#because they’re all Lucas greys to me now

[ellenchain]

Met two little otters today at the Osaka aquarium! 🦦

[smokingsoothesthesoul]

# DREW STARKEY — LIVE TALK SHOW

ִֶཐི༏ཋྀ ────୨ৎ──── drew’s first time on a talk show, which just so happens to be jimmy fallon’s and he’s known for scheming. he surprises drew starkey with his celebrity crush. which just so happens to be you.

ִֶཐི༏ཋྀ — pairing: actress!reader x drew starkey !

author’s note: please show some love, also this is my first time posting on here, and i don't know how good my one-shots are. enjoy!

word count : 1.8k

you were known for being one of the most famous actresses sought after. they’d been right for it, your acting was phenomenal. as much fame as you had, you never really let it get to your head, knowing where you had come from was the most important thing to you. 

not only that but you were also known for the activist and humanitarian organizations you’d created or supported alongside other celebrities, like angelina jolie, phoebe tonkin, daniel craig, etc.

so when daniel craig’s managers reached out to you it wasn’t a big surprise, apparently they had been reached out to by a talk show if they could invite you along as well. knowing daniel was more than glad to pass the invitation along, you accepted. 

you wondered why they’d want you there seeing as queer had just premiered, and that had nothing to do with you

—

drew had been nervous, he’d be on a talk show, but nonetheless he was a wreck. it took him forever to decide what he’d be wearing, ultimately deciding on a charcoal grey, and white tux with a black tie. he hoped his outfit would be fine for the show.

as he waited backstage for his introduction he paced around nervous, spinning his gold ring on his finger, an anxious tic he had. 

before he knew it, he heard jimmy fallon, “ladies and gentleman, let’s welcome the man everyone's been talking about, he’s rising to fame, the one and only drew starkey!” he announced as drew walked out and shook hands with the bodyguard on his way to the main set. 

hearing the loud cheers and roars of everyone was amazing and he couldn't help but be shook to his core, never in a hundred years would he have expected this. 

he waved to everyone as he made his way over to jimmy and shook his hand, before he proceeded to sit down in one of the couches.

“so drew we’re glad you accepted our invitation, isn’t that right?” jimmy asked the audience, before they all roared in agreement.

“i’m honored, thank you for inviting me.” drew replied confidently, knowing he was nervous inside.

“so we know you’ve been chasing gold for about four years, and now you’re in a queer relationship with daniel craig, james bond, which has premiered if i’m correct?” jimmy asked, knowing the answer but trying to build up the conversation.

“yes, out in theatres about a week ago.” drew replied. 

“how did that transition work, you know, from filming a show where you don’t really have a romantic relationship until recently to a full blown queer relationship?” jimmy asked curiously.

“honestly, a bit overwhelming and a lot of anxiety from my part. not more so because of the transition but just because i knew i had to ace this role. getting the opportunity to work alongside daniel craig and for luca guadagnino was truly the opportunity of a lifetime. whatever time it was, i knew i had to give it my all. sometimes i doubted my performance but daniel helped me and gave me advice whenever i needed it,” drew replied, while he felt himself relaxing a bit as he got comfortable enough to share personal details.

“there was even a time where,” drew began before lightly biting his lip amused at the story daniel shared with him, before continuing, “daniel told me of an experience he had with another co-star. basically when you first film scenes and most of all when they’re scenes like we were filming, the first day on set really is just practice. not reading lines, but actually practicing how certain scenes will go. in our case mature scenes were what we focused on at the beginning seeing as we’d be testing out our chemistry.”

“anywho the point is that once we were literally in the middle of a bed scene, nothing too explicit, and daniel chuckled when i fucked up a line because instead of saying ‘we can’t be doing this’ i said ‘we shan’t be doing this.’ he literally rolled out of bed and said he had to take a breather, i was confused, i mean we fuck up lines sometimes but never enough to call break,” drew explained.

“yeah normally that doesn’t happen, i would’ve been nervous,” jimmy commented.

drew laughed and nodded his head, before continuing, “i was dying of anxiety in the inside, i was like did i fuck up this badly. and i guess daniel could see it written on my face, which is when he walked over and explained how in his last role the same thing had happened with his co-star. and i couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief and literally said, ‘thank fuck’ to which he laughed at as he walked away to get a water.”

jimmy let out a chuckle at the ending of his story, and said, “oh my god i would’ve died of laughter too.” 

drew nodded as he swiped his backhand on his nose, a reflex of his, before replying “yeah i definitely would’ve too but honestly i was too nervous at the time, now i think back on it and laugh about it.”

“actually there was something i was looking forward to, with you here, let’s show this clip,” jimmy said motioning towards the tv for the audience.

before they knew it, drew was being interviewed by a reporter who asked who his celebrity crush was, ‘y/n y/ln’ he answered without falter.

as the video ended drew couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and turned to jimmy while he began, “is that still true?” 

drew knew the answer to that, and nodded, “yeah it is,” he replied confidently.

“we have a surprise for you if you look at the monitor,” jimmy said before motioning towards the tv.

if the world could swallow drew up whole, he’d let it. at that moment. because then and there on the tv, where times he’d stated his celebrity crush was y/n to interviewers and it was playing in chronological order.

as the video ended jimmy looked at him and playfully asked, “anything to comment?” 

drew couldn’t help but cover his mouth with one hand before sliding it down to reply, “genuinely that’d be mine if i could somehow reach her.”

“well who knows maybe one day you will,” jimmy commented supportively.

“unless i get the courage to actually dm her, it’ll be a pending matter,” drew replied.

“why the need for a dm? i’m right here,” you said after making your way quietly behind him signaling the audience to not spoil it.

at that moment, drew froze up, and instantly rose up from his seat but slowly turned around, not knowing if it was real.

as he slowly turned, you waved at him and slightly giggled at his nervous reaction. you waited for him to say something before you said anything else.

as you stood there waiting, drew finally caught a grip and let his charm play out even if he was a train wreck inside. 

“i’m drew starkey,” he introduced, stammering quite a bit. 

“i know,” you replied smiling.

hearing that drew’s brows rose in confusion, he didn’t expect that. he was a nobody and you were everything.

“i was invited to your premiere but i ended up in the er or else i would’ve been there, apologies,” you said, genuinely honest.

drew was lost for words, yet jimmy asked him, “drew you still there or are you too starstruck?” 

“mhm,” drew nodded, not necessarily indicating which one but they could all guess.

he couldn’t get over the fact you’d just apologized for not attending his premiere, gosh he was literally about to faint before he talked to himself in his head ‘get your shit together before you scare her’ which he proceeded to do, and extended his hand for her to shake.

“none of that, my mama taught me better than that” you replied before walking closer to him and pulling him into a hug.

drew couldn’t believe this was happening but reacted fast enough to not make it seem awkward for the audience, at least that's what he hoped and reciprocated the hug. wrapping his hands around your body.

as they pulled apart, you walked up to jimmy and shook his hand seeing as there was a literal desk between you both and greeted him. 

“jimmy it’s been a while,” you commented.

“glad to have you back on here,” jimmy replied genuinely.

“now that we’re dealing with a starstruck man, we actually have a few live questions, if you don’t mind answering them?” jimmy asked.

“of course, ask away,” she replied amused, wanting to know what was being asked.

jimmy read from his phone, “how does it feel to be drew starkey’s celebrity crush?”

“well honestly, and i quote, from the man himself, ‘i’m honored,’” you replied knowing drew was known for his replies of being honored.

next to you drew couldn’t help but smile amused knowing he said that quite a lot, he hadn’t been lying he really was honored. but to hear that you were honored he thought of you a certain way, well that was the most fucking honored he’d be in his life. before, now, or after.

“what do you think of drew starkey and his roles?” jimmy asked, reading off the second question being asked by the audience.

“well honestly, i’m definitely an outer banks fan. i’m glad he’s finally getting the recognition he deserved, i’ve been there since season one, people now are barely catching on,” you started.

as you replied, drew couldn’t help but feel touched at what you were saying. he really had just risen to fame this past year, with the new season of outer banks even though he’d been there since day one of the show.

“i’ll admit this new season and the past one that came out, i couldn’t help but feel a tad bit jealous that our local psycho was tied up and locked in with someone,” you admitted lightly, chuckling amused.

“for me this is a situation where i love the actor but hate the character unfortunately, because rafe deserved better, in this season four that came out. sofia betrayed him and genuinely frustrated me,” you explained.

drew couldn’t help but feel touched at how you were talking about his character, because it was something he’d poured his heart into. 

“one last question for both of you before we go,” jimmy asked before a drum roll sound came on to build anticipation.

“have we created a successful cupid match?” jimmy asked, to which the audience cheered, curious as well.

at that moment both drew and you gazed into each other's eyes, “only time will tell,” you answered truthfully, ‘but maybe we’ll get there’ you tried to communicate that through your gaze with drew. 

the cameras cut and now there was a rising to fame actor, holding out his hand for a famous actress to take. 

and that she did.

[runninriot]

Inspired by the prompt Love is staying in bed for five extra minutes because you can’t tear yourself away from them just yet by @starryeyedjanai for @steddielovemonth day 16

give me five more minutes and I’ll give you forever

wc: 1715 | rated: T | tags: Rockstar Eddie Munson, Regular Guy Steve Harrington, established relationship, they’re in their 40s, Eddie is counting his blessings, love affirmations, fluff

There are a few things in his life Eddie considers to be a blessing.

It isn’t his career, although he’s beyond grateful for being able to make make music for a living. To have played hundreds of shows with his band, his friends that have been there from the start, in front of thousands of people who love what they do. To have travelled the world, seeing all these amazing places he never could’ve dreamed of.

It isn’t the fact that he got Wayne out of the trailer park. Bought him that little house his uncle didn’t want because he didn’t know ‘what to do with all that space’ – that he still managed to fill to the brim with his stupid hats and his silly mugs. Made it a hideout for his grandchildren (Dustin’s boy and Max and Lucas’ little girl who he spoils rotten whenever they come to visit) and even a shelter for the stray cats Wayne hates creeping around the neighbourhood but always leaves out a treat for out on the front porch because he worries they’ll starve if he doesn’t.

It’s not even the fact that Eddie survived – he could’ve accepted his fate, wouldn’t have known what he’d miss if he hadn’t escaped Death’s grip. If evil had won after all and the world had actually ended.

But it hadn’t. He didn’t. Eddie's alive.

And for whatever reason destiny decided to flip his world upside down once more. Granted him peace, and fame, and love like he’d made a deal with the Devil.

It didn’t happen over night, though, had been a struggle to get back on his feet - to fight the allegations of him being a murderer. To go through physical therapy after weeks bound to a hospital bed. To accept that things would eventually get better even when it seemed like the pain would never go away and the nightmares would never stop recurring.

But it did and they had.

Because Eddie had something to fight for.

Because he had someone by his side, always ready to kick his ass whenever he thought about giving up.

Steve was there all along. Helped him through the worst of it. Stayed with him through his darkest days.

A true blessing, is having Steve in his life.

It’s the simplicity of the life they’ve created together. To spend time between touring in the comfort of their home. It is falling asleep with Steve’s taste on his lips after missing him for too long while he was out on the road. It’s waking up in his partner’s arms with nowhere else to be and nothing else to do.

A true blessing is watching Steve in his sleep, when the morning sun breaks through the blinds, covering Steve’s skin in a golden light.

It is wrapping his arms tighter around Steve just to feel, just to be.

It’s moments like this, right here, right now, that make him feel like the luckiest man on earth.

   “Morning, baby,” Steve mumbles against his chest as Eddie presses a kiss to his temple.

   “Morning, darling. Sleep well?”

Steve breathes out a content sigh and pulls Eddie closer.

   “Mhm. Always better when you’re here.”

Eddie had been gone for almost two months, travelling Europe with his band for the last time.

After more than 20 year of making music together, they have collectively decided to take a bow and leave the stage for good after this tour. They’ve accomplished everything they had ever wanted, decided to leave on a high note before they’re old, and wrinkly, and grey. [‘What do you mean I am already grey, Gareth? At least I still have hair, not like Jeff.’]

Eddie is turning 43 next month, had loosely promised Steve he would stop touring at 40, when they moved in together 17 years ago, shortly after Corroded Coffin had signed their record deal. But Steve never complained, never made Eddie choose between music and him. He supported Eddie in every way possible, even when things were hard at times.

They’ve been through a lot together, defying the odds with an abundance of love for each other. Through tick and thin and all that stuff – it wasn’t always easy, they had to work for it. Keep working for it because their relationship is nothing they take for granted.

Steve has been his rock all those years, has stood by his side no matter what. Now it’s time for Eddie to finally make true to his promise.

No more missing out on birthdays or other small or big mile stones. No more lonely nights, no more hushed phone calls curled up in a bunk on the tour bus. No more tears or fights when the physical distance made it seem like they were slowly drifting apart.

Sure, he’ll miss it, the touring, the people, the adrenaline pumping through his blood after every show. It won’t be easy to become accustomed to this new life, this stillness, but it’ll be worth it.

They’ve got a few more gigs across the country before the grand finale, the very special farewell show in Indy – all of them already sold out, which is still crazy to believe if Eddie thinks about how things had started out for them all those years ago. When they were still green, and stupid, and too naive to deal with the struggles of the music industry.

Eddie has grown a lot since then, knows his worth and what he’s good at. He will stick to song writing and producing, will never stop making music but he’ll be here, home, with Steve.

   “Ugh, I don’t wanna get up.”

Steve unfurls his sleepy body from Eddie, stretches his arms and legs, and yawns.

   “Why get up then? Let’s stay in bed.” Eddie props himself up on his elbow, head on his hand, looking at Steve with hearts in his eyes and a thrumming drum in his heart.

   “Babe, did you forget? I got practice today. Game’s next week and the team needs to be in top form.”

Oh, right. Steve did tell him but Eddie had been too caught up in excitement over finally having the love of his life back in his arms that he didn’t really listen, was too busy showering him with kisses.

   “Ah, I see how it is. You just love your stupid students more than me.”

Eddie slumps down dramatically and drapes himself over Steve’s body – face tucked into the juncture between his neck and shoulder, arms wrapped around him, one leg hooked over both of Steve’s.

He’s not ready to let him get out of bed.

Steve wiggles and giggles and when Eddie starts to blow raspberries on the side of his neck, it turns into a full-on belly laugh.

   “STO-HOP! Eds, Eddie, stop! Oh God, you’re the worst!”

Steve tries to fight back, pushing Eddie’s face away with a hand on his forehead. When he manages to free himself, he tackles Eddie down by rolling them over. And before Eddie can try to move again, Steve straddles him, pins him down with his hands above his head. He leans down and Eddie expects a kiss but startles and squeals when Steve licks a long, wet stripe from his chin up to his cheek.

They’re laughing like little kids, carefree and stupid; probably too old for this kind of behaviour but-

Who the fuck cares?

Doesn’t matter how old he is, Eddie still feels like the foolish boy he was when he fell in love with the man on top of him. Still has the same butterflies in his gut like he did when he was 20.

He is still so head over heels in love with Steve and he’ll gladly make a fool of himself just to hear the pretty sound of his laughter.

Eddie wants to give him everything and more, wants to hold him forever, kiss him until his lips go numb.

   “I really gotta get up.” Steve glances at the clock on the night stand and back down at Eddie, smiling but with a hint of regret in his eyes.

   “Nooo, stay! Just a little bit longer. Just five more minutes, please?” Eddie gives him his best puppy eyes, knows it always makes Steve weak.

   “I’ll be late and then – because same rule goes for me as for the kids – I’ll have to do fucking push-ups in front of the whole team. Do you want me to embarrass myself in front of my students just so you can satisfy your needs for cuddles?” Steve asks, all fake-appalled and smug.

      “Mhm. Yeah, I think I can live with that.”

Steve releases the grip on Eddie’s wrist and pulls them to his own hips, prompting Eddie to wrap his arms around him before he leans down to kiss him.

They kiss soft and slow like they have all the time in the world. And Eddie wished they did, can’t get enough of the sound of Steve humming sweetly into every touch of their lips.

Eventually, they part and Eddie thinks Steve will get out of bed now, knows how much he hates to be late. But Steve doesn’t seem to mind this time, stays with his head resting on Eddie’s chest like he too doesn’t want to let go just yet.

   “I can never say no to you,” Steve says through a smile.

   “Never, huh?” Eddie asks, huffing out a nervous little laugh.

   “Never.”

Eddie’s chest tightens, feels suddenly too small for the size of his ever-growing, rapid-beating heart, overcome by the urge to-

He had this whole thing planned out for months now. It’s supposed to happen on their last show. Everyone is in on it, with flights already booked to get them all to Indy. Even the old folks from Hawkins will be there, obviously. He couldn’t do this without Wayne and Hop’s moral support (meaning they’d lovingly make fun of him for being a nervous wreck).

Max and Dustin will be so mad if he doesn’t stick to the plan they’ve helped create but-

   “Baby?” Eddie waits for Steve to look up at him, feels his heart in his throat like it’s trying to spill over his tongue.

And then it does.

   “Will you marry me?”

[sydmarch]

there's been too many times i've clicked an old link & it no longer goes anywhere so i'm gonna begin the tedious yet satisfying process of archiving some interviews that i reference frequently starting with this one

Like the offspring of any revered icon, Brandon Cronenberg’s last name grabs hold of your attention. Indeed, the 33-year-old Canadian filmmaker is the son of David Cronenberg, genre cinema’s great auteur of psychodrama and body horror. And like his father, Brandon expresses a strong interest in the inextricable brain-body link, not to mention the dark crevices of society’s underbelly. Antiviral, Brandon’s feature debut as writer and director, is a sci-fi satire with a sharp conceit worthy of that unmistakable surname, and a stylistic strength that promises more compelling work from its maker. Uniquely skewering our ever-evolving (or devolving) obsessions with celebrity, the movie, now playing in limited release, tells of a world intended to appear not very far from our own, wherein a facility known as the Lucas Clinic perpetuates the ultimate form of star worship, infecting rabid fans with diseases harvested from the cells of the über-famous (what’s more, delis on corners sell “steaks” grown from celebrity muscle cells, so die-hards can literally consume their favorite A-Listers). At the center of this seriocomic nightmare is Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones), a Lucas employee who also moonlights as part of the superstar-sickness black market. Things turn especially ugly when Syd comes down with the same bug afflicting America’s most-wanted sweetheart.

In person, Brandon is deeply humble and unassuming, a boyish-looking guy with his father’s grey-blue eyes, and a few piercings that project just the right amount of edge. He’s remarkably articulate about the themes his film explores, and he proves just how fully he mulled over the movie’s ideas, which, according to him, aren’t that far-fetched at all. In a high-rise in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, in a small office whose unremarkable sterility calls to mind Antiviral‘s stark aesthetic, Brandon chats at length about the psychology of fandom, the time he cozied up with a primate on one of his dad’s sets, and his thoughts on the trajectory of celebrity culture, which, if not literally, has surely already gone viral.

Filmmaker: There’s a lot of pointed dialogue in Antiviral in regard to celebrity, such as, “What does it mean to deserve to be famous?” and, “Celebrities are not people, they’re group hallucinations.” How much of this is your own perspective? Do you believe that certain celebrities don’t deserve to be famous? Do you see them as being real people?

Brandon Cronenberg: A lot of that is me, but it’s also filtered through the character, so not everything said in the film is just directly my own opinion. “Celebrities are not real, they’re group hallucinations”—I do believe that. I think that the majority of people have this idea about a celebrity, but that idea is sort of a culturally constructed thing and kind of a fiction. Because a lot of what’s reported about celebrities is made up, and a lot of our sense of them comes from the media and is sort of unrelated to the human being who is living their own life, and living and dying in this way that’s sort of disconnected from their media double. But I think anyone who’s famous deserves to be famous, only in the sense that this whole criterion for fame is that people recognize you enough to be famous. A lot of people say, “Oh, this person doesn’t deserve to be famous.” What is it really to deserve to be famous? It isn’t an accomplishment. I think fame has always been something other than an accomplishment. It’s sometimes tied to an accomplishment���sometimes people become famous because they accomplish something. But I think it has more to do with the repetition of an image, or of a person, or a name, rather than fulfilling a certain obligation.

Filmmaker: The whole thing must be a more interesting concept for you now, since you’re essentially becoming a celebrity yourself, being a filmmaker in the public eye.

Brandon Cronenberg: That aspect of it is really weird, because going around promoting a film that’s about something like this is kind of strange. But, two things: First of all, as a director, and especially as a Canadian director, I can only become so famous, so I don’t imagine myself getting stalked by paparazzi anytime soon. Also, I think that the film is about the industry of celebrity, which isn’t the same as just celebrity in general, in a sense. I think, for instance, to recognize someone and have respect for them because you like their work, and to take an interest in what they’re doing because of that isn’t unhealthy—I think that’s fine. It’s more that certain level of fanaticism that represents a kind of mania and a kind of delusion that is unhealthy. And tied to that is this increasingly insular industry of celebrity that sort of mass produces fame through reality television, and tries to elevate people to this point where they’re famous and their job is just being famous for a year, or two years. I think that is different from just talking about your film, in that all art, to a certain extent, is a cultural dialogue that you need to engage in as an artist.

Filmmaker: What specific thing in our celebrity-obsessed culture do you see as being most closely linked to the satirical extreme that you go to in Antiviral?

Brandon Cronenberg: I don’t think there is one! [Laughs.] Someone bought John Lennon’s teeth, you know? But that isn’t even just the one thing. Covers of magazines comparing people’s cellulite…[the film is] only a very slight exaggeration. That industry’s pretty insane.

Filmmaker: I read that this idea germinated when you were in film school at 24, and came down with a bad case of the flu. Did a fear of illness or mortality factor heavily into the concept?

Brandon Cronenberg: It wasn’t really a fear of illness, it was more just a moment of seeing disease as something intimate. Because a virus is manufactured, literally, in someone else’s body, by their infected cells, and then gets into your body and penetrates your own cells, and that’s hugely intimate if you think about it on that level. So it was that moment of seeing disease as intimate and trying to think of a character who would see disease as something intimate. We tend to be repulsed by disease, but you could imagine an obsessed fan who would want a celebrity’s virus, or something, as a way of feeling physically connected to them if it were described in those terms—something from their body into your body. Don’t you want that? Someone’s gotta want that.

Filmmaker: You’re 32 now?

Brandon Cronenberg: 33.

Filmmaker: In the the eight or nine years since you first toyed with this idea, the world of celebrity and fan relationships has changed quite a bit, with social media somewhat leveling the field of interaction and things like that. Was there ever a worry that the concept would lose some of its relevance because of that evolution?

Brandon Cronenberg: During editing, a friend of mine sent me this Sarah Michelle Gellar clip where she was on Jimmy Kimmel Live and she was saying that she was worried about singing because she had this cold—she was worried she would infect the entire audience. And then everyone started applauding madly and cheering. So I thought, “Okay, we’re pretty much making a documentary now!” So it’s changed and it hasn’t changed. I’ve been talking about Paris Hilton lately. She’s out of style now, and maybe seems like the obvious, passé celebrity to go to to discuss this sort of thing, but I think, early on, when I was first writing, she was just really becoming very public, and there’s something about that moment, when a lot of people were using the phrase “famous for being famous.” Again, I don’t think fame has ever been inherently bound to accomplishment, but I think she was so just famous for being famous, in a way that everyone recognized, that I think that really fed into the celebrity industry. It was a certain moment in the history of celebrity. Now, to say that she’s famous for being famous is not even interesting anymore, but at the time, people were like, “Haven’t you noticed that Paris Hilton is famous for being famous and isn’t that kind of weird?”

Filmmaker: As the central character, Syd March, Caleb Landry Jones gives a really impressive breakthrough performance, and he looks like a runway model, which amplifies your visual juxtaposition of fashion-magazine chic and body horror. Can you describe how you came to work with him and how he complimented your aesthetic?

Brandon Cronenberg: Sure. His agent had worked with my producer, and when we were looking around for actors, he sent Caleb’s stuff over—some clips from films he’d been in and an audition he’d done for another film. And we all got immediately, really excited because he has that very striking look, and he’s very intense, and a great actor, He really has that thing that some actors have where they’re immediately interesting to watch. Even when they’re doing very mundane things, they’re somehow able to be captivating performers. So we wanted to get him and he wanted to do it, so it worked out nicely. I had actually written the character for a much older actor, and the character was a bit different in my mind, but when I saw Caleb, I wanted to plug into the excitement and roll with it. Now I can’t see that character any other way. He brought a huge amount to it and that was part of developing that character—discovering all of this stuff with him.

Filmmaker: And then, of course, there’s Sarah Gadon, who starred in your father’s Cosmopolis last year, and A Dangerous Method the year before that. Did your father recommend her to you?

Brandon Cronenberg: Well I saw her in A Dangerous Method, and I thought she was great, but I hadn’t met her until we sent her the script. I liked what I saw from her in my dad’s work, and then I asked him, and he said he had a great experience with her. So, whether you’re related to them or not, being able to talk to directors who have worked with actors, it’s a good thing.

Filmmaker: Gadon’s character, Hannah Geist, is the ultimate desirable object in Antiviral, and then there’s also Aria Noble, played by Nenna Abuwa. I was wondering why you didn’t opt to focus on any obsessed-over male celebrities in the film.

Brandon Cronenberg: There are a couple of references, and on the walls there were some male celerities in the office. I guess I was focusing on female celebrities just because of the degree of the fetishy body stuff you get in celebrity news. I mean, you get that with male celebrities, too, but the “who has the worse cellulite?” stuff is always female. The covers of those magazines, the surgical precision with which people fetishize and criticize—it’s particularly extreme for females. But there are both in the film.

Filmmaker: I also read that you had initial interest in writing, painting, and music, and then turned to film because it merges all of those things. How influential was your father, or his work, in that decision?

Brandon Cronenberg: I was less inclined to get into film because of people’s preconceptions about me based on my father and the fact that they assumed I should want to be in film. Like, “Oh, you must love film and want to be in your father’s footsteps!” It was always kind of obnoxious and kind of off-putting. So, I would say it probably took me longer to develop an interest in film because of that, if anything.

Filmmaker: Yeah, the connection must be a bit of a double-edged sword. There’s a clear cache to it, but also this pressure to assert your own voice, and to live up to expectations.

Brandon Cronenberg: I’ve felt that pressure, but only because everyone keeps telling me I should! I didn’t feel any special pressure, but especially now that the film’s done, everyone’s asking me if I feel some special pressure to live up to something, so I’m starting to wonder if I should.

Filmmaker: Well there’s obviously some thematic kinship going on. Did that develop on more of an unconscious level?

Brandon Cronenberg: Yeah, it’s more…I decided when I got into film that I needed to not worry about his career and just do whatever was interesting to me. To actively avoid it would be defining myself in opposition to him and in that way defining myself in terms of his career still. So I just did what I thought was interesting. I mean, he’s my father and we have a close relationship, so the fact that some of our interests overlap is pretty reasonable.

Filmmaker: Growing up, were you on set for a lot of your dad’s projects? Any experiences tied to specific films that stand out as remarkable?

Brandon Cronenberg: I was present to varying degrees. I mean, obviously, a lot of it happened when I was very young, or before I was born, depending on the film. I worked on eXistenZ in the special effects department, so I was very around for that one. Some of the other ones, not so much. I tried to be on set a fair bit for Eastern Promises just because I was already in film school at that point, and wanted to absorb what I could. When I was a kid, the baboon from The Fly sat on my lap. That was a pretty memorable experience! But I don’t think it had an influence on me as a filmmaker. [Laughs.]

Filmmaker: Good stuff. In Anitviral, I noticed you also make passing mention of Henrietta Lacks, who’s made a lot of headlines thanks to Rebecca Skloot’s bestseller, and even recent updates about the continued usage of her cells. Did Lacks’s story strongly influence the film’s concept, or was it just woven into the fabric of it?

Brandon Cronenberg: It didn’t strongly influence it, but it’s just a really interesting idea, I think. Because that relationship between identity and the body is really interesting. I think they’re two very different things, and I think identity is this very theoretical, weird thing that no one has a full grasp on. I don’t think we can perceive ourselves perfectly clearly, but obviously, from the outside, people can’t know us perfectly either, and we’re always in flux. And then you have this body that people associate that identity with, but again, the body is constantly changing, and I find all of that stuff really interesting. And in the film, obviously, there’s the celebrity cell steaks, and the idea that they’re grown from the celebrities. It’s sort of cannibalism, but it’s not quite cannibalism. Are they that meat, or is that another thing? The human being, the body—is that the celebrity, or is the celebrity this cultural idea, this abstract thing? So that was just a really great, real-world example of that sort of thing, but it wasn’t at the core of the film.

Filmmaker: You mention in press notes that you’re naturally reclusive, much like Syd March. How much do you identify with the character? Beyond, you know, his activities…

Brandon Cronenberg: Well, I definitely put some of myself in there. But in weird ways. I was going to college in this horrible city in Ontario, called London, Ontario, and it was hard to get good food there. So, for a while, I was eating a lot of egg salad sandwiches and orange juice. And when I was thinking about the character, I thought that for a character whose main interest in his body is this disease, I could see how food could become just a purely functional thing—just a necessity that he takes no pleasure in. So he has these units of food—orange juice paired with egg salad sandwiches. Interestingly, Caleb—because he likes to live the character as much as he can—was eating all egg salad sandwiches and orange juice when he initially got to Canada, and then he got really sick of them. So he was worried that when it came to doing those scenes, he wouldn’t be able to eat the egg salad because he was so grossed out by it at that point. But apparently the props department makes solid egg salad, so… [Laughs.]

Filmmaker: There’s a lot of talk in the film about the human face. Can you discuss your fascination with it?

Brandon Cronenberg: Yeah. There’s a line in the film that says “[the face] has a high information resolution.” I think it’s true. There’s such a huge amount of information that we communicate consciously and unconsciously through our facial expressions. And apparently that’s why we so commonly see faces in clouds and in rock formations—because our brains are tuned to look for faces, and look toward that information. Apparently with zebras, it’s the stripes. We see zebras as just striped animals, but they really identify each other through the stripes and they can really recognize quickly individual markings, and that’s a huge identifying factor for them. So I think the way we see things depends greatly on our biology.

Filmmaker: Antiviral speaks for itself, but how would you sum up your current view of our celebrity culture? Where do you see it going? Is it on a hopeless downward spiral? Is all this transparency just becoming more and more unhealthy? Is it getting worse? Better?

Brandon Cronenberg: I don’t know! I think it’s a version of something, a kind of broader, older human tendency that we have to deify each other. One example I tend to fall back on is sainthood. The saints were sort of celebrities. They were people elevated to the status of gods, almost, and there’s the iconography—the recognizable repetition of images—and the same physical fetishism. There are the old Italian churches that claim to have the finger bone of such-and-such saint, and it’s imbued with this great power, these relics. So I think we do that, for some reason. I’m not exactly sure why. I think it’s hard to predict where celebrity culture is going, just because I don’t think it’s unique to our time and place. Again, I think the industrial aspect of that is something that’s fairly unique, or that’s at least becoming more prominent—the manufacturing of celebrity to make money. And I assume that will, just by the nature of industry, go as far as it possibly can, but it’s hard to predict. I don’t know if it will implode eventually. I think we’ll always have some version of celebrity.

[stars-and-birds]

okay so i actually know very little about the x men but what roles are u thinking of for the party?

OKAY. you have awakened nerd esme. prepare urself. this will be long. sooooo long.

so for context the x men— created in 1963 by stan lee and jack kirby and fictionally brought together by professor x, a wheelchaired mutant with telepathic abilities, were/are mutants. mutants are a different species than humans and are as such treated terribly by them. they have “mutations” which give them powers and shit. they were basically created as parallels to real life bigotry and are hated by the general public (in the marvel verse everyone irl loves them. or i do. )

anyway, the original five were—

angel aka warren worthington III (yes that is his actual name) who had wings on his back. now they’re metal. it’s complicated but not important. he’s basically the token rich boy, blond hair, blue eyes, yeah. total knockout in canon too apparently. cyclops aka scott summers who had a red laser beam that continuously comes out of his eyes and as such he wears/wore a special visor made out of special ruby glass professor x found for him. quick fun fact he had so low self esteem and was so depressed professor x made him leader out of fear he would fucking kill himself. which is very dark. a bit stoic and pretty much an old man (he canonically watched seinfield). and he’s transmasc to ME. beast aka hank mccoy who is basically a genius and really strong and stuff. eventually he turns into a literal beast but i’m too sleep deprived to remember how that happened lolol marvel girl aka jean grey who was the token Girl™️ of the group and who possessed too many abilities to keep track of, and when she has them. she gets fucked up at some point in the chris claremont x men run (which is truly iconic) and becomes possessed by the phoenix force(specifically in issue #134, the issue will wanted in episode one) and becomes like evil and shit. the phoenix force is a cosmic evil being and she becomes *dark* phoenix and it’s a whole thing. also pour one fucking out for her imagine being surrounded by teenage boys and hormones most of whom have a crush on you and being able to read their minds. jean babe i’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through. and bobby drake aka iceman who has *gasp* ice powers. he’s a bit of the goofball of the group and can turn basically turn himself into ice which is explored more in more recent comics. he’s also been revealed as gay. one small step for mutants i suppose they’re all queer but nobody tell them.

wow that was long! sorry. anyway onto the actual au stuff. my original plan was to make each member of the part correspond to a o5 x men member, but since there are six i thought i’d add one more for max.

mike is cyclops! i think it fits in a special sort of way that i can’t really articulate since they have such different personalities. but just trust me.

el is jean, in the telepathic sense and being surrounded by boys most of the time sense. rip.

dustin is beast. tech savvy, smart, tested different bc of how he looks— it fits. so so well.

again the personalities may not fit on the surface but i think will is iceman. they’re both sort of softer than everyone else, and whole will is quieter it just makes sense to me haha.

uhh so i don’t actually think lucas would be warren… mayhaps i’m still considering… which means i wrote that whole description for basically nothing but i think it’s funny so i’m keeping it there. anyway i think lucas would be… idk. i’m still thinking it over but maybe gambit.

so for max @hellmo suggested rogue who would be great but i’m also still mulling it over. maybe kitty pryde! idk.

technically i think brenner would work as prof x but obviously that’s a no-go so it’s gonna be mr clarke which i like more as concept actually. again, different personalities but i think that’s okay, because the general roles fit. plus i jsut think that dynamic would be fun to explore more.

so sorry this was long and doesn’t really have much au it’s more me seeing x men and going brrr… haha. thanks for the ask tho!!! i enjoyed talking about them :]

[ladyfromaspookyforest]

Wheeler/Byers Wardrobe Analysis

Season 1 Part 3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

EPISODE 5

First things first, this episode contains Will’s funeral and everyone wears black and I’m not going to talk about all their outfits because that’s a waste of time. But why are Mike and Dustin wearing these colored jackets?

Dustin’s in a very dark denim jacket with accents of primary-colored plaid popping out. Mike is in green with blue and green plaid accents. Lucas is wearing all black. At this point, Mike is totally 100% convinced Will is alive and stuck in the Upside Down. Dustin is on board. Lucas appears to be the least convinced of the three that Will is still out there, so him appropriately dressed for the funeral in all black makes sense. I know this post is about the Wheelers and Byers, but I'm going to talk about Dustin for a minute because of how this jacket reflects Will.

Dustin cracks a joke about telling Will Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral, like he has no doubt they’ll have this chance. It’s cute. It’s a little naïve but it’s heartwarming. But Dustin’s light attitude combined with this bright pop of color is really fitting. But what stands out to me the most about this jacket is how the plaid emulates the outfit Will disappeared in.

Sometimes I wonder about how Dustin feels, having been the last person to see Will before he disappeared. Dustin asked him to race, then got exhausted and quit. And Will was taken into the Upside Down. It would seem only natural for Dustin to experience guilt over this, but it’s not something we ever see explored. I’d really like to see them finally talk about this in season 5, but that's a whole tangent. Maybe I'm reading too much into guilt we never see, but it feels to me like Dustin HAS to maintain this lightness, this ability to joke at his friend's funeral. Whether it be to cope with the guilt or to cope with the possibility that they might not get him back, I don't know. Regardless, this similarity of the plaid on Dustin's jacket to Will's last outfit visually demonstrates that Dustin is focused on Will's DISAPPEARANCE and not his death, as an appropriate black jacket would.

Mike is convinced Will is alive, but he remains pretty somber through this scene. Much more so than Dustin, so the darker shade is fitting rather than the bright pop of color. But Mike has still covered his black clothes with green (blue + yellow?) as a way of showing that he isn’t really here to mourn. His mind is on Will, but he hasn’t lost him yet, though he doesn't have this capacity to joke like Dustin does.

After the funeral, El’s still wearing this nasty dress and you know what else she’s doing in this episode? LYING. This dress (Nancy's) shows us that she is not being herself and she deceives the party. Mike’s in his little Byers-y coat again as they hunt for the gate to find Will, and beneath it, he’s wearing blue, red, and yellow stripes on a grey shirt. Sensing a trend.

OKAY! So here’s where things start to get really interesting with Nancy’s color scheme. It’s the same. It’s still red and blue but rather than the extremely diluted soft pink and baby blue she’s been wearing, she’s now in brick red and a darker blue. It’s VASTLY different from the way she’s been dressing and yet they’re still in the same color family. There was only one other time we've seen Nancy in these darker shades: the day after she slept with Steve. She wore a light grey sweater with stripes in these colors: brick red and darker blue. That outfit was the first hint at this one. She was already starting to doubt her choices, starting to feel guilty. And here, the guilt has completely taken over. She feels wrecked about what happened to Barb and so, like her mother in the previous episode, she darkens her color palette in an attempt to react with appropriate gravity to the situation.

On the other side of things, Jonathan is wearing not one but two patterned articles of clothing. For the first time. He’s still wearing his own color palette, but he’s got a striped sweater and a checked flannel on. This feels like a small nod to Nancy while her shearling jacket is a bit of a nod to him. Their style is very minutely reaching towards one another.

Let’s talk about STEVE again. He’s come to apologize. He’s wearing green and navy, darker colors than he’s been wearing around Nancy lately. He's been wearing lighter shades of blue, matching her, but here he's in dark shades. In my last post, I talked about the visual of Nancy/Steve and El/Mike dressed in pastel pink/baby blue and how overly gendered and domestic it was. Here, Steve has dropped that. The last time he wore a darker blue was the day of the party when he wore a teal sweater. This scene above is potentially the most likable Steve has been so far this season. And I would argue that the party was another instance of Steve being likable. He feels genuine in both of these situations. He doesn’t feel like he’s being influenced by his shitty friends or worrying about his parents. And the colors of his outfits in these scenes are similar.

Apologies everyone. Trigger warning: L0nnie Byers. So this ding dong showed up at the end of the last episode and now he’s hangin’ out, trying to comfort Joyce. I’ve included a shot of the two of them from this episode and one of Lonnie from his first appearance in episode 2 as well, just so we can take a peek at what he usually wears. Button-downs at least partially undone over a white tank is the norm.

But then later after the funeral, he dresses like this. Lonnie-styled Wheeler colors.

I was actually kind of taken aback by this one, but it makes sense. Lonnie is fixing up the house, talking about how their family has been ruined. He’s calling Joyce “babe.” He’s putting on a complete show of being part of the family unit. He’s wearing his white button-down from the funeral in this scene, unbuttoned in Lonnie fashion, but the outfit prior to unbuttoning and rolling the sleeves resembles the sort of thing Ted Wheeler would be wearing at the dinner table. Bland office attire/bland funeral attire. Then he showers, comes back, and is in pastel stripes. Joyce confronts him about the money and they argue about how Lonnie just wants to use it for Jonathan to go to college. Lonnie is putting on this I Care About This Family front and it’s extremely telling that he does it in blue pastel stripes. This says that while he’s behaving like he’s a family man, he clearly isn’t, and the Wheelers, constantly behaving like the perfect family, are in fact not all that happy or put-together either.

Joyce is wearing this maroon turtleneck this episode. It’s darker than what we’ve seen her in and it’s also the first time she’s changed her clothes since the first episode (funeral getup earlier in the episode aside). She’s falling a little bit for Lonnie’s manipulation here as she just sort of needs someone to help her pick the pieces back up and he was quite literally just there. She lets him talk to her about how this could all be in her head and up until now, we’ve seen her shut down anyone who makes this kind of suggestion, but she also tells him not to take down the lights. She hasn’t given up. She doesn’t fully believe Will’s gone, but she’s conflicted and she’s starting to seem a bit hopeless. This dark top is a reflection of that, as well as the fact that it has a lot less character than what she usually wears.

Then she and Lonnie fight. He tells her she’s a shitty mom and she’s crazy and she yells at him and kicks him out. And in the next scene with Joyce, Hopper comes over and tells her she was right all along.

Here’s Hopper this episode. He’s totally unhinged. This is peak Unhinged Hopper for season 1. He breaks into the lab, beats people up, threatens them at gun point, answers his door with a gun looking paranoid as all Hell, rampages through his house looking for bugs, then shows up to the Byers residence to do the same. The sweaty undershirt is a fantastic way to show us just HOW unhinged he is.

The moment when Hopper showing up at the Byers house to unscrew every single one of Joyce’s Christmas lights is meeting her on her level. The little exchange between his officers after they come to see him is really indicative of this.

“Is he off his meds again?” “He’s been spending too much time with Joyce Byers.”

So I love this scene of him coming to Joyce in general because he’s the first person to tell her he believes her. This is huge. And having it take place right after Joyce kicked Lonnie out for saying she's off her rocker emphasizes the difference between the two. It shows us: this is what Joyce does NOT need followed by this is what Joyce DOES need. And the clothes are relevant because what Lonnie is wearing does not fit into Joyce and her family's lifestyle. What Hopper is wearing does.

As Hopper goes hunting for the truth like a maniac, he’s in civilian clothes for obvious reasons. He can’t roll up to a bar trying to trick the guy who found the body into giving him info in his uniform. But beyond practicality, I think putting Hopper in civilian clothes signals to us that this is no longer a job for him. He’s clearly not on real, legal police business anymore. He starts trespassing and getting violent and going so far as to cut open what is most likely a child's body just because there is a chance he can save Joyce's son. It's not police work anymore. As for the outfits themselves, this screams I Live in the Woods Alone. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but I will be coming back to it to compare with other outfits Hopper wears later.

*cough* Anyway, I swear the next one will be shorter. It's because I went on Dustin and Hopper tangents. I got too invested in the Jopper moment.

[hongism]

THE NEW CHAPTERRRR OMG!!!! i’m that anon who isn’t on tumblr much and wants moc as a physical book on my shelf if you remember (if not das aight you’re basically a celebrity here 😩) and after so long i decided hmm lemme check if there’s an update i forgot about this app and BOOM posted 1 hour ago !! timing is impeccable my soul knows and she’s just as excited for updates.

anyways back to thoughts because THERES SO MANY!!! so first things first i for one love love LOVE characters that aren’t conventionally the perfect person who makes no mistakes and would do anything the reader wants. NO. i like grey morals 🤩 i like TROUBLE i like the ones who do things that GET THEM in trouble. make mistakes baddie go crazy get in trouble purrrr.

i’m loving the relationship with mc and jongho/mingi they’re bffs in the making next chapter we’re gonna see them with matching bffs necklaces and bracelets that have magnets and lock into each other i just know it 😩

and the ending bit with saaaaannnnn like ik he says don’t doubt my love and i would never san i would never promise pinky swear….

but i can see exactly why mc feels that way and like word i would too if i was not the reader i feel so bad for her

but now for the star of the show, the one person who i’m sure could beat all of the crew one by one no sweat. the one who could eat them all up without so much as lifting a finger. the one who hongjoong wishes he was cause he gets the respect that he dreams of….. LUCA THE BADDIE

he’s a little gambler aint he with his poker BUT THE WAY HE GAVE SOME CHOCOLATE TO JONGHO AND MC EVENTHIUGH HE WON FAIR AND SQAURE (questionable 👀)

anyways i’m not the best at conveying emotions in writing (you do you have such a talent at this and you’re an amazing writer i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again and again every time) but this was such a good read and i always know i’ll enjoy what you write because even a short phrase has so much talent and poetic notions to it - I HOPE YOU KNOW THIS!! THAT YOURE AN AMAZING WRITER - you’ve got bragging rights go crazy no need to be humble lawl

anyways this ended up being longer than i thought hope it’s not too much stay healthy drink water and take care of yourself!!

- bookshelf anon or sumn idk 😭

p.s. i think at this point you’ve made me a tumblr stan i’ve never written this much before much less AT ALL might be on this app more

ofc i remember omg i love to see that my timing was immaculate 🤓 i too adore grey morals so incredibly much it makes things so much more exciting! having wholly good or wholly bad characters is fine and all but i just, ADORE having morals play into shit too 😎

why doubt san and his love if he says don't doubt then!!! we shouldn't doubt him!!! pinky swear!!!

i love the set up here bc i was like oh hongjoong NOPE we're talking about luca the lil baddie himself KJSDFKJS i love him :( he's cute :(

really tho don't worry about conveying emotions i feel every bit of what you're saying and i appreciate it all so much i'm so thankful so grateful! i personally am not a person who can't brag or talk highly of myself much at all, but really hearing kind words and sweet things about my writing always means so much to me ;-;

it's not too much at all i hope you stay healthy too! drink lots of water and take care be sure to eat lots of good and yummy food <33 !!!

[otteranha]

High Noon

part 1 Part 2 of Steve tries to get the Party to watch Westerns with him...

Years of waking up at stupid o’clock for swim practice left Steve a permanent early riser. After the movie (Short Circuit- which had just come out and everyone was dying to watch, he probably shouldn’t have tried to compete with that) and playing games until past midnight the rest of the group was still passed out in the living room. The older kids, seeming to sense at least a little bit that Steve’s feelings were hurt, steered them into board games instead of D&D for once and he had actually enjoyed himself. 

Now it was almost 6 in the morning and he was wide awake, Robin snoring quietly beside him, grey light streaming through his window. A sort of sad feeling curled up somewhere between his stomach and his ribs and Steve had the urge to do something he hadn’t done since he was a little kid. He padded down to the living room, navigating around sleeping bodies in his socked feet and took the tape of High Noon upstairs with him. Down the hall, into his parents’ bedroom.

There was a big screen tv in here too, and a vcr although they almost never used it. When Steve was young and they would stay out late he used to curl up on their bed and fall asleep with the tv on. The babysitters always liked to use the downstairs television after his bedtime but Steve had a hard time falling asleep in his own room without at least one of his parents home. They didn’t get mad when they came home and found him asleep, as long as he used the throw blanket and didn’t mess up the duvet, his mother would kiss the top of his head and his father would carry him back to his own room. It was the only way his father ever tucked him in. 

The room now had the church-like silence of someplace that is more for remembering than for living in, despite being meticulously cleaned once every other week. Steve slid the video in and curled up in his old spot in the middle of the king size bed. As the credits played, the door to his parents room pushed open and he heard footsteps. Eleven poked her head around the door and gazed at him.

“Hey, did I wake you?” 

She shook her head no. “Can I stay? she asked.

“You want to watch with me? It’s one of the boring ones from last night.”

“I don’t care. It will be less boring than sitting down stairs awake all alone.”

“Ok.” They watch together in companionable silence for a bit. El makes admiring noises at how pretty Grace Kelly and Katy Jurado are, how they tell the men around them that they’ve made their own decisions about their own lives. After a while Steve senses a kind of restlessness in her. Figures, he thinks, she’s probably bored. 

“Can I ask questions?” El interrupts his thoughts. That is not what he was expecting. 

“Sure, shoot.”

“You won’t mind? Sometimes I have a lot of questions and it makes my friends not have fun watching the movie with me.”

“I don’t mind,” and he doesn’t. 

She asks questions but mostly she just reacts to the movie. Every time somebody else turns Gary Cooper away and refuses to stand beside him against the oncoming villain she tenses. When Grace Kelly professes her belief in peace and her Quaker religion but decides to stand and fight anyway she smiles. Two thirds of the way through the movie, with the tension at its highest she asks him to pause it.

“Mike doesn’t like to tell the endings. That’s called spoilers because it spoils the movie, so you don’t have to tell the ending but can you just say if it’s happy or sad?”

Her little face is so serious it kind of melts his heart. “It’s happy.” They’re almost at the end when the sounds of life can be heard from downstairs. There’s voices in the hall, looking for Steve and Eleven and then Dustin, Mike, Will, Max and Lucas all pour into his parents room. 

“Whoa! You have another tv up here, that’s amazing!” says Dustin. They’re all looking around like they’ve just discovered an ancient pyramid. “How come you never let us in here before?”

“We can watch two movies at once!” says Lucas.

“No,” Steve says, “You can’t. I can, because it’s my house. Everybody out now.” Damn, he’ll probably have to start locking his parents’ door again. It’s almost as bad as when he used to have his old high school keggers, except he’s liable to find random groups of teens in corners painting miniatures instead of doing body shots. “Downstairs now, skeddadle.” The commotion has happily robbed Robin and Eddie of their continued sleep and Steve foists breakfast duties onto them.

As he’s leaving Mike stops and stares at the paused movie. “Are you watching Steve’s movie?”

“Yes,” says Eleven, “It is very good. Please can we finish it before breakfast Steve?”

“Eleven can stay, everybody else go help with breakfast and start putting my couches back together.” They fuss but file out, all except Mike.

“Well if El’s staying can’t I stay too?”

This kid. This has to be his most exasperating kid. “There’s like, fifteen minutes left.” Steve sighs, “Fine, you can stay but you can’t talk- Eleven can talk,” he clarifies, “You, Wheeler- silence. Got it?”

Mike gives him a combination nod and eye roll but he flops at the foot of the bed while they finish the movie and doesn’t make any snarky remarks.

Afterwards, Eleven tells him that it was a very good movie. Steve kind of feels like crying again but it doesn’t feel bad this time. “We could watch the other one sometime, maybe?” Eleven asks. Mike is muttering something that Steve can’t quite hear.

“Sure kid, any time.”

@nelotegreitic @sangrientojoe @its-all-ineffable @moonshadows-13 @fallingleavesinthewind @cornwallisandkerley @inmoonywetrust @samcoxramblings @ineffablecolors @goblin-eddie @theysherobinbuckley

[ladykailitha]

The Places We Hide Part 2

Shit, shit, shit. Sorry guys. This is the real part 2. Lesson learned. No more posting right before bed.

Part 1

*

Eddie looked down at himself in disgust. “We are positively dripping, dude. I don’t think we can go back to the movie like this.”

Steve looked down at himself and laughed. “Yeah. Come on, let’s see if I can find us a change of clothes in my room.”

“As if you have anything that will fit this waist, baby,” Eddie said, putting his hands on his hips.

Steve shook his head. “I’m sure I can find something.”

Eddie laughed and followed him through the house and up to his room. Steve opened his closet and began digging.

“I don’t understand it,” Eddie said looking at the room. “You aren’t the typical teenager. Your room is cleaner then the rest of the house.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s actually easier to hide stuff in a clean room then a dirty one.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked putting his hands in his back pockets. “How do you figure?”

Steve stopped digging and turned around. “If it’s clean I can tell when something has been moved. If it’s a mess, I can’t tell.”

Eddie frowned thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense.”

Steve started laughing. “I do have something that will that narrow waist of yours after all.”

Eddie reared his head back and eyed him warily. “How?”

Steve turned around and showed him his prize. In his hands was a pair of Eddie’s jeans. They were light grey and only had one rip in the knee.

“When did I leave those here?” Eddie asked, taking them gingerly from Steve.

Steve shrugged. “When was the last time you had to change here?”

Eddie thought about it. “I don’t even know, man. But hey, at least it means I have something dry to wear.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a black t-shirt. He threw it at him. “This probably the least offensive thing in my wardrobe.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Awww...they aren’t all bad.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, skeptically.

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, alright. But the stripped polos, man. You really can’t think that’s a good look.”

Steve half shrugged. “On you? Absolutely. On me? I know I look good.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Eddie just shook his head.

Steve pointed to the door off to the side. “You can change in the bathroom.”

Eddie nodded and closed the door behind him. When he was done, he opened the door to see Steve had mostly changed, but was looking through his drawers for another shirt to wear.

Eddie gasped. He had forgotten about the scars on the back of Steve’s biceps and back.

“Shit, man,” he said coming into the room. “I forgot wasn’t the only one that left the Upside Down with gnarly scars.”

Steve looked over his shoulder. “It’s fine. I forget they’re there most of the time too.” He pulled out a blue and white stripped polo and pulled it over his head. Now that Eddie knew what to look for, the scars on Steve’s arms stood out.

“At least have both of your nipples,” Eddie groused.

Steve turned around. “What? Really?”

Eddie lifted the shirt to show a patchwork quilt of scars all over his torso. Steve stepped close enough to touch. “I’m glad you’re still with us, Eds.”

Eddie let the shirt drop. “Me, too, baby. Me too.”

They came thundering down the stairs and into the front room. Everyone turned to face them.

“Where the hell have you two been?” Dustin cried.

Eddie and Steve looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Eddie grinned. “Sorry, man. I went to go bum a cigarette off of Steve as he’s the only other one that smokes and we got caught in the rain. And then because we’re little shits, we ran around for a bit before coming in and getting into drier clothes.”

Steve snapped his fingers. “That reminds me. I’ll be right back.” Steve went dashing back up the stairs.

“So he wasn’t having a freak out?” Robin asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Just needed a smoke. Sorry I freaked out on you guys, I’m new to this shit.”

“And it’s not as though we don’t care about Steve,” Lucas defended. “We really do. But when he says stay, we’ve learned to trust that.”

Eddie sighed. He knew that despite the mocking ‘babysitter’ title that Steve was more like their commander or some shit. Off the battle field they could be little shits, but for stuff like this? What choice did they have but believe him. Though...his brain helpfully supplied, Robin probably should have known better.

“Okay,” is all he said instead.

Steve came back down with their wet clothes and tossed them into the dryer. “There,” he said coming back to the front room, “now by the time it’s time to go, your clothes will be ready to take with you.”

Eddie smiled. “Thanks, sweetheart!”

Steve beamed. He turned to Robin. “Sorry, I know I should quit but sometimes the craving just hits hard.”

Robin sighed dramatically. “I know...” She got up and gave him a big hug. “I’ll say one thing about the rain, at least you two don’t smell like smoke.”

Steve just smiled.

“You missed the movie,” Mike groused.

“I’m sorry,” Steve muttered. “I didn’t mean to. But it’s one I’d seen, so I didn’t miss much.”

Will looked up at him. “But we missed you.”

Steve ducked his head and Eddie just raised a smug eyebrow.

“I’ll make sure to grab a smoke next time before you come over so the craving isn’t as bad,” Steve said softly.

“Well, that’s as good a compromise as any,” Eddie said. “So come on, it’s the weekend and no one has anywhere to be first thing in the morning, right?”

Everyone nodded or made noises of agreement.

“Great!” Eddie said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. “I have just the thing.” He went over to the stacks of movies and picked out Labyrinth.

“We are watching this one,” he said, turning around to show them. “And no arguments.”

There was some grumbling but even to Eddie it sounding performative at best.

He put it on and settled back in on the couch. Steve stood in the back, watching the kids as much as he was watching the movie.

Eddie looked back and grinned.

Steve chuckled and mouthed ‘thank you.’

The warmth of that small gesture infused all of Eddie’s chest.

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

[gunthermunch]

[Transcript under the cut]

Mila sighs Marcus: Mila? Hey Mila: Marcus. Marcus: what are you thinking? Mila: did you know Carmen? Marcus: Villareal? Barely, she scared me. I mean- she was adorable, don’t get me wrong. But uh- she came from big money Mila: true, that’s scary enough. Mila: When she died, I tried getting closer to Jacques. Mila: Attempts at including him in clubs or any other kind of social activities failed. He only ever attented those classy gatherings hosted by Mortimer Goth. I also happened to be invited, since Mortimer and Ernest were friends. Mila: So i accepted, because i wanted to be around Jacques. I thought he could need some kind of moral support, and we were both widows after all. Mila: my father warned me about him, ‘’Jacques is like a sly, old fox. And you, sunshine, you’re a chicken’’ at first I just laughed it off but, after some years I understood. Mila: we got close, he was fun to drink with. I took his kids under my wing for a while, they looked grey and lifeless like they’ve been stripped from human care for months. Mila: it reminded me of my own after Ernest left and I had forgotten I was a mother too and not only a wife. Mila: My Gunther gave me a hand too, with the kids. I mainly took care of both Max and Lucas, they were so little. Mila: I felt for Carmen, so much. I still do. Marcus: what made you realize Jacques wasn’t worth the shot? Mila: well, multiple things. The way he treated Hugo, the pressure he put on Luna, and his inability to acknowledge Max. But what made me stay away from him was… Mila: ugh. he kept talking about Carmen as if she was alive, Marcus. It was driving me insane Mila: and I got so scared just thinking about those poor children, would he drive them insane too? Then I clashed into it, that was also Carmen’s fear. Marcus: so you think the rumors are true. Mila: all the mob stuff? It’s plausible. Mila: but I’m sure he killed her. Marcus: jesus mila that's dark Mila: I just hope his kids are turning out okay.

(Ian) ?: good evening, Mila! Mila: hello… Mr. McMillan, right? Ian: oh, haha! no, that’d be my husband right here, I'm Ian! Derek: hello Marcus: hey there Ian: we were just passing by, wondered if we could finally meet Otto’s little Lucas and maybe have a talk Mila: sorry but he won’t be around anytime soon Derek: why so? Mila: I told him he should just worry about school for now Ian: I see… will he ever move in though? That’s all Otto talked about on his last days Marcus: we aren’t sure Ian: well, that’s what we wanted to talk about. You see, we are childless, and we wouldn’t mind keeping an eye peeled for no other than him Mila: hm… Derek: we were Otto’s closest friends ever since he arrived on Henford, Ms. Munch. Ian: just consider it, Lucas won’t be alone. Mila: alright. Thank you, I’ll keep it in mind Ian: it was a pleasure! Marcus: …well, they seemed nice. Mila: and they’re right, my dad really liked those two. Mila: sigh I guess it could be just the two of us by july, Marcus. Mila: …. we should travel somewhere. Marcus: chuckles sure, why not

[gffa]

Btw I only got sucked into the prequels fandom a couple months ago, and I was super fortunate to have found your blog rather early on... It meant I quickly realized I had some misconceptions and internalized weirdness from just western / Christian society and growing up on Legend's New Jedi Order stuff. (It's not that I ever disliked the Jedi, but I definitely didn't understand the difference between love and attachment and was otherwise mostly apathetic about them as a Culture... If they weren't Mara Jade, Jaina Solo, Corran Horn, or Luke Skywalker, I didn't particularly care about them at all).

Anyway my point is that I'm super thankful your blog came up soon because I am now very firmly in the Pro Jedi camp and am glad I only got a minimal amount of sw fandom toxicity about the Jedi before having my eyes gently opened to reality.

Best part is tho, I had a friend ask me a week ago for some star wars information. Her brother apparently was assigned to write about the differences between the Jedi, Grey Jedi, and Sith in a class about differing religions and ideologies (which... In and of itself is actually a rather fascinating concept for a school paper). Anyway I had fun linking a whole bunch of your meta posts and going "Respect the Jedi, they're absolutely wonderful! Grey Jedi aren't actually a thing - it's just video game mechanics and misconceptions! Sith are evil and if you write them as anything but I will hard-core raise eyebrows at you and want to throw hands!!" And such... Probably went more than a little overboard but she was appreciative.

My point in all this word vomit (dang my adhd is really prevalent rn isn't it) is that I wanted to offer some encouragement because I've learned the pro Jedi camp is a lot smaller than it should be and maybe sometimes feels like it's the same 20 people on tumblr? Your collective efforts as the Jedi Defense Squad are successful and I know that, personally, my life will forever be changed for the better. Bless y'all and keep fighting the good fight!

You didn’t even know it was my birthday yesterday and yet you sent me once of the nicest things I could get despite that! I admit that the pro-Jedi corner of fandom feels very small sometimes, especially because Tumblr is generally the only place where we’ve gotten together (COME HELP ME LOVE THE JEDI ON TWITTER, YOU GUYS, I NEED PEOPLE TO HAVE SILLY LOVE BOMB FESTS WITH), that sometimes it can feel very overwhelming the second I step one inch off my dash, but also I wouldn’t trade this corner for anything. I hope that I can not just explain why I love the Jedi and why I see them as being perfectly in balance with the core themes of Star Wars, but that I can help make being a pro-Jedi fan a fun experience.  I hope I can make meta about them interesting, jokes about them fun to play with, the pain of their slaughter and the genocide of their culture dig into our feelings the way the best of Star Wars does. If I can help kindle love for the Jedi in you (and I am certain I did not do so alone, there are so many really incredible people, every time I get to reblog Jedi content from more than a dozen people now I get this shimmer of joy in my soul, I didn’t always have that! I get to reblog art and fic and essays! people have such good thoughts and incredible ways with words! they’re coming up with adorable skits and AU scenarios! so many in this fandom work so hard to give us these delightful things and I am so overjoyed to get to reblog them), then I have passed on what was given to me and that makes it worth it. I am further delighted to help provide framework for writing papers about the Jedi, because one of the things that surprised me when I first started really digging into those Lucas interviews and behind the scenes/making of books is: Yeah, Star Wars is often silly, but it has themes and George Lucas stuck to them.  He thought about his mythology and what messages he wanted to convey, and whatever things he tweaked along the way, the core themes have always remained consistent. Star Wars is often imperfect, no creator is ever going to be perfect, but Lucas knew he wanted to tell a story about letting go and about good vs evil and choosing the light made the world work better and that we should care about each other and our communities, not just break the rules and do whatever we felt like, that you’re supposed to love people but you have to accept that life is impermanent, because you’ll suffer if you try to hold on too tightly. And everything of his Star Wars stuck to those themes and I really, really like those themes. My life has been made better by getting to know the story of Star Wars and getting to meet so many kind, thoughtful fans and getting messages like this, and so please know that this is incredibly uplifting and encouraging.  To be able to spark joy in someone else about these silly space psychic wizards, to be able to share that, it makes the whole Being A Fan Of A Thing a great experience.

[icedfae]

to all characters - top 3 fave, top 3 least fave people

Nari:

“three favorites: henry, wes, gaia. three least favorites: brooke, ”

Dexter:

“three favorites: ford, keira and lena. three least favorites: christian, just christian right now. i’m a pretty easy going guy otherwise.”

Waverly:

“three favorites: felicity, ronan, luca. three least favorite: austen, alabama (sorry girl i don’t really know you but i have to be in solidarity with felicity), bianca”

Teddy:

“three favorites: niko, talia, grey. three least favorite: greyson, esmerelda, greyson”

Millie:

“three favorites: flynn, anastasia, taz (most of the time). least favorites: johnny (please stop asking me to make out for ‘witchy’ purposes), taz (the other half of the time), luca”

Alfie:

"faves: flynn, athena, travis. least fave: i don’t really hold animosity towards anyone. yet.”

Micah:

“three favorites: mom/austen/maiya (i have to tie them because i think both of them would murder me if they weren’t at least first), audrey/gaia (they’re always there for me), aracely is alright i guess. least favorite: maiya (we’re working on it and i expect to be murdered for this answer)”

Esmerelda:

“three favorites: gwendolyn, nikolai, odette. least favorite: maiya, greyson (look you’re second a placement i’m sure you’re used to), teddy”

Gideon:

“favorites: devon, isabella amuses me, florence dylan. least favorite: florence, johnny, zoya”

Maggie:

“three favorites? okay well, can i tie maddox and johnny for one? no, okay fine. maddox then johnny (johnny do not see this as a declaration of war), cely, zach gaia. least favorite people: alana, kathy kennedy”

Declan:

“favorite: bianca, tala, odette. least favorite: tatyana, brooke, greyson (he’s going to give me gray hairs before i’m forty)”

Freya:

"favorites: ford, alabama, florence. least favorite: johnny for punching my brother, felicity, devon”

mentioned: @snipersfm @brvkenhecrts @delvedinto @rxscss @spctlights @fvckluca @cfgravenpast @eminvnt @infamyd @cfsupernovcs @tazzstrickland @fckmaiya @cfwildfirefacades @fvckodette @sov4in @fvkmaddox @1ucidrms @groupiee @stcrscrossed @fvkford 

[wondersofdreaming]

Sex on Fire - 3

Co-written with @radaofrivia​

Characters: AU Captain Syverson - Gynaecologist, dr. Syverson x female reader

Word count: 7.601

Warnings: NSFW! Overthinking. Talking to a dog. Flirting. Nervous energy. A little awkwardness. Smut. 69. Making love. Love. Fluff. The end.

Author’s note: This story was co-written with the lovely @radaofrivia​​ - who wrote the beautiful smutty parts.

The dividers are made by @firefly-graphics

This story is dedicated to all the women who struggle with pain. It doesn’t matter where that pain is, but know that you are not alone.

Please go enjoy her stories here:

Rada’s Masterlist

I do not own any characters in this short story, except the reader who is a figment of my imagination.

MY MASTERLIST

Sex on Fire Masterlist

Feedback is appreciated.

“What have I gotten myself into?

You stood in front of the mirror, having changed into the fifth dress, but nothing you had tried on was good enough for a date with the hottest doctor in town. A loud groan left your lips, making your sister peek inside your room.

“Everything alright in here?” she asked, looking over the room. Clothes were spread everywhere, shoes thrown all over, and you pacing in front of the closet, desperately trying to find something fitting to wear. “Looks like a tornado went through.”

“I have nothing to wear! So please, either come help me or get out,” you snapped. You heard the angry tone in your voice and turned around to face your younger sister, who looked mildly annoyed at you. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch.”

“Care to tell me what’s going on? I thought you were excited to go out with the dashing doctor?” She asked and went to sit on the only available space on the bed.

You picked up the five discarded pieces of clothing.

“This,” you held up the first dress, “is too short. He’ll think I’m a whore.”

“Then wear leggings underneath it. Do I need to remind you, sissy, that he has already seen you butt-naked?”

You glared at your sister, feeling she didn’t understand your situation that this date had to be perfect.

What if our attraction was a fluke?

“This,” you showed the second dress, “is too long. He’ll think I’m a prude.”

“Then cut it to the right length.”

What if he thinks I was an easy prey? I was. I practically begged him to fuck me. Fuck!

You were starting to sweat as you held up the third dress.

“This shows too much cleavage. He’ll think I’m trying to seduce the entire restaurant.”

“Wear a shirt under it.”

What if he isn’t taking me to a restaurant? What if we’re going to his place?

You kept rambling about the fourth and fifth dress, and your sister retorted with solutions to each of them.

“Sissy, your thoughts are so loud I think even he can hear them.”

You threw a dress in her face.

“You’re thinking of every possibility that this could go wrong, aren’t you?”

“No…” you mumbled, but a good death stare from your sister made you change your mind from lying, “Yes, I’m scared, Pat. What if he isn’t the man he made me believe he is? What if he’s a serial killer disguised as a vaginal doctor? What if he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing? What if I’m walking right into grandma’s house and get eaten by the big bad wolf?”

“Stop, stop, you’re making no sense whatsoever…”

“And what if he doesn’t like me? What if we don’t have any chemistry? What if… oh my god, what if he only wants me as a fuck-buddy?”

You were pacing around your room, walking through the clothes, kicking the shoes away from your wandering path. Your sister grabbed your wrist and pulled you down on the bed.

“You are overthinking,” she booped your nose, “You are a gorgeous human being, very pretty too, if I have to say so myself. If he was only going to have you as his fuck-buddy, then you either say yes, because God knows you need a good fuck, or you say no because you’re looking for something deeper. And he wouldn’t have asked you on a date if he wasn’t into you! Take a deep breath with me.”

You both inhaled and exhaled, again and again, until your heartbeat wasn’t about to gallop right out of your chest.

“Now that you’re nice and calm… eh, ish, let’s put on some music and get you ready for your date. I have the perfect dress for you to wear tonight, just promise not to spill wine on it.”

Lucas walked out of the steaming shower, wrapping a large fluffy towel around his hips. His dog, a German Shepherd, was lying on the carpeted bedroom floor by the door. Her brown eyes were staring at him intensely like she knew that he was going somewhere.

“I’ll be home as soon as I can, Aika. And I promise to bring your favourite treat from the restaurant,” he told the dog. Mention of the treat perked her ears up.

Sy chuckled as he started grooming his beard. Then a light went off in his mind.

Fuck, what if she doesn’t like dogs?

He looked apologetically at Aika, who was drooling on the carpet, already tasting the treat on her palate.

Lucas finished in the bathroom and went to his spacious walk-in closet.

“What should I wear, girl?” He asked as if Aika knew what was hot in fashion. She walked over to where he hung his trousers, sniffed a few before picking a grey pair down from the hanger. She then managed to trot over to him with a pair of brown leather shoes.

“Well, thanks, girl, these are perfect. So what do you think, a white shirt or a black shirt?” Sy held each piece up to Aika, and she barked happily at the white shirt, her tail wagging excitedly. The dashing doctor also chose a matching grey suit jacket. He looked himself over in the mirror.

“I really want this to work, Aika,” he mumbled to his dog, who cocked her head to the side. “I think she’s amazing, and I hope she likes dogs because if not, I would be really sad… to say goodbye to you.”

Aika growled at him, making Sy laugh out loud.

“Sorry girl, I’m just kidding, I’m kidding. You belong with me, forever and always,” he scratched her belly. “What do I do if I make an ass out of myself?”

Aika rolled around and let out a loud ‘woof’ as if she was saying that he should just be himself.

“Okay, I’ll do my best. But what if she’s not who I think she is? What do I do then?”

Aika let out a deep rumble from her chest. I’ll bite her sorry ass if she isn’t.

You walked down the pavement looking for the restaurant Sy had texted you the address of. Sy was standing out front, waiting for you, he looked so handsome in his grey suit, and now you felt you might have been under-dressed. His face lit up in a warm grin, and his eyebrows arched when he saw you moving towards him. You smiled shyly back.

As Sy leaned down to kiss her cheek, you were going for his lips, ending in an awkward angled greeting.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you whispered at the same time he said: “Sorry!”

You stood there, looking down on the pavement, red-faced and suddenly very shy, not knowing what to do next while he was staring at you, not being able to take his eyes off you.

Lucas chuckled and presented his arm.

“Shall we go in?”

He was smiling at you, trying his best not to make your encounter awkward. You took his arm and was led into the restaurant. You looked around at the warm and comfortable atmosphere of the room. Chinese lanterns were hanging down from the loft, casting a soft light over space. The wooden tables had an induction heating plate for the hotpot that could contain either one, two or four different soups. The couple were seated near the covered fishing pond that was placed in the middle of the restaurant, a glass wall surrounding the pond, so no one could fall and get wet. The koi fish were swimming around, showing off their orange, red, white, and black scales. It was a soothing and calming sight and helped you relax in the presence of the handsome doctor.

A waitress came to take your drink orders while you looked through the menu.

“Oh, I don’t know what goes well with anything here,” you said, suddenly feeling so out of place.

“May I suggest one of their beers? They’re really good,” Lucas smiled at you warmly as he gave his drink order. You ordered one of their light and refreshing beers.

You looked down at the menu again. Not knowing what to pick as everything sounded delicious.

“There’s so much food,” you commented with a giggle.

“Do you want to try one of their special menus? That way, you can try a little of everything,” Sy suggested.

“I’d like that.”

The waitress came back with their drinks, and Sy rambled away your order. He ordered the four soup hot pot, various meats, seafood, vegetables, and an enormous amount of different types of noodles.

“How did you come by this place?” You asked, taking a sip of beer.

“I was walking around the neighbourhood one day with my sisters, and one of them wanted dumplings, another some noodles, and the third wanted some soup. I searched for a restaurant that had all three things, and this place popped up. It has become my favourite restaurant in the entire city,” he was a vivid storyteller that doctor.

“You brought me to your favourite restaurant?”

“Well, yes. I know it’s not the most traditional place to have a first date, but the food is amazing,” a pink blush crept up his neck and reached his cheeks.

“I think it’s the perfect place for a first date. I like trying new things,” you assured him, watching as a boyish grin of pride spread on his lips. God, how you wanted to kiss those lips.

“I hope you mean that because here comes the food,” Sy nodded towards the three waiters walking with an extra table full of food and the pot filled with the four soups.

“Oh dear,” you watched as they set the plates full of meat around you. “Are we feeding an army?”

“Trust me, darling, this might not be enough when we first get started,” Sy smiled. He reached for his chopsticks, “Have you eaten with chopsticks before?”

You gasped, pretending to be offended.

“I will let you know, doctor, that I was trained by the best to eat with chopsticks,” you showed him your hold, “My sister loves to get Chinese takeout when none of us feels like cooking, and there’s a restaurant that makes the best potstickers and chow mein.”

“Maybe we can order from there one day,” Sy suggested, his voice soft and full of promises.

“I’d like that. So, how do we do this?” you asked.

Lucas told you about the four different soups. They ranked from not-so-spicy to hell’s gate spicy. He talked about all the different cuts of meat, how to just put the ingredients in the soup, advising that you put in the lotus root first as it took a long time to cook.

While the doctor was talking, you were watching him. Your sole focus was on the way his lips moved and his tongue darting out from time to time. That tongue, that godly tongue.

His voice was rich and deep, so smooth and velvety you wanted to hear him talk forever. He caught you ogling at him.

“Everything alright?” he asked, looking a bit confused.

“Yeah, I was just thinking how amazing you look out of your white coat,” you blurted, making Sy laugh and blush an even deeper shade of pink before turning red.

“Why thank you, but I think the real showstopper tonight is you. You look beautiful,” he complimented.

“You’re just saying that because I complimented you first,” you giggled like a teenage schoolgirl with a crush.

Sy shook his head as he reached for the pieces of meat he had put in the soups. He picked one out and moved the chopsticks closer to your mouth.

“Try this,” he recommended. You closed your mouth around the chopsticks, letting the meat fall on your tongue. The sweet umami flavour of the pork was melting in your mouth, and you let out a soft moan.

Lucas was watching your mouth closely. The mouth that had been sucking him off a few days earlier in his office. The pretty mouth that swallowed his seed. His pants were suddenly feeling very snug around his groin area. Fuck, not now!

Thankfully his horny thoughts were interrupted by your suggestion.

“My turn to feed you,” you dove into the spiciest soup and picked out a dumpling. Why does he look so good? Lord, what is he thinking? Why is he looking at me like that? Something on my face?

Your hand was shaking a bit as you leaned over to give the dumpling to Sy, and then you dropped it, watching in slow motion as gravity did its thing, making the dumpling land on Lucas’ crisp white shirt and then down to his lap it went.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” you exclaimed. You quickly stood with your napkin and went over to clean the mess you had made. Lucas had picked up the fallen dumpling, not even thinking about the stain the red soup had made. He was having sinful thoughts of you sitting on your knees trying to wash off the red colour with your napkin.

“I ruined your shirt,” you sighed as the stain became worse, and it started to spread the more you rubbed the fabric.

“You’ve made it a habit to ruin my clothes, sunshine,” Lucas chuckled, but his laughter died quickly as you dabbed the napkin on his thigh, moving closer to the hard-on he was willing to go soft, but too late.

Oh, ooooooh.

“Maybe I don’t like that they’re hiding what nature has so gracefully given you,” you smirk up at him, giving him a sultry look.

Lucas swallowed hard. You could see his throat tensing as his Adam's apple bopped up and down. He’s looking you straight in the eyes, trying his best to restrain himself from taking you right then and there.

“God, I love your boldness,” his voice was low, soft, almost velvety, as if he was trying to tell you with the tone of his voice alone how much he wanted you. The smoothness of his voice was sending shivers down your spine, and some part of your brain was signalling that now was the time for you to attack him, rip his clothes off, ride him right there in the chair, not even caring about the people around you.

“Is everything okay?” A waitress asked, interrupting the moment. You snapped out of your lust-filled haze and went back to your chair. Sy coughed, masking his even dirtier thoughts.

“Yes, everything is good. The food is amazing. Can we get two shots of baijiu?” he asked, suddenly in need of something strong to stay put during dinner.

The waitress came back with the shots. Lucas held up his glass.

“Cheers,” he said and downed the clear liquid in one go, but you took a small sip.

“Oh shit, it’s burning my throat,” you gasped, putting the shot down.

“Believe me, you’re going to need all of it until we’ve finished eating,” Sy hinted at something more.

You inhaled the shot, letting the fire spread throughout your chest all the way down to your thighs and throbbing core. Your brain was slowly getting fuzzier, giving you the courage to ask him what had been on your mind since he asked you on the date.

“What are we, doctor?” You blurted, not thinking about how loud you actually were. You continued as you watched confusion spread on his handsome face: “What are you looking for in a partner? Are we going to be a no-strings-attached kind of thing? Casual hookup?”

You stopped and took a deep breath, waiting for his answer. You watched his lips, trying to avoid his eyes. If he wanted a ‘friends with benefits’-relationship, you would be devastated.

“There’s nothing casual about you, buttercup,” Sy was surprised by what you had just told him. He couldn’t deny the connection there was between the two of you. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt it deep in his guts that there was something more, and he wanted to be more for you. “I want to get to know you. I want to explore the deep connection that we have and see where it leads us. What about you? What are you looking for?”

“I… I want that too. Because to me, this. What we have is too good to be just an emotionless thing,” you started, “I feel safe around you, Lucas. I don’t know why, but I do. Do I make any sense? Because I feel like I’m just sitting here rambling…”

Lucas grabbed your hands across the table, avoiding the soups. He caressed the soft skin over your knuckles. His protective instinct was on overload, he wanted to protect you, and his heart was racing from hearing you say that you felt safe around him.

“You make sense to me, bug.”

Your first date had been perfect, so were the following dates afterwards. Lucas Syverson was the perfect gentleman and taken it like a champ when you had asked to take things slow, especially with you not knowing if it was still going to hurt when having sex. You wanted to have your ‘problem’ solved before you took that all-intimate next step with Sy. You built a beautiful relationship and a strong friendship from your attraction.

Lucas had invited you out for lunch one day. He asked about how it was going with the new gynaecologist he had recommended, a woman, as he wasn’t keen on knowing another man touching you in such an intimate place. You told him that you had been referred to a physiotherapist and was going to see a specialist in vaginal diseases.

With time you hurt less and less, and it was with the support from your sister and Sy that you continued the different treatments the doctors gave you. You stretched out muscles in your abdominal area. You used soap that was for intimate use only. You even started using an anaesthetic gel to relax the nerves in your vagina by Sy’s recommendation. You had cursed him all the way to hell the first time you’d used it, even as far as telling him that it burnt worse than the alcohol shot he made you drink at the Hot Pot restaurant. You were walking like you’d ridden a horse all day long until the burning stopped after a few minutes, and Sy had kept his laughter to himself, not wanting to hurt your feelings, but when you had started giggling from looking at yourself in the mirror, he couldn’t stop the roaring laughter either.

Sy was very helpful when you were exercising. He had made the stretching into a game of some sort. You might not be having sex, but you could still tease each other, orally or with your hands, anything to build intimacy between the two of you. He was determined to make the process sexy and fun, not dull and boring.

You asked him to penetrate you a few times but had to tell him to pull out because the pain became too intense. Sy was extremely understanding, and he helped you through the crying afterwards, as you felt that you were never going to heal again. He loved that you were comfortable enough around him to tell him to stop, and you felt so safe with him.

It became your goal not only to have sex but to be penetrated without the pain. And you would get there eventually. For now, you would just bask in the afterglow of a good make-out session with Lucas on the sofa.

You had always felt that there was a part of you missing, a vital part, and now, with Lucas, you felt whole. You couldn’t go a day without at least texting him, saying you missed him, or when you were together, and he went to the bathroom, you missed him. When you had to go home the following day after a night of cuddling, you missed him the minute you walked out the door. Both of you felt like you were addicted to the other. It was almost becoming an obsession.

Life with a boyfriend like Sy was amazing, incredible, fantastic. He was everything you needed without having known it. And Lucas loved to have someone he could take care of, protect and maybe even love. Sy had never felt this way about anyone before. It was a fantastic feeling to have this wonderful woman he could call his girlfriend. His.

Not only were you an extraordinary human being: you also loved animals just as much as he did. If you were allowed animals in the apartment you lived in with your sister, you would have filled it already. Sy had let out a breath of relief when you’d told him. You and Aika had become cuddle buddies whenever you were visiting Lucas. The German Shepherd would completely ignore Sy and follow you around instead, and Lucas was only happy to share his girl with his other girl. The sense of having found you excited him, completed him and made him so happy.

There are two kinds of tired: one that needs a good night's sleep and one that needs so much more. Lucas fell into the second category. He was both physically and mentally exhausted from a long and hard day at work, and he also had to face the guilt for ruining your plans for a quiet dinner.

“Plans are made to be changed,” you told him when he called you to cancel your dinner plans and suggest grabbing something to eat and spend the evening at his place instead.

"And I really like the sound of staying in and just cuddling with you, big bear," you whispered in your phone so your colleagues wouldn’t hear you.

"Big bear?"

"Yes, you're massive, hairy and just like a big cuddly teddy bear," finishing the phrase you noticed that one of your colleagues, Rita, was looking at you, chuckling at your big bear comment. You cleared your throat and with all the seriousness you could muster you told Sy: “I can’t talk right now. Call me when you get here,” and quickly ended the call, turning to her, “he’s an activist for the conservation of big brown bears.”

“Yeah, right,” she laughed. “Have fun with your bear-man, girl, you don’t need to explain yourself.” She winked at you and went about her work.

To your dismay, Lucas didn’t follow your instructions and decided that would be the day he showed his face to your work coming into the library to pick you up. He walked into the place, standing tall, his long strides and posture showing a sense of confidence and ease. He was as handsome as always, in his dress jacket, white shirt and jeans. Upon entering the library, he took off his sunglasses revealing his cobalt blue stare that made people stop in their tracks and this time was no different.

“Oh my God!” You heard your colleague gasping next to you when she laid eyes upon him. A small grin formed on your face to her reaction. You watched your man getting closer, noticing that his face looked tired, something only you would notice. The moment your eyes met a warm, sweet smile spread on his gorgeous lips, lighting up his face.

“Do they accept new members in the bear conservation club?” She asked not too loud, but loud enough for Sy to hear, who was standing right in front of you now. You blushed from embarrassment and broke eye contact with him. His soft laughter brought your eyes back on him.

"Sadly all positions have been filled up," he countered looking directly at you with a lopsided grin. “Ready to go home, sunshine?” You nodded excited, picking up your things quickly and moving on Lucas’ side, looping your arm around his offered elbow.

“Have a good evening, Rita,” you said giddily, looking back at her as she was fanning herself trying to cool off to the sight of Sy’s behind.

"What would you like to eat for dinner?" Sy asked as he opened the car door.

"You," you whispered silently.

In the shower, the water came down warm and soothing, washing the weariness and bad energy of the day off of Lucas’ body. He took some time for himself to relax and find his balance again. But the thought of you sitting on the other side of the wall made him impatient. He needed to be close to you.

Aika whimpered at you, licking your fingers and begging for another treat. You were lying on Sy’s bed, flipping through channels, nibbling at the leftovers of your Chinese takeout, with a comfortable, fluffy pillow behind you, soft and crisp sheets underneath you and Aika laying across your lap, sharing the guilty pleasure of eating in bed with you.

“Shhh, girl! Do you want him to hear us?” You whispered at her, feeding her another bite of the delicious potstickers you had for dinner. She gulped the treat and then licked your hand in gratitude. “Eating in bed is the best, right Aika?” You told her in a colluding way, scratching your accomplice behind her ears. You knew that Sy didn’t approve of eating in bed nor sharing food with Aika, so you both were on the lookout for when he would finish his shower. You didn’t want him to find out the ‘magic tricks’ you had used to gain Aika’s trust so fast.

The moment you heard Sy turning off the water, you both jumped up, Aika taking her usual place at the foot end of the bed acting all cool, and you ran to hide the evidence in the kitchen and wash your hands from the grease. In a minute, you were back in bed pretending you were watching TV. Of course, you had no idea what was on.

“What are my girls doing?” The bathroom door opened, and Sy came out with a towel wrapped loosely around his hips. He leaned lazily on the door frame, smiling in all his wet, half-naked glory, making you choke on your own drool. Quickly, you gathered yourself trying to sound as convincing as possible.

“Nothing special, just sitting here and relaxing.”

Sy walked across the room heading for his dresser that was on your side. Your eyes followed every move he made, studying even the tiniest dent and bump his muscles formed. At the view of his butt, a very unladylike sound escaped your throat.

‘Everything ok, sweetheart?” Lucas asked absentmindedly while looking for his underwear.

“Mh-mm,” you nodded, turning your eyes to the TV. There was a short pause after you heard him close the drawer.

“Babe, is there something you want to tell me?” You craned up your head to meet his eyes. His face was serious. The only thing that kept you from worrying was a small twitch of a smile on his lips. Oh, his lips.

“Huh? Like what?” You asked puzzled.

“I don't know, maybe you want to confess something?” Your mind started racing, a hundred thoughts per second: you are so hot, take off that towel, take me now, how lucky can a girl be, you are perfect, I love you. What? Where did that come from?

“Uhh, no. I don’t think so,” you mumbled trying to hide the instant blushing on your face.

“Don’t you think that trust and openness are important, darling?” He leaned over you, his hand running over your jaw. So busted! But how?

“Of course!” You gulped, readying yourself for the revelation.

“Then can you tell me, why are there crumbs on the bed, bug?”

“What?” That was not what you were expecting.

“Aika?” Sy turned to the German shepherd. She whimpered, hiding her snout in her paws and quickly left the room.

“Traitor,” you muttered.

“I thought we had an agreement on this,” Sy spoke softly, putting on his underwear and sweatpants and headed to his side of the bed.

“I want her to like me,” you confessed in a small, guilty voice.

Lying down, Lucas let a deep sigh out, finally being able to relax and cuddle with his girlfriend. He pulled you closer letting you rest your head on his shoulder.

“Baby, you don’t need to buy her off. I’m sure that Aika loved you the first moment she met you… just like her owner.” Sy’s voice drifted off as he started zoning out, feeling so relaxed in your arms. Your breath caught in your throat, gazing at him like you saw the sun for the first time after an eternity of darkness. You wanted to say so many things but couldn’t find the words to bring out of your head. The only thing you could utter was:

“Wrap your arms around me,” you felt the need to be close to him, lost in him.

“How’s that?” He murmured with his eyes closed.

“Perfect.” He brought his face in your hair, inhaling deeply from your scent.

“Mmmmm, you smell amazing.” This felt so right to him, holding you and being held. He tightened his arms around you. Being in his embrace felt so soothing, calming and safe to you, that you let out a soft purring sound.

“Did you just purr?” He opened his eyes, a huge grin forming on his face.

“No….”

“I think you did.”

“Uh-oh,” you said lazily, burying your face into his neck.

“Alright. But in case you did, I find it really cute.’’ He let you know in his deep, soft and gentle voice.

“I might have…” Your admission made you both dissolve into laughter allowing you to release all the pent up energy. Once out of your laughing fit, you were both left gazing into each other’s eyes. It was you who made the first move, bringing your hand on his cheeks, your fingers idly playing with the curls in his beard before you kissed him, slowly at first, lips tracing lips, becoming deeper, bolder and more intense as your tongues danced in a passionate rhythm. The moan that escaped his mouth when you finished the kiss, gently biting and tagging his lower lip set you on fire.

Sy felt he was on cloud nine. His head was spinning with giddy happiness. The way your body was moulded to fit him like a puzzle piece. His heart was galloping, his mind was going crazy, his feelings were all over the place with joy and love, he felt loved, so loved. But the minute you moved to sit in his lap, grinding against him as if you were riding a horse, his mind was transported to another place, only thinking about how good the friction between you felt, he wanted so bad to make love to you, to make you feel as good as you were doing to him at the moment.

He was still lost in your kiss, basking in your touch with his eyes closed as you kissed your way from his neck to his ear whispering:

“Baby, I think I'm ready.”

He opened his eyes, blinking lazily. At first, he didn’t understand what you were talking about. He looked straight into your eyes, his eyebrows furrowed with question. You caressed his face softly, waiting for realisation to hit him. The smile on your face, the feeling in your eyes soon let him in on the meaning of your words. His heart had skipped a beat as he truly grasped your words. You saw the surprise register on his face, his breathing quickened, his lips parted ever so slightly, his hands stilling on the lower part of your back and a faint wrinkle showed between his eyebrows. And then immediately his short-lived surprise gave its place to happiness shining through his eyes, fueled with desire as the colour of his blue orbs turned to a dark navy ring around his full-blown pupils.

His arms wrapped around you and you felt him pulling you onto his chest. You could feel the urgency in his movements, there was raw emotion in the way his fingers curled around the fabric of your dress. He claimed your lips once again, kissing you deeply, absorbing every detail of the moment, your scent, the weight of your body against his, all the feelings that were washing over him, raising a wave of heat inside him.

The taste of him stripped you from all your thoughts, fears and senses. His kiss, hungry and intense, ignited a fire inside you. Your palms were flat on his chest, your fingers were trying to dig into his skin as if wanting to hold on for dear life before you let go of all inhibitions and get lost in him. His hands trailed down your neck, never releasing your mouth from the hot, wet kiss he had you captured. Your body reacted to his touch, sending shivers down your spine and making you moan. You brought your hands to his deep brown curls, carding your fingers through them, tugging at his roots, to feel a little bit of control as your sanity was in the balance of tipping over. The little pain that he experienced made him exude more lust, he loved how you took control, as he could unwind and let you loose.

With one strong arm around your waist, he gathered you up and moved you both to a sitting position, letting you sit astride his lap. His fingers dug into your hips and pulled you closer to him, pressing your core to his straining bulge. You couldn’t help but grind against him, letting your instinct take over. Your kissing grew more passionate, more urgent, muffled moans and gasps filling the room. Sy brought his hands on your breast, kneading the soft flesh over the light fabric of your sundress and realising that you had no bra on. A throaty noise escaped him as he broke the kiss, looking at you with blazing eyes.

“You had it planned all along, you little minx!” he growled, his thumbs tracing your perky nipples through the thin layer, weakening your core, making you lean your forehead against his for purchase. He could feel the warmth coming off your skin through the lite fabric, but it wasn't enough. He wanted to touch you, he wanted to see the delicate, subtle flesh of your breasts.

You could feel the feral animosity inside him, as you kept grinding your core to his groin. You had never seen him like this before. His hands were eager to touch more than just your dress. Before you could think about taking the dress off, it was ripped from your chest, the fierce action kicking the breath out of you. Buttons flew in every direction and landed on the soft carpeted floor.

“That was my favourite dress,” you said in a shuddering voice, watching him take in the image of your naked body like a starving beast.

“Payback time,” he snarled. He studied you, running a finger over your breastbone slowly down to your stomach, his eyes following the invisible trail his touch burnt on your skin. He left a wet kiss on your chest and licked his way to one of your nipples, taking it into his mouth, torturing it with his tongue and tugging it with his teeth making it even harder. Although his moves were slow, you could feel how aroused and ravenous he was, his breathing shallow and fast just like yours. You closed your eyes, burying your face in his hair, feeling him everywhere; his lips on your breasts, his fingers pressing into the flesh of your lower back, his erection stirring between your legs. His scent and taste defined your reality now.

Sliding your hand between your bodies and pressing firmly on his arousal made him growl like a wild animal against your skin. He looked up at you with lustful eyes ordering you to take off your clothes. The demand in his husky voice stole your breath for a second. He commanded and needed you at the same time. You stood up obediently, let the dress fall down to your ankles, slowly peeled off your panties down your legs and stepped out of them with small moves while watching him watching you.

You crawled back onto the bed languidly, wrapping your fingers at the waistband of his sweatpants, removing them slowly along with his black boxer briefs, revealing his throbbing manhood and his muscular thighs. He stared at your face through half-lidded eyes with desire, taking in how you ran your tongue over your lips at the sight of the glistening precum that oozed from the top of the head, showing your eagerness to taste him.

He pulled you against his body, holding you close, feeling the warmth of your body skin on skin, your breasts pressed into his chest and his erection straining against your body. His lips captured yours in a deep passionate kiss, owning your very existence.

“The things I wanna do to you, right now,” he moaned in your mouth, locking eyes with you.

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want to make you come. Hard.”

“Mmm, how?” you purred, biting your lower lip to the suggestion. His eyes fell on your lips again and a small wicked grin appeared on his.

“Ride my face and I’ll show you,” his voice low and heavy with desire. His words sparked an adventurous excitement inside you, making your heart start racing. A bold smile appeared on your face taking up his challenge and the look of awe in the doctor’s eyes gave you the courage to move over, stride his beard, facing towards his body. His strong hands guided your knees on either side of his head and then trailed over your body, adoring every inch of it.

The beautiful close up of your dripping core mere inches from his eager mouth made him salivate, yearning for the taste of you. His tongue started tracing the inner of your thighs, writing small circles on the sensitive skin, lazily finding his way to your lips, licking, sucking, and making them beautifully wet. But his hands on your butt cheeks, kneading the round flesh with fervour showed you that he was impatient to dive into the main course immediately.

A warm, coiled tension started building up inside you, feeling your muscles quivering in anticipation. You couldn’t stop yourself from grinding on the soft bristles of his beard, the variation in textures making you weak. You leaned slightly forward, putting your hands on his stomach to hold on, the small change in angle intensifying the sensation and giving him more space to navigate. You couldn’t tell the difference between his lips or tongue. All you could feel was just a nice, sloppy warm mess. A loud gasp escaped you when you felt his tongue run over your opening, lapping your juices.

“You taste like honey,” he grunted into your core, the vibration of his bass hitting you hard. He didn’t wait for you to answer, he went on with his smooth, wet and warm stimulation. When he hit your clit, your whole body shuddered in his tight grip. The effect he had on you made his cock jump. You leaned lower, putting your mouth on him, your fingers wrapping around the base of his shaft. You felt his body jerk upon contact and he tried to drown a curse clenching his teeth, causing you to laugh around him. But you didn’t stop, taking him deeper, giving him the attention he needed.

For a moment, he let himself get lost in your ministrations, having your eager, soft tongue wrapped around him, eyes closed, moaning deep, feeling he was growing bigger and harder in your mouth. You took advantage of his openness and brought your hand over his sack, massaging it softly, accelerating the pace, your tongue twirling around his glands every time your lips were around his head.

“Fuck!”

His hips thrust up involuntarily, searching to go deeper into the wetness of your mouth. You felt like you had the upper hand, loving the power he granted you over him, the naughty side of you wanting to make this a race of who was going to come first. But you should have known better, Sy wouldn’t let you have this one. He pressed his tongue flat on your core, intensifying the sensation and then ran it over your opening and sliding it inside you. You couldn’t keep the needy moan from escaping, feeling his tongue teasing your moist entrance and penetrating you.

Your focus was lost and so was your balance. You leaned your forehead on his pelvis, concentrating on all the pleasure he was giving you, stroking him slowly with your hand.

"Don't stop,” you whimpered, feeling the warmth of your orgasm spreading all over you. He pulled you closer against his face and shoved his tongue deeper inside you, fucking you at a frantic pace while his beard set your clit on fire. Your legs started trembling, his firm grip not allowing you to move away from him, the light tremors of your orgasm building into an earthquake, making you shudder and scream.

“God, Luc! Your tongue is magical,” you gasped as you collapsed on the bed, panting with your eyes closed. You heard his deep chuckle and felt the bed shift as he moved over, lying next to you. His arm wrapped around your waist and he scattered small kisses on your shoulder and collarbone, his beard wet from your nectar left a cooling sensation on your skin. You turned to face him, bringing your hand on his jaw, guiding him into a deep kiss. His kisses were always a delicious treat but now that you tasted yourself on his lips and tongue, it made you feel amazing and aroused again.

Never breaking your kiss, Sy laid on top of you, his weight spreading your legs apart. You couldn’t stop your hands from tracing his taut body, relishing in the texture of his muscles. You could feel he was tense, his strength, his heat increasing as he was taking over you and you couldn’t get enough of it. You needed this. You wanted to watch his face as he came inside you, to have his sweat all over you and you couldn’t believe it was finally happening. And neither could he.

He fought to control his movements and the urge to claim you hard, pouring all his passion on you. He needed his mind to take over the primal, animal instinct he was feeling at that moment. He was too far gone by now, his whole body aflame. Your voice brought him back.

“Lucas,” you whispered more breath than voice.

“Say it again. Say my name,” he said in your ear, his voice a low groan.

“Lucas, do it.”

His expression was one of intense concentration, replaced by wide sensation, as he eased slowly inside you. His thrust was slow, gentle, allowing your body to get used to his size and open up for him. You took in a deep breath as your body prepared for that familiar feeling of pain to come and tensed up but his kisses, his bites, his touch, his fire engulfed you, making you relax and forget about everything. Without even being aware of it, your pelvises touched and there you were, one deep inside the other. The realization alone made you both gasp, staring at each other with awe.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sy murmured, the overwhelming feeling choking him.

You paused for a moment, running a mental check before nodding faintly and breathing: “More”.

Sy took a moment trying to catch his breath and allowing you to catch yours. Eventually, your bodies unwinded and your breaths almost synced. With slow, soft thrusts he started moving inside you, claiming your mouth at the same slow, languid pace. Your bodies now were the closest they could be. The intense feeling of your tightness made him moan against your lips.

“I can feel every muscle inside you moving,” he gasped, “and it feels fucking incredible.”

"I love the way you feel inside me," you said, your voice giving away a slight hint of breaking, feeling a lump in your throat. You just needed to say it, tell him before your heart burst.

"I love the way I feel inside you," he let out a low content groan, not picking up your emotional overload.

"I love that I can trust you," you went on, closing your eyes trying to contain your feelings, trying to find comfort in his motions, rocking back and forth inside you.

The tears in your voice were more evident, making Sy stop and look at you with worry on his face.

"Baby... Look at me."

You couldn't bring yourself to open your eyes, you didn't want to ruin this moment for both of you.

"It's OK, bug. I'm here for you. Open your eyes."

"I love how you are always here for me," you gasped an intense sob ripping through you. "I-I love... you."

His eyes travelled from your lips forming those three words to your eyes, gazing inside them, finding your soul and claiming it as his own. He saw you, really, truly saw you and loved what was there. He tenderly caressed your face with his fingertips, wiping away the trail of your tears. He placed a feathery kiss on your lips and whispered:

"I love you too."

[spectracully]

busy boy.

pairing : fratboy!jaemin x sororitygirl!reader warnings : drinking, mentions of drugs, a bit suggestive (but pls note that this isn’t smut), cursing, mentions of divorce genre : fluff, angst, college!au word count : 2.5k

summary : inspired by chloe x halle - busy boy. basically playing around with the local campus playboy, na jaemin for months is not the best thing, not the worst thing either.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You face yourself in the bathroom mirror, hands gripping the white sink. You saw him, right there. Dancing in the middle of the frat house’s living room with a girl in his arms. Na Jaemin, the boy you’ve been talking with for 3 months now, who recently just texted you “are you up?” on 9.15, and when you replied to him that you’re actually at his frat house, attending the party that Jaehyun hosts, he just texted you back one hour later by saying he’s with his family.

You’re malfunctioning right now, still dazed, don’t know whether it's because of the alcohol, the weed Lucas gave you, or it’s just you- believing his cheap lies. Cause when you think about it, who the fuck leaves the campus, go home and spend time with family in finals month? Yeah, you’re the one who’s dumb here, actually believing his lies. But who blames you for believing in the first place, anyway? You and your sorority sisters have arrived here since 8.30 anyway, an hour and half is long enough to get you lightheaded from the shots you take.

You glanced at your watch, it’s only 11.28 pm. About an hour since you read his text, and practically 34 minutes after you literally saw him. Facepalming yourself, you close the toilet seat and sit above it. It’s not even right in the middle of the night, but it has been a wild ride for you. It’s kinda frustrating when you are the one who actually started this game, you knew Jaemin is hell of a playboy on campus, yet you decided to get some taste of it just because he’s being a real gentleman with sweet words to you. Yeri was actually furious when she saw Jaemin dropped you off at the sorority house a few weeks ago, she warned you that you should dump him before you’re too attached, but you won’t listen. There it is, the fruit of not listening to Yeri’s 40 minutes lecture of how you should avoid men like Jaemin, Lucas, Yuta, Ten, Johnny and Jaehyun in your love life, big disappointment.

Finally catching your breath, you decided that it is time you get back outside, and actually do something about it, rather than being all somber and gloomy. Jaehyun threw a goddamn frat party in the middle of finals month to relax the fellow students’ mind, not for you to dwell on your sadness, in the bathroom. It’s embarrassing. And a disgrace for your sorority.

You head out, spotting Lucas who’s leaning by the counter with Hendery and Jungwoo. They’re probably hitting more blunt and having some existential crisis over a potato chip wrapping. You continue to scan across the house, only to catch a sight of Joy busy making out with Sungjae on the couch. Or Yeri, who’s currently twerking to Doja Cat’s song, totally shitfaced. You sighed, your friends are either high, shitfaced, or sucking a boy’s face out. You really wanna continue your search for your other sisters, but then suddenly a light brown haired boy appears in front of you.

“Hey, y/n, you alright? You look like you’ve been through 4 divorces.” he asks as he stares at you, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I just went through a fucking divorce. With your homeboy.” you answer him absentmindedly, pointing to the black haired boy who is wearing a black-white patterned wool sweater and a red shirt underneath, along with his slate-grey suit pants and a silver necklace. The boy in the topic is currently talking with the girl you saw earlier, being all smiley and shit.

Mark just laughs lightly as he sips his beer, “Oh him? Yeah he’s quite a busy boy. Probably went through countless divorces with half of the campus.” you chuckle at him, he knows what you’re talking about. All these girls never even had a proper official relationship with Jaemin, including you, but always ended up getting a nasty ass divorce without any reason. You know that, but you did not expect that you’d hang on up until now.

“You wanna do something about it?” Mark asks, nudging your elbow. He’s in a helpful mood now, probably because he is still not completely shitfaced or high. You glance at him, giving him a questioned look.

“Well.. I mean I would do it, but what? Kissing you in front of him so that he’ll get jealous? No, Mark. You know that his head is made out of a fucking rock, right?” You answer him, seizing his beer and take a big ass gulp.

“Hey, that’s my beer- What? Kiss you? Gross, dude. If you are looking for that guy, might as well run to Lucas or Jungwoo.” he lifts his eyebrows, slightly engrossed. You laugh at him, he’s a funny guy when he reacts to your silly jokes.

“Do I look like I wanna give you a kiss, Mark? No offense, but I don’t like crackly lipped boys.” you tease him, now he’s pouting and starts touching his lips, “Is it too crackly though? You have a lipbalm or something?” he asks

You continue to laugh while fishing the watermelon lipbalm out from your black leather jacket and pass it to him. He muttered a small thanks. You set the beer aside to the table then face him once more.

“Anyways, what should I do?” you eye him, who is now done applying the lipbalm.

“Drop your drink to the girl or something? Make sure he notices you dude.” he suggests, shrugging his shoulder.

“You’re dumb, Mark. It’ll cause a fucking catfight in the middle of party.” you deadpanned.

“Oh yeah, you have a point.” he swept his hair to the side, glancing at the whole party situation. That’s when you get the idea. Scratch kissing other boys in front of him, it’s probably the right time to call him the fuck out, you already have alcohol running in your system anyways, might as well go all out tonight, since everybody else also seems like already intoxicated by the liquors.

You lightly brush your hair, stretching your neck and praying to god that he’ll forgive you for what you are about to do. “Toodles, Mark. I’ll think a way when I get drunk, soon enough.” you wave him a goodbye, heading to the dining table to get a bottle of vodka, it’s half empty though, considering you’re being pessimistic tonight.

You chug the bottle with no mercy, wishing it’ll bring you straight to intoxication. You start to feel it kicking in, when you finish the last drop of the vodka. Banging the bottle to the nearby table, you make your way to Jaemin, who is currently sitting on the staircase by himself, checking his phone.

“Ooh, busy boy, aren’t you?” you ask him, not giving anymore fucks. He looks up to you, who is currently squinting at him, face reddening from the alcohol heat. He stares at you, biting his lip.

“Y/n. You’re drunk.” he says lightly as he stands up, tucking strands of your hair to the back of your ear. You squirm from his action. As much as you want to punch him in the face for playing with your emotions, you really miss his touch.

“I am not! Jaemiiiiin, why did you lie to meeeee?” you whine loudly to him on purpose, placing his hand on your face, pouting. Your plan worked, a few people turned their heads to you and Jaemin. He just sighs and snorts, smelling the strong liquor scent that slipped out of your lips. You can feel Yeri is probably trying to kill you with her glare, you know how much she hates Jaemin.

“Listen, baby, what are you trying to pull?” Jaemin whispers close to your ear. You’re not that sure whether it’s because of the loud music blasting in the whole house, or it’s just Jaemin’s voice. Whatever it is, your ears are tingling, sending funny sensations down to your spine.

Jaemin is pissed, you know it damn well from his tone, stern and strong. Oh yes, you love it so much, pissing him off, probably you’ll start humiliating him more and more in his own frat home, because that’s what he deserves for playing with you, and some other random girls.

“Don’t baby me, Jaemin! You said you were with your family, and then I saw you with some random girl!” you shout. At this point, you don’t really care about what others think of you, because they can clearly see you’re being drunk and probably will shrug it off. If that’s what it takes to call Jaemin out in a huge crowd, then you’ll take it. You have nothing to lose, anyway, they’ll agree with you, they all know Jaemin is a big flirt.

And there it is, the anger and humiliation fills Jaemin up. He pulls your wrists, practically dragging you upstairs. You liked it, don’t know why, it’s just fun, making him mad when it’s actually you, who should’ve been mad in the first place. He rushes you to get into his shared bedroom with Jeno and Renjun. Amused, you quickly sit on his bed, acting like you’re dumb.

He shuts the door behind him, crossing his arms. “What’s this all about, baby?”

You snort, “I think you know, Jaemin. You’ve been messing around me for 2 months- or what, I actually lost count because you’re such a busy boy.”

He widen his eyes, “I don’t-”

“Oh shut up, are you surprised that I actually last longer than all your pretty girls?” you stand up, you can’t contain the anger anymore.

“Listen, baby, I-”

“I said, don’t baby me when you do that to probably other 7 girls!” you shout, glaring at him, who is currently freezing on his space.

He sighs and sweeps his hair in frustration, licking his lips. “Will you listen to me first, at least?”

You roll your eyes, crossing your arms while glancing at his study desk. Nicely decorated, and you can see his family photograph neatly placed in a small frame. You noticed that he’s quite a reader too, judging from his book collection compared to Jeno and Renjun.

“First, I gotta admit, you last longer than other girls, yes. And second, it’s because I want to keep you-” he starts, taking a seat next to you,

You scoffed, “Keep me? You think I’m some kind of puppy that follows you around, Jaemin? You’re being such a dick right now! Do you think that I’m just some kind of wh-”

“Can you not interrupt me, baby? I’m talking.” he growls, placing his hand to your thigh. You can feel your cheeks heat up from his actions. Jaemin, being Jaemin, can sense that you’re actually flustered, he lightly squeeze your thigh, just to see your cheeks redden even more. God, he’s such a flirt.

“But first, I got to be honest with you, I was torn between ghosting you or continuing. That explains the lie a lot.” he clears his throat, looking into your eyes. You’re not giving him a reaction (except the fact that you’re already as red as a fucking cooked lobster from his hand placement), just like he said, don’t interrupt him.

“I mean- after all those messing around, I grow tired of it. I-I don’t even want to flirt anymore, I want to be comforted.. Those girls, those people.. They know I’m not serious and they do the same, y/n. We just kinda.. Have a good time and dipped.”

You’re still sitting in silence, eyes fixed on Jaemin, who now looks flustered. This is not Jaemin at all, he’s usually cocky, cheeky, and flirty, just exactly like a few seconds ago. He usually throws wink here and there, but now he actually looks… vulnerable.

“I was surprised you’re still holding on for like 3 months.. Those girls won’t even last for 2 days, y/n. It’ll end up me ghosting them or vice versa, no one ever had a second date with me. But you, you can’t seem to give up when I’m not replying, don’t you?” he chuckles as he looks at you softly,

You giggle at him a little, “Yes. I’m THAT dumb, Jaemin.” you admit to him. In reality, you know it, you know when he’s not replying, he’s probably with some other girls. But you are being deadass, you just don’t know what possessed you, you just keep on texting him like it’s nothing.

He rubs the back of his neck, “I was actually scared that you’ll dump me when I develop actual feelings to you.. Or worse, what if I break your heart after we have something? I mean, if I have to, I’d break it now, so the pain is not too harsh. That’s why I keep on lying to you, and maybe, not replying to your messages.”

At first, you feel bad from hearing him speak truthfully. But after he opened his mouth again, you can feel the anger slowly rising again through your veins. He is very very selfish and self-centered. Is this how he show his true color? A man with a big ego? That’s it?

You tilted your head, “Fuck you. Really. Then why did you start the conversation, Jaemin? You could’ve told me how you felt and we’re set. But I can see-”

He shakes his head, interrupting your words, “I-I told you, y/n. I’m very torn between wanting to pursue you, or letting you go. That’s why I often not replying right after I texted you. I’m sorry, I really do.”

You’re angry. You’re sad. But you’re confused that you’re a little happy too, hearing him speak from the bottom of his heart. But that’s very selfish of him, doing those acts to you. He could’ve told you what he actually feels way earlier than this, so you can make sure what are you two doing, instead of playing pointless games of ghosting and chasing around again.

“I see. You’re so fucking selfish, Jaemin. We talked for months and this is all I got? Am I not worth of your explanation from the start? I know you wouldn’t do anything if I hadn’t drag your ass in the middle of the fucking party!” you stand up, you can no longer hide your disappointment to him, tears start rolling down your face.

His heart breaks a little, watching bundle of tears fall from your eyes. He is the heartbreaker, but those girls were never crying when he ghosted them after they had fun, those girls would catch another boys and forget about Jaemin right away. This is Jaemin’s first ever experience, seeing a girl crying because of what he did.

He knows that he’s an asshole for playing fire, but now he feels like he is THE asshole. He broke your heart right on, and it breaks his heart right back.

You sigh deeply, trying to catch a breath after a few sobs. “Don’t fucking find me. Have fun with your girls.” you look at his eyes with full of anger and hate. With heavy steps, you walk to the door, thinking about things you’re about to do once you get downstairs, probably joining Lucas and the gang, stoning yourself out, so you don’t have to think about Jaemin and his stupid beautiful face.

Just when you try to reach the door knob, you can feel Jaemin is grabbing onto your hand.

“Y/n, I am truly sorry.. After what you did earlier, I realized that I’m a big fucking loser. I can’t even admit my feelings. When you call me out earlier, I just wanna dissolve into thin air. I can’t handle the shame of being such a dick, I should’ve told you what I feel instead of making uncertain decisions.”

You turn to him, seeing his eyes glimmering, probably because of the tears pooling up. You’re hurt, you want to push him away as far as possible, you want to see him suffer. Hell, you just want him to extinct. But seeing him like this, you can’t lie to your own feelings, you like him. You really do. But just like your sorority sisters taught you, yourself comes first, not those stupid silly boys who just fuck around.

“Goodbye, Jaemin.” you say to him, holding back more tears coming in.

Just when you’re getting ready to reach the doorknob for the second time, he pulls you into his arms. You want to let go of him, but he’s strong, and you- actually wanting this for so long. You hate him, but you have feelings for him. You can’t help but stay on his embrace.

And then... There it is, the feels. It comes back, the way you hide yourself from Yeri whenever you pick up his calls, or maybe the late night drive to nearby McDonalds, or maybe flirting through the notes you pass during class, or maybe the first kiss you shared with him in front of your sorority house, and ended up being scolded by Yeri and Joy. 

You realized that it was a stupid crush with the stupid playboy Na Jaemin, but you enjoyed your time with him. You remembered how he likes to send you goodnight selfies, or maybe the way he pouts a lot when driving. Those 3 months of on-and-off-unofficial-relationships with him, is actually making you feel things.

“Y/n, I know I don’t deserve you, but really.. This time, I mean it. I promise, I won’t mess around. Please, I know I’ve been such a dick, but if you just give me one more chance, y/n..  But I completely understand, if you hate me, and you probably want to slam me to death, and I will allow you-”

You look up to him and grabbed his face, crashing his lips into yours. He tastes like cherry soda, with a hint of cigarettes. He seems like enjoying the kiss, he cupped your cheeks as he deepened the kiss. You can feel his hands travel around your body, only to land in your hips.

You want to trust him this time. He promised you. He meant it. He will take care of you. And you trust him, this time. 

“Alright, busy boy. I do want to slam you, though... But remember, just because you’re so damn fine, I won’t even think twice to dump your ass if you act up.” you warn him.

The tears you shed just bloomed into giggles and smiles. The inconsistency between the 3 months before finally disappeared, and reborn again into a new promise.

He nods. “Believe me baby, you’re the one who wants to be slammed right now.” he teases you, glancing to his bed. You can feel your cheeks reddening again, you lightly hit him, and he laughs. He’s a cheeky boy.

“Busy boy, huh?” he giggles, “Your busy boy.”

The anger within you is released now. No more chasing around like a fool, no more getting late replies from Jaemin, no more nights of hoping that he’d reply, because he’s only busy for you now.

[ayellowcurtain]

a prompt where it's all fun and games for Sander (about Senne) but then at the end of the night he talks to Robbe and he's actually a bit jealous/insecure?

a robbe and senne friendship fic?

Based on some headcanons about the party last weekend

-

The loud music, with what feels like a million people talking over it to see if their friends can hear them better, is starting to annoy Robbe. He’s right at the curve between being happily drunk and getting annoyed at everything and everyone. So he’ll ride his high as best as he can before it ends with a bottle of water next to him on his bed and some headache medication for him to take as soon as he opens his eyes.

It’s been a good night. It feels like everyone decided to be nice all at the same time and Robbe is happy about it. There’s always some drama happening so it feels nice when they’re all being stupid and drunk together. He doesn’t want to think about all of this ending soon. He’s not the type to like the end of a story, no matter if it’s good or bad. Everyone is here too which is a miracle. The group is often separated into parties, romantic dates, or drama that they can’t be in the same room for some stupid reason.

Robbe finishes another beer and gives the empty bottle for Jens to handle while he turns his paper cup all the way, sipping even the last few drops of his beer. Sander is still there, standing close to him but talking to Zoe and Robbe misses him terribly. He doesn’t want to interrupt but he leans against his boyfriend's warm and safe embrace, always ready to welcome him, no matter how sudden. He’s probably staring too much until Sander snorts, and stops talking to Zoe, looking down at him instead.

“I’m tired.” Robbe states, closing his eyes just for one second, smiling when he feels Sander’s hand on his forehead, doing what Robbe wanted to do for so long: pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“You wanna go?” Sande asks with the softest voice and Robbe feels himself getting all giddy and deeper in love, standing up again, holding the end of Sander’s straw before biting it.

“You wanna go? You’re always wanting us to be alone…” Sander smiles quietly, his arm sadly slipping back down to let Robbe stand on his own.

“Is there a problem with that?”

“No.” Robbe pouts, holding the straw again to put it back in between his teeth.

Someone takes a photo of them and the flash makes Robbe see a million white stars all over and around his eyesight, like Sander is floating in a universe, looking so extremely attractive and chill.

“Fuck off…” Sander complains about the flash too, playingfully covering Jens’ phone with his hand. Robbe could talk a lot about how attractive Sander’s hands are but he won’t.

“Let go of each other already then!” Jens replies, finally bringing them the beer Robbe had asked an eternity ago. Sander lifts his grey shirt just a little so he can wrap it around the bottle cap and open it for them.

“Are you sure you don’t need some water, cutie?”

Robbe nods his head, drinking a little bit of the new beer Sander offers him, still able to find the small hint of annoyance in Sander’s mannerism when Jens is around them.

He can’t understand it because they’ve talked about this more times than they needed to. Robbe is sure since the day he met Sander that even if his crush on Jens was anything to be considered, it would die down quickly because nothing ever felt like this.

Like this amount of love and devotion and pride that Robbe has to be in love with Sander. Whatever he felt for Jens wouldn’t compare. But Robbe wonders how it feels to be like his boyfriend. Unapologetic when he doesn’t vibe with someone. He’s more than allowed to like or not like whoever he wants and Robbe hopes he’s that brave some day to respect his own taste and not worry about what others might think. Sander respects himself and his time too much to pretend, ever.

Robbe squeezes Sander’s waist, whining just so his boyfriend can hear. “Kiss me.”

And Sander gives him the kiss Robbe was desperate to have. It’s slower than what he wants, actually and he whines in between the kiss, scratching Sander’s waist, gripping his shirt and Sander knows he doesn’t want an all soft and well behaved kiss. Robbe wants himself pinned against a wall, with his legs opened-

Another bright light as soon as Sander is turning them around, about to make all of Robbe’s drunk dreams come true.

“Aw, you two look so cute!” Luca screams over the music, staring at her phone still and Robbe grunts, pushing Jens away from him.

“Stop it!”

His frustration is growing almost as fast as his pants are getting tight. Sander doesn’t seem as bothered this time, laughing, back to drinking their beer and Robbe sighs, putting himself against the wall if nobody else will do it.

“I hate you.” Robbe says loud enough - but he doesn’t mean it - and Sander looks at him over his shoulder.

“What?” He turns around, finally. “Robbe…”

“Don’t go all Robbe on me now…” Robbe pushes himself away from the wall, determined to give Sander the cold shoulder until they’re leaving so he’ll learn to give Robbe the attention he wants when he wants it.

He manages to avoid Sander’s grip on his arm and goes around the party to find someone else to keep himself busy while Sander worries. He likes the chase and Sander likes it too when he’s not thinking Robbe is upset with him like he’s right now.

When he actually manages to pay attention to his surroundings, Robbe is running into Senne, stumbling back to regain his balance.

“Wow, easy there!” Senne helps him stand on his own, his arms gripping Robbe’s biceps like he’s forcing Robbe’s feet to sink into the ground so he doesn’t fall.

“Shit. Sorry!”

“Where’s Sander?” Zoe asks, looking around them like it’s not acceptable that Robbe and Sander are not constantly together.

“Busy having fun with everyone.”

“And you’re not having fun, at all.” Senne says, looking at Robbe with that look that’s a little proud and teasing. Senne doesn’t get as drunk as he used to, and Robbe is sure he envies Robbe for it. He winks at him and Senne laughs, nodding his head.

“What’s up with you two?” Zoe asks, finally noticing their quiet exchange of looks, gently pushing Senne away from her.

“What? Stop being jealous, Zoe! First Milan, now Senne…” Robbe playfully pushes his boundaries just a little more, hugging Senne, happy that it’s not awkward and Senne hugs him right back, even a little too tight.

“Is this a competition?” She asks and they all laugh. Senne’s is so warm, almost as comfortable as Sander.

“Hi…” He hears the familiar voice behind him, and Senne and Zoe look at him, smiling. Zoe is warmer, more familiar and Senne is still Senne, a little too cool to be that nice.

“Hello, you! Someone was lost, all alone…”

Robbe looks back and he sees his boyfriend standing right next to him, looking at their hug, a little bothered by it.

“Yeah. I was looking for him.”

“Bullshit.” Robbe teases, finally letting go of Senne and Sander instantly comes even closer, their bodies sort of bumping into each other like animals would to welcome their family back.

“He’s out, huh?” Senne asks like Robbe isn’t there, listening to his question. Sander only nods his head, quietly letting his arm rest around Robbe’s waist.

“I brought him some water…” Sander shows the bottle of water and Robbe laughs, shaking his head.

“I can take care of myself you know?” He asks Senne and he’s looking around, smiling and nodding his head like he doesn’t believe a word Robbe tells him. “Your boyfriend is so annoying, huh? How are you able to live with him?”

Zoe sighs, drinking a little bit of her soda. “I ask that to myself every day.”

“Alright, you two can fuck off already.” Senne finally gives in, looking at Zoe with those heart eyes and she smiles at him. They’re not as affectionate as Robbe and Sander are, at least not when they’re in public. It still feels like they’re hiding but Robbe doesn’t care enough to comment on it.

“I guess we could go now…” Robbe decides, starting to feel overwhelmingly tired, going in for another quick Senne hug. He has to step forward to do so, and Sander doesn’t move, so his hand goes to the small of Robbe’s back while he waits for the hug to end.

Senne notices something and laughs, one arm letting go of Robbe to do something else with Sander.

“You guys are so cute.” Zoe says, and Robbe smiles proudly, moving back to stand close to his boyfriend again. “Are you going home?”

Robbe nods his head, finally putting his hand over Sander’s around his waist, intertwining their fingers. They say their goodbyes, and Robbe holds his boyfriend’s hand, walking him to the exit.

Sander is oddly quiet, and Robbe assumes it’s because of how much he drank tonight. Now it’s too late, he can’t go back in time. He holds Sander’s hand tighter and tries to act as normally as possible, looking from the corner of his eyes at Sander every few seconds.

It’s an awkward silence and Robbe is actually starting to worry as his tiredness starts to cover his drunkenness and he’s starting to be able to connect his thoughts again.

“Sander...what’s going on?” He decides to finally ask, walking slower because he can’t seem to do both at the same time.

“Hm, how close are you and Senne?”

Robbe stops walking all together. Sander is making that face that makes it seem like he has a bitter taste in his mouth or something. He looks like a puppy with his big eyes and almost pout and that makes it hard for Robbe to laugh about his question because it seems like he’s genuinely asking.

“W-what kind of question is that?” Sander looks around them, not feeling like putting his thoughts out, so Robbe assumes. “Are you jealous? Of Senne?”

Sander bites the corner of his bottom lip, sighing. “Not jealous. I’m not jealous. But he’s good looking and nice, and older. Everyone knows you like older guys.”

Robbe lets himself exhale the breath he was holding, worried about what he did so wrong tonight. And he’s more relaxed now that Sander is still making his bad timed jokes.

“I like one older guy. Actually, so far, I’ve only liked one human in my life. It happens that he’s also older...But he’s not Senne.”

Sander smiles fondly at him, holding his hand tighter to make them go back to walking. “Are you sure you never had any type of feelings towards him?”

Robbe rolls his eyes, smiling, leaning against Sander’s arm, rubbing his cheek against the soft fabric of his hoodie.

“No. Never had any type of feelings towards Senne. I promise.”

“Okay…” Robbe smiles, lifting their hands so he can kiss the back of Sander’s hand.

“You’re so cute, you know that?”

“That’s a lie. You’re cute.”

Robbe doesn't argue because he’s tired and this, leaning against Sander’s body, letting him lead them home carefully, the comfortable pace of their steps, is so soothing.

[tellmeourstoryy]

Not that anyone cares to know but here is a list of my favorite ships from the shows I watch

Chuck: Chuck and Sarah. My absolute favorite ship ever!! The most pure and genuine couple ever. I love them with my whole heart

Pretty Little Liars: Spencer and Toby. Love them to death. The first ship I ever cared about and they’ll always hold a special place in my heart

Friends: Ross and Rachel. Obviously there could be some better writing between the two but I’m a sucker for this will they won’t they

Gilmore Girls: Rory and Dean... I know I know but hear me out I like Rory and Dean before he got married. I wish that he would have never got married and that they found each other again later down the line and ended up together. I realize they don’t work with the actual storyline they went with

How I Met Your Mother: Ted and Robin...I know but hear me out again I also wish the storyline would have been different. I thought Robin and Barney made no sense and were absolutely toxic. I wish Barney and Robin never got married and Ted and Robin both grew and found their way back together. But I do think it was terrible for him to have a wife and then kill her off basically just to put him and Robin together but that’s just bad writing.

One Tree Hill: Lucas and Peyton. I love them a lot and did in fact stop watching the show once they left because it wasn’t the same without them.

Revenge: Daniel and Emily!!! I don’t even care if you don’t agree cause they were absolutely adorable. I think she genuinely fell in love with Daniel and should have just been friends with Jack.

The Vampire Diaries: Stefan and Elena. Again Damon and Elena were toxic. Stefan ALWAYS put Elena first and they deserved so much better.

Prison Break: Sara and Michael. I don’t even remember any other significant ships from that show but they were adorable.

Hart of Dixie: Zoe and Wade. I really love them together and loveee to see both of their character development.

White Collar: Sara and Neal. I thought they were so cute together.

Baby Daddy: Ben and Riley. Don’t get me wrong I love Danny but I think Riley goes better with Ben. I loved Ben’s character development and seeing how much he changed for the better after Riley. I really did love them and am still upset they didn’t end up together.

Parks and Recreation: Leslie and Ben. Honestly this was hard cause I like several of the ships on that show but the absolute sweetness of Leslie and Ben makes them take the cake.

Dawson’s Creek: Joey and Dawson. I know that this is probably my most unpopular opinion but oh well. I do think there should have been some better writing leading up to it and things made better with that better writing though. Honestly I was absolutely so confused and shocked when she ended up with Pacey. Might have been the most upset I’ve been about people ending up together. I mean even if she would have ended up with no one or even Eddie but I was just really upset she ended up with Pacey. Sorry not sorry.

Once Upon A Time: Hook and Emma. Absolutely adore them. They are so pure and adorable and have character development and ugh I love them so much.

The Night Shift: TC and Jordan. I really liked them so much and am upset the show was cancelled before we got to see them get back together.

New Girl: Schmidt and Cece. Also hard because I also love Nick and Jess but if I have to choose it’s Schmidt and CeCe.

Bones: Booth and Brennan. Absolutely LOVE them.

Blacklist: Ressler and Liz. Honestly conflicted about this rn cause I don’t know if she deserves him but I have always liked them together.

Stranger Things: Steve and Nancy. I loveeee Steve and could not believe she got together with Jonathan. Like did everyone forget about him taking photos of her????

The Good Place: Eleanor and Chidi. Literally so adorable love them both sooo much. They deserve the world.

Psych: Shawn and Juliet. Seriously how cute are they?? I’ll go ahead and tell you... the CUTEST.

Grey’s Anatomy: Derek and Meredith. You already know I’m team MerDer because honestly who isn’t?

Arrow: Oliver and Felicity. So prefect together love them

The Flash: Barry and Caitlin. I saw Barry and Iris as siblings especially since Barry called him dad which is why I don’t ship that also I feel like she didn’t actually start to really like him until she figured out he was the flash. And I think Barry and Caitlin are super cute and honestly thought they were gonna date way back in season 1. But I’m content with them just being friends I just wish we could see some more of that friendship because they’re adorable.

The Walking Dead: Glenn and Maggie!!!!!! Love love love love them! What’s better than falling in love during a zombie apocalypse? One of the bests ugh my heart. That ending was too sad and definitely made me quit watching the show.

A Million Little Things: Honestly I don’t know rn. I still like Katherine and Eddie but that might just be because Katherine is my fav. I just wish he would have told her about the pills right away and how he was struggling or something. I just have a hard time rooting for him because he’s put Katherine through so much. And then Rome and Regina are so adorable. And I adore Gary and like him with Maggie and Darcy and like Maggie with Gary and Jamie. So yeah I’m all over the place with this one. Honestly can’t pick a fav but felt like sharing those thoughts.

Well this has been fun and there’s more shows and couples but that’s all for now