about phone and door, he will make a fake surprised face.

"Ooh? Did I forget to tell you? I'm sorry darling.. But I was thinking about that for a long time, and decided that you shouldn't go out without me, okay? I take your phone cause I was worried that your friends would be against that idea, I'm glad that you didn't tell them my name and didn't complain about me but i know they don't really like when you start talk about your boyfriend, haha.."

He get closer, slowly embrace you with his hug.

"And now, darling.. Why don't you just spend this evening with me, all alone..? Why don't you just spend your whole life with me, all alone?"

"All alone.. only with me♡"

[End]

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: Rise and Fall (Reread pt. 6)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN AND BOOKS ONE THROUGH THREE IN SECOND SERIES. 

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“ . . . Abeke and Meilin were chained together at the ankles with heavy links of iron” (2). Didn’t Gerathon say that Meilin didn’t need shackles?

“ . . . he’d been the only one to bring them food to eat and fresh water to drink. They’d have died without him” (2). No??? They would’ve just sent someone else to bring them food and water instead. They are prisoners, right?

“‘The lord is still alive, and I’m doing my best to make sure the Niloans who live here are kept safe and have enough to eat . . . ’” (3). I mean, it could be worse? Assuming Shane isn’t lying, of course.

“Abeke glanced at Meilin, who nodded imperceptibly” (4). Good to know she’s back to her logical self.

I forgot Drina has only one personality trait: mean.

“Abeke sensed that this conversation between siblings would have gone differently if Zerif hadn't been there” (5). In what way, though?

“‘ . . . there is no need to squabble like children’” (6). Both Shane and Drina are literally children. Shane is thirteen, maximum. Drina is two years older. 

“What Soama had most wanted was to feel pretty, and the easiest way to accomplish that had been to make Abeke feel ugly” (6). I- Abeke needs to get the hell away from her shitty family.

“��Gar wants them brought ashore, but dear me if he didn’t say how . . . ’” (7). They’re still trying to keep up the lie that Gar is the Devourer, right? So Zerif could (possibly) be pretending Gar gave the order when it was really Shane. So maybe this line is Zerif trying to get back at Shane? And the next line: “Shane started to protest . . . ” (7), could be Shane trying to order Zerif into submission.

Chapter 2

Aw, Rollan refers to Conor as his “best friend”.

“‘Yeah!’ Conor joined. ‘Shh, Rollan.’ ‘Tarik clamped his other hand over Conor’s mouth” (14). Tarik is like: you get what you give.

I like how they describe Essix’s vision as being different from what Rollan is used to and how it took some getting used to. 

OH, IRTIKE! I REMEMBER HER.

“‘Abeke’s father, Pojalo, became the new chieftain when our old one was killed . . . ’” (19). Wait, I thought he was already chieftain???

“Lips lined with kohl, a beaded headpiece flashing on her forehead, the girl simply looked more . . . precious than Abeke” (21). Honestly, it’s such a big oof for Soama that she puts so much effort into looking good and is still insecure enough to belittle Abeke and not even be considered more attractive by the general public.

Conor yelling at Pojalo: Yes, get him, get his abusive ass.

It’s funny that he just pauses in the middle of his outburst to say “Sir!”

Chapter 3

Conor wondering why abusive parents exist for a whole page:

“‘I’ll sleep wherever you order me to, my dear generals’” (37). Generals??? Plural??? Rollan possibly seeing Conor as a leader??? (Even if it is a joke-)

“ . . . all Conor could do was drop to his knees and cover his head as the flood crawled over him” (39). So they just . . . laid on the ground and let the monkeys essentially stampede them??? Hilarious.

“Essix soared in and plucked a baboon from Rollan . . . ” (40). Why isn’t she just taking the talisman???

Oh, okay, she got it.

“ . . . then secured the Slate Elephant in his satchel alongside the Granite Ram” (41). I still think it’s incredibly stupid to keep the talismans in their packs instead of, like, around their necks??? That way if they get into trouble they can use them immediately.

“‘What is with the people from Okaihee?’ Rollan asked, shaking his head. ‘So pushy’” (43). Abeke isn’t???

Awwwww, they’re so mean to the mole rat.

“‘People too young have been taken from us, perhaps forever . . . ’” (46). Kind of reminds me of what Barlow from the first book said.

“‘Most spirit animals like to have some say in their own naming. They are not pets. They’re partners’” (46). How can a spirit animal decide its own name??? Also, even if they are partners, I bet you’d have to go through a lot of people to find one that picked their own name. Even humans don’t pick our own names??? Our parents (usually) do???

Rollan continues to be ridiculously mean toward Irtike.

Chapter 4

Meilin once beat her own father in a sparring match???

“Bile is stronger than Nectar, because it allows one will to dominate . . . ” (51). One will? Not the human’s will? Does that mean that Gerathon can choose who she wants to control the other?

“The panda stared back at her, her jaw moving back and forth, like she was chewing bamboo” (55). Oh no. I wonder why Jhi didn’t want to go? Was it to prove a point? Or did she have a reason?

“Shane stood there, arms crossed over his powerful chest, his saber prominent at his hips” (56). This line makes Shane seem like a love interest in a young adult enemies-to-lovers fic (confirmed by my acquaintances, who thought Shane was 19-20 years old based off of that one line). 

“‘The moment you refuse to do something Uncle Gar asks, I’ve been ordered to kill you’” (56). Does that mean Shane is actually the one giving the order?

Chapter 5

“ . . . they’d already passed squads of Conquerors transporting captured Niloans” (57). Didn’t Shane say they were being kept in their homes??? Did I remember that wrong?

The animals are being mind-controlled into going straight south?

Why didn’t the Conquerors just send their animals through the pass to Cabaro, like the Greencloaks are planning on doing?

Chapter 6

“‘Rollan. You haven’t mentioned Meilin since we left Oceanus’” (65). HMmmMMmmMmMMMMMMmmmmMm.

The Reima story: it kind of shows how private and cautious Tarik is, and more than that shows that he trusts Rollan.

Also, definitely some heavy foreshadowing there. The authors were definitely using this as a set up for Rollan to show how much he missed Tarik in the second series. It also sets up Rollan’s intuitive skills.

Also, this emotional moment is definitely building up to Tarik’s death. Tightening the bond before it all goes down.

Briggan slipping after doubling in size is quite funny.

“‘And Briggan none of the Great Beasts would have claimed you were the smartest among us . . . ’” (77). Did Cabaro just roast Briggan?

“‘They call you up when they want you to risk your necks in combat. They banish you when you are no longer convenient, like a parlor trick’” (77). First of all, how does Cabaro know what a parlor is? Second of all, I’ve been wondering when this was going to be addressed. He’s not wrong.

“You are my best friend” (78). Didn’t Rollan say Conor was his best friend? Does he have a human best friend and a falcon best friend?

Chapter 7

“Though Gar was an impressive man, Abeke started to realize how small he looked compared to Gerathon” (85). Symbolism.

“ . . . familiar features under brown-and-silver hair, the circlet across his forehead . . . ” (86). Is his hair brown and silver or is his hair brown with a silver circlet?

“Drina spoke, and for some reason the moment she started speaking Shane’s face went pale” (86). So did Drina know that she was going to die? Or did Shane and Gar make the plan without telling her?

Do the Conquerors know that Shane is their true leader?

“ . . . a drop of poison emerged from each, shining green-yellow in the sunlight” (89). The Bile is also green-yellow. Is Gerathon’s poison Bile? Maybe a ridiculously large amount of Bile is deadly? A cool concept . . . 

“The girl shook her boot frantically, trying to get the noxious fluid off. Once she had, her lips curled back in disgust. ‘So foul,’ she muttered” (89). Symbolism for the Bile?

“But the giant arachnid was under Gerathon’s control now” (91). Okay, so Gerathon can control the animals directly.

Here’s the thing about Shane escaping with Abeke, right? He took the Bile, too? So if they left Meilin behind, shouldn’t they also have left Shane? Wait, does Abeke think that Shane bonded without Bile?

“‘You and I never drank the Bile. Our bonds came naturally’” (97). Okay, so Abeke does think that Shane’s bond is natural. Also, wow, what a liar.

Chapter 8

“When the first group crumpled and the ostriches were preparing to attack again, Zerif shouted a command” (102). Why didn’t they just shoot the ostriches first? From a distance, they could do it. Also, what were these Conquerors told was going to happen to them? “Oh, you’re the first line of defense and you’re going to be killed for sure”?

I don’t remember Irtike telling them about the horses at all. Huh.

“ . . . Rollan edged himself back up his horse, and managed to unstrap himself even while riding forward” (104). Isn’t Rollan bad with horses. Just. A thought. 

“Gerathon” (105). Okay, so the Conqueror base storyline and the Cabaro storyline must be a little staggered. Gerathon couldn’t have gotten there so quickly after the show with the Conquerors, so this must be happening while Abeke and Shane are on the ship to Greenhaven??? But that also doesn’t make sense, because they arrive after Conor and Rollan?

“‘Conor, is this what I sounded like that day Olvan asked us to become Greencloaks?’” (111). Yeah, pretty much.

Conor climbing Briggan is so iconic. 

“The Great Wolf was breathing but seemed stunned - he tried to get to his feet and failed” (113). Why doesn’t Conor just put him in passive?

Oh, okay, he does. Eventually.

Chapter 9

I think Abeke should’ve just taken Meilin with her and locked her in a dungeon.

“ . . . but only the speed of their ship would determine Abeke and Shane’s fate now” (116). Who exactly is manning this ship? Conquerors? That doesn’t seem right.

Again, why didn’t Jhi go into passive when Meilin asked? It makes the most sense? IS she just trying to prove a point?

Aw, she thought of Rollan.

Yeah, get him, Jhi! Also it’s really weird that Jhi was ready to fight and not Meilin.

Awww, Meilin-Jhi snuggling!

Chapter 10

Cabaro-Gerathon fight: honestly not sure who I want to win.

“‘But why trap us when he could have just aimed that boulder nearer and killed is instead?’” (132). Exactly. Even if Cabaro wanted someone else to do it for him, he could have just done it himself with the same amount of effort???

Wait, is he trying to stall the Conquerors, too?

Wait, Tarik got bitten by Gerathon? I thought Gar kills him?

The image of Gar and Rollan standing eye to eye and only separated by a boulder is so chilling.

Tarik’s death is so much quicker than I remember. Also, Gar did in fact kill Tarik.

Chapter 11

Oh, so Conor and Irtike found the slope upward because of Irtike’s earth abilities.

“Seeing the giant cat bearing down, Conor went numb’” (142). Is one of Cabaro’s powers making his enemies fear him?

Couldn’t Cabaro have bitten Conor when he tried to take the talisman?

Oh, wait. He’s at the back of his head. 

“‘Rollan!’ Conor barked, surprised by the force behind his own voice. ‘Pick it up. Now!’” (146). Conor leadership arc!

Rollan is so emotionless, no-

Okay, Conor’s development seems a tad bit quick-

The Golden Lion’s power is: sound roar. Actually a really cool concept.

“Everything that had made up Cabaro’s animal kingdom - the lagoon, the trees - was buried” (152). Wow, they buried a whole-ass oasis with one collapsed cliff?

“‘I liked you better the old way,’ snapped Rollan, his eyes flashing. ‘I liked the sheep boy.’ Conor nodded. ‘I did too,’ he said softly. ‘But he’s gone’” (155). Somehow Conor got about 80% of his development for the series within a single chapter. 

Why didn’t they use the Slate Elephant and fly out of Nilo? That would’ve been so much faster.

“‘I’m sorry for anything bad I ever said about him. He saved our lives’” (155). But why was Rollan so mean in the first place??? There was no reason???

Mikak! The mole rat!

Oooooooooh, Gar’s ~wolverine~ has been discovered.

Chapter 12

“He’d . . . kill and scale the fish before wriggling back into his shirt” (158). Um, wouldn’t Abeke have seen the tattoo of Grahv if he was going around shirtless? Wouldn’t she have known he was the Devourer? Maybe he was wearing an undershirt?

“They were lucky to be on Shane’s family’s ship, which he clearly knew so well; otherwise they could never have managed an oceangoing vessel with just the two of them” (158). Oh, so it is just the two of them. No crew or anything. Huh.

“‘But I didn’t know it was true until I summoned Uraza. I know now that in that moment my father should have been proud . . . ’” (160). EXACTLY. 

“Evidently she wasn’t as sure [that Shane could be trusted]” (163). Trust your spirit animal! Trust your spirit animal! TRUST YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL! 

Chapter 13

“ . . . it had still been less than twenty-four hours since they dragged themselves into Greenhaven . . . ” (165). How did they get there quicker than Abeke and Shane?

“‘The Golden Lion joins the other talismans we have fought so hard to keep safe. The Slate Elephant of Dinesh. The Bronze Eagle of Halawir. The Silver Wolf of Briggan. The Amber Leopard of Uraza. The Bamboo Panda of Jhi. The Copper Falcon of Essix. The Obsidian Ape of Kovo. The Marble Swan of Ninani’” (167). Okay, didn’t Olvan say in Wild Born that the talismans of the four fallen, Kovo and Gerathon were missing? Gerathon’s is in the hands of the Conquerors, obviously, but how did they get the four fallen’s and Kovo’s??? Plot hole??? 

“‘I know Tarik would want us to celebrate those among us today who helped gather the talismans: Conor, Rollan, and the Keeper’” (167). The same Keeper that Drina lost to? Huh, I don’t remember this detail. Also, does that mean while the four were following the main storyline, the Keeper was hunting down the four fallen’s and Kovo’s talismans?

“‘I present the remaining two talismans. The Granite Ram of Arax and the Coral Octopus of Mulop’” (168). Wait, why didn’t Rollan have the Slate Elephant? Why is it on the dais instead of with Conor and Rollan? Didn’t they have it? That means the Slate Elephant also gets stolen . . . 

“‘You’re safe!’ Conor said, pressing away. ‘Oh, let me look at you’” (169). Abeke and Conor's relationship might even be better than Meilin and Rollan’s. Might.

“‘I think there’s an easy way to resolve this. Shane, bring forth your spirit animal, and that will settle it’” (172). Conor's leadership arc is going strong. Also, he clearly wants to believe Abeke. His trust in Abeke outweighs his hatred for Shane . . . awww.

“Shane shook his head. ‘If you’re not going to trust me now, you never will. I thought Abeke was your friend. Why doesn’t her word matter to you?’” (172). Wow, Shane’s manipulation has reached a whole new level. You can actually not trust someone, then trust them? And they don’t “trust” Abeke because she wasn’t there with them?

Chapter 14

“She’d assumed it was Gar. But was that . . . Shane?” (174). I don’t think it was? It probably wasn’t . . . because Shane was also at that battle.

“‘Don’t be sorry!’ Rollan yelled. ‘Just run!’” (175). Exactly!

“But she wouldn’t let herself collapse - the best thing to do now was stop the plot she’d helped put in motion” (175). I actually hate when characters just do something mildly wrong and then let their guilt swallow them and they just wallow in self-pity forever. Then some other character has to come and coddle their ass and make them feel better, but in this case Abeke actually tries her best to stop the scheme, which I absolutely love. 

“ . . . this battle would be over soon. And then the room went black” (177). Oh no. Also, I remember Shane beating them by himself, but they were actually winning until Halawir came.

The way this scene was written is just . . . so good. So good. 

Also, it’s funny how you root for something to happen during a reread even when you know the exact opposite actually happens-

“Halawir was on Shane’s side” (179). Okay, but why? What’s his motive? If it’s ever explained, I don’t remember it.

“‘The Conquerors have all our talismans. Nothing can stop them now’” (181). Bleak.

Chapter 15

“She’d spent the afternoon and early evening apologizing. Clearly, she was sick of her own voice” (182). At least she’s not throwing herself a pity party. 

“‘She’s my friend. I had no option but to love her, whatever she did’” (183). Awww.

“‘You’re being nice to me. I don’t deserve that’” (183). Oh no, the pity party starts. I think they should’ve gone the route of having Abeke steel herself and use that to drive her.

“‘ . . . it’s that some bonds aren’t unconditional. Sometimes the family you find can be better for you than the one you grew up with’” (184). Yeah! Abeke realizes her family is abusive!

“‘Don’t you think you have enough to feel guilty about without killing me too?’” (185). I know he was joking but that was lowkey mean?

“I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, but I have complete faith in you two, of course’” (185). Okay . . . Rollan’s redeemed himself for being mean, in my eyes. Also, he’s going to have to tell the other Greencloaks that he has two talismans at some point anyway, right?

I still think storywise, it would’ve been better to also have the Slate Elephant. It was with Rollan and Conor, so it shouldn’t have been on the dais anyway. Then, when they realized the three that were left were the three that they acquired, it would give them a sense of hope. Also, each of the three of them could've had a talisman. In my humble opinion, this would’ve been better.

Final thoughts and rating:

I thought this book was one of the better ones. The way Rollan’s grief is written and the scene where Shane steals the talismans are both done so well. The talisman theft scene was written so well it made you feel the ambush just as the characters felt it because of the reveal happening toward the end and leaving you stunned. The scene was written incredibly. Shane’s manipulation, I feel, was also written so well. It was perfectly done. I love how Abeke realizes her family is pretty shitty and she doesn’t have to settle for that. Drina’s death was done incredibly. The way it’s described, the way the Conquerors react, the horror of being killed by your own spirit animal? Well done. Meilin was also better in this book. She apologizes, but doesn’t over-apologize, which I appreciate. The scene with her and Jhi was incredibly emotional and heart-breaking. 

Conor’s leadership arc felt a tad rushed to me. Like, he sort of gets all of his major development within a single chapter, which felt a little odd. Conor yelling at Pojalo was one of my favorite moments, though. Abeke’s (small) pity party annoyed me, but I was relieved at how quickly she got over it. Rollan being mean to Mikak for no reason still makes no sense to me? He was just being mean for the sake of being mean, not because of any internal insecurities or outward defensiveness or anything. 

Rating: 9/10

[maria-tangerina]

🖌 1. Yep, I want a floral hip tattoo, I think it's really pretty

💚 2. Probably black or blue

🍕 3. A chicken puff

🕰 4. 5:25 pm

🌟 5. Taurus

🌍 6. Arabic and French accent. It's just so attractive and sexy

⚡️7. I have a scar on my forearm

🌺 8. INFP/Mediator

🥀 9. Coco

📺 10. Healer, the first ever Kdrama I watched and so it's really close to my heart

😂 11. I honestly don't know. I haven't been tickled for a really long time now

💍 12. Yes. Once I find the right guy, I'm ready to get married no matter the age.

😳 13. It's fine ig.

💙 14. Plain white. Boring.

🤓 15. I think probably my parents thought it was nice.

🎓 16. I'll be graduating in 2024.

🍄 17. Yes. I have my ears pierced both sides (1st lobe)and I wanna have more piercings along my ear.

👀 18. Brown eyes.

👱🏻‍♀️ 19. Hair down, no accessories. I like my hair covering my shoulders and I think it looks better on me that way and I feel more confident and secure.

🥂 20. Nope.

��� 21. Yep and it was the funniest thing ever. Everything seemed so funny and I was just giggling uncontrollably,(actually normally I find most things funny and giggle a lot and come up with witty remarks) and when I was drunk, that was just magnified a thousand times over.

😱 22. Plenty of things, getting kidnapped, getting cheated on, and being lied to or fooled.

🥵 23. Too hot. I can handle heat but not cold, as soon as it becomes a lil cold, I'll be huddled up like it's snowing.

🌦 24. Fine weather. Not too hot, not too cold, with a gentle breeze.

🍂 25. Ironically, I like winter, I love the boots, the coats, I love that you can mix and match, and sometimes, you can just zip up your coat and no one's gonna see what you're wearing underneath so there's a lot of freedom in dressing, and so I like winter.

🐷 26. A bunny🐰. It's just so so adorable.

🐶 27. Not yet. I'll get a bunny🐇 once I move out and have my own income.

😴 28. 2 days. I always do things last minute and I had to stay up to finish an assignment days before the deadline. (Also I'm deadline oriented, once the clock's ticking and time's running out, I work faster, and am so much more productive than normal.)

🎨 29. I pretty much do a bit of everything. I do calligraphy, drawing and painting, journaling, DIY, embroidering,and I like to do crosswords, sudoku and puzzles.

🛩 30. I'm not really fond of travelling, I prefer familiar environments but if I could, I would go to South Korea, I have my eye on some tattooists there, they do really fine, simple, discreet-as-possible tattoos and watercolor tattoos too, I would love to get one of those. Also I've heard the food there is quite good and cheap.

🎇 31. BTS related stuff. I love them.

📱 32. Tumblr and Pinterest. Oh and Reddit too, I love the shitpost subreddits.

🤠 33. Definitely a city person.

Get To Know Me !

Again, idk why I made this but enjoy I guess (some of these may be uncomfortable for y’all to answer, idk).

🖌 - Do you have/want any tattoos?

💚 - What’s your favourite colour?

🍕 - What’s the last thing you ate?

🕰 - What time is it where you are rn?

🌟 - What is your zodiac sign?

🌍 - What is your favourite accent?

⚡️ - Do you have any scars?

🌺 - What’s your MBTI type?

🥀 - Favourite animated movie?

📺 - Favourite show?

😂 - Are you ticklish?

💍 - Do you ever want to get married?

😳 - Do you like your name?

💙 - What colour is your bedroom?

🤓 - How did you get your name?

🎓 - When did/do you graduate?

🍄 - Do you have/want any piercings?

👀 - What colour are your eyes?

👱🏻‍♀️ - What is your go to hairstyle?

🥂 - Have you ever drank underage?

🍾 - Have you ever gotten drunk?

😱 - What’s your biggest fear?

🥵 - Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

🌦 - What’s your favourite weather?

🍂 - What’s your favourite season?

🐷 - What’s your favourite animal?

🐶 - Do you have any pets?

😴 - What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

🎨 - Any hobbies?

🛩 - If travelling was free, where’s the first place you’d go?

🎇 - What’s your most searched thing on Google?

📱 - Favourite app on your phone?

🤠 - Are you more of a city person or a country person?

[icharchivist]

Oh okay. So the haunting continues -

I dreamed that I was running errands with Seox and Seofon, though I was ironically spending more time with Seox in the beginning, I think we were waiting for Seofon to finish something up. This is funny because I just started working on the recruitment grind for Seox again before going to sleep. He was wearing his Seeds of Redemption event outfit though, I distinctly remember that. I think Seofon was wearing the long shirt from that event artwork, it definitely wasn't his Eternals outfit though

We went into some weird haunted house that had this spooky kind of abandoned atmosphere and was booby trapped to hell and back. Also there were a lot of different earrings scattered across the floor and I think Seox wanted them for something. I used a broom to avoid pretty much all of the booby traps, like the floor of a room being collapsible, but if you use the broom to drag the earring out, it won't be heavy enough to trigger the trap. Once we were done in the house we waited for Seofon a bit and I remember telling Seox how proud I am of all the progress he's made. Then when Seofon got back we ran ahead to the car, yes really, to try and make him let one of us drive instead, but he wouldn't budge

The car honestly looked like some sort of white minivan, I don't know a lot about cars. Very devastating to get hit by though, I imagine

I usually sat on the passenger seat when we did the rest of the errands and Seofon put his hand on my leg when he didn't need to change gears, which annoyed Seox every time. And I didn't even burst into flames. Also when we got out of the car for the first time after that, Seofon gave me a hug and a forehead kiss because he didn't like that we went into the haunted house without him and worried and again Seox got annoyed, but acted like it was purely because we were taking too long -

Seofon may be getting along with his dragon parent in law, but the brother in law is going to be a problem

??? HELLO HOLY SHIT?

okay so, 1) glad to see the fest arts we shared yesterday made somme impact

2) are we going to talk about how there are similitudes to the dream i had a while ago with Seofon and Seox as well??? like the car and the horrors and everything???

3) Seofon is really making moves in your dreams huh!

4) but Seox is really being a pissy inlaws about it. you're working on him so he decided to go "actually can you NOT flit with my boss"

this is incredible though woah. Talk about a development. thank you for sharing it all in great details!

[grandhotelabyss]

Thoughts on "prestige tv"? I could never get into compared to "cinema", even when everyone was raving about "Succesion" it just had something repulsive to it and why I never checked it out (and funnily enough, it seems to be forgoten by now...)

Yes, it seems pretty ephemeral. People still talk about The Sopranos, I guess, in an annoying and semi-ironic way—I never watched it and don't intend to—but most of the other "prestige" dramas of that time are gone (Six Feet Under, anybody?). Gilmore Girls has been retconned into "prestige" but was teen trash at the time. What's next? "Welcome to the OC, bitch!" Often what survives to be "classic TV" was not regarded as prestigious at the time. The "prestige" network TV in the decade before the "prestige" HBO shows, for example, was represented by ER and NYPD Blue. Who remembers those? We remember The X-Files among the dramas of that era—a semi-trashy cult/genre thing from the disreputable fourth network—and a handful of sitcoms of varying degrees of intellectual ambition or artistic merit (Roseanne, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier). But even these might disappear with generational turnover: once the people who grew up with those shows and the immediately subsequent generation who watch them as kind of "anthropology" of their parents' time are gone. Can TV be timeless? It's very topical, very zeitgeist, not to mention killingly commercial. When I think of the Boomers as a generation, I think of ads for Thirtysomething I remember seeing when I was a kid. I've never watched one second of Thirtysomething. Do you even know what Thirtysomething is, élèves? L. A. Law. The Practice. China Beach! I'll Fly Away! These were important! People talked at the proverbial watercooler! Suddenly Susan. Hearts Afire. Party of Five. The Class of '96. Where are they now? I'm not even saying it's all bad. Some of it was good. Do you know what Roc is? I keep telling you to watch Aeon Flux and Millennium. But somehow you just can't hold on to TV. One knows in general about I Love Lucy or about All in the Family, but are they watched? What about, e.g., Maude? Hill Street Blues? The finale of Cheers was a cultural event at the level of a presidential election—when's the last time you heard of Cheers, except trivially as the antecedent of Frasier? The sole surviving sitcom from the '80s, something one would still watch for pleasure, is The Golden Girls—which, to be fair, is really funny, probably the funniest sitcom ever, and deserves to survive if anything from that medium does.

My answer is rambling, I know, and reveals my '80s/'90s rather than '00s/'10s TV knowledge, but its emergent theses are these: 1. TV with its topicality and commercial drive isn't likely to make for great art; and 2. what does become great art is not always the art designed or reputed to be "prestigious" in its own time, the latter often being merely middlebrow. You will tell me I have to watch The Sopranos. The whole concept's too cute, though, and the people who like it are annoying, and, speaking of cinema, the first two Godfather films are true Shakespearean tragedy in a pop genre (mafia, etc.) of which I am otherwise skeptical.

[trackernivrig]

Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bocchi the Rock, Iron Blooded Orphans

I just bought some new ones from Target, and they're only my favorite because they're new and don't have holes lol

Yes

I normally wear a dress shirt or polo shirt, but I do have a suit. I've been looking for an excuse to wear it but I haven't had any events or anything that require anything that formal. I'll probably use it when I interview for my first (non-minimum wage) job.

I like omelets the best.

Usually random pieces of paper I've folded up. Despite owning tons of bookmarks from Middle School that I took from the library.

Black/White. I almost always wear sweatshirts and most of them are black, and then if we count undershirts, most of those are white. I also have a ton of random T-Shirts but there's no consistent color theme.

I like to "collect" random wires and stuff. 3/6 of the drawers in my dresser are filled with random wires and assorted computer things. I also have a drawer for manuals and stuff, as well as random stuff I don't want to throw away. The last one is for clothes but I never use it because I'm too lazy to fold anything.

Playing nostalgic music tends to calm me down, and honestly I don't really think about smells too much.

Not sure if I've ever done one so I don't have a preference.

I don't but I definitely would see better with glasses. I went to the eye doctor and the prescription they gave me indicates no need for them.

Both of my best friends rant about stuff they're passionate about. A lot of people tend to tune out that kind of stuff, but I love to hear what they have to say. Most of the time anyway lol.

Pen. My handwriting is absolute garbage, so I really should use a pencil, but I prefer pens. Mechanical pencils are also nice, but since running out of lead, I haven't really used mine in a while. (also I do some really basic penspinning which is hard with a pencil lol)

I know this is a stupid answer, but my houses lol. My parents have split custody of me (I'm 20 now, but still live with them), and both of their houses are very welcoming to me. I really appreciate that honestly. Also the college I go to is pretty nice and I like being there.

If I had plants they'd die immediately, so I definitely would not be giving them names lol

I like all of them, but I prefer the newer ones since they feel better, and are more my size. That being said, there's 3 that I have as souvenirs. One from a college I went to back in high school for science Olympiad, one I got from my mom from her college (at the time I was planning to go there due to an employee family discount I now realize I do not qualify for), and one from my father as a souvenir from when he went to Turks and Caicos. Those ones have some sentimental value to them, but all of them are comfortable.

A new PC case and SSD. I'm going to get a PSU as well, but I wanted to put the parts I have together in the new case first.

Honestly, I think the moon landing would be really cool to have lived during. There's probably more but that's the first that came to mind.

It's funny, as a kid I alternated between a ninja and a Star Wars character every year lol. There were a few different ones like a Harry Potter one, and some scary ones, but those were the vast majority. As a teenager I also wore a Roy Mustang and Bleach Soul Reaper costume. I think the Roy Mustang one is my favorite, but I lost the stars that are supposed to be on the shoulders and that has annoyed me to no end (also the state alchemist pocket watch I have has the roman numeral IIII which REALLY gets on my nerves).

I SUCK at basic math. You tell me to do some addition, multiplication, etc in my head and 9 times out of 10 I'm thinking about it for like 30 seconds. But ironically I really enjoy math. Out of the classes I've taken so far, Calculus 3 has been my favorite, but I enjoy all of it. I'm decent at pretty much all of it as well (except calc 2 I stay away from that lol).

I don't look at historical art too much, but I enjoy seeing the different styles of art and seeing how different artists show different things more than I like one specific type. If I HAD to choose an artist though I'm 100% going with Bob Ross, the guy is an actual legend.

Hot. I don't drink coffee too much, but I really dislike cold coffee, and I love tea, but only hot tea. Other drinks like water I obviously like cold, but if we're talking about tea/coffee it's definitely hot.

I don't really sing in the shower that much. I only really do that in the car when I'm by myself and I sing whatever song is playing. Unfortunately that doesn't happen often since most of the songs I listen to are in Japanese and I don't know the lyrics lol.

No. Anybody who has been driving for under 30 years is not a good driver in my eyes. We're all just passable. You need experience to be good, and I feel like that doesn't come until you've been driving for A WHILE. That being said, I do try my absolute hardest to be a SAFE driver.

I do not, and I'm not really interested in either.

Most complicated thing I can cook is probably scrambled eggs lol. I could probably try to cook other things if I want, but it's much easier to just go grab something from subway or make a sandwich, and I value that convenience over the taste I would get from practicing how to cook (also I definitely have a stomach issue which makes me unable to eat without feeling terrible, so I don't want to waste my time cooking something I'm not going to eat).

I've got only 2 keys, my car key, and my car door key. For some reason neither of my parents ever gave me a house key so I don't have one lol. I don't have anything on them, but I do have this cool belt clip that has an LED in it.

I can't swim, and I'm not a fan of swimming. The water is always cold, and when you get out, the air is always cold. On top of that, I feel like there's not much I'd do other than just kinda sit around so I don't see any point to it.

Legos are awesome, and my brother has a ton of Lego Star Wars sets he got recently and displayed in his room. They all look super cool, and I can't just choose one that is my favorite because they all look awesome.

My closet right now currently has a ton of clothes on the floor, 2 printers (neither of which work), 2 monitors, and an old windows XP computer that the hard drive is corrupted. There's also a ton of random shirts on hangers. So yeah, not the most organized lol.

I use Youtube to listen to all my music, and the most recent music thing in my history is this: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyfmTCda7Tk) I haven't watched Gundam Seed, I just like piano and found the guy from his Long Forgotten Cloistered Sleep cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYvFFGxMd7Y)

I'm happy with my current hair color (dark brown), so I probably wouldn't die my hair. I feel like vibrant colors would look really weird on me, and I don't really want any other hair color.

Headphones. They're so much better. Earbuds are great for travel though.

Yes. It's not that hard, if you don't know you should figure it out.

I used to have a TON of stuffed animals as a kid. So many that we had to use like 5 garbage bags to get them all together. I believe they're still in the garage attic at my father's house. I don't really have a favorite, but I recently found one that wasn't put in the garbage bag that I've had for a very long time. It's a small cat one that meows when you squeeze it. It's super old though so it doesn't meow anymore.

I played a decent amount of Rock Band, so I'd say I'd probably be decent at Guitar Hero as well. I suck at pretty much everything else, but they're fun

I don't cook, as I explained in one of the other questions, but if I did I'd find it super annoying if people were in the kitchen while I was using it. Especially at my father's house where the kitchen is only wide enough for one person at a time.

38. One anime I watched that none of my friends ever watched was Basilisk. It was very good, and I recommend it if you haven't seen it. For music it would probably be Gloryhammer, but I don't listen to very much of their stuff, I normally hear them due to the Youtube algorithm when I listen to Powerwolf and Sabaton, both of which my friends know about.

39. Today was Father's day and we went to my grandfather's house for dinner. I actually am really disappointed because my stomach was acting up almost the entire time, so I was just laying down by myself for most of it. I did enjoy talking to people that came into the room I was in though.

40. Evergreen trees are cool because they look good all year round.

41. I was going to check but I can't figure out where I put it. It's some random old spice one. I just grab a random one when I run out.

42. I have Fate/GO, Magic the Gathering, and Chess. Chess is my favorite to play when I'm alone, Magic is my favorite to play with my brother (he's the only one that'll play with me lol), and for some reason I mostly play Fate/GO. I REALLY want a particular servant but I've got to wait until he's a pickup summon so the % chance to get him goes up.

43. Lights on. Still fall asleep though lol

44. I usually just put it in my pocket, then put it somewhere else and forget about it. If I find it later I'll throw it in the bag with the rest of my money.

45. No absolutely not. I'm trying to work on it. Last semester I actually payed attention to how my professors drew letters and tried relearning some stuff. I now write my a's and u's differently, and they're much more legible. There's probably a couple more but none that I can think of right now.

46. My friends normally recommend me shows to watch, and while my watch list is ever growing, the shows I do end up watching always turn out to be good. I honestly can't think of a time I had a friend recommend something I didn't like.

47. I like walks, but I don't go on them very often. I stay at home pretty much forever unless I have to get something to eat, or have something I have to do.

48. No, I never thought about that lol. I do have a favorite cup for tea though. I bought the trash taste mug, and I really like it. I don't want it to break though so I haven't used it in a while.

49. Stay inside and play some games. Bad weather means my friends are probably going to be inside too. I like to play stuff with them or watch TV-Shows/movies.

50. Absolute pitch black, fan on for white noise, and my cat is laying down next to me and not trying to lick my hair or something (this never happens he always leaves when I try to sleep).

Not sure why I answered all of those, I guess I was bored lol

50 Questions Just Because

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Describe your favorite pair of socks

Do you like smoothies?

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

How do you like your eggs?

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

What color dominates your closet?

Do you collect anything? If so, what?

What sounds or scents calm you down?

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc)

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

What’s something about your best friend that you love?

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

What are some places where you feel most at home?

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names?

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?

What kind of math are you best at?

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok!

Iced or hot drinks?

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

Are you a good driver?

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them!

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming?

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set?

Is your closet organized? If so, how?

What’s the last music video you watched?

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

Headphones or earbuds?

Can you read analog clocks?

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at?

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking?

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about?

What was the best part of your day today?

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

What scent is your deodorant?

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite?

Do you shower with the lights on or off?

What do you do with spare change?

Do you have good handwriting?

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

Do you like to go on walks?

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl?

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

[mjolnir-steve]

Foolish

Frank Adler x fem!Reader

Word count: 5027 (oop)

Warnings: light drinking, very brief mention of suicide, some cursing, smut (18+ ONLY!!!), unprotected sex (m/f) ... Please let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Hi, y’all! Here’s my entry for @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817’s Shameless Hoes for Chris Challenge!!!! I haven’t written smut in a LONG time, so please be gentle with me LOL. Here’s what I got:

Frank Adler

“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

Breeding / mutual pining 🥴

I’d like to dedicate this to @rodrikstark for always sharing the Frank Adler feels and @sparkledfirecracker for bullying me (with love) into finishing this. ❤️

If you like this fic, please comment and reblog!!! I hope you enjoy. :)

Fridays never seemed to come soon enough. You looked forward to the beginning of the weekend as much as the next person, but over the last few months, Friday nights took on new meaning for you. You moved to the trailer park a little less than a year ago, wanting to buy a small place of your own and start making a home for yourself. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t expensive, and it was only a ten-minute drive from your office where you’d just secured a promotion. Roberta, the manager, helped you make it feel like home right away, insisting on going with you to pick out paint samples and providing copies of menus for the best take-out in the area.

Before long, Roberta introduced you to the trailer park’s resident certified genius, Mary Adler. Mary and Roberta spent Saturday mornings with you when you were free, which unfortunately, was pretty much all the time. You played games, sang karaoke, and even let Mary’s one-eyed cat Fred come over. He took a liking to your swinging chair in the living room, and if Mary couldn’t find him at home, odds were he somehow squeezed through your window and ended up in that chair. 

Another two months had passed, though, before you met Mary’s uncle and guardian, Frank. You came to learn that Mary stayed with Roberta every Friday night because “Frank needs time to be an adult” and she was not allowed to come back to the house until noon on Saturdays. This information made you feel like Frank must be some kind of sad, perpetual fuckboy. You were right about the sad part, not so much about the latter. One morning while Mary played with your watercolors, Roberta let slip - ironically over a cup of tea - that Frank did have the occasional hookup, but usually, he drank himself sleepy on Friday nights and just needed the time to himself. He worked himself to the bone as a boat mechanic, often late into the night because it was too hot to do some jobs during the day. Frank took Mary in when she was just a baby after his sister, her mother, tragically committed suicide. He spent the majority of his scarce free time with Mary, so when Mary was still a toddler, Roberta offered the Friday night deal. Frank countered that he would do any repairs in the trailer park for free, but she refused to let him do that work without pay, saying he deserved to have a life, too. 

She also informed you that Frank was a former philosophy professor, single, and very attractive, especially if you were into the rugged thing. You rolled your eyes with an amused exhale and took another sip of your tea. You’d be lying if you said your interest wasn’t piqued. Mary then shouted over her shoulder, confirming that she’d been listening to your entire conversation, “Frank is great, but he’s a grump. Good luck cracking that egg.” You snorted, nearly spitting out your tea, and she went back to reading your color theory book to Fred.

With that, you heard a sharp rap at the door. You set your tea down on the kitchen table, curious who your visitor might be. You didn’t know anyone else in the trailer park, or in town, really. You opened the door, taking in the sight of possibly - no, definitely - the most handsome man you’d ever seen. You quickly guessed it was Frank, judging by the grease smeared on his quite large hands. His eyes, though tired, had the same bright look as Mary’s, and he had the most perfectly imperfect fluffy hair and overgrown stubble.

“Good morning,” he said with a sweet, closed-mouthed smile. “Is Mary here?”

You had to remind yourself to breathe. Stammering, you opened the door wider, gesturing inside. “Hi, y-yes. She is!” Why am I like this? “She’s just painting with Fred. Please, come in.” You moved aside so he could fit his broad shoulders through the doorframe and then held out your hand. “You must be Frank. I’m Y/N. Mary is just wonderful.” You smiled at him, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks.

He took your hand in both of his, gentler than you’d expected. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m Frank. It’s great to meet you, finally.” He smiled wide for the first time and you were certain you’d pass out. Who LOOKS like this? “And thank you, she really is wonderful. I couldn’t do it without Roberta. She’s family.” He smiled and waved at Roberta, who was looking at you over the lip of her mug.

Mary didn’t even bother to turn around and face Frank. “What are you doing here, Frank? It’s only 11. I have a whole ‘nother hour with my friends.” You tried to keep your laugh quiet, covering your mouth with your hand and shaking your head.

“Well, excuse me for thinking you might like to go out on the boat with me this morning. I guess I’ll go by myself.”

Mary jumped up from the floor, scrambling to clean up your paints and books. “Can Y/N and Roberta come?”

Frank crouched down to meet Mary’s eyes. “Of course they can, if they’d like.” He looked back at you over his shoulder, trying to gauge your interest, then turning back to his niece. “But do you remember what I told you?”

You could see that Mary was making a conscious effort not to roll her eyes. “You told me that my adult friends have adult lives that include adult responsibilities, and they might not always be available to spend time with me.”

“And?” he looked at her expectantly.

“And I need to invite them to do things without assuming they will do them.” She couldn’t hold back her eye roll any longer, but she made sure not to let Frank see. “Roberta, Y/N, would you both like to join us on the boat today?”

You were amazed by the exchange taking place in front of you, able to see where some of Mary’s brains and tenacity came from. The conversation between the two flowed so easily, playful yet intelligent. It was clear that Frank treated Mary not as a child, but as a person, and you chided yourself internally for thinking that was kinda hot. 

Shaking yourself out of your mildly inappropriate thoughts, you responded. “I’d love to come, Mary.” You smiled at her, bending over to help her pick up the last of the paints from the floor. “Roberta?”

Roberta gave you a look and you just knew she planned this somehow. “I actually do have some of those adult responsibilities to handle today, but thank you for inviting me.” You sent a glare in her direction, quick but no less scathing. “Maybe next time.” She winked at you before washing out her mug and saying her goodbyes.

You spent the whole rest of the day and night with Frank and Mary, doing everything from building sandcastles to cooking dinner together. Mary eventually fell asleep in your lap as you were watching Oliver & Company, Frank’s favorite Disney film that had become Mary’s, too. “An underrated classic,” they told you in unison.

You helped Frank put Mary to bed, a task made easier after such a tiring day. “I guess I should get going.” You stood awkwardly in the small kitchen, unsure of yourself and painfully aware of how close your hand was to Frank’s resting on the counter.

“Yeah, I have a job early in the morning.” He looked down at his shoes, unable to look you in the eye, and you wondered if he hadn’t found your company as enjoyable as you’d found his.

“Listen, I don’t know if you’ve been to Ferg’s? The little bar down the road? I go every Friday night just to relax and have a few beers. Maybe you’d like to come with me next weekend?”

Is he asking me on a date? You could feel your heartbeat racing. The look on your face must not have matched the excitement you felt at the prospect of spending time alone with the dreamy, kind, sarcastic man in front of you. 

He felt like an idiot when you hesitated to answer. He clearly read everything wrong. He had to fix this. “It’s a good place to meet people, you know? I know you’re fairly new to the area, so if you’re looking for more local friends, it’s a good place to start.” He winced, hoping you couldn’t sense his embarrassment at thinking that you would want to go on a date with him.

You swallowed, trying not to let your disappointment show outwardly. Of course he’s not interested in me. Stupid. “Oh, yeah! That would be great, Frank. What time?”

Frank let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, relieved that you didn’t seem offended by his offer. “How’s 7? I’ll pick you up? We can walk over together.”

And that’s how Fridays came to mean so much to you. Almost every Friday for the last six months, Frank met you at your door and you walked to Ferg’s together. Frank told you it would be a good place to make new friends, but you paid no mind to the other patrons. You only had eyes for each other, yet neither of you could see it, even though Roberta pointed out (repeatedly) that neither of you had taken anyone else home in all that time.

The more time you spent with Frank, the more certain you were that God was real and your life was His favorite trainwreck reality TV series. Even if you could have customized a dream man Build-A-Bear style, Frank still would blow your creation out of the water. He was smart and funny, not to mention an adoring parent to Mary, to whom you grew more attached each day. He was kind and thoughtful, talented and hard-working. Although he was a grouch, as Mary would say, he always was sweet to you. He took a genuine interest in anything you had to say, whether you were venting about work or filling him on the latest episode of whatever show you were binging. He was ridiculously sexy without even trying. All those hours he spent doing manual labor in the sun did wonders for his physique. You’d only seen him completely shirtless on one occasion, and the image of him with sweat dripping down his chest was burned into your memory, fueling your late-night thots and causing you to break out your vibrator on what was now a regular basis.

Six months had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and you’d begun to accept that Frank didn’t want to be anything more than friends with you. You decided tonight was as good a night as any to talk to someone new, to start letting go of your unrequited feelings. 

You swapped out your usual jeans for a sundress, t-shirt bra for a push-up, and lip balm for lipstick. Putting your phone and some cash in a wristlet, you considered wearing your new strappy sandals. The walk to Ferg’s was about five minutes each way down a sandy road, though, and memories of the sticky floor inside aided your preferred pair of Converse in their victory for the night. 

Just as you finished tying your shoes, you heard a knock at the door. You adjusted your cleavage and fluffed your hair a final time with one last look in the mirror. Here goes.

Frank felt like he had the wind knocked out of him in the best possible way. He suddenly felt entirely underdressed in his aloha shirt, even though it was his go-to for nights out of the house. He’d never seen you dressed so nicely when you weren’t going to work. 

You were the kind of beautiful that didn’t require makeup. Your natural hair always framed your face perfectly, even if you didn’t think so. He thought you were adorable when you were concentrating on something, blowing your hair out of your face with a huff. Visions of your soft curves made their way into Frank’s dreams on more than one occasion. He had seen you in your swimsuit several times, sunbathing with Roberta and swimming with Mary at the beach. It wasn’t even all that revealing, but it accentuated your figure in ways that forced Frank into needing a cold shower or two. Above all, though, he admired your heart. You’d allowed Mary into your life without hesitation, spending time with her because you wanted to and allowing her to ask all those questions that Frank just wouldn’t be able to answer. It killed him that you didn’t see him the way he saw you, a perfect partner for him and a worthy maternal figure for Mary.

“Frank? You okay?” Your concerned voice shook him out of his thoughts, prompting him to close his mouth which apparently had opened wide in astonishment when you stood in the doorway.

“Yeah, um... You look…” He looked a little confused, his brow furrowed and lips pursed. “Why are you all dolled up? It’s only Ferg’s.” He wished he could’ve kicked himself in the teeth when your face fell at his question. He rubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. Let me try that again,” he nearly begged, running up to you to stop you from going back inside. “You look really nice, honey.” He ran his calloused hand up your forearm, but quickly returned it to his side when he realized what he’d done. “Is it a special occasion, though? Should I change?”

You gave him a watery smile, given that you were three seconds from slamming the door in his face and crying. “That’s better. Thank you.” You lightly pushed at his shoulder, trying and failing to ignore the electricity you felt at the contact. “No occasion, though. Just thought maybe it was about time I actually introduced myself to someone new.” 

You couldn’t quite read his reaction. Little did you know he was certain he just felt his heart physically crack in his chest. “What do you mean?”

The two of you started walking, the tension between you thickening the very air you breathed. “Well, when you first invited me to Ferg’s, you said maybe I’d get to know some other people in the area, right? But we’re always with each other. I’m sure you’re itching to talk to someone other than me. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Ah. Gotcha.” Frank abruptly reverted to the quiet, distant state he usually occupied before he met you. He sped up a bit, walking ahead of you and desperately attempting to school his features before you caught up with him.

Frank practically ran to the restroom, not slowing down even to hold the door open for you. You took a deep breath and rolled your shoulders, relaxing before entering the bar. Normally, whoever made it first would order drinks for you both, but Frank made it painfully clear that he had no desire to be in your company tonight. You ordered your usual, an Angry Orchard with a shot of Fireball in a tall glass. The combination tasted like apple cider, but the burn in your throat was caused by liquor rather than heat. It was strong enough to get you buzzed, but not so strong that you’d be stumbling home. You swallowed half the glass in one gulp, wanting to feel the warmth in your veins boosting your confidence as quickly as possible.

“Y/N? How are you?” You turned around, eyes meeting those of Jamie, your coworker. He leaned in for a hug and you accepted somewhat reluctantly, having interacted with him only in passing.

“Hey! I’m all right. What’s up?” You smiled at him, taking another sip of your drink. Jamie was not very subtly staring at your chest. You weren’t crazy about him, but the attention felt nice, so you allowed it.

“Not much. Just happy it’s Friday, ya know?” He looked around for a moment before returning his attention to you. “You’re usually here with that mechanic dude, right?”

You stifled a laugh thinking about how Frank would react if he heard himself referred to as “dude” by this prick. “Yeah, he’s around somewhere. We’re just-“

“-Just friends?” he finished for you with a hopeful look.

You nodded in response, looking him up and down. He was no Frank, but you couldn’t deny he was handsome. It had been so long since you’d even been kissed, and though you hated to admit it, you were touch-starved. One night couldn’t hurt, could it?

Meanwhile, Frank was splashing his face with cool water. He couldn’t believe he’d fucked up so royally. He was sure you didn’t want him how he wanted you, and now he was sure it was too late to tell you how he really felt.

He knew from the moment he saw you that he’d never get you out of his head. Roberta had been talking you up to Frank for weeks, but he wanted no part of it, mumbling something about there being “a reason why no one used matchmakers anymore.” He had no choice but to make your acquaintance when he was looking for Mary, and he’d never been so happy that Roberta could say she told him so.

Later that day at the beach, Mary approached him while you were dozing on a towel in the sand. She sat on his lap and reached for his face, using her pointer fingers to turn the straight line of his mouth up into a smile. “Roberta says you have a ‘charming’ smile, Frank. We think you should use it more.” He chuckled quietly, careful not to disturb you, and pulled Mary in close, planting a wet kiss on her cheek. She grimaced at the feeling, dramatically wiping at her face until he let her go back to reading with Fred.

The sound of the jukebox starting up cut short his reverie. He had to get out there and explain himself. Frank dried his face and hands with a paper towel before smacking his cheeks and stretching his neck back and forth to each shoulder. 

Frank exited the restroom only to find some douchebag staring at your ass as you leaned over toward the bar. He saw red when the piece of shit held out his hand behind his back while his friend slipped a twenty-dollar bill into it, seemingly winning some sort of bet.

Jamie didn’t stand a chance when Frank stormed in between the two of you. “That’s IT,” he yelled, so intense he borderline bellowed. He threw whatever cash he had in his pocket on the bar to pay for your drinks before he pulled you outside, almost getting to your door while you fought against his grip. He only stopped when you spun your body around like something out of Dancing with the Stars and jumped in front of him, forcing him to catch you.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N, what are y-”

“-What are YOU doing, Frank? What the fuck was that?” You put your feet back down on the ground but remained facing him, arms crossed over your chest.

He groaned in frustration, suddenly realizing he actually had no clue how to respond. “Fuck.”

You looked at him, tapping your foot in anticipation.

“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.” He rubbed at his temples in the way he did when he felt a headache coming on.

“And how was he looking at me, Frank? What does it matter to you?”

“He was looking at you like you were a piece of meat and I… FUCK!”

You both turned when your neighbor opened his window. “Can you kids keep it down out here?”

You waved bashfully at the old man. “Sorry, Mr. Parker,” you said in unison.

“Come inside, Frankie.” The nickname that typically made him roll his eyes at you never had sounded sweeter, now that its use confirmed you didn’t hate him for the scene he made. You both toed off your shoes at the door before you made your way into the living room, motioning for him to sit next to you on the couch when he tried to sit in the armchair across the room.

You leaned forward, pinching his chin between your thumb and forefinger. “Now what’s going on in that sun-damaged brain of yours?”

He let out a laugh so soft you almost missed it, but you were glad you didn’t. Sitting back against the arm of the couch, you pulled a pillow into your lap and hugged it, giving Frank your full attention.

Frank cleared his throat, doing his best to accept that it was now or never. “That guy was leering at you, and it pissed me off. You deserve better, Y/N.” He pried your fingers from where they were locked around the pillow to hold your hands in his.

“If you want to meet new people, that’s great. If you don’t want to be with me, that’s a little less great, but I’d understand. He didn’t even pay for your drinks. And I th-”

You covered his mouth with one of your hands, and he knitted his brows in confusion. “You’re making it sound like it’s an option to be with you.” You were in disbelief, side-eyeing him, waiting for Ashton Kutcher to announce that you were, in fact, being Punk’d. 

The corners of his mouth lifted into the soft smile he reserved for you. It was the same one he gave you whether you were on a tangent about how “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey is “the single greatest diss track of all time” or you were helping Mary put a harness and leash on Fred “just to see how he’d do” on a walk.

“For a distinguished professor, you’re kind of a dummy, Frank.” You took his face in your hands, thrilled to be feeling his stubble against your palms. Before he could talk back to you, you kissed him, unsure how you denied yourselves such a simple yet extraordinary pleasure for so long. It only took a moment for him to relax into it, his hands removing the pillow between you before finding your waist and pulling you almost into his lap.

You deepened the kiss, threading your fingers through his hair. He pulled away first, pressing his forehead to yours. “Seems like we’re both dummies, huh?” 

You were going to ask why pulled away until you looked down to see a considerable tent forming in the front of his jeans. You laughed as he pulled you into a tight hug, one arm wrapped around you while the other hand held your face against his neck.

You kissed the side of his neck softly before leaning back to look at him. “All this time? I thought you didn’t see me this way.” You held his face, stroking his cheeks with your thumbs. “You asked me to go to Ferg’s and then said I could meet other people, so I thought that was it, you know?”

He covered your hands with his and pecked your lips softly. “Honey, I thought it was the other way around. I was trying to ask you out and you looked like you’d seen a ghost.” You giggled, spluttering a bit because tears had started falling at some point. He wiped your tears away before swiping his thumb over your bottom lip, pulling it down a bit. “We’re fools, aren’t we?”

You nodded slowly and Frank saw something wicked flash in your eyes before you took his thumb in your mouth, sucking lightly. “Jesus, honey.” His length hardened underneath you and you could feel the wetness beginning to pool in your panties, prompting you to grind down into his lap.

You released his thumb from your mouth, pressing your chest into his before kissing him again. “I think we’re only fools if we don’t take advantage of the rest of your adult time.” You removed your dress easily, returning your hands to Frank’s shoulders to push off his shirt.

He surged forward to kiss you again, working magic with his tongue against yours. You wrapped your legs around his waist and he picked you up, walking you into the bedroom. Placing you on the bed carefully, he removed your bra and panties before pulling off his boxers and jeans in one go. You thought you wanted him before, but now that you could see everything he’d been hiding under his baggy clothes, you didn’t see how you could ever let him leave your bedroom.

The next few minutes were spent exploring each other’s mouths while Frank stretched you with his fingers. You didn’t think you’d ever been so wet in your life and thought you might pass out if you didn’t feel him inside you immediately. You gave his cock a few strokes before sliding his head through your folds, coating him in your slick.

“Waitwaitwait, honey. Do you have a condom?”

“You don’t need one if you don’t want one. It’s okay.”

He looked like you just gave him tomorrow’s winning lotto numbers, taking a deep breath to steady himself before he looked at you again. “Oh, God. Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I wanna feel you. Make me yours?”

“Anything you want, honey, but if you change your mind, just tell me, okay?” He lined himself up, seconds shy of entering you for the first time.

“I figured if you were gonna be possessive of me tonight, you might as well take it the whole nine, Frankie.” You laughed as he let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously, though, I’m clean, I’m on the pill, and I’ve wanted you for a long time.” You reached up to scratch lightly through his chest hair.

“The only thing I wanna hear right now is you moaning for me.” He drove into you harshly, but waited a moment for you to adjust once he was seated to the hilt. “So damn wet and tight for me, honey. You’re so perfect, so beautiful.” He kissed you again before he began to move, slowly but surely making you lose your mind.

He dipped his head down to take one nipple in his mouth, then the other, effectively shutting you up and emptying all thoughts from your head. He nipped at the swell of your breast, soothing the bite with his tongue. “Fuck, Frank, please!”

“Please what, honey?” He picked up his pace, fucking into you so vigorously you moved up the bed. “Tell me what you need.”

“Make me cum, Frank. Please, baby, I need it. Need you,” you cried, leaning up to bite into his shoulder, stifling your moans.

“I wanna hear you, Y/N. I wanna hear those pretty moans while I’m making this perfect pussy cum for me.” The combination of his filthy words and the sight of him sucking on his own fingers before rubbing at your clit sent you over the edge, making you scream his name over and over again for what felt like forever and not long enough.

You could tell he was close, his hips stuttering and losing their rhythm. He began to pull out, unsure if you were willing to let him finish inside you, but knowing he was too close to wait for an answer.

You hooked your legs around his waist and pulled him close, pushing him back into you. “Fill me up, Frank. I wanna feel all of you. Please give it to me,” you whimpered. His release triggered another for you, chanting each other’s names surely loud enough for the neighbors to hear. 

He stayed inside you as you both came down from your shared high, gingerly flipping you over so he laid on his back with you on his chest. He kissed the top of your head, fingers fluttering up and down your sides. 

“What’s on your mind now, Frankie?” You looked up at him through your lashes, mildly terrified of the answer.

He looked down at you with the most adoration you’d ever seen, lifting your chin so your eyes met his in the moonlight. “That wasn’t too soon, was it? You mean so much to me and to Mary. I don’t wanna mess this up. I don’t ever wanna hurt you. You’re the best thing in my life besides Mary, you know that?”

You kissed his chest before looking back up at him, smiling. “First of all, I would argue that wasn’t soon enough.” He hissed as you clenched around his still softening cock inside you.

“You’re evil.”

Winking at him, you continued tracing patterns on his chest with your fingers. “Second, that all kinda sounds like you might be in love with me, Frank Adler.”

His hands stopped moving for a second before he responded. “Would you run away if I said I am?”

“Well, I wouldn’t run away. This is my house.” You thought your heart might explode in your chest.

“I didn’t even say it, but I take it back,” he huffed, throwing his arm over his eyes.

“What if I told you I felt the same way?”

He grinned, sitting up to kiss you feverishly on your cheeks, the tip of your nose, and finally your lips. You could feel him starting to harden again inside you, leading to round two of… well, you lost count.

You ate breakfast and showered together in time for Frank to return home before Mary did, agreeing to talk more later and to hold out on Roberta for a while.

Frank stood on your doorstep, leaning in to kiss you once more. All of a sudden, you heard a familiar meow and thanked God you were dressed and not in your robe.

“Frank, what are you doing here? I thought I’d come see Y/N since I’m not supposed to come home until noon.”

You bit your tongue to keep from cackling. Frank ran a hand over his face, his blissful bubble burst. He was getting you a hotel room next weekend.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Give Yourself a Try

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader enemies to lovers

Synopsis: you and Peter hate each other, which becomes a problem when you’re given a group project

Part two and three

Masterlist

“Good morning Ned.” You kindly greeted as you took your seat in front of Peter in your first period physics class.

“Morning Y/n.” Ned said back, gearing up for what he knew was coming.

“I really like your makeup today, Y/n.” Peter smiled as he leaned forward in his seat. “Is it hard balancing your schoolwork with your job at the circus?”

“Not at all.” You smiled sweetly at him as you turned around. “I could get you a job there if you’d like. We’ve been needing something small to feed to the lions between shows. You’d be perfect.”

“Small? Darling, you must be mistaken.” Peter kept a sickly sweet grin on. “I’m bigger than your boyfriend of the week over there.”

“Silly goose.” You scrunched your nose at him. “Harry Osborn is not my boyfriend. And just so you know, steroids are really bad for you. I’m worried about your well being.”

“I’m not on steroids.” Peter hissed, dropping the act. “Stop trying to start that rumor.”

“Why not?” You shot back. “You had no trouble spreading the rumor that I was the one who killed Herbie the hamster when we all know it was you who left the door open after cleaning his cage.”

“Are you kidding me? That was fifth grade.” He whispered harshly.

“I will never forget it.” You snapped back.

“Ahem.” The teacher cleared her throat as she stared at you and Peter with an annoyed expression. This was an everyday occurrence in her class, and any other class you had with Peter. You hated each other and everyone knew it. You and Peter stopped arguing and slumped in your seats, giving each other one last look of disdain.

“Instead of a final exam this semester, I’ll be giving you a final project.” The teacher continued. “You’ll be working with one other student.”

“Nice. We can finally present our work on quantum physics.” Peter excitedly high fived Ned.

“Can you guys reschedule your virgin convention for later?” You asked seriously. “I’m trying to listen.”

“Because of the disappointing grades on the last project, I will be assigning your partners.” The teacher went on.

“Don’t worry.” Peter whispered to Ned again. “We could still end up together. We got an A last time so she knows we work well together.”

“We got an A last time.” You mimicked his voice and moved your hand like a puppet.

“Yeah. An A.” Peter said as he leaned forward in his seat. “You know, like your bra size.”

“What did you just say to me?” You snapped as you whipped around. He had on his infamous shit eating grin that you hated.

“Young man, can you please stop interrupting our conversation?” He said as he held up a hand. Your jaw dropped at the insult, face growing warm with anger. You decide not to give him the satisfaction of an insult exchange and turned around in your seat. Your teacher began to list off the partners for the projects.

“Leeds, Stacy.” She called out. “You’ll be working together.”

“Sorry, man. But also, not sorry man.” Ness frown quickly turned into a smile. “Gwen, over here!”

“Aw.” You snickered as you turned around on your chair. “I feel bad for whoever gets stuck with you now. That poor, unfortunate soul.”

“Parker. L/n. You’ll be working together.”

“What?” You and Peter screamed in unison. You gave each other an angry look before looking at your teacher in protest.

“You two are always holding up my class and I’m tired of it.” She held up a hand. “This project will teach you how to finally get along and stop disrupting me while I teach.”

“Mrs. Avery, with all due respect, I can feel myself getting more disruptive already.” You told her.

“I think that’s your STD.” Peter mumbled.

“You two need to learn how to be professional and amicable.” She ignored your protest. “You won’t always like your peers. But you will always have to collaborate with them at some point.”

“I understand that.” You assured her. “But if we do this project together, my fist is going to collaborate with Peters face.”

“That’s a threat.” Peter piped up. “I’d like to file a report.”

“And I’d like to take that report and shove it up your-“

“Enough.” Mrs. Avery cut you off. “You will be working together and that is final.”

You both shrunk in your seats, fuming with anger over the teachers decision. You didn’t cause any more disruptions throughout the class and quickly left once the bell rang.

Peter saw you at your locker, which was coincidentally next to his locker, spraying some perfume on.

“Darling!” Peter exclaimed as he stood next to you. “So good to see you! You know how much I love when you hog all the locker space and make the entire hallways smell like perfume.”

“Why, thank you.” You touched your hand to your heart. “As I’m sure you know, some of us prefer to smell like things other than Neosporin and baby powder. After all, that’s your signature scent and I’d just hate to step on your toes.”

“I didn’t know. Thank you for opening your gigantic mouth and telling me!” Peter said through a toothy grin.

“Oh, Peter.” You laughed airily. “You’re very welcome, you sad sack of shit.”

“Classy.” Peter faked a smile as he opened his locker. “Do you want to come over to my house after school to work on the project? I live walking distance from here.”

“What? No.” You scoffed. “You’re not getting me to a secondary location. We’ll work in the library.”

“Actually, we won’t, because it’s closed for maintenance.” He replied with a tight smile.

“I wish you were closed for maintenance.” Yoh grumbled as you zipped up your bag.

“Hilarious.” He fake laughed loudly. “Are you coming over or not?”

“Not.” You said in disgust. “I don’t know you or your parents. You might try to kill me as a part of some Parker family cult ritual.”

“My parents are dead.” He told you, unamused. “It’s just me and my aunt.”

“Is your aunt a cult leader?” You asked.

“No.” He groaned.

“Cult member?”

“No. All she does is cheat at cross world puzzles and shop at Whole Foods.” He said.

“So you lied.” You slammed your locker and looked at him. “She’s in the Whole Foods cult.”

“Can you try not to be difficult for two minutes, please? We need to get this project done.”

“Jokes on you, Parker.” You folded your arms. “Difficult is my lowest setting.”

“Ooo. Scary.” He mocked you. “What’s your highest? Because I’m pretty sure I saw it last Tuesday when your backpack got stuck on the door handle and you decided to blame me.”

“I know that was your fault. And I go from difficult to hooligan to the step mom from Parent Trap.” You shrugged.

“And they said women aren’t funny.” Peter replied as he slapped his knee. You raised an eyebrow at him, judging him for his material.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

“You’re gonna be sorry.” You told him. “Where do you live again?”

“Waking distance from here. I said that less than five minutes ago.” He rolled his eyes at you.

“Well I didn’t hear that because I tune you out when you speak. You know, like most people do.” You said sweetly.

“Wow, you’re so funny.” Peter said sarcastically. “If I meet you here at the end of the day, will you come home with me?”

“Fine.” You huffed. “I’ll go home with you. But if I start detecting any cult shit going on, I’m leaving.”

“Fine by me.” He scoffed. “I’ll see you later.”

~

“Are you ready to go?” Peter asked after the last bell had rang. You shouldered your backpack and shut your locker, feeling unusually anxious around him. You could deal with Peter for 40 minutes at a time when all you did was trade insults. Something about walking to his home together and spending time alone knocked the confidence right out of you.

“I’m ready.” You nodded.

“What, no insult?” He asked. “No mocking of my voice?”

“We were assigned each other as partners so we could learn to be civil, right?” You shrugged. “I guess I’m just mature enough to give it a try.”

“There she is.” Peter smiled as you began to walk in the direction of his apartment. “There’s my girl.”

You looked to the side when you heard him say this, unsure of how it made you feel. You often called each other pet names ironically, but this felt different. There was a change in the dynamic between the two of you and it was clouding your judgment.

You let Peter do all the talking as you walked home, thankful that he lived so close to the school. He spewed out ideas for the project the entire elevator ride up and didn’t stop until you were standing outside his bedroom door.

Peter stopped talking and opened the door, gesturing for you to go inside. You made a face at him before walking, staying in one spot as he shut the door and sat down. You were frozen as you looked around his room, not liking how human it made him. He had notes from classes you didn’t have with him strewn around and an open first aid kit on his desk.

“You can sit.” He chuckled when he noticed how stiff you were.

“I’m scared to.” You admitted.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” You answered honestly. Something about sitting on this boys bed with him seemed finalizing, like you’d be opening a door you couldn’t close.

“Just sit down.” He repeated. “I didn’t rig the place with boobytraps, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“That’s what someone who rigged the place with booby traps would say.” You replied as you took a hesitant seat on his bed.

“There. Isnt that nice?” He asked sarcastically.

“No.” You said immediately. “Am I the first girl to ever sit on your bed?”

“Psh. No.”

“I’ll take that as a yes ma’am.” You mumbled.

“Whatever.” He replied. “What do you want to do the project on?”

“How about micropenises?” You suggested. “You won’t even have to do any research.”

“Haha. So funny.” He rolled his eyes. “You are so annoying it’s actually impressive.”

“Please.” You laughed. “You so have a crush on me.”

“What?” His entire face went red. “No I don’t.”

“No I don’t.” You mimicked his voice. “Yes you do. That’s why you’re up my ass all the time.”

“That makes no sense.” He scoffed.

“It makes total sense.” You insisted. “You know I’ll never like you back, so you made me hate you. That way, you still get to talk to me all the time. Genius, really. I applaud you.”

“That’s a nice little fantasy you’ve created for yourself. Is that what you tell yourself to help you fall asleep?” He teased you.

“Yep.” You smiled brightly. “Right after I finger blast myself to the thought of you in your Catholic schoolboy sweaters.”

“Oh my God.” His cheeks turned even redder at your inappropriate joke.

“And they said women aren’t funny.” You used his words from earlier.

“They were right.” He said, making you laugh.

“God, I love it when you talk down to me.” You fanned yourself. “Can you tell me how to change a tire?”

Peter began to laugh as well, looking at you as you both laughed. You quickly stopped laughing when you realized you just gave him a genuine smile and looked away.

“Do you want to do the project on tensile strength?” You suggested to break the tension. “I know you’re weirdly into that.”

“How’d you know?” He wondered.

“You almost popped a boner when we talked about in last month.” You teased him. “It’s just rope, dude.”

“It’s not just rope. It’s the force-“

“-the force required to pull something until it breaks. I know.” You finished his sentence. “I’m smart too, you know.”

“Oh.” He was dumbfounded that you knew something he was interested in. “I didn’t know.”

“Yeah.” You nodded. “Women use brain sometime. Woman say smart thing like man.”

Peter laughed again, realizing you were actually kind of funny when you wanted to be.

“I’m not a misogynist, you know.” Peter said after a beat. “You don’t have to make jokes like that. I may not like you, but I respect you.”

“You respect me?” You raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“I respect all women. The strongest person I know is my Aunt. Plus, I’ve still never met anyone who was as smart as my mom. I wouldn’t be half the man I was if it weren’t for the women who raised me.” He shrugged. “But it would be ignorant and naive of me to only respect woman who are related to me in some way. So I respect all of them unless they give me a reason not to.”

“Have I given you a reason not to?” You batted your eyelashes at him.

“Not yet.” He chuckled to himself. “You’re annoying, but you’re brilliant. I know you would never admit this, but we’re basically the same person. You’re just more extroverted so you have more friends and popularity. And you’re smart but you don’t make that your whole personality, so it impresses more people when you let your intelligence show.”

Your body language shifted when you realized he was actually a nice guy. He clearly paid attention to you and was impressed by what he saw. You didn’t say anything, so Peter kept going.

“People lean in to listen when you start speaking instead of tuning you out.” He brought up your insult from earlier, and you felt bad. You didn’t realize he admired you in any way and you felt guilty for always teasing him. Peter’s kept his eyes down, playing with his fingers to distract himself.

“You’re…you’re kind of every thing I wanted to be.” He said quietly. You smiled softly at him, but he didn’t see it. It was the first time you had a nice moment with Peter, and you didn’t hate it. You could tell he was beginning to panic for sharing so much, so you reached forward and tilted his chin up to look at you. His wide eyes met yours and you gave him a small smile.

“How did your parents die?” You asked quietly, immediately ruining the moment.

“Damn.” Peter pulled away with a shocked laugh. “When was your first period?”

“All right. I get your point.” You rolled your eyes. “That was a little abrupt.”

“You’re telling me.” He teased. You sat in silence for a moment, neither of you sure where to go from there. You knew Peter was still processing you touching his face, so you talked first.

“My parents are dead too.” You said without looking up at him.

“They are?” He asked, scooting a little closer to you on the bed.

“Yeah.” You looked up and gave him a sad smile. “But if you think we’re gonna take a turn and fall in love because we have similar trauma, you’re wrong. I can’t stand orphans.”

“But you’re an orphan.” He reminded you.

“And?”

“Never mind.” He shook his head. “I have a feeling I won’t be getting through to you.”

“Probably not.” You agreed. “Tell me more, though. Did your parents die doing something cool?”

“I don’t really know.” He shrugged. “It was a plane crash. That’s all I’ve been told.”

“Oh.” You nodded. “Sounds lame.”

“What?”

“A plane crash?” You raised your eyebrow. “That’s so boring. Yawn.”

“Excuse me?” He laughed in shock again. “Fine. How did your parents die?”

“Firefighters.” You said proudly. “Died saving three children.”

“Wow.” Peter sat back, stumped.

“Yeah.” You nodded. “I was one of them.”

“Seriously?” His eyes widened as he fought the urge to hold your hand.

“No. I’m fucking with you.” You began to laugh as he let out a groan.

“Why would you do that to me?” He whined. “You had me, for a minute there.”

“What can I say? I’m an actor.” You flipped your hair ostentatiously.

“What actually happened?” He wondered. You stopped smiling and bit your bottom lip.

“Drunk driver.” You told him. He didn’t fight the urge this time and reached over to take your hand in his. You stared at your interlocked hands, wondering if you should pull away or not. On the one hand, he was your enemy. But that didn’t make his warmth any less inviting.

“I’m sorry.” He said softly. “That must have been really hard on you.”

“You know the feeling, don’t you?” You asked with a sad smile.

“I do.” He nodded. “And I know how much it sucked to not have someone who knew how it felt. You don’t have to feel that way anymore. Neither of us do.”

You opened your mouth to speak but quickly shut it, not wanting to ruin the moment again. The guy holding your hand was not the same guy who sat behind you in physics. This guy was someone you actually liked.

“I might have misjudged you, Peter Parker.” You laughed shyly. “You might not be as unbearable as I remembered.”

“And you might not be the frigid bitch I thought you were.” He matched your tone.

“Watch it.” You warned.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“You were right.” You said after a beat. “We are pretty much the same person. I never realized that before.”

“Maybe that’s why we don’t get along.” He shrugged, rubbing soft circles into your hand.

“I’d be willing to give it a try, if you were.” You said sheepishly. “Who knows? I might just like you.”

“You want to give this a try?” He asked, eyes lighting up in excitement.

“Why not?” You shrugged. “What do I have to lose?”

“Okay.” He nodded eagerly. “Then we’ll try.”

“Cool.” You smiled.

“Cool.” He said before leaning in for a kiss. Your eyes widened as his fluttered shut, making you realize you were on different pages. His lips made contact with yours for a few seconds before you pushed him off.

“What the hell are you doing?” You asked as you covered your mouth with your hand.

“Kissing you?” He asked in confusion as hurt flashed in his eyes.

“Why the hell would you do that?” You exclaimed, still in shock. You got off the bed and backed away from him, trying to process what just happened.

“You said we were giving it a try!” He was shouting now too, but not out of anger. “I thought we were finally admitting that we like each other.”

“I meant giving friendship a try! I never said anything about a relationship.” You shouted. You quieted down when you saw the upset look on his face. “You... you like me?”

“I thought it was obvious.” He said quietly. “I-I thought you knew. You said it before and I just…I thought you knew.”

“Peter, I was joking when I said all that stuff.” You calmed down and sat back on his bed. “I didn’t actually think you liked me.”

“Oh.” He blinked a few times before looking down. “I…I do.”

“Peter, I’m sorry.” You reached for his hand again but his withdrew it.

“No, it’s my fault.” He shook his head and got off the bed. “I misunderstood the situation.”

“Peter, wait.” You caught him by the wrists and pulled him back down to the bed. He sat down again but looked anywhere but at you. You could see that his eyes were glassy so you put a hand on his face.

“You were right.” His voice wavered. “I did like you and I did think you’d never like me back. That’s why I always tease you. I just wanted you to talk to me.”

“Pete.” You whispered, rubbing his cheekbone with your thumb.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t want to be here right now. I’ll email you my part of the project and-“

You cut him off by wrapping your hand around the back of his neck and pulling him into a kiss. You both had your eyes closed this time and it lasted much longer. Your lips moved against his slowly and you could feel how inexperienced he was. Even so, it was perfect. You pulled away after a minute and looked into his eyes, feeling better now that there were no traces of sadness in them.

“You kissed me.” He said, dumbfounded.

“I can’t know I don’t like you back if I never give you a chance.” You shrugged as you withdrew your hand from his face.

“Well what did you decide?” He asked curiously. You puckered your lips and tilted your head, staring at him as if you were making a decision.

“I still think you’re super annoying.” You concluded.

“Okay.” Peter nodded.

“But it’s an annoying I’m willing to put up with.” You decided as you slipped your hand back into his. Peter broke out into a smile and nodded again.

“Okay.”

Tag List 🏷

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[theimpossiblescheme]

In a Different Form

Inspired by another prompt from the wonderful @the-cat-at-the-theatre-door, I decided to write a companion piece to one of my old fics and expand upon my Skimble-Cass Friendship headcanon.  I hope everyone likes how this one turned out!

Jellicle lives were funny things, when you really stopped and thought about them.  Sometimes they mirrored each other perfectly, and sometimes they were so wildly different you had to wonder if the Everlasting Cat had gotten bored and decided to mix in an entirely new soul for the fun of it.  And if you did really stop and think about it for too long, the twists and turns in your own brain would drill a hole in the earth below you.

It was hard for Skimbleshanks not to think about it these days.

He remembered the elder Bill Bailey, grandfather of the younger… before he’d become Old Deuteronomy’s first Jellicle Choice, the old tom had been something of a mentor to Skimble and his friends.  A true jack of all trades, but master of none, he’d taught Jenyanydots how to tap dance, dear old Asparagus how to tell the most spellbinding stories without ever truly coming to the point, and Skimble himself how to better study humans. Young and impetuous as Skimble had been then and having lived with humans for most of his life, he thought he had a pretty damn good idea, thank you very much, about what made humans tick.  But instinct was no substitute for experience, and Bill Bailey had that in spades. He could tell just by listening to a man’s voice not only where he was from, but if he’d slept the night before, if he’d been arguing with his wife, if something he’d eaten disagreed with him. He could look at a woman’s dress and talk about what party she’d come from, how much she’d saved for it, whether she ever planned to go home after such a whirlwind of wonder and romance. Now, whether Bill Bailey knew any of this for certain or if he was just extrapolating into what he thought made a good story, Skimble was never sure.  But it did help him sharpen his own observational skills—he learned how to spot an impending argument, how to follow the smell of drink and chase it away, how to herd lost children back to their parents.  And if they sensed that one of his passengers was having a really miserable time of it, both toms would sit on either side of them and purr for a while.  Bill Bailey always insisted he didn’t lead a very exciting life, but by all accounts, it was certainly an eventful one.  He found everything fascinating, found so much to love in the most minute details… been in love many times, with places and cats alike, but never settled for too long.  Wherever he lingered, a touch of that quiet whimsy remained, and Skimble tried to retain some trace of it years later.

Which made it all the more wildly ironic that his friend’s eventual rebirth came, not in the form of his son or even his grandson who shared his name, but the Rum Tum Tugger, of all cats.  If he’d ever wanted a more exciting life, he’d certainly gotten it, although Skimble suspected Tugger’s idea of excitement clashed horribly with the elder Bill Bailey’s.  Not that he was a bad cat, certainly not—somewhere underneath all that brash swagger and utter disregard for propriety, Tugger had a heart.  But a little of him went a long way.  Even the younger Bill Bailey took more after Tugger and tried to imitate him to the best of his ability; however, the lad’s propensity for tall tales and uncanny ability to remember the smallest, most seemingly meaningless things brought those nights on the Midnight Mail to the forefront of Skimble’s memory.

Yes, it was a funny thing, wasn’t it… how these things never worked the way you expected them to.

He tried not to dwell on it too much.  Past lives were no longer his concern, and his current life was busy enough.  And he wouldn’t change that for all the stars in the sky.  He loved the Midnight Mail, his stationmaster, and his three lovely girls who were quickly growing up into young women.  He loved his own children, who grew up just as quickly and even had mates of their own now.  He missed his sisters across hills and borders, and he missed his parents and his mate across… wherever the Heaviside Layer was supposed to be.  Work had been the best antidote for grief, and he had enough to do between evening errands and afternoon visits that he was never in any rush to give it all up.  But when everything slowed down, and Skimble was left alone with his thoughts for too long… he’d never been the melancholy sort, always thinking of it as a bad habit, but habits were hard to shake off if you indulged even once.  Every time he started the morning with shaking paws, struggling to do up the buttons of his vest and trying to remember just where the devil he'd put his spectacles last night, hearing everyone in the house already awake, he couldn’t help but indulge a bit.

Would he be so different in being reborn?  Would he forget all the people, all the places he’d loved most?  When he finally retrieved those memories, sometime in the distant future, how would he look back on them?  What regrets would he have?  Skimble never believed in having regrets—do what you know in your heart to be best and chance the consequences, that’s what he believed.  Would he still hold to that as a different cat entirely? Would he still have that wanderlust in his heart, that love of new faces as well as the old, or would that be gone, too? Would he ever spare a moment for any stray kittens he found along the road?  Would his blasted paws ever stay still for five seconds?  Silly, irrational thoughts, every single one of them, but he couldn’t shake them out of his mind.  By and by, he’d be the only one left in their little group of friends… he felt that more and more keenly with Asparagus gone.  And he hated the idea of them, too, disappearing from the fabric of time.

There were certain cats he knew who understood.  It was plain to see just in their eyes how many lives they’d already passed through, how many mountains climbed and loves lost.  Coricopat and Tantomile were two such cats—they looked like they had danced at Stonehenge when it was first built.  So did Mistoffelees, if you caught him in the right mood, although there was an ominous amount of fire and frenzy there as well.  And Hathor, gentle and unassuming Hathor, seemed to hold a galaxy each in her eyes.

And then there was Cassandra… another one of those funny things.  You could live right down the road from someone most of your adult life, and you could never know any more about them than when you’d began.  Skimble always thought of Cass as a friend, looking out for her when her Protector duties took too much of a toll and her unflappable demeanor risked falling down around her ears; but outside of those spare glances, she was still something of a cipher.  A riddle in a gold collar, just the way she liked it.  So he tried not to step on her mystique if he could help it. Even if he wondered at the eerie timelessness in her eyes and even her voice.  He never asked before.  Never thought it was any of his business.

But there was one evening, before the patrol could depart, that he managed to corner her.  He tried to keep the conversation light at first—talking about the weather, the day’s events, the night’s expectations, how things were doing at home, little nothings that didn’t matter.  That was, before Cass mentioned Electra being promoted to a proper Protector in Training, pride for her stepdaughter fluffing up her sleek shoulders.  And all at once, Skimble felt unbearably old all over again.

“Well, she seems to have all her affairs in order—remind me to congratulate the lassie when I see her again.”  He didn’t quite feel the laugh in his voice, but he definitely felt the warmth as he patted Cass’s paw.  “We should all be so lucky, I suppose.”

At this, Cass gave him a split-second look of confusion before it cleared from her face.  “You’re still worried about your nomination for the Ball, aren’t you?”  It was barely even a question with the amount of certainty in her voice.

Another tiny, half-hearted laugh.  “Still that obvious, am I?”

Cass just smiled her tiny crescent moon-sliver of a smile at him.  “You know, if Rumpleteazer could nominate you for the Choice three times, she would.  And if I were a betting queen, it certainly wouldn’t be against you.”

Skimble’s smile turned to a grimace.  “It’s… not the nomination itself that worries me, m’dear.  It’s… well, it’s the whole matter of… departing this particular mortal coil for the next one.”  He forced a deep breath into his chest.  “You would understand, I’m sure.”

For a moment, he feared she would freeze him out, turning away with an expression like granite as she so often did to cats who annoyed her.  Instead, he marveled as a kind of thaw took place—not an obvious one, but there was something in the way her posture relaxed and her face softened, tail curling around herself as if she still needed some protection.  “I would,” she said coolly before letting out a quiet sigh.  “It isn’t… an overly pleasant process.  For most cats, anyway.”

Most cats?  “If I might be so bold… was it for you? Easy, I mean… to retrieve it all, I suppose?”  Skimble supposed he should feel ridiculous, asking these things from a cat so much younger than him, but he couldn’t bring himself to disturb Old Deuteronomy, tired as he was recently.  And what was that poem Asparagus liked so much?  Something Shakespeare, about the stages of man and old age as a “second childhood” of sorts.  Surprising insight from a human.  And for all he knew, Cassandra could be eons older than himself.

She shrugged.  “I wouldn’t know for sure.  But probably a trifle easier.”  A long pause followed as she brought a paw to her collar, and Skimble sank against the steps of the tire, thinking that might be the end of it. But before he could relax too much, she spoke again.  “My lives are precious to me because I know how rare they are.”  She lifted her chin.  “I have never been forced to wander the streets or depend on the kindness of beggars. I have always had beauty and love and light beyond the sun.  I have been extraordinary… but circumstances may change.  They always do.  And who else will remember the days before if I will not?”

“…Does it ever trouble you, having… so much within you?  Or… have you ever feared you would forget?”  He had to tread carefully—this was a delicate topic for any cat, and doubly so between friends.  So often he would see Cass in deep meditation on the Junkyard wall, no doubt pondering that vast well of memory… Skimble never had time for that sort of thing. There were always trains to catch, people to wrangle, kittens to tend.  Too much packed into every second to worry about the ones he’d missed—he’d pop like an overwound watch otherwise.

“No.”  Cass’s answer was plain.  “I have always been myself, regardless of name or country or language. I know what I have loved, what I have hated, and where my lives were bound to lead.  At the end of everything, we are nothing but our memories… if we lose them, what are we?  To ourselves or to each other?”

She had him there. “Precisely what I’ve been wondering myself…”

For another long moment, Cass just sat there.  Scrutinizing him with eyes that looked at kings, pharaohs, and tsars.  Then she gently flicked at his ear with one paw as if trying to get it to perk up manually.  Or scolding him for being an idiot—he couldn’t really tell which.  “I have always been who I am.  You shall always be who you are.  It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple as that, eh?” If only he could fully believe that. “I hope so… I don’t suppose you’ve ever… has anyone from your past lives ever… recognized you?  Really recognized you, that is?”

“Most of the cats from my past lives have died.  Or been reborn themselves, somewhere across the world—I was never sure.”  The way she said it was so stubbornly unsentimental, as if she’d long since run out of tears and refused to shed any more, that Skimble’s own eyes stung, and he suddenly felt even more foolish.

“I’m… sorry, m’dear, I… I hope you don’t think—”

“I think you’re worrying too much.”  Cass hesitated before putting a paw lightly over his.  “Ultimately, the Choice isn’t Old Deuteronomy’s.  It’s the Everlasting Cat’s.  And She doesn’t make mistakes for any of us.  Wherever you go if you are Chosen… I can at least promise you’ll be well taken care of.”

“And what about you? All of you?”

“We’ll manage.”  Cass gave him that crescent moon smile again, and her grip over his paw tightened.  “I wish I could get to see this new cat, whoever he might be,” she said softly.  “I hope I will… but perhaps we shall all miss our old friend.”

“Oh, well… at least you’ll miss me.”  Skimble didn’t know if he felt comforted exactly, though he did feel… lighter. Steadier.  Or at least able to breathe a little easier, now that it wasn’t all piled on his chest like so much lost luggage.  It didn’t seem like the kind of matter for simple platitudes, and Cass was never one to give them.  And he still had some time to contemplate, he was in no hurry—perhaps one afternoon’s meditation wouldn’t go amiss.  But for right now, he just smiled and nudged Cass’s ear right back.  “You’ll be wanting to follow your girl out on patrol, I’m sure… better not waste the evening listening to an old man ramble on.”

“I do like to take breaks every so often, you know.”  And Cass pressed an honest to goodness nuzzle against his shoulder as she descended to join her fellow Protectors, leaving Skimble to smile even brighter and shake his head.  He’d always had rather interesting taste in friends… perhaps that would carry over to another life as well.  

Dear Heaviside, he certainly hoped so.  Where would he ever be without them?

[pinkmirth]

can i req some dad reiner fluff? i feel like he would have a lot of kids bc of the breeding kink 🥴 but yeah just some cute stuff pls thank uuuu!!

THE THOUGHT OF REINER BEING FATHER JUST DOES SOMETHING TO ME I- AJHSJS

THANK YOU SM FOR REQUESTING, ANON!! LET'S GET CAUGHT UP IN THE REINER BRAINROT TOGETHER <3

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—DAD REINER!

 (MODERN AU + MENTIONS OF PREGNANCY + FEMALE BODIED READER + FLUFF + SLIGHTLY SUGGESTIVE + REINER BEING THE BEST DAD EVER DUH + TW: SLIGHT LANGUAGE)

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Dad Reiner who was such a hot mess moments before he became a father to begin with. The pair of you are situated inside a hospital room, occupied with things much bigger than a sprained ankle. He stood alongside you, his beloved, all the while; Encouraging your efforts and attempting to ease your pain with the squeeze of your hand within his bigger one. As fretful as he feels, it's no surprise that Reiner ends up passing out a good few times, and he wasn't even the one in labor. Though, the hard part is now over, and all his worry has subsided.

Dad Reiner who recalls whimpering, weakly grinning, and eventually bawling of joy when holding his child for the first time. You'd never seen his cries mingled with such joy before. He cradles yours and his newborn within firm forearms and large, mindful hands. The pair of you sob and smile, ogle your baby with a relieved, content thrum in your heart. You allow Reiner to attempt squeezing into the hospital bed beside you, as broad and weighty as he is, with your child being held right between you and him. He’s a hot mess, but an overjoyed one who has you; and little Reiner x [Y/N] junior 🥺

Dad Reiner who converses with you for days before ultimately deciding on a name for yours and his daughter— Joyce Braun. He contemplated on “Karina”, the name of his dear mother. Though, he wants his little girl to be better than any past generation, and rather goes with a more revitalizing name, one that holds a simple, but deep meaning in his perspective. As obvious as it sounds, the name means “Joyful”. That's all he wants; for his kid to be happy in this life, happier than he ever was. Therefore, he bases her name, the root of his dear child’s identity, on cheerfulness.

Dad Reiner who tends to grow somewhat frustrated. Not with you of course, not even with Joyce’s incessant wailing in the early hours of the morning, but with himself. It wasn't as though he did anything wrong, he simply hopes that he won't. Begs himself not to fuck up with this whole “Parent” thing. If it wasn’t clear enough, Reiner wants to be nothing like his own father. He’ll never, ever shoo his child away and disregard them, but instead use those same hands to hold, guide, and lift them up. It doesn't take long for the blonde to snap out of his funk, because he's sure that he can become all the better for the sake of his little family.

Dad Reiner who wakes to your still, ethereal-like form every morning, and it's enough to make his day. A kiss to your neck, a nibble along your earlobe, and a couple repetitive rubs to your waist and thighs are enough to stir you right awake. And if that isn't the case, then it's usually the other way around; You pressing soft, lengthy kisses to his sharp, attractive cheekbones. Despite who arises first, there’s always one thing that's bound to happen— Joyce making her arrival into the bedroom via crawl, with a babble and a cute, happy little shriek upon seeing her parents.

The pair of you have no clue as to how she manages to make her way over to your room every time, but you're simply glad that she does so safely. It's Reiner’s cue to leap out of bed and scoop her off of the carpet and into his awaiting arms, clad in nothing but a white tee and the baggiest sweats. He appears disheveled, but it's still clear to see the main striking similarity between him and his pretty little daughter; Those amber brown eyes that hold the same warm, yellowish hue as his do.

He rocks the giggling one-year old, back and forth and right back again, gazing upon his squirming bundle of joy until you mention that he’s been doing so for a whole ten minutes. He grows sheepish and merely chuckles in reply, resting Joyce’s head upon his firm chest with a sigh. He could do this for ten hours more if it were up to him.

Dad Reiner who knocked you up a couple more times, and real damn good at that. There’s something of a breeding fetish that he’s got on him, which is the reason why your little family is now two kids larger. There’s Joyce, who’s now seven years old, along with her two baby brothers, the pair being a mere one year apart from the other. You and Reiner no longer have to worry about checking on Joyce in her crib, for she sleeps on her own bed now, like the “big girl” she claims to be.

Though, the boys now have you both occupied, and you’re lucky to have an older daughter who’s so understanding and rarely ever  grows jealous. Joyce, your girl who’s on more of the rambunctious side but ironically never pleads for attention, has been spending much more quality time with Reiner. Both you and him are busy with the boys, but the blonde tends to have free time on his hands every now and then. Besides, someone’s got to keep Joyce company.

Reiner happily obliges, and makes this father-daughter time worthwhile. Wholesome picnics to the park that always end in races back to the car and Reiner being a damned klutz and dropping his sandwich. Having a “spa day”, filled with Reiner’s not-so-great attempts at doing his girl’s hair, messy manicures and a hefty bag of makeup that Joyce “borrowed” from you. He spoils the girl as if the lot of you are rich (and since Reiner’s always got a hefty load of spare cash, you technically are), but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dad Reiner who’s a lot more used to this “dad” thing now, since it’s been a couple good years down the line. You and him have amazing bonds with each of your kids, but they seem to latch onto Reiner’s large, broad body at any given time a lot more than they do you. Joyce is twelve, the brothers are five and six, and Reiner’s officially a DILF— The finest one at that. His stubble stays nicely trimmed, along with the subtle creases at his eyes becoming a little more distinctive. Goes to work, and sometimes takes the kid’s lunches instead of his own, because that's just the Reiner Way.

He’s the ultimate father in practically every situation, even when looking out for peers and comrades. He doesn’t mean to, it’s just that habits easily stick with Reiner, and it’s rather difficult for him to let them go. Besides, with three kids, how do you expect him to not be in “dad mode”?

Dad Reiner who utterly loves having random little talks with his kids, and never invalidates them, not for one second. It’s almost as though he can see things in their perspective, and they don’t know anyone else better to vent to other than their dad and mom. Though, when they tend to babble on about something that’s rather popular within their generation, it gets hard for him to catch up. They proceed to call him “old” and receive a good chase around the house before they get caught and looped into a tickle attack, and that's basically the worst thing imaginable if you’re in the Braun family. The reason being is Reiner’s unparalleled speed, despite his age; Thirties to early forties, but he’s still extremely fit, and has no problem running a mile if he has to.

Dad Reiner who’s in love with his family and the person they’ve gradually helped him become. You cherish him and your kids like none other, and he does the same. Sometimes it abruptly dawns on him; He’s a dad, and he’s actually a good one, who would’ve known? He smiles to himself, allowing his amber eyes to flit over to wherever you are before his soft grin grows wider. You look back, blow a kiss, and he does the same. The action is exchanged before he strides over to give you the real deal— Though, your sweet little peck is all cut short when Joyce and the boys skip in and start making kissy noises, with you and Reiner laughing all the while.

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“Papa,” Gale, the youngest son of the bunch, calls aloud and gains his father’s attention. Reiner peers up from his book and gives a brief, questioning response. “Yes, dove?” It’s a simple, sweet nickname; One that he calls you, Joyce, and the boys.

“Mommy’s in the bathroom crying.” The blonde drops his novel with an punctuating hitch of his breath, the book falling upon the couch with a dull thump. “—Why? Is she alright?” Reiner, the man who generally keeps himself rather poised, is now frantic, sharp brows downturned at his son's statement.

“Uh, I dunno. She’s crying, but smiling too.” This then causes Reiner’s brows to furrow. “Smiling, you say?”

“Yeah. Can we go out to get ice cream today? I wanna get, uh.. Chocolate chip, please!”

Reiner lets a brief laugh slip loose at Gale’s query, but he has to prioritize his wife over a summertime snack. He then begins to make a beeline towards the bathroom, in search of you. “Soon enough, dove. I’ve got to go up there and check on your momma first, alright—?”

Gale then shrugs and hops onto the couch, little feet padding along the spacey seat as the leather creases underneath his weight.

“By the way, Papa,” Reiner then pauses, open to any vital information his son could give, “she has this funny stick thingy in her hand. It’s got two little lines on it and stuff.”

Reiner chokes on his breath, lower lip beginning to tremble and quirk into a smile. If the case is what he thinks it is, he’s got all the reason to bust out with the teary eyes and jovial whimpers, just as he did when receiving the news of his three expected children in the past.

“A stick..?”

“Mhm,” hums Gale, proceeding to jump upon the dark brown couch, “Mama probably wants some chocolate chip ice cream too.”

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